ã€ŠJujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenaiã€‹


 Chapter 0: Shiramine Academy Class 2-7 Attendance Record

    Chapter 0: Shiramine Academy ss 2-7 Attendance Record

    <b>Shiramine Academy ss 2-7 Attendance Record</b>

    <b></b>

    Shiramine Academy, ss 2-7. Attendance record. 41 students.

    Boys. 22 students.

    Seat No. 1: Azuma Shinichi ¨C Boy''s ss representative

    Seat No. 2: Itou Seiji

    Seat No. 3: Ueda Youhei ¨C Archery club

    Seat No. 4: Ooyama Daisuke ¨C Karate club

    Seat No. 5: Kousaka Hiroki ¨C Ser club

    Seat No. 6: Saitou Masaru ¨C Archery club

    Seat No. 7: Sakurai Touya ¨C Archery club

    Seat No. 8: Satou Yuuya

    Seat No. 9: Shimokawa Junnosuke

    Seat No. 10: Sugino Takashi ¨C Judo club

    Seat No. 11: Souma Yuuto ¨C Kendo club

    Seat No. 12: Takashima Yuudai ¨C Baseball club

    Seat No. 13: Tendou Ryuichi

    Seat No. 14: Nakai Shouta

    Seat No. 15: Nakajima Haruma ¨C Art club

    Seat No. 16: Hayama Relight ¨C Basketball club[2]

    Seat No. 17: Higuchi Kyouya

    Seat No. 18: Hirano Kouhei ¨C Ser club

    Seat No. 19: Momokawa Kotarou ¨C Literature club

    Seat No. 20: Yamakawa Junichirou ¨C Drama club

    Seat No. 21: Yamada Genki ¨C Baseball club

    Seat No. 22: Yokomichi Hajime

    Girls. 19 students.

    Seat No. 31: Reina Adelhide Ayase

    Seat No. 32: Iijima Mayumi

    Seat No. 33: Kitaooji Rurika ¨C Cooking club

    Seat No. 34: Kizaki Akane ¨C Volleyball club

    Seat No. 35: Kisaragi Ryouko ¨C Girl''s ss representative

    Seat No. 36: Kenzaki Asuna ¨C Kendo club

    Seat No. 37: Satou Aya

    Seat No. 38: Shinohara Emi ¨C Illustration club[1]

    Seat No. 39: Souma Sakura ¨C Archery club

    Seat No. 40: Takanashi Kotori

    Seat No. 41: Nagae Yukiko ¨C Literature club

    Seat No. 42: Natsukawa Minami ¨C Track and field

    Seat No. 43: Nishiyama Minori ¨C Brass band

    Seat No. 44: Nonomiya Julia ¨C Tennis club

    Seat No. 45: Hinagiku Saya ¨C Archery club

    Seat No. 46: Himeno Airi

    Seat No. 47: Futaba Meiko ¨C Cooking club

    Seat No. 48: Yoshizaki Maria ¨C Tennis club

    Seat No. 49: Randou Kyouko

 Chapter 0.1 - Momokawa Kotaro

    Chapter 0.1 - Momokawa Kotaro

    Prologue ¨C Momokawa Kotaro

    September 19th, Respect for the Aged Day. I, Momokawa Kotaro, 2nd-year student of Shiromine Private Gakuen, am enjoying the so-called national holiday. To be specific, I¡¯m currently hunting for light novels, mangas, and games until I reach the centre of the city.

    Although I belong only to the literature club, for a typical student like me, who¡¯s getting by with just a monthly allowance from his parents, I can¡¯t afford to spend too much of my funds on just one trip. I¡¯m somewhat an otaku-ish student, but I don¡¯t think I necessarily categorize as one. Currently, I don¡¯t have problems with my economic condition, considering I was originally a cheapskate.

    ¡¸Maybe it¡¯s time to go back¡¹

    As I¡¯m leaving therge bookstore from where I bought a copy of this month¡¯s light novel, the sun was already inclined to the back of the mountain, coloring the cloudless, early autumn sky with a crimson color.

    Maybe it was because I¡¯m shopping alone, I had a little premonition of the vanity of life when I saw that sunset, as I was walking sloppily on the road without thinking anything.

    ¡¸Hey, don¡¯t touch me£¡¡¹

    That, even if I can¡¯t say it as something like shrill, the nuance of the girl¡¯s voice was like a scream. (EN: Why can¡¯t the author just say it was a girl¡¯s scream?)[TL : Because it¡¯s a girl scream]

    When I noticed, I was looking curiously at the alleyway from where that voice came from.

    ¡¸Eh, no way ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡¹

    In that ce, there were four men encircling two girls, I was partly expecting it but, the spectacle was filled with surprise.

    The two girls were wearing the recently outdated sailor uniform. That was obvious since I am also going to Shiromine Gakuen. One of the girls with shoulder length hair is a cute girl, while the other one is just a in sses girl without any conspicuous point.

    It seems the one who¡¯s screaming is the former. Though the sses-san face is turning pale as shepletely stepped back, it was clear when looking from where I was currently standing.

    ¡¸Oioi, you shouldn¡¯t say those kinds of words to gentlemen like us, right£¿¡¹

    Saying that, the man corrected the two girls. Looking like gentlemen, no matter how he says it they¡¯repletely more like Yankees or hoodlums, despite their correction. What the heck is with that loose hip-hop parka, where the heck did he buy it?

    But, no matter how stereotypical these juvenile delinquents are, I just couldn¡¯t do something stupid with the reality before me. They¡¯re also high school students like me, even more so, they¡¯re most likely from the infamous Kurokawa high and are nicknamed as ¡°Students of Kuro high¡±*. [TL : Kurokawa means ¡°ck River¡± while the nickname changed into ¡°ck High School¡±]

    ¡¸Nope, no matter what you say, that¡¯s impossible right? ¡¹

    Even I need to think twice with my game filled-brain, whether I must go against opposing those four hardcore Yankees to save the girls whose face isn¡¯t even in my memory only because they¡¯re of the same school as mine.

    How can I fight against those Yankees with nice builds with my meager 152 cm height and 45 kg* weight. Of course I don¡¯t have that sort of mastery of martial arts or something with me. My poor specs match my appearance. [TL* : Shota?] [EN: Shota indeed]

    ¡¸Damn it, I don¡¯t see anything, I really didn¡¯t see anything¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡¹

    I mean, who the heck going to me me from running away at once from this ce.

    I mean, see, I¡¯m not the only one who notices this situation. Everyone is just hurriedly getting away from this ce since some time ago even though they had a nce in this alleyway for a moment, they¡¯re just passing it like that as if it has nothing to do with them.

    unable to do after all. )

    I¡¯m not at fault here, I mean I don¡¯t think these guys are at fault too. There are some things that humans are able and unable to do after all.

    That¡¯s right, no matter how bad these delinquents are, they¡¯re not something like atrocious criminals who will rape or murder someone so calmly. After all, despite being students from the infamous ¡°ck High¡±, it¡¯s only at the point of where they¡¯re repeatedly receiving a ¡°Grace¡± from the police when causing some brawl. I mean, though those two girls are a little frightened, they¡¯ll eventually be released by those thugs.

    And then, when I¡¯m about to leave this ce as I turned away with my eyes shut tight, I felt a strong sense of self-loathing in myself.

    ¡¸Oi, what have you been looking at£¿ ¡¹

    ¡¸HAH£¡£¿ ¡¹

    I unintentionally look back toward the voice that called me. The four thugs who¡¯s looking with trance expression at the two girls was simultaneously looking at my direction.

    ¡¸No-Uhm, I just ¡ª¡ª ¡¹

    ¡¸Hah, WHAT, THIS GIRL IS SO INDIFFERENT HUH £¿¡¹

    They keep saying whatever they want, easily interrupting my all-out excuse.

    ¡¸He~, You¡¯re quite a cute one there, want to be our girl¡¹

    ¡¸You stupid, look, no matter how you look at it, SHE IS A HE¡¹

    ¡¸Hah, seriously£¿ isn¡¯t she just wearing a boyish style?¡¹

    ¡¸EH? Hah? Damn it, are you kidding me, that¡¯ll make me[ore*] lose my self-confidence right¡¹[TL* : Momokawa usually using Boku]

    You guys might be joking right, no matter how you look at it, I[boku] am a man ¡ª¡ª¨C or so I thought, it¡¯s painful since I can¡¯t retort them.

    I[boku], who has an androgynous face, though it might sound nice right, it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m the so called handsome boy with rosy cheeks.

    Though I¡¯ve big eyes, it¡¯s more like scornful eyes of the evil stray cat. Even if my eyebrows are somewhat thick, it¡¯s unbnced with my baby face. I¡¯m definitely not a bishoujo but, this level is around the level of a frail girl in the ss right.

    With these and a little bit of height, though there¡¯s a possibility that I can be judged as a man, I can¡¯t think of my small and slender build as only because nutritional deficiency. With my somehow round and shorth shoulder width, it made me lose my only chance for someone to make a distinction of my gender even just by my silhouette. It seems that my hair which is on the long side is also the reason for someone to mistake my gender. It¡¯s not like I have any intention to cut it though. Because I¡¯ll look more childish when I cut it short. [TL : ¡­¡­¡­.. Poor little Momokawa] [TL : just cut it already] [TL : ¡­¡­¡­. Pitted between rock and hard ce huh][EN: Just be the shota that you are!]

    I mean my current attire is, a little loose white parka in amon jeans[jacket] and it¡¯s not the kind of fashion that will bring in manly charm.

    Even so, in the first what I need to do in the current situation is not to make an appeal to exin my gender, I need to made an escape from this ce ASAP.

    Maybe they¡¯ll chase me out of curiousity if I escaped as it is. This ce is somewhat quiet, that¡¯s if you don¡¯t identally end up in this ce.

    ¡¸A-Uhm£¡ They¡¯re my friends and we¡¯re about to y with our ssmates£¡ ¡¹

    I¡¯m calling it, the strategy of ¡°Some of my fellows are waiting on my back¡±. It¡¯s a more reliable strategy than the sink or swim ¡¸Police officer-san, they¡¯re right here¡¹, right.

    ¡¸Ah, then£¿ My bad then, it¡¯s looks like that n going to be cancelled ¡¹

    It was shot down.

    ¡¸Eh-No, that¡¯ll be ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. troubling¡¹

    ¡¸I say it¡¯s okay, you¡¯re these two¡¯spanions right £¿ Come along with us, we¡¯ll give you a lot of love whether you¡¯re a boy or girl¡¹ [TL : Eh!?] [EN: This is about to turn into a shota BL!]

    Chills ran through my spine towards the words of the long haired-dye in brown coloured-man who first recognized me as a girl. This guy is he drunk£¡. [EN: What a descriptive sentence!]

    Oh crap, I should run away with a dash without thinking about a guilty feelings or something. Though it¡¯s a little unsightly, I¡¯ll run to that konbini* and shouting¡¸HELP ME£¡¡¹. At worst, they might be just call the police. [TL* : Minimart]

    And then, with that n in my mind, I¡¯m doing a 180¡ã turn and breaking into a sprint without minding the onlookers.

    ¡¸Fugya£¡ ¡¹

    But, my first step to escape was meeting with whatever object in front of me, my body which received the damage was rolling miserably on the cold road. That¡®s hurt.

    ¡¸Are, you, are you Momokawa£¿¡¹

    Uwa, someone is grabbing my arm when I¡¯m knocked down, a refreshing tenor voice can be heard from above me who¡¯s half crying. When I raised my face reflexively, there¡¯s two faces that I recognized at that ce.

    ¡¸Ah, Souma-kun, Tendou-kun¡¹

    ¡¸Are you alright£¿ It seems you fell in a rather shy way¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it, it¡¯ll look pitiful to let it go as it is¡¹

    My expression turned sour but, the ikemen were unexpectedly standing in that ce. [EN: What is the author trying to say?][TL : basically he met two ikemen]

    The one who¡¯s worrying about me is Souma Yuuto.

    Putting on a sweet mask of an embarrassed idol wherever he goes with his tall and slender figure is the subject of admiration, even for men. If I was a girl, I would¡¯ve certainly fallen for him.

    And pointing to that matter, despite being a little sharp, is a big guy with a different charm than Souma-kun.

    His name is Tendou Ryuichi.

    With a height surpassing 190 cm, and a massive frame with well-toned muscles. That peculiar, face isn¡¯t the gori type and paired with his blonde coloured-dyed hair, he¡¯s a wild ikemen with a sharp look.

    Despite the difference in style, they¡¯re wearing the same gakuran which can be differentiated from the girls¡¯ uniform of Shiromine Gakuen worn by the two girls over that alleyway. Even so, since they¡¯re famous within the school, there¡¯s no one who didn¡¯t know of their face.

    What¡¯s more, since they¡¯re my ssmates who personally know me, they won¡¯t mistake me even if I¡¯m wearing everyday clothes.

    ¡¸Ah-Uhm, since I¡¯m actually okay, please save those two over there¡¹

    I stand quickly and show the alleyway where the sum total of 6 people were gathered in. It might be obvious what kind of the situation is right now.

    ¡¸CHE, the guys from ck high huh¡¹

    ¡¸It seems¡¹

    See, they instantly understood the situation.

    Souma-kun is the holder of many heroic tales in which he saved many students of Shiromine from trouble with thugs without differentiating between gender, while Tendou-kun is the holder of legendary feats in which he¡¯s fought 10 thugs alone. Oh God if it¡¯s the two of them who have cheat statuses lending their hand, whether it¡¯s 2, 3, or 4 thugs, they¡¯ll somehow aplish it.

    ¡¸Well then, I will ¨C¡¹

    ¡¸Geez, meeting such trouble again. Yuuto, let¡¯s do this like the usual¡¹

    ¡¸As you wish, Ryuichi. Our fellow students will be in trouble if we didn¡¯t help them ASAP¡¹

    Apparently, they have already forgotten about my existence. Luckily, thanks to the gant entry of these two striking ikemenbi, the 4 thugs also forgot about me.

    Or not, only that long haired-fake blondie is the one who¡¯s looking with regretful expression at me who made an escape. Uwaa, so disgusting ¡­¡­¡­

    At any rate, just like that, I escaped from that predicament. [TL : Yeah, and quite a dangerous one too] [EN: No BL for thedy readers][TL : I¡¯m d it didn¡¯t happen otherwise I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll sap my SAN]

    Ha~h, I¡¯m so miserable no matter where I go, just how small of existence am Ipared to those two. I unintentionally self-loath my own powerlessness. But, not feeling disgusted or regretful is also amon misunderstanding.

    I¡¯m different from them. Be it my face, brain, strength, or wisdom. Undoubtedly, including luck.

    But, I¡¯m not feeling pessimistic about that. The great majority in this world is are not the kind of people who excel in just about anything and everything like them. They¡¯re just too special.

    Since I¡¯m looking at them from near, it¡¯s not natural that I get used to their radiance.

    I¡¯m me, it¡¯s been like that so far, even from now on, I¡¯ll spend my life corresponding to my own abilities. Amongst the people who live this way, something like saving the beautiful girl in pinch is an impossible event.

    Regarding today¡¯s incident, right, I managed not to get punched and safely escaped from that ce. In addition, with the two heroes entering the scene to save the day, the girls are is saved, the thugs are punished, it¡¯s a perfect ending.

    And me, just a mob character who¡®s just happened to be on in that ce, the Student A. I¡¯m not dissatisfied with that role or anything. Because I¡¯m not suited to save those girls.

    Just like them who like brave heroes, that role isn¡¯t suited for me.

 Chapter 1: Class 2-7

    Chapter 1: ss 2-7

    September 20th, weekday. The huge building of Shiramine Private Academy is swallowing up listless students returning to school after a 3-day break.[2]

    It is a time when the morning chime is just about another 10 minutes away. More than half of the students of ss 2-7, of which I am a member, are already seated, or standing chatting with ssmates, enjoying the morning.

    "Buhahahaha! My sides! So, what''d you do then, Kotaro?"

    The male student raising this boisterously vulgarughter is the big-bodied, round-faced Saitou Masaru, a buddy of mine all the way form middle school.

    "The hell do you expect? I left it to the other two and went home."

    I am scrunching my slightly thick-ish eyebrows and recounting the events from yesterday.

    "You what? Such a waste. You got that delicious an event right in front of you, and could''a raised a g with just a bit more!"[3]

    "With Souma-kun and Tendou-kun there, do you seriously expect me to take the stage? In the first ce, there''s literally no way I can think about events and shit when there''s a group of real live punks right in front of me."

    I express my truly humble opinion while ring at my slightly excited friend.

    "No well, wasn''t there just 4 of ¡®em? I could''ve even easily done something with only those numbers? Truly, such a shame. Should''ve gone with you yesterday."

    He really seems to like those damsel-in-distress situations, Masaru''s been going on and on about it for a while now. He''s in top condition as always.

    Looking at my friend engaged in his delusions with warm eyes, with his height and build like a sumo-wrestler, in a real brawl-out, he''d most likely put up a much better fight than me, I thought.

    The short wooden sword, which he insists is solely for self-defence, hidden away in his backpack might finally make its debut. Though I don''t think those special techniques inherited from battle manga he ims to have mastered will be at all useful.

    "As for me, I''m just d I didn''t get beaten to a pulp. And also, those two seems to have smoothly finished the rescue."

    I direct my vision towards the teacher''s tform where a mishmash of boys and girls have gathered. Their proper appearance and refreshing chatter resembled a clich¨¦ scene from high school dramas.

    Souma Yuuto, also among those members, his outstanding face and charm made him seem to be literally shining. He could easily be dubbed the protagonist, or at least, there was no doubt, he was the central figure of the group.

    "Damn Souma, saving not only one, but two girls. Looks like you''re the hero even on holidays."

    "You''re overexerting. I just happen to pass by, and Ryuichi was there too, so it somehow just happened."

    "But Souma-kun, you could''ve handled them even by yourself right?"

    "Hmm, well, I guess I could''ve won even without the training swordbokutou if it was only that much."

    Pointing an ear for a bit, and I hear this kind of dialogue.

    Souma-kun''s "could''ve won" has tremendous persuasiveness when he''s actually got a track record of saving girls.

    By the way, that training sword he mentioned, unlike a certain somebody insisting on carrying one for self-defence, he carries it for the actually legitimate reason of Kendo club use. The bamboo sword bag he always shoulders along with his schoolbag seems to contain a wooden sword used for practice swings.

    It''s obvious that having a weapon  wooden sword is better than being bare handed, butbined with his Nationals level skill, Souma-kun can certainly kick ass. To boot, with him and his childhood pal, Tendou Ryuichi, often getting involved in fights, he''s got the first hand experience too.

    "Gununu¡­W-well, Souma''s on the strong side I guess, a measly 4 delinquents are obviously child''s y. Even I know I''m not at his level yet."

    "Give it up Masaru, you''re not even close to rivaling Souma-kun."

    To the Masaru, gantly nodding to himself while arms crossed as if saying something profound, it''s a true friend''s job to burst his bubble with a good retort.

    "Though, I can''t say I don''t know the feeling."

    Going back to eavesdropping onto the Souma group, now a truly envious situation is in the midst of unfolding.

    "I take my eyes off him for one second, and nii-sanbrother does it again. Please try to restrain yourself a little."

    "Ahaha, you worry too much Sakura. I''mpletely fine see?"

    The female student calling to him as big brother was, along with himself, one of the top celebrities of Shiramine Academy. Not because of her rtion to him as his twin sharing the same Souma surname, but because this Souma Sakura possesses just as much as charm as her brother.

    Long glossy ck hair,plexion white as snow. The sailor uniform entuating her slender but curvy, sexy body line, and smooth long legs extending from the dark-blue pleated skirt.

    A small head, thin contours, a face as if crafted passionately by the hands of God. Especially the big yet sharp eyes are perfect beyond words. Those jet-ck eyes possess an almost deadly charm.

    Her superior appearance was not all. With a sharp mind, and excellent athletic ability, she truly possessed the best of both worlds. A member of the Archery club, like her brother, she was a regr at the National level.

    Leaving aside appearance and ability, her courteous behaviour with colleagues, and respectful mannerisms with superiors ¨C she disyed picturesque upstanding morals.

    She would more appropriately be called the school Idol. No man would not desire such an idealised Yamato-Nadeshiko-esque girl.[4]

    However, there existed no frivolous rumours of her since enrollment, as she''s always stuck to her brother like glue.

    "And there you go again nii-san, you always ¨C"

    My eyes now reflected her drawing closer to her brother which would certainly not be an appropriate, far too close, distance of interaction between boys and girls of our age. Even I could see the objectionability of their closeness in both the physical and mental sense. Personal Space, I wonder if that''s a thing.

    "Haa¡­"

    I look away from the charming brother-sister duo who don''t look anything other than a lovey-dovey couple, but the conversation nheless flows right back into my ears.

    "¨C At least think of how I feel constantly having to worry."

    "Yeah my bad, I''ll take better care from next time."

    And on this side, Masaru''s usual foul expression seems to have worsened, his teeth-grinding, auditory disy of jealousy in full view.

    Nope, He''s hopeless. Falling for that Souma Sakura is simply bad math. To my friend whose loss has been decided even before the game, I have no words.

    For Masaru, it was love at first sight from the day of enrollment. But personally, I just couldn''tugh at this development. For the people in the same predicament as him are too numerous. In consequent, the male students chasing after her, caused the phenomenon of a great influx of membership into the Archery club this year andst, him also bing one such member. I simply couldn''tugh at him, this Saito Masaru.

    Well, he''s just a ghost member now though.

    Just quitting would be simple, but that not having happened perhaps demonstrates theplexity of the human heart.

    While thinking these philosophical and useless things, I follow Masaru''s line of sight to find the appearance of the little sister, Sakura, looking down with a flushed face while having her brother caress her head and saying "Sorry, my bad".

    Nah, I should just tell him its better to give up.

    While the handsome brother-sister couple are off in their own cherry-colored world, I get myself ready to dish out a harsh reality.

    The woman known as Souma Sakura is dangerous. She would certainly drive to madness, many hordes of men. I don''t care what the fellows of the Souma Sakura underground fan club does, but I won''t regret saving this friend of mine from falling to the Dark Side.

    "Ah!! Sakura-chan no fair, Yuu-kun, pat my head too ¨C"

    And there appears the ternary force, barging right into the middle of the isted world of brother and sister.

    A small, evenpared to my own 150cm4ft 11 height, and who would be seen as nothing but a middle schooler, or maybe even a grade schooler if you''re not careful, girl raised a high pitched voice and forcibly tackled into Souma Yuuto.

    Well, though I expected some violent intervention as this point in time, even I can''t help up cast a cold look at the scene before me.

    "Eh, well I guess I''ll have to, for you Reina."

    "Ehehe ¨C do it s''more,"

    "Nii-san, please don''t spoil her so much."

    Completely ignoring Sakura''s nagging, the girl who was enjoying a helping of Souma Yuuto head-patting as if she was a pet dog was Reina Adelhide Ayase, the 2nd childhood friend.

    She''s maybe half or perhaps a quarter, well anyway, as can be guessed from the surname, she''s an inheritor of western blood, and, dissimr to Souma Sakura, gives off yet a different kind of beauty resembling a French doll.

    Her hair, a natural blonde hue fashioned into twintails, and her eyes the color of a beautiful clear sky, certainly not to be mistaken for color contacts.

    "kuWA*anger* ¨C Souma you''re so dead, I wanna stroke Reina-tan too ¨C"

    "Masaru, just give up."

    This guy even has a thing for lolis. So you don''t care as long as they''re hot huh.

    But still, I can''t call Masaru a pervert for being fond of Reina A. Ayase. Same as before, this is because many hordes of men have also fallen victim to this girl''s charm.

    Certainly, seeing this kind of energetic yet na?ve character, I, who am not a lolicon, too can understand that the protective instincts of a man are roused by this small, thin girl.

    Though I say that, I''m still not rooting for Masaru even a bit. At the very least, I want him to show some sincerity and pick one of the two he really wants to go for.

    And leaving aside my friend who is currently burning in jealousy, there is Souma Yuuto who has Sakura and Reina, a flower in both arms ¨C or rather to him, they must be the annoying sister and the spoiled childhood friend putting him in a difficult situation yet again. But reality is that he''s super close to two first rate hotties, and is even surrounded by kind friends he can rely on, having just a swell time. Is that really the correct way to spend youth?

    I have not fallen for Souma Sakura, nor have I feelings for Reina A. Ayase, but seeing Souma Yuuto''s, this kind of lifestyle makes me feel an absolute inferiority even if I don''t want to.

    No let''s stop, it''s a stupid way to think. He''s him, and I''m me.

    He''s but a special exception. Because I see this rosy life in front of me everyday in ss, I tend to forget just how much of an exception he is. Grade school, and middle school never had an existence to cause this kind of overwhelming inferiority.

    I have a friend in ss too. And we too spend everyday having fun with stupid conversations. I also enjoy writing my edgychuuni light novels while desperately trying to make the literature club magazine deadline. After confirming that my own school life is more than satisfactory, the petty and meaningless inferiorityplex quickly disappears.

    I do think I want to get along better with girls, but thinking of how that''s a problem faced by the mass majority of Japanese male students makes it much less painful.

    "Mm, the chime should ring any moment now."

    Casually looking at the wall clock in the ssroom, the needle is only a minute away from the first chime.

    The homeroom teacher may appear just before the chime rings, so as I stand up to return to my own seat, it happens. The ssroom door opens with a sharp rattle and two peoplee rolling in.

    "Do ¨C n''t pull so hard, Ryoko! C''mon it''s fine being a li''lte right?"

    "Shut up, Ryuichi, just get to your seat."

    With such an exchange, our ss 2-7 ss rep. Kisaragi Ryoko, grabbing Tendou Ryuichi by the hand, bursts in and crosses the front of the ssroom with her shoulder length hair in a flutter.

    Kisaragi-san, a tall and slender, with cool eyes in depthless spectacles, a sharp-looking beauty, standing beside therge and handsome Tendou-kun, doesn''t look out of ce at all. No, it can be said that she''s the only one who has a rightful ce beside him.

    "Sup Ryuichi, got caught by the rep. again?"

    "Yea, just my luck. My morning joint was ruined all thanks to that."

    To Souma-kun''s refreshing greeting, Tendou-kun returns a truly dissatisfied reply.

    "Joint? What, you have cigarettes on you? Take them out now, Ryuichi."

    "H-hey wait, the price got higher just the other day, so don''t take the one I haven''t even open ¨C"

    "Yup, no more of that."

    The hundred yen yet unopened box of cigarettes were nimbly pulled out from the front pocket of his uniformgakuran by Kisaragi-san.

    Having his relief goods seized without mercy, Tendou-kunins without giving in, but Kisaragi-san''s stoic face and cold eyes pay no consideration to his desperate ims.

    Fuck, not my lucky day, as the boyins, his long time best friend Souma-kun gives him words of constion. Yup, with that refreshing smile,

    "Not like you want to, but good job keeping this up every morning, you too ss rep."

    He said in a somewhat given up tone, a statement even I can wholeheartedly agree with.

    Barely making the first chime, this super serious ss rep. dragging in our greatest delinquent to ss is a daily scene for the ss of 2-7. Kisaragi-san somehow finds this Tendou-kun from anywhere he may intend to go ditching ss, and forcefully makes sure he''s there during role call.

    She herself insists it''s her job as ss rep. to do this, but no matter how you look at it, this is clearly outside her job description. As a result, the fact that she''s doing this because she ¡®wants to'' is only unknown to herself, and has been made an undeniable truth in the ss of 2-7.

    That aside, with the meddlesome ss rep. bringing in the blonde haired delinquent with her before the first chime, all of Shiramine Academy, ss 2-7, have gathered in the ssroom.

    I look at the clock a 2nd time and, the minute hand is just about to make its tiny mechanical sound and denote the instant of when the chime would sound. Holidays aside, it is a sound I hear everyday, the ding-dong-dang-dong melody that any student would be very familiar with but¨C

    GI, GIGIGI, GI ¨C IIIIIII!!

    That unpleasant metallic sound rang throughout the ssroom.

    "Ua!!?"

    Plugging the ears is something not only me, but everyone in the ssroom did almost reflexively. There''s also the cute ¡®Kya ¨C ¡®sing from girls scattered about.

    There''s the usual ting sound of the of the inte speakers ¨C no this sound is much more painful! Kuu*groan*, I got a bad feeling¡­

    This shrill noise echoing in from all 360 degrees around this ssroom felt absolutely nauseating. In my brief 17 years of life, I''ve never experienced such a terrible stomach churning sound.

    Well, with not yet getting sick enough to actually throw up, the sound stopped.

    What in the world was that sound, these kinds of mutterings from practically everyone''s mouths filled the ssroom.

    At that time, something happened yet again ¨C suddenly, as if a candle being blown out, all light from the ssroom disappeared.

    "Eh, ckout!?"

    The situation worsens, as we lost all sources of light, enough to submerge my chubby friend in front of me intoplete darkness.

    Though it was I myself who imed it was a ckout, looking at the current situation, that theory is instantly denied.

    For right now, it is morning. The time is 8:45 am. Today''s forecast, continuing from yesterday, another clear autumn sky. Though the windows weren''t open like in the summer, the uncurtained windows let the gentle sunlight ssh into the big ssroom. At least, until 2 seconds ago.

    Wait, why, why is it dark even outside?

    The inside of the ssroom became rowdier. Not only screaming from girls but some boys'' ones were mixed in there too. Or rather, their angry voices were.

    I''d said nothing more after my previous statement. But I recognised the bizarreness of the situation as well, and had broken out in a cold sweat.

    "O-oi Kotaro, what''s up with this, why''s''it gone dark all a sudden? This some kinda prank show?"

    Masaru''s voice had a clearly anxious tremble, but I wasn''t in a state to make fun of him for that. I''m shaken up just as well.

    "D-donno man¡­ but it doesn''t seem like one at least?"

    A ckout is more than probable, realistically speaking. However, I can''t really imagine a method of instantly blocking all the windows and nketing the whole ssroom inplete darkness. It is a strangeness I can''t even hypothesize about.

    Of course, uncertain about what this abnormality is, there''s no finding the cause or the resolution for it. And from the uproar all around, I don''t think anyone in ss has any idea either.

    As the ss was falling deeper into panic, this time, the lights turned back on.

    The fluorescent lights on the ceiling lit up, filling the ce with their artificial white light, like it was a matter of course.

    "Ah, its back."

    I ended up speaking out.

    Well, that was probably the general feeling of everyone here, and for now, the brighter ssroom dispelled the fear of darkness, and ameliorated the situation.

    But, it was not like everything went back to normal.

    "Oi, look out the window!"

    I don''t know who said this, but even without the alert, the abnormality was easy to discover.

    "It''s pitch ck."

    Yeah, Masaru replies. Just like everyone else, the two of us sitting on the hallway side of the room stared dumbfounded at the other side of the window shrouded in absolute darkness.

    "The hell, I can''t see shit."

    "Should I open it?"

    "Stop dumbass, that''s just screams bad idea"

    A group of guys on the window side of the room were having this dialogue. Not opening the windows was probably the consensus among the whole ss.

    As if painted with a coat of ck, the windows reflected nothing at all.

    Though it was difficult to understand, the ss that began to recognize this obvious bizarreness, once again plunged into a state of anxiety filled mutterings.

    As the room began filling up with misceneous voices ¨C within all the bustle, what''s this sound¡­ This is, from the inte speakers where the chime usually goes off,es a sound like that of a sandstorm!

    Once I noticed it, I could clearly hear this grizzly sound. No, it was definitely getting louder.

    "Guys, quiet down a bit. Something''sing from the inte."

    The one who silenced the ss with that one statement was not me, but Souma Yuuto. He seems to have heard the noise form the speaker same as me.

    Well, unlike me with my chubster friend here, he''s in the blessed position of having beautiful sister snuggled to his right shoulder, and a cute childhood friend nestled on his left arm.

    Anyway, with his help, my ssmates all noticed the noise, and hoping for some rescue info, began to listen attentively at the speaker.

    In the silenced ssroom, the sandstorm like noise somehow started to resemble human speech.

    "Ca¡­ he¡­r me"

    I have no idea what they''re saying, but that was unmistakeably a voice. Like a radio being tuned, the voice slowly but surely became clear.

    "Can you hear me?"

    Is that a male teacher? Slowly, a gentle voice sounded clearly from the speaker.

    Even if you ask if we can hear you, obviously no one''s gonna answer. Everyone kept their silence and paid attention to the man''s voice.

    "Good, seems like my voice is connecting fine."

    It''s almost like he knows everything that''s going on here. Though I''m not unable to read the mood and won''t voice out that opinion.

    "First, please calm down and listen. You are all, right now, about to fall into grave danger. That too, not something realistic like an earthquake or typhoon."

    A slight anxiety runs throughout the ssroom.

    Even though I denied this being some part of a prank show, having the irregrity of the situation properly dered, fills me in great anxiety and tension. Never mind the goosebumps and endless trembling.

    "You are all currently en route to apletely different ce, another world in fact, from the ce called Japan on Earth."

    "Wha-?"

    I reflexively let out that sound. Though it was still much better than the slowly bubbling panic in the ssroom.

    "To you who have been living in a world without magic, my words may seem sudden and doubtful. But right now, we don''t have the time. Before you''re stranded on this dangerous ce, I hope you can follow my instructions."

    Um, hey, the story''s getting a bit weird here¡­

    My pulse is rising like and rm bell, and my body, trembling from a full power sense of danger.

    Another world? Magic? Dangerous ce? All of these were jargonpletely alien to normal life. If I had to guess, it could be some mysterious recreation forced upon us by the school. But even emergency drills would have a more believable story.

    Though, looking out the window into the piercing darkness, we must admit, even reluctantly, that we are, right now, in fact not in a daily life situation, but one so irregr that literally anything could happen.

    No one could justugh off this bizarre exnation.

    "You probably possess paper and pens. First, please look at the markings, Magic Formations and Incantations, drawn here and copy them down."

    At those words, everyone here had a question mark above their heads. This man has been speaking from the other side of the inte, apparently from another world with magic, and who knows if he''s using a mic, but still he has no means to get any visual information.

    But that one doubt was certainly answered. As right then, the 41 students of this ss 2-7, including me, paid witness to the existence of magic.

    "U-ua, it''s drawing on its own¡­"

    Everyone''s eyes were now focused on, perhaps the thing that upies the vast majority of a student''s visual focus, the ckboard.

    There, on that characteristic dark-green surface of the ckboard, a white line was dancing by itself.

    Not like anyone''s using a chalk. First of all, along with the line being drawn, the faint light being given off, not from a cathode-ray tube or liquid crystal screen, but an everyday ckboard was truly very magical.

    As everyone was speechlessly staring at the ckboard, within a minute the magic inscription ispleted.

    "Now then, do copy down this Magic Formation and Incantation. With this, you can get our support wherever you are. I will exin the usage in three minutes'' time, but for now, concentrate on this task."

    With that, the voice from the speaker came to a pause.

    "Guys, for now, let''s sit down and get these down in our notebooks."

    As we were debating on what to do, the calm voice of Souma Yuuto is heard.

    Right now, having to face such a mysterious phenomenon, that voice seemed highly trustworthy. It''s probably better to quietly follow his instructions and not have any weird suspicions.

    Without any particr reluctance, the students quickly reaching their seats, taking out their notebook from their bags, and writing down what''s on the board, was a fine show of honed Japanese student behaviour. Of course, I''m also included in that description.

    And then, just like in a time-constrained test, the ssroom is dominated by silence.

    From my seat at the very back of the hallway side, I carefully regarded the magic-drawn characters on the ckboard, while swiftly running a pen on my slim notebook.

    The shapes weren''t all thatplicated so there''s no chance to get them wrong, and the incantation was also conveniently written in Japanese.

    At the center of the board was drawn a simple magic circle simr to a coin. The middle of it had a cross-like shape, and around it and running along the inner and outer circumferences of the circle were alphabet-like letters. Of course, I''ve never seen any magic circle like this.

    Meanwhile, the incantation written in Japanese reads:

    "Oh Gods above, grant us salvation with the force of thy miracles. For we shall adhere to thine decree."

    So it was this obviously pandering to the gods for help kind of statement. Very neat handwriting though.

    By the way, there were no meaningsfurigana attached to any of the wordskanji, but students who couldn''t understandread wordskanji at this level would probably not be found at a famous university prep school like Shiramine Academy.

    And as I finished copying down the formation and incantation, I stuffed my campus notebook back into my bag.

    The unknown man''s voice wasn''t here yet. There''s likely around another minute of time left, so as I attempt to make sure from the wall clock, the hands are stuck at 8:45. Well, I don''t really feel like getting my phone out to check. I''ll just be patient.

    And, with this free time at hand, naturally I look around the ssroom to see what''s going on. Looks like almost everyone''s pretty much done.

    Many have finished up with their note-taking and are whispering with their surroundings or taking a pic of the ckboard with their phonessmartphones.

    Speaking of phones, of course many tried to contacting the outside, but all forms of signals happen to be out of range, is something I deduced form the chattering. I also attempted to use my phone, and as expected, it was to no avail. By the way, mine happens to be a flip phone. I''m pretty much broke.

    Well, even though its another world, it''ll probably prove useful at some point.

    Suppressing the ever-increasing uneasiness in my heart, I stuff the phone into the depths of my bag. Since no one''s gonna be calling anyway, I turn the power off too.

    At that moment, something small and white rolled in towards my feet. Its momentuming to a rest from hitting my indoor shoes, wearing a ck, white and blue stripped sleeve, a product from the same brand I happen to use as well, it was an eraser.

    Probably belongs to the next seat over. Without thinking too hard, I almost reflexively picked up the eraser.

    "Futaba-san, yours?"

    "Y-y-yeah, thankyou Momokawa-kun."

    The one receiving back her misced item in the most nervous way was the female student seated on the desk next to mine, Futaba Meiko.

    She was one who could stand proud as one of those, like Souma Yuuto, Souma Sakura, or Reina A. Ayase, who happen ¡®stand out'' in this ss of 2-7. This is not attributed to her beauty however. It''s more of a, like, mass rted thing.

    Futaba Meiko was a big girl. Both horizontally and vertically.

    Right now, she was taking the eraser from me, yet she was already a head taller than me. If we take my height of 150cm then she looks almost breaking past 180cm5ft 11.

    On top of that, she boasted a girthparable to that of Saitou Masaru. If standing side-by-side with the tiny old me, one could think there was something wrong with the scaling factor of reality.

    Fluffy, semi-long hair, a round face matching the body, and gentle down-turned eyes which somehow made you think of a cow. The face, I thought was fairly pretty.

    But more importantly, those rich breasts gave her an strong image of a milking cow. Right now, her chest which seemed want to burst out from the sailor uniform in front of me, really entuated their enormity. They''re like the size of my head ¨C I''m honestly made a bit excited. Men are weak to boobs. Especially if its me, the type who likes em big and loves em even bigger.

    Shaking off those impure thoughts, I go ahead and turn away from my nce. Yes, I do have at least that much modesty. This girl by the name of Futaba Meiko and myself have no rtion other than that of having our seats next to each other. Now that I think of it, this returning of her eraser was likely our first words to each other.

    While I don''t think much of anything of her other than her chest, at some point in time, I hear some girls from ss started calling her with a horrible nickname like ¡®Butaba'', which not only reminds me how frightening women can be, but also instigates a slight pity for her.[5]

    Anyway, perhaps because of that tiny bit of pity, as I see Futaba-san''s notebook on top of her desk, with a crooked magic circle having already been drawn and erased several times, without much thought, I spoke up.

    "Um, the formation, not done drawing?"

    "Eh, Ah¡­ Yeah."

    Her round but somehow lovable face is distorted in a frown, actually, her eyes are also moist with tears.

    Even without asking, that her mental state was confused and afraid due to our current happenstances was obvious. She may be double my size, but that doesn''t change the fact that her mind was that of a simple teenage girl.

    She may just be a klutz, but I could easily see she was shaken enough to not be able to draw the magic circle on the board.

    "Here."

    I take the notebook back out from my bag and, tearing off the page with the formation and the incantation, I hand it to Futaba-san.

    "Eh, umm, this is"

    "We don''t know what could happen, it''s better to have this."

    Her round eyes opened wide with a start, and looked dumbfounded. But, there''s no time for chit-chat. Right after leaving the torn off page on Futaba-san''s desk, I recreated my own copy of the contents of the board.

    "T-thankyou, Momokawa-kun!"

    Still seated, I receive Futaba-san''s thanks to which I reply with a curt ¡®Mhm'' while running my pen. Getting a sincere thankyou from, a girl doesn''t feel bad at all, or rather, it makes me a bit shy.

    Her voice, surprisingly sweet in contrast to her figure, and that thick physique, with those extraordinarilyrge breasts that give an alluring jiggle as she lowers her head, also happens to contribute to my shyness.

    "Now then, That''s 3 minutes. If you haven''t finished writing, please continue until you''re done. However, please try and not miss the following exnation."

    And with the continuation of the broadcast, I barely managed to finish up. Damn, that was close.

    "It is simple to use this magic formation. You just have to put your hand over the drawing and speak the incantation. If you try it out now, the magic won''t activate. When you''vepletely arrived to this world, it will be possible."

    Some early birds were already trying out the described method of usage, but after hearing that condition, slightly embarrassed, they closed their notebooks.

    "Using this magic would allow you to, with the help of the God whose name is inscribed on the formation, receive packets of information from our side. I believe you can understand better if I say texting?"

    Not a phone call but text messaging, which would mean that they wouldn''t send instructions through sound. Though it''s magic, it probablyes with its own set of inconveniences.

    "Basically, if you proceed ording to the instructions, you should make it out fine. But, before you reach a ce under our protection, there will likely be many dangers lying in wait. The principal of which would be entities known as ¡®Monsters''. But please rest assured, you would already have be residents of this other world. Implying, you would be able to wield powers impossible in your previous life. You would even be able to harness magic. Using those powers, you will surely beat the monsters, and escape from danger."

    The man''s hot-blooded words tempted many of the boys into saying "Oh, sounds fun, it''s like an RPG" in a carefree way.

    Yeah no, that''s pretty much impossible mode, like, if you can''t muster enough power, isn''t it a permadeath?

    ording to the man, these monsters which are a known danger to humans will surely be encountered by us. In the first ce, we have to y survival on some strange unknownnd. To top it off, if there''re these monsters that actively prey on humans¡­this is too much.

    This isn''t some damn game. We''re heading into another world, not some yet to be invented Virtual Reality adventure.

    Attacking isn''t a simple task of pushing a button and having themand sent and action automatically performed. We have to move using out own wills, our own bodies.

    You can tell me about all the powers you want, but there''s no guarantee I can bring out 100% of their potential. And there''s even the high possibility that, faced with these fearsome monsters, we''d bepletely unable to move out of fear. Especially for a weakling like me, it''s a death sentence.

    Even in the real world, a fight where I actually hit someone, my experience of those from the lower years of grade school were thest. Just yesterday I almost pissed myself in front of that group of 4. Actually, forget monsters, I have the confidence to lose even against a stray cat, if it went all out.

    But unfortunately, this thing called a fight may just be impossible to avoid from here on out.

    Yeah, I''m pretty much dead¡­

    My face right now is definitely so pale, there probably isn''t a more pathetic one possible. No really, I''d cry if I wasn''t in public.

    But, it seems I have some kindred spirits. Girls who are weak-willed are already producing sniffling sounds. Among them, was therge bodied Futaba Meiko sitting next to myself.

    "Now then, we''re almost out of time. It is dangerous to stay inside this room. Get your things and get ready to head out."

    The man''s words forcibly move the plot along.

    At this point, I can''t just keep being pessimistic. With a small burst of courage, I stop my trembling body and, for now, start working. Picking up mymuting bag after shoving the magic circle notebook inside, I realize.

    We''re gonna be in this survival situation so textbooks are pretty much useless.

    Paper could be useful for starting a fire, but that''s no reason to walk around with something this heavy. It''s obviously better to have a light load when escaping from monsters.

    In contrast, as we know that magic formations and incantations exist, there is value in having notebooks to gather information in. Let''s see, not too heavy, so I''ll¡­ OK, I''ll leave only 2 in the bag.

    As I look around the ssroom, everyone''s also getting ready for ¡®heading out'' as the man said.

    I''m of the literature club, so whether it''s Souma Yuuto''s wooden sword, his sisters bow, or a bat belonging to a baseball club member, I don''t possess any such club rted equipment.

    Shit, the guys from the activity oriented clubs sure are in luck. I curse at them internally.

    It''s much more reassuring to be armed rather than not, and a bow can even give the possibility of rangedbat from a safe distance. On top of that, having been practicing with them every day, those people are actuallypetent in their usage. Compared to some newbie, this is a serious advantage.

    That being said, it doesn''t mean its ok to swipe that sword bag from Souma-kun. There''s probably some others who''ve also realized the same thing.

    Unlike the in old delinquent Tendou Ryuichi, the other more heinous ss punk, Higuchi Kyouya, has been leering at the Souma siblings with an openly bitter expression. Well, not like he''d actually try to attack someone like Souma-kun.

    Higuchi Kyouya is tall and has a pretty good build, but just physical strength won''t be enough to topple Souma-kun.

    Well leaving aside the punkDQN, right now the safe bet would be to get protected by Souma-kun or Tendou-kun. To that end, it''s unfavorable to cause any chaos with those two.[6]

    With that thought, I went to the back of the room where the shelves are, to retrieve the bag with my jersey. Since this is a survival, having another set of clothes is a priority.

    Mymuting bag, now free form the greatest deadweights known as textbooks and printouts, has more than enough space. I shove in the jersey with its bag whole.

    Maybe they''re following my lead, but some others are also getting their jerseys. Well, the jersey aside, do they really need that half-sleeves shirt and shorts ser uniform?

    "Soon, we will open the door leading outside. On my signal, leap out of this room."

    As the ss was still getting ready, along with the man''s broadcasted voice, both doors of the ssroom flew open with a rattle. Naturally, it was like an automatic movement which didn''t require anyone''s input.

    Beyond the sliding doors, wasn''t the familiar school hallways, but simr to the windows, a piercing darkness with no end in sight. Me being at the very back of the hallway side desks meant that I was the closest to the rear door and consequently, at the best position to peer into that darkness.

    Uwa¡­ Is it ok to jump from here? At least give us some kind of light producing magic.

    Aside from wanting some convenient magic, everyone seems to have themon feeling of deep anxiety from this ominous darkness.

    Looking dumbly at the door, no one had the courage or guts to take the initiative, and make a leap of faith.

    "Hey, uh, this really the only way to do this?"

    Perhaps worried about me at the very back and so close to the door, Masaru spoke up.

    Right now, Masaru in the going-home club has, just like me, only his bag with the jersey, but he also has his self protection short-sword in there. Wait, will his dual-sword arts style techniques finally show their might¡­ forgetting such jokes, right now I look again at the ominous exit before me.

    "Yeah, really can''t see anything. Don''t really feel like jumping in either."

    And just as I state my humble opinion.

    "Now, quickly line up neatly in front of the door. The copse should begin any moment now, but do not panic, wait for the signal."

    Came the man''s anxiety inducing exnation.

    C-copse, say what now¡­ in the middle of that thought, screams from girls as well as boys rise from the window side.

    "Kyaaa! It''s breaking, something''s breaking!?"

    "Jeesus! This is seriously bad!"

    Copse, just as the word says. I see the windows, walls, and even the floor covered in ck cracks, being swallowed up by the darkness outside. Seeing a wall with a window crumbling, the white curtains then fluttering, disappearing into the abyss gave me a truly strange impression.

    The danger finally having made its appearance, the anxious and high tension ssroom derailed into a raging panic all at once.

    Especially, the window side students who begin fleeing towards us at the hallway side.

    "Fuck, move it fatass!!"

    I hear this remarkably loud roar.

    Seated close to the window side, Higuchi Kyouya made a rush towards here with the likeness of a demononi, and to the one standing in his way, no rather, the one just stiffened up in this moment of crisis ¨C anywho, there was Futaba Meiko and herrge self standing there.

    As if looking at trash, Higuchi shoved Futaba-san away with full force like some inanimate obstacle.

    "Kyaa!!"

    With a high-pitched cry, her body is driven back in long strides.

    Her seat was right next to mine. As in, she''s right in front of me. As in, if she were to go backwards¡­

    "Eh."

    With Futaba-san''s back closing in, I remember the time in grade school when we saw the horrific scene of a 10 tonne truck mming into a stic dummy in a traffic safety ss.

    My head upied by that image, I simply could not react to this sudden development.

    I just saw this huge butt projecting out towards me in something like slow-motion.

    "Fugyaa!!"

    Raising a cry like a cat that had its tail stepped on, I am blown away all too quickly by Futaba-san''srge behind.

    "Ah, Kotaro!?"

    The surprised voice of my friend seemed awfully far. And that, was thest thing I''d heard from that ssroom.

    I see the light escaping from the ssroom door moving away at fearsome speeds. Soon enough, that box of light became a dot, and then dissolved intoplete darkness.

    I see nothing, I hear nothing. I feel nothing. In the deafening silence, finally, I even lost my consciousness.

 Chapter 2: Vocation Shaman

    Chapter 2: Vocation ''Shaman''

    I open my eyes to the cold sensation of water droplets sshing on my cheeks.

    "Ah¡­ I''m alive."

    No gaps in memory or dizziness. I only spoke out some dramatic likes about being alive because, flung out of the ssroom via Futaba-san''s big ass and falling into the abyss, I had prepared myself for death.

    T-that was close.

    My limbs are still attached, and actually, the fact that I don''t have a single scratch on me is to be super grateful for. I feel like I could write a whole essay on the splendor of nature.

    Well, even with feeling this great and experiencing the surrounding nature with all my eyes, ears and skin, the way down here was the same as a 90 degree straight vertical descent.

    Spread out before me is a verdant forest of such grandeur that the more or less 500m high hill I climbed at an outdoor excursion before doesn''t even hold a candle.

    I''ll, be fine right¡­

    I can''t think there''s any escaping back to civilizednd from the middle of this lush, dense forest that you only get to see on wild animal documentaries.

    About my personal experience with the great outdoors, there was the two days one night camping trip with my folks. Well, rather than a test of mettle and resourcefulness, it was pretty muchpletely leisure.

    But still, what a view. Whether you look left or right, you find trees, with more than the umted girth of five people, right in your face. These giants of green grow far into the sky, and with theirrge leaves, shroud the heavens enough to make it hard to find the sun.

    Though it''s notpletely dark, the creeping despair in my heart makes the ce feel coated in pitch ck.

    But there is in fact a brighter side to this.

    "Right, the magic circle!"

    I never thought I could be this smart.

    Matter of fact, as I just noticed I was holding onto my bag, it''s not like I had any memory loss, I easily remember what that man said about magic and whatnot.

    Thereafter, I opened my bag, took out the notebook, and on the slightly damp, bare ground, put down the page with the circle drawn, all within a minute.

    "Umm, so like, I just have to put my hand on this and chant the incantation¡­ right?"

    I try to remember if there was anything else, nope, that much should be it. I didn''t forget even though I only heard once, it was rather very clear and simple.

    "Right, let''s do this!"

    If I keep meandering about it, I''ll start wandering into increasingly negative thoughts like, what if I can''t do it, what if the magic doesn''t work etc. so for now, I''ll just suck up my guts, and wing this magic business.

    "Oh Gods above, grant us salvation with the force of thy miracles-"

    This magic circle was drawn with a ballpen, more like a rough sketch really. But as soon as I put my right hand there, and recited that one phrase, the magic really began to show effect.

    Those lines of ordinary ck ink began to shine white under my hand. A light much in simr to when it''s original was drawn on the ckboard.

    There was a slight shock at the appearance of actual magic right there, but so as not to interrupt the casting, I calmly, slowly, precisely, continued the rest of the incantation.

    "-For we shall adhere to thine decree."

    And right as I finished.

    Uaa!?

    On the back of my hand that was ced above the notebook, a magic formation just like the one below, no, a simr one with some of the markings missing, shone with a poisonous looking red light.

    As if the back of the hand was imprinted with the brand of the magic circle.

    But rather than that bizarre phenomenon-

    "u, ah, gyaaaaaaaaa!"

    I raised a scream unable to bear the sudden sharp pain that engulfed my whole body.

    Ow! ow ow it hurts it hurts dammit- even in my head, it''s only screams. A fearsome pain, the first of its kind I''ve felt in my whole life. As if I was captured by some evil organization and subjected to torture, it was an unforgiving, horrible suffering.

    Ah, I''m done, I''ll die.

    As I had that feeling, my surroundings once again experienced a ckout. Like the lights going out at the flick of a switch, my consciousness was lost.

    I hear a voice.

    "???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????"

    Ah, pardon me, can you repeat that in Japanese? My English is severelycking.

    "????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???"

    I see, I see, Can you Kan nut speek Japaniz¡­ No, wait a sec. Who cares about thenguage barrier.

    I''m still alive.

    "-ha!?"

    Just as I realize this, I jumped straight up, and shot my eyelids open.

    I''m conscious, my body moves, I can see too. I''m not dead yet-

    "Yeah no¡­ I am dead¡­"

    This must be the ce known poprly as Hell. I can''t help but think that.

    What reflects in my eyes, is the same pitch darkness I watched as I fell from the ssroom just now. I can''t even tell if I''m standing or floating in zero gravity.

    Well, the location doesn''t really matter right now. Certainly, it''s not the bottommost priority, but a more important existence is standing in front of me. Right, in, front of me.

    "??? ?????"

    Yes, the person in who''s been speaking to me for the past while in English or who knows whatnguage ¨C was a Grim ReaperShinigami

    If you see a skeleton in ck, what else can you think? From under the deep hood, a skull with not a shred of meat or skin peeks out. In the depths of those abyssal eye sockets shine an ominous crimson light.

    He''s around a head taller than me. That in and of itself is a normal height, but regrettably, in front of a talking skull, I can''t really fall back onmon sense.[1]

    "E-ek¡­ Excuse me¡­"

    Please just spare my life, will something like that get through? Like, this is Hell, and the Reaper is speaking some strangenguage. But, I have to at least say it.

    "Pleas- Fugya!?"

    I couldn''t even plead for my life.

    The Reaper''s hand suddenly gripped onto my head. I feel the surprisingly cold, hard texture of the bony palm. Is he gonna tear out my spine now?

    "??? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???"

    My head wasn''t plucked off. Instead, the finger was jammed in. Right into my brain.

    Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

    Still grabbing my head, the Reaper''s index finger pierces in. Of course, I can''t see what''s happening on top of my head. I can''t see, but I can tell.

    That right now, the sharp pointed tip of the finger is vigorously stabbing into my brain. I am made to clearly experience the disgusting feeling of having a fingertip on the inside of my cranium messing with my brain.

    I let out a scream as soon as I felt that but- the real pain came a moment after.

    "Ngii-"

    I withstood the severe pain menacing my brain for perhaps a minute or maybe 10. Or maybe itsted no more than 10 seconds.

    "wha-!?"

    I''d fallen unconscious. I noticed it as I was screaming till my throat felt broken, at which point I saw the Reaper take out his finger from my head.

    "Name thyself, devotee."

    I hear the Reaper''s voice. Now that I hear it again, it''s still a mysterious tone. Like a man, or a woman. Like someone aged, or in their infancy. I can''t tell at all.

    Well fine, more importantly¡­ it''s about understanding what he''s saying. And about that, I''m just hearing in Japanese.

    "Make haste, thy name."

    "M-momokawa¡­ Kotarou."

    I somehow answer. If I don''t, I might really die this time. Or maybe, it''ll be two fingers next.

    "Momokawa Kotarou, as for now, thou hast but two things to recall."

    Ha? I mutter dumbly, but still concentrate fully on the Reaper''s words. If I went and said "Say what now?", he''ll probably kill me right there. Or maybe even three fingers.

    We are called "Curse God Ruinhilde" and thine "Vocation"tenshoku is-

    What was that? I really wanted to ask. With a strangely long Western style name, he''s saying something about an upationtenshoku or job changetenshoku or whatever. I''m still a student you know.[2]

    But in reality, I only let out a listless "huh."

    "-Shaman."

    As he thus dered, my heart is pierced. Along with the student handbook in my uniform''sgakuran breast pocket, the bonyhand thrust into and deeply gouged into the left side of my chest.

    "We have thus established the contract. Now, Momokawa Kotarou. We greatly anticipate thine following encounter with us."

    With those words reaching my ears, I''d already fallen-

    A "Vocation" would be job granted to man from the heavens. As in, literally, God personally chooses an upation perfect for the person and gives it to them.

    The students of Shiramine Academy ss 2-7 will all be granted vocations by battle oriented Gods, apparently. If you can''t fight, you''ll simply die, there''s no other choice.

    Indeed, this granting of a vocation directly implies the attribution of the God''s divine protection, in other words, the ability to wield special skills.

    For example, if you get the vocation of "Warrior", you can use hand-held weapons to deal mighty blows. As for a "Fire Mage", you can use magic tounch scorching balls of me.

    However, one must not get arrogant with this power. A beginner who just acquired a vocation, cannot unleash much. By repeatedly using this power, or perhaps by oveing special conditions or trials set by God, the abilities from the vocation will grow strong.

    Meaning, the students who just received God''s protection, must give top priority to honing their vocation, fighting monsters, growing their skills, is the only and best way to survive.

    "¡­Aha, I see now."

    In the hands of my talking-to-himself self, is one of the notebooks. On the page where the magic circle was hand-drawn in ck ballpen ink, these sentences were being disyed with a light not unlike that of a PC monitor.

    So like the man had said, the "magic that sends information like texting" seems to be working.

    What is being disyed, is information on vocations. But the text only showed up on the page with the magic circle. You can''t scroll the surface, and it doesn''t seem like it will be updated, it can probably only do that one page. Rather than a phone, it''s like some shitty pager.

    "Shamanism granted by Curse God Ruinhilde¡­huh."

    I woke back up in the forest just 5 minutes ago. I''d seen this horrible nightmare just now, but the magic on the notebook activated and I got a nice distraction.

    And as I read through the information, I began to better understand the nightmare.

    That was basically, a ritual performed by God for granting the vocation. It''s a God of curse, I can understand him being a skeleton, and doing those painful things, or rather, things that would literally end you if done in real life, is something I don''t really agree with, but I get that it''s that sort of thing.

    "Right, first I gotta see how these shaman powers work."

    Luckily, or I should say, already, there''s a feeling of change having urred in my body. I''m already under the influence of the vocation.

    Meprehending thenguage of this other world is the foremost proof of that.

    That Grim Reaper aka Curse God Ruinhilde''s words started to make sense right after he was done messing with my brain. I think that it was some kind of trantion magic directly engraved into me.

    And the decisive proof of that were the words I was reading on the notebook just now. That was actually not in Japanese, but in an alphabet I''ve never seen before. Despite that, I was able to smoothly go on reading it with no trouble at all.

    Yet to be known memories and knowledge have been engraved into my mind. Knowing something I''m not supposed to know gives me quite the creepy feeling, but no choice but to rely on it at this point.

    I look through the newly input memories. As I focus my consciousness on that¡­ Sure enough, I see it.

    "This is¡­ an incantation."

    "Coming to mind, is a short phrase. This is a magic- no, as I am a shaman, this should be called "Curse"jujutsu I guess. In any case, I get that this phrase is the necessary aria to activate the curse.[3]

    Welp, here goes nothin''.

    "Plunge into permanent swelter, and curse the body ¨C "Red Fever""

    Bam! I thrust out my right hand in an "I''mmashoot" kind of pose. But, it was pointless. As this is the kind of attack that only works with a target on hand.

    Well, more importantly, I should consider the effectiveness of this curse of "Red Fever".

    "Red Fever": gives the target a slight fever.

    That was all the information about that avable in my mind.

    "Wha¡­ What the¡­"

    Slight fever? You mean the slight fever that makes your body heat up to around 37.5 degrees?99.5 in Fahrenheit

    And with that slight fevered condition, you can defeat monsters?

    "Yeah right!?"

    I just had to do that self-retort. What is this, this needlessly subtle effect. It''s not even a matter of strong or weak is it?

    No well, I didn''t have the image of some shy attack magic user when I heard about being a shaman. But c''mon, you can be just a bit generous and make it poison or something?

    "Slight fever¡­ my ass¡­"

    If the target gets heated up during the fight anyway, doesn''t getting them slightly feverish seem pretty useless?

    "No, wait, calm down, this must be one of those things that multiply in effect over multiple turns."

    I''ll unleash the full potential of my gamer brain and RPG knowledge, and definitely figure out a usage for this power.

    That being said, the result is¡­

    "Red Fever": gives the target a slight fever.

    No other infoes out.

    I can''t see this slight fever as anything other than giving slight cold symptoms, making the body slightly hot and tired. It''s certainly not one-hit-KO immediate effect type attack that takes down monsters. And of course, it doesn''t seem to increase the effect per turn, or rather, as time passes.

    "P-probably can''t hold them off either¡­"

    Bad, unreasonably bad. I really rolled a trash skill there.

    "Excuse me God, can you point me to the reset button? Please let me do the skill selection again, c''mon¡­"

    "C-calm down! there''s still hope, there''s, two more¡­ curses left!"

    This was also in the notebook info pack, no matter the vocation you attain, at novice level, you receive 3 skills with it. No more, no less, exactly 3. It seems there''re individual differences that determining what skills you are awarded though. I wonder if there are any special Rare Skills included in there. That much, the info didn''t say.

    Anyway, I still possess 2 more shaman skills aka curses.

    Let''s think like this: if the first one was super trashy, the other two must be super amazing skills. Everything''s about bnce. After all, since God is allocating these skills, it must be godly bnced.

    "I begeth you, Ruinhilde-sama! Please giveth me some cheateth curses!"

    And so I looked up the second curse.

    "Pain Return": Return any damage done to self back, as is, to the attacker.

    W-wow! This one''s totally some invincible reflection skill! No matter the dastardly beast, any wound to me will be a wound back to itself.

    The moment I''m dead, they''re dead too?!

    "No, what the hell¡­ Dead, in the end, I''m, just dead¡­"

    The description in my mind clearly reads "damage done to self". Meaning, as long as I''m not at 0 HP, it''ll dish it back with the same force.

    For example, if I get ttened under the feet of some Indian elephant like monster, I''ll be pancake. And right after, the Indian Elephant monster will also suffer pressure death.

    Indeed, it has the ability to beat any opponent, but having to trade your own life for it is a no go. It''s basically a single usage thing.

    The ones satisfied with this kind of effect would be either, people out for revenge with no regards to their life, or some 1-man-1-life creed believing terrorist. I''m just some high schooler, and I really care for my life.[4]

    "Uwa¡­ it''s getting worse and worse¡­"

    I reflexively held my head and squatted down right there. Goddamit, got a bit of sand in my eyes¡­

    "I beg you God¡­ please, pleeease let thest one be¡­"

    I hold a desperate prayer, hoping for thisst one. If this one''s also a 0 offense¡­

    "Intuition Pharmacy": Effects of ingredients are known, somehow.

    "AaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

    Forget curse, this is just an appraisal skill! Not even a single, itty bitty bit of attack power in this. No attack, no defense, not even useful for evasion.

    In the first ce, with only some paper, pens, and a jersey, I have no ingredients at all to use to make medicine. And with nothing to appraise, the skill ispletely useless.

    At this point, it''s an even trashier skill than "Red Fever".

    "Ha, haha¡­ No way¡­ I must have some hidden 4th curse¡­"

    No way there''s anything that convenient. I know myself best. God wouldn''t give me something like a cheat skill. Weell, if I was still in middle school, I might have believed in some hidden power.

    Well, once you''ve met with one of those "chosen people", you get it. That yeah, you''re not anyone special at all. I experienced this just the other day right?

    I can''t rely on God''s blessing. Miracles won''t happen either- In short, I gotta open the path I walk on with my own strength. As a person, it''s only natural.

    But, if there''s none of that strength to begin with¡­

    "Uu, it''s the worst¡­ Impossible, like¡­ what is this, this skill selection, worst.game.everkusoge"

    Whining pathetically like this, I lean back towards the towering, wide tree behind me as if copsing.

    Of course, being depressed like this isn''t going to cause a change in these powers, andining like this won''t help me find some game-like reset button and y from the start again.

    Doesn''t matter if I''m in afantasy world with magic, reality is just that, reality.

    "Ah¡­ seriously, I''m stumped¡­"

    Before something bad happens, should Imit suicide- No, dying is still way too scary, I can''t. No matter what happens I didn¡¯t have the guts to kill myself.

    Ah, but, I wonder if I can die painlessly if I eat these deadly looking poisonous red mushrooms growing down here.

    I must be gazing at these red mushrooms growing at the base of this tree with empty, dead eyes.

    If I eat this fly agaric-like poisonously-crimson with white polka dots mushroom, I can really die in a single- No, wrong. Eating this poison shroom will make you suffer in burning pain for a while, and put you on the brink of life and death.

    "¡­Ah."

    Right now, I was strangely able to imagine what would happen if I eat this red mushroom in asuper realistic way.

    "I see, so this is Intuition Pharmacy."

    This image inside my head isn''t just my delusions, I have the utmost confidence in it. It''s as if I have experienced eating this mushroom once before.

    Seeing the effect of Intuition Pharmacy, suddenly roused my interest. I immediately got myself up and began carefully observing the mushroom.

    I plucked out the red poison mushroom and looked at it closely. I knew by intuition that it''s fine to touch bare-handed.

    Right, as I thought, it looks surprisingly simr to the fly agaric I saw a picture of as a kid. But that simrity ends at the round umbre like part, the trunk, no, for mushrooms, was it called the stalk? Anyway, the stalk has a red striped pattern, so it must be different.

    This mushroom¡­ probably works on monsters too.

    Its effect shouldn''t be limited to only humans. If eaten, almost anything should suffer a high fever.

    "Might, just work."

    As I stowed the shroom into my bag with this realization, I let out words of hope.

    "Red Fever", "Pain Return", "Intuition Pharmacy", the 3 curses can''t be used in battle by themselves.

    But, if ingredients can be made into poisons or medicine, suddenly, my choices of action increase dramatically.

    If wounded, I could treat it with herbs. With powerful poisons, I could maybe utilize them in defeating monsters. If it doesn''t kill them, it should still give me the time to escape.

    "Great, let''s do this¡­ it''ll be alright, somehow, someway."

    I''ll definitely work something out. The reason? I still haven''t the tiniest desire to die.

 Chapter 3: Monster

    Chapter 3: Monster

    Awesome! Found herbs!

    In great spirits, I collect some of the green, dandelion-leaf like, jagged grass growing at my feet. They didn''t have flowers, and at a nce, seemed just like some ordinary weeds.

    "Slight hemostatic effect huh¡­ No, it''s certainly better than nothing."

    Speaking of herbs, there''re ones you use raw, those you need to process and extract the essence from to get medical usage, and various other types.

    Since Ick the knowledge, technique and equipment topound and process medicine, I''m opting to collect the ones like these that can be used as is.

    As for this herb¡­ let''s call it Non-delionfake dandelion, to use it, you apparently need to grind it into paste. I really want a pestle and mortar right about now, butining isn''t going to help anyone. I just have to make do with the tools at hand.

    Currently, the most promising item among my belongings is: the boxcutter. Thatmon yellow one with the thicker ck bottom part. To be honest, this thing inside my pencil case was a pain to carry, but now it''s be a, primarily herb collection, and in case of emergencies, weaponizable ace of stationary.

    Furthermore, the recement des (x10) sleeping deep in my bag, make for a reassuring extra supply.

    However, the cutter''s de dulls before I know it. I need to use it as sparingly as possible. So I need to cut just till I can tear it off by hand.

    "Right, this much should do."

    Taking the umted bundle of these leaves in my hand, I store them into my bag in a practiced motion. Inside, there''re only the red poisonous mushrooms, aka Red Shrooms, I''d first collected, so there''s lots of room.

    "Hm, next I¡­ yup, I should follow this animal trail."

    Me being this sure about the path wasn''t something like my sense of direction being on par with that of migratory birds or something. In my hands I hold a magicpass. Technically speaking, it''s thepass feature.

    The magic circle on the notebook wasn''t only good for texting, but had this feature to show the correct path via an arrow. From the inside of the circle, arge white arrow of light projects out.

    Thispass function, and above all, the ce where this arrow is pointing towards, was exined just a while ago in an updated message.

    ording to that, we''re in this woond located far from human habitat and are supposed to head for these ancient ruins, the so-called ¡®dungeon''.

    ording to the n, the students were supposed to awaken at this dungeon. Unfortunately, I woke up here in the forest, most likely, because I''d gone and did some sky diving, which slightly misaligned thending destination.

    In retrospect, that man had said "On my signal, leap out" so, though it''s an ident, I''d ignored the signal, so I couldn''t help but be left in my present predicament.

    More like, jumping out at the wrong timing in this warp-like phenomenon, there''s some stories where you have no idea where you''d end up, or maybe meet your end swallowed up by a spatio-temporal whirlpool or something, that it was only slightly misaligned must be some tremendous luck at work. On the other hand, I may have used up all my luck with that.

    Anywho, so about this dungeon I''m headed to.

    It is one that spreads deep underground like the inside of an ant hill. It seems that deep inside, there''re devices called ¡®Transfer Gates'' that instantly teleports you to a different ce. Though the principle behind it wasn¡¯t exined, I get what they''re trying to mean.[1]

    Meaning, we need to use these ¡®Transfer Gates'' to escape.

    The exnation states that the teleport destination is a country that''s working to aid us.

    It is the ¡®Astria Kingdom''. More specifically, it exins that we''d arrive at a temple in the royal capital, but there wasn''t any more details. Only the phrase, "We are a human nation, and we are ready to ept and protect other worlders like yourselves." was sent to reassure us.

    Right now, there''s no other choice than to believe in those words. Even if I do doubt it, it won''t change the reality that I was thrown into this forest, and I really don''t think there''s any helping from Japan.

    So I need to bury down my anxiety and just keep moving.

    "Huff¡­ huff¡­ T-this is tiring.."

    Pathetic as it seems however, just keep moving wasn''t something my poor physical specs could hope to achieve.

    How long has it been since I picked up those Non-delion, and started walking? I don''t think it''s been over an hour, but being this out of breath just shows how rough the terrain is.

    The animal trail I''m walking on was more or less cleaned up of any twigs and vegetation. But not only is the ground very uneven, but the uprooted giant trees standing in the way like a wall cave to be climbed over too. It really drains stamina.

    "I-I''ll take a break"

    I had no choice but to make that decision. And as if on cue, my stomach started grumbling. Now that I notice, the sense of hunger pangs at me. It''s a bit early, but let''s have lunch.

    I stowed the magic notebook into my bag, and in exchange, took out my lunchboxbentou.

    But, just as I open the lid of the ck stic lunchbox which my mother had probably filled with way too muchst night.

    I happen upon the thought, <i>is it really alright to chow down on everyst bit like always?</i>

    The danger imposed from the possibility of monster attacks can be somewhat taken care of with the use of this other world''s mysterious power called the vocation. But nextes, <i>without the necessary equipment, or expertise, can I, a normal student, really survive this harsh survival lifestyle?</i>

    Food, water, shelter, warmth etc. even an amateur like me can thing of many factors of anxiety. Even though it''s a forest, I don''t know if there''s anything human edible here. And even if there were, I probably wouldn''t be able to get a hold of them either.

    Therefore, myst lifeline of food would be these helpings of rice and side-dishes distributed half-half inside this lunchbox. And the rest, would be this half finished 500ml stic bottlePET bottle filled with an energy drink.

    I''m worried about food, but water looks to be a problem too. Moving forward at this pace, it''ll be gone all too fast. I have to get a refill somewhere, or else it''s a one-way ticket to dehydration hell.

    "L-let''s hold off for now¡­"

    I worried about the future, and made to close the lid on the lunchbox on myp-

    The bushes in front of me moved with a rustle. And just as I noticed it,

    "¡­eh?"

    A steel-like dull gray bear appeared.

    Stout and heavy log-like arms, the ends of which are garnered in long, sharp nails akin to knives. With these arms, which are practically weapons incarnate, on the ground, the beast walking on four legs, could certainly be called a bear at first nce.

    However, though it''s silhouette may resemble a bear, it''srge frame was covered in a shell like that of a crab, which jutted out like thorns in ces and shone with a metallic luster.

    I imagine it''d reach 3 meters if it stood up tall. The great bear looked like it was armored in some steel shell. It''s fearsome appearance was far from what''d be considered a wild animal, even humans would instinctively end up thinking, <i>I can''t beat this.</i>

    It finally hit me. This beast in front of me has to be one of the entities known as ¡®Monsters''.

    "Hii¡­Aa¡­"

    My small body waspletely shaking with fear. The result: the lunchbox on myp fell over.

    The pre-cooked foods, deep fried sausage, chopped burdock, and lightly seasoned white rice. The precious food, mmed itself into the ground.

    At that moment, the bear raised its snout and made a move.

    Those shining red eyes were focused not on me, but on the contents of the lunchbox.

    Right there is rich tasting food that would never exist in nature. The fragrance from which must have greatly provoked the monster''s appetite. The bear was enthralled and thrust its snout into the fascinating food.

    Now¡­ I have to run right now!

    I haven¡¯tpletely be its target yet. Firmly believing which, I slowly move my trembling legs. Still facing forward, one step at a time, but certainly, I was moving farther from the monster indulging itself in sausages.

    It''s alright, the bear wants my lunch. I can get away now, I''ll be able to get away now, please let get away!

    Having started strongly praying to God, as if I''ve be unnaturally devout in the moment of crisis, I withdraw from the bear''s luncheoning in baby steps.

    My heart was pounding so hard it hurt, and though my body was supposed to be hot, my muscles felt like they were frozen over. Fear causing my head to boil over, I had no idea about anything anymore. In that manner, as if reality was somewhere far away, I continued my retreat in light footsteps.

    Now that I think of it, I did well not to fall down walking backwards in that state. After getting 10 odd meters away, I finally turned and continued swiftly on the animal trail I''ve been on till now.

    And pretty soon, the bear became hidden behind a giant tree and disappeared from sight.

    "Huff¡­huf, huff¡­ made it th- rough!?"

    I breathed a hot sigh of relief when. I sensed very strongly from the Intuition Pharmacy- no, not that, from my own instinct. A gaze. With a monstrous presence, something''s, gaze.

    Fearfully, I look back.

    From the great tree''s shadow, that monster, it was watching me.

    "A¡­ Aa¡­ Uaa¡­"

    It''sing for me.

    I, having only just arrived at this other world, have no clue about the behaviour of monster, but I still understand. That bear, it''s set me as the next prey.

    I don''t know if it''s being warry, trying to intimidate, or just ying with me but, fortunately it''s not making straight dash towards me. But in return, it''s keeping its distance, from me who''s slowly trying to get away, not getting closer or farther, just following.

    If I''m remembering this right, I''ve heard real bears follow mountaineers just like this. It''s all fine now, but not long from now, it''s gonna realize that I''m easy prey, and attack.

    I can''t imagine out-running it. That monster looks like it''s got a stiff, thick shell, but I doubt it''s slower than humans.

    Even if, it had the vitesse of an Earth bear, it''s still impossible to get away on human legs. I heard that bears can go upto 50 kilometers31 miles / hour. They can cross 100 meters109 yards in around 7 seconds. The human limit being 9 seconds. There''s nopetition.

    Escape impossible. Rescue- Ah, oh yeah, my ssmates all started at the dungeon. Meaning, even if they searched, there''s not a chance they''d look in the forest.

    Only one choice left. This monster- let''s call it the Armor Bear, I need to defeat it.[2]

    "No, impossible¡­ like, no way, in any way¡­"

    In my hands is a single, tiny little boxcutter. Even if I was equipped with a shotgun, I couldn''t take on that thing.

    Considering my vocation, Shaman''s powers ¨C ¡®Pain Return'' can definitely kill the Armor Bear, but that''ll be the end of me too. Yeah, that one¡¯s out.

    Even with the much hopeful Intuition Pharmacy¡­there''s only so much you can do, even with the Red Shroom. This''ll only be effective when ingested orally. Should I go for an all-or-nothing bet and throw them at the Armor Bear''srge mouth? The chance of sess is abhorrently low.

    "Fuck, fuckking hell¡­ why''s it gotta be this impossible¡­"

    The more I think about, the more the chances seem to diminish.

    And, mercilessly, time does not wait for me. How long will it take till the time limit to hits and the Armor Bear makes at me.

    "No, Don''t¡­ I don''t wanna¡­ don''t wanna die"

    The idea I came up with after using up every bit of my grey matter, was only a way to buy some time.

    Still walking, I unzip my bag and take out the jersey from inside. This one first.

    "C''mon¡­please work!!"

    Betting on this one hope, I gently release the jersey over the ground. And after advancing for a dozen or so meters, I peek behind.

    "N-nice¡­"

    There I see, putting its snout into my jersey and sniffing at it, the Armor Bear''s figure.

    When being chased by a wild bear, I''ve heard it''s favourable to discard your belongings one at a time to distract the animal. Though it''s merely a stop gap measure, and not an actual solution to the problem.

    My rejoice was but short-lived. As if determining the item as not-food, the Armor Bear used it''s sharp ws to tear apart my dark-blue school issued jersey, and resumed the pursuit.[3]

    I bought about 1 minute of time¡­ ah, yup it''s done, that was aplete fail.

    "-Uwa!?"

    Right then, I tripped on something and performed a grand fall. I fell head first into a bush almost my size, and made an annoyingly loud rustling noise. That being said, the thicket did break my fall, so there wasn''t much impact.

    "U, kuu¡­"

    With a pathetic groan, I unsteadily stand back up.

    Despairing from the fear from the Armor Bear, I foolishly neglected to watch my step. I wonder if it''s some tree root- as I was about to make sure, my breath caught.

    "No w,ay¡­ dead¡­"

    Right there, in a familiar uniformgakurany a ssmate of mine.

    My path had just now strayed a bit from the animal trail, and I tripped and fell because of this. Besides that point, the problem was that he doesn''t look anything but dead.

    He''d fallen face up and by his side was his bag and¡­ as if he was just about to use the magic, a notebook with the magic circle pageid there open.

    He''s Takashima¡­ Ah, I don''t know the first name. I used to know all my ssmates'' names up till my middle school days, but since high school, I couldn''t be bothered. I knew his face and surname, and never really had a conversation.

    Still, he was in the same ss 2-7 as me.

    With the fallen Takashima-kun in front of me, forget first-aid and CPR, I didn''t even do a pulse check.

    I mean after all, his face ispletely stuck dead stiff in an anguished expression. Eyes gaping open with traces of blood flowing out. In addition, mouth, nose and ears also had simr traces of blood.

    It''s not hard to tell he''d bled out from every known orifice on his head. And now the blood was in the process of hardening and bing dark clumps.

    Takashima-kun is dead, no doubt about that.

    "W-hy¡­"

    Why did he die, how did he die- I had no clue which one I wanted to know.

    But in front of this corpse that suddenly appeared before me, I couldn''t help but imagine it. That soon, I''d be like that too.

    "C-calm down¡­ rx¡­ think, a way to not die¡­ I can still survive!"

    If I panic here, it''s all over. Crying and begging won''t do a thing, the Armor Bear will just follow its instincts and devour me.

    Just, just a little more, there''s still a little more time. I''ll struggle and find a way to survive till the very bitter end.

    I''m not hot-headed, nor am I a sore loser. And though I''ve lived with my fair share ofpromises, I won''t just give up on my own life!

    "- Oh yeah, the lunch."

    With a jump, I moved my body, and reached for Takashima-kun''s bag.

    <i>Please God, it''s the n I thought up really hard. Please, I beg you-</i>

    "Found it!"

    Transparent tupperware in a stic bag. That was Takashima-kun''s lunchbox.

    He was a big guy, I recall, a member of the baseball club and an athletic young man. His was not a normal lunchbox, but thisrge sized tupperware with food stuffed in, matching his build.

    Half white rice with dried plums, and another half Salisbury steakhambaagu sauced with demi-ce and rolled omelettetamagoyaki. Finally, a bit of red leaf lettucesunny lettuce and baby tomatoes ced as if an afterthought.

    "It''ll work, this can work!"

    I made a silent thanks to Takashima-kun, or rather, his mom who made this lunch, and opened the lid.

    In the same motion, I unzipped my bag at top speed, and evacuating everything inside, took up the desired item.

    Of course, that is, the Red Shroom. Presently, it is the only thing that can deal damage to the Armor Bear, this poison item.

    "Three in all¡­ No, with this size, one could be the limit¡­"

    The Red Shroom is around 10-ish centimeters~4 inches simr to the boxcutter. I thought about it for a couple seconds, and decided to use one and half of them.

    Like when making stewnabe I cut them length-wise. For now, I put the julienned Red Shrooms, on the steak.

    Next, I grab the rice. Yup, there''s quite a bit. I can''t hold it all in my hand, some of it falls on the ground. Well, it''s fine, I don''t have to be elegant here.

    That''s right, I''m about to make riceballs.onigiri Seasoned in Red Shrooms, poison riceballs.

    Since the Red Shroom should work on the Armor Bear, it wouldn''t attempt to eat it. It''ll probably use smell or something to avoid it.

    Thus, the n is to mix them with the richly grant sauce and steak, and furthermore, use a white rice coating to give it an inconspicuous visual camouge.

    No idea if it''ll work. But, at this point, I have nothing else but to bet on this n.

    It''s probably been less than three minutes. Just then, the bushes behind me shook with a rustle.

    "-!?"

    It was no illusion, therge mass of gray had once again, slowly appeared before me. With great force, my body once again goes into a shiver.

    Simr to when I dropped my lunch box a little while ago, this time, the riceball in my hand fell on the ground.

    But that''s fine. This poison mushroom riceball is alreadyplete. I''d suddenly dropped it, but the n was to run anyway. In fact, doing it naturally like this would likely invite less suspicion too.

    Now, the game begins.

    "C''mon¡­"

    With a small mutter, I tightly shoulder my bag and move my legs. Facing the Armor Bear, I slowly retreat. Like before, so as not to aggravate it, and certainly not showing my back and dashing off.

    The Armor Bear, just like with my own lunch, started sniffing out the riceball and the overturned tupperware beside it.

    Its long red tongue licks the sauce sticking to the tupperware. <i>Dumbass, not that, can''t see the better looking main dish other there?</i>

    "Eat it¡­ eat iiit¡­"

    And, <i>GoaAAA!</i> the Armor Bear raised a grizzly roar. Large fangs the size of human fingers are revealed inside the mouth.

    "Uwa, I''m sorry!"

    I''d loudly apologized by reflex but, just then, the Armor Bear''d eaten it in a single bite.

    The riceball. Mixed with Red Shrooms, the poisonous riceball!

    As I rejoiced, the Armor Bear made a gulping noise and swallowed.

    And, as if not having had enough, it turned its sharp eyes at me, and slowly started closing in.

    "Eh, huh, did it not¡­work¡­?"

    There''s no change in the Armor Bear. With it''s usual snort, it again took a step with its four thick, stout legs.

    <i>Y-you mean, the Red Shroom isn''t immediate effect!?</i>

    It''s not really impossible if I think about it. In thrillers, you often find scenes where they die in pain right as the poison touches their mouth, but there''s no guarantee all poisons will work like that. Dyed effect, as in, taking effect after a few days, or a few weeks, that pattern is entirely possible.

    Rather than weeks, if that Red Shroom doesn''t work in the next few minutes, <i>I</i> won''t be working either, because of that still unsatisfied bear.

    Ah, damn it all, my head so full of just getting it to eat the thing, I hadn''t considered the acuteness of the poison at all. Even the Intuition Pharmacy is just a <i>"Somehow known"</i> thing, it doesn''t provide that much info.

    "I,I''m done for¡­"

    I was about to give up. But then, the Armor Bear''s legs stopped abruptly.

    <i>GAA!</i> it raises a sharp roar, and stood up on 2 legs and- then fell over right there.

    It also started struggling with ragged breath.

    "I-it worked! It fucking worked!"

    The poison taking a toll on its body was obvious from the sight.

    The Armor Bear''s writhing became increasingly fierce. Every time that mouth bears its fangs in pained groans, endless amounts of drool is scattered. The recklessly iling arms dig into the muddy ground, and leave w marks on the tree trunks.

    However, its instinct for desiring prey yet remained, and it brought its eyes towards me. As if by its animalistic tenacity, the staggering Armor Bear used its four legs, and took a step.

    Right now, I could turn around and get the hell out of here, but no, in the second step, it''ll catch me. I can still feel at least that much vigor from the Armor Bear.

    "Shit, not enough damage! I don''t have-"

    No, I do. If the Armor Bear''s feeling the scorching poison of the Red Shroom, and suffering from a rapidly rising fever, a way to worsen that condition is something I possess!

    "Plunge into permanent swelter, and curse the body ¨C "Red Fever"!"

    The spell I shout out is the first Curse "Red Fever".

    This curse that instigates slight fever probably doesn''t have much effect on those withrge bodies. But casting it on this guy who''ll go beyond the limit in a couple more degrees, may just push it over the deadlhreshold.

    Yet, the Armor Bear moves. A step. Distance to me: 3 meters.

    "Plunge into permanent swelter, and curse the body ¨C "Red Fever"!"

    Die.

    Another step. Distance: 2 meters.

    "Plunge into, permanent swelter, and curse the body ¨C "Red Fever"!"

    Please die.

    Yet another step. 1 meter.

    Plunge, into permanent, swelter! and curse the body?!"

    Just die please.

    The Armor Bear''s steel arms, rise.

    "RED FEVEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!"

    As a great impact forcefully brings down my body, I shout the Curse. The paw with shining nails was brought down.

    -Gaha!?

    Before I noticed, my eyes were seeing brown earth. I perhaps fell, or maybe tripped. No, more importantly- it''s hot.

    "A-ahh¡­"

    Belly, feels hot. Like burning¡­ But it felt wet when I touched.

    My right hand is dyed in blood. Ah, this is, my blood.

    The Armor Bears blow had struck. It''s knife-like sharp nails had torn at my abdomen.

    That implied, it must''ve activated. The second Curse, "Pain Return".

    "Ha, haha¡­ I did it¡­"

    Raising my line of sight a bit, there,y on its back, was the Armor Bear, not moving an inch.

    On the smooth abdomen of its dull gray shell, were 4 rough lines etched on, from the insides of which poured out copious amounts of blood.

    Under unbearable temperatures, and having its belly shredded, finally, the armored monster died.

    I finally did it. I beat it- Just as I realized that fact, as if break time was over, reality struck.

    "A, AaAA¡­UAaAAAAA!"

    Scorching pain running through the abdomen. And the image of life itself materializing and flowing out as blood. Right now, the reality of death wasing for me.

    "L-like hell, I''ll die¡­ here¡­ No way, I''m dying¡­"

    <i>One more. Just one more time, work with me. Move, c''mon, MOVE, body!</i>

    With my all it moved, my bloody right hand. I reach desperately.

    It''s destination, my bag fallen right beside me. Fully opening it, I see the Red Shroom and- the bunch of Non-delions.

    Non-delions, these have the hemostatic effect. I need to use them, here, now. I have to bet on that effect!

    Grabbing a hold of the jagged leaves with my blood soaked hand, I somehow¡­ some miraculous way, willed myself into lying face up.

    As I properly look at the wound¡­ Aa, I shouldn''t have looked. It''s so red everywhere, I have no idea what I''m seeing.

    But I mustn¡¯t look away. With a shaky left hand, I undo the golden button of my uniform. Then, unbuttoning only the belly part of the dress shirt underneath, I forcefully raise the t-shirt under that.

    Uwa, this is terrible¡­ No, well, it''s not like my guts are falling out, so it might be not too deep a wound. But still, if I leave this profuse bleeding alone, I''ll definitely die.

    "C''mon work¡­ please just work¡­"

    No wait, will just putting the leaves on there really work? Fuck, should''ve mashed it earlier- No, I can still make it.

    "U, uu¡­ Uu Eehh, so bitter¡­"

    The Non-delion leaves I''d put in my mouth, tasted just like the dandelion leaves I once put in my mouth as a stupid kid. Bitter. Not edible at all, in fact, it''s not even food.

    Even so, wanting to raise the effect even a little bit, I bore the shitty leaf vor and mashed them in my mouth, making it into a paste I can apply directly.

    I had doubts whether this would really be more effective, but Intuition Pharmacy assured me that <i>"This is fine"</i>. Didn''t think much of it when I discovered it, but this could''ve been a giftservice from Curse God Ruinhilde-sama.

    "I-if I die now¡­ I''ll curse¡­even God¡­"

    And with the bitterness in my mouth, and the pain in my stomach, I got really sleepy¡­ <i>Ah, so tired¡­ can''tst, any¡­</i>

 Chapter 4: Betrayal

    Chapter 4: Betrayal

    "-Life is great"

    I escaped the crisis of a lifetime.

    No idea how long I was out. However, seeing as the Armor Bear''s corpse was still lying there, and as wild animals or other monsters haven¡¯t appeared sniffing out the blood, I think it''s safe to say it hasn''t been that long since I lost consciousness.

    The wound on my belly, for now the bleeding has stopped. My abdomen was ck from all of the dried blood I had shed, but I could feel scabs from 4rge strokes. Seeing such big scabs on my own flesh really makes me shudder.

    I remember hearing that bear nails are pretty bacteria infested, and rather than the flesh wound, the diseases they cause makes it especially nasty. It can''t possibly be that my own saliva, that I''d used when doing the mouth mashing, actually worked as a perfect disinfectant and anti-bacterial¡­ No, no use worrying now. I''ll be ok, let''s just pray.

    "Uu¡­a bit unsteady¡­"

    Now then, I can''t bask in the joy of achievement forever. It''s too dangerous to stop here. Forget Armor Bears, even if it''s just some carnivorous animal, right now, I''mpletely helpless.

    But which way to go. No, I know the direction with thepass function, rather, how long till I get to that dungeon-

    "O-oh yeah, the dungeon!"

    There''s the body of a ssmate, i.e. Takashima-kun, here, implying, isn''t this the dungeon''s starting point? If it is, my hypothesis would be correct.

    Though, every direction looks like the same forest scenery-

    "-there!"

    Looking around a bit better, I notice a stone shrine just over there. The mossy surface covered in vines mixed well with the green of the forest and, though it was hard to notice, but once you do, it''s impossible not to.

    Standing at 4 meters13ft tall, the oblong structure strongly asserted itself as something artificially built in the deep forest. This has to be the entrance to the dungeon.

    Even so, not noticing something like this, I must''ve been extremely preupied till just now. But I feel like I showed quite the quick-wittedness and swift action somehow defeating the Armor Bear.

    Ooh, maybe I''m the type who''s a straight up genius if I just make an effort?

    I happily praised myself while heading to the dungeon shrine when-

    "-Oh man, The outside''s really a friggin'' forest."

    A familiar voice, I heard it. That was undoubtedly emitted from inside the shrine¡­ Meaning, one of my ssmates was about to appear.

    "Heey! Anyone there!"

    I don''t care who. Having been here where there''s <i>that</i> kind of monster lurking around, being able to meet an actual human being, there''s no greater relief.

    For now, let''s be d I can join up with a ssmate.

    "Ah? Momokawa? What, so you''re still alive."

    From the other side of the dimmed shrine appeared, with brown hair and piercings, the ss punk. Higuchi Kyouya.

    "Eh, Momokawa-kun''s there? wow, he is!"

    Appearing next, the blond twintail loli, Reina A. Ayase.

    "R-really! Kotarou!?

    And finally, appeared my chubby friend.

    "Masaru!?"

    "Oohh! Kotarou, you''re safe!"

    Saitou Masaru. The joy and relief from meeting this familiar chubbster, now tears really felt like gushing out.

    Isn''t that natural? This is more than just relief from meeting other people, they''re reliablerades who''ve been given powers of a vocation. If it''s 3 people, chances are that there''s a warrior or fire mage among them. It can''t possibly be that there''s more shamans in there.

    Also, with some support my shamanic powers can also be made useful-

    "Oi, hold up, Momokawa."

    But then, my legs, that were rushing over in the overwhelming excitement, stopped. No, they were stopped.

    By a knife that struck right in front of my feet. In barely another 3 cm1 inch, these indoor shoes along with my toes would have been lopped off.

    "Wh¡­"

    "Oi, what the fuck are you doing, Higuchi!?"

    Masaru shouts out in ce of me.

    "Shut it, and add a -san ya fat fuck. Just shut ye¡¯r trap and go pick up the core from that big one o¡¯er there."

    "Kotarou''s been alive! We gotta help!-"

    "Then you wanna die in his ce, fagget?"[1]

    From a pocket in this trousers- I couldn¡¯t really tell, Higuchi instantly took out a butterfly knife and stuck its sharp de at Masaru''s throat.

    "We got 3 people already, don''t ya fucking forget it."

    "H-hey guys hold on! Why are we fighting amongst each other! We need to work together and-"

    "Ha! Momokawa, you l''il shit, ye¡¯r head okay?"

    He scoffed at my very reasonably shoutedint.

    "Didn''cha read the text message? Ya must be an absolute retard not ta notice."

    <i>Yeah, don''t need this</i>, he sneered, as Higuchi withdrew the knife from Masaru.

    "Saitou, stop yer wankin'' and get that core r''now. I''ll take good care of Momokawa for ya. Ah, Reina-chan, you can wait inside, it''s gonna get a bit bloody."

    I have no idea what''s happening, but it''s painfully obvious how it''s not good. Then, the situation takes a turn for the worse.

    Masaru turned dead pale, and following Higuchi''s order, began going towards the Armor Bear.

    And, as for Reina, she listened to his annoying nice-guy voice saying <i>"wait inside"</i>, and as ifpletely nonchnt about this clearly bizarre turn of events, retreated back into the shrine.

    "So yea, Momokawa, sorry but die for me will ya. I''ll thank ya for takin'' out that big guy o''er there. Thanks for the loot."

    And with real murderous intent and a sinister grin, Higuchi came at me with his butterfly knife.

    "Eh, no wait! WAIT, why''re you-"

    "Oi, stay still. I''m trynna get yer vitals in the first shot, why''re <i>you</i> not lettin'' me show my kindness and put y''at peace?"

    He said it as if messing around, but this waspletely serious. I can just tell. Higuchi is reallying with the intention of stabbing me. No hesitance, no regrets, as if it''s natural.

    In fact, his knife was already raised.

    "Now, make it rain-"

    "When you stab me, my shaman powers will kill you too!"

    Higuchi''s hand, stops.

    "Don''t be a smartass, pipsqueak"

    <i>Well, then why''d you stop</i>. Higuchi is clearly wary now. Right, this guy must know too, how absolutely bizarre the powers of a vocation can be.

    "I can return any and all damage back to my attacker. That''s my power."

    "<i>Shing</i>, he folded in the butterfly knife with a high-pitched sound. With the de inside, the fist holding the handle-"

    "Buha!?"

    Exploded on my face. It hurt, no rather, I''m more shocked at what happened.

    "-Hk! Fuck. god fuck!"

    I see Higuchi with the same knuckle marks on his face as me. Wonderful, with ¡®Pain Return'', even a weak beta like me won''t lose out when I''m hit.

    Fortunately, my nose or front teeth didn''t break. Instead, I did feel blood flowing out of my nose. No problem, I don''t even need any Non-delionsfalse dandelions for this.

    "H-hey, Higuchi-san, Kotarou''s"

    "Shut itrd! Just get the damn core!"

    Perhaps because I hadn''t been killed, Masaru made a relieved face.

    But, my <i>friend</i> who, not only made no attempt to stop Higuchi''s attempted murder, but was still listening to him, earned quite a bit of my displeasure and distrust. <i>Higuchi-san</i>, the fuck man. Masaru''s out, can''t depend on him.

    "Higuchi, what''s this core, exin."

    "Momokawa, don''t fucking test me-"

    "You get what my power is right? You stab, and you die!"

    Higuchi was so mad, seemed like his veins would pop. But, looks like he wasn''t stupid enough to use his knife in a fit of rage. I''m d I don''t have to face the worst bad end of dying along with this asshole.

    "Tch, fine, I''ll tell you."

    After a few seconds of silence, Higuchi spoke up. His words seemed like those of a loser, but for some reason, as if his sourness abated, he sneered at me again.

    I have the worst feeling, but I''ll listen to what he has to say.

    "It''s the item needed to activate the ¡®Transfer Gate'', the core. You grab it from monsters like that dead one over there. it''s in their corpse."

    Looking to my side, Masaru''s been poking around the Armor Bears body with a knife in hand. That knife was different from Higuchi''s butterfly knife, a strangely old-fashioned design. Oh right, the knife Higuchi threw was also like that¡­ I wonder if they got it inside the dungeon.

    Nevertheless, there''s no way you can break the Armor Bear''s hard shell with a simple knife like that. Masaru probably figured that too. Giving up on breaking the shell, he resolved himself to get smeared in blood and fats, and shoved his hand into the wound.

    <i>Can you really retrieve the core like that-</i> I was thinking when,

    "Nice! Found it!"

    Apparently he did retrieve it. On his right hand soaked in blood, was a dazzling red jewel.

    "So that''s, the core¡­"

    "Not bad, it''s got a big body, and a big core to boot!"

    From Higuchi''s broad grinned statement, I learn that there''s a size distinction in the cores you can get from monsters. This core think is probably crystallized energy like mana or something. If there''s magic, there''s bound to be some form of energy or mana that enables its usage.

    Therefore, these transfer gates that warp you to other ces must need an adequate amount of mana to run. If not, it''s like a car with no gas in the tank.

    "I beat the Armor Bear, so that core''s mine."

    A reasonable im. The core''s an indispensable key item to escaping this ce, I have not a bit of intention to hand it to Higuchi.

    "Oi Saitou, pack up, we''re heading back into the dungeon."

    Forget listening, Higuchi''s straight out ignoring me.

    Masaru follows his orders, andes up beside Higuchi, core in hand. He met my nce for an instant, and awkwardly looked away.

    Silently, he hands Higuchi the red core.

    "D-don''t mess with me!"

    "What, Momokawa, ye sayin'' y''can take this core from me, li''l shit?

    With a devilish grin, Higuchi replies. unting the bloody core at me.

    <i>Shit</i>¡­ this bastard found out I don''t have offense skills.

    "Yer''a shaman? It''s the one that kills people right? Ey Momokawa, ye''r mad right? ye''r a geekotaku who thinks I''m some shitty DQNpunk right? right, then do it. Use ye''r shaman magic ¡®n curse me to death!"

    His eyes are assured that I can''t. In fact, I can''t. I don''t have aeback.

    "Hyahahaha! See? ya can''t do it, fagget! The fuck''s a shaman, some shitty vocation that''s what. Y''prolly killed that big''un just by chance right?"

    <i>You''re half right, and half wrong you fucking DQN.</i>

    "I''ll take this core, ¡®n y''ll watch. Don''t pull nothin, we got three people- Ah, right, riiight, wow, why din''t I notice something this easy before."

    <i>So stupid</i>, with a forced sigh, the highly-waxed-up-brown-haired Higuchi says. He must''ve thought up something awful no doubt.

    "Saitou, beat Momokawa''s shit in for a bit."

    The worst option. ¡®Pain Return'' reflects back damage to the attacker only. Higuchi won''t even feel a scratch if Masaru''s the one hitting me.

    "Eh, I, uh¡­"

    "Do it. And don''t fuckin'' stop till he cries. Where''s that line from? Whate''r, you like that shit right?"

    Masaru''s frozen. But not forever. He was just hesitating, if Higuchi says it he''ll do it. He''ll beat me up. Without fail.

    "Masaru¡­ you being threatened by Higuchi?"

    "I''m sorry¡­ Kotarou."

    I knew without him saying. Masaru''s weaker than Higuchi. Even in a normal fight, though not as tall as Tendou-kun, he can''t win against Higuchi who''s pretty tall himself. Not even with his dual wielding sword style.

    And, even now, after receiving his vocation, he can''t.

    Higuchi hade stabbing at me without an ounce of hesitation. He''s probably killed someone already. He''s used to it. He''spletely ready to murder.

    With their life on the line, people will do anything. No questions asked. It''s obvious, I''d likely be the same.

    I do get it- but,

    "Dammit¡­ even a friend¡­"

    epting it? no way. No way I won''t resent him when I''m betrayed.

    "Kotarooou, sorry!"

    It hurt. His fist hurt more than the Armor Bear''s strike, more than Higuchi''s, much more. It caved in my cheek, along with my heart.

    Straddling the fallen-down me, Masaru strikes me many, many times.

    "Sorry¡­sorry¡­"

    Tearse out. Mine and his too. Obviously, both of us are equally getting our faces punched in. His mounting me is of no rtion.

    The right cheek swells. The left one too. Nose also bleed. Both of us are a pulp.

    "Ah right, I kinda forgot to say, the transfer gate here won''t take more than 3 people it seems."

    In the middle of the pain and humiliation, thest question is answered.

    Ah, I see, only three people can be saved. So the 4th person, me, they can''t. And they won''t.

    "If you weren''t some shitty shaman, but something like a healer, I''d''ve already left this uselessrd and made you a pal."

    haha, Masaru, you''re a sacrificial pawn see. Why are you still hitting me? Get mad. C''mon, show even a bit of manly pride, and attack that Higuchi like you''re gonna die!

    With the irreparable crack forming in our friendship, my heart doesn''t yell anything but curses.

    "Hey, aren''t you d Saitou, your good pal got a shitty vocation. <i>Thanks to Kotarou-kun being a shaman, I wasn''t discarded by Higuchi-samaa</i>, aren''t you thinking that while hittin¡¯ away. Man, you really got a great friend there. Might be jealous."

    Shit, shit, shiiiit!

    I''ll curse you, curse you, I''ll definitely curse you to death! Higuchi, you, I absolutely WILL fucking CURSE you to HELL?!

    "Huff¡­.haf¡­h-Higuchi-san¡­ I can''t¡­"

    "Gyahahaha! Man, y¡¯ve sure be handsome, Saitou!"

    Higuchi points andughs at his swollen face. Goddamit, my face must be like that too right now¡­

    "P-pl,ease¡­"

    "Yea yeah, I get it. Can''t really kill him now, whatever then."

    Even Masaru wouldn''t sacrifice his life to kill me. Haha, if he was that obedient a ve, it''d really be super convenient.

    I leered at Masaru with disdain, as he dismounted me. You''re heavy, fatass. I''ll be cursing you right after Higuchi.

    "Seeya Momokawa, till we meet again, I''ll think up something to kill ya. Not that I''d mind if y''get eaten by some monster- <i>ptui.</i>"

    Finally, after spitting on my face, Higuchi went back into the dungeon.

    Shit, dammit¡­ Pain Return won''t return simple difort.

    "Definitely¡­ curse, you¡­"

    I could talk all I want. But right now, I can only shed tears of bitterness while seeing the two of them leave.

    The worst kind of bastard, and the traitorous friend.

    I''ll never forgive them-

 Chapter 5: Souma Yuuto

    Chapter 5: Souma Yuuto

    My name is Souma Yuuto. Just a normal highschooler you can find anywhere.

    After the 3 day holiday, though I felt a littlezy, I opted to attend school, chatted about dumb things with buddies in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day in boring sses- or was supposed to.

    <i>Sigh,</i> how''d this even happen¡­

    I open my eyes to find, not the familiar ssroom, but an ancient-looking stone room. No windows, it''s like a cer, and there''re white panels on the ceiling that shone like a fluorescent light, brightening up every corner of the room.

    This stone room has nothing that stands out. Like a temple hall.

    With a school bag on my right hand, and a sword bag with a shinaipractice sword and bokutouwooden sword each, I''m here standing alone.[1]

    "It''s really, another world huh¡­"

    With absolutely no warning, I, no all of us from Shiramine Academy ss 2-7, were summoned to this world. It''s pretty absurd, but I can''t just avert my eyes from this situation where we''ve been transported to this totally unrealistic ce.

    ssroom suddenly sunk in darkness. The announcement from the mysterious man. Magic circle shining on the ckboard. If that was all, I could''ve still believed there was some sort of attraction or trick to it all, but beforeing to this stone room thest thing I saw¡­ The ssroom run over in jet-ck cracks, breaking apart into the abyss. If I see a scene like that, any normalmon sense falls apart. I''m forced to believe that I''d been involved in the events of a world of magic.

    Damn, this isn''t a joke. Seriously, why''d this even.

    "No, worrying won''t help anyone."

    Don''t falter. Just, face forward and keep moving.

    One of jii-san''sgranpa''s teachings. Never thought that preachy-ass phrase would be useful at a time like this.

    Right, first, calm down, then decide what to do. Though I say that, it''s infinitely obvious what that is.

    "Gotta find Sakura, my friends, everyone."

    If that man can be believed, everyone must''ve been thrown into this dungeon. We may all be separated right now, but we''ll definitely meet again.

    In any whichever case, nothing''s gonna start unless we proceed through the dungeon. There''s no use staying in this empty, deste room forever.

    "Ah, right, there''s that¡­ magic formation and incantation, was it?"

    A necessary power to capture the dungeon. That''s how it was exined.

    At that time I''d told everyone to get them down in our notebooks, but honestly, I thought it was pretty shady myself. Even so, I had a feeling it could be even a bit useful, and told my piece.

    And now that I''ve been thrown into this dungeon, in this room, my feeling seems to have been right.

    Still, will it really, will this magic circle and spell really work? And then, will it really be enough power to protect us? Actually, could it be that there''s a huge catch- finding that out won''t be after actually using them.

    "¡­Alright, here we go."

    My Campus notebook with the magic circle is already open, and the incantation ispletely memorized.[2]

    Now I just have to-

    "Kyaaa!"

    The sudden scream interrupts the magic ritual. There¡¯s no helping it.

    Because the high-pitch scream that reached my ears, I would, at least <i>I</i> would, never mistake it.

    "Sakura, is that you."

    That voice unmistakeably belonged to Sakura.

    Sakura was different from Reina, and wouldn''t raise a cry for just anything. She''d stand firm even when facing the punks from Kuro high, not to mention crying out would be out of the equation.[3]

    That Sakura''s actually screaming means she must be in fear and in pretty big danger.

    I''ve got to go help.

    Before I even made the decision, I''d already grabbed my sword bag and ran out.

    "Sakura! Where are you!"

    Having burst off running from the stone room, I arrive at a simrly stone-built dim passage. I must''ve ran around 50 meters55 yards. And then I came to a fork in the road.

    "¡­This way"

    I desperately recalled the scream, and estimated the apparent direction of the voice. Not calming myself in the slightest, I ran straight into the path I chose.

    "-Sakura!"

    And she was, in fact, there.

    Long ck hair with a sailor uniform, it was exactly the familiar figure of my little sister. However, her face was pale with a fear I''d never seen in her before, white as if all the blood had been drawn out.

    "N-nii-san!"[4]

    "Are you ok, Sakura!"

    Having unthinkingly rushed to Sakura''s side, I finally recognize the situation we''re in.

    First, this ce ispletely different form the stony area from before. It''s an expansive domed space, thick in greenery like a botanical garden. I''d think I had actually wound up in a forest if I didn''t see the white panels of light on the ceiling above.

    And, as if it was the lord of this forest, <i>that</i> was standing there.

    "What the hell is that¡­ a bear?"

    From its outline, there''s no doubt it''s a bear. To boot, standing on two legs, it far surpasses my height, rising to almost 4 meters13 feet tall.

    In the past, jii-san had called it training, and taken me deep into the mountain where we encountered a wild bear¡­ But this guy''s so big, the one from before seems like a cub.

    "Nii-san, this is definitely a monster."

    She''s trembling a little, but Sakura''s words are very reasonable. It''s obvious that this guy ispletely different from an Earth bear.

    As this bear was adorned in dulled steel, it was wearing armor.

    In reality, it should be a shell. The spikes on the surface, and membrane covering the joints, reminded you of crabs or lobster. But looking at its girth and massive-ness, it''s likely not something you could easily snap off with your hands. It wouldn''t be strange for that to be like genuine steel armour.

    "I''ll distract it. And you-"

    "No! Running away, leaving nii-san behind, I won¡¯t do it!"

    Sakura''s arms cling to me extremely tight. As if saying, they''ll absolutely never let go.

    "You''re so caring, Sakura, but¡­ I can''t ept that request."

    I absolutely can''t. I must protect my sister, protect Sakura.

    "You can''t win with this kind of monster, even if it''s you nii-san!"

    "It''s okay. I probably can''t win but, if you can somehow run-"

    "Even if I run¡­ if nii-san''s not there, there''s no meaning¡­"

    Come on, why are you being this stubborn, Sakura. Regardless of this great crisis, I''m half amazed, and the other half, pretty happy.

    "Don''t worry. I don''t feel like dying here either. I''ll make sure both of us get out of this."

    "Really?"

    It could be a lie. I''m satisfied being able to put my life at risk to protect Sakura, but I have no intention pointlessly dying here.

    In the first ce, even if she gets away from here, Sakura''s safety isn''t guaranteed. From now on, we must proceed through this dungeon infested with monsters like that.

    "Trust me. Sakura, and everyone else, we''ll definitely make it back home."

    With resolve, I take out the bokutou from the sword bag. The shinai along with the bag, I drop, they''ll get in the way.

    As if sensing my will to fight, the bear, who''d been keeping its distance and just watching, sluggishly dropped its forelegs onto the ground, and on that 4 legged posture, raised a sharp roar.

    "Now, get away quick, Sakura!"

    "¡­ Okay. Sorry, nii-san."

    Leaving me that in a practically crying voice, Sakura finally started running. I don''t turn back to see her off.

    "Kept you waiting, monster."

    <i>Garuru!</i> With a growl truly suitable for a beast, the great bear red at me with its two red eyes. The fight''s already started.

    It''s not my first fight with literally no prospects of winning. Neither is it my first fight risking my life.

    But, as for a fight with no hope of winning <i>and</i> with my life on the line, this''d be the first.

    Scared. But I don''t waver. I''d learned how to suppress my fear long ago.

    Don''t like it. But I won¡¯t run away. I know without being taught that I have things to protect.

    So, I''ll fight. Even if it''s a monster, I''ll fight without fear.

    "Fu, haa¡­"

    I further calm myself with a deep breath. Focus the mind.

    The weapon in my hands, a simple bokutou. Just the other day, I bought it brand new at the arms shop.

    Its clean and sturdy, butcks the power to kill. I could kill someone if I hit a them on the head at full power, but this bear covered in a full body armor-shell seems like it won''t even take a scratch no matter where I hit.

    Honestly, even a real katana likely won''t do a thing to this guy. Well¡­ jii-san might be able to cut through iron¡­ but that aside, I''m not as strong as jii-san, the bokutou doesn''te into the equation.

    So the actions I can take in this situation are naturally limited. In the end, I need to focus on and go for its weak points. In other words, the eyes.

    Obviously, when doing kendo, eyes are forbidden. Other martial arts equally ban targeting eyes. So in normal cases, we don''t practice thrusting at the eyes, nor are we made to.

    But it wasn¡¯t the case for me. Not that I wanted to, but certainly, jii-san did teach me eye-lunges.

    I mean really, teaching a small kid such a dangerous forbidden technique, for a guardian, for a teacher, I think there''s something wrong but¡­ I''ll honestly thank him because it gave me even the slightest chance to get past this crisis.

    Gripping the bokutou with both hands, I bring it level with my shoulders. An amateur could tell I was aiming for a thrust, but for an animal, no, monster, it doesn''t matter. There''s no need to y mind games with it. Just strike with the smallest distance in the fastest time.

    Finally, as the bear sloppily moved its thick legs aiming for the prey known as me- <i>Now!</i>

    "Haa!"

    The fastest, and also most powerful swing in my whole life till now. It was that much of a satisfactory strike, I could boast with confidence.

    As if being sucked in, the bokutou I elerated at incredible speeds pierced the bear¡¯s eye!

    "Goaaaaaaa!"

    Just as I hear the piercing roar, I managed to pull away the sword for dear life.

    That was close. The moment its eye was struck, the bear reflexively mowed its foreleg at me. If I was distracted being too happy about getting a hit in, that log-like arm with its spikes would''ve blown me away. Furthermore, if I was a momentte in drawing away the sword, the sharp knife-like nails on its paws would''ve torn me to shreds.

    "Huff¡­huf¡­"

    After that series of maneuvers, I was sweating hard, and heard my heart beating like a drum.

    "Please, let it just leave now."

    When we met that bear in the mountain forest, taking a hit from jii-san on it''s snout, the bear disheartenedly withdrew. Jii-san always said, wild animals are surprisingly cowardly. They supposedly flee at the slightest smell of danger, so would another world''s monsters too-

    "Guoo, GAAAAaa!"

    Even with its right eye crushed, the bear red at me with its other eye as if it was my sworn enemy. Seems like monsters prioritize anger for their foe rather than safety.

    "Shit, that wasn¡¯t enough?"

    Crushing both eyes. It''s risky, but no other option.

    Fortunately, the bokutou didn''t break, neither had I let it go. I can certainly attack again.

    In front of this raging, savage bear rushing at me, I again take my stance, aiming for the eye.

    Getting a hitst time was pretty much half coincidence.

    It may sound obvious, but its eyes are small. If I were to target them, I''d need incredible control. I''m pretty confident in my swordy, but it''s not like I can hit bull¡¯s eye 100% of the time.

    But right now, I have to act fast. The bear''s already close. It''ll get into my range in another step. I don''t have any time, ce, or leeway to waver.

    "Ha-"

    My sword splits the air with great vigor. Simr to, no, I understood that it was with a speed greater thanst time.

    And then, aiming for that approaching bear, that fierce burning crimson left eye, the de strikes. True in it''s aim, for the second time, my de pierces-

    "- Guu!?"

    No way, it blocked!?

    Just, how¡­ the answer, I''d already just seen.

    I definitely saw the bokutou''s tip precisely hit the remaining left eye. But at the critical moment, it closed its eye.

    Yes, same as it''s body, its steel shelled eyelids.

    Faced with eyelids of steel, the simple bokutou lost all piercing potential, and was tragically deflected.

    Then, my body bingpletely immobile from my attack returned by this unexpected defense, I showed a fatal gap.

    "GuwaAAAaa!"

    Following which, an intense shock ran throughout my whole body.

    I suddenly recall, I think it wasst year, when I was attacked by some punks from Kuro high on their bikes. At that time, one of them was so mad, he really tried to crush me under his tires.

    Back then, just as I was run over, I swerved away enough, and though it looked like I was blown away, there wasn''t much damage. I even had the strength to finish off that punk who''d fallen over.

    "Gu, uu, aaa¡­"

    But at present, I didn''t have the leeway of time I had then. The spiky shell practically made its whole body a weapon. Also, if you look at its size, it''s clearly much heavier than that bike. No way I''ll be ok. It''s a miracle I''m still alive.

    With my somewhat disordered head, and blurry vision, I somehow or other, raise my face to look forward.

    It seems, I am lying face down. There''s not much pain fortunately. But, I may have been paralyzed.

    "God, damn¡­ it, gonna end¡­ like this¡­"

    The inescapable feeling of <i>¡®Death''.</i>

    I don''t have any strength left to fight. Oh yeah, the bokutou''s also gone off somewhere. Though, even with a sword, I couldn''t stand up at all in this state.

    Ah, it''s over. When it blocked its other eye, my chances of victory werepletely gone.

    I, lost. And naturally, I know the end waiting for those losing to monster''s like that. As ording to survival of the fittest, I''d be devoured.

    "¡­!?"

    However, after a nce, the bear turned away from me as if losing interest. No, that''s not it, it didn''t merely look away.

    That''s right, it was staring towards the direction Sakura had run off. That is, it turned towards the stone pathway I''d firste from.

    "W, ait¡­"

    Sakura''s in danger.

    If you think about it, the bear''s thought process is very reasonable. Me who''s practically dead, it can leave behind without worry. It coulde back after finishing off Sakura, and I''d still be here.

    "Wait a sec¡­"

    Raising my voice as if squeezing it out, the inside of my mouth fills with the taste of blood.

    Though I throw desperate pleas at it, a monster who doesn''t understand human words would never stop. Lumbering away with its steel body, the bear continues the hunt with nothing in its way.

    Its right eye''s been crushed, but the left one''s ok. At the very least, it won''t have any trouble chasing after and catching Sakura.

    Then, no matter how much more experienced in martial arts Sakura is from ordinary girls, unarmed, she naturally won''t be able to handle this bear. In the event that she''s caught, there''s zero possibility of being saved.

    "S-Sakura¡­"

    Will I die? I, and then Sakura too. Will I, without having protected Sakura, die?

    "I will¡­protect¡­"

    That''s right, I''ll protect Sakura. I must protect her no matter what.

    Because I''m the brother. I''ll protect my sister. Naturally.

    Thus, I swore upon that very obvious premise. That I''d definitely protect Sakura.

    "I¡­.will¡­"

    I remember it. That determination, even after 10 years, hasn''t faded a bit. The hot, sweltering emotions in my heart, move my body.[5]

    "U, o, o¡­ Oo"

    Slowly, I put my right hand, left hand, onto the ground. I feel the texture of the earth on my palms. Alright, nerves aren''t fried yet.

    I can move. Then, I can stand.

    "O OOOooh!"

    Stand. Pushing my arms, slowly, with both legs. I, stand.

    OK, I''m up. Now, let''s do thi-

    "Gu, ha¡­aa¡­"

    That, was my limit.

    Hot lumps rise from the pit of my stomach, and forcefully opening my throat, exits from my mouth. It was deep, red blood.

    After which, ignoring every speck of my will, my body stops. As if, the fresh blood I spat out just now, was all the energy left in my body.

    Never to take a step again. I sank onto the ground, only watching the bear''s back getting farther and farther away.

    "¡­"

    Can¡¯t even shout. I have no feeling in my limbs. This time really, I can''t feel anything.

    But, my emotions alone, won¡¯t ever settle down.

    Please, move. Move dammit. Just for a minute, no, even 30 seconds will do.

    I can still catch it. I can still break its left eye, and Sakura will be saved.

    So,e on. Just thisst time, let me protect Sakura¡­

    "-Arise."

    As I was sinking into the quagmire of despair, I suddenly heard a voice.[6]

    "Arise."

    No, it''s not in my head. This voice, this mysterious voice¡­ a woman¡¯s voice with an exquisitely beautiful tone, was calling out to me.

    "Arise, oh chosen Son of Light."

    What was that? Light? Me?

    "Presently, this world is again to be plunged into a sinister darkness."

    I don''t get it. Light and darkness, and the world, I don''t get it at all.

    "Cleanse that darkness, and pierce that evil."

    Don''t care. I just. Want to protect Sakura.

    "Mayst thou bring light to this world and be ¨C the ¡®Hero''."

    Just then, certainly, the world filled with light.

    "-UoOOOOOoooooo!"

    When I noticed, I was already standing.

    The feeling is back in my limbs, no, actually, they feel much more powerful than usual. My body was in tip-top condition as if the desperation from just before was just some lie.

    "Uohh, Wha- What is this!?"

    Something''s glowing. Something, or rather, it''s my body that''s glowing. Apparently, filling the world with light meant I myself would be lit up.

    Looking more carefully, it isn''t my body that''s alit, but something like a white mist, no, an aura was being released like steam, and enveloping my whole body.

    "Is this, the power of a ¡®Hero''¡­"

    That woman''s voice I heard on the verge of death. It was like a decree from God herself.

    Normally, I''d have ignored it as some auditory hallucination, but my body, which had critical injuries, had instantly been healed. Moreover, this brilliant white aura was clearly a manifestation of some supernatural power.

    "God, huh."

    Speaking of which, that incantation did say something about borrowing the powers of God. Perhaps, in this other world, something like God really does exist, and can save people.

    "No, more importantly-"

    Right, I can''t waste time thinking this and that.

    If I can have power, I don''t care if it''s from God, or some random coincidence. I''ll dly make good use of it.

    Yes, with this power I can-

    "Protect Sakura!"

    The legs I bolted off from were surprisingly light. My body swiftly advanced, or rather, it felt like I was moving as if falling from a cliff. Though I say that, much unlike when falling, I also felt like I had absolute control over every part of my body.

    Right now, I''ve be unbelievably strong.

    I can clearly tell, probably because, I was already able to grasp the level of my strength. You can''t tell your limits with just club activities at school, but I, having high risk matches with jii-san every day, had begun to see it.

    So I know. Right now I''ve reached heights I could never, no, not just me, I''ve reached heights mankind can''t ever hope to.

    "oOOOoo!!"

    Moving with an inexhaustible supply of power exuding from my body, I catch up to the bear in no time at all.

    Were it by hearing my cry, or by some instinct understanding that some power appeared that could even blow away itself, the bear''s reaction was quick. It swiftly turned its head, bracing thatrge body with unbelievable agility.

    Before I noticed, it''d already stood its 4 meter body on two legs, and gotten into a stance to smash me with its steel arms.

    It wouldn''t be an attack that I, not even the bokutou at hand, could do anything about. No dodging, no preventing, and I certainly wasn''t in a spot to counter it.

    But right now, strangely, I didn''t feel like losing. I''ll win, definitely.

    With utmost confidence, I raise up my arms. As if I was holding an actual sword- nay, at this time, there was certainly a ¡®sword'' in my grasp.

    "¡®Cross Calib''Sacred sword of Lightuuuuuuuuuuuuur"[7]

    A gushing white sh. From the eye of this storm of blinding light, I could clearly see the scene in front of me.

    It was a sword of light. In my hands, was a brilliant sword of white light.

    This sword I swung down with great strength, easily cut down the giant steel body.

    Just like the <i>hero anime</i> I used to watch as a kid, the divine light was overwhelming and made quick work of the terrible monster.

    The steel shell, cut away as if it was just for show, I cut through the insides of its huge body like water. But, there in fact was the resistance of it being cut.

    The sword of light I''d swung, thus cut the bear monster in two.

    "¡­Go o."

    Eyes wide open, the bear leaves that slight death throe and then- thatrge body disappears.

    From hear to tail, it wasn''t gushing out blood and entrails, but was being enveloped in pure white light. After that, the light instantly covered up the swaying corpse, and before the body hit the ground, it all burst into particles of light.

    "U-uwa!?"

    As I was dumbfoundedly staring at this strange body disappearance phenomenon, the light particles suddenly rushed towards me as if being sucked in.

    I shout on reflex, and move my arms to drive them away- Ah, seems like, the light sword''s already gone. While I was thinking such, my useless resistance came to an end.

    As of now, the light particles have all neatly disappeared as if absorbed into my body.

    "Wh-what was that¡­"

    Anyway, there''s no problem with my body. It wasn''t even like the light was hot to the touch.

    Or rather, now that I take a good look, my body''s unscathed, and the enemy bear''s also disappeared, the whole thing feels like some bad dream.

    <i>Man, that sure was something,</i>¨C is what I''d think if I woke up right now in my own bed, but where I am hasn''t changed, it''s still the forested dome, and the tearing from when the bear tackled me still remains on my uniformgakuran. So there''s no mistake that the battle from just now, did happen. I was critically injured, revived thanks to God''s miracle, then used the sword of light to finish off the bear.

    Yup, alright. I can''t agree with most of it, but I do get that it''s happened.

    Now then, I don''t have time to idle here. Now that the threat is gone, I need to find Sakura-

    "N-nii-san¡­"

    "Sakura!? Why''re you-!"

    As I turn towards that timid voice, right at the mouth of the stone passage, was the peeking face of my sister.

    "Can''t be, you came back to help me?"

    "Yes, my ¡®Vocation'' was- Ah, nii-san!"

    <i>What a stupid thing to</i>, or so I was about to get angry when, huh, what, my strength, it¡¯s¡­

    "Nii-san! Are you alright!"

    "Oh, yeah¡­ Sakura, I''m pretty much, ok¡­"

    I feel like I nked out for a bit. In fact, I have a gap in memory of when exactly I''d fallen to the ground, and raised up in Sakura''s embrace like right now.

    This is pretty serious. My body is assaulted with an exhaustion like when right after training in a scorching hot day. Being pretty much ok was just something like acting tough in the spur of the moment.

    Nope, I''m gonna pass out.

    "C''mon¡­ don''t cry, Sakura¡­"

    Finally, wiping away therge drops of tears from those round eyes, I let go of my consciousness.

    Ahh, when I wake up, please let me be back in the real world. Please, God. I didn''t want to be the ¡®Hero''. So please just get me back to my peaceful, everyday highschooler life-

    Name. Souma Yuuto.[8]

    Vocation. ¡®Hero''.

    Inherent Skills:

    1st: ¡®Cross Calibur''Sacred Sword of Light

    2nd: ¡ª

    3rd: ¡ª

    Learned Skills:

    ¡®Thrust''

    ¡®sh''

    ¡®High Walk''

    Acquired Skills:

    ¡®Force Boost''

    ¡®Iron Guard''

    ¡®Tri-sh''

    I saw a dream where I was forced to memorize some things I don''t really understand¡­ I think.

 Chapter 6: Fairy Square

    Chapter 6: Fairy Square

    I keep descending on the long, long spiral stairway. It feels as if I''m falling towards the bottom of hell. Well, I myself am not in an uppity mood at all though.

    "I won''t catch up to them, will I¡­"

    A while after the Higuchi party disappeared into the shrine, I also decided to head into the dungeon. While waiting, as I was going crazy with rage and vexation, there was also the fear of monstersing from the smell of blood. All in all, my heart was a mess.

    To distract myself from the distress, I thought to do some preparation for here on out, and went scavenging through the dead Takashima-kun''s belongings. He was in the baseball club so, I''d have been d if he had a metal bat or something, but the only useful things on him were some CalorieMates, a bottle of Pocari Sweat, and very deep in the pocket, a lighter. Of course, I found some cigarettes there as well. Since I prefer not to, those would be useless for me, but I decided to keep them anyway.[1]

    After stuffing the notable items into my bag for a while, and then getting up to head in, my head had be much clearer. Calming down after stealing from the dead, I must''ve already be <i>some</i> kind of crazy.

    I then stepped foot into the shrine cum entrance to the dungeon. And there I found that previously mentioned helical staircase that I''d begun descending. Nothing else to note, there were only those flights of stairs in there.

    Wide enough to fit two adults side by side, the inner side of the spiral was a pir without any blemishes. Made of stone like the outer wall of the shrine, the well ced blocks didn''t wear any moss or vines nor did it suffer any corrosion, it was quite the sight.

    Parts of the wall dully emitted white light, which made seeing easier. It was surprisingly easy to find where to ce my feet, and my descent was without trouble.

    Speaking of stairs, I wonder why Higuchi climbed up this ce. The destination should be the transfer gate deep inside the dungeon. With the notebook''spass function, they shouldn''t have gotten lost. I can''t think of why he''d want toe outside. Considering how long these stairs are, you wouldn''t want to just climb it without any objective- No, right, I see, he <i>did</i> have an objective. He wanted to get his hands on the core from the Armor Bear I defeated.

    Of course, it''s not as if he witnessed the moment the Armor Bear copsed. Which implies that he has some ability to detect dead monster or maybe cores. If I think about what kind of vocation it''d be¡­ something in the Thief or Scout genre I guess. At the very least, he doesn''t give me a Warrior or Fire Mage kind of feel.

    So then, one of those three must be a thief- Ah, thief huh, that fits Higuchi like a fucking glove. He was born for the job. That adept usage of the butterfly knife too could be an effect of thievery skills. And when you say thief, of course their weapon of choice is the knife.

    Still, those guys really seemed used to everything didn''t they. It''s not even been half a day since I''ve arrived in this world. Nheless, Higuchi already has the gut to kill people nonchntly, and even Masaru buried his arm into the Armor Bear''s insides without flinching.

    It''s not like they just up and decided to be like that because the situation called for it. Most likely, the two of them have already done it enough to warrant that kind of attitude.

    "What if, the timeframe we arrived at is different?"

    That seems like a reasonable conjecture. Those guys had started their dungeon life some number of days ago. And as for me, I was finally dropped into that forest today.

    I had reluctantly exited the ssroom first, but ended up herest. Or perhaps, there''s some of us who haven''t made it here yet.

    Either way, the fact is that I had ate startpared to that fucking DQN bastard. That guy''s probably already killed people and had experience fighting monsters. And, as per the exnation, he''s probably leveled up on his vocation skills too.

    Can I really start grinding and catch up with my already weak shamanism¡­ No, let''s not think about that now. I want to take my revenge on Higuchi and Masaru, but Ick the power to carry it out right now.

    First things first, I gotta think about how to survive solo in my first dungeon.

    "Huff¡­ It finally ended."

    In the middle of my endless spections, I reach the end of the spiral. The ce I arrived at was very open, and much brighter than the stairway.

    "It''s more like a park than a dungeon."

    It was around the size of a neighbourhood children''s park. Plentiful verdant greenery with flowers of red, yellow, blue scattered. Unlike the forest I was in recently, the trees and shrubs are much more orderly. Of course, it doesn''t go far as having proper flowerbeds, but the grass was cut neat like at the national stadium.

    I can see the ceiling, but It doesn''t give the closed-off-ness of being indoors. The same light from the stairway shone from 5 meters16.5 feet above, gently illuminating the space.

    What''s most striking would be the stone fountain plonked right in the middle of the room. It was small and circr, but the reliefs of flowers in bloom surrounded by butterflies all around gave it an borate finish.

    Its most distinctive feature would be the statue of a fairy standing boldly at the center. Long, narrow, leaf-like wings on a long haired young girl in a one-piece. And the face, super cute. This doesn''t bring anything but the image of fairies to mind. This little girl sized fairy statue stood atop the shaft which acted as the water spout.

    "Yup, this must be the ¡®Fairy Square"

    No, that''s not some name I went and made up. Fairy Square is the official name stated in the newly updated information in the good ol'' notebook.

    I''d checked the notebook inside the shrine right beforeing down the stairs. It seemed to have updated while I was having my dance of death with the Armor Bear, and the info supports Higuchi''s exnation.

    Like how the transfer gate needed quite a bit of cores to activate. Like how only, exactly three people can use that gate to escape from this dungeon.

    <i>Why the hell didn''t you, even if forcefully, add something this important to the first message!</i> so I was getting mad, but there''s no one here to vent it on, so I buried it back in my heart and kept reading the rest.

    And one of those currently confirmable pieces of dungeon info is, this ¡®Fairy Square''.

    It says that, in these ancient ruins there are many fountains with fairy statuesid out, which, for some reason, monsters won''t approach, making them the sole safe areas in the dungeon.

    Endlessly flowing for many thousands of years, the fountain''s water was clear like spring water, and made for an important source for resupply. In addition, the fruit from the trees here can serve as food, and the flowers can work as medicinal herbs even if applied raw.

    All in all, it''s a resting area. One could even say, a Save Point. It kinda even feels like that cute fairy is saving my progress here.

    No well, I don''t really have the guts to attempt dying once to try for a load game though.

    "Since I''m here and all, let''s take a break."

    Or rather, I should call it preparation for solo challenging the dungeon from now on. Even before fighting monsters, there''s survival tactics to consider.

    That in mind, let''s collect some water.

    "Woah, looks really ¨C cold!?"

    The clear water surface that I dipped my hand into without much thought, felt cold enough for me to let out a yelp. It was in fact surprisingly cold.

    "¡­ it''s good."

    As I try drinking it, that reaction naturally flows out. To be honest, I''ve never thought about water as good or bad tasting till now.

    Whether it be mineral water or spring water, it all felt the same- But, this water is clearly, good. Really delicious. Almost makes you think there''s something weird in there.

    "I wonder if, this is recovering mana¡­"

    <i>Puha~</i> I let out a sound of satisfaction like what my father does from a beer after the bath. It feels like that blue MP gauge ced below the green HP gauge is being vigorously filled up. Though I have no idea whether that''s actually happening or not. It''s my own body, but I''m not sure.

    For now, like it said in the info, seems like there''s no problem using the water. At worst, it''d be fine toe back here to resupply. Now to just hope the structure here makes it possible to return.

    "These tree nuts, you can definitely eat them, but I wonder about the taste¡­"

    The next thing I grabbed was, <i>Filled with nutrition, with just this and water, you can survive no problem!</i>¨C the nut praised by my Intuition Pharmacy as such, AKA the ¡®Fairy Walnut''. That''d be its officially designated name from the notebook.

    The walnuts are fallen under trees which line up on both sides of this avenue-like room. They''re slightly smaller than baseballs, and have a brilliant shade of green. <i>These ain''t ripe at all!?</i>¨C is not what Iin about. Peeling off this green husk, you can find that characteristic walnut brown color inside.

    "And these leaves, they''ve got a bit of healing effect."

    As if imitating the wings of a fairy, these walnuts have two pairs of thin leaves loosely stuck to it. Intuition Pharmacy says that these 4 leaves can work to elerate the healing of wounds. If mixed with the Fake-elionfalse dandelion it would make for an even better healing concoction.

    "Hm, the taste is so-so."

    I took a bite of the fairy walnut while thinking up drug creation ns, and the taste wasn''t too good or too bad. It''s nothing special.

    Well, it''s obvious cause there''s no seasoning, but, just being edible raw gets it a passing grade as food. The look and edibility are the same as Earth walnuts, a familiar wrinkly shape, so I don''t feel weirded out by it.

    "But I don''t really want to eat just this you know."

    Spoken like a true privileged modern Japanese citizen, I diligently put away the <i>main dish</i> from here on out into my bag.

    "Alright, now to get my shaman fingers crackin''"

    Lastly, I face towards the garden of flowers in full bloom as if inviting me to it. The notebook''s already dered that they have ¡®medicinal uses'', so these will be raw materials for making some valuable drugs.

    The text message info only talked about one type of these medicinal herbs. It gave some official name, but it''s too long and I forgot. Looks exactly like a 4-leaf clover, so that''s what I''ll call it. My other ssmates are probably calling it that too.

    Incidentally, this <i>4</i> leafed clover is simr to its counterpart on Earth in that it''s a pretty rare find. However, the value in effort of finding one is returned with simr, no, much more value in powerful healing effect.

    The Higuchi gang has already passed through this fairy square, and probably took most of them. There''s no use in looking for possible leftovers.

    But as a shaman, I''m able to discover useful herbs other than the clover we were all informed of. Moreover, I could evenbine these herbs using Intuition Pharmacy, and make nice meds.

    I was scared that it''d be like RPG consumables, and only individually usable- but that turned out to be needless anxiety.

    "Hell yes, this''ll do it¡­ this''ll work!"

    <i>Woohoo!</i>¨C I dive into the flower garden. The hidden effects of all these different flowers sizzle into my brain.

    The one''s that look like white lilyshirayuri have a healing promotion effect like the fairy walnut leaves.

    The one like a red tulip warms you up, bluevenders are detox, yellow for pain relief- There were many different types as if someone''d gathered them.

    "Awesome, now to roll up my sleeves and get cooking!"

    Seems like my run hasn''tpletely run out after all. Finally, I''m starting to see the light.

 Chapter 7: First time Spelunking

    Chapter 7: First time Spelunking

    Courtesy to : Lionmask

    ===

    "A-ah¡­ I''m sorry, please don''t do anything painful, please."

    Right now, I''m in full blown begging-for-my-life mode. I hope you don''t see this as shameful though.

    "Momokawa Kotarou. To have met again, we are thus d."

    I face the Grim Reaper(shinigami), or rather, the God who bestowed me with the oh-so-wonderful vocation of shaman, Curse God Ruinhilde. A skeleton body simr to the one you could find in the biologyb, he unleashes a fierce, indomitable presence.

    Not only is that skull face in the worn out ck robe super scary, I also had painful experiences with him like having my head messed with and chest pierced. So, obviously, with no half-baked-ness, I''d up and start begging for mercy.

    "Umm¡­ Have I perhaps, done something wrong?"

    Please spare me from unfair scoldings like, <em>Pathetic, to be done in by some DQN despite being a shaman.</em> As I can''t really reply to a literal God with, <em>Then why don''t you just give me some super strong Curse to make Higuchi suffer and die, huh.</em>

    Thine grudge, it doth taste rather sweet, we praise thou.

    It seems he''s not angry for that event, but rather seems happy. <em>Whew,</em> I''m relieved from the bottom of my heart. I can''t even imagine what this God''d do to me if I made him mad.

    "Yes, it was my pleasure. Then, why have I been called here, if I may inquire?"[1]

    I¡¯d suddenly woken up, to find myself in this God''s space. Though in pitch darkness, strangely, you can see each other and the surroundings. Like outer space scenes in Sci-Fi movies.

    I was in the fairy square, testing out various mixtures of herbs, but seems like my fatigue had built up and I''d dozed off.

    That''s a safe area not approached by any monsters, so sleeping there wouldn''t be a problem. I hope nothing attacks my immobile, defenseless body lying there on the flower garden. No, not in the sexual meaning, the predatory one.

    "We shalt grant thee, a novel Curse."

    "Eh!? You will! Thankyou very much!"

    An unexpected level-up. I guess the beating the Armor Bear must have gotten me a heap of exp. I mean, that thing has to be at least mid-boss tier. If you got that guy as you first encounter in a game, that would be a game-breaking bug.

    Whatever it is, if I can get a new move, I''ll thankfully ept. If possible, something that can directly damage monsters. Please, God.

    "Recieveth it well."

    With such majestic phrasing, Ruinhilde''s arm moves. Um, feel like I''ve seen this bef- when that bad feeling had raced through my body, the bony right hand was already gripping my head. More specifically, it was gripping my slightly long ck hair.

    "U uwaAAa! Again- gUFuoAAAAaa!?"

    While I was crying out, he had spear handed me right in the middle of the belly. My hard-abs-less squishy abdomen offered not the slightest resistance, and let the sharp fingertips pass through all too easily.

    "Begrudge, envy, but stops not thine legs. Indeed, doth thou possess the aptness of a Shaman. We expect much, young devotee, Momokawa Kotarou."

    Ruinhilde was rattling his skull face saying something, but I didn''t have a moment, even a speck of time to listen to God''s words. Actually, my consciousness is already¡­ Ah, damn, what is this nightmare¡­

    "Alright, got myself a new blessing, made lots of meds too, time to head out!"

    I¡¯d received the blessing like one of those stter films, and was a bit depressed, so tried to get myself riled up even if forcefully. I mean, if I don''t then I''d never have the guts to step into that dark passage AKA ¡®undergroundbyrinth dungeon''.

    "H-headin'' oouuut¡­"

    In the end, with terrified-witless steps, I really began my dungeon spelunking.

    The thin rubber soles of my indoor shoes clearly transmitted the feeling of stone underfoot. The fairy square seemed like a neatly cut off nature park, right after which, the passage was made in stone only, like the stairway.

    However, those gray walls were rough, covered in mosses, and hadrge cracks running along them. Breaking through the gaps in the stone, unknown weeds sprouted everywhere.

    Intuition Pharmacy was like, <em>"Weeds with no effect at all. Worthless. They should just go extinct."</em>, and dishing out some sick burns-cum-exnations in my head. Was it always this kind of power?[2]

    Though these weeds were growing so happily, there''s no mistaking that this ce was deep underground where the sun¡¯s light doesn''t reach.

    The light here, is of course that same magic white light. However, the space between these luminescent magic tiles was sparse, and the light didn''t reach each and every corner of the of the passage. From the edges of areas shrouded in darkness, I felt like I saw some big bugs crawling about.

    "Ha, ahaha¡­ no way, can''t be a cockro-"

    Another rustle as I swallow my breath. The shadow reflected in my vision for an instant, looked nothing but like that reddish brown <em>thing</em> that''s hated unterally all across Japan.

    I''m not that bad with insects, and won''t hesitate to smash <em>that</em> with a rolled up newspaper. Nevertheless, if it gets to palm sized, it''s no good. Something, many things are no good. That''s not something humans can handle. We''ll go into decline.

    Shivering in such thoughts, I just quickly keep walking through the passage without checking left, right or back. Fortunately, I stopped hearing any of the creepy noises <em>that</em> makes. <em>Fuu~</em> as I breath a sincere sigh of relief, my feet stop.

    "Fork in the road¡­ no, looks like a main road."

    At the end of the passage, appeared arge open area. On the ceiling high up, I see therge type luminescent tiles which light up the present scenery. And also, paths that could hold 2nes of cars, splitting in front of me.

    "Kinda, looks like long tunnels."

    Though their semi-circr ceilings were orange in color though, there isn''t a sodium bulb in sight. Looking left or right, the road, slightly curves until it melds into the darkness. It felt like a subway train coulde out from there any second.

    "I''ll go¡­ right."

    I''d opened the magic notebook to check thepass. The arrow on the dimly glowing white magic circle did in fact indicate towards the right-hand-side road. Not shaking or wavering, pointed stiff.

    I, having nothing else to rely on, kept on walking where the arrow so confidently indicated with no particr doubts.

    "This thing, isn''t broken or anything, right?"

    When it isn''t changing at all thirty minutes into walking in the tunnel, naturally, those kinds of doubts would surface. Every time I check the notebook, the arrow''s still just pointing forward.

    I needlessly doubt it for a few more dozens of minutes. The arrow shifts direction.

    "Uaa¡­ is this was really ok?"

    The arrow pointed straight at the back of a wall that was crumbling, revealing a narrow passage. Without a doubt, that doesn''t look like it was made along with this tunnel, but by someone else who drilled a hole to the other side.

    Along the way here, I''d seen simr ces with the wall crumbled, but if you tell me to go into one, I''d be a little hesitant.

    Well, no use worrying. <em>This must work as a shortcut</em>, with such positive thoughts, I slide myself into therge crack in the wall.

    And inside, there was a passage just like the one I entered in from, from the fairy square. So simr, I was beginning to doubt, this dungeon consisted of only these tunnel and dim passage type paths.

    For now, without expecting any spectacr fantasy-esque scenery, I started walking on when,

    "-Dagoaa!"

    I heard a voice.

    "Who''s¡­ no, not a person¡­"

    At first, I thought it could be a ssmate shouting. But, that voice didn''t sound Japanese at all, it was a jarring cry impossible toprehend. Could be someone from this world speaking itsnguage, but the roughness of it, could be some beast as well.

    "¡­looks like it''s from that room."

    The voice hade from a door midway through this straight passage. Seemed like the inside of the room was brighter than in here, and white light was seeping in through the slightly opened door. It was just the right gap to peek through.

    This could even be a new monster following the Armor Bear. If it finds me, I have no countermeasures at all. The new Curse I got from Curse God Ruinhilde is, unfortunately, not the offensive kind.

    Though I feared it dangerous, that didn''t stop me from checking whaty inside that room. I got curious, I got super curious about it. Really, if there''s a new monster, I at least want to confirm what it looks like. I could get some valuable insights too.

    Feeling my rapidly rising heartbeat, I kill the sound of my footsteps, and stealthily approach the door. The indecipherable cry reaching my ears get progressively louder. I get the image of that wood-like door being kicked open and the owner of that cry jumping out, in my head, as I finally reach the door.

    I hold my breath, and slowly, peer into the gap-

    "¨C!?"

    Not a shout, not a sound of surprise. That I didn''t do either of those could be said to be nothing but miraculous. Because, what I saw beyond the door, broke past my imagination.

    "They''re eating¡­ human¡­"

    I only said that in my head. Eating human flesh. If I had to say it in words, those would match what I was seeing.

    It was a stone room with no peculiar features. The size would be about half of a ss room. Diagonally at the edge of the room form the door I was peeking from, were 3 shadows.

    No, those were really only ck in color. Those bodies glistening ck under the white light as if smeared in oil, gave me the same aversion as when I saw those cockroaches. But they, standing on two legs, holding things with their two hands, wearing worn and torn clothing, seemed much closer to humans than any roach.

    Nevertheless, no one has to convince me that those 3 ck things are not human at all. Eating a person, with just that one point, I refuse to acknowledge them as human.

    "huff¡­ huf¡­. What the hell, is that monster¡­"

    At the back of the room, those three are gathered around something- no, I already recognized what that was. Lying there was unmistakably, a girl from my ss. In the middle of that red-ck pool of blood, I spotted the familiar deep-blue sailor uniform. From that pleated skirt, the legs peeking out shone strangely white.

    Though I could see so clearly, I didn''t know that girl''s name. Because I can''t see her face. From my position I could only see the back of the head, with ck shoulder length hair- just the back of the head, disconnected to the body, rolling on the floor.

    To add, it was not only her head, but both arms were missing from her body too. Right arm from the shoulder, and left, from the elbow, had been cut away.

    <em>Grunch, grunch</em>, resounds the vulgar sound of mastication. The missing arms were each in the possession of one of the ck ones who were in the middle of gnawing at those white slender fingertips.

    "Ugh¡­uu¡­"

    The contents of my stomach were flowing back up, but I managed to swallow it down. I wonder if I got some resistance from watching all those zombie flicks with Masaru that had nothing but the gore going for them.

    Still, no masterpiece of horror filmography can hope to aplish what this undoubtedly real scene presented in cruelty, frustration, difort, disgust¡­ ah, I feel sick, so sick¡­ a feeling, nothing but, sick.

    I look at the ck thing''s face as it chews the middle finger of the right hand. A face uglier than even zombies.

    Its piercing round, yellow eyeballs stand out from the pitch-ck skin. Though they seem to glitter in the light, it''s unlike the shine of gold, but rather like the yolk of a rotten egg.

    Its nose at the center of its face was short as if smashed in. Maybe human meat is just that good, or perhaps is it eating a girl that got them excited, I don''t even want to know. But seeing that rough breathing through its nostrils, it sure gave that kind of impression.

    Most of all, its mouth, wholeheartedly indulging in the white finger with no thought of wiping off the dripping blood, gave me the worst disgust. A big mouth deviating from the meaning of that expression. Its mouth stretched up to the middle of its cheeks. From thatrge oral cavity peeked out white and yellow filthy, uneven teeth, and a strangely long red tongue. Its teeth tore away at the finger meat, like a leech, not spilling a single drop of blood, then licking the meatless finger bones.

    It''s unbearable to look at, but those two eating just the hands were still better. Much better than the other one. Lifting up the hem of the sailor uniform, it was excitedly shoving its face into the slender, white, naked belly underneath. Shoved it right in the middle where you''d find the navel. It was slurping out her intestines from there and devouring them. Even though it had its two hands, it still ate like a stray dog eating from a trash can. Despite it''s human form, it''s filthy dining wouldn''t be seen in even monkeys.

    "Huff¡­ huff¡­ g-gotta get out of-!?"

    "Guuara!"

    Suddenly, one of them raised a shrill cry. Throwing aside the half-eaten right arm, it grabbed the rusted axe hanging by its waist, and turned around. Yes, it turned around right towards the door I''m peeking from.

    Crap, they found me-

    "DegyeEEE!"

    Or so I''d''ve thought, but it turned back round right there. Seems like, it <em>hadn''t</em> actually noticed me.

    The hell man, fuck you, scaring me like that. As I was cursing them in my heart,

    <em>Chok!</em> a dull sound reverberated throughout the room. What is that- before I question the sound, that things action burns into my eyes.

    It had swung down its axe at full power. Where? it''s obvious. On her corpse. The target was the leg. At the base of the thigh.

    <em>Chok-chock, chek-chok.</em> The sound of piercing meat repeats. I saw it madly striking repeatedly with the unsharpened, rusted de. The part of the human body, next in thickness after the waist, was battered countless times by the unwieldly axe. Rather than being cleanly severed, it was raggedly being shaven into.

    The girl''s pale legs are drenched in blood and defiled in red cuts. The skirt, turned up from the violence, revealing a pair of prim light-blue underwear, only to be entuated the graphess of it all. I''d dream of staring at a girl''s panties(pantsu), but that thing''s vigorous axe thrashing, made itpletely into a nightmare.

    Yes, a nightmare. Being attacked by the Armor Bear, having my core stolen by Higuchi. That misfortune felt oh so warm. Right now I felt like the luckiest person in the world. I mean, I''m here, alive, and she''s there, dead, being eaten. In all vulgarity and sloppiness, by those ugly, barbaric monsters, devoured to bits.

    "GuveEE!"

    <em>Crkk,</em> a different,rger sound reached my ears. It was undoubtedly the sound on the femur being forcefully split after half of it had been chopped through. Then, finally it grabbed the chopped off leg with both hands, and sank its filthy wide mouth into the meaty thigh in ecstasy.

    I unwillingly hear it going <em>GueE</em> or <em>Buhea</em> as if it''s satisfied with the dish it''s gorging on.

    "No¡­ no¡­ just, enough already¡­"

    The two others, as if provoked by the one ravishing its leg, started wildly fighting over the half-eaten thigh in that one''s hands. At that juncture, I''d had enough, and slowly backed away with my trembling feet.

    That''s enough insight. Much more than enough. I understand that this dungeon has demons that''ll happily devour human flesh.

    From their hairless, slimier than smooth, bald head, with two short protrusions like a deformed snail shell sticking out, I''d be right in calling them demons.

    "I have to get out¡­ absolutely, no matter what¡­ from this hell"

    With unabated fear rising from deep in my heart, I rapidly advance through the dark passage.

 Chapter 8: Encounter part.1

    Chapter 8: Encounter part.1

    Courtesy to : Lionmask

    ===

    "Yay! a fairy square!"

    Seeing the only bright, peaceful ce in this dark, gloomy dungeon I, like a rising high-school yer reaching home base at Koushien, slid right into the room.[1]

    The fairy square gave me a feeling as if I''d returned back to where I left from. The neatly spaced trees of fairy walnut, the medicinal flower garden in full bloom. Finally, the save-point-like fountain with the cute fairy statue. Water, food, medicine, I could get them all right here.

    But, what I needed the most was the sense of security of the fairy square, where monsters don''t approach. Obviously, because I came to know, how that kind of violent, man-eating demon runs rampant in this dungeon.

    Looking back, those things had clothing, and used weapons such as the axe. One could see an intelligence greater than monkeys but less than men. In RPG terms, they gave the image of Goblins or Ghouls. In a game they''d be beginner level mobs used for grinding exp, but seeing something like that in real life only gave me fear and panic. There''s likely more of those than the three I saw. Implying, this dungeon, is literally teeming with them.

    I should¡­ just live here from now¡­

    Like an office worker(sryman) who''d just beenid off, I was sitting at the edge of the fountain, head down, mumbling these heart broken words. Rather than continuing this dangerous dungeon exploration, god knows when the next safe location will be, I ended up genuinely thinking I should just stay put here.

    No, I get it. I know doing that isn''t possible. But, at least, I can''t really jump into that abyss right now-

    "Nn¡­ uu¡­"

    I feel like I heard a groan. It''s not a sound I myself leaked out along with some auspicious sigh.

    "Hu-Who''s there!?"

    My first reaction was wary. I won''t be smiling like an idiot when meeting a ssmate anymore. It got a bit hazy because of that gory scene from before, but Higuchi''s loathsome grin instantly shes back into mind.

    Only three can escape from here. Having been betrayed by my best friend, I know there won''t be anyone capricious enough to let me in their group, if only to make up numbers. To add, my vocation is that of shaman. You can''t rely on me in fights either.

    "I¡­ know you''re there, show yourself."

    With my shaky hands, I take out my boxcutter and fully unretracted, and repeat the Curse incantations in my head countless times. With ¡®Red Fever'' and my newly received Curse, I should be able to hold them off somewhat. It''s better than doing nothing, is my general feeling.

    "Come out dammit!"

    My already shrill voice, bing even more soprano from the tenseness, echoes pitifully in the fairy square- but, the other party hasn''t made a single reply.

    If they''re hiding, I''ll just have to find them. That being said, I already know what ces a person could hide in this room.

    I nce at the trees lined up on both sides of the room but, nope, you can''tpletely hide yourself behind those. I don''t see anyone there.

    That being the case, there''s only one more ce. That is, right behind the fountain I''m standing in front of. If you lie sprawled out on the opposite side, you''d bepletely out of my visual range.

    I prepare myself, and sneakily begin tip-toeing around the fountain. Only the sshing sounds of flowing water hits my ears. The moment of truth, to be revealed in a matter of seconds. It''s a small fountain in the first ce, walking slowly, a round-trip wouldn''t even take 30 seconds. Even less time if the distance is halved.

    "- Ah!?"

    Indeed, it was a ssmate. Like the one I peeked at through that door just before, dressed in the same sailor uniform, a girl from ss,y there copsed.

    However, the impression waspletely different. Compared to the unknown girl from before, the one in front of me right now lying pale was practically twice her size. The girl boasting such arge figure, there could only be but one.

    "Futaba-san!"

    Futaba Meiko. From the seat next to me, the big-bodied girl. But also someone whose body shook enough to not be able to draw the magic circle, a ssically girlish, small-willed person. That girl, was lying there, paled blue.

    I don''t have any particrly special feelings for her, and when I handed her a copy of the magic circle in the ssroom this morning, it was nothing but a whimsical act of small kindness. Honestly, that much of a rtionship isn''t enough to put my trust her. And right now, I need to be wary, first and foremost- but, I quickly ran over to her. Along with the boxcutter, I threw away my panic, wariness and steeled heart.

    "Futaba-san, are you alright!"

    Because she''d been injured. The first thing I notice is the redness of her abdomen under that ckened sailor uniform rolled up to the chest. The wound was, different from mine received form the Armor Bear, a straight sh across the belly, as if torn up with a knife.

    The shirt was rolled up, not to invite men into attacking her, but to somehow treat the wound herself.

    However, she didn''t have the means to carry out any treatment of such a terrible wound. And that would lead to her present state.

    "Ah¡­ Mo, mokawa¡­ kun¡­"

    She thinly opened her round eyes, and saw me, who was calling out to her, by her side. Traces of tears on the edges of those eyes. How long had she cried in fear of being so close to death. Now, she didn''t have the strength to even cry.

    "Hold on, Futaba-san!"

    "H¡­ Help¡­ me¡­"

    "I will! I''ll help you right now!"

    "Don''t¡­ please don''t¡­ leave me¡­ behind"

    Leaving that, Futaba-san''s eyelids were again, shut.

    "Futaba-san!? Futaba-saaaan!"

    No reply. No reply, but she''s still faintly breathing. I quickly decided to check her pulse. Reaching not for her wrist, but her pale neck. That was closer. As I touch, I''m surprised at the softness of a maiden''s skin. Soft, white skin. But fat.

    I''m damned tired of my male instincts rising first, but on my finger, I indeed feel her pulse.

    Futaba Meiko, she''s not out of the game yet.

    "Please¡­ work!"

    With a prayer, I turn over my bag where I''d put the medicine I, as an amateur shaman, earnestly made at the first fairy square.

    Fak-elion(false dandelion) and fairy walnut leaves ground together with the flowers that looked like white lily, I grab first grab the medicine named ¡®Ointment A''. Of course, there''s a B and C made with otherbinations of herbs. But, right now I don''t give a damn.

    Ointment A was stored in the tupperware from Takashima-kun''s lunchbox that''d saved my life. And now it would be saving Futaba-san''s life too, this miracle tupperware.

    "Aa, umm, before applying I have to disinfect¡­ no, don''t have any disinfectant¡­ no, no before that, I need to wash the wound itself, ah, I need to wash my hands too!?"

    Paramedics would cry seeing this disorganized excuse for first aid.

    First of all, I washed my hands in the fountain, grabbed the stic bottle out of the contents of my upturned bag, and quickly twisted the cap. This was something I was carrying, the one half filled with an energy drink. By the first fairy square I''d already emptied it, and filled it with the water from the fountain. In the end, I hadn''t drunk a drop till reaching here, so it''s filled to the very brim.

    "E-excuse me¡­"

    After apologizing for some reason, I reached my hand towards Futaba-san''s plump belly. It didn''t look erotic as it was covered in blood, but when touching, I felt an enticing warm softness from it. Bearing the urge to vigorously rub it, I used the water from the stic bottle to rinse the wound, carefully so as not to widen the cut.

    Though the blood was somewhat washed off, since some time has passed since the injury, some of the blood had hardened. At this rate, I wouldn''t make any progress. After making the area clean enough, it was finally time for ointment A.

    Fortunately, the cut wasn''t deep enough that her guts would pop out. However, the horizontally running sh right below the navel was still bleeding out bit by bit. Death from blood loss would be the highest risk factor.

    "It''s ok¡­ this should, this will work¡­"

    I''d survived with the slight haemostasis-only effect of the fak-elion. This now greatly upgraded version, ointment A, will definitely make quick work of a smallfry wound like this. Believing that with my all, I grab some of the pasty, wild-grass-scented ointment from the tupperware, and smear it on Futaba-san''s belly.

    This should definitely stop the blood flowing out, but if it should have the opposite effect¡­ No, let''s not, I can''t just worry about everything. Though I think that, when I see Futaba-san''s blood-drained pale face, the word ¡®toote'' inevitablyes to mind.

    "Now¡­ I can only pray, huh."

    Using up half of the contents from the tupperware, I had nothing else. I had neither bandages, nor blood transfusion packs. To boot, there was no clean bed to quietly rest her on either. It''s unfortunate, but she''d have to keep lying on the grass here.

    "If this doesn''t work¡­ maybe I''ll get cursed by Futaba-san¡­"

    [1] Koushien, a baseball thing.

 Chapter 9: Encounter part.2

    Chapter 9: Encounter part.2

    Finishing up Futaba-san¡¯s emergency treatment, I decided to take a nap for the time being. Though it hadn¡¯t been long, quite a few things did happen, and I was genuinely fatigued. Just how many traumas does this day have in store for me? It¡¯s been one anxiety after another.

    After that, not being aware how long, and not wanting to go to the trouble of restarting my powered down phone to check the time, I slept soundly till my body had its fill. It was on top of the grass but surprisinglyfortable. In addition, there wasn¡¯t an <em>ever-so-pleasant</em> dream with Curse God Ruinhilde making an appearance, so I¡¯d woken up quite refreshed.

    ¡°Futaba-san¡­ seems to be alright¡±

    Her peaceful breathing reminded me of a Holstein taking a nap at a farm. No, not as in her boobs, but in the sense of her tranquil presence. The color in her face returned somewhat, she was resting calmly.

    Nevertheless, her defenceless posture lying before me does in fact incite an urge to squeeze. We~ll, there¡¯s no way a loser like me¡¯ll actually do anything. Well naturally, since I¡¯m but a lowly virgin boy whose age equalled exactly the amount of time he hasn¡¯t been with a girlfriend.

    ¡°<em>Sigh</em>¡­ I¡¯ll make more meds¡±

    Since I¡¯m still not feeling up to dungeon crawling, I started remixing more of Ointment A to replenish the portion used up.

    To be honest, if you just knew the effect of the herbs with Intuition Pharmacy, you didn¡¯t need to be a shaman to actually make these ointments. There was no game-like convenience of casting some magic and getting the desired item. Basically, you had to collect the herbs and diligently grind them with your own two hands.

    I work at the process single-mindedly, with the regr flow of water from the fountain as BGM. I take a branch from a Fairy Walnut tree as a pestle, and a convenience store stic bag (small) I discovered deep in my bag, as a mortar, finally throwing in a mix of ingredients eyeing out the amount of each.

    We take leaves from the Fake-elion(false dandelion), and Fairy Walnuts, but as for this white-lily-like flower¡ª umm, let¡¯s just call them White Blooms¡ª we need not the leaves nor the petals, but the nectar inside, which has medicinal effects. Since I don¡¯t have any way to properly wring out the honey, I can only tear off the petals and throw in the ones that seem to secrete nectar. I worried if this rough method would be effective, but Intuition Pharmacy whispered ¡°It¡¯s fine, It¡¯s fine¡±, in my head, so I decided that it was.[1]

    Anywho, in that manner, I had made more Ointment A, the thing that seemingly healed Futaba-san, proving its great efficacy. With this, there¡¯s much less danger from quite a few types of injury.

    ¡°Still¡­ What do I do¡­¡±

    It¡¯s not about the ointment, or about what I¡¯d do with the dungeon, but on the subject of Futaba-san who I happened to have saved.

    Now that I¡¯ve calmed down, inevitably, doubts rise on whether this was the right thing to do. No, there¡¯s no guilt about the fact of saving her. At that moment, I hadn¡¯t for a single moment thought of abandoning her.

    That would be because I am a person of great empathy and heart, which is not the case, but actually because I¡¯d just seen such atrocious things done to another dead girl¡¯s corpse. I didn¡¯t want to see someone dying in front of me. There¡¯s not much other reason.

    And it¡¯s fine that I saved her, but we now get to the primary problem, this unchanged situation akin to a battle royale. Though I¡¯ve saved her life, there¡¯s no guarantee that Futaba-san will feel any gratitude towards me.

    Although she was asking for help, she could have just been utterly despaired from this situation and desiring death. Or perhaps, she¡¯s like Higuchi, the type to kick down and use people. As the number of people who¡¯d be able to escape, who¡¯d survive, was clearly dered to be 3, there¡¯s no simple way of trusting anyone.

    If that number had been 1, I¡¯d currently be facing the even crueler internal debate of killing her or not. In that sense, the number of 3 is appreciable in that one can have 2 other allies. There¡¯s a ways to go in trusting people- but, as soon as the 4th person appears, someone must be cut off, it¡¯s a harsh, restrictive number.

    ¡°hmm¡­¡±

    Honestly, I don¡¯t think I can get along well with Futaba-san under theseplicated happenstances. Will we aim for escape together, or will we distrust and go our separate paths¡­ No, me being a shaman, I need to bring Futaba-san to my side by any means.

    No way to know what her vocation might be, but whatever it is, it¡¯d certainly be better than acting as a lone shaman. Even if you take away the vocation, Futaba-san simply has more power than me. Her upper arm is as thick as my thigh, it¡¯s slightly tight in her sailor uniform. Extending from that pleated skirt, her thighs are each as wide as my waist. She¡¯s not only thick, but tall too. An overwhelming body difference. Minimum-ss Momokawa vs. Heavy-ss Futaba, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s hard to decide who to bet on.

    ¡°If it¡¯s Futaba-san, she may be able to bash in at least one of those demons.[2]¡±

    I must get my hands on that power. If you think about Higuchi¡¯s 3 member party, the students I¡¯d encounter from now on likely wouldn¡¯t be going solo. In fact, if I meet another 3 man team, at worst, they might actively try to kill me.

    Furthermore, as a shaman whocks any and all offensive ability, I¡¯d hinder any party I¡¯d have hopes of joining.

    But with this Futaba-san here, her being alone, she¡¯s moreover someone I¡¯ve saved. There¡¯s no greater a condition for inviting her to join me.

    ¡°Damn¡­ that¡¯s just evil¡­¡±

    Basically, I¡¯m nning to make Futaba-san owe me. It¡¯s the best course of action. Me having a clear benefit, saving her was no longer an act of kindness.

    Disgusted at my own self-centered cunning, just thinking of it, I¡¯d hesitate in trying to draw her in, but ultimately, I¡¯d do it. I¡¯ll paint over a filthy facade, concealing my avaricious intentions with a cool front.

    haha, being all chummy without a speck of trust. I¡¯d never party up with such scum.

    ¡°Nn¡­ Uu nn¡­¡±

    Just then, Futaba-san sluggishly stirred her body like a cow, letting out a strangely alluring voice. Her thigh-sized arm moved and her thick fingers rubbed around her eyes.

    ¡°Futaba-san¡­ you woke up?¡±

    Though I¡¯d nned to forcefully drag her into my camp, I was unable to show a calm, refreshing smile, and ended up posing her that question with a strong, yet stiff feeling. Seems I haven¡¯t got an ounce of acting talent.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Momokawa-kun¡±

    Slowly raising her eyelids, she called my name with a simr ck.

    ¡°G-good morning¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ good morning¡­ good mor-eh, huh, Momokawa-kun?¡±

    Hernguished eyes shot open as she became aware of me.

    ¡°No way, Momokawa-kun, why are¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t just get up yet!¡±

    I panickedly stopped Futaba-san who had started to quickly raise herself, perhaps from the surprise of me being present. The wound on her belly hadn¡¯tpletely closed off yet.

    ¡°Huh, but, I¡­ umm¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, take it easy. I put some ointment on the wound on your belly, so please just rest for now¡ª¡±

    ¡°Eh, my belly¡ª Kya!¡±

    Raising a truly feminine yelp, Futaba-san moved with unprecedented vitesse, and lowered the hem of her shirt. Seems exposing her barrel-like middle in front of a boy was quite the embarrassing situation.

    ¡°Ugh! Ouch!¡±

    ¡°Wha¡ª, are you ok!? No, more importantly, the wound hasn¡¯t closed so just don¡¯t move!¡±

    ¡°Uu¡­ S-sorry¡­¡±

    Futaba-san apologizes teary-eyed. May be insensitive of me, but just now her expression seemed just like that of a chastised puppy, kinda cute. If that face wasn¡¯t so round, she¡¯d be no different from a pretty girl. Her eyes wererge and round, and her face itself was quite well bnced in fact.

    ¡°Is it, bleeding?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s fine¡­¡±

    For now, we had avoided the great disaster of the closed cut reopening.

    ¡°A, umm¡­ Momokawa-kun, you saved me, right?¡±

    Futaba-san asks with a timid feeling. Seeing the pure light in her eyes, my heart slightly jostles.

    Prepare yourself, Momokawa Kotarou. This is the critical moment, you have to make her indebted to you and make her an ally, any means possible.

    ¡°Yeah, when I got here, I saw you copsed. I quickly put on some ointment, and gave you first aid. I¡¯m d you¡¯re ok.¡±

    ¡°Th-thankyou¡­ truly, you¡¯re really the one who saved me Momokawa-kun. I thought I¡¯d been dreaming¡±

    Apparently, her memory of when she said ¡°Help me¡± vaguely remained. Nice, with this there¡¯s no doubt that I¡¯m the one who saved her.

    ¡°I, thought I was gonna die¡­ So, so scared¡­ But, I was so happy when Momokawa-kun came¡­ So happy, you¡¯d save someone like me again¡­ Thankyou so much, Momokawa-kun, thankyou-u¡­ uu¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, please Futaba-san, don¡¯t, cry so much¡­¡±

    As if ovee by the great emotion of narrowly avoiding certain death, Futaba-san started crying unabashedly, so hard that it seemed talking further was impossible.

    ¡°Uuu, Momokawa-kun, thank you¡­ weeeh!¡±

    ¡°I-it¡¯s fine, no problem, you¡¯re all good now, so rx¡ª¡±

    With this and that, for a while I was busy consoling the crying Futaba-san.

    At some point, I found myself really irking the me thinking only about cleverly making this girl my ally.

    At a scene like this, it would have looked much cooler if I concentrated solely on soothing her. But these idle thoughts kept popping up one after another, and I could give her words coated in sugar on the surface only.

    ¡°Sorry, Momokawa-kun. I¡¯m, fine now.¡±

    Nevertheless, with the solver of all things known as time, Futaba-san hade to rx. Now, it was finally time to have a real talk.

    ¡°So well, for now, can I get you to tell me how you got injured like this?¡±

    Can¡¯t rush things. First is to collect info. I have no idea why she was copsed like that. I should get on with the main subject after knowing what happened to cause that.

    ¡°Aa, umm, I was¡­ err¡­¡±

    I had meant to ask the obvious first question, but Futaba-san¡¯s expression began to clouden. What, was that the bad option?

    Welp, gotta Quick Load and have another go now! My confused head could only output this kind of dumb thought.

    ¡°I, I was¡­ uuu¡­¡±

    As Futaba-san¡¯s tears had reinvigorated their journey to the ground, I realized mypleteck of talent in giving proper counselling.

    No, don¡¯t give in. Even without talent, the conversation can¡¯t progress without knowing her circumstances first. I have to get it out of her even if she¡¯s crying.

    ¡°Calm down Futaba-san, it¡¯s alright. First, from the beginning, right, please tell me, one by one, what happened after you left the ssroom.¡±

    ¡°Uuo-okay¡­¡±

    While sobbing relentlessly, Futaba-san gave me an affirmative nod. Alright, seems like she¡¯ll talk.

    ¡°No need to hurry¡±

    ¡°Mm, Thanks Momokawa-kun¡­ so you know, I¡ª¡±

    ===

    [1]As with Fake-elion, White Bloom is just my attempt of naming Momo-kun¡¯s pseudonyms in English; it can be also called, simply, white flower.

    [2]Refers to the ck ones fromst chapter.

 Chapter 10: Futaba Meiko part.1

    Chapter 10: Futaba Meiko part.1

    Chaos swirled in the ssroom that had begun its copse. What Futaba Meiko remembered, was that mayhem and thinking, Ah, as she was thrown into the seemingly evesting abyss of pitch ck.

    ¡°N¡­ uu¡­¡±

    She awoke lying in a dark ce. Cold, hard, and slightly wet too, there was nothing of greater difort. As she was recalling the soft, warm, fit-to-her-girth king-size bed in her room, her mind returned to reality.

    Fortunately, she hadn¡¯t forgotten anything. After crying a bit from the anxiety of waking up an unknown ce, she was quickly able to grasp the current situation.

    Apparently, they really had been brought to another world. She had been asleep inside a moss-covered small stone shrine-like building. A verdant forest peeking from the doorless, wide open entrance, opposite to which, therey a spiral staircase running downwards.

    Where should I go. Where¡¯d everyone go. Again, the anxieties pinched at herrge chest. As she was about to cry herself asunder for a second time, Meiko realized.

    ¡°Ah, right, the magic circle! From Momokawa-kun!¡±

    Floating into her mind were, the bizarre patterns of white light on the ckboard, and the small boy with a cute-ish face sitting next her, her saviour.

    The page with the drawing of his own work he had handed over so bluntly, it could be seen as some random scribblings, but right now, it was her only hope. Thankyou Momokawa-kun, saying as if praying to the Lord(Buddha), Meiko invoked the magic.

    ¡°Oh Gods above, grant us salvation with the force of thy miracles. For we shall adhere to thine decre¡ª Kyaa!?¡±

    As she had finished the recitation, a magic circle of light appeared on the back of her hand. Dazzling, and at the same time, an acute heat.

    ¡°Kyaa¡ª! What the, a-ouch, burning!¡±

    In truth, the degree of heat wasn¡¯t so high as to warrant such a reaction, but the abnormality in her own body made Meiko yelp, made her cry out.

    Though her shrill voice echoed annoyingly loud inside that small shrine, just then, she heard a voice.

    ¡°¡ªshall we bestow.¡±

    Not her own. Undoubtedly, it was the voice of a third party. It rang clearly inside her head, dispelling any doubts if it was her imagination.

    ¡°To thee, great power shall we bestow.¡±[1]

    It was a gentle female voice. Her mind, rattled with fear and anxiety, strangely came at ease. If there existed a goddess, surely she¡¯d have such a voice, was how it seemed.

    ¡°¡ªUh umm, Vo, cation?¡±

    Before she realized, the light on her hand had vanished, and the goddess-like voice, not to be heard. Having calmed down, Meiko noticed the words that had emerged on the page with the magic circle.

    Reading them, she came to grasp the circumstances. Vocation, dungeon, transfer gate. It wasn¡¯t very believable, yet she had to acknowledge reality.

    ¡°I-it¡¯ll be tough¡­ but we have to get back home, with everyone¡±

    After much deliberation, Futaba Meiko atst took on the resolve to enter the dungeon.

    Gripped in her shaking hands was a bulky butcher¡¯s knife. The characteristic rectangr de sparkled with an intimidation as if saying it could make easy work of a whole cow.

    Futaba Meiko belongs to Shiramine Private Academy¡¯s cooking club. Her hobby is food. That include both the preparation and dining of.

    Being a missionary of the faith of gourmet since her younger days, her skill in the preparation of food grew along side the girth of her body. Making a lot, eating as much. It is the logical result.

    At any rate, on September 20th, the Monday after a 3 day long weekend, Meiko went to ss with the personal knife set in her bag like always. Surely, after school that day, she¡¯d again use these cherished, well sharpened knives on fine culinary creations, but by some twist of fate, they had be weapons for her self protection.

    There was Kitaoji Ruriko, a friend in the same ss 2-7, in addition to an adequate amount of other people also belonging to that club, but the one serious enough to bring their own knives was Meiko only.

    Though she was currently equipped with the best gear, the prospect of her openly fearful and crybaby self swinging a de almost crushed her heart. In fact, she was as her limit just holding on to the butcher¡¯s knife. She couldn¡¯t imagine pointing it towards the violent beasts known as monsters. Even if the opponent was a chihuahua-sized stray dog, she likely couldn¡¯t do it.

    She could cut apart any number of ingredients, but something still alive was a no go. She could easily exercise her de on seafood, like fish or octopi only.

    ¡°I-it¡¯s fine¡­ since I have the Knight vocation¡­ I¡¯ll be fine¡­¡±

    Futaba Meiko was granted the vocation of ¡®Knight¡¯. From the exnation in the notebook, there was no problem in fighting ability, it wasn¡¯t a bad draw.

    Novice skills being 3: ¡®Abandon¡¯, ¡®Repel¡¯, and ¡®Blessed Body¡¯.[2]

    ¡®Abandon¡¯: Can react to the enemy¡¯s attack.

    ¡®Repel¡¯: Repel enemy attacks using weapons or armor.

    ¡®Blessed Body¡¯: A blessed body strong against injury and sickness.

    A simple description of her powers had been entered into her head at some point, so she could quickly understand them. However, how to utilize these 3 skills to fight, Meiko had not a clue.

    It wasn¡¯t a problem of her mental faculties, her grades were on the high end in fact. But unfortunately, there was no way she could logicallye to the best solutions in this abnormal situation. To add, Meiko was quite distant from the world of RPG and action games. Her minute experience of gaming onlyprised of those popr among girls like that simtion with warm interactions between forest animals, and that famous puzzle game where you connected tiles with round jellies to make them disappear.[3]

    She had no idea what to think of this ¡®vocation¡¯ with its game-like skill system.

    But fortunately, Meiko¡¯s first encounter in the dark passages of the dungeon wasn¡¯t a monster, but a familiar face, a ssmate.

    ¡°¡ªYou¡¯re, Futaba-san? Thank goodness, you¡¯re safe.¡±

    The person she encountered on a narrow crossroads was, possessing a slender, calm beautypletely contrasting Futaba Meiko, the ss representative of ss 2-7, Kisaragi Ryouko.

    ¡°K-Kisaragi-san! Fwaa¡ª so d, I¡¯m so d you¡¯re here!¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s ever present calm and intelligent presence even inside the dungeon gave Meiko a peerless feeling of relief.

    ¡°W-wait Futaba-san, calm down¡±

    Taken slightly aback by therge mass approaching her, Ryouko tries to calm the teary-eyed Meiko.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m pretty anxious about this ce myself, but the goal is clear. No matter what, let¡¯s get ourselves out of this mess and return to our world as fast as we can¡±

    Walking along the passage which looked hard like concrete, talking about their situation brought back a bit more peace of mind to Meiko. Most of all, Ryouko¡¯s strong words alighted hope in her heart that was crumbling in despair.

    Kisaragi Ryouko and Meiko weren¡¯t particrly close. You could count on one hand the amount of times they¡¯d conversed. Still, Meiko knew. Knew that she wasn¡¯t only of gorgeous appearance, but her grades and athleticism were also outstanding. Being called ¡®ss rep¡¯ by everyone, her skill in leadership was also a guarantee. Moreover, she showed not the slightest fear in facing the greatest delinquent Tendou Ryuuichi who had sent a dozen punks from ck high to the hospital. In fact, she had the courage to even assert dominance over him.

    Invoking a feeling of both admiration and abandon at never being able to reach her height. That was the girl known as Kisaragi Ryouko.

    ¡°Hey Futaba-san, have you tried out this vocation thing?¡±

    ¡°Eh? A-umm¡­ not yet¡±

    ¡°I see, I haven¡¯t gone past the description either, but seems like we have no choice but to try them now huh¡±

    After exploring the dungeon with Ryouko for some dozens of minutes, the time hade all too quick.

    It was a round open space where many paths met. Contrasting the dreary gray road up till now, it was an area of green. The walls overgrown in ivy, crooked trees spanned from floor to ceiling as if recing pirs.

    But what widened Meiko¡¯s eyes was not the abrupt change in scenery of this ce, but its dwellers.

    ¡°Ha, ah¡­ Those are¡­ rats, right?¡±

    From inside the slight darkness, with creepy red eyes, an animal familiar to the Japanese, it was a rat. Particrly, its size wasrger than what one would imagine. It certainly wasn¡¯t something you could describe as slightlyrger than normal.

    Dirty gray fur, and a long, narrow, hairless tail like an earthworm. A rat from all directions, except size, which was closer to a cat. It could bite back against a cat even if it wasn¡¯t cornered.

    Furthermore, this rat would, in reality, be able to make easily bite apart any cat. Since, in ce of canines that facilitate chewing, its mouth was equipped with 2 sharp fangs like that of a saber-tooth tiger. It proimed its threat by releasing grinding sounds from its fangs and lines of saw-like teeth.

    This kind of rat monster had appeared before Ryouko and Meiko. And in great quantity.

    ¡°No way¡­ S-so manyy¡­¡±

    Herrge stature ashaken, Meikopletely stiffened in fear. Forget attacking, she was currently the best tasting prey, one who couldn¡¯t even run away. And not evencking in filling. The rats were practically drooling a river at the sight.

    No reason for holding back. They probably hadn¡¯t scripted it out, but the rats, widening their eyes and mouths, all at once, began to move.

    ¡°¡ªIce Sagitta(ice arrow)¡±[4]

    Just then, though her spine was frozen stiff, Meiko felt a real coolness on her skin. Right after, shingg, a shrill sound entered her ears. And then finally, she came to understand what had urred before her.

    ¡°Wow¡­ you can really use magic¡±

    She easily praised the cool ss rep. It was that amazing a phenomenon.

    Ryouko¡¯s right arm extended, before it stood an icicle. Having pierced 2 of the rats at the same time.

    Meiko hadn¡¯t seen itunch, but she could easily guess. Ryouko had invoked a magic that threw ice. And this transparent ice broke through the rats¡¯ bodies further staining their dirty gray fur in deep red blood.

    Perhaps the rats became wary of the unprecedented counter. The pack halted its rush. Like an ebbing wave, they turned and took distance. And again, with great agility, they began to encircle Ryouko and Meiko.

    ¡°It pretty great, but it won¡¯t clear the way¡±

    Ryouko seemed to have calmly analysed her power and the enemies¡¯ strength. Even in this crisis, she could make use of her head, and furthermore, take action upon that forethought. Ryouko was of astounding courage and guts.

    Lest it be ignored, Kisaragi Ryouko¡¯s magic prowess too, was astounding.

    ¡°?????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????¡ª¡®Ice st(frozen emission)¡¯!¡±

    Along with a chant in apletely iprehensible mysterynguage, Ryouko shouted what was likely the magic¡¯s name. Pushing both hands out at front with all her might, she manifested the ¡®Ice st¡¯.

    She created a blizzard. That was Meiko¡¯s impression.

    From Ryouko hands surged air cold like the freezing gales of a midwinter blizzard, and the next moment, the rats moving in front of them were frozen solid. Impossible to count, a great many of them.

    With that single cast, about all of the rats on the forefront were annihted. Their squalid gray bodies dyed in white snow, they had be unmoving statues of ice.

    Faced with the fact that arge number of their allies had suddenly been in, the rats were unable to take appropriate measures¡ª meaning, they weren¡¯t able to make the quick decision of escape. Or perhaps, Ryouko¡¯s second volley was simply too fast.

    ¡°That should do it¡ª¡±

    One after another, she kept invoking ¡®Ice st¡¯. This time mowing down the flock built up on her peripherals. The rats scampering on the ground had no ability to avoid the fierce gale that instantly froze them to the core.

    ¡°Amazing¡­ Kisaragi-san¡­¡±

    Soon enough, the pack of rats was no more. More than half frozen, the rest fled like baby spiders. Afterwards, the only things left behind were the creepy ice statues of monster rats.[5]

    ¡°Phew, I¡¯m d that went well. With this magic, we can make do from now on¡±

    So dazzling was the gentle smile of Ryouko. So much, that to Meiko, her own useless self looked like an ugly pig.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go, Futaba-san¡±

    Relief from oveing the crisis, and faith in Ryouko. With those, and, deep in her heart, a slight sense of inferiority, Meiko stepped forward.

    ¡°¡ªI see, Kisaragi-san¡¯s vocation must be Ice Mage then¡±[6]

    With a proper vocation, I guess you can fight like that. I feel a bit of jealousy boiling up, but if I was in her shoes, suddenly able tounch ice magic, I have doubts it¡¯d go so well.

    It¡¯s highly likely that when theserge rats with overgrown fangs, lets call them ¡®Fang Rats¡¯¡ª when this pack of fang rats was so easily done in, it was undeniably by the superior talents of the individual Kisaragi Ryouko.

    I had this thought from before, or should I say, I had indirectly felt it. That she was of the same type as Souma-kun or Tendou-kun. High-spec¡¯ed, normie(riajuu), there¡¯re many easy words to describe them, but in the end it¡¯s that. beauty, brains, body, and even personality is top notch, winners in life.

    ¡°Direct attacks with ice arrows, and a cold air emission area attack. Full points in versatility huh¡­ on that point, there¡¯s 3 novice skills so she must have another one. Futaba-san, do you know?¡±

    ¡°Eh, umm¡­ Sorry, I don¡¯t¡±

    Her brows arching as if troubled, Futaba-san made an apologetic face. I¡¯m not ming you ok, so that face is a bit troubling for me.

    Giving a nice and gentle follow up line here might¡¯ve been the perfect thing a man could do, but unfortunately, my deficiency in handsome-points makes that action unavable. I thought about how to reply for a few seconds, but ended up with nothing in particr. Pathetic.

    ¡°¡­You not knowing probably means it was an always passive skill, or maybe she was intentionally keeping it from you.¡±

    My ¡®Pain Return¡¯ and ¡®Intuition Pharmacy¡¯ worked without any chants or special actions, they were the always-active type. Futaba-san¡¯s ¡®Blessed Body¡¯ must be the same.

    ¡°Ah sorry, I kinda interrupted your talk¡±

    Up till now, the plot¡¯s going in an enviously easy dungeon capturing direction. We haven¡¯t reached the scene where she, Futaba Meiko, is left absolutely bloody at the fairy square.

    ¡°Yeah, so then, you see¡ª¡±

    Really, what horrid truth will spill from that mouth of hers? I already don¡¯t have a good feeling about this, but yet, keep listening to Futaba-san¡¯s tale.

    [1]ÙFÅ®/kijo, an archaic 2nd person Japanese pronoun. Untrantable so ¡®thee¡¯.

    [2]Skill names¡­ ¡ºÒŠÇÐ¤ê¡»¡ºŽ¤­¡»¡º{Ìå¡», I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anymonly used English trantions for these, but that¡¯s what I have. ¡®Abandon¡¯ seems to be rted to Monster Hunter¡¯s ¡®Reckless Abandon¡¯ by name, and ¡®Blessed Body¡¯, is sometimes refers to a (sexy) girl with good proportions.

    [3]So basically, Animal Crossing, and Bejewelled.

    [4]I¡¯ll put the attack name meanings up as ruby text on asion.

    [5]Baby spiders.. is this a Kumo ref? I hope!

    [6]Back to Kotarou POV. On that note, I won¡¯t be announcing these changes in POV anymore, it¡¯s kinda obvious and feels like I¡¯m insulting the reader¡¯s intelligence. If you think it¡¯s necessary, let me know.

 Chapter 11: Futaba Meiko part.2

    Chapter 11: Futaba Meiko part.2

    Futaba Meiko and Kisaragi Ryouko smoothly progressed through the dungeon.

    Every monster appearing along the way made for easy fodder against Ryouko¡¯s ice magic. The dog-like mid-sized monsters ate her ¡®Ice Sagitta¡¯, the fang rats and insect type small-sized ones were blown away by ¡®Ice st¡¯.

    Meiko had to only follow along behind her. Not a chance to make use of her vocation of ¡®Knight¡¯. It was a safe and happy stroll in the dungeon.

    And several hours after the fang rat incident, the two of them finally arrived at the dungeon¡¯s only known safe space, a fairy square.

    ¡°Looks like using these powers a lot can get you new ones. Look, Futaba-san¡ª¡®Ice Shield¡¯¡±

    While on their break, Ryouko tests out her newly gained skill. In front of where she held out her hand, suddenly from nothing, a mass of ice, nay, a shield of ice manifested. At around high, the ice, sprung forth from the ground, would protect the caster¡¯s whole body from frontal attacks.

    Blurting out ¡°Waao¡ª¡± as if she¡¯d seen a splendid magic trick, Meiko listened to Ryouko¡¯s exnation with her eyes bedazzled.

    ¡°Like the name says, it¡¯s a defence magic. If possible, I¡¯d like not to receive attacks where I¡¯d be forced to use it though.¡±

    Her battles with monsters using magic were, so far, wless victories. Yet Ryouko did not grow pretentious, and seemed to be calmly analysing their situation.

    Nevertheless, she was not someone exempt of danger. Indeed, danger is always sudden, hidden around the corner waiting its chance.

    ¡°¡ª! This is bad, Futaba-san, get back!¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s voice, tinged with impatience, echoed throughout the dome packed in verdure.

    The 2 girls, finishing their break at the fairy square in under an hour, again delved into the dungeon, and soon enough, arrived at a great circr area sizing at more than 3 times that of a gymnasium. Like the room where the fang rats appeared en masse, it was a ce overflowing with arbre, giving the impression of a small forest. Looking above, there seemed to be what looked like steel arches which gave the area the shape of a dome, so rather than a forest, it could be seen as more of a botanical garden. Moreover, the rectangr panels devices that released white light were partially destroyed, making it seem more like a dark, deserted building.

    In that ce, Ryouko and Meiko were suddenly under attack.

    From the shadows and trees, multiple forms emerged. These forms seemed human at first nce, but their stature, about a head or so shorter, and their permanently hunched posture, made you see them more like monkeys.

    To summarize, these are humanoid monsters that dwelled in the dungeon. They actively attacked people and preyed on their meat, a detestable existence even to this world.

    They are called ¡®Goma¡¯.

    This information itself was procured from the magic circle just a few moments prior when checking it at the fairy square. Still, equating the written information with these ugly, obsidian beings in front of them was impossible for even the quick-witted Ryouko.

    Still, her having defended sessfully with her newly acquired ¡®Ice Shield¡¯ was indeed deserving of praise. shing attacks from the knives they wielded, arrows from beyond the thicket, they were all blocked by the bulky shield of ice.

    Meanwhile, Futaba Meiko was in a daze, Ryouko used two shots of ¡®Ice Sagitta¡¯ to finish off the goma holding a knife and axe, at which point, the former finally let out a cry from fear.[1]

    Boldly charging in with her ice magic was Ryouko. On the other hand, Meiko equipped with the sharp meat cleaver mostly just cried in disarray. That was perhaps still better than her swinging it wildly in the darkness.[2]

    ¡°These ones are, way too persistent!¡±

    Up till this point, any monsters getting a taste of Ryouko¡¯s ice chose swift retreat. After losing 2 or 3 of their pack, they¡¯d understand their powerlessness, or perhaps think thepatibility was off, promptly scurrying away. Though called monsters, they likely had the reasonable instincts of a wild animal.

    Yet, maybe they had a fixation with humans, or perhaps they were so demented, the 5 or 6¡ª including the ones pierced in ice, 10 goma, show no intention of ceasing their assault.

    ¡°¡ª¡®Ice Shield¡¯!¡±

    What was more worrisome than their absurd tenacity, was the asional arrow whistling by from the darkness.

    From what Ryouko could perceive at a nce, they were using arrowheads uneven in both shape and length, certainly not of metal, but sharpened stone or perhaps of bone from monsters or animals. Possessing no such thing as a fletching, their aim was far from perfect; overall arrows of crude and unreliable make.

    But still, once nocked, drawn and released, the arrow will fly. Whether stone, or bone, it will pierce if sharpened. Soft human skin, possessing no such thing as a steel-like armor shell, wearing only a sailor uniform. She had no natural defences to prevent arrows.

    Under the seemingly endless volley of arrows, Ryouko was slowly, but most assuredly, being cornered. Those poor excuses for arrows would never hit. But, if even one of them did, that would decide the match. With an arrow stuck somewhere in her body, could she use magic like right now, could she run away, could she, even think normally?

    Ryouko was using ¡®Ice st¡¯ as a diversion, mixing in her main attack ¡®Ice Sagitta¡¯, in a desperate retreat from the forested dome.

    Protecting the crying, uselesslyrge andrgely useless pig behind her, Ryouko continued invoking her magic without a singleint.

    In the darkness, surrounded by trees, her visibility was quite limited. But the goma seemed to have good night vision even in that obscurity, and wouldn¡¯t lose sight of them. They can¡¯t see, the enemy can. One vs. many. It was a miracle she was able to hold off that long.

    ¡°¡ªGot¡¯cha!¡±

    Not letting the slightest movement in the bushes slip, she would kill the bone short-spear wielding goma as soon as it jumped out. Ryouko had no doubt her magic having the power to do so.

    Her strength, mana, concentration, none of them had yet to wane, but then¡ª

    ¡°Kh, ouch!?¡±

    Her lucky streak ran out. An arrow with a blue crystal head grazed Ryouko¡¯s left thigh. On her clean white skin ran a painful line of scarlet.

    It wasn¡¯t fatal. But from the sudden shock of pain while running, she pitched forward and fell. Her falling posture(ukemi) perfect. With her level of athleticism, there¡¯s no reason she¡¯d let herself plunge face first into the ground.[3]

    But from turning over to limit the shock, to getting back up again, there was a critical gap.

    ¡°Damn¡ª¡±

    When she got back up, she found 2 goma closing in.

    One held a blunt-edged knife, and the other, a rusted hatchet. And both had an absolutely nauseating appearance with muddy yellow eyes, and squalid lines of teeth peeking from inside their mouths wide agape. From their filthy bodies drifted an odour, a horrendous mnge of sulfur like from rotten eggs, and decaying fish. That along with their further ammonic smell like that of toilet cleaning fluid, it made for the worst stimulus to your senses.

    <em>Urggh</em>, as she tried to suppress her nausea, knitting those elegant, thin brows, the goma swung up their weapons, their prey to be caught in another step.

    ¡°A, ah, Kisaragi-san!¡±

    At this point, Meiko finally stopped her slow running, and turned around. Being one-sidedly protected, she had been facing forward, concentrating solely on moving her legs, and even with her piggish, slow self, a small distance had opened up between her and Ryouko.

    Naturally, even if she turned back now, she had no means to save Ryouko. Meiko was of vocation Knight. She possessed no magic based ranged attacks.

    Indeed, Kisaragi Ryouko wouldn¡¯t be saved, unless of course, there was a third party involved.

    ¡°Ryouko-chan, you alright!?¡±

    Along with the voice of a young girl rang dirty, hoarse screams.

    What appeared first in Ryouko¡¯s eyes was the scene of 2 goma that hade as close as face to face, grandly falling over. She got a glimpse of the rusted knives stuck, on the throat of one, and the chest of another.

    ¡°No way, Minami!? How¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just by chance! Now, run!¡±

    Ryouko began running alongside the other girl. Her leg was in pain, but didn¡¯t seem to hinder movement. But more importantly, about this other girl.

    Natsukawa Minami. That was the name of her ssmate and savior.

    Big, round, cat-like eyes were her charm point. Her bob-cut hair and well-tanned cocoa brown skin gave her an energetic image. Not undermining that impression, she was in fact even more lively and vigorous than she would initially let on.

    She had allocated all that excess energy to the track and field club, being known as the new hope in her first year, and presently in her 2nd, attained the seat of ace. Naturally, her match was the sprint. With an explosive dash resembling her own personality, she had taken Shiramine Academy Track and Field all the way to the nationals.

    This hardcore runner girl known as Minami and Kisaragi Ryouko were friends on a first name basis. She was the super girl of her club, and barely passing tests in ss. Ryouko the ss rep gantly taking on the duty of aiding to improve her miserable grades wasmon fact in ss 2-7. The super serious Ryouko would lend her homework to this Natsukawa Minami and Tendou Ryuuichi only.[4]

    That aside, the hot and lively Minami, and cool and intelligent Ryouko. Their personalities may be the exact opposite, but their bond contrarily was just as strong. They wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to call each other best friends.

    ¡°Thanks, I owe you one, Minami¡±

    ¡°Nihaha, getting Ryouko-chan to owe me one, it¡¯s a once-in-a-life-time miracle!¡±

    Her road to absolute despair had transformed into a path of hope thanks to her friend¡¯s smile, fiercely brilliant like the sun. Ryouko¡¯s heart, halfway given up, newly overflowed with strength.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to celebrate our reunion, but we need to get away from those guys first¡±

    ¡°No probs, got you covered¡ª¡±

    Minami smiled like a mischievous child, and pointed at one of the passages connected to the wall. Indeed, there was no need to point it out as they had been rushing that way already.

    Incidentally, having confirmed the saving grace of Minami, Meiko resumed her mad, wild-boar rush, coincidentally towards the same direction. Her head in chaos, there being no way to know if she was intentionally following Ryouko, but luckily they were all running in the same direction.

    Moreover, having splendidly tripped on the curb of the intersection between the dome and passage and fallen inside, she had no clue of her astounding luck.

    When the two others reached a Meiko in her embarrassing full view disy of blush pink panties tight around herrge butt, Minami shouted out,

    ¡°Now, Satou-chan! Shoot!¡±

    In ce of a reply, a single arrow flew through between the two. Its shining head spawned from inside the passage, and flew out into the dome. Its aim, not the goma chasing after them, but a strangely crooked tree, hitting right in the middle of its trunk as wide as a bunch of people. Making the abundant green leafage quiver, it made a dull sound.

    <em>A miss</em>¡ª jumping to the conclusion to quick, Ryouko realized that it had hit its mark perfectly.

    <em>brrr</em>, the ground trembled and then, disappeared. Not that of the passage they were on, but of inside the dome they had just escaped from a couple moments ago. Just beyond the curb, the earth in a diameter, turned to mist and vanished.

    ¡°Eh, the heck is this¡­¡±

    Having the solid ground she had just stepped on, vanishing in front her eyes as if a mirage, made Ryouko mutter out astoundedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pitfall. Seems like you can set up these kind of traps in quite a few spots here.¡±

    Minami said casually as if livementating on a game.

    ¡°Are pitfalls like, supposed to suddenly disappear like that?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? Isn¡¯t it like a magic trap?¡±

    It was a Minami-style thoughtless response, and truthfully, she couldn¡¯t think of anything better. Ryouko herself had been exercising the phenomenon known as magic. That in mind, there¡¯s nothing strange about there being traps impossible to replicate back on Earth. No, this being a ce called <em>dungeon</em>, there¡¯s no way they would be.

    ¡°Anyway, now those uglies won¡¯t being after us anymore, so let¡¯s get going¡±

    The pit was made as if protecting the entrance of the passage they had jumped into. Peeking over the edge, one could see, not an evesting abyss of ck, but a white mist like dry ice blocking the view to the bottom. But undoubtedly, its depth was greater than human height.

    The goma gradually gathered on the other side of the opening, as if chagrined at the loss of easy prey. <em>Gyaagyaa</em>, they screeched obnoxiously, but not one attempted to jump over to the other side.

    Perhaps they knew the dangers of falling in there, or maybe even they had some reserves toward unforeseen traps. At the very least, this proved that goma weren¡¯t able to make a 10-meter jump. Their strength was likely not so different from that of humans.

    ¡°Right, I want to hear a lot of things, but we should get moving for now¡±

    With that, having narrowly escaped danger, Ryouko and Meiko leave behind the dome, and the screeching goma.

    ¡°Natsukawa-san¡¯s vocation would be ¡®Thief¡¯ right?¡±[5]

    ¡°Um, yes it is¡­ how¡¯d you know?¡±

    With her round face and round eyes, Futaba-san asks utterly bbergasted.

    The one saving Kisaragi Ryouko at the nick of time was our track and field ace, Natsukawa Minami. Knowing her talents anyone could easily imagine her as¡ª or is that just my gamer brain running wild again?

    ¡°No well, she was using knives and traps, so I kinda guessed¡±

    ¡°Yup, right, Natsukawa-san was using a knife, and could make pitfalls and find hidden doors you know¡±

    Knife throwing and detection skills should be considered a given.

    ¡°Do you know her skill names?¡±

    ¡°Err, yeah¡­ there was ¡®Throw Dagger¡¯ that made her good at throwing knives, and ¡®Search Sense¡¯ and uh¡­ oh yeah something called ¡®Quick Step¡¯¡­ umm, I think she said something about martial arts and was happily running really fast¡°[6]

    I see, so knife throwing, trap searching, and speed enhancing skills. They do seem like novice skills for a Thief.

    ¡°And she also learned ¡®sh¡¯ and, ¡®Abandon¡¯ like I have on the way¡±

    ¡°What does ¡®sh¡¯ do?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was always watching from behind so I don¡¯t really get it¡­ but I think she said it makes cutting much easier¡±

    As the simplistic name states, it would have the effect of raising the power in a swing when the knife is used to cut. This should probably also be categorized as a ¡®Martial Art¡¯. From these names and descriptions, I get the image of a skill system separated from magic. Well, I don¡¯t really care what the official types are though.

    ¡°What can I say, she seems pretty strong, that Natsukawa-san¡±

    ¡°Yeah, really strong! When the monsters came, she was always fighting at the very front¡±

    Seems she¡¯s been ying the role of vanguard quite well. With Kisaragi-san using her ice magic as rear guard, they must¡¯ve made a greatbo. It¡¯s like they got the standard fantasy arrangement going well with the melee fighter as a wall, and attack mage shooting from the back.

    ¡°But I was¡­ just so useless¡­¡±

    I guess she got reminded of her inferiority in power to Natsukawa-san while we were on the subject. The thought cast a cloud over Futaba-san¡¯s visage, slight tears gathering at the edges of her round eyes.

    If I act now with kind, gentle, and overallpassionate words to her, I too can be one of the winners in life, but sorry to say, I let that chance go to waste.

    This girl¡¯s been a useless load on everyone¡¯s shoulders in the story till now, just my humble opinion. I may not be cool and handsome, but I can at least read the mood which reads not to speak that opinion out.

    ¡°S-so um¡­ The Satou who shot the arrow, was it Satou-kun the guy, or Satou-san the girl?¡±

    To conclude, the option I picked was, pretending not to hear Futaba-san¡¯s self-deprecating mutterings, and continue with the story. <em>Ignore</em> is a useful skill I believe.

    ¡°Ah, sorry¡­ It¡¯s Satou-san the girl. Satou Aya-san¡±

    So that her first name. Honestly, I just knew the surname.

    She, like me, wasn¡¯t someone who stood out. Speaking of which, there¡¯s too much of a gap between the normal people in our ss and the super high-spec ones like Souma-kun and Tendou-kun. When I saw my ss roster, I thought they must¡¯ve wanted to put all these cheat-status guys in one ce. Of course, Kisaragi Ryouko and Natsukawa Minami were also of the superior group.

    ¡°Satou-san¡¯s an Archer?¡±

    ¡°Yup, she said she was in the archery club in middle school¡±

    Since we¡¯re supposed to get a ¡¯Vocation¡¯ best suited to our abilities, well, I guess having a bit of experience doesn¡¯t hurt. If they weren¡¯tpletely useless at everything, even the gods would grant something they were familiar with.

    Not saying I¡¯ve seen how skilled Satou Aya is, but she wouldn¡¯t be better than Souma Sakura with her nationals tier talent.

    ¡°So you guys met up with Natsukawa-san and Satou-san, only those two?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, as for others¡­ We found someone¡¯s bag on the way, but didn¡¯t meet anyone else¡±

    What came into mind was the scene of those demons called goma that were eating a girl. If they were eaten like that, no way there¡¯d be any body left.

    Shit, remembering it made me sick to my stomach. Let¡¯s not¡ª

    ¡°So you guys were now a 4 person team¡­¡±

    Oh man, this number 4, made it worse. As in, the punchline¡¯s already been revealed.

    Revealed to be exactly what I imagined when I found Futaba-san left dying in this fairy square.

    ===

    [1]So I¡¯ll dere now that the plural of goma is goma. No particr reason I just don¡¯t like the sound of ¡¯gomas¡¯. Like fish, or anime. If you say animes¡­ I hate you.

    [2]Retcon: Butcher knife -> meat cleaver

    [3]Ukemi: it¡¯s a Judo thing, she fell without much damage basically.

    [4]So I write fullnames as [Lastname Firstname] like in jap. Also I try to use the name exactly as it is in the raw. Now to the point: I don¡¯t think I need to say this but calling each other by first name is a big-ish thing for japs. Well atleast in these weeb media things. I think most readers have an understanding of this concept, but yeah, only buddies call each other by first name. And super buddies even drop the -chan -kun honorific bs. Not really, it all really depends on the story, but you can generally tell how close people are by what they call each other.

    [5]3rd person ¡ú Momokawa POV. desu.

    [6]So, ¡®Throw Dagger¡¯ and ¡®Search Sense¡¯ are english, as in katakana from the author, so I¡¯ve kept them as is. ¡®Quick Step¡¯ is a bit troubling. the kanji (¼²ñl) is the same as Yuuto¡¯s (hero) ¡®High Walk¡¯ but instead of the katakana, it was it said something different/ same meaning in hiragana. I think it¡¯s ok to think of these two as the same thing but who knows, the hero¡¯s one might be special. So I renamed it.

 Chapter 12: Futaba Meiko part.3

    Chapter 12: Futaba Meiko part.3

    It was smooth sailing. Kisaragi Ryouko who could manage to traverse the dungeon solo, now had gained allies: The Thief, Natsukawa Minami, and the Archer Satou Aya. They seemed practically invincible.

    Minami had abination of her hitherto nurtured athletics which, together with her vocational skills, made her a perfect melee fighter. As for Aya, she was, as she appeared, of average talents but, her vocation instantly enabled her to enter battle.

    ¡®Aim¡¯: Increases aim, thereby raising the strength and uracy of the bow.

    ¡®Concentrate¡¯: Can draw the bow without faltering of mind.¡¯

    ¡®Fletchery¡¯: Can make arrows well.[1]

    Though nothing tantly overpowered, needing just a bow, attack and ammunition are covered while leaving room for improvement; they were a well bnced set of novice skills.

    Luckily, Aya had cleared the first big hurdle of procuring a bow early on. Aya had met Minami just when thetter was about to take down a goma with a bow, it was practically like a blessing from the god of archery.

    And now, a few hours after leading the dome and entering a fairy square, that girl was yelling hysterically.

    ¡°¡ªEh, let me get this straight, so this means only three of us will be saved!?¡±

    ¡°C-calm down, it¡¯s okay, so just calm down alright!¡±

    Even Minami, whose cheerful smile and rxed attitude wouldn¡¯t crumble during dangerous dungeon battles, voiced those words tinged with impatience and unease.

    ¡°W-w-wh-what do we d-d-do¡­¡±

    Quivering with all her plus sized body, Futaba Meiko was all too quickly in tears.

    It wasn¡¯t uncalled for them to fall into so much disarray. Since, when they checked on the updated information on the magic circle, they were made aware of that shocking rule.

    The transfer gate located at the deepest part of the dungeon would only allow a maximum of 3 people to enter¡ª that is, there was a limit to the number of people who could escape.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know the veracity this information. So let¡¯s not think too much about it.¡±

    Only one of the four, Kisaragi Ryouko, was calm, and trying to put everyone at ease.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, then the heck are we supposed to think!¡±

    Apparently ¡®Concentrate¡¯ only had effect when using the bow, in other times, there would be no convenient calming of mind. As if demonstrating the validity of that statement, Aya furiously argued back.

    ¡°We have to get a lot more monster cores to use this transfer gate. It¡¯s been quite easy up till now, but who knows what¡¯s toe. So don¡¯t risk yourself with useless worries while fighting¡±

    ¡°But, then wh¡ª¡±

    ¡°What we need to do right now, is hope¡±

    Aya looked at the ss rep, who said all that with a straight face, as if she was talking to a mental case.

    ¡°So you¡¯re just¡­ gonna give me those sugared up lines even now¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t just pretty words. Since we, we really do have a hope¡±

    Ryouko proimed those words with a gentle smile of an utter confidence, no, a conviction one could say. Taken slightly aback from that bold counter, Aya asked the standard follow, ¡®What would that be?¡¯.

    ¡°Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuuichi. If it¡¯s those two, they can definitely ovee this, yes, even this crazy ce.¡±

    Not one of them could deny orugh at her answer. Most likely, not a single member ss 2-7 would disagree.

    ¡°Look, even we can fight those monster with our vocations. I bet those 2 with this power, would easily be real superheroes¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s words were not to be considered pitiable or faith based absurdity. Anyone would think so if they knew those two. Anyone would believe.

    ¡°We¡¯re headed to the same ce, so if we continue on like this, we¡¯ll absolutely convene with Souma-kun. And then he¡¯ll save you, and everyone else too¡±

    ¡°S-Souma-kun will save me¡­¡±

    Perhaps she was imagining Souma Yuuto¡¯s gant figure as he leapt head first into danger. Aya¡¯s cheeks blushed cerise, and her face dissolved into rapture.

    Ryouko wouldn¡¯t condemn her for such a disy. Around half the girls of ss 2-7 would show the same reaction.

    Like the boys who would fall for Souma Sakura¡¯s beauty at first nce, the girls would have a simr wanting for Souma Yuuto. Satou Aya, she too was one of those who had secret feelings of wanting to be near him.

    ¡°Yes, believe me, Satou-san. Souma-kun, wille save us¡±

    ¡°¡ªFha! Y-you¡¯re right¡­ Souma-kun¡¯s the type who can really do it¡±

    Aya quickly agrees, saving face as if she had only been logically convinced.

    ¡°Yup, well said, we¡¯ll be just fine with Souma-kun around! This is like a game world, so rather than superhero, he¡¯d be like, a warrior hero?¡±[2]

    Silver armor and a cape fit him perfectly, that had been proven on the stage y at the school cultural festival the previous year. The piece was Snow White. His role merely that of passing by at the end to give kiss, but his presence, more prince-like than any prince, almost made you forget the whole tragedy that was the brunt of the story.

    ¡°But rather than Souma-kun, Ryouko-chan¡¯s prince charming is more like Tendou-ku¡ª¡±

    ¡°H-hey, stop that Minami! We¡¯re not like that ok!¡±

    Ryouko reacts just like Aya did a few moments ago, Minami giving her the usual wide, teasing grin. In these situations, even the cool ss rep. is an open book.

    ¡°Nihaha, I¡¯ll leave it at that then.¡±

    ¡°Why¡ª you little!¡±

    ¡°Hey, ow! Wait, no violence please! And no using magic eitheer!¡±

    Her pretty face dyed red, Ryouko one-sidedly catfighting her friend, was an image distant from the ever reliable ss rep. She looked more like a grade-schooler.

    In that fashion, these girls had not made the information about the number restriction a big issue. That is, not yet.

    The 4 resumed their journey.

    It had been 10 minutes since, having rested with a nap, reinvigorating both their strength and vitality, at the fairy square, at which point their next encounter with monsters was upon them.

    What appeared was a pack of wild dogs with zing red fur. At a size somewhere between a Shiba and a Golden Retriever, their rough panting and blood-shot eyes inly disyed their savage nature.

    ¡°¡ªSorry! 3 iing!¡±

    Minami shouts while slicing open a dog at the neck with the chef¡¯s knife in her right hand. 4 others had gotten around past her with the vigour of a fireball, but she had back-thrown the knife in her left hand, hitting one dead on the back. As a result, like Minami said, 3 of them were headed towards the two rearguards.

    ¡°Futaba-san, you¡¯re on!¡±

    Sharp instructions from Ryouko. The rear was upied by the Ice Mage, Kisaragi Ryouko and Archer, Satou Aya. The Knight, Futaba Meiko was to be together with Minami at the front¡ª was not something anyone expected of her, so she was put at the awkward position of mid-guard.

    Though she, as a Knight, should be at the very forefront, tanking the enemy, she had been given the kind and considerate task of stopping even just one of the ones getting past Minami, a Thief.

    ¡°Kya¡ª! Waa¡ª!¡±

    As if ripping apart that kindness from her allies, Meiko put full power into dodging. Without having swung her meat cleaver even once, she simply dropped it and rolled across the ground. Her figure exactly resembling a beer barrel rolling down a slope.[3]

    ¡°The hell, are you do¡ªing!¡±

    Her target set with ¡®Concentrate¡¯ Aya burst her shot with ¡®Aim¡¯ together with her angry voice. The goma-brand arrow pierced the fangs born, drool slobbering, fast approaching dog deeply right between the eyes. 100% uracy. And, 1-hit-kill.

    ¡°¡­¡®Ice Sagitta¡¯¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s icicle was thicker and longer than an arrow, but certainly didn¡¯t fire any slower then the bow. Even without a specific skill, her aim was true, and beautifully struck through the dog¡¯s torso.

    The 2 rearguards took out 2 of the dogs instantly, but there were a total of 3 approaching. There was still one left. Very close. A 2nd arrow or icicle wouldn¡¯t make it.

    The dog, as if assured of its kill, raised sparks as it nked its jaws.

    ¡°Ugh, shi¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡®Ice Shield¡¯¡±

    Just then, a shield of ice soundlessly appeared, and the dog, having jumped in, mouth open wide for the kill, foolishly crashed headlong into it. Raising a miserable whine, the dog¡¯s body promptly dropped to the ground.

    ¡°Though I can¡¯t rapid-fire attack magic, defensive ones don¡¯t seem to have that limitation, looks like¡±

    Exining this to Aya with a chill expression, Ryouko shot the dog with another ¡®Ice Sagitta¡¯ before it got back up.

    ¡°Ryouko-chan! Satou-chan! You guys ok!?¡±

    At this point, the pack of red dogs was making hasty retreat. Minami didn¡¯t give chase, and was running back, worried about her friends.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯m seriously d we got Kisaragi-san with us¡±

    ¡°Satou-san, you beat enemies too, so you¡¯re not too shabby yourself¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got the highest kill count! So praise me more Ryouko-chan!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, it¡¯s because you¡¯re giving it your all at front that we in the back can actually attack, Minami¡±

    At the cheerily bantering three stared Futaba Meiko, in all her ugly, dirt-smeared glory. Rising sluggishly like a bovine after its afternoon siesta, she hoisted up her round frame.

    However, she didn¡¯t have the courage to take a single step in returning to the other three.

    ¡°¡­Futaba-san, are you okay? hurt anyce?¡±

    Ryouko called out to a Meiko, hesitating at the corner of the room, in a gentle voice.

    ¡°Yes, I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll, go get the cores now¡±

    No one was ming Meiko for her unseemly disy. Certainly, Satou Aya was ring at her with unobstructed scorn, but there were no hatefulments actually being made.

    But if anyone were to condemn her behavior, Meiko wouldn¡¯t have any valid refutation. She knew, knew exactly how ipetent and useless she currently was. Everyone was fighting with their lives on the line, while Meiko was so scared, so utterly terrified when enemies approached her, that she knew no action but to run. In reality, she did run. Not giving a damn about her allies, just herself.

    ¡°Then, if you¡¯d be so kind. You¡¯re in the cooking club, Futaba-san, so you seem to be familiar with dressing and the like¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s like, the right woman for the job? Nihaha, It¡¯s a bit too much for mee¡±

    It was not enough to just defeat monsters. Unlike in games, there was nothing like experience points that showed a solid numerical measurement of growth, never mind the corpse disappearing in smoke to reveal gold coins or item drops; even for a world of fantasy and magic, that was too much to ask.

    There was no point in not collecting the core nted inside the cadaver. If they reached the transfer gate and didn¡¯t have enough to actually power it, that would be a real problem.

    ¡°S-sorry¡­ There was just three¡±

    Making full use of her set of knives, Meiko quickly finished dismantling the dogs¡¯ bodies and retrieving the cores with the proficiency of a seasoned chef. On top of her plump palms certainly rested 3 small cores like broken red marbles.

    The number of dogs they had beaten were 10. Meiko missing another 7 cores was not because she had failed to find them but because they simply didn¡¯t exist. As for the fang rats they had first defeated, not one of them contained cores.

    Meiko who had been dealing with all the monster bodies on their journey, could easily tell if they contained cores or not. After skinning them a bit, she could somewhat sense them by presence. Additionally, she could also feel out what spot they were located. That is to say, core retrieval was a no brainer. Even without Meiko¡¯s culinary expertise, a novice could find it randomly poking around.

    For this reason, the real problem was the low rate at which they were collecting cores.

    It was a scary thought, but maybe it was useless collecting these tiny ss-fragment-like cores in the first ce. That was one of the worse cases.

    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, they were pretty weak monsters after all¡±

    Ryouko received the 3 cores from Meiko with noint. Looking at it another way, there was no word of gratitude either.

    ¡°At the pace we¡¯re going, we¡¯ll level up any time now! Then it¡¯ll be a core smorgasbord!¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t wanna fight stronger monsters¡­ Sigh¡­ If they don¡¯t go down with one arrow¡­ I just, no¡±

    Minami tries to console the depressed and anxious Aya with her air-headed smile and optimism. And while Ryouko looked over them with a smile, they made their departure from that area.

    Meiko, wallowing in shattering self-derision, followed the 3 from a step behind.

    It was when, another 3 battles after the red dog encounter, they were on their 4th struggle.

    What appeared were goma. The location, a passage crowded in trees withered white. It was less dense, and brighter than the forest dome where they teamed up with the Minami party, but there were more than enough blind spots.

    ¡°¡ªAh!¡±

    Cried Meiko. She stood at the very rear. Having been deemedpletely useless inbat, she was naturally positioned in an only-to-be-protected rear, even farther back than the rearguard team of Ice Mage and Archer.

    However, that was the case only if the enemy appeared from in front. Even in games, there are attack patterns where the enemyes from behind. And in real life, there was no way monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to take a simr course of action.

    ¡°KyaaAAAA!¡±

    Armed with arge naked w as a knife, a goma jumped out from behind the white snags.

    When Meiko turned and saw that suddenly appearing goma, with that figure, more repulsive than any demon, right at her face, she hadpletely forgotten to run and froze up.

    ¡°GuobuBiBA!¡±

    It came shing with a strange war cry. A straight, wide, horizontal swipe. Meiko could clearly see the movements of that goma.

    With the Knight¡¯s ¡®Abandon¡¯, she could achieve the miracle of evading that attack with room to spare. Meiko could pre-cognitively see with a faint white glow, the exact trajectory of that de.

    She understood that the path of the de was swiftly approaching her plump abdomen. She could fathom it.

    There was room for dodging, and even defending.

    ¡®Repel¡¯ would allow her to use that meat cleaver she was holding to easily bounce back theing strike. If she triggered it, the counter from Meiko¡¯s think arms would fling away the goma¡¯s attack along with its lightweight body,unching it straight to the ground.

    Yet, the future with her taking that course of action would note. Sole reason being, Futaba Meiko, and her ownck of courage. She cowered in fear. Her attacks, bound.

    ¡°Gyi, iyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa!!¡±

    Her middle was shred. A straight, level line. The goma, though a stranger to the way of the sword, had struck its target just as nned.

    The de of fang cut deeply into Meiko¡¯s belly. The cloth of her sailor uniform possessing no defence against the edge. That heryer of fat wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop the de was something Meiko, who had cut, dressed marbled meat countless times, knew all too well.

    Raising a deranged scream, more from the psychological shock from the attack than the violent pain, Meiko copsed belly up.

    ¡°Bah, guRuA¡ª GebA!¡±

    As the goma swung up its knife, attempting to mount Meiko and deliver the killing blow, A chilling bolt of frost drove into its ugly, twisted face.

    ¡°Futaba-san!¡±

    Luckily at that moment, the bout with the goma toon had reached its terminus; which was a fact Meiko was bound not to notice.

    At any rate, Ryouko, then Aya, and finally Minami too, quickly ran over to the injured Meiko.

    ¡°Huff, haa, ah¡­ Aa¡­ I-it h-ouw¡­ It huurts¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk! I¡¯ll get first aid righ¡ª¡±

    ¡°How are you gonna do that, we have no bandages or disinfectant!¡±

    ¡°B-Band-Aids, I have tho¡­¡±

    ¡°Those won¡¯t do frick here!?¡±

    The girls fell into a tumultuous panic. But to Meiko, whose mind gone nk in shock, they sounded just like the sports clubs people shouting their vigor-filled mantras as they practiced on the grounds outside.[4]

    ¡°No it¡¯s alright, we still have those herbs from the fairy square¡±

    Ryouko had calmly, yes even in this uproar, calmly singled out the ideal solution.

    What she retrieved from her bag was a mere handful of grass. With their particr heart shaped leaves, they were of a form quite simr to that of the 4-leafed clover.

    ¡°Herbs you¡­ that¡¯s everything we have you know!¡±

    ¡°Yes, but even one of these are very effective¡±

    The wound on Ryouko¡¯s left leg had all but disappeared. This was pulled off using only one of these 4-leafed herbs.

    Thanks to the info from the magic circle, they knew the effects of this clover-like herb found at the fairy square. When they doubtfully tried it out, everyone had the thought that it must be a magic nt.

    Its usage, simplicity itself. Just grind up and apply to the affected area.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean! With a cut that deep, we¡¯d need all of, no, maybe even all of it wouldn¡¯t be enough¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re absolutely right. We actually have¡­ no guarantee it¡¯ll work¡±

    ¡°So why the hell are you trying to waste our precious medicine!¡±

    Indeed, this herb was precious. They could gather a handful of these from the fairy square overgrown in flora. The ce was chock full of 3-leafed ones. Only the 4-leafed one being curative. Having gone scouring for them like they were back in kindergarten, the 4 girls understood that the chances of finding one were as slim as on Earth.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a waste, and if we don¡¯t, Futaba-san will¡­¡±

    ¡°So what do you propose we do next time when it¡¯s one of us! Can you guarantee we¡¯ll find more of these at the next square? If someone gets there before us, I assure you they¡¯ll be hoarding every one of them!¡±

    Veins spreading in her eyes, discharging sputum, Aya kept on talking in a state of maximum frenzy. Nevertheless, her assertions indeed hinted at a slight soundness. Even Ryouko couldn¡¯tpletely refute her.

    ¡°So Satou-san, are you implying¡­ we leave Futaba-san to die?¡±

    Ryouko raised the ultimate question.

    ¡°¡­ Isn¡¯t that question¡¯s a bit unfair? Kisaragi-san, You get it too, don¡¯t you, honestly?¡±

    At Aya¡¯s reply in a warped smile, Ryouko impulsively averted her eyes.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re wrong, I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m not! I¡¯m not the bad guy here ok, I mean, there¡¯s no other way to look at this! Think a bit about the future, then anyone, even I get it you know!¡±

    ¡°But, that¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°H-hold up!¡±

    Minami came in to stop the two delving further into their unsightly squabble right in front of the victim. Speaking of whom, they realized they hadn¡¯t noticed her at all since the part about band-aids being useless.

    ¡°Be any louder, it¡¯s like you want more monsters. Like, there¡¯s the blood too, those dog-like ones¡¯ll smell us right away!¡±

    At Minami¡¯s very-likely-to-happen statement, Aya¡¯s face paled, and Ryouko¡¯s lost color. Realizing that, even as one of them was on the verge of life and death, they too were being exposed to danger.

    ¡°S-so let¡¯s just get out¡ª¡±

    ¡°Got us covered, I found a fairy square just a bit from here! Yeah, so let¡¯s carry Futaba-san there first¡±

    Minami points at the right of the T-junction where the passage of snag ends. Apparently, she had quickly gone and checked beyond there.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s. If there¡¯s more herbs at that fairy square, then all our problems are as good as solved¡±

    ¡°¡­ Hm, I guess¡±

    Thus, the three immediately began working.

    ¡°N, ngu¡­¡±

    Groanednguishedly, not Meiko, but Ryouko.

    ¡°Ngah! Heavy damnit! How many frickin¡¯ kilos(pounds) are you even packing!¡±

    It was a miracle that three girls were able to lift Meiko¡¯s massive frame. No, to be precise, they were only having her lean on their shoulders.

    Feeling as if being crushed, they somehow or other managed to get Meiko walking. So as to suppress the bleeding even a little, Ryouko had wrapped her own jersey around her abdomen. Looking at the navy blue of the Shiramine Academy jersey steadily darkening from blood, its efficacy was doubtful.

    ¡°Huff¡­ Haa¡­ Finally, made it¡­¡±

    Aya wheezes in ragged breaths. Ryouko was silent, and even the chippy Minami had lost her words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just, find those herbs¡­¡±

    Beads of sweat umted on her forehead, Ryouko voiced the demand, and the three made for the fairy square¡¯s herbage.

    Meikoid to sleep right by the fountain; the three silently searched with her asional gripes of pain as BGM.

    ¡°¡­no good¡±

    The result, obvious from those 2 words. A single stalk. That was the totality of the harvest.

    ¡°Haha¡­ Ahaha¡­ It¡¯s over¡±

    With a tired expression, Aya says, indolently seated on thewn with her legs thrown out.

    ¡°Wh, hey, it¡¯s over, you¡­¡±

    On the verge of crying, Minami nervously looks back and forth between Aya and Ryouko.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, make me say it ok¡­ Hey, ss rep, what do we do¡±

    Ryouko had deeply furrowed her brows, choosing silence. How long had she hung her head in shame? Likely not even a minute, but yet, her painful silence felt eternal.

    ¡°Futaba-san¡­ we can¡¯t save her anymore¡±

    A bitter decision.

    ¡°Eh!? Ryouko-chan!¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, you can stop the miss goody two-shoes act you know, Natsukawa-san¡±

    ¡°N-no, I wasn¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Like, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s over, over means over ¡¯kay. No one¡¯s fault here¡±

    Aya was muttering ¡®fault¡¯, ¡®not my fault¡¯ in-between dryughter. How could she, a normal highschooler, be expected to keepposed after these cruel events. Nothing wrong with wanting to escape reality.

    ¡°These curative herbs are extremely valuable to us right now. What if I got injured enough to be unable to use magic, what if Satou-san got her arm cut so bad she couldn¡¯t draw her bow¡­ Most of all, Minami, you who¡¯s been fighting monsters at the front, you¡¯re the one most likely to receive a wound¡±

    Ryouko had been watching from behind and knows exactly how well Minami kept avoiding all sorts of attacks with her unparalleled athleticism, physical prowess, and ¡®Abandon¡¯. But it wasn¡¯t good to be hubristic upon this evasion ability. Even if they weren¡¯t against a powerful monster, it was easy to imagine her surrounded by more goma than she could cope with.

    ¡°Uh, but I¡¯m¡­ fine, see¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point, Minami. If something happens to you, Satou-san and I who are ranged attackers will surely go down right after. Honestly, we should¡¯ve decided how to use the herbs long ago.¡±

    As if to escape the suffering, Ryouko averted her eyes from Minami, and of course, Meiko too, just staring at the grass. At the end of her gaze, a conveniently ced 4-leafed clover, was not there at all.

    ¡°So you see, we have to let Futaba-san go now. So that we can survive. Wasn¡¯t it obvious, that useless pig was bound to be thrown away¡±

    ¡°Stop it Satou-san, you can¡¯t say it like that¡±

    ¡°So what way can I say it your highness? Will you forgive me if I cry and apologise to Butaba¡­ isn¡¯t that like, a little bit hypocritical?¡±

    ¡°Whatever she did, you can¡¯t call yourself a person if you say that!¡±

    You can¡¯t just give up on a human life just because it¡¯s more efficient or if they¡¯re useless.

    ¡°¡­No sorry. Like, I shouldn¡¯t spit on the dead huh¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s face was sour enough to make her teeth grind. She had been stumped. Aya was right. No matter how many morals you held on too, having decided to let Meiko die, all of them would be utter hypocrisy. All three of them, would have to carry that weight.

    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t we leave already? If you wanna watch over her till she dies, that¡¯s a bit too much for me alright?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t fun for any of them. One could tell at a nce that Aya, and or course Ryouko and Minami too, all of them wanted to get away from this ce of guilt.

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re right. There weren¡¯t any herbs here, so there could¡¯ve been previous visitors¡±

    ¡°If some selfish trash gets to the transfer gate first, they¡¯re pretty much not gonna wait around. If that 3 person limit thing is true, we¡¯ll really be in at the deep end¡±

    They could trust in Souma Yuuto¡¯s strength. Still, whether they could or couldn¡¯t make it to the goal first, was indeed a bit doubtful. The girls had seen many times along the way, ces where the dungeon was caved in, passages that you couldn¡¯t take. With a bit of bad luck, they could need to go on long detours to arrive at the transfer gate. Worst case, they could also bepletely blockaded from their destination.

    If there was student luckier than Yuuto, yet utterly self-centered, they would undoubtedly rush to the exit with no regard to others.

    ¡°Also hey, there¡¯s exactly 3 of us now. Casting aside Butaba was just a matter of sooner orter huh?¡±

    ¡°¡­Just, stop Satou-san. You don¡¯t need to spell it out, I, got the full picture¡±

    ¡°If you do, then fine. I¡¯d be happy if I didn¡¯t die ¡¯cause of some hard feelings¡ª but, you two seem alright. Since we made a decision everyone¡¯s ok with right?¡±

    And then, Aya soberly stood up. After patting off the grass on her skirt, she walked towards Meiko at a casual pace. And from the bag lying beside her, she took out a squarish ck case.

    ¡°Satou-san, that¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°Something she won¡¯t be needing anymore. And much better than using those goma knives¡±

    The case being handed straight to Minami, was of course, Meiko¡¯s beloved knife set. Those sharp des would be a godsend for a Thief. Perfect for carrying and storage, too good to pass up. Naturally, the meat cleaver equipped on Meiko would also be collected.

    Minami was already borrowing a chef¡¯s knife, having a spare carried no loss. Moreover, Ryouko and Aya could both carry one for self-defence.

    ¡°E, I umm¡­¡±

    ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll give it overter¡±

    Being considerate to Minami¡¯s feelings, who was tearing up, and hesitating to receive it, Aya forcefully shoved the knife set into her own bag. It was quite the size, but a schoolbag devoid of the deadweights known as textbooks and reference books could manage the room.

    ¡°Guess we¡¯re about done here¡±

    And this time, Aya really did head on straight out of the fairy square. Ryouko and Minami, be as downcast as they may, followed after her.

    ¡°¡­ W-wait¡­ Help, me¡­¡±

    Though feeble, that clinging voice definitely reached the ears of those two.

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry, Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°S-sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡°

    Leaving her with just that, the two left. Not once turning back.

    Futaba Meiko was thus abandoned. A fitting end for the useless pig¡ª was not a sentiment she herself would ever truly ept.

    Her consciousness fading, what remained in Meiko¡¯s heart was simply fear. Neither regret at her own actions, nor resentment towards the 3 who left her.

    Just scared, frightened, and cold. She felt like she could just sink into that sea of cold but,

    ¡°Futaba-san! Futaba-san, are you alright!¡±

    Descended the voice of her savior¡ª

    ________________________

    [1]So these names, they should mean simr to what the original says, but here¡¯s my rough sources anyway: FF:TA and ADOM.

    [2]superhero is said (¥Ò©`¥í©`) hiiro, while thistter one is (ÓÂÕß) yuusha, which I said was warrior hero, but usually I just say hero.

    [3]Butcher knife -> meat cleaver, got it wrongst time. A link.

    [4]Like ¡®fight, ON, fight, ON¡¯ etc.

 Chapter 13: Shaman and Pig

    Chapter 13: Shaman and Pig

    ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t do anything but make that random, buffoonish sound.

    ¡°¡­ Yeah¡±

    Futaba-san nods while sheddingrge drops of tears.

    You¡¯re strong, enduring all that¡ª are not the thoughtless words of praise I felt like giving her.

    ¡°Uh-huh, I see¡­ haha, so even that ss rep has the heart to throw people aside¡­¡±

    I surprised myself with how low, how dark the emotions residing in that mumble were.

    Yeah, I knew it wouldn¡¯t be a fun story. And certainly, I understand what those girls decided was somewhat reasonable. Limited recovery items,bat ability, threshold on survivors. Futaba Meiko who wasn¡¯tmitting a thing. There couldn¡¯t be a better candidate to cast aside at that first juncture.

    I was neither hot-bloodedpatriot of justice, nor was I a charitable man of the cloth. So in a simr situation, I¡¯d make the same decision. I could end up, unlike the ss rep and Natsukawa-san who hesitated till the very end, spewing uglier, more egotistic than even Satou Aya. Those girls, did nothing wrong.

    ¡°Like hell they didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Yet, from deep inside my heart, rises a tremendous hatred. Come face to face with a victim of this abdication, an unrelenting contempt, a painful rage sweeps over me.

    Because the Futaba-san in front of is that pitiable¡ª is not the reason. It¡¯s because, she¡¯s just like me. Hopelessly ipetent, a useless good-for-nothing.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t some shitty Shaman, but something like a Healer, I¡¯d¡¯ve already left this uselessrd and made you a pal.¡±

    Memories of humiliation resurface.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you d Saitou, your good pal got a shitty vocation. Thanks to Kotarou-kun being a Shaman, I wasn¡¯t discarded by Higuchi-samaa, aren¡¯t you thinking that while hittin¡¯ away. Man, you really got a great friend there. Might be jealous.¡±

    The filthy sensation of spit on my cheek is dredged up.

    Yes, it¡¯s because I¡¯m powerless that I lost to Higuchi. It¡¯s because Futaba-san is powerless that she wasn¡¯t recognized as in ally. Both were the same, a natural result of our own inability.

    But no way was I such an upright person, or some kind of defeatist so as to submissively ept that result.

    No way in hell. I don¡¯t know about others, but if it¡¯s me, no way I wouldn¡¯t rage, wouldn¡¯t loathe, wouldn¡¯t curse¡ª

    ¡°Futaba-san, let¡¯s team up¡±

    I gave it to her straight, no roundabout, tempting narration, not a hint of trying to lead her into wanting it like some scam. I wasn¡¯t in the mood for hogwash opening remarks, no, I basically just felt like saying it.

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡±

    Blinking her round overflowing eyes, Futaba-san stares at me. Normally, I¡¯d becking the handsome-points to meet a girl¡¯s eyes, but with the influx of malevolent emotions right now, I could look straight back at those circr irides.

    ¡°Futaba-san, I don¡¯t think you want to die yet?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yea¡­¡±

    ¡°And of course you aren¡¯t thinking it¡¯s so miserable being betrayed and want tomit suicide?¡±

    ¡°N-never!?¡±[1]

    That¡¯s good, she still has the energy to instantly deny suicide. If she was chronically depressed or something, I¡¯d have another boat-load of trouble doing, cheerup and counselling.

    If she has the will to live, I¡¯d more than wee her aboard. Well, not like I have the luxury to pick and choose my allies.

    ¡°Then, team up with me. This dungeon¡¯s quite too much for me to capture solo¡±

    ¡°A-uh, but¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t, do anything¡­ So scared, I can¡¯t fight¡­ I¡¯ll definitely be a pain for you, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I can¡¯t fight either. I¡¯d even bet, my vocation is the weakest in the whole ss¡±

    It¡¯s really quite pathetic, but here I shall boldly proim. For I doth be the true weakest.

    ¡°¡­ Momokawa-kun¡¯s, vocation?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Shaman. Forget offensives, I don¡¯t have any defence or evasion either. Top it off, not a thing for getaways either¡°

    Yeah, you¡¯re damn right Higuchi, a Shaman can literally do fuck all, a real shit vocation, for now. I beat the Armor Bear, but that was basically me using up a lifetime¡¯s worth of luck.

    ¡°But, Momokawa-kun, you saved me!¡±

    ¡°The herbs were just that good. If you know the recipe, anyone can make it¡±

    There¡¯s no such thing as being extra effective when hand-made by a Shaman. If it was a game, maybe you couldn¡¯t make concoctions without that vocation, or alternatively, you could have corrections that, with it, the effects would be many degrees higher but¡­ Sorry, none of that here.

    My Shaman powers basically amount to ¡®Intuition Pharmacy¡¯. If the knowledge of effects and recipes got out, they¡¯d stop being only mine.

    On the other hand, a ¡®Healer¡¯ would use their skill itself for recovery effects, a power uniquely avable through them. Worst case scenario, they¡¯d get me to cough up all I knew about herbs, and just off me.

    Ah, then I guess, it¡¯s actually better I not tell anyone the types of herbs, and how to make meds from them. Even it I¡¯m teaming up with Futaba-san. The confidentiality of herb knowledge, is pretty much one of the only factors of my worth.

    Wow, I¡¯m pretty much trash for thinking these things literally in the middle of inviting her. Well, self-reproach aside. Right now, I need to concentrate fully on capturing Futaba-san.

    ¡°I really am the weakest, and in this dungeon, the most useless out of anyone. ¡¯Cause of that, I almost got killed once¡±

    ¡°Really!? So you mean¡­ Momokawa-kun, you also¡­ umm¡­¡°

    Receiving Futaba-san¡¯s gentle, considerate, and wholesomely sympathetic gaze, I silently nod.

    I mean, me wanting to join Higuchi¡¯s merry bunch, is a 11 out of 10, fuck no. You can bow down(dogeza) and beg me to join your party all you want. I¡¯ll bash y¡¯with a Red Shroom, motherfucker.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone who¡¯ll be needing me anytime soon. What about you, Futaba-san, if we catch up to ss rep¡¯s bunch, you think they¡¯ll want to take you back?¡±

    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Well duh. How barefaced do you have to be to just act like nothing happened and run back to the party that fired you. Matter of fact, if you did, they¡¯d make you leave by force this time. That slightly crazy Satou Aya might evene at you with ¡®Aim¡¯.

    But the point here is not only with the ss rep party, but in making Futaba-san imagine the scenario at every encounter with other ssmates too. She should¡¯ve noticed. If that ss rep, if even Kisaragi Ryouko abandoned her, no one in their right mind would take in her ipetent self.

    Well, someone like Souma-kun might¡¯ve made a more appropriate reply; hey, if you¡¯d been left to die, and your heart was practically on the verge of shattering, anyone would take you in, or something, not really, I wouldn¡¯t know.

    ¡°The chances of us getting protected by people with strong vocations are next to nil. The ss rep might¡¯ve refuted it, but I¡¯d bet there¡¯s more people who take that info about the 3-person limit with more than a grain of salt. Even if they aren¡¯t fully convinced, they¡¯d be acting under that premise being true. So, they won¡¯t have any room for useless dependees¡±

    ¡°No¡­ but¡­ you¡¯re right¡­¡±

    It¡¯s tough pill to swallow, but seems Futaba-san is sensible enough to ept that harsh reality. Could even be that she¡¯s only buttering up to me, pretending to listen to my boring exnation-cum-lipservice.

    Well, I don¡¯t care either way. No one wants to group themselves with a Shaman, is an absolute truth I can say with unbending confidence. I¡¯ve spoken not a single falsehood.

    ¡°So, weaklings as we are, we should try to work with that presupposition. I¡¯m not too crazy about letting myself die. Futaba-san, didn¡¯t you say you felt the same?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right¡­ definitely not, I thought, I was really gonna die that time¡­ so, so scary¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t like thinking one person can truly understand another, but this one¡¯s the exception.

    The time I encountered the Armor Bear, the moment I beat it. The span I peeked at the Goma eating the girl. Death, was at the epicenter of all of those incidents; and every time, it formed in me a tremendous ripple of fear and repulsion. I never want to do that again. I never want that to be me. No matter what, no amount of pain or suffering would make me pass the uncrossable line of desiring death.

    ¡°Yeah, so to not die, we¡¯ll do anything. So we can survive, we should use any means we can. So please, Futaba-san. Join me, and let¡¯s challenge this dungeon together.¡±

    ¡°R-really¡­ you¡¯re really ok with me?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take anyone but Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°I, can¡¯t do a thing, I really am useless¡­ you know?¡±

    ¡°Others are just overpowered. Every one of them started off so strong it¡¯s unfair¡­ but us, we¡¯ll keep at it, and definitely be stronger¡±

    ¡°But, but I¡­¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t betray you. Futaba-san, I¡¯d never abandon you. I¡¯m not asking you to believe me right now. Trust, is something you build together after all¡±

    Was that a bit too pretentious? Certainly, I don¡¯t believe I made any tant lies. I truly believe that I, and only I, won¡¯t abandon the good-for-nothing Futaba-san. Casting her away because she¡¯s useless wouldn¡¯t make me any different from them.

    Nevertheless, that the possibility of me leaving her to run away by myself is one I can¡¯t let go of, is again, true. No, depending on the situation, it¡¯s pretty much a yes.

    That¡¯s why, in truth, there¡¯s no conviction or meaning behind my words. People like Souma-kun or Tendou-kun could surely make these gutsy words their reality¡­ but for a normal person like me they were baseless.

    ¡°U, uu¡­ Momokawa-kun! Thankyou, thankyouuu!¡±

    Yet, even that worthless gab had enough of an impact on Futaba-san to make her shout words of gratitude.

    Too easy, or rather, hooked her right at the weak spot, I should say. Her face,yered in tears yet alit, sharply pricked at my heart.

    ¡°I¡¯ll work hard! For Momokawa-kun, I¡¯ll give it my everything!¡±

    ¡°A-appreciate it¡­ So then, regards(yoroshiku) Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°My vewy bess regaads too!¡±[2]

    Whatever way it may be, I seeded in my n of dragging Futaba-san into my party.

    ________________________

    [1]I¡¯d like to make a slightly bted note on ¡®!?¡¯. The point: this is simply exmation(!), not in any way a question(?). To my knowledge, in old delinquent manga, they used the ¡®!?¡¯ to show surprise, astonishment, like, just p it up there, ¡ª!? Anyway, I¡¯ve been trying to be consistent with the author¡¯s use of punctuation, and that¡¯s what he uses. Again. It¡¯s not a question.

    [2]not typo, sobby words.

 Chapter 14: Hero and Saint

    Chapter 14: Hero and Saint

    ¡°Vocation ¡®Saint¡¯ huh¡­ Is that even a job?¡±

    ¡°Geez, don¡¯t say that, it¡¯s too embarrassing!¡±

    Cheeks fuming in red, it¡¯s the same old Sakura. I guess even receiving a ¡®Vocation¡¯, a supernatural power from the gods of this world, won¡¯t change people all that much.

    ¡°And nii-san too, what indeed is up with that ¡®Hero¡¯ vocation of yours?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, having is said to my face is pretty embarrassing too¡±

    I had be a ¡®Hero¡¯ before I knew it. Don¡¯t remember using that magic circle, but when my consciousness got floaty after getting a beatdown by the Armor Bear, I clearly remember hearing the voice of a Goddess.[1]

    ¡°Mayst thou bring light to this world and be ¡ª the ¡®Hero¡¯.¡±

    Is what the Goddess had said. I must¡¯ve be a ¡®Hero¡¯ right at that moment.

    ¡°Sigh, forget saving the world, I wanna know if I can save ourselves¡±

    ¡°I for one would like a one-way ticket to Earth the moment we escape¡±

    ¡°Goes without saying, but why the harsh tone?¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon nii-san, you know you¡¯re the type to dive straight into danger, saying things like the people of this world are in danger from monsters or something¡±

    ¡°I mean, if it¡¯s in my power, I probably would¡±

    ¡°But, what happens when you keep fighting on and on? You could even get thrown into a war¡­ that and bashing heads with punks back in Japan are on apletely different dimension¡±

    I do realize. In this world the word ¡®fight¡¯ definitely implies one where both parties bet their lives. I can easily imagine what¡¯s lying ahead if I kept fighting these harsh battles.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely get you, and everyone else out of this dungeon; we¡¯ll get back to our world. I have my priorities straight¡±

    ¡°Alright, nii-san. But don¡¯t try doing everything by yourself now. Thanks to this vocation, even I can fight¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, depending on you, Sakura¡±

    I am already witness to Sakura¡¯s powers as a ¡®Saint¡¯.

    Now that we¡¯re at a safe zone known as a ¡®Fairy Square¡¯, I think back on what Sakura means by her ability to fight. I have a deep impression that every one of her Skills are powerful.

    There are 3 skills thate with a vocation

    Holy Enchant(Keeper of the Light)

    Grants the power of Light to any thing. Its brilliance disperses malevolence, and expels evil

    Lux Sagitta(Light Arrow)

    Shoots an arrow of Light; a low grade attack of the light attribute

    Healing Light(Glow of Remedy)

    A restoration magic thatbines both Heal and Cure[2]

    Those are the powers brandished by Sakura. Since we only perceive those brief descriptions, there¡¯s no choice but to test them out to observe their effect.

    And as for what Sakura demonstrated those powers against, it was those bone monsters that pop up in games: the Skeleton.

    The first surprise was the output of ¡®Lux Sagitta¡¯. When Sakura pulls her archery club bow, an arrow of brilliant white light appears nocked there. And when she releases it, leaving a pristine streaks of light in the air, the arrow flies towards the Skeleton as if being sucked in.

    Upon connection, the dazzling light bursts, leaving behind only the remains of crushed, dismantled bone.

    It¡¯s not like the bones of Skeleton are brittle. Having fought them myself, I can confirm their robustness. There are atleast as tough as those of human origin. They wouldn¡¯t crack under trivial force.

    Making those bones explode into bits says a lot about that output. I don¡¯t really want to imagine getting hit by that dead on.

    Next on the list is ¡®Holy Enchant¡¯. When Sakura let her hand hold my bokutou(wooden sword), it flushed with a faint white glimmer; a few secondster, and the enchantment was set. The bokutou consequently held a holy radiance.

    Bashing a Skeleton with it during this shining state causes it¡¯s bony corpus to quickly crumble like sand.

    Seems like Skeletons, as Undead, were super susceptible to the light attribute like in games, but I wonder if these kinds of weaknesses and corrections are being adjusted for in this world. Even without the advantage against Undead, I quickly understood after a few swings that this bokutou under ¡®Holy Enchant¡¯ was much sturdier than usual. It wouldn¡¯t give even if I banged it against a wall hard enough to definitely break in normal conditions.

    There¡¯s a time limit on the effects, but it¡¯s not an issue if only used when required. As a result, I could suffice with my single bokutou. No need to help myself to the clubs carried by the Skeletons.

    Finally, on ¡®Healing Light¡¯, since we haven¡¯t had any noticeable injuries, it hasn¡¯t been put to the test. The grievous injuries from the Armor Bear¡¯s assault werepletely healed when I¡¯d awoken as a Hero, and I¡¯ve been without a scratch since.

    Still, looking at these awe-inspiring feats of magic, we could expect the healing magic to be great too. And since we¡¯re traversing a dangerous dungeon that¡¯s crawling with monsters, this kind of recovery option is all the more indispensable. In a way, this healing magic can be considered much more valuable than attack power.

    I¡¯d hope we could break free from here not needing to use it, but considering that there¡¯s not only the smallfry Skeletons, but powerful foes like the Armor Bear, I know it won¡¯t be that easy.

    ¡°¡­Sigh, this Fairy Walnut, it isn¡¯t bad per say, but it¡¯s kind of dispiriting that we¡¯ll have only these to go on from now¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so picky. I think we¡¯re blessed enough to find a stable source of nutrition in this kind of survival scenario¡±

    ¡°Maybe for you, nii-san, you¡¯d be used to this from your extended trips to the mountain with jii-sama(grand father).¡±

    No, well even jii-san wouldn¡¯t take me training to this kind of monster infested dungeon. Well, that jii-san might dly dive into dungeon capturing, but I don¡¯t see myself as that battle-hungry to begin with. I just wanna get back to regr old, peaceful highschooler life.

    Leaving aside those thoughts, I finish up my walnuts, and stand up.

    ¡°Now then, I guess¡­ we should check on that¡±

    ¡°Uu, nii-san, you¡¯re really going to check that?¡±

    Sakura openly makes a wry face, but we really can¡¯t ignore this previous guest lodging in this Fairy Square.

    ¡°I mean look, it¡¯s a dead Knight. And the sword¡¯s still hanging at the waist¡­ Isn¡¯t this the best chance to get a weapon?¡±

    This was a genuine skeletal corpse wearing slightly dirty armor. Like if they¡¯d been attacked by monsters while exploring, and made it all the way here, but the wound was too deep and etc.[3]

    I¡¯d prefer not to be like that in the future. May they rest in peace(Namu-amida-butsu), I leave a prayer for their passing.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a Skeleton and attack right?¡±

    ¡°Right now, I feel like I can deal with that unarmed¡±

    It¡¯s not as much as when I beat the Armor Bear with the light sword, but my body feels exceedingly light and overflowing with power. In fact, I¡¯ve confirmed that my physical prowess has distinctly risen from the level I was at yesterday. Only, I didn¡¯t need to go full power against Skeletons, so I can¡¯t really tell exactly how strong I am.

    ¡°See, nothing to worry about¡±

    That it¡¯s showing no reaction as I rudely pick through its equipment shows, without a doubt, that the corpse is staying a corpse. I assure Sakura that it¡¯s not an Undead monster, but it¡¯s not right to expect a girl to happily engage in rummaging through a dead body. Reminds me, Sakura¡¯s a pretty easy scare. She¡¯s weak to horror films after all.

    For now, ransacking duty¡¯s on me. First job would be taking the most eye-catching longsword off from the belt along with the scabbard. I unsheathe and examine the de.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t, bad at all¡­ a fine sword. No rust, and the make isn¡¯t shabby either¡±

    ¡°It does indeed look new. I wonder, if it¡¯s an effect from magic?¡±

    Not imusible. The armor has a light-weight make, favoring maneuverability, but there are borate designs here and there; doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s for themon soldier. This sword too, has a coat of arms resembling a red lion, and doesn¡¯t seem like it was mass produced. Perhaps this person was a noble.

    In that case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if there was magic cast on this sword to maintain its edge. Though it¡¯s not like we have any way to confirm that.

    ¡°¡ªYup, this actually looks appropriate for battle¡±

    ¡°And much more reliable than a bokutou¡±

    With a swing, I again affirm the splendidness of the sword. Would¡¯ve been the best if it was a katana, but I really can¡¯t be that fussy about it in another world. I should consider it lucky their norm wasn¡¯t some weird shaped sword like a Shotel.[4]

    ¡°Sorry Knight-san, but I¡¯ll be gratefully using this¡±

    Mostly, done with the scavenging, I once again ce a hand on the skeleton of the Knight and say a prayer; following which, I equip the longsword to my waist.

    The weapons I appropriated from the Knight are: this longsword, and a dagger they also possessed. The dagger was also well preserved, not a bit of rusting. Of course, it also had the same red lion coat of arms on it.

    ¡°Sakura, you hold on to the dagger, for self-defence¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m¡­ won¡¯t it be more useful if nii-san takes it?¡±

    ¡°¡®Lux Sagitta¡¯ is pretty dangerous at close range. Also, haven¡¯t you taken lessons in handling a knife atleast?¡±

    ¡°Well, a bit, yes¡­¡±

    Though not as hard as with me, Sakura has been more or less put through the ropes by jii-san since childhood. Not only self-defence techniques to deal with hoodlums carrying knives, but even the ways of taking those knives and stabbing back has been drilled into her. That jii-san said Sakura¡¯s a girl, and it¡¯s much easier to justify it as self-defence, so she should stab them to death without worry, really makes him a shitty old fart. Though, Sakura seriously asking him to teach her how to stab till they¡¯re on the verge of death, is pretty something too.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s head out then. Sooner we find our ssmates, the better¡±

    And with our equipment ready, we left the Fairy Square.

    What appeared in the area right after were the pitch ck, short, humanoid monsters called ¡®Goma¡¯. Carrying rusted knives or axes, clubs as if stolen they¡¯d stolen them from Skeletons, or spears made of animal bone, these were crude yet indeed armed, dangerous monsters. Even scarier was the fact that these things had a craving for human meat. On the off chance they beat us, they¡¯d probably literally eat us alive.

    The appearance is reminiscent of the representative mob monster in RPGs: the Goblin, but that¡¯s no excuse to let our guard down.

    ¡°¡­Nii-san, wasn¡¯t that, just a bit too much?¡±

    ¡°No wait, I can exin, Sakura, please hear me out¡±

    Right now, spread around me was a scene so bloody and gruesome, you¡¯d want to ask if some crazed mass murderer passed by.

    When we exited the passage that we left the Fairy Square from, we came upon a slightlyrge path where 5 Goma attacked. Of course, we easily got the upper hand and beat them but¡­ the killing was so brutal, even I¡¯m a bit taken aback. The corpses were scattered and shred so bad, it¡¯s hard to tell if there were 5 of them. At some point, priority went from how I¡¯d attack to where I¡¯d put my feet to avoid the blood spatter.

    ¡°Please, exin away¡±

    ¡°I was just trying out some Skills¡±

    The disaster before me was nothing but the result of me testing the effects of my Skills. If I hadn¡¯t done that, I¡¯d have properly finished them with clean and efficient strikes of the Knights longsword.

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s why nii-san¡¯s movements started changing from normal. So, after using them, your impressions?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got ridiculous power. Though it seems they¡¯re called Martial Arts when release by a sword¡±

    The Skills I learned after defeating the Armor Bear were in total 6.

    Learned Skills

    Thrust Boosts piercing potential. A sharp blow impales the enemy

    sh Boosts tearing potential. A sharp blow cuts the enemy

    High Walk Boosts speed. Run like the wind

    Acquired Skills

    Force Boost Boosts strength. Force akin to the Armor Bear

    Iron Guard(iron hide)

    Boosts defence. Guard akin to the Armor Bear

    Tri sh 3 strikebo attack. Mutte the enemy akin to the Armor Bear¡¯s ws[5]

    Learned Skills are ones that apply to my own growth. In gaming terms, they¡¯re skills that I automatically learn as I level up.

    Acquired Skills would be ones that originate from defeated enemies. This probably doesn¡¯t take the other party¡¯s Skill as is, but takes that as a base and converts it into a form that a human like me can use. They had gone through the necessary corrections.

    The Armor Bear¡¯s strength is a result of its own muscles, and its tough defencees from that thick metallic shell. Of course, being able to maim the opponent with a swing of its arm is only thanks to the numerous sharp ws on its paws. If I was literally going to have the same powers as my foe, I¡¯d have the same appearance as the Armor Bear by now.

    ¡°The power¡¯s ridiculous, but there some buildup time needed, and right afterunching, there¡¯s a slight gap in my defence. They also drain more stamina than when normally swinging the sword, so I gotta consider the time and ce.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re quite simr to magic. But these powers we get from the ¡®Vocation¡¯, we be more adept the more we use them, it seems, so I guess you can¡¯t be too sparing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if I can¡¯t get used to using these Martial Arts, they won¡¯t be useful when it actually counts. So for now, I¡¯ll be practicing¡±

    But I¡¯ll refrain from bursting apart Goma with ¡®Tri sh¡¯.

    ¡°Nii-san, you kind of look like you¡¯re having fun¡±

    ¡°It may sound careless but¡­ I wanted to get stronger. And now, we¡¯vee to another world, and I was given this great power you can even visually confirm. My excitement being high, is probably because of myck of mental training¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t saying that cynically. I really do know how deeply nii-san feels about wanting strength. But what if this great ¡®power¡¯ changes you, is something I¡¯m a bit, uneasy about¡­¡±

    Damn, Sakura really had me there. Seems I got high tensioned enough to arouse this kind of worry. Really need to get a hold of myself. Maybe some Zen meditationter?

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. Me getting as strong as I can is only because I want to protect you, Sakura, and everyone else too. I don¡¯t know why God made me a ¡®Hero¡¯ or how much stronger I can be but¡­ I wouldn¡¯t stray from using that strength correctly, ever.¡±

    There¡¯s no use just having power. How you use it is the vital part. This doctrine has been pummelled into me by jii-san since I was a kid. You could say, it¡¯s carved onto my bones by now.

    I understand that. I meant to be aware of it since forever now. But now that I have the power to easily kill a human shaped thing, I feel like I gained a whole new apprehension of that teaching.

    Or maybe I¡¯ll know it even better from now on; it would be something that keeps me in check.

    ¡°Just being protected, it¡¯s really vexing you know. So, I will get stronger with you. I¡¯ll try and get even a little stronger, so I can support you, nii-san¡±

    ¡°You will¡­ Yeah, of course you will. Thanks, Sakura. Counting on you¡±

    ¡°Anytime, nii-san¡±

    This excellent sister of mine thinking dearly of her brother, really does warm my heart¡­ but huh, this heartwarming feeling doesn¡¯t match scenery of me in the middle of a ughterfest at all. Atmosphere is pretty important.

    Anyway, after a breather, we continued on the passage with no end in sight.

    On the way, we got into arge domed space filled with vegetation like a botanical garden, where we encountered more Goma and packs of wild, reddish dogs. They were in packs, but there was no special powers or magic as a result of them being grouped, so with Sakura¡¯s support fire, and ¡®High Walk¡¯s¡¯ maneuverability, we easily eliminated them.

    Up till now, the monsters were smallfry. But there¡¯s no telling when a big shot with the Armor Bear would appear, so we made sure to be on maximum alert while advancing through the dungeon.

    It was when we¡¯d been in this ce long enough to notice that the safe, relief stations known as Fairy Squares, were scattered at quite reasonable intervals. It was when we arrived at another one of those Fairy Squares.

    ¡°¡­No way, Souma-kun?¡±

    There, we found the previous guests.

    ¡°Ah, i-it¡¯s true¡­ Souma-kun, and Sakura-chan¡­ I¡¯m not in a dream, right?¡±

    Familiar faces, there were 2 girls.

    ¡°ss rep and Natsukawa-san! What a relief, you¡¯re both alrig¡ª¡±

    ¡°U, uu¡­uwaaaaa! Souma-kuuun!¡±

    ¡°Wha! H-hold on, Natsukawa-san!?¡±

    Suddenly hugging me in tears, I can¡¯t do anything but get flustered. I¡¯m just normal friends with Natsukawa-san, nothing on the level of embracing each upon reuniting. And now¡¯d be when Sakura misunderstands and looks at me coldly¡­ is what I though, but Sakura was facing ss rep with a weighty expression.

    ¡°Ryouko, I hoped to say I¡¯m d you¡¯re alright¡­ but that, doesn¡¯t really seem to be the case¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Sakura, and Yuuto-kun, we¡¯re really saved now that you¡¯re here. Thanks¡°

    Apparently their situation was worse than I thought. Natsukawa-san too, it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s crying from simple anxiety. I could see her having been mentally cornered at a severe level.

    For now, I return the sobbing Natsukawa-san¡¯s embrace to calm her down. And asking what happened, would be towards ss rep who has an awfully tired and pale face, yet was still holding together.

    ¡°ss rep, what exactly, happened to you guys¡±

    ¡°¡­ A friend, another one died. Just a while ago¡±

    It was an event I hadn¡¯t imagined¡­ No, that¡¯s wrong, I purposefully didn¡¯t think about it. The powerful ¡®Vocation¡¯, the weak monsters that could only crowd together. So everyone else was fine too.

    Naively, I made myself think like that.

    That that kind of thinking was not hope, but merely a convenient desire, is proven fact, right here, right now.

    Thus, I was finally made aware that among my ssmates, there was a casualty.

    [<][Chapter List][Q&A][>]

    ________________________

    [1]I¡¯ve decided to use -G-od(dess) for respectful addressing, like kami-sama, and -g-od(s), when they¡¯re referring to the many gods or just mentioning a god in passing. No deep meaning here, just thought it could use a distinction.

    [2]I try to make a note when names are involved. Thankfully, all names in this case have their dictions(furigana) given. So no changes there. Source for ¡®Keeper of the Light¡¯. Cure and Heal are also in furi, but they¡¯re really very obvious. Also, stuff like ¡®Lux Sagitta¡¯ appear in Kuro no Maou too! I bet the reader¡¯s familiar with it, but I¡¯ll take any excuse to squeeze that in~

    [3]I¡¯ll use they for gender neutrality.

    [4]Glorious japanese katana folded 1000 times vs boring western longsword, also, Shotels.

    [5]I made a table. Well, I¡¯ll get to doing this for the other skill listings soon?. Also, I don¡¯t know why I said Full Boost before. typo = fixed. All skills are as per diction(furigana). The descriptions are pretty straightforward too, so nothing to say on that. The meanings are pretty simr to the dictions, except ¡®Iron Guard¡¯. I¡¯m debating changing ¡®Acquired¡¯ to ¡®Integrated¡¯ or ¡®Assimted¡¯. All of these seem ok, doushio~

 Chapter 15: Martial Art

    Chapter 15: Martial Art

    Now that we¡¯re a team, lets get this dungeon over with! is not what we did. Our location remains at the Fairy Square.

    ¡°For now, let¡¯s get a grasp of what we¡¯re capable of¡±

    I¡¯ve already heard about Futaba-san¡¯s 3 novice Skills as one receiving the vocation of ¡®Knight¡¯, but I think it¡¯s beneficial to do a practical test.

    No matter how much power you receive, being able to use it when it counts is what really matters. And no, the ss rep getting it done when suddenly facing the enemy right then and there isn¡¯t normal. If I hadn¡¯t practiced the canto for ¡®Red Fever¡¯ at least once, I could have fumbled it when finishing off the Armor Bear. In many things, practice does make perfect.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be in your care!¡±

    Though I may be inexperienced¡ª in that manner, Futaba-san buoyantly lowers her head, seeming evermore amiable. I¡¯m worried she could deceived by some vile Shaman somewhere.[1]

    ¡°To start off, I want you to try out ¡®Foresight¡¯ and ¡®Repel¡¯, Futaba-san¡±[2]

    Skills invoked by intention, otherwise said, Active Skills, are the usual category for defence moves like ¡®Repel¡¯. I have the feeling she hasn¡¯t invoked it even once.

    From what I¡¯ve heard about Natsukawa-san using ¡®Foresight¡¯, it appears to automatically show effect, a Passive Skill. Well, I guess if you need to see the enemy¡¯s attack for ¡®Foresight¡¯ to activate, it¡¯s already in your sights then, obviously.

    ¡°Umm, so I should do what?¡±

    ¡°This time, I¡¯ll pretend to attack you so I want you to foresee it¡±

    ¡°Pretend to attack¡­ sounds kinda really scary!¡±

    ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t be throwing Curses from the get go¡±

    I mean, even if I did use ¡®Red Fever¡¯, I pretty much know what to expect. With her ¡®Blessed Body¡¯ being strong to injuries and ailments, she may not even feel the insignificant rise in temperature. Yeah, I kinda wanna try that out, but more importantly,

    ¡°I was wondering, is your belly alright? If it hasn¡¯t closed up, we can rest a bit longer¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine now. Doesn¡¯t hurt at all, Momokawa-kun¡¯s ointment worked super well¡±

    ¡°¡­ Seriously? No way, is it fully healed?¡±

    ¡°Uh, seems so¡­¡±

    Growing slightly doubtful at my look of disbelief, Futaba-san turns around on the spot. Then, quietly rolling up her the hem of her sailor uniform, she secretly makes sure.

    ¡°Yup, it really is healed¡±

    ¡°Eh, wait, let me have a look¡±

    Her overtly affirmative answer. Healed, meaning no scarring, or even any scabs. Isn¡¯t that a bit too hard to believe?

    ¡°Kyaa!?¡±

    As she was raising that lovely cry discordant with her build, I already had a box-seat view of Futaba-san¡¯s rich, white middle.

    ¡°Wow, it really is¡­¡°

    It was a sight befitting my involuntary exmation. The deep, horizontal gash right below her navel had closed up without a trace. I can¡¯t see a scratch; there remains but a slight tinge of unwashed blood, and a bit of dry scabbing on its way to peeling off.

    What astounding recovery. Was my sloppilypounded Ointment A really that high efficiency?

    Certaintly, the Shamdelions(False Dandelion) did seal thecerations I got from the Armor Bear pretty fast, but the scabs haven¡¯tpletely ripened even now. Suppose that asshole Masaru kept punching me in the stomach and not the face, the wound would¡¯ve opened right back up, and even now, if I push myself, there¡¯s a risk of hemorrhage.[3]

    As an herb, there¡¯s no doubt the Shamdelion has extraordinary hemostasis effects. Mixing that with the White Blooms and Fairy Walnuts that have some healing properties I don¡¯t really understand, raised the effects by leaps and bounds¡ª really sounds too good to be true.

    Intuition Pharmacy determined thatbining these 3 wouldn¡¯t cause any earth-shatteringly synergetic effect. It only guaranteed that the effects wouldn¡¯t cancel each other out.

    Therefore, Futaba-san¡¯s woundpletely healed implies¡ª

    ¡°U, uu¡­ M-Momokawa-kun, aren¡¯t you done?¡±

    As though my intense scrutiny of her belly-button was much too embarrassing for her, Futaba-san¡¯s face was beet red. Her keeping the sailor uniform rolled up even as tears are on the verge of gathering disyed a worrisome purity. Definitely the type that¡¯s too nice for her own good.

    ¡°Ah, sorry, I¡¯m done¡±

    I wanted to immediately take advantage of that fact, and have a poke-fest on her waxen b for atleast 5 minutes, but I refrain for obvious reasons. Loosing her trust via sexual harassment would be the worst way to lose one¡¯s dignity.

    Right, my experience with the opposite sex being nil further elects for a great need to be cautious. Girls are apparently hurt by things guys don¡¯t even consider trivial. A pain in the¡ª ahem, very innocent is the word.

    ¡°I¡¯m d it¡¯s healed so quick. I think it may have something to do with ¡®Blessed Body¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Dressed Body?¡±

    Atleast remember your own Skill name right. And no, you don¡¯t need to look it up on your phone.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Knight remember? They gave some fuzzy definition like its strong against illness and wounds, but I think it¡¯s be like medication will work a lot better¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I guess?¡±

    ¡°It is. If it was in super-healing powers, it would¡¯ve gotten better even without my ointment¡±

    Sure, if this Skill was that amazing, the wound would¡¯ve already started closing when I found her. But in reality, she was almost dead from blood loss. Maybe it was too much for the ¡®Blessed Body¡¯s¡¯ healing prowess, or rather, maybe it¡¯s a low tier Skill that doesn¡¯t make the natural regeneration corrections when damage is too high.

    That being the case, if it stacks with healing agents, then having me, who can make tons of it only provided a Fairy Square, can save Futaba-san from a major portion of injuries. Well, it¡¯s gonna heal but it¡¯ll still hurt like hell.

    ¡°Then if you¡¯re all patched up, let¡¯s get back to business shall we?¡±

    ¡°Okay, umm¡­ only pretend attacking right? Go easy on me, please?¡±

    I mean, it¡¯ll activate granted that there¡¯s an attack so. You¡¯re gonna have to dodge with ¡®Foresight¡¯ or defend with ¡®Repel¡¯.

    ¡°No prob. If it¡¯s gonna hit, I¡¯ll make sure to stop an inch(~2.5cm) away¡±

    Stopping that close requires quite a bit of skill. I have not a smidge of confidence in precisely stopping my fist or a shinai(practice sword) once at their fulcrum. I indeed don¡¯t, but said that anyway. It¡¯s fine, you can trust on the vocation.

    ¡°¡¯kay, so I need a branch or something¡­ nice, let¡¯s use this¡±

    From a Fairy Walnut tree growing at a corner of the square, I locate a decent sized branch and reach for it. With a firm grim, I brace myself and pull¡ª

    ¡°Kuh¡­¡±

    Tough. It¡¯s much more solid than I imagined. I thought I chose a one thin enough that even my slender arms could break, but it will not budge.

    ¡°HaAAAAA¡­c¡¯mon!¡±

    I was all up in a frenzy, but no use. Seems this Fairy Walnut tree, is quite deceptively sturdy.

    ¡°Umm, Momokawa-kun, you alright?¡±

    ¡°Huff¡­ hah¡­ Nah, this thing¡¯ll never br¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ei¡±

    Sounded Futaba-san as she casually grabbed it, gave it a pull, it snapping away as a result.

    ¡°I did it Momokawa-kun, I broke it see!¡±

    ¡°Ah, yea, you did, thanks¡±

    I shudder a bitparing my flimsy limb to Futaba-san¡¯s bulky rod of an arm with a thickness akin to my thighs and realizing the utterly unsurmountable difference in strength. This brute strength must be in reason of her having the vocation, ¡®Knight¡¯¡­ No, not really. Who am I kidding. I¡¯m just weak as hell.

    Reflecting anew on my frailty, I receive the aforementioned branch from Futaba-san

    Now to get psyched, and start the experiment.

    ¡°Yah¡ª!¡±

    ¡°Kyaa¡ª¡±

    Seeing my fledgling swordy, Futaba-san¡¯s eyes shut, body cowers, motion stills. If this was a monster, even I had a chance to score a critical hit, but now¡¯s not the time for that.

    ¡°Futaba-san, I don¡¯t think ¡®Foresight¡¯ will activate if you don¡¯t atleast look at me attacking¡±

    ¡°A¡­yes, sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t see anything¡±

    Gee, I wonder why. It could be that when you master ¡®Foresight¡¯, it stops relying on your eyes, and uses a 6th sense of sorts, but for the current Futaba-san at least, it isn¡¯t anywhere near that level.

    ¡°Alright, again. Pay attention this time, alright¡±

    ¡°Uu¡­ I¡¯ll try¡­¡±

    Futaba-san looks entirely weak in the knees, paying attention to the branch. I may be stating the obvious, but we had 2 branches prepared: the 1st for me to attack with, and the 2nd for Futaba-san to invoke ¡®Repel¡¯ on. Goes without saying that collecting the 2nd one was a piece of cake using Futaba-san¡¯s superior muscle. Though it was a size thicker than mine, the 2nd one too broke off without a hitch. I felt like her might could easily break off not only branches, but a person¡¯s bones as well.

    ¡°Eiya¡ª¡±

    On take 2, I attempted to swing considerably slower. Though there is a doubt whether her ¡®Foresight¡¯ will recognize and react to something like this as an attack¡ª

    ¡°Wa, wawah!?¡±

    Futaba-san moved, and with surprising agility at that, and sessfully dodged myckadaisical attack. She strafed her body leftward, right beside which, my feeble sh sluggishly made its way.

    ¡°Did, you see it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I really saw it!¡±

    It appears to match her story, ¡®Foresight¡¯ lets you perceive the path of the enemies attack with a faint white glow. If it could recognize that sham of a strike as an actual attack, it doesn¡¯t look to have very severe activation conditions.

    ¡°This time, I¡¯lle with the same attack, so try repelling¡±

    ¡°O-okay, got it¡­ I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    Perhaps thanks to this small but sure victory, Futaba-san¡¯s face seems a bit more vibrant than just before. Alright, let¡¯s keep it up at this pace.

    ¡°Here I go¡ª Ei¡±

    As I made another of the same lighthearted attack following that utterance, an immense shock ran up both my arms.

    ¡°¡ªyah!¡±

    To my astonishment, while with that enthused cry reaching my eardrums, I found myself dancing through the air.

    The scenery rushing past, swirling violently as if there¡¯s a bug in the camera, was the sight that assailed my eyes. But somehow, I distinctly saw the branch I was supposed to be holding on to, also spin uncontrobly and fly away.

    ¡°¡ªFugyaaa!?¡±

    Raising a heavy_damage_voice.mp3, I mmed into the ground. Pain. My whole body groans¡­ But luckily, Inded on soft grass. It¡¯s, probably not too serious.

    ¡°M-Momokawa-kun!? Wh¡ª!? Oh no, are you alright!?¡±

    In scattered, hazy consciousness, I see Futaba-san cry out while charging towards me with her dump-truck-like frame. I felt a bit dead.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m okay¡­ I¡¯ll live¡­¡±

    ¡°Uah¡ª I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m really sorry Momokawa-kuuun!¡±

    While still lying pancaked to the ground, I reign in Futaba-san¡¯s madly desperate apologizing, by somehow moving an arm. Hmm, this angle, I can almost see under her skir¡ª

    ¡°Sigh¡­ it¡¯s just some scratches, so no worries. I was pretty surprised though¡±

    I somehow or other raise my body while resisting the temptation of panties teasing my eyes. I¡¯d pretend to be just fine but¡­ nope, I¡¯m actually fine. By some miracle, I hadn¡¯t sustained a single scratch. In Judo ss, I was great in only my falling technique(ukemi) after all.

    ¡°R-really sorry¡­ I had no idea that would happen¡­¡±

    ¡°So you definitely used ¡®Repel¡¯ just now right?¡±

    ¡°¡­Yeah. I thought about trying it, and my hand somehow naturally¡­¡±

    Scored a homerun on me I see.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry! I¡¯ll be much more careful next time, so¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, you really don¡¯t have to apologize that much. In fact, it was a big sess¡±

    Certainly, Futaba Meiko has now, at this time, for the first time, invoked her Martial Art. It¡¯s now obvious that even a wuss like her can do it if she can only muster the will.

    But what I¡¯m most grateful for, is that force.

    ¡°So this is the power of the vocation, ¡®Knight¡¯¡­ Futaba-san, you¡¯ll definitely get stronger¡±

    A strength that I can never hope to achieve is within her reach. I feel like I¡¯ve finally found a ray of hope towards this dungeon capture.

    ¡°So let¡¯s go for it¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ Alright! I¡¯ll work my best, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    ________________________

    [1]..in your care¡­may be inexperienced¡ª these are the usual Japanese humbling greetings, like if someone said, ¡°Great to have you on the team¡±, you reply ¡°Great to be here!¡±, I could have TLed as that, but then the bowing doesn¡¯t make sense. Please excuse this small infraction of weebism.

    [2]I don¡¯t know why it took me this long to realize¡­ anyway Abandon ¡ú Foresight. Yeah, this matches the description much better. I¡¯ll fix up the previous chapterster.

    [3]Fake-delion ¡ú Shamdelion, sounds slightly better.

 Chapter 16: Lets try Killing part.1

    Chapter 16: Let''s try Killing part.1

    Having of course rested, resupplied in herbs, in addition to getting our equipment in order, we finally decided to tackle this thing called dungeon capture. That being said, it¡¯d be hard to dere if we were truly in top condition.

    ¡°Having the knives stolen really stings¡­¡±

    Every single piece of Futaba-san¡¯s knife set was robbed by Satou Aya. Not even single paring knife remains. Among edged items, we only possess my boxcutter, and a pair of scissors that Futaba-san had. As weapons, they convey not much reliability at all.

    Still, no use in mulling over it. For now, we collected the toughest branch Futaba-san could break, and using the cutter, shaved off the tip into an impromptu spear. It¡¯s barely better than being empty handed, but it¡¯s enough to stab a Goma to death. Though I guess, one would be the limit.

    ¡°As for the meds, I got a good harvest, so that¡¯s atleast good¡±

    Actually, the variety of flora of the Fairy Square we left just now was slightly different from that of thest one. We got our hands on a fair amount of this one berry that, when ingested, gives an increase in strength, or rather, a direct attack boost, for a temporary period. Obviously, it won¡¯t be at rates of 2x or 3x, it¡¯s something like a slight up from normal, just barely a powerup¡­ Again, definitely better than nothing.

    I¡¯m calling it a ¡®Power Seed¡¯, and at a nce, it¡¯s really quite simr to the spreading yew. A tiny, red, bead-like outeryer with a ck central pit. The trees fruiting such Power Seeds could be found blended in with the Fairy Walnut trees.[1]

    ording to Intuition Pharmacy, it¡¯s made so that when ingested, it utilizes a bit of Magic, and a fair amount of energy from the body, and converts it into strength. Eat too much, and it¡¯ll exhaust all energy from the body, and you¡¯ll copse from malnutrition. Well, I guess that¡¯s a pretty typical kind of after-effect from powerup-like items.

    I¡¯ve tested it out, and on my own body, looks like 10 at a time won¡¯t cause any trouble. And when ites to a battle, I¡¯ve predetermined to pop one just beforehand.

    Though, if we got caught in an ambush, there¡¯d be no way to make time for that.

    With more caution than ever, I take steps forward within this stone passage that doesn¡¯t seem to change. The formation is, me at front, and Futaba-san behind.

    There¡¯s a lot to say about a Shaman at the vanguard, but she was walking so agitated that we weren¡¯t moving at all.

    ¡°Ah, Futaba-san, stop¡±

    A few dozen minutes after departure, we arrive at the first change.

    ¡°A-, Th-this is¡­¡±

    Twisted, ominous trees engulfed in green leaves congregated en masse in this domed space.

    ¡°¡­So this is that Forested Dome¡±

    It¡¯s where Futaba-san and the ss Rep encountered the troop of Goma. It¡¯s likely not that exact ce, but since it¡¯s so simr, there¡¯s a big chance it¡¯s be a hunting ground where Goma operate.

    Naturally, there¡¯s the chance of other Monsters also lurking. With our power right now, we can¡¯t even handle a swarm of Fang Rats. I¡¯d like to get some battle experience, but we have to be very careful in choosing the enemy. Actually, is there a Monster we can beat?

    ¡°W-what to we do, Momokawa-kun?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go¡± Futaba-san¡¯s eyesin. My clouded gaze doesn¡¯t hold any sympathy though¡­

    ¡°Looks like we can¡¯t progress without going through here. It¡¯s pretty much unavoidable¡±

    I don¡¯t want to pass through this kind of dangerous area either, I¡¯d refuse to every time given the chance. I really would, but the magicpass was pointing straight at the other end. I even made sure to check Futaba-san¡¯s one, but no use, both still pointed straight there without the slightest flinch.

    ¡°Running there full speed¡­ sounds like a bad idea, we¡¯ll just have to walk along the walls¡±

    If we go by Futaba-san¡¯s story, there¡¯s a chance that this Forested Dome isid down with traps. When Natsukawa Minami came to save the ss Rep from the attacking Goma, she had used a pitfall.

    Since it activated from an arrow hitting a tree branch, I¡¯d imagine there was like a sensor like thing ced on some tree that detects shocks or tremors. Being a Thief, Natsukawa-san might have an idea about its odd and ends¡­ but I have not a clue, and Futaba-san didn¡¯t hear much more about it either.

    That means, I can¡¯t carelessly go around collecting poison mushrooms and herbs either. I think it¡¯s very likely we¡¯ll find something of that genre in this Forested Dome, but yeah, desperate times. I¡¯ll just think about quietly passing through.

    ¡°With our backs to the wall, we probably won¡¯t get done in from behind. Also, don¡¯t let your guard down a single bit. You could identally trigger a trap¡±

    ¡°Y-ye¡­yeah, got it¡±

    Eyebrows knit full on in a °Ë shape, Futaba-san had an almost about to cry face, but still prepared herself up and nodded to my words.

    Well then, I¡¯ll get psyched too; let¡¯s cross this Forested Dome with everything we got.

    ¡°¡­ We aren¡¯t getting there huh, it¡¯s surprisingly big¡±

    Left hand side along the ashen walls, we proceed, sliding along. Our attention focused less forwards, and more towards deep into the dim forest spread wide at our right. Any time now, those filthy Goma might jump out from behind the thicket, the suspense is killing me.

    ¡°Futaba-san, alright?¡±

    ¡°N-no-, no problem¡ª¡±

    She replies with an agitated voice that doesn¡¯t seem alright at all. I haven¡¯t been checking on her behind me, bit there¡¯s no chance of us getting separated.

    Reason being, she has grabbed onto the hem of my gakuran(uniform) with all her might.

    You really think you can use your spear like that? I thought to warn her, but seeing her hand paled and trembling, I decided not. Cause if there was someone in front of me, I¡¯d want grab on to them too.

    Truly birds of a feather. As a coward myself, I can¡¯tugh at her cowardice¡ªand just as I immersed in those self-deprecating thoughts.

    ¡°Stop, Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°-!? W-w-w-w-wha-w-what¡¯s wrong Momokawa-kun¡°

    ¡°Quiet¡±

    I use my hand that was shaking in tension, to calm the intensely flustered Futaba-san, and concentrate on the moving shadow that abruptly caught my eye.

    ¡°¡­A Monster, there¡¯s a Monster¡±

    Futaba-san swallows her breath. She gets full points just by not screaming right now.

    Luckily, looks like the other side hasn¡¯t noticed us. For the time being, I hid myself behind a thick tree nearby, and decided to cautiously observe this Monster we found.

    What I saw, was a lone dog. Dirty to the point of looking brown, it was a mid-sized canine with a red coat. It was quite thin, I could tell at a nce that it hadn¡¯t found any food in a while. Loosely dangling its vigourless tongue and tail, the dog was trudging along, wandering between the trees.

    ¡°T-that dog¡­ I¡¯ve seen one before¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the dog Monster that blows sparks, right?¡±

    In her story, Futaba-san talked about fighting packs of these Red Dogs. It wasn¡¯ting at them with a methrower-like powerful fire attack, but easily repelling them had a lot to do with the ability of those 3 members. Us right now can¡¯t even take on a pack of ordinary wild dogs. Exactly, not a pack.

    ¡°It looks pretty weak. I¡¯m thinking, even we can take that down¡±

    ¡°Eh-!?¡±

    Her eyes protruding in surprise, perhaps because she was scared of actually fighting, or maybe even feeling sorry for attacking a weak-looking pup. Half of both I¡¯d wager.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t beat Monsters, you won¡¯t progress in your Vocation. If you can hunt that one dog, maybe, just maybe Futaba-san can attain an Attack Skill. You got this chance to beat an enemy risk free, don¡¯t throw it away¡±

    Seems a bitte to be exining, but I¡¯m letting her hear it all the more. Futaba-san is scared as always, but she seriously gives her all, listening and adhering to my exnations. She isn¡¯t just a mess of feelings and tears, she¡¯s got her admirable side too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do support with my Curses. There¡¯s only one, so we can definitely beat it¡±

    ¡°Y-yea¡­ Got it, Momokawa-kun. I¡¯ll, do it¡±

    So she¡¯s finally going for it; Futaba-san stiffened her brows and nodded to me with a brave expression.

    ¡°So first, you can let go of my clothes¡±

    ¡°A-, s-sorry¡­¡±

    Looking embarrassed, she quickly withdraws her hand from the hem of my gakuran. She was grabbing super tight, so it¡¯s gotten wrinkled.

    ¡°Ok first, I¡¯ll stop it with my Curse. I think, I can seal the Red Dog¡¯s movement with that, so in that time, you go in and stab. I¡¯ll give the signal¡±

    I pass by the faithfully nodding Futaba-san, and concentrate on the dog weakly walking by. It has already passed by us, I can see its butt, an orange colored, lowered tail, dangling pitifully there.

    Any further, and it¡¯ll be out of range. I can only do it now.

    ¡°Entwine its escape, with weaving hair¡ª¡±

    The aria I recite is one attained after beating the Armor Bear, a new Curse. And this long-awaited new move is¡­

    ¡°¡ª¡®ckhair Bind¡¯!¡±[2]

    From the tree¡¯s shadow, I aim my 4th Curse at the dog¡¯s butt, and it immediately shows effect. It appears quietly from the shadows near the dog¡¯s feet at it frailly continued its trail.

    Deep ck, thin fibers, yes, these were indeed hair. A handful, a bundle of these hairs softly rose from the shadows, twining onto the Red Dog¡¯s hind legs.

    Sensing the change, the dog howls loud, pouncing and struggling with itsrge body, but the ckhair¡¯s grasp showed no sign of tearing, or looseness.

    Nice, looks like its got a bit of endurance. ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯, true to its name, beautifully bound the enemy¡¯s escape.

    ¡°Plunge into permanent swelter, and curse the body¡ª ¡®Red Fever¡¯¡±

    And, though the effect is doubtful but just in case, aiming to weaken it even a bit more, I throw in my good old 1st Curse, ¡®Red Fever¡¯. As if surprised by the sudden light fever coursing through its body, the Red Dog lets out a miserable whine.

    This is the maximum possible support from me.

    ¡°Now Futaba-san! Stab it from the back!¡±

    ¡°OK! Yaaah!¡±

    With a high pitched cry, Futaba-san heavily charged with the unreliable spear in hand. I can¡¯t call her running fast even as apliment, but ckhair Bind won¡¯t be letting go of the Red Dog in the measly 10 meters(~33feet) she has to cross in getting there.

    This Cursests a certain amount of time after activation; most likely, there¡¯s an amount of mana it¡¯s charged with and it¡¯s made to manifest until that mana is consumed. However, if I concentrate on that invocation continuously, I can supply more mana, and use my power to control the binding strength.

    As both its hind legs are bound, the Red Dog can¡¯t turn back and exercise its fangs or ws. If, following my instructions to the dot, she uses the spear¡¯s reach to thrust from the back, we can do apletely safe and one-sided attack.

    With me setting the stage this well, even Futaba-san can deliver a killing blow.

    ¡°Huff¡­ haa¡­ I-I¡¯ll do it¡ª¡±

    Her breath short from dashing at full power for a short period, Futaba-san timorously raised the spear overhead. That¡¯s right, now you only have to strongly jab it in, you can kill the Red Dog. Yes, hand over to us weaklings, those precious experience points!

    ¡°¡­Haa, haa¡­ haa¡­¡±

    The spear, won¡¯te down. Futaba-san¡¯s rough breathing echoes throughout the strangely silent Forested Dome.

    ¡°Futaba-san, what¡¯s up? ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯ is still stopping it from moving, but you should really finish it off soon¡±

    ¡°A, Ah¡­ Umm, Momokawa-kun¡­¡±

    The spear stuck aloft, Futaba-san slowly turned and faced me. The moment I saw her face, I understood everything.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡±

    How many times has it been, seeing her crying face. The girl called Futaba Meiko, she¡¯s cowardly, a crybaby, her spirit as small as her body big, and I, I was supposed to somewhat recognize that during this short time I¡¯ve known her. That¡¯s why, I should have expected this.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, do it¡­ Sorry, sorry, Momokawa-kun¡­ Uuu¡­¡±

    That¡¯s right, she hadn¡¯t prepared herself to kill Monsters.

    Killing a living thing, stealing a life, more than a matter of ethics, it was surely because he was a girl raised in peaceful Japan, it¡¯s only natural to feel that way. Japanese people can¡¯t easily kill suchrge animals.

    I wonder at what point I fall in that category. Flies and cockroaches, I could do with no hesitation, in fact, I could swat at them with real eyes of murder¡­ But at least, dogs and cats, I don¡¯t think I could. Even mice, if it came to killing one, I¡¯d definitely waver.

    I imagine the limit for a typical Japanese would be at clearly harmful bugs, and marine life procured as food. Especially in the killing of mammals, one would need willpower surpassing the ordinary. Those who could calmly do this would be ones who do it as a job, or ones whose mindset was aberrant. Right, killing animals, you¡¯d need to be an aberration. It¡¯s not an action of someone bound byw and order.

    Because you were thrown into another world, because you need to kill Monsters to escape, because you can¡¯t get stronger otherwise. Those reasons wouldn¡¯t suddenly enable us to easily take a life.

    ¡°I see¡­ yeah, that¡¯s right¡­ it¡¯s fine, Futaba-san¡±

    Keeping control of ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯, I walk to where Futaba-san is. She was crying, apologizing, saying ¡°sorry¡± countless times. So regretfully, so anguishedly. But in that bitter face, I can¡¯t see her looking disgusted at herself for not being able tomit the act.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s ok Futaba-san. Don¡¯t worry¡±

    ¡°huu, uu¡­ B-but¡­¡±

    ¡°Really it¡¯s fine, just leave it to me¡±

    Rather than forcing her right now, I¡¯ll just make things quick and finish up in her ce. It¡¯s dangerous to be bumming around this ce after all.

    So I try to somehow calm the unsettled Futaba-san while holding my spear abreast, and send her behind me.

    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±

    Havinge to raising the weapon myself, I feel quite the resistance. I feel like I can¡¯t me Futaba-san who said she couldn¡¯t do it. Given the chance, I wouldn¡¯t either. Less sorry, and more sick, is what I feel.

    But for me right now, it¡¯s not something I can¡¯t do. Killing the Armor Bear was nothing but a fluke, strong luck, but I can have confidence. No, I can have grudge. I aim this grudge towards all things called Monsters that seek my life.

    ¡°Dei-!¡±

    From the swung down spear¡ª I mean, it¡¯s just a sharpened branch but still, I definitely felt a feedback.

    A shrill cry from the dog, and a small one from Futaba-san beat into my ears.

    The tip was pierced into the dog¡¯s back, but shallow. The dirty red coat was being coated in inundant fresh blood, but it¡¯s not enough.

    ¡°¡ªYa!¡°

    So I stabbed many, many times that frail back. ¡¯Til its life kept residing in its body, neither did my hands stop. Stimted by murderous impulse, I couldn¡¯t stop myself at all.

    ¡°Haa¡­huff¡­ I-is it, dead¡­¡±

    At some point, the Red Dog had stopped leaking groans of pain, ity there on the ground. I noticed that the ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯ tangled around its legs was gone. I was so fixated on stabbing, maintaining the spellpletely slipped my mind.

    It¡¯s bad. So much that I realized myself; I was quickly losingposure. The sound of my heartbeat was annoyingly loud, showing just how agitated I am.

    ¡°M-Momokawa-kun¡­¡±

    ¡°Fuh¡­ It¡¯s over, it¡¯s dead now¡­ getting the Core, sounds like a lot of time, let¡¯s not¡±

    I desperately calm my rough breathing, and turn back to the teary faced Futaba-san. I was intending to show myselfposed after a job well done; but I wonder, right now, how do I reflect in those eyes.

    Beside a dog sinking in blood, stands a boy with bloodshot eyes. He shows great promise in bing a future aberrant. I just did what was necessary right now, but maybe this could drive her away.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not, stop here too long¡±

    Futaba-san was still dismally shedding tears, but nodded. That¡¯s good, she still hasn¡¯t given up on following me.

    So, leaving behind the shredded, repeatedly stabbed corpse of a dog, we get out of the Forested Dome.

    We hadn¡¯t collected a Core, or any new powers, but did gain an indescribable weariness, and exhaustion.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ It¡¯s hard¡­ I don¡¯t feel good about the future¡±

    ________________________

    [1]Spreading Yew¡­ apparently poisonous

    [2]Hey, new powers, it¡¯s Kurokami Shibari(ü\óŠ¿`¤ê), tled quite literally as ckhair Bind~

 Chapter 17: Lets try Killing part.2

    Chapter 17: Let''s try Killing part.2

    After that, we saw packs of Fang Rats pass through the ends of the passages twice; in a woond area, we saw a troop of Goma walk past while making a racket for some reason. After the skinny Red Dog, we advanced through the dungeon without a single other fight.

    Thus precisely following the directions of the Magic Compass, we arrived at a stairway. Simr to the one where I first entered this dungeon, it was a spiralled descent. And as I thought maybe, there indeed was a Fairy Square upon reaching the bottom.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today. We should get a little sleep¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ ok, let¡¯s¡±

    Me and Futaba-san, we were both tired. Even if I didn¡¯t make the proposal to rest, I¡¯m certain we¡¯d both be out like logs.

    I¡¯ll just stop thinking too much for now. Controlling our exhaustion, Futaba-san and I ate a poor meal of Fairy Walnuts with cold water, and descended towards a siesta.

    Sleeping with a girl under the same roof¡­ would be a rom like scenario that I truly couldn¡¯t care less for, and I lied down freely spreading my arms and legs over the soft grass. Futaba-san too, right now she wouldn¡¯t be stupidly conscious of the opposite sex, and should be weary, yes, mentally weary, and going to sleep at an appropriate distance away.

    ¡°Uu.. ku, uuu¡­¡±

    As I turn my face to peek, what appears is a side-turnedrge, round back trembling. She¡¯s doing her best to supress it, but the crying is obvious.

    For what cause, is she shedding tears this time? I had no desire to think about it, and per consequent, none to console her either. I want to cry too.

    The surprising difficulty of killing Monsters. Futaba-san who can¡¯t attack. Packs of them where it¡¯s instant death at encounter. Every one of these is more than enough to chip away at my spirit. None of them were at the level of stress a short, otaku(geek) highschooler could hope to endure.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯m, still, okay¡­¡±

    Murmuring as if it was a prayer, I tightly shut my eyes.

    ¡°I still, don¡¯t wanna die¡­ like hell I¡¯ll die here¡­¡±

    Survival instinct. That¡¯s what moves me, the only, yet absolute think that drives me. I¡¯ll definitely get out of this ce alive. And I¡¯ll absolutely make it back to my previous world.

    ¡°¡­Nn-¡°

    Sometime during my endless contemtions, I had fallen asleep. I don¡¯t know for how long, and I don¡¯t feel like checking.

    Feeling thenguish of awakening, rubbing at my eyes, I raise my body.

    ¡°Futaba-san¡¯s¡­ still sleeping¡±

    They say that sleep brings up a child well, the thought buzzes through my mind. But having the body grow while the heart stays immature makes thatpletely useless. If you could be courageous just by dozing off, I¡¯d be a Hero already. At the least, a level 58 one.[1]

    ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong¡­ it¡¯s not, her fault¡­¡±

    Seeing Futaba-san¡¯s utter uselessness, unable to kill even a starving, and on top of that, restrained pup, my inner feeling for her bing the same as those 3 who abandoned her, is something I can¡¯t deny. I¡¯ve been hitting my limits too, I just can¡¯t let her off. I¡¯m not that big of a man tough away these things as nothing, I know that for a fact. Just as I expected things from the strength of a Knight granted to Futaba-san, I was all the more disappointed and full ofints at her failures like this.

    Still, I won¡¯t resent her. I won¡¯t get angry, or me her. Ever. I don¡¯t give a shit about my feelings. If feelings aren¡¯t working, try logic.

    So think, think Momokawa Kotarou. Before finally speaking out that disgruntled resentment, think up a n.

    ¡°¡­Ah right, first on the list of problems are those Novice Skills¡±

    The biggest w isn¡¯t with the individual that is Futaba Meiko, but with the shitty system of this anything-goes magic-filled other world that produced the thing called a ¡®Vocation¡¯ which is a disappointment that keeps on giving.

    I already have an endless list ofints from being a Shaman with nil Attack Skills, but let¡¯s leave that aside for now. What¡¯s important are the 3 Novice Skills that Futaba-san currently possesses: ¡®Foresight¡¯, ¡®Repel¡¯, and ¡®Blessed Body¡¯.

    That she has no Attack Skills i.e. Martial Arts¡ª is not the issue.

    The issue would be herck of Skills that focus the mind in battle, Psyche Skills.

    Up ¡¯til this very morning, well we may have changed by now, but anyway, we were just normal highschoolers. Just because we received magical powers, there¡¯s no way we can suddenly go fight fearsome Monsters.

    Nevertheless, be it the Higuchi party I encountered, or the ss Rep team that abandoned Futaba-san, they were more or less able to fight off those Monsters.

    As for why these students could conveniently go to battle. The secret lies in powers that affect their psyche.

    Concentrate Can draw the bow without faltering of mind

    If I recall, there was a name and description like that. Right, this was indeed one of Satou Aya¡¯s Novice Skills in archery.

    She had neither theposed disposition of the ss Rep nor the bravado of Natsukawa-san. She was a model ofpletely average highschool girl, and though I hadn¡¯t spoken to her even once, her demeanor in ss leads me to that judgement.

    Even someone like her was standing shoulder to shoulder with the other two, fighting with gusto.

    If you think about it, in front of a Goma or Red Dog, Satou-san is very likely to scream out in fear, or even turn stiff in shock, reactions leading straight to death. For her contribution to the fight, there¡¯d be scant different to Futaba-san.

    Her betraying those expectations, properly carrying out long-distance offensives with her bow, was nothing but from that ¡®Concentrate¡¯, that magic power that allowed her to smoothly carry out battle.

    What I think, is that this power not only offers concentration when firing an arrow, but also mitigates the resistance felt when that arrow hits an animal.

    Perhaps it¡¯s that, after the battle, the guiltes rushing in¡­ Still, using this power, she¡¯d be able to cooly fire the bow anytime new skirmishes started. The guilt x resistance from taking a life gone, there wouldn¡¯t be any shaking from fear and anxiety either. Ever calm of mind, akin to the masters of Japanese Archery.[2]

    Do that for a while, and she¡¯d get used to killing Monsters pretty soon. Humans can adapt. Right now, Satou-san may even be able to casually headshot Monsters like those FPS addicts.

    Anyway, after first getting a hold of this Psyche Skill, evenplete amateurs in battle can avoid the worst of pitfalls known as ¡®panic¡¯ to a 100%.

    If Futaba-san had an ability to fearlessly face any foe, the mindset of a Knight, a ¡®Chivalrous Spirit¡¯ per say, then she could use those log-like arms to bash down on any Goma or Red Dog.

    Yeah, if she was that awesome, she wouldn¡¯t have been abandoned by those 3 in the first ce, and wouldn¡¯t have met me and be an ally either.

    ¡°Somehow, gotta get her a Psyche Skill¡­¡±

    In the end, we¡¯re back at the premise of developing the Vocation throughbat. The category of Skill we want did change, but the means to get it remains the same.

    And, it¡¯s because that¡¯s not working out, that I¡¯m going though all this trouble. Came right back in a circle, goddammit.

    ¡°Ok, next time, let¡¯s avoid the Red Dog, and get a Fang Rat, then¡­ or maybe I can somehow trick her into killing¡­¡±

    It a feeling where I¡¯m simting an RPG and trying to nurture a super weak character, expecting great things forter. Getting the enemies HP down to 1 and letting the weak character deliver the kill and get the exp.[3]

    ¡°As if that¡¯s gonna work dammit¡­¡±

    To my regrets, this world is neither a game, nor follows does it follow the rules of any game system.

    At the very least, if you fight honestly and gather experience, you can get new powers, is something established from what I¡¯ve heard from Futaba-san. That¡¯s likely because, as per the info from the text messages, our Vocations are granted by gods rted to battle.

    That¡¯s why I acted under the assumption that even if we beat that weakened Red Dog, it¡¯d turn into experience points¡­ but really, I¡¯m not all too sure exactly what level of fighting is considered enough to levelup the Vocation.

    It could even be that learning conditions arepletely dependant on the whims of the God¡­ if that¡¯s the case, then the one who granted Futaba-san her Vocation, the God of Knights, it was apparently a woman¡¯s voice so maybe Goddess, anyway, this God of Female Knights may not recognize her beating monsters with underhanded methods.

    What¡¯ll I do if she wants something like my super lucky Armor Bear ying to grant a levelup¡­ it¡¯s at impossible difficulty already, fuck.

    ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s just make some meds¡±

    I decide to avoid all this dead end thinking, and immerse myself in work as if running away from reality.

    That reminds me, I haven¡¯t closely looked at the details of this Fairy Square, maybe I can make a new discovery like that Power Seed from before.

    With light expectations, I do an ¡°easy does it¡± like those old folks and stand up.

    ________________________

    [1]There could be a reference here, but I wouldn¡¯t know. if someone does, please say. I¡¯ll change this tlNote then.

    [2]Japanese Archery¡­ it¡¯s like yoga but with sharp objects!

    [3]like Magikarp ¡úGyarados?(lol)

 Chapter 18: Lets try the Killing part.3

    Chapter 18: Let''s try the Killing part.3

    ¡°¡­ Not much change from upstairs huh¡±

    Yea, Futaba-san curtly replies. Her face being clouded to the utmost, I can tell without looking back.

    We advance through a now-all-too-familiar stone passage in that slightly strained and awkward atmosphere.

    Having rested and slept, not really feeling like diving into this hopeless dungeon, we decided to head in nheless.

    Futaba-san¡¯s depressed state had shown no changes after having woken up. For the time, I did do my best on the follow up, saying that I didn¡¯t mind about the failure with the Red Dog; since I felt it couldn¡¯t be helped, and then, also exined what I thought about Psyche Skills.

    I mean, there¡¯s no way a girl would cheer up with just those words¡­ so I said something like we can get it on the next try, and with that, we return to the present of us traversing the dungeon, ever so cautious.

    And so, we¡¯ve been walking nearly an hour. We¡¯ve passed many a stone passage, going left and right at intersections, sometimes passing through Forested Domes like before; we kept walking.

    All the while, we haven¡¯t encountered a single Monster; what is this even? Not even a Fang Rat. Maybe there¡¯s the ss Rep party, or some other ssmates preceding us, eliminating all the monsters on their path?

    Though well, we heard cawing from a crow-like bird in a Forested Dome, so it¡¯s not like the ce ispletely devoid of fauna.

    May be that it¡¯s in good luck. If everything¡¯s started going us, I¡¯d dly take this opportunity, and hope we can be blessed with a wonderful levelup right about n¡ª

    ¡°Ah¡±

    I let out a sound just as we were approaching a bend in the passage. Just as we were turning, and the scape of whaty beyond entered my field of vision, I backed away to escape from the ¡®thing¡¯ that caught my eye.

    ¡°Stop¡±

    Herrge body trembling, Futaba-san managed to not scream out, and with a start, halted her steps. Disying a hand sign to ¡®wait¡¯ behind me, I slither towards the bend and take a peek.

    ¡°¡­Goma¡±

    There¡¯s no mistaking that filthy, ck body akin to a cockroach.

    Beyond this bend, there is arge path with a width simr to a 2-way road. Both sides were lined with numerous trees like in a Forested Dome. Of course, they weren¡¯t being maintained at all, and the twisted, overgrown branches took over a significant amount of the space. To pass through, we had to traverse the meter(~3.3feet) of gap right in the middle.

    And beyond that overrun, treelined path, looks around 30 meters(~100feet) away, there was a single Goma.

    ¡°E, GueEEE¡­ GeaAAA!¡±

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    I hear Futaba-san leaking a scream behind me. I mean, when I heard the Goma¡¯s cry from all the way over there, even I thought my heart stopped.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Futaba-san, calm down. That Goma, isn¡¯t gonna attack¡±

    ¡°E-eh¡­ how can you tell?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fallen over¡°

    Yes, that Goma, it was copsed face down.

    I checked to make sure one more time, but it was indeed powerlessly keeled over. Since we heard its cry, there¡¯s no doubt it¡¯s alive¡­ though looking closer, I saw a pool of blood around the Goma.

    ¡°I think, it¡¯s fatally injured and can¡¯t anymore¡±

    Futaba-sanes sliding towards the corner to peek at the state of affairs herself. My eyesight isn¡¯t bad enough to warrant sses, and Futaba-san isn¡¯t of the meganekko(sses-girl) archetype either. We wouldn¡¯t mistake an injured Goma.[1]

    Havingpletely made sure, within tension and unease, I make a warped smile and say,

    ¡°It¡¯s here, our 2nd chance¡±

    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s¡­ you don¡¯t mean¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna kill that Goma¡±

    Just when I thought they weren¡¯ting at all, a weakened, solitary Monster, the ideal prey was right there. We can¡¯t let this chance go.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, if we do it like with the Red Dog, it¡¯ll work¡±

    ¡°B-but¡­ I¡­¡±

    Her big-bodied trembling and tears collecting around the eyes were, eh¡­ can¡¯t be helped. After all, we haven¡¯t solved the problem of mental fortitude at all. If we do it likest time, her spear will definitely stop yet again.

    And I haven¡¯t found any ground-breaking ¡°How to Stab: even Futaba-san can do it!¡± method either.

    ¡°Okay, then this time, we can stab it together¡±

    The two of us on our first joint mission, I dub it, let¡¯s cut that cake, stab it to shreds. I know it¡¯s an offhanded and spontaneous naming, but couldn¡¯t you¡¯ve done better, me!

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ Alright! I can, if it¡¯s with Momokawa-kun, I can do it!¡±

    Eh, for real, you really got motivated from thismebrain method? I mean, I did say it but¡­ yeah, just as she said, this time, she¡¯s positively burning with fighting spirit, so I¡¯ll dly take that.

    Now, before the passion subsides, we¡¯ll finish it in one go. Perhaps after this bout, all our problems will be solved, with a wonderful levelup and all.

    First, and I hadpletely forgotten this with the Red Dog, I pop in a Power Seed.

    It¡¯s rmended to swallow the tiny, red berry without chewing. Since the juice is extremely sour.

    ¡°¡ª!? -!¡±

    I¡¯ll just pretend not to notice Futaba-san¡¯s acutely puckered face. I had previously cautioned her, but it¡¯s easy to imagine her biting down hard from all the tension.

    Any, we¡¯re now ready and set.

    ¡°Alright, now or never, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Look right, look left, look right again, no other enemies sighted, affirmative. Futaba-san and I leap out into the path in synchronous, and close in the copsed, bloodied Goma.

    Heat rising from the center of my body came from the quick-action effects of the Power Seed. It¡¯s not like a fever, but feels more like the kind of warmth you get after a good set of warmup exercises.

    Thanks to which, disregarding the fatigue from walking all the way here, my feet on the stone paving feel immensely light.

    ¡°OO! GebUReaA!?¡±

    ¡°Kyaa¡ª!¡±

    We had no Assassin-like techniques to conceal our presence, and were boldly running through the path, which the Goma immediately saw. The muddy yellow eyes ring at us, it shouted, I don¡¯t know if in anguage or just shrieking, but in an aggravated tone nheless.

    Futaba-san¡¯s own cry, was perhaps from seeing the menacing reaction from the Goma. Or maybe, a branch had caught on her grand body, multiples of my size.

    Whatever the case, the unmoving Goma could do nothing but cry out, and without any way to obstruct our advance, we quickly got in range for the spear to reach.

    ¡°¡ª¡®ckhair Bind¡¯!¡±

    I had already finished the aria on the way here. Ande now, invoked the binding Curse. Maybe because I¡¯ve done it once already, I could form the image much more clearly and the invocation process went smooth.

    ckhair Bind Tentacles of ck hair tangles onto the enemy. A maiden¡¯s hair is her life[2]

    The descriptioning to my head is this kind of useless thing, so it¡¯s leagues better to field-test it to gain mastery. The already brief description amended with further iprehensible vor text makes it even more annoying.

    Leaving aside the quibbling, as if proving the cast sessful, ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯ manifested with even greater effect than with the Red Dog.

    From the pool of blood around the Goma, the bundles of hair sprung forth, entangling its whole body. Focusing on the arms, the Goma was made fixed to the ground. The dirty ck-brown body was tightly wrapped in glossy ck hair.

    Both the constrictive strength and the quantity of hair tentacles had augmented. It¡¯s likely not a levelup but original specs of the Curse being brought out.

    Thinking from the opposite view, it won¡¯t get any better than this; but yeah, at present, this is definitely the Curse with the most immediate effect.

    Anyway, with that, bindingplete. Next, we stab. I guess this time I won¡¯t use ¡®Red Fever¡¯. After all, using it or not, won¡¯t really change a thing.

    ¡°Futaba-san, just making sure, you can¡¯t do it alone?¡±

    ¡°U, uuu¡­ C-can¡¯ttt¡­¡±

    While my spear is already raised overhead, edging to strike, Futaba-san was hugging hers with her log-like arms in a girly pose, trembling stalk still.

    H-hot damn, that portion of the subtly thick branch-spear ispletely buried between her chest, can¡¯t see it at all¡­

    ¡°DunGaAAA!¡±

    Woah, sorry Goma-san. Ain¡¯t no time to be starin¡¯.

    ¡°Okay, now, slowly, calmly¡­ grab onto mine¡±

    By which I mean grab ¡®my spear¡¯. And without expressly offering that correction, I went from the overhead pose, to one where I look like I¡¯ve about to dig the ground with a shovel.

    With 1 spear to be held by 2 people, I¡¯m thinking this position is the best way to smoothly deliver a piercing blow to our grounded enemy.

    ¡°O-ok¡­gyuu!¡±

    I wonder if there¡¯s any purpose in her voicing out her grabbing sound effect. Maybe it strengthens her resolve, or she¡¯s just going with the flow, it doesn¡¯t really bother me. With a face on the verge of crying, Futaba-san tightly grasped my spear.

    With one hand.

    ¡°Right now would be a good time to let go of yours¡±

    ¡°A, y-you¡¯re exactly right!?¡±

    The spear made a dry nging as it was thrown away.

    Once again, we use both hands. My twigs and Futaba-san¡¯s logs, a total of 4 hands grab on to the single spear.

    ¡°FuU, Uu,gubURUrU¡­¡±

    I hear the Goma¡¯s rough breathing, and indecipherable whinges. But, it feels like it strangely went quiet.

    Futaba-san and I are grabbing the spear together, and holding that position. We had quite an awkward stance because of the difference in height, but there¡¯d be no problem stabbing this dying Goma.

    We just need, one final push. Right now, the push, the resolution to lunge the spear.

    ¡°Ha, haah¡­ fuu¡­¡±

    I peak at her face to find tears already dropping. And dropping evenrger drops of sweat, she had the pained face of a marathon runner right before the goal.

    Her waterfall like perspiration isn¡¯t solely due to the Power Seed most likely.

    ¡°Futaba-san, eyes, close them¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ okay¡­¡±

    The target wasn¡¯t even 10 cm(~4inch) from the roughly carved spear-tip. uracy would be 100% even with both eyes shut.

    So to alleviate even a bit of the stress, she can seal her vision.

    ¡°Futaba-san, a bit less power please¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yea¡±

    For the past while, Futaba-san was shaking and stiff, grapping the spear so hard, I couldn¡¯t even make it budge with all my strength.

    We can¡¯t go on like this.

    Right now, Futaba-san didn¡¯t need didn¡¯t need the courage or guts to kill a Monster by her own hands. She only needs to know that the spear used to kill the Goma also had her hands on it, just that fact.

    For now, that much is fine. It could be a trigger to let her think she can do it herself next time.

    ¡°Keep holding it, just like that¡±

    After a bit of time, I feel Futaba-san finally easing her strength. With a light back and forth, Futaba-san¡¯s arms swayed together. She truly was only holding it.

    Good, with that, the final piece of groundwork is done.

    On my end, while I see the Goma as a Monster, its humanoid form stirs a resistance greater than with the Red Dog.

    But that is only a feeling. In me, a hesitation in killing Monsters, that kind of delicate spirit, doesn¡¯t exist anymore.

    ¡°¡­Here we go, Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Momokawa-kun¡­ sorry¡±

    Her kindness pricks at my heart.

    Don¡¯t apologize dammit. It¡¯s fine already. I mean, my actions can only, serve to taint you too.

    I¡¯ll protect you. If I said that, it¡¯d pretty much make me the manliest man around right.

    But yeah, that¡¯s impossible for me. Personality-wise, and power-wise.

    So, this is, just fine.

    ¡°YaAAAA!¡±

    In the strike Inded while shaking off the light self-derision, contrary to my thoughts, the recoil was light.

    ¡°¡ªmoGYaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    A scream of such outrageous volume, I thought it travelled through the whole dungeon. As if the stone passages that already bounced sound well, were all focused solely on the death throes that this one immobile Goma mustered with thest of its all.

    As if trying to tear apart its cheeks, the alreadyrge mouth stretched to the limit to scream out its loudest ever.

    The tip of the spear was plunged quite deep into its nk. This crude spear, casually carved with the boxcutter had indeed torn the Goma¡¯s skin, impaled its meat.

    The Goma¡¯s body was pierced through so anti-climatically, maybe Goma are actually pretty soft-bodied or it could be thanks to the Power Seed¡¯s boost. Right now, I didn¡¯t have theposure to calmly analyse.

    ¡°Again!¡±

    As I draw out the spear, quite naturally, blood rushed out of the opened hole. Far from the familiar crimson, it was a muddy, red-brown tint. Maybe human blood is like this too, who knows.

    The spouting blood gets on my indoor shoes, which are by now,pletely dirtied from the day¡¯s walking, and it gets on the cuffs of my trousers, already smeared with mud and earth. It¡¯s prettyte to call it getting dirty, but other than the blood, the wound also produced a strange slimy gel-like substance, the sight of which gave me intolerable disgust.

    Ah, feels sick, feels sick. So awful, fuck this, why do I, have to be here, the hell, do I gotta do this for¡ª

    Forcefully holding back the sudden jolt of anxiety, the feeling of swallowing back vomit, I continue stabbing the Goma, wishing only to perfectly reap its life.

    Again, Again. Another time, a third time¡­ countless times. Single-mindedly, I stab.

    ¡°GI! iIIGeEEaA!¡±

    nk, stomach, chest, any big part I cany my eyes on, I shred with the crude spear. Every time I do so with all my strength, the Goma raises agonizing cries as it writhes. Yet, the shackles of curse don¡¯t let it turn in the slightest.

    I think I heard Futaba-san¡¯s screams mixed in with those of the pitiful Goma. Seems like she¡¯s shouting something, I think, maybe.

    Maybe I was also shouting, don¡¯t really know.

    ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­¡±

    It felt more tiresome than the time with the Red Dog.

    I got that impression when the corpse before my feet had already suffered atrocious ughter. Red-brown, dirty blood and chunks of gore. It has already stopped letting out noises from my stabbing.

    ¡°Uu, uu¡­ M-Momokawa-kun¡­ over? it¡¯s¡­ over, right?¡±

    In a fatigue and breathlessness as if I ran a 400 meter(~quarter mile) dash at breakneck pace, after a pause, not after 3 good pauses, I replied to the sobbing Futaba-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ The Goma, it¡¯s dead¡±

    As I look, I see Futaba-san still has her eyes sincerely sealed tight. So you can shed tears even with your eyes closed. That, uselessly carefree impression floated to mind.

    ¡°I think, you shouldn¡¯t open your eyes yet¡±

    ¡°¡­Mm¡±

    ¡°Just walk a bit back, as you are¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ mm¡­¡±

    This corpse, you don¡¯t need to see it. Especially since you had a hand in it¡¯s creation.

    While considering these ways to avoid reality, Futaba-san and I seeded in our Goma killing.

    ________________________

    [1]Ahem¡­ I present you the meganekko!

    [2]R-reminds me of a certain maid¡­

 Chapter 19: Live Bait

    Chapter 19: Live Bait

    ¡°¡­ Look¡¯s terrible¡±

    After guiding Futaba-san to a side of the passage, a minute, two¡­ I took a dazed time-out for around 5 minutes, only after which, I got myself together, went to inspect the Goma¡¯s corpse, and let out the preceding line.

    The body was bloody to the point that I couldn¡¯t even tell how many times I¡¯d stabbed it. The brutality was on the level you¡¯d see in some B-Horror films.

    Well, I did hear that when you consciouslymit murder for the first time, it¡¯s often the case that you get too worked up and end up with a sever case of overkill, so this kind of result isn¡¯t something I can¡¯t say I expected.

    Still, perhaps I¡¯m not feeling so much of a repugnance to this kind of rated R-18 gore in real life, is because it is something I myself produced. Could be that my sensitivity has dulled quite a bit from my brief experience of dungeon life.

    Since I can regain calm in just a bit of time, that theory may not be far from the truth. I didn¡¯t learn any Psyche Skill though.

    Anyway, my state of mind, I¡¯ll leave be. Let¡¯s just finish up with the Goma and get out of here.

    I didn¡¯t expect any Core from the Red Dog but this Goma may just have a fragment or two. In addition, though crude, these humanoid Goma do carry weapons. Futaba-san¡¯s story had indeed touched on ones using bows for rangedbat.

    Implying, this is our chance to get gear.

    ¡°Huh, this guy¡¯s¡ª¡±

    Yet, when I observe again, or rather, inly looked at the Goma, I realized.

    ¡°¡ªgot nothing on at all!?¡±

    P-pervert! I¡¯d shout but my disappointment was a bit greater.

    Yup, whichever way I look at it, this guy¡¯s just in butt naked.

    Actually, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen a Goma from so close. First time I witnessed the creature was a scene where I was peeking at them gorging on a girl from slightly far away.

    Getting a better look, I can see that not only is their skin reminiscent of cockroaches, but they¡¯re different from humans at the musculo-skeletal level.

    Their height is less than that of an adult man, around my height quite frankly, but looking at that ck, slimy, humanoid form makes me equate it to a primate like the orangutan rather than a person. Their image could be best described as one of primitive man, a hunched posture, short legs, and long arms, ones you can find in an animal encyclopedia.

    Though, I can¡¯t really tell if it¡¯s male or female. I happen to nce at itsher regions, but that didn¡¯t help at all. Of course, touching to see if it¡¯s got one or not, doesn¡¯t even cross my mind.

    Even if Goma were unisex creatures, that information is something I give not one fuck about.

    ¡°Damn¡­ this guy¡¯s really got nothing at all¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t care if you got no undies but at least have a knife or something. This dungeon¡¯s chock full of vile Monsters you hear. Why¡¯d you gotta prance around in your birthday suit, dumbass.

    No, well, maybe normal Goma are like monkeys and live naked in the wild.

    Maybe those ones dining on that girl were a special ss amongst Goma like Hunter or Warrior; those who go out to hunt Monsters and are given the privilege of clothing and weapons.

    Shit, just stop thinking about Goma ecology already. Rather than info, I need some physical loot here.

    ¡°¡­ Hm?¡°

    C¡¯mon, something, anything; I stare intensely at the Goma¡¯s remains with bloodshot eyes, when I realize.

    There¡¯s, way too many wounds.

    No, you¡¯re the one who did that remember, I¡¯d like to self-retort but that¡¯s not it. Certainly, I had stabbed it countless times, but area I did that on was only one.

    Basically, in my high-tension, frenzied state, I could only manage to hit the biggest part i.e. the trunk of its body. I was not at all in the frame of mind to go for the head or any kind of vitals.

    Meaning, injuries from my spear didn¡¯t exist on it¡¯s face or limbs. Nheless,

    ¡°This cut here¡­ may be a knife¡±

    The Goma¡¯s arms and legs had deep wounds even amateurs could distinguish. These wounds were rough yet certainly ran in a line, they¡¯d in no way be from ws of something like an Armor Bear.

    Dare I say, from dulled knifes, yes, those same rusted knives carried by Goma; Like it was forcefully stabbed at the same ces by those very knives.

    The precise positions of those wounds would be, on the calves of both legs and the upper part of the left arm. For some reason, the right arm was left alone.

    ¡°Just what, was it that attacked it?¡±

    In this otherworld, Monsters with severe wounds suddenly popping up in dungeons, meant to be mobs to kill for delicious bonus exp, would obviously¡ª be really too good to be true. At least for me, apart from the whole magic thing, everything appears to follow the physicalws just like on Earth.

    Thus, since it¡¯s injured, there is necessarily a cause to be found. Considering it¡¯s a dungeon, the most likely cases would be: unforeseen ident, or attacked by Monsters.

    There¡¯s an exception at present where us humans are also fighting Monsters¡­ and if this Goma had been inbat with a student, there¡¯s no reason to leave it be after some damage to the limbs.

    This situation was just as if the purpose was to immobilize the Goma, aiming to injure but not kill; as if that was the attacker¡¯s true objective.

    But then, for what intent?

    The questions keep rising. I feel like the protagonist of a mystery. What secrets lie in the body, through the art of deduction¡ª

    ¡°¡­Momokawa-kun¡±

    With a shock! my body jolts hard quite pathetically from the sudden voice. No, no, that didn¡¯t scare me at all, I pretend as I turn around.

    ¡°Futaba-san, alright now?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine, so¡­¡±

    That paleplexion doesn¡¯t look fine at all, but I won¡¯t push the point. She must be, working hard in her own way.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, umm¡­ the Core, we should get it, right?¡±

    From her fidgety way of asking, I quickly got her point.

    ¡°Oh yeah Futaba-san, you did say you¡¯re used to handling Cores¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    In Futaba-san¡¯s previous dungeon adventures, her only usefulness in the ss Rep party was that of extracting Cores. Luckily her skill in cooking is quite the thing and dismantling these Monsters went splendidly, is apparently the case.

    Matter of fact, now that it¡¯s a simple corpse, she shouldn¡¯t carry so much reluctance. If the dead body¡¯s fine, I¡¯d have thought killing it would garner the same emotion, but apparently, that¡¯s not the case.

    ¡°But you don¡¯t have any knives though, is that alright? I mean, we only got the cutter¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I think¡­ I¡¯ve handled some Goma before, and the Core isn¡¯t too deep inside, I think I can do it¡±

    Oh, such reassuring words. I guess it¡¯s that thing where everyone has their strong points.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s all yours¡±

    ¡°Ok, leave it to me, no problem!¡±

    And when I went to hand my boxcutter to the slightly less pallid Futaba-san, shoving my hand into my gakuran(uniform) pocket, searching for 3 seconds, grabbing the required stic article, and offering it as if here, a gift; right then.

    ¡°Ah, Momokawa-kun, this Goma, it¡¯s holding something?¡±

    ¡°Eh, no way¡±

    This naked fe? I thought, but looking where Futaba-san was indicating, there was indeed a ¡®something¡¯.

    ¡°The hell¡¯s, this¡­¡±

    What I see, is the Goma holding a small bag in it¡¯s right hand. Yes, a truly small, crude bag of brown pelt, small enough to bepletely covered by the palm. With only a quick lookover, I didn¡¯t notice.

    ¡°I wonder what¡­ it¡¯s white, powder?¡±

    Futaba-san spread open the Goma¡¯s right hand without the slightest hesitation and retrieved the bag. Even though I felt so disgusted at the Goma¡¯s corpse, needed so long just to gather the guts to touch it¡­ what can I say, nothing less from a master of the kitchen who¡¯s even chopped up Monsters.

    As I raise my opinion of Futaba-san by another point, I stare at the mystery bag of white powder in her hand.

    ¡°Hmm, this is¡­¡±

    It a nce, it seemed like wheat flour, or potato starch, it couldn¡¯t be described as anything other than pure white power. I also notice that the Goma¡¯s bloodstained right hand has bits of this powder on it here and there.

    Before wondering what, white power, the first thing to pop in mind were those illegal substances.

    ¡°¡¯Kay, let¡¯s see here¡­ when ingested, it uplifts the spirit and eases fatigue, you get into a state of extreme high, and furthermore, has a strong addiction factor¡ª wait, this is a drug!¡±

    ¡°Eeeh, d-drugs!?¡°

    Via ¡®Intuition Pharmacy¡¯, I learned the characteristics of this white powder, this Goma-made drug.

    If this Goma was on a trip from this narcotic, and decided to run around bare naked in the dungeon, then that¡¯s all good. If this one¡¯s got an extra dose of stupidpared to the average unintelligent Goma, then that¡¯s all there is to it.

    However, even that most likely scenario doesn¡¯t hold given the fact that those wounds exist on the Goma¡¯s limbs.

    Right, this one¡¯s had its limbs cut by some thing, making it unable to move, and then given this bag of drugs; I can¡¯t think of any other scenario.

    Therefore, the culprit must be¡ª

    ¡°W-w-wha-wha-what, do I do with this, Momokawa-kun!?¡±

    Futaba-san holds out the bag of narcotics, panicking as if she¡¯s got a time bomb in her hands.

    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t breathe it in¡±

    ¡°B-but¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, ok, fine, I¡¯ll hold on to it for¡­ you¡­¡°

    Reaching out my hands, my movements stop. In front of me is Futaba-san; the glimpse of those ¡®things¡¯ behind her, seeing those I turn stiff.

    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong, Momokawa-kun?¡±

    Seeing me suddenly stop. Seeing my face probably paling in fear, Futaba-san asks uneasily.

    It¡¯s unfortunate but right now, I can¡¯t say ¡®it¡¯s fine¡¯. No words of relief, nor those offort would escape my mouth. What I voice, would only be the cruelest of realities.

    ¡°I-it¡¯s bad¡­ we, fell for it¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh¡ª¡±

    And turning around to follow where I¡¯m looking, Futaba-san screaming so loud as if the stone passage would break, was the natural result. I mean, I even feel like screaming with her.

    Reason being, right there, there were¡ª

    ¡°Damn it all¡­ the Goma, got us surrounded¡­¡±

 Chapter 20: Goma Trap

    Chapter 20: Goma Trap

    Implying, this injured Goma was made bait to lure in prey.

    Not letting live or die, cutting the limbs to forbid movement. Moreover, leaving it some narcotics, it would be a lively bait that lets out a boisterous shout. The individual itself would use the drug to ease its pain. The right arm left untouched only for it to apply said drug.

    Maybe this way of cruelly making bait of its ownrades is a tradition of Goma, or it could be that the students kept hunting the Monsters of this floor so well, it became an emergency situation that required such drastic measures, but anyway, at the current time, they¡¯ve gone and done it.

    And there happened to exist an idiot that would fall for this tantly obvious trap.

    Right, that would be me. Goddammit, I should have suspected something the moment I saw that fallen Goma. Encountering a conveniently weakened prey like that stray Red Dog twice, that kind of coincidence never happens.

    ¡°Wh, wh, w-w-w-what do we do now, Momokawa-kun!?¡±

    That¡¯s what I wanna say, I can¡¯t say. No time to say.

    At this time, we were at a T-junction like area, and Goma were piling in from all three of those directions. Taking to ount the time we took killing that Goma, taking a break from the shock, and then inspecting the corpse till just now, it¡¯d be ample time to block our path.

    Each path is crowded with around 10 of them. I can see ones carrying worn out bows scattered among them, but they aren¡¯t shooting. I guess they don¡¯t feel the need to.

    As if excited by the fact that they¡¯ve sessfully surrounded us, the Goma were increasingly excited, going Gaee Ghae in their hoarse cries, having quite a st as if their game was already in the bag.

    ¡°G-gotta¡­ just, break through somehow¡­¡±

    Can¡¯t think of anything better, don¡¯t think it¡¯ll go well either. My voice as I made the suggestion is literally shaking right now.

    Still, we have to do it.

    The path going straight had dead trees spread on both sides, it¡¯s the way we came in. This path is wider that the two going left and right, but the twisted, crazy overgrown trees will make escape harsh.

    Having said that, the other two paths are even more impossible. Their widths narrow, the way is totally blockaded by a fence of Goma. I can¡¯t see a single gap to sneak past from.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go straight. Right down the mid¡­ no, a little to the left, the one with the bone club. I¡¯ll stop it with ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯, so we¡¯ll push it aside and break through.¡±

    ¡°G-got it!¡±

    Pretty good for an instant n I¡¯d say. If we had an Attack Skill right now, breaching through wouldn¡¯t even be an issue¡­ no, now¡¯s not the time for that.

    ¡°Now, go! Entwine its escape, with weaving hair¡ª¡±

    Getting the aria done first, I run at once. Futaba-san¡¯s following right behind.

    Thinking in terms of physical charging power, she¡¯d be way over me, but it¡¯d be a problem if she froze up right before contact. Can¡¯t say I¡¯m overly confident in my own tackle strength, but right now, I have to run up front.

    Okay, distance to Goma, less than 20 meters(~65feet). The bloodstained spear in my hands feel unnecessarily heavy. Ah, that reminds me, Futaba-san had thrown hers away.

    We could¡¯ve rushed in, both a spear in hand, and maybe the enemy would even falter a bit¡­ but can¡¯t really do that anymore.

    The Goma in front of us weren¡¯t particrly showing any fear or worry at us charging in, they weren¡¯t looking panicked at all. In fact, when they only pointed their weapons towards us saying Gue Guae, it felt as if they said, look at that fatty and pipsqueak pointlessly resisting, sneering at us.

    I fucking get it already. This is just a struggle in vain, I know. But we can¡¯t help it. This is our all, it¡¯s also our only.

    ¡°¡ªckhair Bind!¡±

    The Curse I unleashed with a shout wringing out all my breath manifested itself right as I aimed.

    The target being the club-wielding Goma was grabbed by the legs with the tentacles of hair suddenly sprouting from the ground, and fell forward. It seems that one was particrly stupid, without doing any actions to ease its fall, it bashed face first into the hard stone floor.

    ¡°GugEe!¡±

    ¡°Now!¡±

    Not letting the opening from that pathetic fall pass by, we went full die hard and aimed for the home stretch.

    But yet, faster than I could slide my body through, the Goma next to it came in to cover. They¡¯re stupid, but maybe they understand we¡¯re aiming there. Could also be that they¡¯re simply chasing me like a newbie ser yer only chasing the ball.

    In any case, we¡¯re quickly approaching collision. That in mind, I¡¯ll just have to give them another one.

    ¡°YaAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Taking the spear in my hands, I thrust towards the Goma with a knife blocking in path.

    I don¡¯t have the power to sparingly take down a Goma 1v1, and in fact, there¡¯s a higher risk of me losing, but this time, I¡¯ll have to win.

    It¡¯s a crude weapon made simply by sharpening a branch, but it does indeed have the length to deem it a ¡®spear¡¯. There¡¯s that saying about needing 3 times a Kendo dan, so this reach that I possess will be my absolute advantage.[1]

    Letting myself go with the momentum, I stab at the Goma, brandishing only a short knife, from a safe distance. Maybe the Power Seed was still in effect, but again, with a feeling softer than I imagined, the tip pierces through its ck flesh.

    But no matter how delicate it may be, it became a resistance enough to stop my feet.

    ¡°¡ªkuu!¡±

    The shock from going at it with all my power causes my feet to stumble. If I fall here, I die. With that desperate cause, I reim my footing.

    At some point, I¡¯d let go of my spear. The knife-wielding Goma was fallen over with the Fairy Walnut branch stuck in its gut, spouting noisy groans along with blood from its mouth. It wasn¡¯t instant death, but it¡¯s only a matter of time.

    And with it having blocked my advance, a small but definitive lost time was created. This lost time proved enough for another, a different Goma from the one I stabbed, to jump in.

    Weaving through the branches of the white, dead trees, a new Goma made its appearance. With around half the de chipped off, it held it its hands, a hatchet. One hit from that and I¡¯d be writhing on the floor, crying out much louder than the Goma.

    No wait, having stopped and let go of the spear, I don¡¯t have a single way to block¡ª

    ¡°WaAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Just then, charging in while screaming, came a giant shadow. Naturally, it¡¯s Futaba-san. She was running behind me, but as I¡¯d stopped, she¡¯d caught up, and now passed me.

    ¡°Gii!?¡±

    And as she was cutting through, she hit the Goma that had jumped in. The goma of around same size and stature as me is flicked away by Futaba-san¡¯s titanic mass, and flies beyond the branches of the dead trees. On the other side, having not even realized she¡¯d bumped into a Goma, Futaba-san only keeps running ahead.

    This difference in weight, such thing being overwhelming to a level that high was made painfully clear to me.

    No, forget that; having inadvertently avoided that crisis, now¡¯s my chance to get away.

    I¡¯ll just quickly make a turn, follow behind Futaba-san and get out¡ª

    ¡°Wah!?¡±

    Just as I took a step, my body fell forward from the momentum.

    Something caught my leg¡ª as I thrust my hands forward to break my fall, and felt the prickling sensation of pain on my palms, I realized.

    ¡°Sh-shidd this fucker!¡±

    It caught my leg, as in, that Goma I had tripped over using ckhair Bind, it grabbed my leg with its hand.

    Both legs were bound, but it had skillfully maneuvered itself, and reached for my leg. Luckily, it had let go of its club as it fell, and I¡¯d avoided that counter attack, but what it did achieve was more than enough to cost my life.

    ¡°Shit, god fucking dammiiiiiiiiit!

    Jamming my right hand into my gakuran(uniform) pocket, in less than a second I take out the boxcutter I¡¯d meant to lend to Futaba-san for dismantling work. With it¡¯s characteristic clicking sounds, the de was nowpletely out, at which point, a total of 2 seconds must have passed.

    And by the 3rd second, I¡¯d shed at the Goma¡¯s hand in all my rage.

    ¡°UgeEEe!¡±

    Seems it didn¡¯t have the guts to keep holding after having deeply cut with the fresh de. Spilling its filthy blood, it moves its hand away from my ankle as if withdrawing.

    ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ G-gotta, run¡ª¡±

    I stood up in a panic, but it was toote.

    ¡°GrrRRr¡­¡±

    ¡°GekgeGuGE¡±

    In front of me stands two Goma. From the right, from the left, every single Goma on this passage were creeping in to surround me.

    To call it a matter of course, well, that¡¯d only be right. Stabbing with a spear, falling over, shing. With that many distractions, there was more than ample time topletely encircle me.

    ¡°Aa, aaa¡­¡±

    I stand with my knees almost giving out, swing around my measly, unreliable, blood-stuck boxcutter.

    It wasn¡¯t thin enough to somehow charge through anymore. Front, back, left, right, the Goma savagelyughing at me from all sides, had doubled, no, tripled in number.

    The ones in front of me, as in, the Goma upying the direction we were running towards; beyond them, I catch sight of Futaba-san¡¯s back running away at full speed without the slightest hint of turning around.

    She¡¯s still screaming out, single-mindedly escaping at full force. Even if I shouted out for help, it wouldn¡¯t reach her ears.

    No well, even if she heard, it¡¯s simply impossible for Futaba-san to save me.

    No Betrayal or abandonment, strangely, I didn¡¯t even feel any resent. That being said, neither was there a gant feeling of, at least let her be safe or something like that.

    What upied my heart was an empty resignation. Give it up. Ah, well, can¡¯t be helped. This was only natural.

    I epted reality as is.

    I mean, it¡¯s obvious. I haven¡¯t done anything for her. No, I guess I saved her life, but that¡¯s it. I still haven¡¯t built her up with the strength and mind to bravely take on Monsters.

    And let¡¯s say in the million to 1, the billion to 1 chance that Futaba-san doese back to help. Even say she gains the courage to valiantly fight to save me¡­ there would still be no miracle. With that Skill set of hers, she can¡¯t a do a thing against this many Goma.

    To conclude, I can¡¯t rely on being saved at all.

    And what I can¡¯t rely on even more, that would my own strength. Not a thing for offence, defence, or retreat; with a shit Skill set that constitutes the Shaman, I can¡¯t do a thing being thus greatly outnumbered.

    Ah, yeah. I¡¯ll ept it. Right now, I¡¯m checked¡­ and mated.

    ¡°U-uaaAAAA!¡±

    But, no dammit. I don¡¯t wanna die.

    Even realizing the futility of my resistance, I couldn¡¯t stop swinging the only weapon I had on hand.

    My boxcutter, with its reach going only as far a that of a knife, only cut the vacant air.

    ¡°Gugee, gekGEKgee¡±

    ¡°GugeGE!¡±

    The Gomaugh at my fruitless resistance. These Monsters with their neanderthalic minds, they are sneering at man.

    Shit, shit¡­ fucking shit¡­

    ¡°Ow!?¡±

    ¡°GiyAu!?¡±

    My side was pricked. Likely with something long like a spear. I didn¡¯t see iting, but in my state of absolute fear and despair, my field of view had greatly constricted. Everywhere aside from straight ahead, I was simply blind.

    Even this wide open target got away with only a flesh wound because of ¡®Pain Return¡¯.

    I see a Goma groaning, holding its right side exactly where it hit me.

    ¡°T-that right¡­ you cut me¡­ you get cut, right back!¡±

    Ahaha, how¡¯s that, awesome that¡¯s what, that¡¯s my Curse. Kill me and you die. Any of you bastards, feel like dying¡ª

    GaAAa!¡±

    Right when I had so eximed, this time, a different Goma cried out. My leg was cut. Left thigh. The wound was shallow, but the pain burned all the same.

    ¡°A-aah¡­ ow, shit, ouch¡­¡±

    When I touched the wound with my left hand in an attempt to suppress it, I directly felt the dripping of blood. It¡¯s much less serious than one from the Armor Bear, but experiencing that disastrous experience in no way meant I developed some resistance to light wounds. In fact, my fear of bleeding to death even increased.

    Yet, this flowing blood, didn¡¯t really feel like mine. Maybe the fear is paralyzing my thoughts, leading to this fuzzy sense of reality.

    ¡°A-ow!¡±

    At some point, while raising pathetic cries of pain, I had dropped my boxcutter, my sole weapon. This time the attack came from a club. Aiming for my forearm, the strike relieved me of my weapon.

    I looked, and found the assailing Goma holding its forearm, its club making an annoying nging as it had been dropped. ¡®Pain Return¡¯ is working just fine. Serves you, I can¡¯t really bring myself to say.

    What flowed into my mind just now, was the event that I considered my most humiliating in my short 17 years of life. It was a line from that scene.

    ¡°Saitou, beat Momokawa¡¯s shit in for a bit¡±

    How¡¯s my idea, genius ain¡¯t it! I see his full on smug face in my mind saying that.

    Yeah, right, you¡¯re right Higuchi¡­ that greatest weakness of ¡®Pain Return¡¯ you found, I¡¯m in the middle of it having tested out right now.

    Back then, the one to attack me was that bastard Masaru who was in the position of Higuchi¡¯s ve. So he absolutely wouldn¡¯t go as far as killing.

    However, right now, the attackers numbered close to thirty. One punch per Goma, and while they¡¯re just a bit hurt, I¡¯m in tatters.

    I don¡¯t know if these Goma realized the principle of ¡®Pain Return¡¯. Whether they get it or not doesn¡¯t matter much, as they¡¯ve already actualized a n of attack against me.

    Ah, hell. I could be dragging in the one that delivers the finisher, but at that point, what meaning is there, really. These guys use their own as bait. Having one more die, they won¡¯t even bat an eye.

    Dying is bad as is, but dying meaninglessly is much worse. At least let me curse the one that did me in¡ª

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    With their next attack, that feeling too shattered like ss, into a myriad of pieces. It was a fragile dream. Real death, such a thing is much more miserable, irrational, abrupt, swift.

    Fight back? How foolish. Thoughts that would only emerge from worthless self-respect. You could even say it¡¯s that I¡¯m unwilling to ept my utter powerlessness.

    When exposed to insurmountable violence, your pride has no choice but to copse like a house of cards, or more like, a house of feathers.

    At the point I was kicked from behind, falling towards the floor, I realized all this.

    ¡°U, ah¡­ sto¡±

    A disgusting ck foot that would make even one stuck bare into the gutters feel clean; belonging to a Goma, those kind of revolting foot appears at the tip of my nose¡ª the time I finished thinking that, a kick had alreadynded at the base of my chin.

    A dizzying shock. Is this called seeing stars? Staggered and in pain, my body that was falling forward innately turned around.

    A dark ceiling. The white light panel that seemed like it could go out any moment felt like it was a metaphor for my remaining lifespan.

    But as ifining to me to stop being so fucking sentimental, my vision again fills in ck. There were spots of white scattered, sand. It was the sole of a Goma¡¯s foot.

    ¡°Hii¡ª¡±

    Even before I could instinctively move my arms to cover, the stompingmences. Straight on the nose. Stopped breathing for a moment.

    ¡°Ka, ha, a¡­ Aa¡­¡±

    An intense yet dull pain spread from the center of my face along with blood from my nose. Nose must¡¯ve broke, at least a fracture. This would be my first broken bone, and also the first time blood flowed from both my nostrils.

    Right now I must have the ugliest face I¡¯ve ever had. It¡¯s much worse than when Masaru beat me up.

    My spirit isn¡¯t much better either. I mean, I¡¯ve already¡ª

    ¡°Uu, Aa¡­ sto¡­ Stop¡­¡±

    Next, a kick to the guts which I withstood¡ª only to vomit. Yet right after, a different Goma delivered a Yakuza Kick as the same spot.[2]

    There was no use in enduring. At this point I was writhing out with Guee guee sounds not all too indistinguishable from the Gomas¡¯ own vulgar cries.

    The nasal sanguine and bile spread around and smeared my face. Awful. It came from me, but it¡¯s nheless gross.

    Not just my face, even my heart felt filthy. It was a corrosion to the depths of my heart which crumbled my spirit.

    As if my heart was a pir, and its base became ck and corroded, finally toppling over, that kind of feeling. No, just now, I¡¯ve certainly¡­ heard the sound of my heart getting crushed.

    ¡°Please¡­ Stop¡­¡±

    I begged for dear life.

    Quite miserable, foolish words. But I said them the same. Someone weak as me, simply, can¡¯t help but say them. Even if they¡¯re facing Monsters who would never understand.

    ¡°GugEee!¡°

    With a Goma¡¯s energetic, fun-filled cry, the lynching carries on. Feet, feet, filthy feet. They intently keep bashing with their feet.

    Because of ¡®Pain Return¡¯, a Goma can¡¯t kick in repeatedly. Since the damage goes back and cause them to stagger. It must hurt to a degree. Thanks to which, the rate I¡¯m getting knocked about was, in itself, gentle.

    ¡°Sto¡­sta¡­aa¡­¡±

    But this kicking marathon wasn¡¯t stopping anytime soon. Is it really that fun? Does their entertainment only consist of harassing weak prey? I keep waiting, but none of them take a weapon to let it end.

    That¡¯s good¡ª I end up thinking, wonder why?

    Help isn¡¯ting. Can¡¯t do a thing myself. Even though after this, my body would eventually reach its limit, even though I¡¯d just be tortured, kicked to death like this. Even though the only thing remaining in my life was pain and violence.

    ¡ªI don¡¯t wanna die.

    A feeling spurting from the bits collecting into a mountain of trash, bits that were once my heart and my pride.

    ¡ªI don¡¯t wanna die.

    Embers of survival instinct.

    No¡­ never¡­ don¡¯t wanna¡­ die¡ª

    ¡°¡ªooOOOOO¡°

    A voice, I think I heard. Within my hazy conscience, the roar that beat into my eardrums, was unmistakably not one of the Gyaagyaas of the Gomas¡¯ jolly making.

    I could say that with a conviction, this voice was of that different a nature.

    To say it another way, a voice that caused a tremor in the very depths of the soul. Like a wind that returns the once embers into a ze¡ª a powerful voice.

    ¡°ooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Yes, that was indeed, the roar of a mad beast.

    ________________________

    [1]So 3x Kendo dan, it¡¯s apparently something that originated from the manga Karate Master, where it says that you need at least a 3 times higher degree of mastery in hand to handbat to match up against Kendo, which uses a sword. So Momo-kun¡¯s saying his spear > Goma knife.

    [2] Yakuza Kick desu.

 Chapter 21: Mania

    Chapter 21: Mania

    ¡°ooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    A dreadful shout I could only describe as a mad beast¡¯s roar tore into my eardrums.

    The moment I thought what, with a bang!es a shockwave through the stone floor as if it was struck with a hammer. With the intensity of the reverberations, my hazy conscience came crystal clear.

    With a rejuvenated vividity, what entered my field of vision was the sandy stone floor. I guess, obviously I¡¯d be looking at nothing but earth since I¡¯d fallen over.

    So turning away from the floor, what nownded on my eyes were but the unsightly ck feet of Goma¡ª and also, somehow, a terribly familiar pair of sneakers.

    White with red lines, these shoes were the same design as the ones I had on, Shiramine Academy¡¯s 2nd year(11th grade) indoor shoes. The fierce impact assailing the floor wasn¡¯t the head of a steel hammer but apparently, the rubber soles of these shoes.

    All put together, right now was the reality that, in front of me stands some ssmate of mine.

    Well no, not really some ssmate, there could be but one.

    ¡°Fu, taba¡­-san¡­¡±

    I intended to say her name normally, but it came out quite cracked and the volume was off. My throat was stuck. Which can¡¯t really be helped ounting for the nasty taste of ferrous blood spreading all over the inside of the mouth.

    Once again retaining the pain all over my body, I look up to confirm the owner of those indoor shoes.

    Futaba Meiko. From height, to girth, to bust, to hip, boasting a size greater than the standard in all those aspects, there be but one in the whole of ss 2-7. And a girl who had be my ally, the one and only.

    That her presence wasn¡¯t some convenient illusion I¡¯m seeing at death¡¯s door, is evidenced by the pain in my body. Above all, that presence of hers standing dauntingly before me, felt increasingly overwhelming.

    And, that¡¯s exactly why, I can¡¯t believe it.

    That Futaba-san came back. That she jumped right into this horde. And mostly, that she was the one who released that tremendous roar.

    My building a team with Futaba-san has been for quite the short time, a shallow rtion; but I have an adequate grasp of her frailness, her naivete, her kindness. It¡¯s because I know all that, that I can¡¯t believe it.

    And I could only convince myself that this is reality, that the one standing before me is Futaba Meiko herself, was by perceiving her to have undergone an ¡®abnormality¡¯.

    ¡°KoOOOOOO¡±

    An eerie breath. As she exhaled I undoubtedly sawing from her mouth, along with her breath, a red mist-like something.

    No, looking carefully, that red mist was being exuded from all over her body like steam. Almost as if, the blood in her body was vaporizing out, dding her in a coat of red fumes; ascribing a ferocity unseen in man.

    And strangest of all, was her face.

    Eyes bloodshot as if she¡¯d pulled all-nighters 3 days straight, her pupils glowed deeper than blood, yes, they truly dazzled as if LEDs had been jammed in there, eyes of crimson.

    The prating glow of those eyes red at the surrounding Goma. Deep creasing above the nose, brows raised to the limit, as if leering at her bitter enemy, it was an look of true rage.

    That face was simply too different from the one I¡¯vee to recognize on Futaba-san. Her eyes had always seemed to be anxious like that of an abandoned pup. Her worried brows made a °Ë shape, starting to apologize for the littlest things, and when anything happened, she cried. Her spirit as small as her body big, that kind of, a timid girl. That is anything and everything I know of the one known as Futaba Meiko.

    ¡°WoOAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    That crazed shout exited from her own mouth, as if crumbling her image from the very root, turning it on its end and smashing it to pieces.

    The utter ferocity startles the surrounding Goma, making them tremble slightly. Adding in myself, I too shivered with apletely different feeling from the one just recently when my life was in danger.

    Futaba-san. Just what in the world happened to her¡ª how, in the middle of that thought, she moved.

    She raises high a tightly clenched fist. And then swings it down on a Goma, more than a head shorter, standing before her.

    ¡°GebU¡ª¡±

    The Goma¡¯s head blew off. Like a tomato, easily bursting into a mess.

    With a single stroke of fist, a cranium with size and toughness atleast as much as that of a human, was pulverized. That strike is already beyond a fist. I¡¯m doubting whether even a strongman with a steel sledgehammer can output that kind of force.

    ¡°GugeEA¡ª!¡±

    The ones raising a beastly cry this time, were Goma. Brandishing their weapons, all the ones in front simultaneously leapt towards Futaba-san¡¯srge frame that was releasing a red aura.

    Facing that with a re of seething anger, and taking a wide stance, Futaba-san¡ª

    ¡°Gaa!¡±

    A clothesline. With her right arm, she mows down the enemy. In just that, the Goma dance in the air like leaves hoisted up by a gust of air. Not just the ones attacking, even the ones nearby biding their time to attack next were carried along as extras.[1]

    The ones taking the brunt of her arm had their arms and body broken down as if they¡¯d taken a fullswing from a major league cleanup hitter. Whaty ahead as they flew from the impact was a-like mesh of branches. The lucky ones would avoid colliding head on with the wall, small branches cushioning their arrival, but may they happen upon a branch even slightly too thick, they¡¯d instantly be fresh skewers. A spectacle I could describe as a Mozu¡¯s Morning Sacrifice came to be all to quickly.[2]

    ¡°Gugu¡­ uGee¡­¡±

    The Goma were now clearly wavering. There weren¡¯t any moreing to Futaba-san.

    Intelligence aside, this must be their survival instinct working. Having seen how they were shut down with immense power right upon approach, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t get it.

    That being said, their sense of greed wouldn¡¯t allow them to give up on the delicious prey that is humans.

    As a result, the Goma froze up. That being at present, a most foolish action. So after that point¡­ it became nothing but, a one-sided massacre.

    ¡°VuUUAaAAAAAA!¡±

    With an ear-numbing cry, Futaba-san charges into the troop of Goma.

    I suddenly remember a tragic incident that happened a while back where a car drove into a line ofmuting gradeschoolers. I¡¯m sure there too the situation was just as gruesome.

    The Goma are of the simr height as me, of small build. Those small bodies waltzed into the air, one after the other. The others run over. The unlucky who had fallen down where Futaba-san was stepping, they were made a mess from her 100 kilos(220 pounds) of pure stompage. In her each step, a Goma¡¯s head, or guts, or limbs, all were mercilessly crushed underfoot.

    This underfoot stter wasn¡¯t something intentionallymitted by Futaba-san. It was simply a matter of a Goma having fallen at a ce where she would step.

    So the ones she was looking at, aiming at, were still the ones in front of her, the ones holding weapons.

    ¡°Gue, Ee¡ª¡±

    From scattered directions,e attacks from rusted des. In other words, lunges.

    Futaba-san who looks like she¡¯s gone insane with rage, took practically no evasive action. As her body was big, so was their target. When attacked, it would inevitably hit. There would be injuries and even bleeding.

    ¡°¡ªGoaAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    But, that had no effect on her. I¡¯d heard of Indian warriors who would keep on attacking even after receiving low calibre bullets; right now, Futaba-san felt just like one of those.[3]

    Not even minding the des thrust at her, she continues swinging her one hit kill arms. The Goma are sessively sted away, bashed down, bursted under foot.

    Among them are those grabbed by the foot and swung around.

    The weight of a single Goma, deducing from its looks and from the damage I took when they kicked me, I¡¯d wager they¡¯re anywhere from 40 to 60 kilos(~ 90 ¨C 130 pounds). At the least, Futaba-san could single-handedly swing around a thin-ish girl in junior high without breaking a sweat.

    Firmly gripping a Goma¡¯s ankle, she swings it wide. Movements much more natural than when she was raising the spear of Fairy Walnut tree.

    Immediately after, she bashes it down to the floor. The sound of a wet towel smacked hard against washroom¡¯s tiles¡ª echoed repeatedly.

    As if she¡¯s mistaking the Goma for a sturdy club, Futaba-san swings it left and right. The sttering blood at every swing, did it belong to the weapon, or to the ones of the same species being bashed by said weapon?

    Quite a few Goma had morphed into crushed gore. The surrounding branches are darkened as if coated with some 10s of litres of red paint.

    ¡°Fu, fuh!¡±

    A rough breathing Futaba-san, her shining red eyes searched for scampering prey, but at this point, none of those were left.

    There appeared to be a lucky few Goma that escaped the terror of the ughterhouse, as I heard pitiful screams from the depths of the dim passage. That was the only proof of any living Goma, and the ones remaining at the scene, retained form only as a sea of dirty blood, and chunks of meat.

    ¡°Fu, fuU¡­¡±

    Releasing dense red smoke, Futaba-san drawsrge breaths. But these deep breaths don¡¯t seem to have any effect in calming her. With hoarse breaths like a hungry beast, her shoulders heave up and down.

    She was maintaining that state, when, as if suddenly remembering, she turned around. Slowly, towards me.

    ¡°Fuu¡­u, Aah¡­ Mo, Momoka¡­ -ku¡­¡±

    She was still spilling red breath, and remained in her stern visage, but right then, she did indeed try to call out my name.

    ¡°F-Futaba, -san¡­¡±

    Half the reason my returning her call was shaky, was because of the damage from the Goma lynching. The utter depth of emotion I felt towards my saviour that is she, dispersing the Goma anding to my aid consisted¡ª not of the other half.

    That half was unfiltered fear. Unending unease. Devastating despair. With those feelings of defeat, my cracking voice and battered body shook.

    ¡°Momo, kaWa, -kun¡°

    She calls out to me more distinctly than just before.

    Her zing red pupils shoot straight at me. As if other things, don¡¯t even register in her eyes. Without distraction or diversion, her gaze that falls on me and only me, was unbearably scary.

    I meane on. She really isn¡¯t ok in the head right now.

    ¡°Mo, Momo¡­ Ka, aAa¡­¡±

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    Like a spirit holding a deep grudge, yet with the rawness of a zombie, she groaned out my name; When she did that and even took a step, I shouldn¡¯t be med for taking the natural course of action and frankly screaming.

    A person who¡¯s clearly lost her head. I felt like I was facing one of those monstrous killers that appear in American horror flics. And at the present situation, it¡¯s already a fact that Futaba-san carries monstrous powers enough to crush multitudes of Goma.

    At her single whim, her single demonstration of power, I too would be one with the sea of blood surrounding us.

    ¡°Mo, AaaAAA!¡±

    ¡°UwaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Like an elephant charging at full strength, Futaba-san started running towards me, stomping over the blood and meat, creating a duet of objectionable sounds.

    With intention, plus instinct, plus intuition, plus every other sense and feeling I had screaming out my quickly approaching certain death, I push over the limits of my body and move it.

    I seeded in moving on the spur of the moment. Even with the jolts of sharp pain and hums of dull pain running their course, somehow, miraculously. With the momentum of having leapt up, I shake off the pain and run¡ª when, she caught up.

    ¡°MOaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    With that exmation, and having been hugged, tackled from the front, my own scream is erased. Despite her soft, white skin, her beefy, log-like arms grab onto my slender body, putting me in a tight hold which could almost break me.

    I¡¯m caught. Ow. It hurts. As those sensations floated to mind, I was again pushed down onto the bloody stone floor.

    Futaba-san had leapt at me with all her might. With my less than 50 kilos(110 pounds), I had no means to weaken her momentum as she crashed in. Goes without saying but, no way was I capable of lifting it either.

    The shock from falling runs sharply across my back, but that some bes a minor issue. Above me right now,y a weight of the 100 kg ss. This bulk, this pressure, I wouldn¡¯t go wrong deeming it a new form of torture.

    ¡°Ka¡­ Ha, ah¡­¡±

    A feeling as if all the air in my lungs was instantly driven out. I forget to breathe for a moment.

    But luckily, my head atleast was given the grace of avoiding Futaba-san¡¯s enshrouding. Simr to where a parent is holding up a child, which I guess happened because we¡¯d fallen over.

    If that warm, soft, yet immensely heavy mass of sensuality I feel downwards from my neck were to reach all the way to my face, I¡¯d surely have lost consciousness from oxygen deficiency long ago. I do not have a masochism great enough to want to literally drown in a sea of flesh.

    ¡°Fu, haAAaa¡­ Fu, taba-san! S-top!¡±

    Breathing with more intensity than I¡¯ve ever did in my life, I shout out to the maximum of my potential.

    Even if this Futaba-san has somehow lost sanity, reason,posure, soundness of thought, and all the other important stuff, if I can just remind her that I¡¯m a friendly then surely¡ª

    ¡°BuaAAAAAAAA!¡±

    As if she was making fun of my convenient ns, no, as if she was using every fibre of her being to absolutely deny them, Futaba-san only answers me in the same manner as a beast.

    I was bit. She bit down on me. Sharp pain runs along my neck. And then I felt, as if the starving beast had found satisfaction in its meat, the raw warmth, the lick of her tongue.

    My spine was literally in jitters. And, I don¡¯t know how many times it¡¯s been today, but surely this one would be the loudest, I screamed.

    ¡°GyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Ah, it¡¯s over, I¡¯m dead. I¡¯m totally done for. I¡¯ll be killed. Just when I thought I was saved, just when I thought, she¡¯d saved me.

    This isn¡¯t funny. Yes, I could be eaten by Monsters, and yes, I could also be murdered by other students based on their own self-interest, but what is up with getting killed by an ally gone mental!

    It¡¯s way too unfair, way too hateful. A resentment, like dense ck smoke, it rises from the very depths of my being; and I voice it.

    ¡°A-AaAAAAA¡­ Pl-aA-Plu¡­. Pl-unge into permanent¡ª¡±

    I wonder what meaning is there in using that.

    ¡°Swelter, and¡­¡±

    I¡¯m probably not resentful of Futaba-san at all.

    ¡°Curse¡ª¡±

    Even without meaning, even without hate, still, I had to say it.

    ¡°The bodyyyy!¡±

    Myst ounce of resistance. My foremost Curse.

    ¡°Red, FeveEEEEEEEERRRR!¡±

    A scream that could tear apart my vocal cords, in the end, simply echoes into the empty, blood-soaked passage.

    Inducing a light fever. No way would this very symbol of themeness of the Vocation known as Shaman be able to stop a Futaba-san holding enough power to subjugate hordes of Goma.

    That being said, the other Curses would be just as useless in this unsurmountable crisis. ¡®ckhair Bind¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain her, and my most reliable counter, ¡®Pain Return¡¯, for this current Mad Futaba-san who seems to be ignoring all sense of pain, would prove equally useless. Presently, therey a mark on her white neck, the same spot as where she bit me, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be minding that at all.

    So now, the only thing I can do is use my fleeting strength to pitifully groan and struggle in her arms.

    But if I think about it, rather than being tortured to death by Goma, dying in the embrace of a girl could be quite the bless¡ª

    ¡°¡­Ah¡±

    And, as I was engaging in witless musings in a state of fading conscience, I suddenly realized.

    ¡°Ah, huh¡­ Futaba, -san?¡±

    Stopped. She stopped moving.

    ¡°Huh, eh, no way¡­ No, seriously¡­¡±

    Faint breathing reaches my ears. And, the pressure on my body is still the same¡ª but, that power akin to a rampaging, mad bull is all but gone, and she simplyy limp. Her body hugging mine feels somewhat warm.

    ¡°S-she¡¯s, stopped¡­¡±

    As I nervously peek at Futaba-san¡¯s face, it didn¡¯t have that expression of anger from the four corners of hell anymore. Her glowing eyes, her eyelids are sealed shut. The crease above her nose gone without a trace, her brows disyed calm. A face sleeping in serenity.

    Why, howe Futaba-san¡¯s rampage abruptly came to a halt? How it came to be in the first ce is also unknown. Suddenly calming back down is even further indecipherable.

    But right now, that doesn¡¯t matter a zilch. The reason, the cause, the form of karma binding her, thinking about all that, I can put off forter.

    ¡°Ha, haha¡­ awesome¡­ I was saved¡­¡±

    Seems, the gears of my fate, will be turning a while longer.

    ________________________

    [1] Clothesline is another wrestling move. I¡¯m not too knowledgeable about the sport so this is the best I can do~

    [2] Cleanup hitter¡¯s a baseball thing I guess. Supposed to be the best batter.

    Mozu¡¯s Morning Sacrifice (°ÙÉàøB¤ÎÔçÙ—) a slightly choppy trantion, but anyway, the bird sticks prey into branches to eatter. Like a spider?

    [3] Indians probably don¡¯t infer to the ones who go Namaste but the ones with the feathers¡­ well I guess Indigenous Americans would be the cool term?

 Chapter 22: Courage and Madness

    Chapter 22: Courage and Madness

    I wonder, what am I even doing?

    ¡°WaAAAAAA!¡±

    I¡¯m running through the dungeon passages raising my pathetic yells. Swaying my heavy body.

    ¡°GueRaaa!¡±

    From behind, I can hear the vulgar cries of Goma.

    And right now I¡¯m running away. By myself. Leaving behind my life saviour, my only ally, that small, sweet ssmate of mine; leaving behind Momokawa Kotarou.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ aa¡­¡±

    I have to help. I can still make it. I need to go back to help right now¡ª Even if I keep thinking that over and over, my body refuses to act. Forget stopping, my legs only elerate. Trying to gain distance, even the tiniest bit faster, I run for my life.

    I¡¯m the worst. Repaying my debt with a stab in the back. I, as a human being, am the absolute worst.

    Deserting Momokawa-kun, not acting the least bit to go help, running away as fast as I possibly can¡­ The me who kept running even now, she was a pile of unsalvageable trash.

    My chest is bursting in worry for him. My heart is crushed in self-loathing. The endless stream of tears escaping from my eyes isn¡¯t only from fear.

    Yet, my body gives priority only to its own survival instinct. My reasoning mind looking back at my actions seemed to be clearly cut of from my instincts driving my body forward.

    What ruled over the faculties controlling my body, was simply and only, pure terror.

    That my pathetic will would be unable to ovee this foreboding¡­ was a fact made painfully obvious from my experiences up to now.

    That¡¯s right. In the end, I was only a wimpy pig. Kisaragi-san, Natsukawa-san, Satou-san, them abandoning me was only natural. Even the kind Momokawa-kun is undoubtedly resenting me for one-sidedly deserting him.

    Aah, maybe as a Shaman, Momokawa-kun can curse this deplorable me. If so, I¡¯d prefer he curse me to death. If I were to be stabbed by Goma anyway, I¡¯d much rather die receiving retribution from his curse.

    ¡°¡ªAh!?¡±

    My conscience swimming in a torrent of guilt, is brought back to reality. For an instant, my body underwent a floating sensation. And right after, came a shock.

    ¡°A¡­ ouch!¡±

    I had stumbled on something, and thunderously fell down. Was it a stone, some rubble, or perhaps tree roots that tripped my legs. I don¡¯t know, but neither do I care.

    At any rate, right here, my escaping hade to a stop.

    ¡°¡­Hii!?¡±

    Behind me was a bend in the passage. And from beyond there, I echoed the Gomas¡¯ grunts. Very soon would I hear even their savage exhtions.

    ¡°A-aah¡­ No¡­¡±

    Will I be dying here?

    No. I don¡¯t wanna die. Loudly screamed the ugly instincts that made me run all the way here.

    And, even thinking reasonably, I didn¡¯t want to die. That¡¯s what I had answered. That I didn¡¯t want to die yet, when Momokawa-kun had asked.

    Don¡¯t wanna die, I don¡¯t want to die. But my real wish¡ª I want to help.

    I, wanted to help Momokawa-kun. I wanted to be his strength. I still haven¡¯t, repaid him the slightest bit.

    Having him heal the wound in my stomach, having him take me as an ally. Not having the courage to finish off the Red Dog, shamefully getting him to do it with me when stabbing that bait Goma.

    What Knight. I¡¯m always, I¡¯m only being protected. Only being, given to.

    But, no matter how much I regret, not matter how much I look back on what ifs, I can¡¯t make myself take real action. When the timees, I don¡¯t act.

    Ick courage.

    A bit, I need just a tiny bit. Just enough to still, when I cower in fear. Just enough to halt, when I scramble to run.

    I want it. I want courage.

    If I only had that, I could¡ª

    ¡°¡­A¡±

    It appeared in my teary, blurry field-of-vision.

    My right hand. I was, holding something there. A dirty, brown pelt bag. White powder tumbling from within. Half having dropped onto the passage, and the other half, smeared onto my hand and arm.

    It must¡¯ve gotten out when I fell. This, Goma¡¯s narcotic.

    ¡°¡¯Kay, let¡¯s see here¡­ when ingested, it uplifts the spirit and eases fatigue, you get into a state of extreme high, and furthermore, has a strong addiction factor¡ª wait, this is a drug!¡±

    Bleck! went Momokawa-kun¡¯s expression, it was pretty cute. Wait no, not that; right, with his Shaman powers, he was deciphering the attributes of this drug.

    Usage was per inhtion. Effects: uplifting the mind, and alleviating weariness. Additionally, causing great excitement.

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa-kun¡­ If I used this, could I¡­¡±

    Drugs, bad, don¡¯t. Words like thate to mind.

    However, for me at this moment, thews and ethics of Japan stand for zero use. They won¡¯t stand, for the tiniest use. Because right now, I¡¯m in a dungeon. A do-or-die survival, one where there¡¯s even the possibility of fellow ssmates killing each other; a phantasmal scenario.

    ¡°Even I, be strong¡­¡±

    Thinking like that, there¡¯s no need to hesitate.

    This narcotic, this devil¡¯s white powder covering my hand, it¡¯d only take a whiff. Even I could do something that trivial.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, please give me¡­ courage¡­¡±

    With a fierce prayer, I put my hand to my mouth and¡ª

    ¡°¡ªooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Eh, what, what¡¯s this, it¡¯s great. Great, it¡¯s amazing!

    Mo-moving, my body¡¯s moving. Welling up, power. From the pit of my stomach, from the depths of my chest. Overflowing, ohh, it¡¯sing, rising. Power all over my body, feels as if it¡¯s exploding!

    ¡°O, AaAAA!¡±

    My body¡¯s light. Rising. soaring. Like a feather dancing in the wind, my body feels exceedingly nimble.

    I turn. With just that basic act, I feel like I¡¯ve burst off. Can¡¯t control, this power. I can¡¯t settle myself.

    ¡°BugE!Ge, GuEAA!¡±

    It jumps out in front of me, this ck, ck, person shaped, ahh, what was it, who was it, this thing.

    It¡¯s bright. Was it, always this bright? See, I can see, better than just before, vividly, my eyes are crystal clear.

    So I saw it. The ck thinging at me. What¡¯s that its hand? That shiny thing. Dangerous, that¡¯s sharp, and dangerous.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Fuu!¡±

    If a fly got close, you¡¯d brush it away right? Even if it didn¡¯t touch you, just by reflex. Go away, shoo.

    It¡¯s the same. But, it¡¯s different. It touched. Just slightly, on my palm, it touched.

    ¡°BuGE¡ª¡±

    Plop, like a water-balloon, it blew off. Fragile, fleeting. The ck thing, isn¡¯t there anymore. All that remains, is the dark red that coils my hand. Disgust, I don¡¯t feel it. I mean, I¡¯m used to blood. It¡¯s unavoidable in cooking. Even this raw stench.

    But, one must be quick to wash it off. Huh, where was the sink again?

    ¡°GaBURA!? GuENZEra¡±

    Not giving me the time to wash, the ck ones keeping. Passage-fulls of them. p-p, pitter-patter, quiet, shut up. The heck, are these¡ª

    ¡°Aa¡­ Bu-UaAAAAA¡­¡±

    Ah, I remember. Goma, these are Goma. Momokawa-kun called them that. Momokawa-kun said that, we¡¯d kill the Goma.

    ¡°Go-maa¡­ kill, gilll¡­¡±

    Momokawa-kun said it, so we gotta do it. I have to do it. I must, do it for him.

    ¡°GoaAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Beat, beat. I¡¯ll beat, and beat, and crush. Do it, right now, I can do it, quite easily. Compared to kneading Hamburg steak, it¡¯s child¡¯s y.

    The passage went red. When it did, the Goma were gone.

    Ahaha, did it, I did it Momokawa-kun.

    ¡°Mo, Momo, kaa¡­ -ku¡­¡±

    Where. Hey, Momokawa-kun, where, where are you? I, did it see? The first time, I did it see, just like you said, Momokawa-kun.

    Since I did it, now you¡¯ll be happy right? You¡¯llugh right? Momokawa-kun, I¡¯m not, troubling you right?

    So, you won¡¯t abandon me right? You¡¯ll be with me right?

    But why Momokawa-kun, why aren¡¯t you here?

    ¡°A-ah¡­ AaAA¡ª¡±

    I have to look for him. I have to find him.

    Ah, yeah, that¡¯s wrong. That said it wrong. Why, did I forget I wonder. Something that important.

    I remembered. Momokawa-kun, I have to help him.

    ¡°Fu, haa¡ª¡±

    Run run. I run, and run. Breathing doesn¡¯t stammer. It isn¡¯t painful. Full power, non stop, I can run. Right now I can run so, so fast.

    Maybe that¡¯s why, yup, that is why, I quickly found him.

    ¡°Sto¡­sta¡­aa¡­¡±

    Momokawa-kun, was crying. In tatters, groveling on the floor.

    Hey, why, howe you¡¯re crying? Howe you look so pained, so sad, so lonely.

    ¡°GuGue!¡±

    The Goma, it kicked Momokawa-kun.

    Seeing, watching that, watching his face crying, writhing in agony, watching that, having seen that, couldn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t think anymore. My vision, my head, all dyed in red, red, blood red.

    ughter.

    ¡°ooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Die, die, diediediedie. Everyone die, everything die. Everything that made Momokawa-kun cry will die. Kill, kill, I will KILL. One, two, three, everyone, everybody, everything, all of them, ughter.

    ¡°¡ªGoaAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Die, die, kill killed. Completely, every ck I saw, I changed to red.

    Where, where are they. The ones making Momokawa-kun cry, making him suffer. I won¡¯t forgive them, I¡¯ll never forgive them. Making Momokawa-kun, my Momokawa-kun¡ª

    ¡°Fu, fuh!¡±

    At some point, every one was gone. Someone had, made them all red and scattered them on the floor.

    Ah, thank goodness. With that, there¡¯s no one left who¡¯d do mean things to Momokawa-kun. All of them died. All, I¡¯d killed them all.

    ¡°Fuu¡­u, Aah¡­ Mo, Momoka¡­ -ku¡­¡±

    ¡°F-Futaba¡­ -san¡­¡±

    Huh, Momokawa-kun, he¡¯s still crying. Still, shaking. What¡¯s the matter, scared? Of what? Of whom?

    It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay¡ª

    ¡°Momo, kaWa, -kun¡±

    It¡¯s all okay now Momokawa-kun. I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here you know. It¡¯s only me here.

    ¡°So it¡¯s fine right, I canfort you right?¡±

    ¡°Mo, Momo¡­ Ka, aAa¡­¡±

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    He¡¯s frightened. Poor Momokawa-kun, he¡¯s so sweet. I want tofort him, hold him. I don¡¯t want to talk¡ª I just, want him.

    ¡°Mo, AaaAAA!¡°

    ¡°UwaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Caught you! Yay, ahh, wow, small, you¡¯re so little, Momokawa-kun. Take off my hands, I could lose him. Take away my eyes, and the same.

    But, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll never, ever let you go. I won¡¯t run anymore. So you too Momokawa-kun, don¡¯t run away. Together forever, gyuu!

    ¡°Fu, haAAaa¡­ Fu, taba-san! S-top!¡±

    Ah, I see it. Just now, I saw it. From the cor of his gakuran, Momokawa-kun¡¯s white neck. So slender, so ephemeral, ahh, so, so yummy.

    ¡°BuaAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Yummy. You¡¯re delicious, Momokawa-kun. I¡¯ve never eaten anything so scrumptious in my whole life. Momokawa-kun¡¯s vor.

    ¡°GyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    More, I need more. The first bite was amazing, that first bite, it starves me for more.

    Not enough, more, give me more.

    All of Momokawa-kun, give it to me.

    ¡°Red, FeveEEEEEEEERRRR!¡±

    ¡­ Me¡­ Your¡­ Everything¡­

    ¡°You want it, then grasp it with your own power¡±

    At the edge of my dimming consciousness, I heard a voice.

    ¡°Futaba Meiko, from now, your Vocation will be¡ª¡±

    I wonder who. Definitely isn¡¯t Momokawa-kun. His voice is cute too, but not like a sensual woman¡¯s tone.

    And around there, I lost conscience.

    ¡°¡ªBerserker¡±

 Chapter 23: Shaman and Berserker

    Chapter 23: Shaman and Berserker

    ¡°¡ªMorning, Futaba-san¡±

    Waking up, felt strangely refreshing. With vivid awareness, and a clear mind, I snap open my eyes to find Momokawa-kun¡¯s sweet, stray-cat-like face.

    Half dazed in fascination at his gentle smile, I try to return the greeting¡ª when, it alles back.

    what¡¯s this, it¡¯s great¡ª Power all over my body¡ª Disgust¡ª beat¡ª Momokawa-kun, where¡ª ughter

    shback. A rather suitable word to use for me who has used a narcotic.

    want¡ª yummy¡ª give me more¡ª All of Momokawa-kun, give it to me

    It came back. Or rather, I just remembered. It¡¯s something that happened only a few moments ago, obviously I wouldn¡¯t forget.

    Yes, those things I did, to Momokawa-kun. All of them.

    ¡°A-ah¡­ Momokawa-kun¡­ Umm, I¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Futaba-san, just rx¡±

    It¡¯s not ok. The things I did to Momokawa-kun, they¡¯re not ok at all, they¡¯re not things where you just say sorry and move on. Rx, I can¡¯t rx at all.

    ¡°We¡¯re at a Fairy Square, it¡¯s safe. Also, the drug¡¯s symptoms are all gone by now. Futaba-san, that Goma¡¯s narcotic, you used it right? Remember anything?¡±

    Wow. Still amazing as ever, Momokawa-kun. You got it on the dot.

    So there¡¯s no reason to hide it. I made a slight nod. Voice wasn¡¯ting out well.

    ¡°Thanks to Blessed Body, the addiction factors and after-effects are all gone, or atleast, supposed to be¡­ how do you feel?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I¡¯m alright¡­¡±

    ¡°I see, don¡¯t force yourself ok, I think you should rest a bit longer¡±

    Adhering to those words, I stop nning to rise up, and choose to stayid down.

    I¡¯m alright, isn¡¯t something I answered acting tough. I really don¡¯t feel any problems at all. No sign of fever, sluggishness, or even pain. In fact, it¡¯s more like all my fatigue is gone, and I¡¯ve recovered right as rain.

    But I wasn¡¯t feeling lively enough to jump up and start the day¡¯s adventure right away. That being said, I didn¡¯t feel like going back to sleep either.

    So deciding I¡¯d talk to Momokawa-kun, I raise only my upper body. Things I want to hear, things I want to say, there¡¯s a ton. Including things I have to say no matter what.

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa-kun¡­ Um, so what happened, after that?¡±

    What I asked first, would be a valid question given the situation. Yet, the real question I should¡¯ve asked, I should¡¯ve wanted to hear the answer to, I couldn¡¯t get it out.

    This time, it wasn¡¯t ack of courage. I simply avoided it. Once again, I had run away.

    ¡°I think you should know, Futaba-san, after you fainted, it¡¯s been a while. Hmm, around half a day maybe?¡±

    Seems I slept a lot more than I thought. Momokawa-kun, I wonder if he¡¯s properly rested too¡­ No, he wasn¡¯t the type to only rest.

    In the time I slept, he finished readying everything he could, and even had the time to make guesses about that frenzy. That¡¯s why he¡¯s been able to talk with me so calmly. Even though I did those horrible, horrible things.

    ¡°This fairy square, I found it only a little ways away from that T-junction. Real good luck there¡­ or rather, these Squares seem to be well spaced so I thought it¡¯d be closer than going back to thest one¡±

    I¡¯m ashamed of not even starting to think about that until now. Now that he¡¯s said it, it¡¯s true that before meeting Momokawa-kun, there were fairy squares at a fair frequency.

    ¡°It really is like a save point. Well, maybe that¡¯s why they call it a dungeon¡±

    Meaning, it¡¯s like a game world, is what he wants to say I guess. I have heard the term RPG before, but any further than that is a mystery. But Natsukawa-san did say something like that too, so it must be pretty simr.

    ¡°B-but, Momokawa-kun¡­ umm, how did you move me here?¡±

    That was the greatest mystery. Personally, it¡¯s something I¡¯d wanted to avoid hearing¡­ But asking this at present was of utmost importance.

    ¡°But of course, in a princess carry. I am a man after all[1]¡±

    ¡°Eeeeehh!? Really!? That¡¯s amazing, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sorry, I lied¡±

    ¡°Eh, ah¡­ Yeah, that¡­ that¡¯s about right¡­¡±

    Damn, I went and flew off to my own personalnd. He probably thinks I¡¯m just a dumb girl now¡­ mmm, I guess not. That was definitely just a joke. Momokawa-kun has a super wry smile, and is looking away all the way to the day after tomorrow. The cold sweat descending his cheek, that kind of expression of his is again, quite lovely.

    ¡°But then¡­ how did you?¡±

    ¡°I put you on a stretcher, and dragged it along¡±

    Look, that one, he said pointing, and looking there, there were two poles with dark, dirty, shabby-looking cloths wrung about; it looked only like arge article of trash, and was disposed of beside the fountain.

    Next to that, I saw an assortment of other weird dirty looking things dumped at the spot.

    ¡°In the P.E. textbook, there¡¯s a part about making an improvised stretcher with 2 poles and a T-shirt, remember? There were the Gomas¡¯ clothes and spears lying about, so material wasn¡¯t a problem¡±

    ¡°W-wow, Momokawa-kun¡­ you even went, and did that¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, it was risky business. The Goma could¡¯vee back with friends, and other Monsters could¡¯ve happened by too¡±

    Normally, you¡¯d want to get away from there as quick as you can. More so, when your ally just went crazy and attacked you, you¡¯d naturally leave them and go. No, even if you did want to take them, who¡¯d want to carry a fatty like me anyway.

    ¡°But I had to do it. If I ran away alone, my future would instantly go bleak. So I made the stretcher, and since there was the chance, I scavenged off any gear I could off the Goma.¡±

    Me being of such immense weight, he undoubtedly couldn¡¯t bring much else. Sorry, if only I weighed more like a normal girl¡­

    ¡°And well, it¡¯s that¡­ won¡¯t abandon you, did promise right¡±

    Looking at his slightly shy, bashful face I¡ª want¡ª thought that, just my imagination. I mean, that terrible drug¡¯s effects, they¡¯re already gone. Having returned to sanity, I wouldn¡¯t think it, I wouldn¡¯t wish it.

    It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay¡­ As Momokawa-kun¡¯s ally, I won¡¯t rampage like that ever again. I wont hold those twisted desires either.

    Still, even when I¡¯m thinking that, entirely unable to easy the beating in my chest, I instantly look, and also face, away. My cheeks are tingling, and I¡¯m definitely making a weird face right now¡­ I just can¡¯t let him see that.

    ¡°W-well, but I was p-pretty heavy right! Sorry!¡±

    I shout to try and distract him. It was hard to say, but the other thing is ever harder, so I said it.

    ¡°No, well, I mean¡­ it was heavy¡­ but I somehow managed¡±

    ¡°B-but¡­ It¡¯s not something you can somehow manage you know¡­ my weight¡­¡±

    I feel like crying even though I said it myself. Nevertheless, what I said was indeed true.

    And would Momokawa-kun really be able to drag me, whose more than twice as heavy as himself, on a stretcher, while also carrying spoils from the Goma in another hand? No, no way he could.

    ¡°Also, Momokawa-kun, you were pretty banged up too! You¡¯re alright, right?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really alright, but it¡¯s true I somehow managed. For mycking strength, I used power seeds, and as for the fear and pain¡­ the drug I guess¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ M-Momokawa-kun, you don¡¯t mean¡­¡±

    ¡°I used it too, the Goma¡¯s narcotic. Of course, I didn¡¯t inhale a whole lot like you did, and I neutralized it a bit with the blue flower antidote. So I only got high and forgot the pain.[2]¡±

    Which means he then used his strength in a forcefully induced manic state to carry me all the way here.

    ¡°The moment I found this ce and jumped inside, I copsed after letting out some puke and blood. Almost fainted then and there, but I managed to will myself into eating atleast some fairy walnuts. It¡¯s cause I used way too many power seeds, so if I didn¡¯t get some nutrition in, I probably wouldn¡¯t have woken up again.¡±

    Ha ha ha, he bizarrelyughed, as Momokawa-kun recounted his grand experience.

    ¡°¡­ Sorry¡±

    I beat the Goma, and saved Momokawa-kun. I¡¯m stupid for just thinking that. In the end, it was me who got saved yet again. Forget repaying my debt, I¡¯m making more problems¡­ and at that, disastrous problems that put him at the edge of life and death.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    But truthfully, there was something else I had to apologize for.

    ¡°Why are you apologizing, Futaba-san?¡±

    It¡¯s obvious. The primary cause was me going crazy and assaulting Momokawa-kun, it¡¯s about that. The utter guilt of having done that¡ª No, not that. It¡¯s not guilt.

    What I was really afraid of, was if, if he¡¯d abandon me.

    That¡¯s why only these words of apology well up from deep in my chest. That¡¯s why these words of apology don¡¯t have a smidgen of sincerity to them.

    ¡°I, remember¡­ those things I did after using the drug, I remember everything¡±

    Tears were already falling as I said that. No, stop that. If I cry here, it¡¯s like I¡¯m begging for sympathy. It couldn¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s like I only want those words.

    And above all, Momokawa-kun wont me me for my actions. He wont resent me. I could only apologize like that because I was sure, from our conversation until now, I had made sure of that. I made an unbelievably atrocious, calcted move.

    ¡°Eh, Ah¡­ it¡¯s like that¡­ I¡¯d have thought with that kind of crazy state, you¡¯d conveniently forget everything but, yeah, I see, so it¡¯s not like that¡±

    Yet Momokawa-kun practically showed neither anger nor hatred, it was more like a nk face. As I thought, he didn¡¯t me me.

    But, it¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t scared. It¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t hurt, it¡¯s not that it wasn¡¯t, painful. I mean look, there on Momokawa-kun¡¯s neck, there¡¯s a big, painful-looking scab formed.

    That was unmistakeably, a remnant of the wound I marked on him in my lust.

    ¡°But I was almost done for there. If Futaba-san hadn¡¯te along, I¡¯d definitely have died there. Thanks, for saving me¡±

    ¡°But I¡­ I ran away! Leaving you behind Momokawa-kun, I ran away alone!¡±

    ¡°You came back so it¡¯s pretty much alright¡±

    ¡°Still! I hurt you! I remember, I remember biting down on your neck¡­ I, if I stayed like that, I would¡¯ve, would¡¯ve¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was close, but the frenzy stopped. Don¡¯t worry about it too much¡±

    ¡°But, but¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°We both survived, so it¡¯s fine. Yeah, I¡¯m d I teamed up with you. Let¡¯s keep getting along¡±

    I was waiting for those words. I am, the worst.

    Frenzy. That¡¯s what Momokawa-kun said. Because of that drug, I lost myself, unable to distinguish friend from foe, I rampaged. Momokawa-kun probably thinks that to be true, and is satisfied with that.

    And I¡¯m also thinking that¡¯s the case, so in the end, I¡¯d adamantly indulge in Momokawa-kun¡¯s kind words. I can still stay together with Momokawa-kun. I¡¯d end up believing that.

    It¡¯s the 2nd time I¡¯m relying on his good will. The kind Momokawa-kun would ept a 3rd time too, I¡¯d end up thinking.

    But I know, even this stupid me knows, that as a person, you shouldn¡¯t expect this kind of thing in the first ce. This time, I must be useful to Momokawa-kun. I must, protect him.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, you know I, I won¡¯t be scared anymore, and I¡¯ll fight. Because I¡ª¡±

    Courage, I¡¯ve already received. From Momokawa-kun, from God, both of them.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯ve be a berserker¡±

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡±

    ¡ª-

    [1] Princess carry¡­ if you didn¡¯t know, please add it to your list of jargon never to forget~

    [2] These blue flowers are from chapter 6, the one that looks likevenders.

 Chapter 24: Gathering Friends

    Chapter 24: Gathering Friends

    ¡°¡­ So, Satou-san is really¡±

    I got a breakdown of their current circumstances from the ss Rep. In a fight where a troop of Goma had brought along Red Dogs as their hunting dogs, the girl named Satou died. Her vocation was Archer, and during the fight she was acting as support in the rear. But with thebination of Goma and Red Dog and with suchrge numbers to boot, got surrounded, and their backs were open.

    ss Rep and Natsukawa-san tried to go help, but their hands were already full dealing with enemies of their own. The fight dragged on until around half the Monsters were defeated, at which point, they seemed to retreat as if sensing their enemy was too much. And along with their retreat, the Goma undoubtedly took along the Archer girl as their spoils.

    The other two in tatters, they somehow managed to keep walking until they reached the current Fairy Square, would be the story.

    ¡°I, I¡­ thought, it was all over¡­ but then, Souma-kun and Sakura-chan, came along and, I¡¯m just so d, we can still survive¡­ Uuuu!¡±

    ¡°There there, it¡¯s alright Minami. With four of us here, we can definitely, get through this¡±

    Natsukawa-san was gushing in tears once again, it was painful to watch. For now, it¡¯s better to leave her consoling and calming-down to Sakura.

    ¡°I thought, I was ready for this¡­ but hearing about deaths, really stings dammit¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s likely been many more, not just Satou-san¡±

    Seeing ss Rep¡¯s heavy sigh, There¡¯s no way, is what I didn¡¯t say irresponsibly.

    ¡°And actually, right before Satou-san, Futaba-san was also, you know¡­¡±

    ¡°What, why!?¡±

    ¡°She, she wasn¡¯t suited to fighting. And after getting cut by Goma we had no way of healing her, and¡±

    What the hell, dammit. At that time, if only Sakura was there¡­ we could¡¯ve, we would¡¯ve saved her. We could¡¯ve prevented the ss Rep from having to make the cruel decision of leaving wounded friends to die.

    ¡°Shi-¡­ I won¡¯t say it was a good decision. But with these things going on, we need to get everyone together all the faster. I don¡¯t want anyone else, dying so helplessly¡±

    ¡°Everyone huh¡­ Yuuto-kun, only three can escape, that info has reached you right?¡±

    To ss Rep whose face took on anotheryer of cloudiness as she asked, I slightly nod, affirming her query.

    I think it was when we got to our third Fairy Square. The divine gate at the very depths of the dungeon, and the cores needed for its function. And that wretched limit of 3 who can enter that gate. That memo had already found its way to me.[1]

    ¡°There could be people who¡¯ll attack us you know¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re, probably right¡±

    ¡°Even ones who could betray at thest minute¡±

    ¡°Yeah, doesn¡¯t sound impossible¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying, you¡¯ll still be gathering them?¡±

    Everyone wants to survive. And no one wants to die. Even by stabbing others in the back, even if it¡¯s just them, they¡¯ll live on using any means¡ª people who think like that, exist too. And I¡¯d bet, a majority of us think like that. As a human, it¡¯s their natural survival instinct.

    ¡°ss Rep, we¡¯ve got 4 of us here¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yes, you¡¯re right¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, want to abandon anyone. Sakura, you, Natsukawa-san. If you asked me to cast one away, I can¡¯t do it. Also, if you ask me to sacrifice myself for the 3 of you, I wont do that either¡±

    ¡°Fufu, quite selfish aren¡¯t we. Or should I say privileged?¡±

    ¡°May seem that way in this situation. But I¡¯ll be taking that selfishness, and make it real, no matter what. I won¡¯t abandon a single one. Everyone that¡¯s still alive, I¡¯ll have them all get back to Earth!¡±

    I¡¯m not giving up. More so when there¡¯s already been deaths. My resolve just solidified even more.

    That¡¯s right, I wanted to overturn this unreasonable scenario, that¡¯s why I wished for power. That¡¯s what the hero¡¯s for.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Sorry, forgive me Yuuto-kun. I was, only being pessimistic there¡­ In the beginning, I too, truly, faithfully, wanted to believe that¡±

    No, don¡¯t worry about it ss Rep. You can¡¯t help but get depressed in this ce

    After losing 2 people back to back, even the ever calm and intelligent ss Rep would be at her limit. All the more when before we came along, they¡¯d just recently lost Satou-san and were down to two. Their own lives were in a precarious situation.

    Keeping calm through all that, just isn¡¯t possible.

    ¡°Monsters are strong, but with everyone with their vocations gathered, we can surely resist. With all of us here, maybe we could even find a way for everyone to use the divine gate, and in the worst case, we can just get out on foot¡±

    At the very least, this world has a human inhabited kingdom. There¡¯s no way it¡¯s the case that we¡¯d walk around the whole, only to discover that it was full of savagends without the presence of mankind. Keep walking, and we¡¯ll eventuallynd on some human habitation.

    ¡°When Yuuto-kun says it, it sounds you can even do the impossible¡±

    ¡°We got our vocations right, I think we can do a lot¡±

    Not just mybat-only powers, there could be someone specialized for survival too. If we can get someone like that, our ability to cope would be much higher than trying out stuff ourselves.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll manage. And one of these days, we should meet up with Ryuuichi too¡±

    ¡°Ho-hold it right there, where did his namee from!¡±

    I mean, if it doesn¡¯te up now, when will it, is the feeling.

    ¡°Geez,ughing at me? How rude¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, sorry, my bad. Well, I was thinking it¡¯d be great to get him soon too. That guy¡¯s pretty much the only one I can leave my back to in all those fights¡±

    ¡°Sigh, It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t get into a fair bit of trouble yourself, I hear¡±

    ¡°Truly unfortunate, I happen to be a victim myself¡±

    ¡°I wonder about that¡±

    Seems like my character is in jeopardy of being dubbed a battle-maniac, but yeah, I¡¯m d that ss Rep¡¯s a bit more lively now.

    ¡°By the way, what sort of vocation do you have Yuuto-kun? Looks like it wasn¡¯t too hard for you getting here, is it perhaps quite strong?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, my vocation¡ª right, uhm, don¡¯tugh ok?¡±

    Rest assured, she affirms in a cool smile. Alright, I¡¯ll be taking your word for it then.

    ¡°¡­ My vocation, it¡¯s Hero¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha! He¡¯s really a Hero!¡±

    ¡°C, ss Rep you liaaaaarrr!¡±

    After the 4 of us had regrouped, following a bit of rest, we head back into the dungeon with the purpose of finding the other students. Though I say find, for the time being, we¡¯re only following where the Magic Compass points. The others should be advancing ording to this too, so we¡¯re bound to meet up at some point.

    ¡°I guess, they aren¡¯t wasting time¡­ Natsukawa-san, are you all set?¡±

    ¡°Yep, no prob! Souma-kun¡¯s fighting beside me now so it¡¯s super reassuring¡±

    We were walking along a wide path, and raising moans from in front of us, came a flock of Zombies. That being the case, Natsukawa-san was in her usual bright and cheerful self, and readied her weapon. A knife in her right hand, and a kitchen knife in her left. The former was taken from a Goma, and thetter seems to be inherited from Futaba-san.

    Her having the ability to attack head on, she had alone yed the part of vanguard. I don¡¯t care what vocation there is, a single girl having to battle Monsters all by herself is seriously harsh.

    I¡¯ll protect her, is not something I have enough strength to im at this time. I can¡¯t win, I can¡¯t protect them with just me. So right now, please lend me strength everyone.

    ¡°Leave your back to me Natsukawa-san, I¡¯ll definitely protect it¡±

    ¡°Nihaha, t-thanks, Souma-kun¡­¡±

    She¡¯s blushing, and avoiding my gaze for some reason, but it looks like a happy shyness, so I¡¯ll take it as hering to trust me a little. With a reliablerade, you can rx your heart more, and function more calmly, and less recklessly.

    Great, now I just have to perform well, and let Natsukawa-san feel she can rely on me, let¡¯s do that.

    ¡°Nii-san, Minami, I¡¯ll put on the Enchants now¡±

    ¡°Mm, Yeah, appreciate it¡±

    With Sakura¡¯s Holy Enchant cast on my sword and Natsukawa-san¡¯s knives, we¡¯re all set forbat. But that Sakura, why¡¯s her mood so bad? Her tone felt a smidge thorny.

    ¡°So yeah, Ryouko-chan, leaving cover to you! Souma-kun, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    des, glowing with holy brilliance, in hand, Natsukawa-san and I both gained speed with high walk, and dove into the mass of Zombies.

    ¡°Geez, nii-san and Minami, too reckless the both of you!¡±

    Having triumphantly returned with Natsukawa-san after eliminating the Zombies, we had gotten Sakura mad.

    ¡°S-sorry Sakura-chan. But but, Souma-kun was with me, and I could fight really cozily? And it got a bit fun I guess?¡±

    ¡°Ah well, I guess I went a bit carried away, sorry about that¡±

    Seeing Natsukawa-san¡¯s fighting ability first hand, I ended up getting a bit excited myself. There¡¯s no way you can find a girl who can fight and move to nimbly in our original world. But witnessing that power, the current me was so overjoyed, and being able to fight shoulder to shoulder with that was so much fun¡ª well, I guess if you selfishly go wild like that, of course she¡¯d be mad.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine Sakura? Look, they did so well, the two of us didn¡¯t need to lift a finger. Souma-kun¡¯s terribly strong, so Minami can go fight without a worry¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll protect Natsukawa-san with my life if I have to¡±

    ¡°Niha! T-that¡¯s, Souma-kun, I¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point if you get hurt nii-san!¡±

    ¡°No problem, at that time, can¡¯t you just heal me Sakura?¡±

    ¡°Seriously! That¡¯s not the¡ª¡±

    I thought I said something pretty obvious, but as if I just poured more oil into the fire, Sakura became increasingly furious. Good grief, guys are obviously supposed to protect girls. What¡¯s she getting so mad for.

    ¡°But we have to practice our teamwork, so go a bit easier on the tension next time¡±

    After a bunch lecturing from Sakura, we decided to adopt the ss Rep¡¯s n, and resumed our trek through the dungeon.

    Until now, with only Sakura and me, we could take care of small scale packs of monsters. Now, with a swift, close-quarters fighter, the Thief, Natsukawa-san, and wielding a range of offensive and defensive Ice Magics, the Ice Mage, ss Rep, joining us, our fighting potential doubled, no, it likely rose a lot more.

    To be honest, I don¡¯t feel we¡¯ll lose no matter how many Zombies or Red Dogs get thrown at us.

    ¡°¡ªNii-san!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine on my end! you three get the other one!¡±

    Having arrived at a particrlyrge Forested Dome, we were attacked by arge pack of Red Dogs. The one leading the pack was arge sized Boss Dog I¡¯d seen for the first time. Two of them at that. Maybe they¡¯re a male and female couple. The two of them weren¡¯t leading their own individual packs, but worked together splendidly, and came at us with tactics and teamwork you¡¯d never expect from simple dogs.

    If it was just me and Sakura, we¡¯d be taking on quite a bit of risk with these numbers¡­ but now we had reliablerades. So it doesn¡¯t feel like we¡¯ll lose at all.

    ¡°Tri sh!¡±

    My 3-hitbo sh was agilely dodged by the Boss Dog and only cut the air. As if saying, I can see right through you, the Monster grinned crookedly¡ª A simple dog in the end, I guess. Since it fell for such an obvious faint.

    ¡°¡ªGot¡¯cha!¡±

    I sharply throw a knife. Since I hadunched Tri sh with only my right hand, my left was free. And there, I used Force Boost to shoot a knife, so even the bulky skin of the Boss was deeply pierced.

    ¡°Gyau!¡±

    Its side hit dead-on, the Boss raises a pained cry. And the opening created, proved all too fatal.

    I closed the distance, and before it could regain its stance, I dropped the Boss Dog¡¯s head with sh.

    ¡°You did it, Yuuto-kun¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good job on your end too¡±

    As I had ended the Boss Dog, the three of them seemed to have also defeated the one on their end. Well, with Sakura and ss Rep¡¯s concentrated Ice and Light, along with Natsukawa-san¡¯s knife talents, something like a Boss Dog won¡¯t evenst half a minute.

    At the point where the pack whittled down enough to allow us to approach the Bosses, the match was already over. With both their Bosses done in, the ones remaining quickly fled.

    ¡°¡­Mm, this is¡±

    When I went to collect the cores from the bosses, like with the Armor Bear, they turned to grains of light and vanished.

    Acquired Skill

    Ignis Protection(Fire Resistance)

    Decreases damage received from the Fire attribute

    A mechanical message floated into my mind.

    I see, so this turning into light and disappearing is a sign that I¡¯m receiving Acquired Skills. Since the glowing particles look like they¡¯re being sucked into my body, it could be that the powers from Monsters are being absorbed with magic.

    At any rate, it¡¯s easy to understand. Plus, this disappearing and only leaving the core made for easy collection and was quite convenient.

    Like that, our dungeon capture has been proceeding swimmingly. Plentiful battle potential, and reliable friends. Piling on experience, me and everyone else unlock more powers from our vocations and continue to grow stronger.

    However, I had yet to witness the true menace of the dungeon. Even though I¡¯d been once broken by the Armor Bear, with so much positive progress, I started to forget how were confronting death in the truest sense of the word.

    And the event that made even this foolish me jut open my eyes, happened when we reached a big, the biggest stone-built area I¡¯ve seen yet.

    ¡°¡ªKyaAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    A scream, like the tearing of silk, echoes. There¡¯s a fellow ssmate there being attacked, we could tell without anyone saying a thing.

    We dash full speed into the room where the scream came from. Please, make it¡ª

    ¡°Out of my wayyyyy!¡±

    There, we found a horde of Goma, thergest one I¡¯ve ever encountered. With their same dirty figures, crude weapons, these ck, goblin-like demons of gluttony. But their numbers don¡¯t even phase our current strength.

    I cut into the horde without hesitation. Natsukawa-san was right behind, and cover fire came flying from Sakura and ss Rep. Stepping over the in corpses of Goma, we cut open the path, and made it to the center of their siege in no time.

    And there we saw¡ª

    ¡°Ah, Souma-kun!? It¡¯s Souma-kuuun!¡±

    ¡°What, Souma!¡±

    Two familiar girls. One, a frail girl smaller than even Natsukawa-san, who gave the impression of a small animal you¡¯d want to protect. The other, valiantly dual-wielding a rusted pair of long and short swords, an imposing girl with a long ponytail being something like her defining appearance.

    Both my ssmates. And both, my friends.

    Takanashi-san and, Asuna!

    Thank god, as far as I see, both of them still look fine. The smaller one is Takanashi Kotori. The one with the swords, Kenzaki Asuna.[2]

    Maybe Takanashi-san lost her weapon, as she was just standing there shivering. As for Asuna, she stood in front as if protecting her.

    ¡°We¡¯re saved! Souma, and looks like there¡¯s others too¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we got Sakura and ss Rep with us¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here too!¡°

    ¡°Aah! Minami-chan!¡±

    Arriving slightlyter, Natsukawa-san went and stood mirrored to Asuna covering Takanashi-san from the other side. With this, we have me and Asuna in front, and Natsukawa-san in the rear, all protecting Takanashi-san. I¡¯m scared to think what would¡¯ve happened if we were only a stepte.

    ¡°Asuna, anyway for now, we¡¯ll be cleaning up this horde¡±

    ¡°No, the horde isn¡¯t much of an issue. Souma, don¡¯t panic, but look over there¡­¡±

    Cold sweat dripping down her cheek, I follow Asuna¡¯s darkened expression.

    There were Goma there, standing armed like the one¡¯s around us. No, not them, further back, there¡¯s something.

    ¡°T-the hell, is that¡­¡±

    It was a fairlyrge shadow. The shadow, no, that thing had the same jet ck skin as the Goma. But as if the species waspletely different, it was big. Cleary taller than me, at around 2 meters. And not only tall, it¡¯s body can be said to be muscle itself. It wore a robust armor of muscle akin to body-builders.

    But those muddy yellow eyes, and that dirty, blood-smeared wide mouth on its face, forces you to see it as nothing but a Goma.

    ¡°GU, GUGe, GeGE¡±

    It looked at me, and itughed. Andughing, with that mouth, it was biting on something, some red meat¡ª no, it was munching on a human arm.

    ¡°Wha!?¡±

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s, Kousaka¡°

    Wh-what. That, that torn off arm that¡¯s be Goma feed, you¡¯re telling me it belongs to Hiroki.

    Kousaka Hiroki, he was my friend. No, you could even say a best friend. I¡¯ve known him since 2nd year(8th grade) middleschool, and he¡¯s the guy I¡¯ve known second longest after Ryuuichi.

    I relied on him a lot. He always tried to cover for me when I ended up ditching out of habit. Of course, even in the dungeon capturing, he¡¯ll surely help out. He¡¯ll ally with us, I¡¯ll depend on him, we¡¯d berades¡­ that was supposed to happen.

    ¡°No, way¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry Souma¡­ I wasn¡¯t strong enough, Kousaka, I couldn¡¯t save him¡±

    No Asuna, you have nothing to apologize for. I mean, Hiroki, that guy loved you.

    Surrounded by all these enemies, there¡¯s no way Hiroki won¡¯t help fight with you. It was supposed to be his chance. It was your chance to show off to Asuna dammit. Asuna had dered she wouldn¡¯t recognize any man who wasn¡¯t strong; it was supposed to be his greatest chance to get close to her.

    But then, ahh, why, what the hell¡­ what¡¯s with this tragic end¡­ no way. There¡¯s no damn way.

    ¡°Sorry but Souma, there¡¯s no time for grief. Look, that thing there, it¡¯s strong. Kousaka was a Knight, and it cut him down in one stroke.¡°

    The Goma swallowed down Hiroki¡¯s arm whole, it looked at me again andughed. As if its delicious prey had increased, it was amused.

    So Kousaka was a Knight. I don¡¯t know what kind of skillset that came with, but it was undoubtedly one centered on fighting. And it took down that Kousaka in one shot. This guy should be immensely strong¡­ No, its power must be from that weapon it¡¯s holding.

    ¡°Asuna, that sword is¡±

    ¡°A Demon Sword, you could say. And that de, its surrounded in that red fuzziness, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m just seeing things there¡±

    In it¡¯s right had, the Goma held a single sword. A Odachi with quite a long de. Just as Asuna said, from those pristine waves on it¡¯s de, an ominous crimson aura gushed forth.[3]

    This one¡¯s evidently on a whole nother lever from the average Goma. Could be their Boss. Seeing as that have this many of them, but not a single one¡¯s attacking, it would seem the Boss wants to personally kill its prey.

    At any rate, we needed to face this Boss Goma, along with itsrge number of remaining Goma troops.

    ¡°Souma, I¡¯m d you guys came but¡­ It¡¯s still gonna be a tough fight. You ready?¡±

    Ready, she says. You know that question¡¯s pretty dumb, don¡¯t you Asuna. At this stage, there¡¯s no point asking.

    Cause they¡ª they killed my friend. No way I¡¯ll forgive them.

    ¡°We¡¯re going Asuna. We¡¯ll avenge Hiroki¡ª¡±

    Removed from fear and doubt, I face the Boss Goma blocking the way, and went for the kill.

    ________________________

    [1] Change: transfer gate ¡ú divine gate, I think it¡¯s slightly better? Again, ÌìËÍéT is the raw.

    [2] It¡¯s kinda unimportant but Kotori-tan¡­ her name looks like this Ð¡øBß[ Ð¡øB, the characters repeat so I guess that¡¯s interesting. „‡ÆéÃ÷ÈÕÄÇ Kenzaki Asuna¡­ has „‡ ¡ª ken ¡ª sword in her name.

    [3] A pic topare different swords. look for the Odachi.

 Chapter 25: Blooming

    Chapter 25: Blooming

    ¡°Y-yaay! I, I did it Momokawa-kuuun!¡±

    Saying that, Futaba-san rushes over to me innocently smiling ear-to-ear. Making vigorous sshes on the puddles of blood underfoot.

    ¡°Ah, yup¡­ You sure did¡­¡±

    With an expression of mute amazement, I wee back a Futaba-san who¡¯s frolicking over as if she was a pet dog in high spirits after its owner came home after a long day¡¯s work.

    Calm down. Right now in front of me, the concaved heads, the smashed faces, the torn apart and scattered limbs, all these utterly massacred corpses of Goma floating in pools of blood, they¡¯re things to be happy about. It¡¯s a scene you ought not to be simply happy about as a sane human being, but this is the very thing, the thing I wished for from the bottom of my heart.

    Yes, I, just moments ago, witnessed the absolutely awe-inspiring power of Futaba-san¡¯s new vocation, Berserker.

    ¡°Yup, you¡¯re awesome Futaba-san!¡±

    ¡°Fue, e, ehehe¡­ Thankyou, Momokawa-kun¡±

    Futaba-san was reddening at the cheeks as if her beloved hadplemented her homemade cooking, but really, is that the appropriate conduct for a girl of age being praised on her killing technique?

    Still, Futaba-san herself had been deeply worried about her state of powerlessness, so being this happy might just be as expected.

    ¡°You really were! To think you could fight that good¡ª¡±

    Our location: that fateful T-junction where Iughably fell into a trap set by the Goma. The very same ce where Futaba-san went berserk due to drugs and annihted hordes of Goma, and here once again, she had conducted a festival of blood featuring Goma.

    The reason we expressly returned back here was because of Futaba-san¡¯s strong request to try fighting using the power of Berserker. In short, battle testing.

    I myself am also greatly interested in that power. The person herself is willing, and there was no reason to stop her either.

    The weapons I had overexerted myself to carry back along with the copsed Futaba-san, equipping her with the at-a-nce usable axe and dagger, ones with little rusting, we ventured forth and arrived here. Rather than blindly searching for targets, we figured we¡¯d find some friends of those Gomaing back to scout out the situation, or maybe to retrieve their gear.

    If they came back with a huge number of reinforcements, we had ns to retreat immediately, but lucky for us, the ones casually greeting our eyes were a small 5-man unit. Looked like they were only here for scavenging gear. Literally no intention to provide relief to the injured. Well, looking at the bodies, you can¡¯t really judge anything other than instant death though.

    We then surveilled our surroundings looking for signs of ambush. Making sure that those 5 are the only ones there, we went for it.

    Going all out, I preemptively used ckhair Bind to entwine one of them by the feet. At the same time, Futaba-san rushed out with a momentum unbelievable considering her mass, and headed towards the enemy without the least show of indecision or doubt.

    Thereafter, the fight ended in the blink of an eye. As if my shabby support waspletely unneeded, Futaba-san smashed the Goma one after the other.

    No matter how many Power Seeds she pops, those little things bringing out this level of strength is tantly outside predictions.

    Luckily, the Goma were fairly spread apart for purposes of equipment retrieval. Before they could gather and disy any teamwork, Futaba-san nimbly and orderly buried them.

    The axe swung down to split their skulls like butter, and the fist thrust into their faces, pulverizing them. Aimless swings would make the limbs of the thin Goma st off. With simple kicks, they¡¯d dance in the air like a soda can, heading towards the tree branches lining the sides of the passage, getting skewered.

    And with that, we get to the part were Futaba-san goes ¡°Yaay¡± with a smile andes back towards me.

    ¡°Still, even without any psyche type Skills, you sure did it well¡±

    You sure killed ¡¯em good, maybe saying that would be appropriate.

    I had thought that Futaba-san, with here gentle and cowardly personality would be hopeless in fights without a Psyche Skill like Concentrate which made you forget fear.

    Still, Futaba-san changing jobs(tenshoku) into the vocation(tenshoku) Berserker¡­ erm, I¡¯m gonna trip up those words¡­ anyway, her getting new powers, and consequently not requiring any Skills that mettle with the psyche, is something I¡¯m already aware of.[1]

    Still she, disyed an almost refreshing level of carnage befitting one titled Berserker. Really, what astounding of change of heart, or maybe I can call it growth?

    Don¡¯t tell me, there¡¯s still some residual effects of the drugs?

    ¡°Yep, you know, I¡­ if it¡¯s to help Momokawa-kun, I can do it¡°

    As if sensing something, Futaba-san dered so with a bright smile. I¡¯ll fight to protect someone, it¡¯s like the mentality of shonen manga protagonists.

    That would make me the heroine? If the strong and cool MC will go ahead and unfailingly protect a cumbersome and hysteric bitch ¡°¡¯cause she¡¯s the heroine¡±, then I¡¯ll dly be one.[2]

    ¡°Uh huh, but, it¡¯s not scary? Also, the blood or dead bodies, you¡¯re ok on that?¡±

    ¡°A bit scary yeah. But maybe because I¡¯ve run wild once already¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve gotten more used to it¡±

    I see, indeed Futaba-san hadn¡¯t voluntarily killed a Monster even once before rampaging like that. Is it like, having done it once, it¡¯s no big deal anymore?

    ¡°And for the bodies, they don¡¯t bother me at all. I¡¯m used to them from cooking, also, work collecting cores from when I was with ss Rep, it wasn¡¯t that bad¡±

    On dismantling bodies, with her prided real-world cooking skill, she¡¯s already top ss. Nevertheless, considering the average extent of cooking, there¡¯d be no way she¡¯s familiar withrge bodied animals¡­ but perhaps, she may just have experience stripping whole cows or pigs.

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right, now that we¡¯re here, I¡¯ll go get the cores!¡±

    Maybe because Goma are fated to be simply mob Monsters, we don¡¯t have much hopes of getting many of those crystals of mana AKA cores. But it¡¯s not like there¡¯s none. Of course, the ones we get would all be fragments smaller than pebbles. Well, it¡¯s better than nothing.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave it to you. I¡¯ll collect the gear¡±

    And for a short period, I busied myself scavenging through rotting flesh. Won¡¯t these bodies suddenly disappear and leave behind some raw material and gold as drop items, I work while inadvertently thinking dumb things.

    ¡°U-uhm, Momokawa-kun¡­ D-don¡¯t look ok¡­ it¡¯s embarrassing¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not, I¡¯m not looking¡±

    Though I say that, if asked whether I want to look or not, I want to. I totally want to.

    ¡°U, uu¡­¡±

    An embarrassed moan which sounds ever so close to crying. Along which, rustle, the faint sound of clothes in friction. Futaba-san was, at this very moment, stripping. Live undressing highschool girl.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Clear all thought. Calm down, Momokawa Kotarou. If thou, at this instance, looseth reason and tuh thy visage, what awaiteth thee is not but a face disfigured by the hand of ye Berserker. Yeah, I really don¡¯t wanna be friends of those Goma turned meat lumps and blood pools.

    Well, disregarding that, for the foreseeable future I need to make sure I don¡¯t do anything to lose Futaba-san¡¯s trust. So right now, I dere my vocation to be Gentleman.

    ¡°K-kay then, let¡¯s concentrate on these meds¡±

    I tell myself, as I grind away making Ointment A with a Fairy Walnut tree to my back.

    After the battle with and highway robbery of Goma, we returned back to the Fairy Square. After getting our first loot since starting the whole dungeon capture, the top-notch feeling of satisfaction plus hope for the future, in addition to the convenience of it all, all of it gathered into one big sigh of relief.

    And was it because of such a relief? We finally noticed¡ª the smell.

    A natural conclusion. Dropped into this otherworld, it has undoubtedly been more than a day. Right about now, it¡¯s probably the 2nd or 3rd day. In that timeframe, we haven¡¯t changed clothes even once.

    Moreover, Futaba-san and I both have experienced blood-soaken battle. It¡¯s very clearly at a level much higher than our clothes being simply dirty. Even hobos would look pristine inparison.

    That being the case, our current 1st priority was bathing andundry.

    And yet, here we had neither a bathroom with hot tufts of steam, nor one of the three sacred treasures, the washing machine. No way we had em. The only ce to procure sanitary water in this dungeon would be, that¡¯s right, the fountain in a Fairy Square.[3]

    It was neither a bathtub, nor a shower, but should be described as a natural pool.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    From behind, the sshing sounds of water hit my ears. Futaba-san is, right now, right behind me, gratuitously exposing that plump body of hers.

    I think, most of the guys from ss would be like, That fatty naked? yea, NOPE; blergh, someone get be a bucket and raise their jeers but¡ª Fuh, foolish plebeians. In the end, man cannot resist his desire. The desire, to see boobs that is.

    But right now, the hero inside me, with a saintly spirit, he¡¯s sealing away those wicked desires. To feast his eyes on Futaba-san¡¯s that, that super-sized bust you can¡¯t find even in big tit(kyonyuu) pornos(AV), he¡¯s sealing that desire.

    ¡°Th-this is¡­ perhaps my greatest trial yet¡­¡±

    And for a brief period, like a middleschool boy in front of a sealed porn magazine in a convenience store, I tasted heart-wrenching pain and anguish.[4]

    ¡°Momokawa-kun¡­ I, I¡¯m done now¡±

    With Futaba-san¡¯s voice, my ordeal finally ends. In reality, it probably hasn¡¯t been that long at all, but an acute feeling of exhaustion drones over my body.

    But I can¡¯t possibly disy such a shameful appearance, and it¡¯d be crazy bad news if she sees through my ulterior feelings, so I turn back sporting the face of a sage.

    The figure of Futaba-san standing there was within expectations, dressed in our school designated deep blue gym clothes. It didn¡¯t have any unintentional look of eroticism. Even wearing gym clothes, the chest and rear is the default tight fit, so that may be considered an exception in this case.

    Seems like she washed her head too. The always fluffy hair wetted in water had somewhat lost its volume, and gave an out-of-norm impression.

    ¡°Yup, we¡¯re lucky we brought the gym clothes huh¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I agree. Me too, if I didn¡¯t see Momokawa-kun getting it, I¡¯d have left it back at the ssroom¡±

    Thanks to that, we can take off our uniforms with the assurance of spare clothes. My hypothesis that in a survival scenario it¡¯s better to have a 2nd set of clothes, has struck home with astounding sess¡­ but if we didn¡¯t have them, Man, it can¡¯t be helped, we got no spares huh, like that I could¡¯ve seen Futaba-san in her underwear. I-it¡¯s not like I¡¯m regretting it okay![5]

    ¡°Uhm, Momokawa-kun, if you¡¯d like, I can do theundry¡±

    ¡°Eh, you will?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t really, do much of anything else¡±

    Futaba-san¡¯s gazends on the Ointment A production set I spread on the ground.

    Certainly, as a Shaman and in charge of creating medications, I have the need to get to work while we¡¯re resting at the safe area known as Fairy Square. Furthermore, I want to inspect all the new gear collected from Goma, and am thinking of finishing up any other misceneous tasks I can get done here.

    So if she proposes to take care of theundry, I¡¯m more than thankful. With the premise of distribution ofbour, I think it¡¯s fine to help myself to Futaba-san¡¯s good will.

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll leave it in your hands¡±

    ¡°Okay! So uhm, Momokawa-kun¡­ I¡¯ll do your shirt too, so take it off¡±

    Actually I¡¯ve already finished bathing in the fountain before Futaba-san. Though I say bathing, it¡¯s not like I got in there shoulder deep or anything.

    This is also our drinking water, so not risking any pollution to the water, I had agreed beforehand with Futaba-san that we wouldn¡¯t put the body in. At any rate, even without such rule-making, we wouldn¡¯t dip into such cold water in the first ce.

    Thus the proper bathing technique here would generally be, wetting a towel and using that to wipe down the body. We had no bucket to pail out water, and had to make use of an empty 500ml stic bottle.

    Anyway, at this ce, we could only manage washing off a minimum level of dirt. Luckily, both me and Futaba-san had brought along a sweat towel along with our gym clothes, so there was no situation of having no towel, or otherwise, shared usage.

    Like that, having done my bath, I had changed into my spares¡­ but I mustn¡¯t forget. My gym clothes, specifically the shirt part, was given to the Armor Bear. I clearly witnessed it making ribbons of my gym top with a single sh.

    That being the case, what remained to my possession was a single pair of gym pants. Leaving my upper body exposed would be too unnerving, so reluctantly I put my dirty shirt back on, but if she¡¯ll wash it, then I need to take off.

    ¡°Yeah, alright¡±

    With not an ounce of embarrassment, I take off my shirt and hand it towards Futaba-san.

    Myself being a man, having my upper half naked was not shameful. Well, exposing such a twiggish figure could be considered embarrassing in another sense, but it wasn¡¯t like I was a woman and would naturally form a handbra in this situation. I am often mistaken as a woman, but inside it¡¯s all raw, unadulterated man. A young man in highschool surging in pheromones.

    ¡°Y-yea¡­¡±

    Nevertheless, if Futaba-san stares at my upper body with that much of a feverish gaze, even I¡¯ll get embarrassed.

    Fuh, Mdy, does a man¡¯s body pique your curiosity? or some other line from a hardboiled dude wont being out of my mouth.

    ¡°Futaba-san, is there, uhm, something on me?¡±

    Saying something like ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± just made it even more awkward. The hell do you mean something on you! I thought, but then realized that under such an iprehensible fixed stare of a girl, I can¡¯t help but ask it like that.

    ¡°Ah! So-sorry¡­ Uhm, the scar on your neck, isn¡¯t, gone yet, I thought¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, Ahh, you mean this¡±

    O-oh man, just a bit more and, Can it be, Futaba-san, she has fallen prey to my physique? I¡¯d have misunderstood. I thought there was no way, but yup, there¡¯s no way.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not like it hurts anymore, it¡¯ll heal up one of these days, so don¡¯t worry about it¡±

    This wound on my neck is from the time the rampaging Futaba-san bit onto me. She says she remembers what happened, and it¡¯s about this gentle girl, so it isn¡¯t hard to imagine she¡¯s terribly concerned about me, an ally, being injured.

    With Pain Return, she got the same wound on herself, but thanks to Blessed Body it¡¯s been healed only on her end, is probably also making it awkward.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly, sorry¡­ There definitely, won¡¯t be a next time¡±

    Finally, with a slightly clouded face, Futaba-san took my shirt and headed towards the fountain. She had no more words for me. No more words, for this gym pants only, undie-less me.

    Ah, she¡¯s doing all theundry meaning, under those gym clothes, Futaba-san¡¯s also, got nothing on!

    ¡°Sigh¡­ on to the meds¡±

    Dispelling the devil, for now , I went back to medication manufacture.

    ________________________

    [1] It¡¯s that pun again, ÌìÂš (vocation) ÜžÂš(change), both are said tenshoku

    [2] Misogyny¡­ I¡¯m actually not sure. Probably refers to 1-dimensional characters you can¡¯t really respect, regardless of gender.

    [3] A useless link, The other 2 treasures are TV and fridge. Think treasures = modern convenience~

    [4] Being Momokawa is suffering ;_;7 (lol)

    [5] baka, hmph! the works¡­ it¡¯s tsundere talk desu.

 Chapter 26: Goma Loot

    Chapter 26: Goma Loot

    Let¡¯s check the gear.

    We brought back all the Goma equipment we could from that T-junction of carnage. With both me and Futaba-san, we used the stretcher I once made to carry her, to bring back a decent amount. I quickly decided on which ones to take by briefly looking if they¡¯re usable, and uponing back to this safe location, I took upon the talk of carefully sorting out which ones we¡¯ll be needing for dungeon exploration from here onwards.

    ¡°I say that, but all I¡¯ve got here¡¯s dull des and junk¡­¡±

    Goma not carrying decent weapons, is but a well-known truth. Even for rusty knives, des of iron would be their top spec.

    Still, now when Futaba-san became a peerless Berserker, even these trashy weapons are better than being empty-handed. There¡¯s meaning in picking out ones even a bit useful.

    ¡°Futaba-san can probably handle something a midge heavier, hmm, but lighter ones should be better for speed¡­ No wait, high damage should be¡­¡±

    So I¡¯ve being deliberation like that groaning hmm, but thinking about it, being able to choose weapons like this could be said to be quite a luxury. Especially for my type of people who likes min-maxing with weapons in games, there¡¯s a good bit of fun.

    Incidentally, I¡¯m here choosing Futaba-san¡¯s weaponry only because she has left it to me. Her take on it would be that she hadn¡¯t the slightest clue about these things. I mean, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m any expert in real battle though.

    ¡°Kay, let¡¯s go with this¡±

    Piling deliberation upon deliberation on my mind, I finally came to an answer.

    First, the main weapon will be the axe she used just before. The handle being around a meter(~3.3ft) long, and furthermore, maybe because it¡¯s built forbat, the de is on the somewhatrger side. Looks to be a genuine battle-axe.

    Comparing sizes and quality, the result was settled upon this being the closest to ideal size.

    Next are the sub weapons. For this I chose a hatchet typically fashioned for chopping wood, and two simple single-edged knives. For the hatchet, the de length would be 30 cm~12in, as for the knives it¡¯s 20 cm(~8in) I guess. There were many simr things but the deciding criteria here would be the low rusting. Adding on to that, the clincher would be the fact that these had sheaths as well.

    Sheathes are essential when venturing with des. Even gradeschoolers understand the dangers of running around with a naked de. Though they¡¯re dirty and made of shaggy pelts, just having a sheath or not presents a big difference.

    Finally, one more for emergencies, a small knife wrapped in cloth, I¡¯ll put it in her bag.

    Futaba-san¡¯s equipment status: done. Next is me.

    ¡°Equipping myself won¡¯t be of much use though¡±

    Maybe because of that mindframe, I didn¡¯t really care much and quickly finished choosing.

    My main is a spear. Tree branch with arge knife tied on, hand crafted by the Goma. Compared to the merely sharpened branch tip I used to kill the Red Dog and Trap Goma, the one with a de attached is clearly superior. What I fundamentallyck is physical strength, and though there was a surprisingly good-looking axe, I settled for the spear which was light and had better reach.

    My sub-weapon, simr to Futaba-san, a single knife. This too had a sheath.

    ¡°Would¡¯ve been great if I had bow or something long range¡±

    No use demanding the impossible. And say I got a bow, without being an Archer, there¡¯s doubts whether I can handle something like that.

    If asked to prepare a long range weapon from the items in hand, there¡¯s only stones. Using the pouches that the Goma hung at their waists, I¡¯ll go ahead and gather some stones that look throwable. Maybe they¡¯lle in handy at some point, and carrying around a few won¡¯t be cumbersome.

    Now then, I¡¯ve prepared two of these throwing-stone pouches, one for me and another for Futaba-san. But rather than these generic weapons, there¡¯s others to think about. Gear, or rather these should be called Items I guess.

    First, starting with Ointment A, a variety of meds. The existence of wound healing medication is practically our life-line in dungeon capture, and the area where I can truly show my mettle.

    There¡¯s probably more Fairy Squares dotted with some frequency, so I¡¯ll produce an amount on the premise that I¡¯ll be making more along that frequency. Thanks to beating all those Goma, small articles like pelt bags are aplenty, lots of room to store my meds.

    Actually, amongst these meds, there¡¯s that narcotic included too.

    I found some when scavenging off the Goma. Bags with that white powder. A number of them were carrying the item, so we have plenty to go around.

    However, using this raw would make Futaba-san rampage again, and there¡¯s no telling if I can return safely from being high again.

    So to safely make use of this drug, I¡¯ll use the Blueflower with it¡¯s antidote effect. Pertaining its usefulness in settling down the dependence factor and extreme high, I¡¯m living proof.

    Therefore, mixing this drug with Blueflower beforehand, inhaling once should make it usable while decently lowering the effects. In the case that Futaba-san goes rigid from fear, or even if you simply want to stop the pain, it has more than enough value.

    I dub it Reagent X.

    Having to use this would mean it¡¯s a situation of great crisis, so I¡¯m praying that we never end up in something like that.

    For our belongings, these would be the things worth mention. The rest would be, yeah, I cut up some of the Gomas¡¯ clothes into strips, maybe to use like bandage, and stored them in my bag.

    Naturally, I don¡¯t want to use things worn by such filthy Monsters as is, and they should be the worst from a hygiene standpoint as well. This too, I chose ones that looked rtively cleaner, and sent them to Futaba-san along with theundry for cleaning.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, I¡¯m done with theundry¡±

    As I was doing gear selection, it seems Futaba-san haspleted her job.

    I look to find the articles ofundry hung to dry. Amongst the Gomas¡¯ belongings there was rope, or better said, it¡¯s more like a kind of nt ivy, well we found something like that.

    Tying these vines to the Fairy Walnut trees lined up on both sides, we get an impromptu clothesline. There¡¯s no wind here, and it¡¯s not like theundry¡¯s been put through a dryer so it should take a while before they get dry.

    ¡°That soap, how was it?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get many suds, but a lot of dirt got out¡±

    The thing I called soap, correctly, it wasn¡¯t soap.

    ording to the new updates in the information from the Note Circle, we were introduced to a nt that works in ce of soap. [1]

    I forgot it¡¯s proper name, but this natural soap nt, it¡¯s the size of a Fairy Walnut, and peeling away the blue husk reveals a banana-like white-ish interior. The appearance seems delicious, but there was a strong warning that it wasn¡¯t suitable as food. Even my Intuition Pharmacy was like, You wanna blow bubbles and keel over, then have one, so I definitely stopped all thoughts of trying it.

    Anyway, the high about of unique oil content in this white thing apparently works well in getting rid of dirt. Plus, this convenient soap can actually be found at a Fairy Square it says.

    Searching under the trees as per the info, we certainly did find some. There¡¯s not as many as the Fairy Walnuts, but there¡¯s a decent amount scattered about. Seems like not all of these trees are of Fairy Walnut.

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s look for those Mimesis Worms.¡±[2]

    The convenient resources don¡¯t just stop at the Soap Fruits. Along with it, the Note Circle introduced us to another, this insect known as the Mimesis Worms. The proper name is redacted.

    It¡¯s outer appearance isn¡¯t particrly different from a white caterpir, but this insect sticks onto flora, or the ground, and there it makes a cocoon mimicking that surface. It wont be a chrysalis but will still make a cocoon. Anyway, the threads made for the manufacture of this mimicry, it could be called one of nature¡¯s mysteries, as it perfectly dyes in the color of its surroundings.

    Implying, if you let this thing cling onto a torn area on clothes, it¡¯ll start making its mimicry on its own. Once the cocoon isplete, it¡¯s a simple task to take the worm off the clothes, and it¡¯ll look like a slight loose thread sticking out. Cut away that fragment of thread, and the clothes are good as new.

    I personally have some suspicions concerning the existence of a worm so convenient for humans¡­ but on this asion, I¡¯ll thankfully make use of them.

    ¡°Ah, Futaba-san, you the type bad with bugs?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m totally fine with them. I¡¯ve made food with insects before, and eaten them too. They¡¯re pretty good you know?¡±

    I¡¯d prefer not to though, insect cuisine. So that Futaba-san doesn¡¯t get in the mood to make food using insects from this dungeon, I may have to politely hint at something like ¡°I kind of don¡¯t want to eat insects you see¡±.

    ¡°Hu-huurmm, that a fact¡ª¡±

    My soulless reply was suddenly Gukyuu~! interrupted by such a sound.

    ¡°Yup, let¡¯s have some food then¡±

    ¡°U, Uu, uu¡­ Sorry¡­¡±

    Naturally it was the sound of Futaba-san¡¯s stomach rumbling. That embarrassedly tearful expression looks much redder than when she was bathing. What¡¯s the big deal?, is my thoughts but that must be because I¡¯m a guy with only a half-baked recognition pertaining the delicacy needed towards women.

    ¡°You took some Power Seeds, so it¡¯s no wonder your stomach¡¯s empty¡±

    ¡°D-don¡¯t Momokawa-kun¡­ I don¡¯t need that kind of gentle follow-through¡­¡±

    It¡¯s true though, the part on the Power Seed¡¯s calorie expenditure. No, quite serious here, if you use those you need to have food as soon as you can. Even if it seems fine, and you think it gonna be fine, and keep popping them in, at some point, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to suddenly suffer from malnutrition.

    Anyway, leaving the mending of clothes toter, we need some eats.

    Well, the clothes are gonna take a while, so let¡¯s have a breather. Ah, just remembered, I got a CalorieMate, want some?

    ¡°I do! Thank you very much!¡±

    With a momentum as if she¡¯d go dogeza, I was taken aback and was a beatte to reply.[3]

    ¡°S-sorry¡­¡±

    Before I could reply, Futaba-san¡¯s sense of embarrassment from her own greed dyed her face red, and she said so as if wringing out the word.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind ok, really¡±

    For now, so as not to further pile shame onto Futaba-san, I¡¯ll cut the chit-chat and get done eating. My thanks to you Takashima-kun, your CalorieMate has been put to use as Futaba-san and my provisions tost another day, I¡¯ll dine upon it graciously.

    ¡°Also, we should get our rest in while we can, and get ready¡­ The area ahead, seems harsh¡±

    The vignce is totally called for. Since, as we go out from this Fairy Square, the dungeon goes into the biggest Forested Dome we¡¯ve seen yet.

    ¡°Uwa-, Uwaa¡­¡±

    The tantly displeased groan of displeasure, is to be expected. I mean, I¡¯m back at the closed space of Curse God Ruinhilde.

    ¡°Mine devotee, Momokawa Kotarou¡±

    ¡°G-ge-greetings, my Lord(kamisama)¡­¡±

    In the bizarrely brightened empty universe-like space, stood the God who took the appearance of a Grim Reaper(shinigami) and I. Meing here means, it must be that I¡¯ll be getting a new Curse, but thinking about the damage from the previous times, I can¡¯t be 100% happy about it. I sincerely pray, please don¡¯t let it hurt this time.

    ¡°Ku ku ku, to have tamed the Berserker¡­ We praise thee¡±

    ¡°T-thank you very much¡±

    Berserker obviously means Futaba-san. I didn¡¯t think making her an ally could get so many points. Maybe God realizes how easy it is for a Shaman to get isted.

    ¡°We shalt grant a new Divine Protection¡±

    Don¡¯t let it hurt, don¡¯t let it hurt, please don¡¯t let it hurt, no seriously, I beg you my Lord.

    ¡°Reveal thine hands¡±

    ¡°Ye-, Yhess¡±

    At this point, I¡¯m practically almost crying. What is it this time, will it be tearing off the nails? Or is it the whole wrist? I know it¡¯s a dream but, gimme a break here.

    Like that, as ifing to an understanding of having given up, I lift my hands towards Ruinhilde-sama and spread my palms as if I¡¯d be receiving a ball.

    The attack, isn¡¯ting. Is it the teasing strategy?

    ¡°Know this. A Shaman dealeth not solely with death and agony¡±

    On top of my palms, rests Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s ownrge hands of bone. That action itself, doesn¡¯t hurt. The feeling on my palms, is only one of chilled metal.

    ¡°Those hands, they posesseth the capability to further birth, new life¡±

    ¡°Uwah¡±

    Ruinhilde-sama is likely in the middle of an important lecture, but I inadvertently let out my voice. At that moment, a lukewarm something, touched my palms¡­ No, it felt as if the thing was sinking into my hands.

    ¡°But, ye mustn¡¯t forget, that life too at it¡¯s base, is but a mere curse¡±

    I didn¡¯t really get it. But the sudden drowsiness, marked the end of this dream.

    Ah, I¡¯m d. It didn¡¯t hurt this time.

    ________________________

    [1] I¡¯m changing Magic Circle on the notebook, to Note Circle¡­ for obvious reasons. It¡¯s actually much easier to say in the jap.

    [2] ”M‘B²Ï (Gitai Kaiko), More specifically it¡¯s silkworm, but I bit my tongue saying it so no.

    [3] Dogeza ¡ú prostrating with head on the ground. I¡¯m quite fond of word, so I¡¯ll be using it instead of a localization.

 Chapter 27: Mud Doll

    Chapter 27: Mud Doll

    Looking up, a ceiling so high it only somewhates into view, spread before my eyes is a gigantic Forested Dome. The exit from the Fairy Square was a wall, better said, it was like a small cave poking into a great precipitous cliff face. This magnificently vertical cliff extended to the left and right, the ends of which are out of visual range. Advancing along the walls like always, seemed quite the detour.

    And spreading out in front, would be a densely packed lush forest. One could imagine hidden beyond that verdure, a torrential sum of Monsters.

    But, scariest of all is the field that is known as forest. In underground passages, the view isn¡¯t obstructed, and detecting enemies is easy. You only need to be cautious around corners and near rooms. However, inside a forest, trees and other vegetation be an infinite supply of cover, and ambushes are facilitated all the more. Yet further, the Monsters that lurk there are ones that make the forest their home. Territorial advantage is fully on the home team.

    Passing through even those small Forested Domes almost made my spine freeze over. To think we¡¯d have to walk god knows how many kilometers through that kind of ce, frankly, it¡¯s just depressing.

    ¡°¡ªRight, let¡¯s just go¡±

    Still, we advance. For survival.

    Brilliant white light like that of the sun shines down from the extrarge light panels affixed on the ceiling. This ce is bright like midday all 24 hours of the day. Thanks to that, it¡¯s fairly bright in the forest as well.

    ¡°I guess these Forested Domes, don¡¯t really change much¡±

    ¡°I think, they got the same type of nts. But it¡¯s possible we can find some awesome herb here, so let¡¯s check around the vicinity for now¡±

    For me with my Intuition Pharmacy, a forest lush in flora is like a mountain of treasure. And in fact, it¡¯s because I found those two Redshrooms soon after I was thrown into this world, that I was able to finish off the Armor Bear.

    I¡¯m sure, there¡¯s a bunch load of useful nts here in this forest, that are just anxious for us to find them. Shelving a modest bit of expectation in my heart, let¡¯s get this Forested Dome capture started¡ª but before that,

    ¡°Wait a sec Futaba-san. I got granted a new Curse, so I¡¯d like to try that out¡±

    ¡°Ehh, really!? That¡¯s amazing!¡±

    If you ask who¡¯s amazing, it¡¯s pretty much Futaba-san who¡¯s actually made use of her vocation, but yeah, getting that kind of reaction from a girl isn¡¯t bad at all. It¡¯s hostess club customer mentality.[1]

    ¡°Amazing or not, I won¡¯t know till I try it but¡­ yeah, you shouldn¡¯t really get your hopes up¡±

    I let her know just in case being ipetent as ever, and now I shallmence the experiment for the brand new Curse No. 5.

    ¡°Uhh first, you collect some earth¡±

    The reason I proposed to test the new Curse as soon as we got here is primarily because the first condition was already cleared. Around here I can get my hands on all the earth I want, but in the stone built areas, its surprisingly hard to find. And just in case, we can run from here back to the Fairy Square lickety-split.

    I squat down and concentrate on digging out the dirt. Futaba-san¡¯s standing right beside me on lookout, but I guess she¡¯s curious so she¡¯s asionally peeking at my hands.

    ¡°Next, you add water and make mud¡±

    The 500ml stic bottle filled with water we nned to drink along the way, is all used up all of a sudden. It should be fine to get it refilled after. It¡¯s a pain though.

    ¡°Once the mud is made, let¡¯s now shape it into human form¡±

    Taking the mound of mud, I knead it into parts like back in kindergarten. It¡¯s saddening that I have to start making mud balls aftering all this way in the dungeon, but I convince myself that this too is a necessity, and seriously build it into a human shape.

    It¡¯s not y but mud, so it¡¯s impossible for it to have self-support like figure models. A head and limbs of mudid on top of the ground like a relief is the limit. The size is more or less 30 cm.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made it here, just a bit more. You can do it¡±

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa-kun, who are you exining all this to?¡±

    ¡°Ah, please don¡¯t talk to me for a bit. This is the exnation flowing into my brain¡±

    ¡°S-sorry¡­¡±

    Futaba-san finally retorted looking at me talking to myself like I¡¯m exining some children¡¯s toy, but I¡¯d like her to understand than I¡¯m not messing around here. Really this, if I don¡¯t speak it out while doing it, I feel like I¡¯ll forget the invocation procedure.

    The aria is deeply engraved into my head but, it¡¯s likely, that this exnation is a one-off thing. I don¡¯t know the theory behind it, but it¡¯s designed annoyingly like this. Well, it¡¯s not like the steps are difficult, so I¡¯ll remember it if I do it once.

    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve made a splendid human form, let¡¯s now add some of your blood¡±

    Adding in blood, it¡¯s kinda gotten Curse-like. Maybe it¡¯s finally time to unleash, right here, the powers of a true curse. Getting a bit excited.

    ¡°Eh, b-blood¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess I need to cut my finger here. It¡¯s great we got the ointment¡±

    Hii, goes Futaba-san as she turns subtly blue in the face watching me cut my finger, to the point I can¡¯t imagine she¡¯s the same Berserker who massacred all those Goma. This isn¡¯t like, one of those, look I¡¯m cute, acts that girls do right?

    With those light suspicions, I swipe the boxcutter over my left hand middle finger. And soon enough, a ball of fresh blood forms and dropsnd on the mud person. Huh, how much is some blood supposed to be anyway, I don¡¯t really get it¡­ hmm, several drops should be ok.

    ¡°And then you simply recite the aria, oh, is that it for prep work?¡±

    Leaving my fingertip¡¯s first-aid forter, I prioritize invoking the Curse.

    ¡°Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth¡ª Vile Mud Doll¡±[2]

    After chanting the aria without break, the change starts.

    The blood that had soaked into the mud without a trace, started rising and bubbling on the human shape. Me and Futaba-san both went ¡°Uwah!?¡± inadvertently at the disgusting process.

    Blood boiled and enveloped the entirety of the human shape¡ª wait, this is clearly more blood than the amount I dropped, the hell¡¯s goin¡¯ on. Anywho, I don¡¯t get the logic, but the human shape was now dyed crimson in blood, or so I thought or not, but this time, the bubbles of red all disappeared like water being sucked into the ground.

    ¡°¡­Eh, it¡¯s over?¡±

    I voice a doubt after around 10 seconds of silence, but just then, the human shape moved.

    ¡°Woah, this, it moved!?¡±

    A voice of surprise is raised a 2nd time.

    That which was a in human shaped clump of mud until just now, stood up. As if slipping out from the mold on the ground, the Mud Doll mechanically rose to its feet.

    Its form, was slightly deviated from that human shape that I had constructed, the head was strangely bigger, the limbs like that of an infant, like a 4 head-lengths distortion design.[3]

    ¡°W-wow¡­ Momokawa-kun, so this is¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, yep, you guessed it, this is the Vile Mud Doll¡±

    Vile Mud Doll A Puppet that moves to the will of its master. Absolute Obedience.

    For now, this is all I get for mental description. As always, it basically says obvious things you can tell at a nce, so as for what this thing can do, or if it can use any special techniques or magic, all the important bits are left in the dark.

    Also, it¡¯ll only move ording to me, is what it said in my brain. So like this, I can make a giant robot mud golem, or something, at this point, I don¡¯t buy it.

    ¡°Ehm, so, how do you move this thing?¡±

    This kind of thing, rather than voicemand, having it move by thinking about it should be the standard¡­ for starters, start walking!

    ¡°Wah, it¡¯s moving, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    ¡°Ohh, you¡¯re right!¡±

    On this rare asion where something actually went ording to my expectations, the Mud Doll swiftly moved its short legs and started walking. It started circling around my legs. Seems like it¡¯ll keep moving until it turns to butter if I don¡¯t tell it to stop.

    ¡°Stop¡±

    I said, and it stopped. It¡¯s unknown whether it heard my voice, but it¡¯s unmistakeable that my will is transmitted with something like telepathy. No, this Mud Doll doesn¡¯t have an ego so I should think of it like a radio controlled gadget.

    Now then, how precise is this thought control method, this calls for a test. I say that, but what should I make it do? Hmm, thinking to deeply seems useless, so for now, I¡¯ll just try whateveres to mind.

    ¡°Radio Calisthenics No.1¡±[4]

    As that hope-filled morning melody, a tune any Japanese countryman knows, resonates through my mind, matching the rhythm, the Mud Doll starts doing the Raise your Arms and Stretch your Back.

    ¡°And, one, two, three, four¡ª¡±

    ¡°Woah, amazing, it¡¯s really doing radio calisthenics!¡±

    The Mud Doll was different from somezy brat, and performed the exercise with proper modicum. I didn¡¯t have that clear of an image, but it correctly deciphered the information in my head, and moved with seemingly practiced motions.

    ¡°Yup, something like that¡±

    ¡°Ah, we¡¯re stopping?¡±

    Futaba-san looks a bit disappointed. Doing all the radio exercises right here is a bit waste of time after all. Also, the 2nd exercise has some embarrassing poses so I don¡¯t really remember anything but the first part.

    ¡°Operation gets full points, but the problem is power, right¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t look too strong¡±

    Exactly. This here looks to be as fragile as the appearance denotes.

    I try touching it, and it¡¯s the same feeling of mud I felt when I was collecting it. Gaining any sort of special hardiness, wasn¡¯t included.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s keep walking together along with this. It won¡¯t put up much of a fight, but should be good for a lure or something.¡±

    Thereupon, We, along with the as per usual unreliable Curse-made Mud Doll, dove into the deep forest spread out before my eyes.

    ¡°Still, feels like we¡¯d get lost if we go just a bit off track¡­¡±

    Now, walking inside the forest, the sense of direction is all but lost. Everywhere I turn, it¡¯s trees, trees, trees¡­ nothing distinguishable about them.

    If we weren¡¯t on this animal trail, we wouldn¡¯t have a clue as to which way to go.

    ¡°Ah, wait a bit¡±

    ¡°Ok¡±

    As I raise a voice to stall, Futaba-san immediatelyes to a stand still. Having awakened as a Berserker, she would no more follow along shivering while gripping onto my clothes¡¯ corners, but would boldly walk ahead and lead the advance. With her sub-weapon of the hatchet in one hand, she cut away the foliage obstructing our route, looking at it from behind she seemed quite sturdy. In fact, her back was wider than twice my own.

    Why I stopped the advance was for none other than harvesting.

    The discovery being Redshrooms that are known to pack enough power to kill an Armor Bear, and the other thing that was evidently expended, the Shamdelion. And gleefully, like those granpas and grannys that venture out to pick wild edibles, I began harvesting the poisonous mushrooms and inconspicuous weed-like herbs.

    I won¡¯t be letting Futaba-san help out here. Her role is look out. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the head of an Armor Bear pops out suddenly from the bushes over there.

    In her ce, the one being my picking partner is this Vile Mud Doll, but its efficiency could only be described ascking.

    ¡°Hmm, this is a serious power deficiency¡±

    Picking a single Redshroom or a single bundle of Shamdelions took all its might. I guess as long as the body itself is mud, the max strength would be up to the point where the mud wouldn¡¯t break.

    I¡¯d like to praise it for using its whole body, trying to extract the items with maximum effort, but then, me using the boxcutter to cut them out would be leagues faster.

    ¡°Ok, this is enough. Let¡¯s go¡±

    After finishing up some collecting not too far from the animal trail, finally, I tie one of the strips of Goma cloth to a nearby tree. It¡¯s a just-in-case sign for back-tracking.

    After that, I guess another hour passed. Simr to the forest way back when, this ce also had its ups and downs,rge roots on the way, iming up, going under, it wasn¡¯t that easy of a route. So though I say one hour, it¡¯s not like we got that far.

    The average walking speed of a Japanese is around 5 km(~3.1 miles). But that¡¯s the case when it¡¯s a t road withe no obstacles, not a forest where Mr. Bear can pop out anytime, so our speed is probably half of that or less.

    ¡°Around here, let¡¯s take a break¡±

    I¡¯m kinda out of breath, and so decided to stop for a bit.

    Fortunately, the Mud Doll has enough speed and stamina to match our pace, and right now, it¡¯s beside me sitting with knees up as if in standby mode.

    On the other hand, Futaba-san looks fine. I could make a guess that it has something to do with the Berserker vocation.

    The Berserker¡¯s three Novice Skills are listed below:

    Berserk Body A body, knowing only ughter

    Blood Boost Blood boils forth, to fight with no end

    One who Hears Hear the voice from afar. Reject not, rampage not, listen to it with certainty [5]

    The trouble is, the one and only hint that that can give us a clue as to what the effects of these abilities are, the descriptionsing to mind, everyst one of them was like something that someone like I, from the literature club and afflicted with chuunibyou, would write down, a collection of indecipherable vor text, and that, was fatal. This set of phrases, are practically useless.[6]

    What part and how much does Berserk Body strengthen? What amount does Blood Boost increase the blood. What¡¯s the rate per hour? Is there an upper limit? There¡¯s way too many questions.[7]

    And herees the worst, this mystery skill called One who Hears. This, in the first ce, I don¡¯t even know where to use this. Exactly what is this Skill for, with what kind of timing do you activate it, I don¡¯t get anything at all. Voice from afar, literally whose voice is this! Get me the VA(voice actor/actress) dammit!

    Anyway, leaving aside myints to the literary hack of a Berserker God, it¡¯s about that Berserk Body that incurs an effect on Futaba-san¡¯s physical strength. I think, it¡¯s likely somehow strengthening her, but Futaba-san herself doesn¡¯t seem to understand much about it she said.

    Futaba-san bashing around the Goma, clearly looks stronger than she was before, is my impression, But maybe it¡¯s her original strength wielded to perfection with the supplement of courage.

    And so, whether or not this Berserk Body is supplying the stamina so that she wouldn¡¯t get tired after walking for a while, is also something I can¡¯t be certain of.

    Well whatever it may be, the current Futaba-san has the super-strength to pop off Goma heads bare-handed, so lets just keep it there. Whether this powerup is a result of growth and augmentation of base status numbers, or because of some Skill, the origin, in this case, doesn¡¯t really matter.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, are we going ahead?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, shouldn¡¯t we? There hasn¡¯t been any Monsters, maybe we can pass the whole forest like this¡­¡°

    It¡¯s somewhat worrying. I¡¯d have thought we¡¯d get into a fight or two on the way, but the route was peaceful.

    ¡°How¡¯s the Compass? We¡¯re not off track right?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re good, the direction and the trail is still matching¡±

    I¡¯ve been frequently confirming the direction with the Magic Compass. Since its direction was spot on along the animal trail, our hike has been rtively easy.

    With that thought, I think it¡¯s fine to go along the animal trail until it diverges from the direction for today.

    ¡°No, maybe this trail, it¡¯s one that someone else cut open before us¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s ss Rep and the girls¡­¡±

    ¡°Could be Higuchi too¡±

    As both of us inadvertently voiced out names we have some history with, the air got a little awkward. But as a possibility, there¡¯s no denying it. Higuchi gang and ss Rep Team, there¡¯s no doubt that both are ahead of us.

    ¡°A-anyway hey, Futaba-san, after this w¡ª¡±

    I opened my mouth as if to imply that we shouldn¡¯t give a damn about those people, but right then, Futaba-san abruptly stood up.

    We were taking a break, tree trunks to our backs, sitting opposite to each other. Futaba-san was now standing up, her brows knit, and though not to the level of her rampage¡­ her face got scary.

    Wait, what, did I maybe, say something bad? Was reminding her of ss Rep that much of andmine?

    ¡°Ah, Um, Futaba-san?¡±

    In her silence, towards me, she takes a step. Her hand draws the hatchet at her waist.

    Eh, no way, for real. Wait, please wait, let¡¯s talk, let¡¯s talk ok? Let¡¯s separate from the weapon, and the distance too, let¡¯s calm down and talk it out Futaba-san.

    Of course my thoughts don¡¯t go across, an Futaba-san swings her hatchet.

    ¡°EH, WAI¡ª¡±

    Faced with such a sudden attack, I had no time to prepare for death, and the de of the hatchet made a dull sound of severing meat.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine now, Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°¡­Eh, what is?¡±

    As I timidly open the eyes I shut hard the moment the hatchet swung, I find, smiling with a single bead of cold sweat running down her cheek, her face before my eyes.

    A beatter, I realize. Doesn¡¯t hurt. Nothing hurts, and there¡¯s no blood. What Futaba-san cut, wasn¡¯t me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a big snake, look. Even if there¡¯s no poison, it¡¯ll be bad if something like this bites you¡±

    Fuu~, she lets out a delicate breath, and from right beside me, Futaba-san takes the snake, whose head was split with the hatchet, into her hands.

    Uwah, didn¡¯t notice at all. Even when this big a snake got right into my breathing space.

    ¡°T-thanks¡­ saved me there¡±

    Attuning to the sense of danger of something secretly closing in on my body, I feel my face dripping in sweat.

    This is a forest in another world. Not only Monsters, there¡¯s myriads of other dangerous animals inhabiting these parts. There¡¯s nothing strange about a snake of two crawling around, and there¡¯s not helping an amateur to survivalism like me getting closed in by one such animal.

    So, I can really die here just like that, once again apprehending such a fact, I shivered in fear. No, seriously, thank you Futaba-san.

    ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re wee¡±

    Replies Futaba-san with a cheerful smile like an angel, while taking the head-split snake, and uses the hatchet tond another strike. With a sound of shing, the snake¡¯s head drops.

    Futaba-san kicks the snake¡¯s detached head like a pebble, and as it disappears beyond the thicket, She grabs the tip of the neck portion of the rest of the body, and then proceeds to tear off the skin with all her strength as if trying to destroy it. Seeing her smooth movements, I¡¯m in mute amazement as, contrary to expectations, the snake was now cleanly skinned.

    ¡°Ehm, Futaba-san, what¡¯re you doing?¡±

    ¡°This snake, I thought we could eat it maybe¡±

    Its skin smoothly slid off, Futaba-san suspends the snake onto a nearby branch like a length of rope. Dark red blood started dripping out from the severed area on the neck. This must be that blood draining thing.

    ¡°Eh, we¡¯re, eating this?¡±

    ¡°Eh~, you won¡¯t eat it?¡±

    The hell, she¡¯s acting like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s strange for not wanting to eat it. In the first ce, this could be a poisonous snake, and trying to eat it is like, too much of a challenge or¡­

    ¡°A in old snake. It¡¯s a weakling and there¡¯s no poison, so you can eat it just fine¡­ Err, ah, this snake, looks like we can eat it, that¡¯s good¡±

    ¡°Really? Yay~¡±

    Intuition Pharmacy went off, and again, it was this careless kind of exnation, which confirmed that this snake was suitable as food. With definite proof that we can eat it, Futaba-san is absolutely thrilled. Looking to the snake corpse dripping in blood. Way too wild for a highschool girl from current day Japan.

    ¡°Futaba-san, so, how do we eat this¡±

    ¡°Hmm, there¡¯s no choice but roasting I guess. We don¡¯t have salt or pepper, and without the seasoning it won¡¯t taste that good¡­ but we should still get in the meat content¡±

    ¡°Aah, now that you mention it, we¡¯ve only been having walnuts haven¡¯t we¡±

    We can believe the information that it¡¯s packed with nutrition, but no matter how you look at it, only those won¡¯t be able to maintain your fitness of body. We¡¯re not squirrels. We need our proper helping of protein.

    ¡°Yeah, the path ahead of here, should take us a while I think. So, it¡¯ll be great if we can eat our fill¡±

    You¡¯re damn right. And there aren¡¯t any cracks in that perfectly constructed line of argument, but then a roar was unleashed from Futaba-san¡¯s rotund middle, and it became a big fail.

    ¡°So Futaba-san wanted to have meat this much¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say iiiit!!¡±

    While regretting that rude slip of tongue, I thought that from now, I should employ Intuition Pharmacy to also see if the Monsters we kill are edible too. Well, even if they are, I wouldn¡¯t put my mouth anywhere near a Goma though.

    ________________________

    [1] Cabaret/Hostess club It¡¯s like a mellowed down strip club? I wouldn¡¯t know >.>

    [2] ›Aá¤ÎÄàÈËÐÎ ¡ª Odaku no Doro Ningyou ¡ª Vile Mud Doll. The Vile part has the meaning of pollution, contamination, corruption etc.

    [3] It¡¯s the kid 2nd from the right. Eh, nsfw? it¡¯s educational! Erm, Simply said, the head is 1/4 of the body.

    [4] Example, I guess people know Radio Taiso if you¡¯ve seen enough jap media. In fact, it¡¯s even a big thing in Re: Zero (lol).

    [5] ¡­ this is hard. I¡¯ll say this first, I¡¯m not sure about the romaji pronunciations. So ok, ¿ñÇû ¡ª Kyou Mukuro ¡ª Berserk Body. The first part is straight forward, Kyou ~ Berserk, but the second part, Mukuro means dead body, but I based it to be simr to Blessed Body, so the end result is like that.

    Next is ‰ˆÑª ¡ª Zou Chi ¡ª Blood Boost, Zou is increment, and Chi is blood.

    Finally, Éù¤òÂ„¤¯Õß ¡ª Koe o Kiku Mono ¡ª One who Hears. This one¡¯s just¡­ anyway, literally, one who hears the voice, I shortened it for aesthetic reasons, I don¡¯t think the nuance is too different, its a pretty out there name in the first ce. The description for this one is iffy as well.

    [6] I¡¯d think you know what chuunibyou is. I could call it being colorful of mind¡­

    [7] So he says Berserk Body strengthens, sure there¡¯s some truth to it but it¡¯s also a pun/hearing discrepancy since there¡¯s Kyou in Kyou Mukuro and Kyouka (strengthen). It¡¯s likely that he heard the names and descriptions from Futaba, so the mimunication is valid?

 Chapter 28: Frog of the Lake

    Chapter 28: Frog of the Lake

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s¡ª¡°

    After Futaba-san hunted that snake, we ended our break, and have been advancing for a while now. And all of a sudden, the trees cleared up, and our field of view widened.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s ake¡±

    Just as Futaba-san expressed kind of like a tourist, over there, was ake right in the middle of the forest.

    ¡°From closer, it must be really pretty¡±

    Reflecting white light, the glittering water surface was calm, and the pristine water was so clear you could see the bottom, I could tell that much standing back here. From up close, it should be even more illustrious. It¡¯s a sight I could honestlypare to a tourist spot.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to not get too close though. We haven¡¯t got a clue as to what kind of aquatic Monsters are in there.¡±

    As we¡¯ve secured a practically infinite supply of potable water in the Fairy Square, there¡¯s no reason for us to approach theke.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep away from theke, and go around¡±

    There¡¯s no other choice. With Futaba-san as vanguard, and keeping theke to our right, we make towards circling around it.

    ¡°¡­Huh?¡±

    The problem, appears all too soon.

    ¡°What happened, Momokawa-kun?¡±

    ¡°The Compass, it¡¯s still pointing to theke¡±

    After going around the perimeter quite a bit, I nonchntly check on the Magic Compass, to find this happening.

    ¡°Probably a coincidence. Let¡¯s go, a bit more¡±

    But, my naive hopes are shot down fast. The Compass continues to point to the center of theke.

    I¡¯d have thought it was telling us to go to the opposite bank, but no matter how far we advance, it keeps pointing at theke. Even though I can¡¯t see any path there.

    ¡°The Note Circle going haywire¡­ isn¡¯t, possible right¡­¡±

    Futaba-san can¡¯t be med for saying that. In fact, I thought the same thing at first.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the Note Circle is bugging out or not, and right now, we¡¯ve got no way of confirming that either¡±

    If thispass function of the Note Circle is really going funky, then our dungeon capture wille at aplete standstill right here.

    ¡°I guess, we need to steel ourselves and look into theke after all¡±

    This isn¡¯t the great outdoors but a mysterious dungeon chock full of crazy gimmicks. That being the case, there¡¯s no reason for there not to be a hidden path inside theke. If possible I¡¯d like there not to be some annoying mechanism that tells us to bring back a key, or a stone tablet, or Key Item, or some bullshit puzzle or riddle to find the password or something.

    ¡°Let¡¯s look in the water, see if you find something¡±

    And so, we put on our vignce, and with caution, bring ourselves closer to theke. Looking at it anew, it just looks like a beautifulke. In the clear water, I could find schools of fish swimming around.

    For a time, as if tracing back our path, we slowly circle along thekeside.

    ¡°How is it, Futaba-san, see anything?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, No, not rea¡ª Ah¡±

    Looking as if she found something already, Futaba-san raised her voice and pointed.

    ¡°There, something like a building is under the water!¡±

    I focus at the pointed direction¡­ but yeah, can¡¯t see anything. It¡¯s not as bad that I¡¯d need sses, but seems like Futaba-san has me beat in the eyesight department. Or maybe it¡¯s Berserk Body strengthening her vision.

    ¡°Kay, let¡¯s go¡±

    Of course, I don¡¯t mean inside the water. We¡¯re relocating to a ce where I¡¯ll be able to see the structure Futaba-san saw. Fortunately, it¡¯s not too far. Or more like, it¡¯s right where we started from, came out of the forest and arrived at theke.

    ¡°Woah, how did I not notice something like this¡­¡±

    That thing appeared so clearly inside theke that I unconsciously leaked out such an impression.

    At a nce, it looked to be a bridge sunken in theke. I say sunken, but the depth to the path was only around 30 cm. If I can afford for these flimsy school-designated indoor shoes to get soaked inside out, then it¡¯s an easy walk across.

    The width is around that of a 1-carne, so there¡¯s plenty of breathing room. If we walk along normally, as long as the bridge itself doesn¡¯t copse, we won¡¯t miss our footing.

    This Waterline looks as if it spans the wholeke, going straight across. I can¡¯t confirm if it really ends at the other side though.[1]

    ¡°Hey, are we, crossing this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to, to be honest, but this is what the Compass is saying you know¡­¡±

    Apparently, this is the correct route. We just need to resolve ourselves, and march on.

    Thus reluctantly, I put one foot into the water and then.

    Bubbles suddenly start rising. Doesn¡¯t look like any natural phenomenon. It was undeniable proof of something in the water, something spewing out air.

    ¡°Something¡¯s there!? Get back!¡°

    Futaba-san, despite herrge body, does a sharp back-step, while I on the other hand, spin around in feverish haste and pathetically run like a madman. As I get my huffing body near to the forest and rest my hand on a tree, with a piercing sound of sshing water, a great shadow springs out from theke.

    ¡°Uwawah, a frog! It¡¯s a big frog Momokawa-kun!¡±

    On top of the Waterline, as if blocking all traffic, exactly as Futaba-san said, there sat a big frog. Yeah, really big. I mean, this guy can probably swallow me whole, that big.

    Overall, it looks to be bigger than even an Armor Bear. But it seems to have glossy skin like its Earth-born brothers, so it¡¯s likely softer-skinned than the Armor Bear, and des will work on it, I hope.

    Its figure, short and stout, the surface of its skin was rugged with warts like a bullfrog. I can only hope it doesn¡¯t spit any poison.

    ¡°Futaba-san, quietly. Maybe it isn¡¯t aiming for us¡±

    ¡°Ehh, but this frog, it¡¯s aiming for Momokawa-kun see!¡±

    ¡°Eh, really!? You can tell!¡±

    ¡°I can! Ehm, it¡¯s like, it feels like that!¡±

    Is this another of the Berserker¡¯s powers? In the three Novice Skills, there wasn¡¯t anything like Sense Presence, so is it like a Hidden Status or something? Anywho, right now, I should believe her words instead of doubting them.

    Which would imply, that we have no choice but to fight.

    ¡°Futaba-san, up for it?¡±

    ¡°No problem! It¡¯s like a bullfrog, so I bet we can eat it!¡±

    No, I¡¯m not asking about your cooking hobby¡­ but yeah, Futaba-san looks like she can fight this, so let¡¯s count that as an affirmative.

    ¡°Sic ¡¯em Mud Doll! Entwine its escape, with weaving hair¡ªckhair Bind!¡±

    With the usual ckhair Bind to seal movement, this time Ibo with the Mud Doll in hopes that it distracts the enemy even a bit, and send it running as an advance troop.

    Honestly, there¡¯s the chance that this giant frog won¡¯t even notice this flimsy little 30 cm Mud Doll, but a try¡¯s a try. Crossing my fingers here¡ª

    ¡°Uwah, that could¡¯ve gone better¡­¡±

    Picking up a branch-cum-spear from the surroundings, the brave Private Mud Doll rushed ahead. However, the giant frog was on the Waterline. The depth being just around 30 cm. The moment it charged into theke, it went fully submerged in water, and like what happens when you put mud balls in water, the Mud Doll became a ck stain and dispersed. Leaving only the spear-cum-branch bobbing up and down the water surface.

    The hell, so useless. Even on my end, my connection-like thing with it popped out of existence, showing that the curse was totally extinguished.

    ¡°It¡¯s on you Futaba-san! The bind won¡¯t hold for that long!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, count on me!¡±

    Waiting for ckhair Bind to be invoked, a beat after the Mud Doll¡¯s meaningless assault, Futaba-san sprang forth full power wielding her battle-axe.

    Beyond her, still bulking on the bridge, sat the frog. That fixed state, was probably not because of the insignificant bundles of hair grabbing onto its log-like forelegs.

    The meager amount of ckhair aiming to seal such arge creature¡¯s forelimbs, looked painfully unreliable.

    But, for the current me, this is my maximum level of restricting ability. Speaking of, this Curse, it¡¯s gonna levelup and get stronger, right¡­ I¡¯m getting somete-game anxiety here.

    ¡°Plunge into permanent swelter, and curse the body¡ª Red Fever!¡±

    And as I cast my final support technique, the only subtly effective Curse No.1, Futaba-san closes in enough to get into attack range.

    ¡°YaAAAAAAA!¡±

    Raising a lovely yet gant roar-like cry of female pitch, she aimed for the frog¡¯s crown and swung down her axe with tremendous power.

    Right then, the giant frog jumped back with agility surprising for its body size, and dodged the axe¡¯s trajectory.

    To no surprise, my ckhair Bind had no restrictive effect at all. Or more like, can frogs even do back jumps, structurally speaking?

    The hell is this, fuck! I cursed internally with various grievances, but then,

    ¡°Uwah!?¡±

    In front of me, a wet, revoltingly pink mass of meat was closing in.

    When I realized that, that was the long tongue of the giant frog that flew out from its gapingrge mouth, my feeble body had already been wrapped up and captured.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun!?¡±

    Without being able to make any form of resistance, the moment I tried to swing my spear, I was getting dragged towards the frog¡¯s mouth. That strength reeling me in, forget someone like me, it wasn¡¯t something a mere human could resist.

    Being pulled in with what can be appropriately called monstrous strength, I cut through the air leaving being my scream, and the scenery.

    There wasn¡¯t any revolvingntern like effect with the memories of my life shing by, just thinking ¡°Ah, I¡¯m dead¡±, I simply stared at the frog¡¯s gaping mouth like a fool.

    Therge mouth was glistening with sputum, it somehow looked glowing red. As if, it were the entrance to Hell¡ª I was about to think, when the lid on that Hell closed shut. The red, was dyed in ck.

    ¡°BuwaAAAAAAA!?¡±

    I experience the split-second feeling of mming into cold water, and at the same time, the shock of being thrown down rolling from a bike roaring down a hill slope. Which trantes as, I fell onto the Waterline with the same inertia I had while being reeled in by the frog¡¯s tongue, and rolled around a bunch of times.

    Falling in water meant that it didn¡¯t hurt so much, but I almost drowned a bit. mming in there like that, I was made to understand that humans really can drown in a mere 30 cm of water, as I anguished in the stinging feeling of water invading my nostrils.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, are you ok?¡±

    ¡°S-somehow¡­¡±

    As I shake my drenched long-haired head like a dog, I look around the vicinity to find Futaba-san vigntly holding her axe. And crying, Ogheghee!, the figure of Great Frog looked to be in pain, sshing out green blood from the tip of its tongue. [2]

    It appeared, that Futaba-san barely made it as she severed its tongue, and prevented me from being swallowed whole. I see the logic behind it, but this girl who was a normal highschooler just a few days ago, performing such a masterful disy of superhuman technique, is certainly worth merit. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s scarier, the vocation Berserker or her own talent.

    Anyway, that saved me. That I could carefreely dere so, isn¡¯t so surprising, since in the next moment, the battle came to a quick conclusion.

    The first to move was, having recovered from the pain of its tongue severing, the Great Frog. It flew into a mad rage, and hoarsely crying out like a genuine frog, spitting saliva everywhere, it charged.

    With its folded up hind legs, its jump, the identity of a frog, was not to be seen, as it stomped along on the Waterline on all 4 limbs without the slightest care.

    Facing that, Futaba-san stood strong waiting, her wide back seemed as if it was dering it would protect me. But no matter how much Futaba-sanpletely obliterates the average young woman¡¯s height x mass, there¡¯s a clear difference from the true monster ss size of the Great Frog.

    A scene replicating a traffic ident involving a truck crashing head on, right before the moment of such an impact, the battle-axe shone.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Exactly what kind of event that surmised, someone like me with my totally average eyesight wouldn¡¯t catch any sight of. Truly, a speed surpassing the limits of vision.

    However, I clearly witnessed the resulted attained by such an event.

    The Great Frog that was rushing, was pitifully sent flying.

    Looking at that frog-kun, I get a sense of pity.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Knight¡¯s Skill Repel!¡±

    That¡¯s right, it¡¯s that very same ability we tested out when I had just made Futaba-san my ally, I tasted this same Repel. The result: it was the same as mine, as the Great Frog was now pitifully struggling belly up, lying on top of the Waterline.

    Still, even against a Great Frog, it invoked at such pinpoint timing¡­ no, that it sent the creature flying in a full-frontal attack, would be the most surprising aspect.

    ¡°YaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡±

    And then, Futaba-san, not missing that massive opening of an animal overturned and madly iling away, this time truly, dealt the fatal blow.

    Therge axe de pierced into the soft-looking white skin covering frog¡¯s neck, ruining the nice scenery with a shower of green blood.

    ¡°Uwah, sorry Momokawa-kun, looks like, we maybe won¡¯t be eating this frog after all¡±

    Tahaha, Futaba-sanughed wryly after herplete victory, and with that, the duel over the Waterline came to its end.

    ________________________

    [1] Waterline = underwater path, a uselessly coined term cos it makes things nicer.

    [2] The frog is described multiple ways, until it settles at this line as Great Frog ¡ª Dai Kaeru.

 Chapter 29: Transfer Circle

    Chapter 29: Transfer Circle

    After Futaba-san brought down the Great Frog with her overwhelming Berserker strength, we thought to waste no time and aim ahead.

    The Magic Compass went like, Over there! and pointed to the middle of theke, in other words, the circr za-like area we reached upon arriving at the end of the Waterline.

    ¡°But like, there¡¯s nothing here¡­¡±

    The trouble is, it¡¯s just a in old open space here. Like the Waterline, it was 30 cm deep under water, and spread out like a stone-paved floor. Structurally, it had the feeling of a giant pir rising from the bottom of theke with us standing right on top.

    ¡°Hmm¡±

    I let out useless groans as I try to search for a gimmick or something. From the fact that Natsukawa Minami was making use of traps, we can pretty much conclude that this dungeon is riddled with contraptions of all sorts. Since the Compass was so obstinately directing us here, there¡¯s just got to be something.

    I say that, but we¡¯ve got zero hints here. Neither is there some switch-like thing to slide open some hidden door, nor some kind of epitaph telling us to solve a riddle.

    If forced to say, there¡¯s the point that the stone floor has a Magic Circle-like thing drawn over it, which would be the only clue-ish detail. But, that may as well be a part of its decoration too.

    I roll up my sleeves, and plunge my hands into the water, touching my fingers to the Magic Circle spreading out below my feet.

    ¡°Yeah, no use after all¡±

    The sensation on my fingertips, was that of hard stone, and of slippery moss growing on top. I don¡¯t know how long this ce has been underwater, but this environment is perfect for the moss to culture.

    Thinking as such, I was gliding my hand over the surface, when an sudden feeling of tenderness caught on my finger.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Raising my arm out from the water¡ª it felt as if my heart stopped.

    ¡°NuwaAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    On my fingertip was, an elliptical ck creature dangling down. Like a powerful suction cup, its mouth-ish part was clutching onto the tip of my index finger.

    Yup, it was a leech. A big fat leech. It¡¯s a whole frickin¡¯ 15 cm leech dammit.

    ¡°Aaa!?¡±

    I started iling around my arm like half crazy, but it wasn¡¯t only big, but had quite the suction power as well, and wouldn¡¯te off so easy. During which, the leech was increasingly sucking out more of my blood, in its semi-transparent, I saw red fluid collecting from the outside.

    ck Bloodline Blood that¡ª[1]

    ¡°GyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Just now, I think I saw something like a Curse description, but right now I¡¯m busy with a giant leech gulping away at my blood, so I wasn¡¯t in a state to read into it. There¡¯s no feeling of pain, but getting such a gratuitous disy of my blood draining into its half transparent body, it was frankly so disgusting I want to cry. No wait, I¡¯m crying a little already.

    ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ g-got it off¡­¡±

    In the end, I seeded in detaching it from my finger by trampling it underfoot. It wasn¡¯t my intention, but I kinda put too much weight on it and it got squashed under my shoes. Like a red haze, my sucked-out blood dispersed into the water.

    ¡°Mo-Momokawa-kun! Are you alright!?¡±

    As I finished making my one-manmotion, my partner, the Berserker Futaba-san stomped in with herrge body and swinging breasts.[2]

    ¡°I¡¯m f-fine¡­ or rather, looks like there¡¯s some big leeches on the floor, so be careful okay¡±

    ¡°E-Eeeh!?¡±

    Her eyes rolling around, Futaba-san sshed around her feet in the water. Making sure there aren¡¯t any icky blood-sucking organisms around and on her legs, she ended her dance.

    ¡°More importantly, what about the core?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I have it here!¡±

    While I was checking out the circr za, I had requested Futaba-san to go collect the core from the Great Frog. As expected of Shiramine Academy¡¯s cooking club ace, it was child¡¯s y.

    She was disying a full-faced smile as she held out the red crystal. No doubt, it¡¯s the core. It¡¯s the 2nd time I¡¯m seeing it. First being the stolen one from the Armor Bear.

    Thinking back, it feels like the Great Frog¡¯s one looks somewhat smaller than the Armor Bear¡¯s. Is it rted to the Monsters overall strength after all? Both are pretty simr in size, but the Armor Bear has to be stronger in terms of battle prowess.

    ¡°Thanks. But on my end, I¡¯m not too far from where I start¡ª¡±

    I attempted to report the results of my unfruitful investigation, but then, a sudden change came about.

    ¡°Uwah, what the, the Circle¡¯s shining!¡±

    As if it was waiting for Futaba-san to get here, the engraving spreading around our feet radiated red. Seems it wasn¡¯t just a design choice, but a real Magic Circle.

    ¡°Wh, wha-wah, what do we do Momokawa-kun!?¡±

    You¡¯re asking me, but I know exactly zilch about magic, so I don¡¯t know any countermeasures either.

    However, I noticed that the core in Futaba-san¡¯s hand is also glowing as if matching the Magic Circle¡¯s luminance.

    ¡°Look, the core! Whatever, just throw it!¡±

    ¡°Eei!¡±

    And then, Futaba-san quickly threw away the all important core. Drawing a clean arc, just before plopping into the water, as if it was literally a shbang, the core released dazzling red light.

    ¡°Uwah¡ª¡±

    Vision instantly lost. I reflexively closed my eyes, and sensed the sh of intense light on the other side of my eyelids. Makes you think, if I open my eyes now I¡¯ll definitely be blind.

    As reasoned, the time I next opened my eyes, would be after another 30 seconds passed. Only after I made sure that at least those intense rays had gone.

    ¡°Mm¡­ Futaba-san, you okay?¡±

    ¡°O-ok¡ª¡±

    Turning to the voice, Futaba-san¡¯srge figure blurrily enters my view. I confirm that we¡¯re both alright, but right after, I notice the change.

    ¡°Huh, wait¡­ It¡¯s not theke¡±

    As my flickering vision adapts to the surroundings and returns to normal, I notice theplete change in scenery.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a Fairy Square¡­ right?¡±

    Yup, I could agree immediately, since right in front of me, there stood the very symbol of security and relief in this dungeon, the cute statue of miss Fairy on the fountain.

    However, both me and the one who raised question, Futaba-san too perhaps, were bewildered by the slight change we saw in the Square as a whole.

    The size is around the same. But, how should I say it¡­ the green iscking. It used to feel like a nature-filled public park, but this cepletely feels indoorsy. There¡¯s only a pair of Fairy Walnut trees on both sides, and the blooming flowerbed isn¡¯t to be found. Instead, there¡¯s a few nters poised around the fountain as if topensate.

    It¡¯s kinda, really dreary looking.

    ¡°Oi oi, this for real, we¡¯re set Nishiyama, somebody came!¡±

    ¡°Hold it, careful Hirano, what¡¯re we gonna do if it¡¯s Higuchi or something?¡±

    As I heard voices, my pulse immediately increased from tension.

    Shit, there¡¯s someone¡ª no, from the voices and words, it¡¯s a guy and a girl, 2 people; there¡¯s Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san here!

    ¡°Ooh, it¡¯s, Momokawa huh¡­ and also, Uooh, Futaba-san?¡±

    ¡°Ah, them? That¡¯s good, it wasn¡¯t someone weird¡±

    I look to find, unmistakeably, the figures of my two ssmates.

    The oneughing wildly, standing tall in his gym clothing, was Hirano-kun. My seat number is 19 and his being 18, he sat in front of me right from the very start of 2nd year(11th grade), and though we¡¯re not really friends, I at least know his name and face. Incidentally, because of that wide back of his, I had quite a bit of trouble following the ckboard.

    The other, in sailor fashion, Nishiyama-san, also isn¡¯t someone I¡¯m particrly close with. More like, I have literally nil close rtions with any girl, but let¡¯s leave that matter aside right now.

    Nishiyama-san is of average build and height, not of any outstanding appearance, and wears sses. She could be considered a in girl, and wasn¡¯t particrly a loner either. She had her friends in ss, and I recall seeing her in a chatting normally with her group during breaks.

    They¡¯re harmless students who had been living ordinary school lives. But now, in this severe dungeon survival scenario, we can¡¯t let our guard down with anyone.

    Anyway, these two don¡¯t look like they¡¯re going to start indiscriminately attacking like Higuchi¡ª but, I¡¯m still on alert.

    Reason being, they¡¯re a 2 person team, and here¡¯s the me and Futaba-sanbo. In other words, right here once again, there came that cursed number, the number 4.

    ¡°S-sup, hello there¡­¡±

    I desperately try to cover up my vignce with a wry smile, and return a greeting.

    Now, will these two be ally, or else, enemy. I personally would prefer it not to devolve into killing each other, but I can only pray my thoughts are answered.

    ________________________

    [1] ü\¤ÎÑªÃ} ¡ª Kuro no Kechimyaku ¡ª ck Bloodline. Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know~

    [2] Berserker is said in Engrish here, like Baa-zaa-kaa

 Chapter 30: The Hirano-Nishiyama pair

    Chapter 30: The Hirano-Nishiyama pair

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa, Futaba-san, help us beat the Boss, I¡¯m beggin¡¯ ya here!¡±

    As his first series of words, Hirano-kun came to us with that.

    ¡°Err, by Boss you mean?¡±

    For the moment, it seems like he isn¡¯t bent on attacking us, so I try probing by returning a question.

    ¡°A Dog, it¡¯s a dog man, a big version of those red ones! It¡¯s like, super fast, and dodges Magic too, we seriously can¡¯t do a thing with just me and Nishiyama¡±

    ¡°Uh huh¡±

    Seems like a chief-like Monsters for the Red Dogs is the Boss Hirano-kun¡¯s talking about, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re in a game so something like Boss Monsters give a feel like, the hell¡¯s with that.

    ¡°Am I right to think, Momokawa-kun, you don¡¯t know about the Boss?¡±

    Perhaps inferring from my face that seemed not to fully ept the premise, the sses wearing Nishiyama asked. For now, let¡¯s quietly ept my ignorance.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been transferred here, so I¡¯d have thought you beat the Boss¡±

    ¡°Do you mean, that frog?¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you had a frog. In our case, it was a Skeleton though¡±

    From there, roughly ording to Nishiyama-san¡¯s words, it appears that this Boss is the Monster that rests in the room with the Magic Circle you use for warping to other areas.

    This dungeon isn¡¯t fully connected via physical passages, and in specific spots, there seems to be space-time discement, in other words, warp enabled Transfer Circles set up. Furthermore, it¡¯s decided that this warp room will have arge ss Monster inhabiting it, and the mechanism¡¯s set such that the Transfer Circle won¡¯t activate unless you beat it. To be point-nk, you need that Monster¡¯s core to work the Circle so all paths lead to beating the Monster anyway.

    ¡°First time I¡¯m hearing it, all of that¡±

    ¡°Seriously? It was written in and simple though¡±

    ¡°I think, the info getting to us has individual differences in timing¡±

    At some point before I realized, my Note Circle was updated with the info on Goma. So it could be that, depending on the vocation, different amounts of informatione in, it¡¯s a possibility.

    Anyway, rather than pondering on this kinda-useful but maybe not Note Circle info, I need to prioritize forming a pact of cooperation with these ssmates.

    ¡°Err, So uhm, you mean to say, we can¡¯t progress without beating that Red Dog Boss¡±

    ¡°Yes exactly, simple right?¡±

    ¡°Any alternate routes? Or what about secret passages or loopholes?¡±

    ¡°This floor is constructed in a simple box shape, so the farthest room is the Boss room any side you pick¡± [1]

    ording to Nishiyama-san¡¯s exnation, right after exiting this Fairy Square, the path splits to the left and right. And going either way, you go the same distance in a monotonous path until the paths connect again. Finally, as if ced exactly opposite to this Fairy Square, you find the Boss Room.

    The paths on both sides are connected to many other rooms, but don¡¯t lead into any other passages, and apparently, a fixed number of Skeletonse out inside.

    Hmm, maybe they¡¯re being made somewhere else, and then sent to all the rooms with Transfer Magic? Well, there¡¯s no way Monsters would just pop into existence in real life, so one could think it¡¯s aplished through the power of magic.

    ¡°About hidden passages, sorry but with our vocations and skill sets, it¡¯s impossible¡±

    ¡°You gotta be a Thief or somethin¡¯ for doin¡¯ that¡±

    A Thief¡¯s detection Skills are something I¡¯m well aware of from hearing about Natsukawa Minami from Futaba-san.

    And, these two must also know of a Thief¡¯s Skills since they mentioned it.

    Implying, either one of them is a Thief, or they know one, I can think of those 2 possibilities. Right, let¡¯s take this chance to probe them.

    ¡°Thief Skills huh, you know any details?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah, I mean, right¡­¡±

    ¡°Hirano-kun, we have to tell them. I mean, if we don¡¯t, they won¡¯t see just how scary that Boss is¡±

    You¡¯re right, said a paling Hirano-kun, as he collected his thoughts and began talking.

    ¡°Actually, we also had Itou¡±

    In other words, Itou Seiji, it must be him. There¡¯s no Itou among the girls so there¡¯s no mistake.

    He was like me, the type that doesn¡¯t stand out in ss. As for his club activities or friend circle, I only ever rarely spoke to him so I don¡¯t know.

    ¡°So you mean, Itou-kun was a Thief¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks to that guy, we cleared the first ce he easy¡±

    ¡°He could find traps, and even open Treasure Chests¡±

    ¡°¡­ Treasure Chests? There¡¯s those too?¡±

    Ridiculous, it¡¯s be more and more RPG than IRL! as if reading my thoughts, ¡°No way Momokawa, you don¡¯t even know about Treasure Chests¡±, both their expressions seemed to say.

    ¡°Well, I guess you gotta be a Thief to find those chests huh. Anyway, I don¡¯t really get it but they really exist, Treasure Chests.¡±

    ¡°Inside, you can find things like mana recovery potions, and if you¡¯re lucky, even weapons. Look, this wand I¡¯m using, we found this in a Treasure Chest too¡±

    Looking at which, she¡¯s holding a 50 cm(~20in) long thin branch-like stick with a big green marble-like stone fixed to the tip, ¡°I¡¯m a wind attribute wand!¡± it gave a strong impression as such. If I saw this in modern Japan, I¡¯d think it¡¯s a quality cosy essory, bute to the otherworld, this must be the genuine article.

    ¡°Hee~, pretty cool¡­ but, Itou-kun not being here means¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, uh yeah, you guessed it¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s when we first encountered the Boss, see. In the floor before this, it was really easy, and there¡¯s also that fact that we got a bit cocky¡­¡±

    Looking at their pained expressions, they¡¯ve faced real human death, and understand the cruelty of the dungeon, is the impression I get.

    ¡°But dude, we can¡¯t just stay here right. The Boss is scary as hell, but if we can¡¯t beat it, we can¡¯t get outta here¡±

    Of course, with the area set up so simple that there¡¯s no use looking for other routes, it¡¯s the same as saying we¡¯re stuck here. Thanks to the Fairy Square, we won¡¯t starve right away, but sooner orter we¡¯ll reach the limit no doubt.

    ¡°So we¡¯re beggin¡¯ ya man, all 4 of us workin¡¯ together, we might just do it!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s fine and all but¡­¡±

    At this point, I¡¯m not denying we have to beat the Boss to progress. What¡¯s bothering me is, whates after.

    ¡°You two, you already know, about how only 3 people can escape right?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah, that a, well, yea¡­¡±

    Hirano-kun makes a slightly awkward face. Once you know this utter despair-inducing number restriction rule, it¡¯s a truly natural reaction.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the right time to think about that. And with only 3 people, don¡¯t you think we won¡¯t progress in this dungeon at all?¡±

    I see, Nishikawa-san makes a valid point. Even the Armor Bear, it¡¯s too dangerous a Monster to challenge it with just three people. As we go through the dungeon, I can¡¯t think there won¡¯t be powerful Monsters lying in wait. No, if we go with the premise that the whole dungeon has a Boss Room system like this ce, then the deeper we go, there will definitely be tougher Monsters stationed.

    There¡¯s no way I can disregard the merits of gathering more than 3 members.

    ¡°But, there are guys who won¡¯t think like that. They won¡¯t cooperate, that much is still ok, but guys who like to kill first ask questionster¡­ could also be there¡±

    In fact, I can attest to it. Case in point, there¡¯s Higuchi who made no pause in deciding to kill me. But I don¡¯t need to particrly mention that. I need to be very careful how much of my info and experience I reveal to these two.

    ¡°Think a bit, if we have more than three on our side, they can¡¯t attack us so easily right?¡±

    Power in numbers. Adding to that, us having vocations make it so that our strength is likely more than meets the eye. Even with a gathering of frail-looking girls, it could be that actually, all of them can st out fire balls or something.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying, we prioritize conquering the dungeon, and leave thinking of escape forter?¡±

    ¡°Yes, somewhere along the line, we could even find something other than that Divine Gate. Also, look at us, aren¡¯t we strong? We can probably make it out of the forest outside too¡±

    Finding fault¡­ or opposing these hope-filled words, it¡¯s too early for that. Certainly, we do know too little about this otherworld. What we can do, what we can¡¯t. It may be time to not narrow down, but look into increasing our choices.

    ¡°Got it, I¡¯m sorry for the nonsense. For now, let¡¯s work together, and aim for crushing that Boss¡±

    ¡°Ooh, thanks a bunch Momokawa!¡±

    ¡°Thanks Momokawa-kun, we finally got some hope!¡±

    Weugh, and somewhat exchange handshakes. For the time being, we¡¯ve established a cooperation pact, and the mood is calm¡­ but Futaba-san has been silent for all this while so I¡¯m worried.

    ¡°¡­ Momokawa-kun, you¡¯re fine with this?¡±

    As I nce towards her, she brings her face close and asks in a whisper.

    ¡°For now, it¡¯s better to work together. But¡­ if the timees, be ready¡±

    It may be obvious, but I don¡¯t wholeheartedly trust Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san yet. I can say I agree with Nishiyama-san¡¯s opinion. But while saying logical niceties on the outside, they could be secretly nning to trick us, it¡¯s a possibility I can¡¯t deny.

    It¡¯s a sad story, but if they betray, I can¡¯t really do much. If on top, even Futaba-san betrays me, then it¡¯s really over. A Shaman with no allies, is much too powerless.

    ¡°OK, leave it to me, Momokawa-kun¡±

    I¡¯d given her the obvious warning, but Futaba-san smiled and replied powerfully.

    ¡°Hirano-kun, Nishiyama-san, from me too, best regards¡±

    Along with Futaba-san¡¯s bright smile and exchanged greetings, our jolly party of 4 was formed.

    ¡°Well then, first is self-intros, or rather should I say vocation-intros?¡±

    ¡°Oi Nishiyama, that stuff, we can just figure out with some Skeleton hunting right?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right, that¡¯s right. You could say it¡¯ll be much more clear that way. So Momokawa-kun, Futaba-san, we¡¯d like to go fight some Skeletons, and have everyone see each other¡¯s powers, is that alright?¡±

    Now then, it¡¯s a bit sudden, but seems like it¡¯se to the time where I must reveal my vocation.

    Well, there¡¯s no way we can fight the Boss without everyone having a grasp of each other¡¯s abilities. So long as we¡¯re cooperating, we need toy out our powers, to the bare necessity that is.

    ¡°¡­ Got it, let¡¯s go¡±

    ________________________

    [1] Box isn¡¯t urate, it¡¯s more like an ellipse with two pointed ends as we¡¯ll see a bitter.

 Chapter 31: Skeleton

    Chapter 31: Skeleton

    Coming out of the Fairy Square, it was the same old stone-paved passage greeting us. But different from the same old was the point that it was much cleaner. Rather than new, it gave the feeling of not yet deteriorated.

    The stone walls didn¡¯t disy a single crack, even moss hadn¡¯t grown. Even the light panels illuminating the passage from the ceiling, seemed to glow somewhat brighter.

    The path draws a loose curve, so the Boss Room at the end isn¡¯t visible, all in all the perspective is quite narrow. But as long as the ceiling or floor doesn¡¯t suddenly open up, or we don¡¯t get suddenly warped in the middle of the passage, there¡¯s likely no risk of surprise attacks.

    ¡°Hirano-kun, I have some idea, but the Skeleton, what kind of Monster is it?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re uh, you know, just bones. Well, Itou¡¯s the one who started calling ¡¯em Skeletons though.[1]¡±

    Seems like it¡¯s none other than that stereotypical Skeleton. The pure white collections of bone rattling along as they attack, they appear frequently in RPGs and fantasy genre movies¡­ but thinking back, it¡¯s my first time encountering a non-living Monster. Somehow or other, all the one¡¯s I¡¯ve seen could be called extensions of creatures found on Earth.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll get it when you see it. And they¡¯re just small fry so rx¡±

    I¡¯m not too reassured with Hirano-kun¡¯s frivolous smile and wildughs, but from the fact that they¡¯re stuck on the Boss, Mob Monsters wouldn¡¯t be any problem.

    ¡°Ah that room, there¡¯s a Skeleton, look¡±

    Nishiyama-san who was walking alongside Hirano-kun reported a discovery.

    Looking there, from an entrance to a room along the passage wall, a white figure gaited along. The distance is about 30 meters(~100ft).

    ¡°Woah, it really is a Skeleton¡±

    That is, it was so perfect a skeleton, there isn¡¯t any other description. As if the educational model in a biologyb started moving, it was a walking human skeleton.

    It doesn¡¯t have clothes, but it¡¯s armed.

    Lightly grasped in its bony hand, was a wooden club. At around 50 cm, the club was of rough make, but not too thin or too thick. That reminds me, the clubs equipped on most Goma looked simr. There¡¯s a chance they beat these Skeletons and plundered the item.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s noticed us¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they won¡¯t notice till ya get closer¡±

    ¡°So shooting my Magic to beat them is easy as pie see¡±

    I see, it¡¯s like a badly made Monster AI.

    ¡°It¡¯s the first for Momokawa and Futaba-san, so I¡¯ll show you the ropes¡±

    How generous. No matter how strong Futaba-san¡¯s gotten, it¡¯s better to avoid challenging on first encounter. If we can observe its movements, she can fight easier too.

    Reason for refusal is nowhere to be found, so at your convenience, I replied in agreement.

    ¡°What about me?¡±

    ¡°If y¡¯insist, have the first one. I¡¯ll get the two behind.¡±

    The Skeletons entering the passage from the room, number three. There¡¯s no particr sign they¡¯re cooperating, it¡¯s more like a wandering zombie, they¡¯re aimlessly roaming around. One was facing here, and the other two, towards the direction of the Boss Room.

    ¡°OK. I¡¯ll be going ahead then, since I¡¯m a Wind Mage.¡±

    With a light intro, Nishiyama-san pushed out her wand. Her wand tip pointed, practically announcing that it was about to shoot Magic.

    Thinking of, it¡¯s my first time seeing Attack Magic. I¡¯ve heard all about it from Futaba-san, but getting to see first hand, the staple in fantasy known as Attack Magic, it¡¯s kind of exciting.

    Eh, Red Fever? Who¡¯s that?

    ¡°?????? ??? ?¡ªAer Sagitta(Wind Arrow)¡±

    She quickly muttered something in a mysterynguage, and right after, the green ball on the tip of the want let out faint light.

    With that, leaving behind sharp winds, a whirlwind of glittering green ran through the passage. The emerald wind I saw for a split-second, drew an arc with a form simr to a curved de.

    Then, the de of wind danced true to its aim, scoring a direct hit on the wandering Skeleton. With a dry ng, as if they took on a powerful sh, the Skeleton¡¯s ribs went flying.

    Must have been a quite a blow. The Skeleton¡¯s spine bent back so much it seemed to almost snap, and as if the force was too unbearable, it fell backwards. Falling with a shatter, its movementpletely stops.

    With the splendid one-shot killing of a Skeleton, I regain an appreciation of the convenient thing known as Attack Magic. Also, a bit of envy. Shit, if only I could do attacks like that¡­

    ¡°A¡¯ight, be a back in a bit. Get a good look at my abilities as a Swordsman¡±

    Completely unaware of my ugly jealousy, Hirano-kun donned a confident smile and named his vocation. In his handsy a double-edged longsword with a steel de. A precious partner he scored from a Treasure Chest being its origins.

    ¡°Woah, fast¡±

    I had no otherment seeing the sword-wielding Hirano-kun bolting off. Leaving behind only the rubbery sounds of his shoe soles shing with the stone paving, Hirano-kun¡¯s fairlyrge figure shot out like an arrow.

    ¡°It¡¯s called Quick Step. The effect is as you see¡±

    I see, so that¡¯s the speed boosting Battle Art, Quick Step. Movement boosting moves, if it was an RPG, there¡¯s a big chance they¡¯re useless. I mean, no yer wants to waste a turn just to raise evasion rate and maybe increasing the chances for a critical. [3]

    However, in real life, boosting movement, in other words, being able to run crazy fast, gives a tremendous advantage inbat. At the very least, if it was an average person, even if Hirano-kun came at them from straight ahead, they¡¯d have no way to cope with his current speed. It¡¯s not so fast that my eyes can¡¯t follow, but it kinda doesn¡¯t feel like a human running with that kind of speed. Even world ss athletes I¡¯ve seen on TV aren¡¯t as fast. I wonder what the km/h is.

    ¡°Natsukawa-san was even faster you know¡±

    Leaks Futaba-san as if talking to herself. Perhaps even with the same technique in name, there¡¯s differences per vocation. Well, it¡¯s most likely something to do with individual differences though.

    Natsukawa Minami was our Shiramine Academy¡¯s Track and Field Ace. If it¡¯s the sprint, there¡¯s no one with more talent than her.

    ¡°UoOOOOOOOO¡ª¡±

    Before I noticed, Hirano-kun had closed the thirty meters and had the Skeletons at swords reach. With a roar, he unleashed a full power overhead swing.

    On their side, the Skeletons had noticed their friend has been defeated and were slowly turning to it. The existence of the quickly approaching enemy did not have time to enter their mental faculties.

    ¡°¡ªBreak(Great Gash)!¡±[4]

    For an instant, the sword seemed to slightly shine. The instant phantom glow passed, and a shrill noise echoed. A hit.

    One Skeleton was cut from skull to pelvis. A moment passed, and the clump of bone was separated left and right, it rattled, and powerlessly crumbled.

    A splendid strike. But one more enemy remained.

    That Skeleton finally showed a proper response. Aiming for the opening created when Hirano-kun swung his sword, it greatly raised its club.

    ¡°Heh, saw it miles away!¡±

    True to thoseposure-filled words, as if perfectly foreseeing the Skeleton¡¯s monotonous attack, Hirano-kun bent down, dodging the club¡¯s swing.

    ¡°Well duh, no problem for Foresight¡±

    What a show off, that guy, says Nishiyama-san somewhat coldly.

    ¡°No but, seeing it and then even evading is pretty amazing¡±

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, please don¡¯t say those words to him. You do, and he¡¯ll definitely get a big head¡±

    Nishiyama-san¡¯s wryly smiling face looks, what is it, just like, like a girlfriend who gets just about everything about her idiot of a boyfriend, it gives that kind ofposed impression.

    ¡°¡ªBooyah! Got ¡¯em good!¡±

    Oops, as I was raising suspicions towards their interpersonal rtion, Hirano-kun had cut down his 2nd Skeleton.

    Slipping through the enemy¡¯s attack with Foresight, right after, he rode Quick Step¡¯s speed to circle behind. Speed so overwhelming, as if it was saying, Ya gettin¡¯ sleepy champ? as the Skeleton couldn¡¯t react at all.

    Then it was a simple task of driving your favourite technique into that defenceless spine.

    With that, Hirano-kun finished off the Skeleton safe and sound.

    ¡°Good work out there¡±

    ¡°Yeah, this stuff, it¡¯s pretty much just warm up!¡±

    Ha ha ha, heughed as Hirano-kun returned in great humour. For us from the peanut gallery, seeing the Swordsman¡¯s brilliant show of technique, well, it¡¯s satisfactory I guess. Even the way he put the sword back in its scabbard on his belt gave quite an elegant impression.

    ¡°And, how was that?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yup, I more or less get Skeletons now. Also, you two look like you¡¯re making good use of your vocations, pretty strong I say¡±

    ¡°You tter me dude. I mean, I haven¡¯t even got any new Skills yet¡±

    Which would mean, that Break, Quick Step and Foresight he showed us, should be all the abilities he has.

    As for me, yeah, leaving out the lucky Armor Bear subjugation, I did attain that new Vile Mud Doll.

    Of course, this must have some factor of individuality too¡­ but yeah, maybe experience fighting Skeletons won¡¯t really amount to much.

    Nevertheless, they could be convenient ragdolls, or I guess bone-dolls to throw attacks at. At the least, they¡¯ll be useful in testing out and getting used to various powers.

    ¡°Even though Nishiyama learned new Magic really fast man¡±

    ¡°Just say how you were scared at first and we only used my Aer Sagitta to beat them¡±

    ¡°Haa, I wasn¡¯t scared a¡¯ight! And right now, Skeletons are easy as hell!¡±

    ¡°Yipes, them bones man, they¡¯re bad mann, tell me you didn¡¯t forget those tears¡±

    ¡°Never said it! Also, forget that, bygones are bygones dammit!¡±

    They¡¯re fighting but they sure get along, I thought as I was watching over, but then Gahah, Hirano-kun noticed my gaze and took a critical blow. Were my eyes that lukewarm?

    ¡°A-anyway, once we beat the Boss, I¡¯ll be getting a new Skill for sure¡±

    ¡°Yup, for sure¡±

    No I¡¯m notzily replying, I¡¯m pretty serious here.

    Leaving the special case of Futaba-san¡¯s ss change to Berserker aside, the ss Rep group, ording to the story, seemed to attain new Skills pretty normally through fighting. That means, the Boss, if we can take down a Monster even this Swordsman and Mage pair couldn¡¯t, we¡¯ll be getting new powers for sure.

    ¡°Nishiyama-san, what other Magic can you do?¡±

    ¡°Eh, the other ones aren¡¯t much though. Like letting out strong wind around me, or like making slightly high jumps using wind¡ª¡±

    The former has the name Aer Dress(Wind Garment), and looks to be a sort of Defence Magic. Releasing strong gusts for a meter centering around the caster, it¡¯ll either blow away an enemy closing in, or at least, hold it back temporarily. Light long-range attacks like arrows or stones would also be repelled or bend off trajectory.

    With some concentration, she can apparently hold it for a minute or so, and I think with more practice, it could be a solid defence¡­ but it seems like Nishiyama-san herself hasn¡¯t used Aer Dress much, so her mastery of it hasn¡¯t risen.

    Thetter is Aer Follow(Wind Floater), a movement boosting, no, it¡¯s Support Magic I guess. Creating an updraft around the caster, her jumps get a slight boost. However, rather than upping jump height, say if you fall from a high ce you can get a smoothnding, it seems more useful in things like cushioning a fall.

    I don¡¯t know if you can remain calm enough to cast Magic during a free fall though. And as such, this one hasn¡¯t been used too much either, the current Nishiyama-san wouldn¡¯t be able to handle such a situation either. [5]

    ¡°But that one, her new Magic, is pretty damn strong¡±

    ¡°I mean, sure Aer st(Tempest Edge) has a good bit of power¡­ but the chant is so long, if it¡¯s moving fast like that Boss, it¡¯ll never hit. Not to mention, one shot and I¡¯m spent[6]¡±

    Finally, perhaps thanks to hunting all those Skeletons with Aer Sagitta, she attained the new Attack Magic, the Aer st.

    The Invocation time for the aria, is around 10 seconds. In the world of ruthless battle, every 0.1 second counts. One can experience the tumultuous anxiety of a 10 secondg simply by ying a high speed action RPG and trying to fight with a skill with around 10 seconds of cooldown.

    To add, one shot of it gets you as tired as with three shots of Aer Sagitta¡­ in other words, mana exhaustion.

    A one-shot all-or-nothing High Magic. Using this practically in battle, would be quite a gamble.

    ¡°Just think though, one shot of this, and that mutt¡¯s done for¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t hit, that¡¯s the problem stupid¡±

    Well she¡¯s not wrong. In a game, you could Save & Load as many times as you want until you get that hit, but reality clearly doesn¡¯t work that way. If she uses Aer st against the Boss Red Dog and misses, then taking the exhausted Nishiyama-san and escaping from the Boss Room bes even more risky. It¡¯s not the kind of thing we can leisurely challenge multiple times.

    ¡°Then like, we can stop it movin¡¯ so it hits and¡ª¡±

    ¡°If you could do that, you could just kill it with your sword stupid¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I understand about Nishiyama-san¡¯s magic, thanks. It¡¯s at least reassuring we have a one-hit kill technique¡±

    It seemed like the two would start fighting again so, half serious, half confounded, I speak to cut in between them.

    ¡°Now would be, Momokawa-kun and Futaba-san, it¡¯s your turn right?¡±

    ¡°Wanna wait till Skeletonse out? Or we could pick a room and look?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m curious what¡¯s happening in the rooms, so the 2nd option I guess¡­ Futaba-san, is that alright with you?¡±

    ¡°Yup, no problem¡±

    From her agreeable response, I sense a somewhat forced smileing from Futaba-san. Hmm, she¡¯s making sure to be vignt of those two I guess.

    Since it¡¯s favourable to get along at this point in time, we shouldn¡¯t behave as to invite any discord¡­ she understands that, and is disying a cheerful atmosphere at least on the surface.

    If she isn¡¯t high from the drug, Futaba-san is clearly not an idiot, nor is she a musclehead, I think. So, instead of me telling her to get along, we should just continue like this until she opens up naturally. If all four of us work together to beat the Boss, at the very least, we¡¯ll gain some trust between us.

    ¡°A¡¯ight, let¡¯s go¡±

    With Hirano-kun¡¯s nonchnt call, we once again begin walking the passage. First objective being, the room where those three Skeletons came out from.

    Naturally, a game-like, Monster corpses turning into light particles, leaving behind item drops and modest sums of gold, isn¡¯t a phenomenon that passed, and outside the entrance, the bones were littered around. With a nce, we can tell there¡¯s no core to be found in these Skeletons.

    ¡°Hmm, nothin¡¯ in there¡±

    Hirano-kun entered the room so unguarded it¡¯s like, Oi oi you alright?, and came out to report the non-existence of enemies. The room here doesn¡¯t have a door, but a simple opening in the structure. You can see inside just walking past, but need to enter to check the corners.

    Even if Skeletons were lying in wait, clubs readied, beyond both sides of the entrance, Hirano-kun wouldn¡¯t be done in with a group assault of that level.

    Well, looking at their behaviour, I doubt Skeletons have the intelligence to use traps or ambushes. But arrogance is fatal. These kinds of Mobs, if they get a Boss character to lead them, they can suddenly be elite troops too.

    ¡°Momokawa, you wanna take look inside anyway?¡±

    ¡°Ah, sure thing¡±

    As I was meandering over things, I reply kind of like an idiot, and step into the Skeleton-summoning room with safety guaranteed.

    Yup, nothing there indeed. There¡¯s only stone walls here, the room is around the size of a ssroom. Nothing more, nothing less. The light panels on the ceiling shone down adequately, making it all too obvious that there¡¯s nothing strange to be found here.

    ¡°Have you guys ever seen where the Skeletonse from?¡±

    ¡°Nope, never¡­ Oi, don¡¯t tell me you nnin¡¯ on waitin¡¯ till onees out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that bored¡±

    That being said, we move to the next room. With rooms this deserted, even if there was a hidden door or something, without a Thief¡¯s detection skill, it¡¯ll be impossible to find. Looking around would be a waste of time.

    ¡°Yeah, other rooms¡¯re pretty much the same as thatst one though¡ª Oh, hold up¡±

    Progressing through the passage, as we read the 2nd room, Hirano-kun calls out again.

    ¡°We¡¯re in luck, Skeletons straight ahead¡±

    As I follow Hirano-kun and peek into the room, sure enough, they¡¯re in there.

    This new room was around twice as big as thest one, and at the center stood three stone pirs. Behind the right interior pir, as if hiding itself, a Skeleton¡­ no, two of them, were vaguely roaming around.

    As usual, they don¡¯t look like they noticed us. Big chance for a preemptive strike.

    ¡°The floor¡¯s all yours¡±

    In ordance to Hirano-kun¡¯s words, said as if he was requesting us to fill-in for ssroom cleaning duty, Futaba-san and I challenge our first Skeleton subjugation.

    ¡°Futaba-san, you alright with the usual?¡°

    ¡°Yup, if you can tie the legs, leave everything else to me¡±

    Futaba-san returns a strong reply. Or rather, she nonchntly left out Red Fever there. Well, it¡¯s not an immediate effect Curse, so it¡¯s pretty much a waste of mana anyway, so that¡¯s fine.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun and Futaba-san¡¯s vocations, what are they?¡±

    Off we go, but before that, we need to let them know our vocations. On their side, their vocation and abilities have already beenid bare.

    But we can¡¯t go being too frank and reveal everything here.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Shaman, and Futaba-san is a Warrior¡±

    I¡¯ll keep quiet about the ss change for the time being. Being a Berserker doesn¡¯t necessarily mean Futaba-san has gone insane, and there¡¯s no outward change either. It¡¯s probably a special exception to the rule, but letting their hopes rise because of that would be problematic.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡±

    Detailed exnationseter. Let¡¯s first beat the Skeletons and give them a demonstration.

    ¡°Entwine its escape, with weaving hair¡ª ckhair Bind¡±

    I step into the room and take the initiative. From the shadows near the pir where the Skeleton is wandering, suddenly, a bundle of weed-like ckhair gushes out. Wriggling in a gross manner like tentacles, the hair tightlytches onto the bone ankle.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    I call out, and with that Futaba-san swings up her axe and¡ª I thought, but she¡¯s just standing beside me, and doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯ll run ahead anytime soon.

    ¡°Err, Futaba-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Her suddenly bing unwilling, doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Futaba-san is on alert, and ring straight at the Skeleton.

    She wasn¡¯t replying, and lets go of her weapon that is the axe. She takes her now free right hand, and thrusts it into the Goma pouch hung at her waist.

    ¡°¡ª Ei!¡±

    Along with that lovely voice calling out, I hear a powerful hum cutting the wind. The next moment, a dry shattering sound echoes loudly.

    ¡°¡­ Eh?¡±

    When I noticed, the Skeleton¡¯s head was gone. Wait what, Futaba-san, when did you suddenly be able to use Attack Mag¡ª

    ¡°Yah!¡±

    Next, the 2nd one¡¯s cranium shatters. It burst away so cleanly, one could argue there was a bomb imnted in there beforehand.

    ¡°I¡¯m done, Momokawa-kun¡±

    We present the hero.

    Indeed, since I was standing right beside her, I came to understand how Futaba-san finished off those Skeletons. It¡¯s nothingplicated, she was just throwing stones.

    I¡¯d given her a bag of throwable stones thinking they¡¯d at least be used as faints, but they suddenly became one-shot kill projectiles. The Berserker¡¯s strength has me in awe yet again.

    ¡°Woah, Futaba-san, that was friggin¡¯ cool¡­¡°

    ¡°You¡¯re sure Futaba-san isn¡¯t a Pitcher right?¡±

    Their surprise isn¡¯t unreasonable.

    ¡°We can totally beat the Boss with this right!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think this can work¡±

    Nevertheless, her awe-inspiring power hade across in that performance. The reception is highly positive.

    It may be a bit too optimistic, but I feel like we can at least take down a Boss now.

    ________________________

    [1] Skeleton is said in English, and Hirano described them as ¡­ a skeleton (º¡¹Ç).

    [2] Aer ¡ª Air in Latin I guess

    [3] Change: Martial Art ¡ú Battle Art

    [4] ´ó¶Ï ¡ª Dai Dan ¡ª Break, it¡¯s not tooplicated

    [5] The Aer stuff is all romanized by author so I¡¯m keeping those.

    [6] ïLßBÈÐ ¡ª Fuuren Ha ¨C Aer st (Tempest Edge) ¡­ I¡¯m kinda making this up here, but the kanji name doesn¡¯t matter anyway~

 Chapter 32: Practice part.1

    Chapter 32: Practice part.1

    With our vocations done being introduced, for the time, we decided to head back to the Fairy Square.

    ¡°Maaan, beating Skeletons without even a weapon, Futaba-san¡¯s like, super strong? No wait, you have some uber Skills right?¡±

    It sounds like a bout of pure-hearted curiosity from Hirano-kun, but we need to be careful responding.

    Just before, we didn¡¯t expressly reveal out Skill set. But pertaining our techniques and magic, we need to let them know what we can do.

    ¡°Actually, Futaba-san also doesn¡¯t know anything other than the Warrior¡¯s three Novice Skills¡±

    I signal Futaba-san with a nce, but well, don¡¯t know if she got it, but anyway, leave this one to me, I endeavour to exin in her ce.

    ¡°Eh, you for real?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s one called Blessed Body which I think increases her power¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Blessed Body huh¡±[1]

    Obviously, I¡¯m lying. But since we¡¯re going so far as hiding the Berserker part, we can¡¯t reveal Berserk Body either. Well, it¡¯s a fact that we still don¡¯t know if that one is the one granting power to Futaba-san.

    ¡°And the other are Foresight and Repel¡±

    ¡°Repel? You mean she knocks away attacks?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, something like that. With the right angle, the enemy can stagger and fall, and it can also work as a counter¡±

    It could overturn even that Great Frog, so it should blow away any small-tier Monsters. If it¡¯s the Red Dog Boss, it should work, depending on its size.

    ¡°But man, with that Blessed Body thing, she can keep powered up all the time right? Isn¡¯t that like, too good? Like, it¡¯s a Rare Skill right?¡±

    ¡°Hirano-kun¡¯s not stronger or faster without using Skills?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, none of that happens unless I¡¯m using a Battle Art¡±

    I see, that¡¯s why this always active Passive Skill must look convenient.

    ¡°But look, Futaba-san doesn¡¯t have any attack moves, so there¡¯s no real trump card there. If we¡¯re talking about damage, your Break looks much better.¡±

    ¡°Looks like it has its demerits too¡±

    The current Futaba-san is reliable, but depending too much on one thing is never good.

    ¡°By the way, It¡¯s just my guess but Momokawa-kun¡¯s Shaman, it doesn¡¯t have any Attack Magic does it?¡±

    Urk, so she went for that¡­ I mean, of course she would. Even I think I should be honest here, otherwise we won¡¯t make any progress.

    ¡°Yeah, my Shaman can¡¯t do any attacks. Frankly speaking, it¡¯s pretty weak¡±

    ¡°Uoh, damn dude¡±

    Hirano-kun says in in-to-see dejection. She didn¡¯tment, but Nishiyama-san also has a difficult look.

    ¡°My ckhair Bind that can restrain the enemy is the most useful one right now¡±

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°The next most useful would be Intuition Pharmacy. I can make medications with it¡±

    ¡°Ooh, we finally got a Healing Skill!¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s the bottleneck of materials, and as far as I¡¯ve seen, this area doesn¡¯t have a single herb, so you can¡¯t count on it much¡±[2]

    ¡°Hmm, how effective is it?¡±

    ¡°That I can guarantee. After all, Futaba-san once got a fatal wound, and my treatment worked wonders¡±

    ¡°For real, that¡¯s great bro! We only had that 4-leafer for recovery, it was pretty bad man¡±

    ¡°Yeah, with this, if we fight the Boss and get a bit injured, it should be alright¡±

    From their reactions, that 4-leafed clover herb introduced by the Note Circle is hard to find a lot of. At a nce, those nters in the Fairy Garden didn¡¯t have any either.

    It was the same with the ss Rep team, they¡¯re having a hard time with recovery measures. On the flip-side, because of that, a Shaman like me cane into y.

    ¡°I also have Red Fever that induces a slight fever, and a flimsy Vile Mud Doll among the rest.¡±

    ¡°Eh, slight fever? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t ask¡±

    Yeaah, these few Curses won¡¯t help at all in our efforts, so please spare me the questions. More like, please just forget about them.

    ¡°Finally, there¡¯s a Curse called Pain Return, this one, it returns damage to me back to the attacker, so careful not to misfire alright¡±

    Otherwise said, don¡¯t backstab me, y¡¯hear. My attack power may be zero, but I¡¯ll take out my killer 100% of the time, in a way, it¡¯s the ultimate insurance.

    It¡¯s mostly useless on enemies that gang up like Goma, but it¡¯s great against human allies. Anyone would give preference to their own life. Also, most people aren¡¯t likely to use ve-like underlings like Higuchi. Well, even a dumbass like Masaru won¡¯t make the stab if he knows he¡¯ll die.

    ¡°I-Is that right. That one really is curse-like¡±

    ¡°Long as there¡¯s no attack, it won¡¯t hurt a fly¡±

    Nishiyama-san backed away a little, so I added thement. inly taking distance like that, in and of itself, kinda hurts.

    ¡°Anyway, with this team, we can pretty much take care of the Boss right?¡±

    ¡°Stop right there, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to go there now right? We need to n this out and¡­ look, you don¡¯t want what happened with Itou-kun happening again right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get that¡±

    From their conversation, it seems their first time challenging that Boss was a mostly no-n charge. They did say something about getting in over their heads.

    ¡°So for now, should we have a battle conference?¡±

    ¡°But like, so first, Momokawa can be on restraining, and the rest is me and Futaba-san hack-and-shing away at the Boss, with support from Nishiyama. Then, with luck, we cut the legs to stop it moving, and finish with st right?¡±

    Hirano-kun¡¯s n is full of holes, but considering each of our vocations, there isn¡¯t really any other arrangement.

    ¡°So what kind of attacks does the Boss do? We need to think of countermeasures too¡±

    ¡°Dude, it¡¯s just a big dog¡±

    ¡°By big dog, he means around the size of a lion you can find in a zoo. Seeing it up close, there¡¯s a good bit of pressure¡±

    Lion-size meaning, it¡¯s at least smaller than that memorable first encounter of mine, the Armor Bear¡­ But, that doesn¡¯t make it any less daunting. A Red Dog big enough to surpassrge dog breeds, it¡¯s damn scary.

    ¡°Ah right, it gets worse, the thing breathes fire man¡±

    ¡°Eh, seriously? Around how much?¡±

    ¡°Pretty big, like them fountain fireworks.¡±[3]

    ¡°No wait you, it was clearly bigger than some fireworks remember?¡±

    ¡°That, please borate¡±

    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see¡ª¡±

    ording to Nishiyama-san, though it¡¯s not like a full blown methrower, the Boss still lets out intense mes. When there¡¯s sparks emitted from its ttering fangs, the next moment, mes gush out with great momentum.

    Is it shooting fire with magic, or maybe letting out mmable gas and then igniting that, at this point, it doesn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty dangerous for Hirano-kun and Futaba-san who¡¯re supposed to get close?¡°

    ¡°Yeah but, were Swordsman and Warrior, so there¡¯s no choice right? We¡¯ll be looking out for the sparks¡±

    Vignce with focus on evasion. Saying so is great and all, but is that alright? In a game, the Monsters only move ording to the AI they¡¯re programmed with. Especially before big attacks, they¡¯ll do some pre-set behaviour. That¡¯s how the yer deals with it. If they can¡¯t, they can continue over and over again, so even an idiot can do it eventually.

    ¡°Anyway, maybe you could douse yourself with water before. Also, my meds can probably handle burns¡­ but if it¡¯s too severe, you might be out of luck¡±

    ¡°Got¡¯cha, I¡¯ll make sure to dodge¡±

    There¡¯s not a lot of pre-work we can do. In the end, we¡¯re mostly relying on our yer Skills.

    ¡°Did we miss anything?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, not really, no. That thing moves like it looks, just like a dog. You know, those police dogs chasing after criminals, you¡¯ve seen those on TV right? It¡¯s like that, really fast-paced and all¡±

    ¡°Honestly, that there¡¯s the scariest thing. I can barely run away with Quick Step, and Nishiyama¡¯s far away too. But Itou¡­ it was bad. He was knocked down once, and turned into a bloody mess¡±

    ¡°Eh, you mean, instant death?¡±

    ¡°Nah, he was alive. And, I tried closing in to save him, but by then, it was gonna blow fire, and Itou was in the way, so we couldn¡¯t use Attack Magic either¡±

    ¡°And in the end, we couldn¡¯t do a thing¡­ and just ran away¡±

    Under those circumstances, plus due to negligence, they lost arade and returned utterly defeated. But them making it back without major injury can be considered more than lucky.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ So, that happened¡­¡±

    The thoughtes to mind, maybe Itou-kun was betrayed by these two. However, from their talking about how helpful a Thief is in dungeon capture, he shouldn¡¯t have been someone you can so easily cut away.

    As for that Boss battle, I should just look at it like they justcked the power.

    ¡°So, what do you think? After a break, wanna head to the Boss?¡±

    ¡°No, Me and Futaba-san want to practice a bit more with Skeletons, so can you guys wait some?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem with that, but will you two be alright alone?¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s only Skeletons, we¡¯ll be fine. So, let¡¯s go Futaba-san¡±

    Saying that half-forcefully, I stand up.

    Actually, practice isn¡¯t the main reason. The prime objective is, yes, I have things I need to talk about with Futaba-san, alone.

    ¡°¡­ Futaba-san, you¡¯re pretty cautious of them huh?¡±

    Making sure there aren¡¯t any Skeletons inside, we pick and enter a random room, and I say that to break the ice.

    ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s too dangerous to trust other people just yet¡±

    Even the kind-hearted Futaba-san, with all her cruel experiences to date, spoke words of suspicion towards the two without stammer.

    ¡°I think so too. That¡¯s why I lied¡±

    I have no regrets. I was anxious whether they¡¯d see through it though.

    In all likelihood, they could be lying too. Like actually, Nishiyama-san can shoot Aer Sagitta chantless. Or like Hirano-kun has other Battle Arts too.

    If it¡¯s secrets, we all have some.

    ¡°By lying, you mean about me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d you stayed quiet. Kinda thought you¡¯d suddenly go Actually, I¡¯m a Berserker or something¡±

    ¡°N-No I wouldn¡¯t! I can at least read the mood okay!¡±

    That¡¯s why she stayed out of most of the conversation I bet. We hadn¡¯t considered this situation, and it¡¯d be hard to match our stories. Throwing all the exining business to me was the right choice for Futaba-san.

    We should¡¯ve have thought about the possibility of sudden encounters like this and decided on a code of action, that¡¯s my only small regret. I¡¯m reflecting on it.

    ¡°But I never thought there¡¯d suddenly be ssmates at the jump destination¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll need to be careful next time. Or they could suddenlye attacking¡±

    Futaba-san¡¯s vignce is churning full-throttle. But this level of caution is just right.

    ¡°I think you know, but we¡¯ll be working together with them for now¡±

    ¡°¡­ Are you sure?¡°

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen their power. They¡¯ve got better vocations than me at least¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡±

    My slight self-derision replied with such a strong denial, I get a bit surprised. You don¡¯t need to deny it so hard.

    ¡°Ah, s-sorry¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I appreciate the pat on the back¡±

    Well, I guess it¡¯s true that I saved her life once. I¡¯m d I was a Shaman instead of some half-baked fighter type, is something say only for that asion.

    ¡°Anyway, those two can at least listen to reason, and making more allies should make it safer in the long run I guess¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s, well true¡­ but after beating the Boss, they¡¯ll still be with us, right¡­?¡±

    ¡°Eh, is that a problem?¡±

    On the contrary, after the Boss, if we go, Welp, see ya, it¡¯s even more awkward.

    ¡°Not that¡­ but, you don¡¯t know, when they¡¯ll betray. Like in my case¡±

    ¡°Ah, y-yeah, you¡¯re right¡±

    In my case, it was the matter of Higuchi one-sidedly attacking me, so I have my guard up against that, but getting abandoned when the going gets tough, that kind of pattern isn¡¯t something fully engraved in me. I get it technically, but for Futaba-san who¡¯s actually gone through that kind of betrayal, it¡¯s natural she won¡¯t be able to trust someone just because they¡¯re a bit friendly.

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to avoid getting into big trouble though. Anyone will try and save their own skin. They couldst-minute betray an ally¡­ But on the contrary, if we have smooth progress, there¡¯s no reason for that to happen. What we need is, rather than a rtion of trust, we need enough power to secure safety.¡±

    ¡°So you mean, from now on, we should try to ally with as many ssmates as we can right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but not Higuchi though. I¡¯ll Curse those guys to hell!¡±

    Fufun, Iugh half joking, half serious.

    ¡°Yep, you can do it Momokawa-kun¡±

    But if you give me a gentle, full smile agreement to that, I get a feeling muchplicated. More so, since Futaba-san has a more, pacifist-like image to her.

    ¡°Anyway, we gotta take down that Boss before any of that¡±

    ¡°Emm, so we¡¯ll, practice?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I needed to talk properly with Futaba-san, but the part about wanting to practice is also true¡±

    The Skeleton is truly a convenient practice partner. Before entering this area, what Monster, at what timing, how many, we didn¡¯t know a thing. It was all a per-encounter basis, so the best we could do, was avoiding fights we could avoid.

    But here, we can fight Skeletons in peace. Open space, known enemy, low numbers. It could be that, after leaving here, we¡¯ll never get to such a beginner friendly area.

    ¡°I want to see if I can get a little more out of ckhair and Mud Doll. Futaba-san too, isn¡¯t it better if you get more confidence in your Repel and Foresight?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true Momokawa-kun. I¡¯ll, try them out!¡±

    Thus, our leveling began. [4]

    ________________________

    [1] It is here that we get the pronunciation of Blessed Body ~! It¡¯s Keitai. Incidentally, this also means phone if written differently.

    [2] I guess he means the area outside the Fairy Square.

    [3] Here¡¯s a Video. It actually says Dragon Fireworks but in English it¡¯s fountain I guess¡­

    [4] I was thiiis close to writing grinding instead of leveling¡­

 Chapter 33: Practice part.2

    Chapter 33: Practice part.2

    ¡°¡ª ckhair Bind¡±

    Raven hair flies out from the shadows to coil around the ankle of a wandering Skeleton. But this time, it wasn¡¯t yed like weeds, but taut as a rope, twining around the Monster.

    ¡°Yes, braiding is a go!¡±

    Yes, what came upon invoking, was the punishing ckhair in its newly braided glory.

    In the fight with the Great Frog, my ckhair Bind couldn¡¯t do a thing. With only those few strands of hair coiling about, a Monster can all too easily shake it off.

    At present, my ckhair Bind is the only thing useful in battle, that too, only at restraining the enemy; so I¡¯ll focus on excelling at that. But it¡¯s not like a game where I can put in umted Skill Points to the Skill I want to improve.

    That being, how does this strengthening work anyway? I¡¯ve thought of three ways.

    Number one: by simply being granted powerful abilities. The so called levelup. But, this method depends on God¡¯s whim, so how much I need to fight to get a new Skill, or more so, what Skill will be granted, I can¡¯t choose anything. God knows when I¡¯ll get to power up, literally.

    Number two: by repeatedly using a Skill, I¡¯ll attain mastery. If you could call it a proficiency leveling system, then my gamer-senses will start tingling, and even if it¡¯s not the case, there¡¯s always the saying that practice makes perfect.

    This not being mere coincidence is proved by the existence of Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san who¡¯ve constantly kept using their techniques and Magic. Though there¡¯s no dramatic rise in strength, they still got used to using their Skills themselves, something that is indispensable in the rush of battle. There¡¯s more than enough merit in training, or more like, from here onwards, it¡¯ll likely be absolute necessity.

    Andst but not least, the method 3 is: ingenuity. This is where, even without the ability¡¯s strength or effect changing, using it in a different way or two can lead to many other applications. Futaba-san using her Berserker strength to throw stones, can also be said to be one form of ingenuity.

    With that, me braiding the strands of my ckhair Bind is that so called ingenuity, that I have just sessfully implemented. The result is in as day. Rather than separated strands of hair, all of them working together visibly increases their toughness.

    ¡°Hmm, so it really worked huh¡±

    ¡°You did it, that¡¯s great Momokawa-kun!¡±

    Futaba-san¡¯s praising words, honestly feels great.

    Incidentally, the Skeleton restrained with the braided bind, was promptly pulverized with a blow from Futaba-san¡¯s battle-axe.

    ¡°It kinda sounds obvious, but the image is pretty important¡±

    When I gave it a try without thinking too hard about it, it was a splendid failure. But then, after thinking about how braiding works, and actually trying it a bit of my long-ish hair to solidify the image, the result is vo.

    ¡°Alright, next is the length and number, let¡¯s get crackin¡¯!¡±

    It¡¯s been several dozen minutes that I¡¯ve been walking around with Futaba-san in the passages. Peeking through rooms, we encounter foes. Feels pretty much like grinding in an RPG.

    ¡°Haa¡­ looks like this is it for now¡±

    Results: hair length extends to 2 meters. Number of braids: a maximum of 2. When making 2, the length of each is cut to half, that is, to 1 meter, is what I¡¯ve determined.

    And after binding and ying around with many Skeletons, as usual, Futaba-san destroys them. Thinking carefully, we may look like doing we¡¯re doing something cruel, but I can exin it away such that this is all for science. I mean, the other party¡¯sing at us with the intend to kill so why not.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing Momokawa-kun. The Curses are getting to be really something!¡±

    ¡°N-no~, you tter me, ahaha¡­¡±

    With the joyous smile, and straight-forwardplements from Futaba-san, man it¡¯s embarrassing. I¡¯m not the type that gets praised in general, so with theplementsing in on rapid-fire, it¡¯s really more embarrassing that anything.

    If she keeps this up, I might just be a good-for-nothing very quickly. Kind, great at cooking, plusplements galore, Futaba-san, I wonder if she¡¯s trying to be a machine that produces hopeless men.

    ¡°A-Anyway, I¡¯ll test out Mud Doll next¡±

    ¡°Yeah, go for it Momokawa-kun¡±

    Being watched over under a gaze like that of an affectionate mother, I get myself together, and concentrate on Curse practice.

    This time, I¡¯m testing if you can make the Doll with something other than mud. More like, can¡¯t I use Monster materials to make a really powerful Doll, is the epassing thought and goal.

    The uselessness of the Mud Doll, is obvious looking at the battle with the Great Frog. I need to at least increase the resilience a bit more, or else it won¡¯t even serve as a distraction. Currently, it only amounts to the level of collecting chump change doing street performances or something.

    However, if it is the case that, depending on the material, I can create powerful Dolls¡­ the dream gets bigger all at once. Now, arise, my strongest Servant! [1]

    ¡°¡­ Ah, there¡¯s no mud¡±

    Is what I realized after gathering the remnants of Skeletons and arranging them into what would be the Doll¡¯s skeleton. My increasingly rising tension, upon such a reality, underwent a sharp decline.

    The Curse¡¯s name even has Mud in it, so not including it as a production element, I don¡¯t foresee the processing to fruition.

    ¡°So you really need the mud?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, with a skeletal structure from Skeletons, and using mud to make the meat, is the image I had in mind. We have water, but if only I had just a bit more sand¡ª¡±

    ¡°Uh huh¡­ then, Ei!¡±

    Contrary to the gentle cry, the sounds of destruction were brutal. What the, I thought but then saw, bashing her battle-axe into the wall in full swing, there was Futaba-san.

    ¡°Ah, look, I did it Momokaka-kun! There¡¯s sand now see!¡±

    What Futaba-san struck apart, was the stone wall with the thickness of a cinderblock. The de of the axe had eaten through the wall, reaching the other side, from where the underground sand spewed out.

    Speaking of the dungeon¡¯s construction, we must be underground. So breaking a wall, you¡¯ll be presented with the soil bed beyond, would be the correct in theory¡­ But for actually testing that out, you¡¯d need to get past those unreasonably tough walls.

    ¡°T-thanks¡±

    Though I continue to be astounded at how naturally she wields her Berserker strength, since I got what I wanted, I can do nothing but thank Futaba-san.

    Anywho, now I can continue the experiment creating a Mud Doll with Skeleton parts.

    The image is important. As for the prep work for this Curse, I remember it fine from having done it before. So, all that¡¯s left is to finish the form, imaging vividly, and try it out.

    ¡°Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth¡ª¡±

    Atop the floor, I have the bone fragments of Skeleton arranged in a human shape. On top of that, I take the sand provided by Futaba-san and mix it with the Fairy Square water in the stic bottle, creating mud and adding it to the structure. The make is simple to the extreme. So there¡¯s noplicated imaging necessary either.

    If this fails, then I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work no matter how many ways I try.

    So, pretty please Ruinhilde-sama. Let me have, just a bit more hope¡ª offering up such a prayer, I let drops of fresh blood fall onto the human shape of mud.

    ¡°¡ªVile Mud Doll!¡°

    And the results are made clear immediately.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s alive!?¡±

    Bestowed with cursed life, the Mud Doll stood tall adhering mymand.

    Its appearance, practically same as the first one. The bones were framed inside so the outside is tinted mud brown¡­ but there was one fundamental difference.

    ¡°Wa, this one, its like it¡¯s wearing a mask¡±

    Yes, just as Futaba-sanmented, the Mud Doll this time is wearing a mask. It was a fragment of bone I had put inside the head area. Shaped like a pie graph with 60% filled, the fragment was perfectly tacked on the Mud Doll¡¯s face.

    ¡°H-hell yes, this thing¡¯s, it¡¯s really adapting to the material!¡°

    The once useless Vile Mud Doll, it¡¯s now time to peer into your endless possibilities.

    ¡°OK, next let¡¯s make a bigger one!¡±

    With rising tension like a salmon swimming up a raging waterfall assailing me, I make towards the next experiment without a moment wasted. [2]

    Speaking of, the material for the next version is all ready.

    This room contains two Skeletons that we defeated. One had its body smashed to bits and was unreminiscent of its former form, but the other had only its craniumpletely blown off, with its body left as is.

    These are ones I had left for Futaba-san to defeat beforehand. Though her enemy were dull headed Skeletons, seeing such splendid results, I can¡¯t help but think she¡¯s gotten quite used to battle. At the very least, I can¡¯t see her losing even if she¡¯s surrounded by Mobs like Goma or Red Dogs.

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa-kun. Isn¡¯t it like, if you make it bigger, you¡¯ll need that much more blood for it?¡±

    As I was diligently molding away mud on the life-sized Skeleton in high spirits, Futaba-san suddenly raised a doubt.

    ¡°Yeah, I mean, I guess so. But I really wanna see how far I can take this Mud Doll. If it gets dangerous, I¡¯ll stop, don¡¯t worry¡±

    I mean, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll willingly let out my blood till I die or anything. With a bit of my Ointment, the tiny cut is easy mode. There¡¯s no danger to be found.

    ¡°A-Alright, if you say so¡­ be careful okay?¡±

    I wonder how long passed after I inattentively replied, Yeah. Anyway, covering the life-sized skeleton with mud would be inefficient without anything like a shovel, so it took a good while longer.

    At one point, we went back to get a refill of water. Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san looked at us with strange eyes as we were hurriedly collecting water from the fountain all covered in mud, but I can¡¯t be concerned about that right now.

    ¡°And, it¡¯s done!¡±

    After much elbow-grease, the Mud Doll¡¯s body is finally conceived. Structure-wise, it¡¯s literally the same as the one just before. Only the size is of human height.

    Though primarily, the goal is to get arge Mud Doll, this experiment also counts as a test to see if multiple can be controlled together. So the one made before is left as is.

    If, everything goes well, the life-sized Mud Doll moves around, then, along with a decently sized Doll in my possession, it¡¯ll be possible to birth a good number of them at the same time. Like, let us forge, the Strongest Servant Army.

    ¡°Well, here goes nothing¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡±

    Feeling Futaba-san¡¯s gaze, as she swallows her spit in suspense, watching over me, I challenge the 2nd Curse trial.

    ¡°Rise from chaos¡ª¡±

    I let down, the first drop of blood.

    The drop of red falls straight down, it hits the human shape at the forehead area¡ª and, wew,es a dizziness.

    ¡°Bind in foul blood¡ª¡±

    What was that, must be nothing. I thought, during which 2 drops, 3 drops, are let to fall.

    And, when thosee into contact with the Mud Doll,

    ¡°Stand on stained eart¡ª¡±

    The world swivels.

    My vision violently rocks, the Mud Doll I was looking at goes far away, before I know it, I find myself looking at pure white light. Ah, this, is the room¡¯s light panel? Which means, I fell down I guess.

    ¡°¡ª Momokawa-kun!¡±

    It looks as if it¡¯s supposed to be loud, but her voice felt terribly far.

    I¡¯m fine, I turn to Futaba-san to try and give her some reassurance, when my vision obscures. After that, any more thoughts were¡ª

    ________________________

    [1] Servant is in Engrish desu¡­ like in Fate

    [2] It actually says eel, not salmon¡­

 Chapter 34: Everyday Conversations between Highschool Boys

    Chapter 34: Everyday Conversations between Highschool Boys

    ¡°Momokawa dude, that¡¯s, just mana exhaustion right?¡±

    Says Hirano-kun with an exasperatedly wry face.

    ¡°So that, kind of thing really happens¡­¡±

    In the middle of producing the life-sized Mud Doll, I suddenly lost conscience and copsed. I don¡¯t remember the moments around when that happened, but ording to Futaba-san, that seems to be the case.

    ording to Nishiyama-san, Futaba-san rushed into the Fairy Square with me in a Princess Carry with such a fierce re that the two of them unconsciously grabbed their weapons or something or other.

    Anywho, those two who were familiar with the concept of Mana Exhaustion, right away recognized my symptoms to be pertaining to that, and thus let me sleep.

    Mana exhaustion, just as the words describe, it¡¯s a state where the mana in the body is depleted, otherwise said, a state of starvation. I don¡¯t know how much of this mana, this veritable fantasy energy, is amassed inside our bodies, but anyway, Magic and Curses seem to expend it when invoked.

    At least, as a Mage, Nishiyama-san has a feel for it. Apparently, she had once gotten carried away, and used Aer Sagitta so much, she fell into symptoms indicating mana exhaustion; she has first hand experience.

    Of course, she hasn¡¯t done something like me, instantly draining all mana and suddenly fainting¡­ But anyway, my copsing was caused by that. My mana was apparently not nearly enough to activate a life-sized Mud Doll.

    ¡°Then how do we increase this MP thing anyway¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s like, you just gotta keep fighting as a Mage, and it¡¯ll go up eventually?¡±

    Hirano-kun replies stating the general theory. I guess it¡¯s like stamina after all, you train yourself and get more.

    ¡°Yeah, Nishiyama can shoot more than she could way back when, so the levelups are real man¡±

    I¡¯m increasingly thankful for Nishiyama-san¡¯s experience as a Mage.

    ¡°Anyway, just take a breather for now. The mana¡¯ll recover eventually and ya¡¯ll be as good as new¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Sorry, I¡¯ll be taking up that offer then¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ere thinkin¡¯ to take a nap before challenging the Boss anyway. Look, it¡¯s right around midnight right now¡±

    Hirano-kun told me with a nce at the G-Shock around his left wrist. Where a smartphone would run out of battery in no time, a wrist watch can be used to tell time for a long time. A clock sure is convenient. [1]

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, the food¡¯s done¡±

    Let¡¯s get back to bed I guess, I thoughtzily, when Futaba-san¡¯s voice came from the other side of the fountain.

    ¡°Eh, Ah, that yeah¡±

    Thanks, I said, but I had a slightly bad feeling about this.

    After I woke up, Futaba-san and I celebrated my return to good health. After that, she cheerfully started making food.

    I had the lighter collected from Takashima-kun, so making a fire went without issue. I¡¯ve been hearing the crackling snaps of open fire for the past while.

    Then, floated in the savoury scent of meat. Frankly, it smells great. For a while, we¡¯ve been making like squirrels, dinner being walnuts and walnuts only, so this smell really tickles the taste buds.

    No wait, please wait. Amongst our belongings, things like spare ribs, bacon strips, or sausages, we had none of those. Just what kind of highschooler would be carrying around raw meat anyway.

    But then, the delicious meat that Futaba-san is roasting, just where did it¡­

    ¡°Here, this is the juiciest portion. Eat this, and you¡¯ll be golden!¡±

    With an almost dazzling smile of a caring mother, Futaba-san presents a piping hot lump of meat that gave an impression of broiled eel. With arge Fairy Walnut leaf garnished on top, a truly savage-feeling dish.

    ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡±

    Gulp, I swallow my spit. This isn¡¯t in anticipation of the cuisine. It¡¯s from the stress.

    ¡°I only had salt for seasoning, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s cooked nice and deep¡±

    You sure about that? No really, this otherworld snake, how the hell do you cook it nice and deep!

    That¡¯s right, this meat is that snake we caught in the ce with the Great Frog¡¯ske. I clearly remember how Futaba-san fluently drained its blood and secured this important source of protein like a practiced hunter.

    That very thing has, right now, be a dish and served to me. The spicing used: otherworld rock salt.

    The pair of provided chopsticks, which are probably from Futaba-san¡¯s lunchbox, I take them in hand, and decide to ept the meal. I can¡¯t betray Futaba-san¡¯s good will. In front of that smile, I didn¡¯t have the courage to reject this food without even a bite.

    Peeking to the side, I see the drawn away expressions of the Hirano-Nishiyama couple. Those two, should be aware of the origins of the meat I¡¯m about to introduce to my tongue.

    Can¡¯t expect reenrolments. Let¡¯s get ready, and give this snake meat a taste shall we? To hell with poison, I¡¯ll eat it te and all.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m digging in!¡±

    Like a man, I roughly bite into the broiled flesh pinched between the chopsticks.

    ¡°!? delicious¡ª¡±

    After a modest supper, the four of us decided to retire for the day. The Fairy Square is safe, so lucky for us, there¡¯s no reason to go out of our way to keep watch. Us being only students, staying up in alternating shifts wouldn¡¯t fully dispel our fatigue from the day.

    ¡°Hey, Momokawa. Snake meat, is pretty good huh¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if only I knew, we should¡¯ve caught some more¡±

    Languidly lying on the soft grass, I exchange words with Hirano-kun.

    Being well into adolescence, we can¡¯t just snuggle up four together, so the sleeping area is divided between the sexes centering around the fountain. You can¡¯t see the other side without circling over. Furthermore, at a distance where the other side wouldn¡¯t hear conversations unless you shout.

    ¡°You gotta to tell us when ya find other things we can eat. Urr, Intuition Pharmacy right?¡±

    ¡°Sure thing. But, it wouldn¡¯t have tasted as good if you guys didn¡¯t have the Goma rock salts¡±

    This ispletely a miss on my end, but actually, among the Gomas¡¯ possessions there certainly existed clumps of rock salt. For the Goma warriors hunting in the dungeon, it could be called a necessity as, thought dirtied, most of them carried rock salts on their person.

    That this would be a source of mineralscking in Fairy Walnuts, was a piece of information made avable in the now deceased Itou-kun¡¯s text message info quite early on. Those survival essentials type info, give it to all of us dammit, I quietly curse the kingdom¡¯s ipetence.

    ¡°By the way, I kinda wanna ask, that alright?¡±

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s up, all of a sudden¡±

    Suddenly, Hirano-kun drew in his face close and asked. This behaviour, looks like the talk is on the hush.

    ¡°Did ya, seal the deal with Futaba-san already?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Eh¡±

    This question, I wasn¡¯t pure enough, nor was I failing so hard in health education ss, so as I wouldn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°W-wha-what¡¯re you saying man¡­ That kind of, of course not¡±

    ¡°Oh, that reaction¡¯s prettty fishy, you guys actually done it once didn¡¯cha?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t dammit!¡±

    hmm~, he disyed a slightly lecherous smile, and ended his inquisition for now.

    ¡°Like, what¡¯s with that all of a sudden¡±

    ¡°Man, just curious y¡¯know?¡±

    I suppose it¡¯s like that. But that doesn¡¯t mean, you gottay it on so straight. Well, I mean, since it¡¯s just us guys here, I guess I¡¯ll ask.

    ¡°What about Hirano-kun then. Erm, that, with Nishiyama-san¡±

    ¡°Heheh, well, y¡¯know, we like¡­ yup¡±

    ¡°No way!?¡±

    ¡°Too loud dumbass¡±

    So my suspicions, were spot-on.

    ¡°Eh, so, you guys¡¯re dating now?¡±

    ¡°Yeaah, guess it¡¯s like that¡±

    A kind of boastful, embarrassed grin. But there, there¡¯s also the hint of unting of someone who has graduated from his virginity and be a full-fledged man.

    ¡°No but seriously, when Itou died, me and her, we took it pretty damn hard¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s like, I kinda get how it¡¯d go into that flow from there¡±

    ¡°N-No like, it wasn¡¯t just on the spur a¡¯ight. I¡¯m, pretty serious about her¡±

    Well well, I¡¯ll leave it at that. Quite the love birds these two.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we, intruding?¡±

    ¡°Not at all man. Just us two, we couldn¡¯t beat that Boss after all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d we didn¡¯t suddenly pop up in the middle of fun¡±

    L¡¯il bastard, Hirano-kun poked at me. That hurts man. At least wipe off the pervy look.

    ¡°What about you then. Never feel like doin¡¯ it?¡±

    ¡°Eh, I, I well¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡±

    But then, I end up replying in a way that screams I¡¯m only thinking of that. Knew it, Hirano-kun snickered ¡°Heheh¡±.

    ¡°Well, Futaba-san¡¯s got those huge jugs. I feel you bro¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s¡­ yeah, it¡¯s that¡±

    ¡°¡¯ll be crazy if y¡¯can get with her, Momokawa. Can¡¯t really put it between Nishiyama¡¯s, I¡¯m so jealous man¡±

    Delusions churning full-throttle, but for men, this is only natural. Therefore, I cannot criticize Hirano-kun as vulgar. Sorry dude, but I¡¯ve been fantasizing at levels of fetishism far more profound than yours.

    ¡°Also see, Futaba-san, she¡¯s gotten kinda thinner right?¡±

    ¡°Eh, really?¡±

    Now that he mentions it, I can¡¯t say it doesn¡¯t seem like that. Hmm, I wonder. I¡¯m somehow always focused towards Futaba-san¡¯s giant breasts and ass, those tremendous entities draw in my eyes like they¡¯ve got gravitational pull, so I never noticed if she got, thinner.

    ¡°But yeah, she¡¯s been fighting a lot as ofte¡­ Since I met her pretty close to the beginning, it¡¯s like I couldn¡¯t notice because I was always together¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Futaba-san¡¯s defs gotten thinner man¡±

    Popping those Power Seeds burns intense calories, so it¡¯s like a diet pill. There¡¯s naturally food restrictions when ites to dungeon life, and exercise is unavoidable.

    ¡°Hmm, a little longer, and she could maybe slim down enough that even I can tell¡±

    ¡°Dude, Futaba-san gets slim, she¡¯d be crazy hot right?¡±

    ¡°W-Who knows¡­¡±

    I say these words, but who am I kidding, of course she¡¯d be crazy hot.

    I mean Futaba-san, she¡¯s got a pretty cute face even now. And if there¡¯s a bit less fat on her cheeks and neck, with her big round eyes, she¡¯ll totally get that healing-type hottie(bishoujo) face.

    And most important to consider after the volume decrease, is that awe-inspiringly great chest and butt. With her drum-like waist thinning just a bit, her ginormous jugs would garner her a gravure idol level erotic body, that¡¯s just in fact.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret, if ya ever feel like it, I got your back. Like, you guys get together, and both you and me¡¯ll get to have some quality fun time right?¡±

    Aha, so that¡¯s the game. With both couples doing what couples do, we¡¯ll both be cool with it. Certainly, only one side going woohoo in the nighttime, makes it really awkward; at worst, there might be resentment born in there too. In other words, it¡¯s a double dating n.

    Of course, me doing lewd activities with Futaba-san, I fantasize about it, but practically never think of putting it to practice. Not just Futaba-san, for me, something like a girl is a far away existance. I mean, I¡¯m an otaku, a virgin too. I don¡¯t get how IRL girls think at all.

    ¡°Well, even if me and Futaba-san don¡¯t get together, I¡¯ll make it so we disappear sometimes so you guys can be alone together, so don¡¯t worry about that¡±

    ¡°Heheh, that¡¯s wicked, Momokawa¡±

    I mean, it¡¯s not like I have any special feelings of attraction towards Nishiyama-san, so I won¡¯t be getting jealous of Hirano-kun in the first ce. In fact, this level of consideration is great if we want our cooperation pact to be something more solid.

    If possible, I¡¯d like to have time alone with Futaba-san as well. No, not in a lewd way, but as an ally I can trust.

    ¡°A¡¯ight, then after we beat the Boss, I¡¯ll take ya up on that offer¡±

    ¡°After we beat the Boss, and get to the next Fairy Square, sure thing¡±

    Come that time, I hope you two can slowly enjoy your time.

    ________________________

    [1] G-shock.

 Chapter 35: Orthrus

    Chapter 35: Orthrus

    ¡°¡ª It¡¯s 9 AM. We¡¯d be in 1st period of ss right about now¡±

    Hirano-kun determined the time on his G-Shock, and spoke in a somewhat heavy tone.

    ¡°You guys ready?¡±

    To those words, we all nod. We¡¯re armed to the utmost. The n¡¯s also good. All that¡¯s left, is to venture forth.

    ¡°Damn right, let¡¯s get that Boss!¡±

    Oooh, we shout out as we rush off from the Fairy Square.

    Perhaps the Skeletons were reading the mood that we are headed for a boss battle, there wasn¡¯t a single oneing out into the passage. Naturally, the passage not being particrly long, we passed through in no time, and arrived in front of a room, the so-called Boss Room, containing the Transfer Circle.

    ¡°Final check, Momokawa, on you¡±

    ¡°We enter the room and first, Futaba-san and Nishiyama-san preemptively do stone throwing and Sagitta respectively. I¡¯ll use my Fever in there too, but don¡¯t expect much. We do this until it gets close enough¡±

    This preemptive strike will be a sess if the enemy gets a decent amount of damage, or also if it gets cautious and keeps a distance. Scariest thing would be if it suddenly jumped us, and us getting an early casualty without even time to think. We have to avoid a 2nd Itou-kun no matter what.

    ¡°Once the Boss gets into range, Hirano-kun and Futaba-san will work on holding it off. I¡¯ll look for a chance to bind the Boss Dog with my ckhair. Nishiyama-san stays on cover fire.¡±

    There¡¯s no risk of mana exhaustion. Nishiyama-san can shoot quite a few of her Aer Sagitta, and if I only concentrate on ckhair Bind, I can maintain it for a decent amount of time.

    ¡°Once it gets close, we just have to keep fighting it¡­ but if one of you two get pushed back, it¡¯ll be a pinch but also a chance. There¡¯s only one enemy. Even if Futaba-san or Hirano-kun, one of them is beaten, the other one can use that opening tounch a powerful strike¡±

    Losing Itou-kun, with just the two of them, the Hirano-Nishiyama couple¡¯s fatal weakness, is that they can¡¯t take advantage of the Boss¡¯ predating behaviour. If Hirano-kun is thrown down first, Nishiyama-san who doesn¡¯t possess any powerful Battle Art can¡¯t deal a significant blow. Worst case, she could cast Aer st, but then, with the wide area explosion that Magic generates, Hirano-kun who¡¯s pancaked to the floor won¡¯t get out fine.

    ¡°If, it breaks past the vanguard, and gets to either me or Nishiyama-san, Futaba-san in my case, and Hirano-kun in Nishiyama-san¡¯s, one of you wille deal the blow¡±

    Why we¡¯re separating cases like this, it¡¯s because we don¡¯t want the two of them to get confused as to who will do what. In doubles tennis, when the balles right between both yers in a team, it¡¯ll be within both their hitting ranges, but both will let it through, is amon phenomenon.

    We can¡¯t afford that kind of miss in this fight. Especially since it¡¯s a newly made party. We can¡¯t match our breaths and do anything like perfectly synchronized movements.

    Furthermore, the one they should save, if that person is clearly decided beforehand, they¡¯ll be able to move better when the timees. Because it¡¯s when you¡¯re amateurs in battle, that in critical moments you go ¡°Oh no, oh no¡±, while your head goes nk.

    Moreover, even if we decide all this, your role can change any time depending on the situation and best choices present. But, but still, we should have these things decided just in case, is our opinion.

    ¡°Once the Boss gets even a little weakened, everyone will gang up on it. I¡¯m sorry for the one getting injured, but beating it takes higher priority. If it isn¡¯t anything major, my meds can take care of it¡±

    That concludes the n. Next, we only have to believe in our power and fight. There¡¯s nothing else to rely on anyway.

    Finally, I take a look at all three of their faces one more time. Just a few days past, we saw each other in ss but never even said a decent hi, we were rted solely as ssmates. And now, we¡¯re entrusting our lives to one another, going forth to challenge a fearsome Monster.

    It feels kind of unreal. Still, holding our respective weapons, donned in slightly dirty uniforms, our figures ooze nothing but reality.

    Just for survival, a fight risking life and limb, now starts.

    ¡°Everyone, here we go¡±

    Hell yeah! Hirano-kun shouts with might, along which Futaba-san and Nishiyama-san spiritedly follow, their voices echo into the dim passage.

    Thus, we pass through cave-like, doorless entrance where the man-eating beast sleeps.

    Futaba-san and Hirano-kun as vanguard. Me behind the former and Nishiyama-san behind thetter, we form two lines. Us in the rearguard can¡¯t get too separated from the other two. There¡¯s a higher risk of us getting targeted, but if we¡¯re too distanced, our help-line will be cut off.

    This is probably, the best formation we have.

    ¡°¡­ Where is it?¡±

    ¡°I think, up there¡±

    The room was asrge as a gymnasium. Like the rooms where Skeletonse out, there are multiple pirs on both sides. It¡¯s reminiscent of a temple, but other than the pirs, there¡¯s no other form of decor, a dreary room. The multiple light panels on the ceiling only let out dim light so there¡¯s difficulty seeing. The corners of the room are too dark to make out.

    But, rather than concerning myself with the corners, I focus on what Hirano-kun meant by up there. Truly like a gym in the dungeon, raised in the back of the room is a single stage. With stairs on both sides, the stage was just around two stories high. It¡¯s likely, that the Transfer Circle is engraved up there. [1]

    Suspecting as such, I look over to the stage¡­ when I heard it.

    Grrr, the beast¡¯s growl.

    ¡°It¡¯s there, it¡¯s defs there¡±

    ¡°¡­ Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°Wait, looks like it¡¯sing here¡±

    In the bad sense of tension, I certainly saw the apparent shadow of the Bossnding on the ceiling from the reflected light. Seems like it has also noticed our presence.

    Just as expected, the boss appeared from on top of the stage, seeking out it¡¯s new prey, it peeked out its face.

    I saw, like the Red Dog, but as if apletely different species from that frail one, it was a big, fearless, ferocious, and blood-thirsty face. Rather than a dog, it was a form more simr to that of a wolf. That, fearsome, crimson wolf¡¯s visage¡ª there were two.

    ¡°¡­ Eh, there¡¯s two¡±

    Two heads red at us.

    ¡°No Momokawa-kun, that¡¯s¡ª¡±

    No way. There¡¯s two bosses, that¡¯s not the case at all. Just as Futaba-san denied the assertion, look there, see, there¡¯s only one Boss. Because, thatrge brawny body like that of a lion, there was but one.

    ¡°W-wh-what the fuck, it¡­¡¯s got, two heads!¡±

    ¡°No, how can, it¡¯s not the same one as before!?¡±

    A two-headed red-furred wolf. That was, the form of the Boss appearing before us.

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    I yelled without a second thought.

    Scared? Of course. Right now, in front of the two-headed Red Dog, the Orthrus, all of us are severely panicked. If we fight here, there¡¯s no doubt it¡¯ll go bad.

    And above all, there¡¯s no way it¡¯s looks are for show. I can imagine it being at least stronger than the aforementioned big sized Red Dog.

    The reason it¡¯s a different Boss from the one Hirano-kun¡¯s team once fought, it could have been summoned by the dungeon system¡¯s whim, or perhaps the old one evolved after eating Itou-kun. I know practically nothing on the ecology of dungeon Monsters, and right now, it doesn¡¯t matter in the least.

    What¡¯s important is, first and foremost, getting out of here and starting ove¡ª

    ¡°Look out, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    I was the first to turn heel, and dash towards the entrance, but along with Futaba-san¡¯s yell, my body strongly jerks. Looks like, my cor was grabbed from behind, and pulled with great strength.

    ¡°Uwah!¡±

    Or so I thought I shouted, but I my voice wouldn¡¯t reach my ears.

    Dazzling burst of me, and an ear-shattering explosion. That is, drawing a tail of crimson, a ball of lighting straight at me, is what I saw before I got pulled back.

    ¡°Uooh! Goddammit, the hell was that just then, fire, it blew fire!?¡±

    ¡°Magic, that¡¯s gotta be Magic! It¡¯s shooting Fire Magic!¡±

    By the time I heard Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san shouting out, I had separated from Futaba-san¡¯s hand, and stood back up on my feet.

    ¡°Thanks, Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, more importantly, that wolf¡­ what should we do¡±

    I once again look up to where the Boss was. From the Red Dog, the Orthrus¡¯ sharp fangs peeking out of its mouths, seeming to be vestiges of the ball of fire that was shot, sparks were blowing out. I saw it from both mouths, so both heads must have shot Fire Balls.

    Luckily, thanks to Futaba-san, I was spared with only feeling the heated winds. But, thinking back how it was pretty much a hairs-breadth from the explosion, it probably doesn¡¯t pack much explosive force. However, the problem is the longevity. From moment of impact, it was roaring like oil on fire.

    Right there, the ce I was heading to, the entrance.

    ¡°Oi, the hell Momokawa! Ya tried to run an¡¯the exit¡¯s fuckin¡¯ gone now!¡±

    ¡°Wh-, you think that¡¯s my fault!¡±

    I reflexively replied and, shit, I thought. Now¡¯s not the time for stupid internal conflict. But, now that Hirano-kun¡¯s felt that my attempt to escape was an act of selfish cowardice, I can¡¯t just negate that impression with words.

    That boss had cunningly surmised that that hole in the wall was our one and only escape route, and acted to destroy it before anything else. Even if I didn¡¯t try to run, it¡¯s likely to have caused the explosion with the same timing.

    ¡°But, you¡¯re the one who saw the boss and ran right away¡±

    Yeah, that¡¯s right, me trying to run before anything is the undeniable truth. If we had sessfully retreated, you could calm down and realize that it was the right decision, but with the situation like this, of course this is what you say.

    ¡°Wait, I get it, it¡¯s my fault. But we can¡¯t keep arguing like this. The exit¡¯s gone, so we can just follow the n and¡ª¡°

    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck around, it¡¯s your damn fault! Fix it Momokawa!¡±

    ¡°What were you thinking, we can¡¯t even escape anymore!¡±

    Shit, shit! Dammit all, we¡¯re done for, the two of them are near delirious, they aren¡¯t looking at the situation. More like, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m alright either. My heart¡¯s pounding and my head feels like it¡¯ll nk out any moment now.

    It¡¯s bad, it¡¯s crazy bad. I gotta do something. I was growing impatient.

    ¡°W-wait you guys, calm down already!¡±

    If those two don¡¯t calm down, we can¡¯t fight. We can¡¯t fight, and the Boss is already here.

    ¡°It¡¯sing, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    With Futaba-san¡¯s sharp warning, my head jolts up. Beside me, Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san were also visibly trembling. They¡¯re scared too. They¡¯re also confused.

    ¡°Ah, aaa¡­ Oi oi, wait up!¡±

    ¡°Kyaaa!¡±

    As if meaning to say, the game¡¯s already started stupid humans, the Orthrus lightly jumped down from the stage full ofposure. Itnded nimbly from the two-story height like a cat. Though it¡¯s a dog.

    Its needlessly elegant movement, upon its legs contacting the ground, vanished. Like a gale, it dashes in a straight line. True to its appearance, the Orthrusmands terrific eleration from its four legs. Like the form of a lion in its hunt I¡¯ve seen on TV, but a many hundreds of times more intense. I could faint from just this. I can¡¯t make fun of those two screaming out.

    But here, it¡¯s do, or die. Get a hold of yourself, Momokawa Kotarou. It¡¯s way to soon, to throw in the towel.

    ¡°Futaba-san, start throwing! Entwine its escape¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t know if Nishiyama-san will follow the n with her Sagittas. I can only rely on Futaba-san, who didn¡¯t go ming me. Once the battle starts, those two are gonna have to fight sooner orter.

    Anyway, the Boss starteding at us, so there¡¯s no time for Red Fever. I chose to employ, the physical suppressor, my ckhair Bind.

    Futaba-san¡¯s stones only scratch its undting red fur, and as for my ckhair, by the time it thrust out around its feet, it had jumped to dodge. And from the momentum, it leapt in the direction of Hirano-kun.

    ¡°U-uwaaaaaah!? StoOOOOOOOoooop!¡±

    With a throaty scream, Hirano-kun fell over backwards. Unable to properly break his fall on the hard stone, his back struck painfully on the floor. He raised groans, and it doesn¡¯t seem like he can stand any time soon.

    For the Boss, it should be the same like Itou-kun with the pounce and devour pattern, but it didn¡¯t intend to get on top of Hirano-kun just yet. With both heads, it turned to the side.

    ¡°YaAAAAAAAAAAAaa!¡±

    With a loud swing of her axe, Futaba-san bravely cut towards the Boss.

    Yet, the Boss had already detected her attack, and with swift steps, jumped from the spot, evading Futaba-san¡¯s strike like it was no big deal. The floor hit by the powerful axe de, scattered sparks.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give in, Hirano-kun! Stand up quick¡ª ckhair Bind¡±

    Calling out to the fallen Swordsman, I enter to aid Futaba-san. I say that, but my powerless muscles can¡¯t possibly use my spear and get anywhere close, so I can only cast ckhair Bind.

    Futaba-san swings away a 2nd, a 3rd time, but as if reading the trajectory, the Boss elegantly twists its body and dodges. To add, at its blindspot-like feet area where bundles of ckhair were emerging, it dodged it all with light steps. Not a thread of hair could entwine.

    ¡°If that won¡¯t work, then¡ª¡±

    Near reflexively, I thrust out my right hand. As if I¡¯m releasing control of my limbs, I focus my conscience solely on the Curse. More, more precise, more vivid, image it fully.

    The long stands of hair, divide into three. Then, one after another, one at a time, very carefully, braid it. See, you can do it, I did it, beautiful braided hair.

    ¡°¡ª How¡¯s this!¡±

    The umptieth ckhair Bind, this time arranged in a braid, escaped the ground like a viper. That too the Boss foresaw, dodging with a side step.

    However, this Braided Bind has long reach.

    I powerfully swing my right hand. As if linked to the movement, the Braid sweeps at its feet. The length of the hair is around 3 meters. The Boss had side stepped to a distance, and it barely reached.

    ¡°Got ¡¯im! Futaba-san!¡±

    The Boss¡¯ left hind leg. Around the ankle, the Braid whistled as it whipped through the air, and coiled on. Twice, a third time, the hair winds around, and steals its nimble feet.

    ¡°HaAAAAAAAAAAa!¡±

    It¡¯s over. The Boss can¡¯t go any further.

    Faced with the de approaching with tremendous strength, the Boss turned in two directions.

    The right head, ring at the nearing Futaba-san. The left head, greatly turning back, stretching its neck. The target of its gaze, those annoying ckhairs.

    Clink, a soundes from its fang. Right after, the left head blows fire.

    ¡°Ah¡±

    I thought, but it had been toote. Not being metal or anything, the ckhair that was only fibres, burned, immediately losing all binding ability.

    Its left foot released by the roaring mes, the Boss regained its agility, and with a paper-thin margin, dodged Futaba-san¡¯s swing.

    This time wasn¡¯t aposed step, but a steep dodge meant for evading. Still, the axe once again beat the floor.

    And with its barely scraped by dodge, the Boss attained the chance to counter. Within arms reach, there stood an enemy who had swung her axe full power, and is currently chock full of openings.

    ¡°Gu, UUu!¡±

    With that groan, Futaba-san¡¯srge body was flung through the air like nothing. Her abdomen was struck with a piercing dog punch. In no time, Futaba-san¡¯s body took many meters of distance rolling on the floor, finallying to a stop when it hit a pir in a corner of the room.

    ¡°Futaba-san!¡±

    I shouted out, not only for concern of her well-being. The powerful vanguard that was Futaba-san having been blown away, distance to the powerless rearguard that is me, opened up right away. Position-wise, the Boss can vie to finish of Hirano-kun who¡¯s still down, or change its target, preying for me or Nishiyama-san.

    What now. Having nothing better than ckhair Bind in terms of resistance, I can only watch what it does. And with no obstructionsing from anywhere, the Boss takes the optimum action.

    Gauu it howled, as both heads clinked their fangs. The pair of mouths, shoot out a brilliant band of me. A Fire Beam.

    The zing fire, strangely made a loose curve in the air, as Futaba-san was trying to get up, towards her, no, the fire impacted around her as if trying to encage her.

    ¡°Ah, fuck¡­ it split us¡­¡±

    I swallow my breath at its ability and tactical operation. Deeming Futaba-san as the biggest risk factor, it cast mes unto her surroundings, sealing her. A jail of fire with radius 5 meters was formed at a corner of the room.

    ¡°U, Uu¡­ Momokawa-kun!¡±

    From beyond the vigorously flickering me, came Futaba-san¡¯s voice. Seems like she hasn¡¯t be barb-a-cue¡¯d pig, so that¡¯s a relief.

    The Boss could¡¯ve aimed its Fire Beam at Futaba-san herself, finishing her off for good, but it didn¡¯t. Maybe it¡¯s making light of us. It could also just prefer its meat raw.

    It¡¯s great that Futaba-san is alright, but my situation hasn¡¯t changed in the slightest.

    ¡°Wait Futaba-san! Don¡¯t try forcing out of there. Wait till the fire dies down a bit more. We¡¯ll manage here somehow!¡±

    I shout as I take a peek at the entrance that was blocked at the start. Kind of, looks like the fire there died down a bit. The wall of fire won¡¯t surge eternally, it¡¯s the greatest proof.

    That¡¯s why, there¡¯s no reason Futaba-san needs to be a human torch trying to forcefully pass through the me wall. Her injured, and we lose a lot of the battle power needed to beat the Boss. So, we have to endure here. No matter what, I¡¯ll buy time until Futaba-sanes back.

    As if sneering at my determination, the beast amusedly growls full ofposure, eagerly aiming its two heads at me and leers. Maybe I¡¯ll eat this guy, it could me thinking.

    I clumsily point my spear, and Nishiyama-san next to me is still dumbfoundedly grabbing onto her wand. Only the beast¡¯s growl echoes, a strange, quiet time passes.

    ¡°U, guu¡­ damn¡­¡±

    Result: the Boss chose Hirano-kun who¡¯d gotten back up to his knees.

    The two heads viciously bore its fangs, this time aiming to make sure he stays down.

    ¡°U, UWaAAAAAAa!¡±

    ¡°KyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAa!¡±

    As Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san¡¯s screams reverberate, I try making use of ckhair Bind in hopes of restraining it.

    ¡°Bind!¡±

    Even more focus than before. This time I called forth two braids. I¡¯m getting better, but I don¡¯t have time to get happy about that, I aim the braid snakes rising from the ground towards the Boss¡¯ heads as if tosh it.

    ¡°GaAAAh! Hot! Too hot, dammiiit!¡±

    Still, my upgraded ckhair Bind is also, powerless in the face of mes. Both were quickly annihted with bursts of Fire Beam. The Boss¡¯ assault on Hirano-kun, isn¡¯t abated in the slightest.

    ¡°U, uh¡­ UoOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡±

    A bit of hesitation, but resolve made. We can¡¯t go losing Hirano-kun at this stage. I give up on useless Curses, and determine to attack directly with my spear.

    With an embarrassingly shrill war cry, I dash my shaking legs towards the Boss. Ah, close, too close. It¡¯s crazy big from up close.

    ¡°DeyaAAAAAAAAAh!¡±

    With a boost from the Power Seed I swallowed on before entering the Boss Room, I unleash my strike. As the Boss is pushing down Hirano-kun, I aim to stab at its nk. I can¡¯t think it can dodge at this close a distance.

    But as the cruel world would have it, the spear with my all, cut only air.

    Nothing fancy, the Boss known for its agile body, simply jumped out of the way.

    ¡°Gi,iiaAAAAAAAAh!¡±

    The beastnded as if unaffected by gravity, which is when Hirano-kun cried out seeming on the verge of death. Looking, I find his neck gushing out blood.

    Just before the Boss dodged, it apparently had its fangs lodged in quite deep.

    ¡°Hirano-kun!¡±

    This is bad, if I don¡¯t stop the bleeding now, he¡¯ll definitely die. Luckily, my bag contains a decent amount of Ointment A. If I rub some on, the blood should stop somewhat.

    But then, I won¡¯t have time for that. This is a real-life fight, not a turn-based RPG you can take your sweet time considering all the choices.

    ¡°Uu, uWaaa!?¡±

    The Boss begins its counterattack. Perhaps deciding Hirano-kun is already one foot on the other side, it now aimed at me who hade attacking.

    Naturally, being neither Swordsman nor Berserker, as one with the weakest vocation known as Shaman, from this distance, with this timing, a form of resistance, cannot be hoped for.

    What do I. I thought, as the Boss¡¯ body closed in with frightening spee¡ª

    ¡°¡ªaAAAAh!¡±

    With a pathetically girly scream, I fall back onto the floor. It hurts. Pain as if all the air in my lungs was pressed out.

    But this pain is only the beginning. The Orthrus¡¯ hungry head, is already right in front of me, spreading its drool.

    ¡°Uwah, WaAAAAAh!?¡±

    Fangs closing in, speaking of what I responded with, I reflexively put up my hands. Of course, I¡¯d long let go of the spear, and as for taking out any sub-weapons like the boxcutter or Goma dagger, there was no time to even think of it.

    My arm that can¡¯t even break away a decent branch from a Fairy Walnut tree, is injected deeply by the wolf¡¯s fangs.

    ¡°Iih, aaAAAAAAAAAAa!!¡±

    Discarding all pride and shame, I scream. The pain in my arm quickly supersedes the limit of pain I can hope to bear.

    Like a ravenous beast, it will devour my arm, I thought so, but au contraire, the Boss¡¯ mouth separated. Gyau, a slightly pained growl enters my ears at the same time.

    ¡°A, ha, haha¡­ that¡¯s right, you eat me¡­ and you¡¯re, done for too!¡±

    Curse No.2 Pain Return is doing its job. The tearing on my arm from the Boss¡¯ fang, replicates back on its fore leg.

    In its moment¡¯s falter, I gain the chance to counter. This time for sure, I¡¯ll draw that Goma dagger on my belt, and with no other thoughts, just sh away at the hairy red body in front of me.

    It¡¯s tougher than I thought. The slightly rusted de, dug through the fur and a slight bit of meat, and stopped; nothing close to a fatal blow.

    Shiit, I can¡¯t even stick in a knife sitting down like this. But, I can maybe stab and¡ª

    ¡°Gyau!¡±

    A screames from both heads of the Boss. As if wary of my shing, it disregarded possible damage from Pain Return, and mercilessly dug its ws into my cor.

    ¡°Gu, gaa¡­ S-stupid, mutt¡­¡±

    This mutt, maybe it doesn¡¯t actually realize the damage from Pain Return ising back to it. My shoulder radiated pain from skin-tearing ws, and pressure from its pushed down forepaw so strong, I thought my bones would break. The Boss is supposed to be tasting the same pain, but this mutt, doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s letting go any time soon.

    But there¡¯s no fatal blow like snapping off my neck. If it wanted, it could gouge off my thin neck with one bite. That must mean, it really is cautious of my Pain Return, and can¡¯t get in the mind to deal the finisher.

    Me and the Boss continue tasting the same pain, neither one giving in. Sharp pain eats into my body, my breath almost stopping with the weight of the Boss pressuring over me. Will I die like this, taking this guy along with me, and when I thought that,

    ¡°N-Nishiyamaaa! Shoot! Shoot it nooow!¡±

    It was Hirano-kun. I direct my nce where, he¡¯s desperately stopping his bleeding with a hand, shakily standing up.

    ¡°Hirano! B-but¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just shoot! Shoot dammit! Shoot your st, Momokawa and all!¡±

    My spine freezes. Not good. With mybel as a coward trying to run away first, she¡¯ll lose the resistance to shooting an ally. Ah, God fucking dammit. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. But if this was gonna happen, I would¡¯ve never done it.

    Stormed with irredeemable, humiliating regret, I can only keep suppressing the Boss¡¯ approaching fangs.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll, shoot! ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??????¡±

    I heard the countdown of death.

    Shit, shiiit! Stop, stop it you idiots! That¡¯s friendly fire assholes!

    My head teeming with words of curse, but also, Ah, can¡¯t be helped, you can sacrifice this weakling Shaman and beat the Boss, hip hip hooray for you. Some cooled down thoughts are in there too.

    The Boss being the Boss, it doesn¡¯t notice the Attack Magic aiming towards it. It¡¯s like, while attacking me and getting back the pain, it¡¯s losing its reason, and needlessly focusing on me.

    Each and every one of then, myself included, were all hopeless.

    ¡°¡ª Aer st!¡±

    ________________________

    [1] Visual Aid for gym. The stage in this case seems much higher though¡­

 Chapter 36: Selection

    Chapter 36: Selection

    Surrounded by raging mes, Futaba Meiko felt a true sense of crisis.

    She could feel the scorch singeing at her skin¡­ but fortunately, the ze isn¡¯t actually grilling her in here, she realizes. Most likely, this is the same as the mes sealing the entrance, it will only burn around her.

    ¡°Uu, -ast¡­ I have to get out fast¡±

    Though her body itself wasn¡¯t on fire, if she kept waiting around in here, she felt she would get baked from the heat bit by bit.

    The wall of me wasn¡¯t the only thing pressuring Meiko. Kotarou and the others were likely having an extremely tough fight, sounds of screams and roars wereing in. Tormented by the heatwaves, Meiko couldn¡¯t decipher the contents of those yells, but anyway, she needed to return at this moment if possible, or they could be annihted, she imagined.

    She must hurry. But, just as Kotarou said, if she forcefully broke through the wall, she could be wounded to the level of bing an obstruction in battle.

    She must escape, and at the same time, must limit the damage to the bare minimum.

    It was a mission impossible-like situation, but, Meiko who had since obtained courage, kept her coolness of mind even as time was approaching zero.

    If Kotarou¡¯s words are to be believed, the fire would begin to die down in some amount of time.

    And for Meiko, there was nothing she could believe more, in this cruel otherworld dungeon, than his words.

    ¡°There!¡±

    Seeing the mes encircling her weaken for an instant, Meiko resolved her will, and attempted to escape from the prison of fire. Fortunately, she felt an instance of heat, her uniform scorched slightly at the hems, but otherwise she broke through safe and sound.

    From the momentum of jumping out, twice, three times, she rolled on hard stone and stood up when, she was struck with that scene of despair.

    ¡°Can¡¯t, be¡­ Momokawa-kun¡±

    Following her gaze, there was Momokawa Kotarou, blood-smeared, and copsed like a broken doll. Limbs sprawled, he showed no signs of movement.

    Could he be¡­ dead? At a nce, it couldn¡¯t be determined. Nay, to begin with, something like his death, would never be epted by Meiko.

    ¡°¡ªGaAAAA!¡±

    With no time to ponder, the ferocious roar of the Boss echoes.

    Having the body and senses of a Berserker, Meiko turns her attention to the beast. The fearsome two-headed Orthrus was however, bloodied all over, and didn¡¯t seem as strong as just before.

    It has sustained significant damage. The fact that the Boss has weakened, could be seen from a nce.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±

    Before celebrating the chance to defeat the Boss, Meiko notices. Kotarou and the Boss, they¡¯re both equally bloodied. Every one of their wounds looked all the same, but also, there was another person there, simrly fallen all bloodied.

    ¡°¡­ Pain Return¡±

    Recalling the power of that Curse, Meiko connects all the dots.

    ¡°Nishiyama-san, Momokawa-kun, did you shoot him?¡±

    From Meiko¡¯s gentle eyes, an unimaginably sharp re shoots. Its destination, one highschool girl holding her wand, trembling in a pool of blood.

    ¡°A, Ouch¡­ Why¡­ I, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±

    Nishiyama¡¯s, expression despairing as if she hadmitted a mistake she could never take back, was all it took.

    Bodies cut in multiple lines. Kotarou, Orthrus, Nishiyama. Aer st and Pain Return.

    As the Orthrus was biting into Kotarou, Nishiyama shot them together. There was no other way to exin the situation.

    ¡°I see¡­ You betrayed Momokawa-kun¡±

    Speaking frigid words, Meiko moved. Drawing her axe without a moment¡¯s hesitance, the Boss and Nishiyama, she observed the two.

    As Meiko moved, so does the Orthrus bear its ws and charge. As if seeking back its lost blood, it hungers for new prey.

    The starved wolf¡¯s aim is, naturally, being the closest, and in addition, one it can predate on at ease. Boasting nothing close to any super-human physical strength, it would be the frail girl known as a Wind Mage.

    ¡°U, Aah¡ª Aer Sagitta!¡±

    Regardless that she herself was also wounded by des of wind, that she could yet resist with her Wind Magic, was only because of her little but fruitful experience in dungeon capture. However, starved for blood, the Boss wouldn¡¯t mind a few cuts of wind de at this point, and it pushed down the powerless girl.

    ¡°Kyaaa! Noo! Help me! Please, Futaba-san!¡±

    Meiko was all but calmly, observing the Boss greedily eyeing its feed. Screams from a traitor, she could hear such a thing all day and her heart wouldn¡¯t even itch.

    Calmly, serenely, her heart made crystal clear. Focusing on nothing but the fight. Concentrating, on nothing but killing the enemy. That is, a Berserker¡¯s modus operandi. Pure and rational, ughter.

    ¡°Fuuh¡ª¡±

    Her breathing ordered, quietly, raising the sharp axe, she takes a step.

    ¡°Kyaaa! AaAAAAAAa!¡±

    The Boss wouldn¡¯t notice her sharpened killing intent, wholeheartedly indulging on the prey it had captured. The roughly moving fangs and ws, shred away at Nishiyama¡¯s body, uniform and all, digging into the maiden¡¯s tender white skin.

    As if to dine on her guts, the two heads chomp into her abdomen when,

    ¡°¡ªHaa!¡±

    Finishing glory. Meiko who saw this as the moment to end it, with frightening speed, and a heavy step drawing the enemy into range, swings down her axe.

    GAa! with a sharp cry, the Boss moves to evade in a panic. But it cannot escape the strike, the blow delivered at the best moment, as deemed by the Berserker.

    Raising a pained, shrill cry, the Orthrus has its trunk gouged deeply.

    ¡°Ih, giiAAAAAAAAAAAAAAa!¡±

    Simrly, Nishiyama¡¯s scream resounds.

    The axe swung down by Meiko, not only cut the Orthrus, but also cut into girl¡¯s side.

    Along with the freshly gushing deep red blood, long and narrow, winding lumps of meat popped out from the gash. Her intestines, had been severed and had fallen out.

    It wasn¡¯t an unfortunate slip of hand. She knew it would hit. She did it anyway. To cut the Orthrus, she severed her ally along the way. [1]

    Pertaining that choice, her regrets, were nil.

    ¡°Hah, AaAAAAAAAAa!¡±

    Going past the dying Nishiyama, Meiko fiercely chased after the wounded Orthrus.

    Gyan, whimpered the Boss, as it had turned hopelessly weak. It must have lost too much blood. Its greatest weapons, showing not a shadow of their original agility, its footwork had be unsteady.

    The two-headed wolf was now, nothing but arge-sized enemy.

    As the axe swings became a storm, the Orthrus had its legs smashed, neck slit, head split. In no time at all, Meiko¡¯s overwhelming violence had made it into mincemeat.

    ¡°Nunh!¡±

    Finally, she stomped on the remaining head, crushing its cranium, andpletely stopped the Boss¡¯ life. Both heads had their grey matter scattered about. It wouldn¡¯t rise ever again.

    ¡°Ah, Uu¡­ AaAAA¡­¡±

    The greatest threat eliminated, Meiko wanted to instantly run to Kotarou, but though dying, the figure of a desperately moving Nishiyama caught her eye, so she switched priority.

    Her guts spilling, Nishiyama thrust her hand inside her bag fallen beside her, taking out a single small bottle.

    ¡°Hmm, so you were hiding something like this. Hey, this is called a Potion, right?¡±

    ¡°Fu-Futaba-san¡­ please¡­ save me¡­¡±

    Potion. Obtained from Treasure Chests, a magical Recovery Item. Its existence made clear from the information by the Note Circle; since Itou of the Thief ss was in their party, there is the possibility of those two hiding it, Kotarou had made such a hypothesis before.

    ¡°As I thought, Momokawa-kun was right again¡±

    ¡°P-please¡­ It, hurts¡­¡±

    Coming near Nishiyama who was lying face up, Meiko gently squatted down. The girl tightly holding her Potion vial as if she wouldn¡¯t let go, had it quickly stolen away.

    ¡°Ah, A-Aa¡­ Don¡¯t, give it back¡­ please¡­¡±

    Meiko pops open the seal, dipping the tip of her finger into the clear light blue liquid, and gave it a taste test. Next, she put a drop on the light burn on the back of her hand.

    ¡°Yup, no mistake, looks like this has healing effects¡±

    Indeed, both drinking it and applying it to the affected area will grant healing.

    Confirming its high recovery ability, Meiko made a satisfied expression, and as if forgetting that Nishiyama ever existed, she quickly scurried off.

    ¡°Wait¡­ Please¡­ please, beg you¡­¡±

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, I¡¯ll save you right now¡±

    Facing the limply copsed Kotarou, Meiko reverses and let¡¯s fall the contents of the vial. Along with sparkling particles of light, the blue liquid rains on Kotarou¡¯s petite body.

    And the results are dramatic.

    Right before her eyes, the atrocious wounds on his limbs and neck close, returning his skin to a fair, maidenly white.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d, Momokawa-kun¡­¡±

    Upon hearing his lovely, quiet breaths, Meiko smiles warmly as if looking at a cat in its midday nap. He was breathing, and hisplexion was also fine. She checked for a pulse just to make sure, and that too was normal.

    Momokawa Kotarou, waspletely fine.

    ¡°Just leave all the rest to me¡±

    Leaving Kotarou to peacefully sleep, Meiko turned towards the gruesome cleanup work, full of smiles.

    Drawing the knife instead of the axe, she cut open the Orthrus in no time, and finished collecting the core inside its gut. Holding up the blood-smeared crystal, at the ce the Boss hadid in wait, the Magic Circle reacted. Just as with the Great Frog¡¯ske, the room began filling with red light.

    Confirming that the Transfer Circle was activating normally, following Kotarou¡¯s example, Meiko collected their belongings without oversight. She gathered up everything that looked useful.

    Meiko thus carries only their loot, and along with an innocently sleeping Kotarou, departs the Boss Room. Hirano, whoy still after losing a copious amounts of blood from his neck, and Nishiyama, who now lost even the ability to groan, the two ssmates were left behind in the dimly lit room.

    ________________________

    [1] Eh, just trivia, ¶Ï¤ÁÇÐ¤Ã¤¿ ¡ú severed ¡ª also has a double meaning of severing ties (lol)

 Chapter 37: Kenzaki Asuna and Takanashi Kotori

    Chapter 37: Kenzaki Asuna and Takanashi Kotori

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ I brought it down, Hiroki¡­¡±

    Swarms of Goma corpsesy about. At the peak of that mountain of cadavers, the Boss Goma that held the Demon Sword was scattering into light particles.

    Learned skills

    Counter Can respond to close-range attacks. Possible to repel des or even fire.

    Reflector Can respond to long-range attacks. Possible to repel arrows or even lightling.

    Righteous Fist A foundation of the Souma-Style Unarmed Combat Arts. A fist that is fast, heavy.

    Acquired skills

    Break Boosts Hit Damage. Deals the enemy a heavy blow.

    Berserk Inflicts Status Ailment Berserk on self. Lose your reason and sense of pain, to gain tremendous strength. [1]

    Break, is the same that our Swordsman Hirano had. And Berserk, Meiko doesn¡¯t have this exact one, but it should be like her on Courage and Madness chapter? Hero sure is one hell of a cheat~

    Information on the new powers are engraved into my brain. Not only my mind, but my body too has power flowing throughout like I¡¯m leveling up in an RPG.

    Even when I¡¯m this beat up, the power just keeps pumping in, it¡¯s even making me a bit worried.

    ¡°Nii-san, are you alright!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, more or less. I¡¯m fine, so please go heal the othe¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just what do you think you¡¯re saying! Look at all these cuts, you¡¯re my top priority here nii-san!¡±

    It¡¯s nothing fatal, so I¡¯m fine though. But there¡¯s some shing here and there, so it may just look really bloody. Well, it does hurt, but not anything I can¡¯t bear.

    ¡°Honestly, you¡¯re always so reckless, nii-san¡ª Healing Light¡±

    Sakura holds up her hands, and a dim, pale light envelops my body. Whoa, what¡¯s this, it¡¯s warm, so nice. It¡¯s like being soaked in a hot spring, but maybe saying that would be rude.

    ¡°Looks like, I worried you. It was a pretty ugly fight¡±

    I should really reflect on this. It was a reckless way of fighting with leaving everything to anger. If that Boss Goma, had even a bit of fighting technique, I¡¯d have been cornered in no time. That bastard only relied on its superior strength and the Demon Sword¡¯s sharpness, it merely brute forced its way through battles.

    ¡°No, you¡¯d just seen you best friend get eaten. Can¡¯t be helped you lost your cool for a bit¡ª And look Souma, since you got so angry instead, I could see things straight¡±

    ¡°Thanks Asuna, if you weren¡¯t there, I¡¯d be done for. No, that goes for all of you. If any of you weren¡¯t there, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nihaha, we¡¯re allrades in arms, it¡¯s natural we have your back!¡±

    ¡°Right, we won¡¯t be letting Yuuto-kun carry all the burden¡±

    When the fight started, the Boss Goma seemed to have percieved us as dangerous, and immediately made the surrounding standby Goma jump into the fray. It¡¯s only because everyone worked together that we were able to ovee the fierce melee.

    Sakura¡¯s arrows of light scattered the Goma, while ss Rep¡¯s ice walls blocked their way. They did their utmost to make sure I could be in a one-on-one against the Boss Goma. Natsukawa-san worked hard in the back, guarding Takanashi-san who isn¡¯t currently able to fight, and Asuna got rid of the smallfries trying to get to me, and asionally, got a good hit on the Boss Goma too.

    We just barely scraped by. A single mistake in our coordination, and it wouldn¡¯t be strange for one of us to be dead¡­ But I¡¯m d we can enjoy this victory.

    ¡°Still, if I didn¡¯t lose my cool, we could¡¯ve had more leeway¡±

    ¡°You can leave moping forter. Right now, just be happy we won. And, let¡¯s pray for Kousaka too.¡±

    I¡¯m made to realize from Asuna¡¯s words. The rage from my fight with the Boss Goma is instantly gone, and recing it, came the feeling of losing a best friend, only sadness.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re, right¡­¡±

    The vast area we fought at seems to be a so-called Boss Room. At the back of this area, there¡¯s a magic circle used for transport, and it¡¯s set so that you use the core from the Boss Goma to move over to the next area. Using these methods of instantaneous movement, or warping, before using the Divine Gate, makes the premise of a magic circle used for escape much more believable.

    Luckily, the ce we¡¯re warped to isn¡¯t in the middle of a pack of monsters, but inside a fairy square. There, we could rest, and more importantly, sort out our hearts.

    ¡°But still, never thought Holy Enchant had this kind of use¡±

    ¡°Me too, I didn¡¯t think it would go this well¡±

    A sparkling, beautiful katanay in front of a slightly bewildered Sakura. This is that very same Demon Sword once held by the Boss Goma.

    It had been releasing a red aura, and being that strong of a seemingly cursed weapon, trying to touch it only assaulted with terrible chills. Recognizing that, I couldn¡¯t make any proper use of it.

    Still, I thought it¡¯d be a waste to throw away such a good de, so I tried to have Sakura cast Holy Enchant on it since we had nothing to lose¡­

    ¡°Yup, looks all good for now¡±

    I give it a swing, and it¡¯s just a normal¡ª no rather, this katana feels lighterpared to its size, but no other issues. This¡¯ll be useful.

    ¡°If the enchant wears off, I hope it stays normal¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just cross that bridge when ites¡±

    That being said, sometimeter, the enchantment wore off, and our doubts were cleared.

    Speaking from the conclusion, all was well. As if it had been purified, the red aura didn¡¯te out anymore. The white glow disappearing as Holy Enchant wore off, it looked like a normal katana afterwards. No problem swinging it around. It was no longer a Demon Sword, but simply an excellent de. It appears that the curse had beenpletely lifted.

    ¡°Asuna, you take it¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this nonsense now, Souma, aren¡¯t you the one who beat the big bastard? You take it, it¡¯s yours¡±

    ¡°No well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to, but Asuna, your sword broke in thatst fight, right? My sword is still working fine. And I¡¯ve been using this for a while see, I got really ustomed to it, so don¡¯t really want to change it right now¡±

    ¡°B-But you can¡­¡±

    A manly personality, would be somewhat rude, but Asuna¡¯s upstanding and strict character didn¡¯t allow her to quietly ept it. Having a good grasp of such feelings, the one who came to the rescue was, as expected, our good ol¡¯ ss Rep.

    ¡°Look how hard Yuuto-kun is begging you Asuna, just take it why don¡¯t you. We¡¯re all in the same team now, so it¡¯s important to properly distribute the equipment¡±

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s with my vocation and abilities, I¡¯m sure I can make good use of this katana but¡­¡±

    ¡°So you can just show us that in our battles toe. I can¡¯t think the dungeon ends here, and we will have to face much more powerful monsters soon enough. So we need to work our Dualwielder Asuna to the bone don¡¯t we. We¡¯re counting on you¡±[2]

    ¡°Fufuh, your ttery is too sweet, I¡¯ll take it then. And, I¡¯ll meet your expectations too¡±

    Looks like ss Rep somehow convinced Asuna.

    ¡°Then, Souma, I¡¯ll be gratefully epting this katana¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you and me, let¡¯s protect everyone¡±

    With most of our loot distribution done, we decided to hear all the details from our newrades, Asuna and Takanashi-san.

    ¡°As you¡¯ve probably noticed in the fight, I¡¯m a Dualwielder¡±

    ¡°Hey hey, how¡¯s that different from a Swordsman? Is it that Two-Sword Style thing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, exactly¡±

    Natsukawa-san¡¯s simple guess seems to have hit home. I see, she was holding a long and a short sword because of that Two-Sword Style.

    ¡°So what happens when you got just one?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m suddenly powerless. Thanks to my vocation, even someone inexperienced as me can show master-ss skill¡±

    No, you¡¯ve been strong to begin with, Asuna. She didn¡¯t have the arrogance to call herself master-ss, but nheless, her skill was much higherpared to the average highschooler.

    But that too, is perhaps just as expected of the only daughter of the esteemed Kenzaki n known for thier sworsmanship. In terms of sword skills, she has recieved training much harsher than myself. Actually, if we had a no holds barred, serious match, I couldn¡¯t say if a well tempered guy like me is guaranteed to win. The match would be decided by luck and other factors. In other words, it¡¯s 50-50. Sword in hand, I believe Kenzaki Asuna to be the strongest highschool girl in all of Japan.

    Incidentally, leaving aside strength, Asuna is quite the looker as well. Long-slit, sharp andposed eyes, in addition to a gant, disciplined visage, makes her popr amongst peers of both sexes. No actually, she¡¯s more of a hot-topic among the girls. Standing at over 5¡¯7¡±170 cm, the only girls taller than her in ss would be Futaba-san and Kizaki-san from volleyball team. Yet, despite her long legs bing well toned from daily training, her figure draws well defined curves establishing her womanhood.[3]

    With a beautiful appearance, and supermodel-like figure, there¡¯s no way Asuna wouldn¡¯t be sought out. It¡¯s natural that Hiroki fell for her. But those intense turf wars between him and his rivals in love, the girls who called Asuna their Onee-sama, was a bit surprising to say the least.[4]

    Well, I can¡¯t really say I¡¯m excluded from that sort of carnage either I guess.

    During 1st year(10th grade), I had identally epted a challenge from her due to a misunderstanding, and actually ended up winning. She then said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve beaten me, I¡¯ll ept you as my fiance¡±, like it was some hidden tradition of the Kenzaki n, causing a whole other uproar.

    It¡¯s kind of absurd deciding about marriage partners from a mere sword match, and the talks of engagements and what not were safelyid to rest. Asuna too would prefer to marry not me, but someone who she actually loves; she should in fact.

    Anyway, the girl called Kenzaki Asuna, is an important friend and a girl I get along with well. And presently, she¡¯s also arade I can leave my back to.

    ¡°Well, having two makes it much easier to use battle arts though. As of now, I¡¯m definitely stronger with two swords than one¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh, that means, we¡¯ve got to get you another good one don¡¯t we¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re lucky enough to get even one this good. The second one, I¡¯ll settle for a rusted sword no problem¡±

    ¡°Hold it right there, Asuna-chan! Now¡¯s the time for Kotori to show her mettle!!¡±[5]

    The one suddenly wedging herself into the conversation is Takanashi-san whom we had protected in the fight just now.

    ¡°Kotori, you mean, we can use it?¡±

    ¡°Yep, Sakura-chan and ss Rep said they had some extra core¡±

    I see, understands her partner Asuna. I have not a clue what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°Erm, Takanashi-san¡¯s vocation, what was it again?¡±

    ¡°Ahem, lo and behold! For Kotori¡¯s vocation, it is the one, the only¡ª¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a Sage¡±

    ¡°Waah!? So mean, Asuna-chan! You took my big moment!!¡±

    Cause you were getting cocky, Asuna coldly replies, at whom Takanashi-san started furiously swinging her little arms. The scene brings a smile to the face.

    ¡°And, a Sage is?¡±

    ¡°You see~, a Sage, that is someone that~¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s got no fighting ability, but she has a number of useful powers. The novice skills are¡ª¡±

    ¡°Waah! Stop that already!!¡±

    Ancient Language Deciphering: basic Can read the ancientnguage. Limited to third-ss.

    Simple Remodelling Carry out simplified remodelling. Understanding and rification. Disassembly and reassembly.

    Sacred Tongue: ¡°Word of Rejection¡± Can trante speech with intention into the sacred tongue. Limited to words meaning rejection.

    ¡°There¡¯s also one acquired skill¡±

    Mana Analysis Can see the function of items imbued with mana and analyse them.[6]

    Would be the 4 skills possessed by Sage, Takanashi-san.

    ¡°And, what do these powers do specifically?¡±

    ¡°See that fountain over there? The fairy square¡¯s fountain actually has a hidden feature. And to use that feature, you have to know how to read the ancientnguage¡±

    That¡¯d be where Ancient Language Deciphering: basices into y.

    ¡°That feature being?¡±

    ¡°Like repairing equipment, or making new ones. All we need is some suitable materials and Kotori¡¯s mana.¡±

    Apparently she can find out if those materials are suitable using Mana Analysis. Also, she seems to understand some other things with that skill too, but let¡¯s put that aside for now.

    ¡°Lastly, with Simple Remodelling, we can activate the fountain¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s the fountain doing it and not her skill?¡±

    ¡°We tried that too. Results: with the same weapon and same materials, there¡¯s arge difference in quality. We think that this fountain has a high level Remodelling feature, but we can only use it via the Simple Remodelling novice skill¡±

    Meaning, even if you did the same actions as Takanashi-san, it wouldn¡¯t work unless you have a skill rted to remodelling.

    ¡°Asuna, I didn¡¯t think you were into games and stuff?¡±

    ¡°No, all this are things Kousaka thought up¡±

    Stepped into andmine there. My chest hurts. Hiroki, that guy was really into games huh. That reminds me, I never returned that game I borrowed.

    ¡°Anyway, the fact of the matter is, with Kotori here, we can repair our weapons and make new ones. Only, we didn¡¯t have much in terms of materials, including cores, until now, and I ended up using rusted swords¡±

    On the other hand, as long as we have the materials, we can make as many powerful weapons as we want. This is a really useful skill in a dungeon where we aren¡¯t guaranteed any supplies.

    ¡°And what does Word of Rejection do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s somewhat iffy. Apparently, when Kotori says something like stop, or get away, it can stop monsters intent on attacking¡±

    And if she shouts with strong willpower, she can apparently blow them away as well. And not only one, but many at a time. In addition, it¡¯s not only limited to monsters, but ranged attacks like stones or arrows shot at her are also included in things blown away.

    It sounds like an amazing magic, but it only works for things aimed at Takanashi-san herself, so she can¡¯t use it for support us in the frontlines. Though the concept of Rejection should be between her and the enemy only, conveniently stopping only the enemy seems to be tough. Worst case, she could identally stop an ally mid-battle.

    It¡¯s dangerous to use carelessly, so Takanashi-san has been only using it for self-defense.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing she could do more with it when she learns new Sacred Tongues¡­ but right now, we can¡¯t use it in fights at all¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s great that she can use for protecting herself. But the real amazing part of Takanashi-san¡¯s power, it¡¯s how she can create new weapons. Right now we¡¯ve got a decent amount of cores, so she can probably make do with those¡±

    ¡°Right, so let¡¯s get Kotori to¡ª huh, Kotori, you¡¯re crying?¡±

    ¡°Uu, Uuu!! Asuna-chan you dummy!!(baka)¡±

    What¡¯s up with her, Asuna and I both tilt our heads, at which point Natsukawa-san swoops in to the rescue.

    ¡°Heey Kotori-chan, you can do this. Do that remodel(?) thingy here and you can show Souma-kun your good side¡±

    ¡°R-really~, ehehe, Kotori can get Souma-kun to praise her?¡±

    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right, he¡¯ll be super happy¡±

    ¡°Really, re~ally¡­ Ehehe, kay, Kotori¡¯s gonna give it her all!¡±

    Wow, I didn¡¯t hear what they were saying, but Takanashi-san seems to have gotten back her motivation. As you¡¯d expected from her close friend Natsukawa-san.

    Tell the truth, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m that close to Takanashi-san to begin with. Sakura, ss Rep, Natsukawa-san, Asuna, she¡¯s close enough to all 4 others here to call them by first name, but she hasn¡¯t had much interaction with me. Or rather, it¡¯s because she¡¯s usually in a cicle of girls only.

    So for me, Takanashi-san only has an image of a cute, bright and energetic girl. Well, getting to know her, anyone would know that description to be exactly urate.

    Standing as small as Reina, Takanashi-san has a simrly youthful face. Her hairstyle also being twin-tailed. Naturally, her hair color is ck, not blond like Reina¡¯s. It really suits her. I shouldn¡¯t say this, but she¡¯s just like a gradeschooler.

    But the fundamental difference between her and Reina, that would be in their chest size. The so-called Busty Loli(loli kyonyuu), is the term a friend of mine used. Almost delirously. That, Kotori-chan, she truly possesses the trait fulfilling a miracle of Man¡¯s desires, the Busty Loli. No but, since Takanashi-san is the same age as us, she¡¯s can¡¯t be a loli I think. About the bustiness, that I can¡¯t deny.[7]

    Anyway, with a baby-face, along with a bust that doesn¡¯t match her petite figure, she too was a hot-topic in a different meaning from Asuna. With a 100% approval rating amongst the boys to boot.

    As for the girls, some jealous of her poprity would call her ¡°sly¡±, or ¡°conceited¡±, or ¡°poser¡° among other things.

    Of course, starting with Sakura, Takanashi-san always had a bunch of reliable friends around her, so there¡¯d been no case of it devolving into bullying. I don¡¯t approve of it, facing one with an appearance as blessed as that of Takanashi-san, I suppose it¡¯s only human to feel some level of ugly emotion.

    ¡°Well then, Souma-kun, lend your sword to Kotori please!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll leave it to y¡ª¡±

    ¡°I forgot to mention, there¡¯s a chance Kotori¡¯s remodelling can fail¡±

    ¡°¡­ What happens when it fails?¡±

    ¡°Naturally it breaks. So bad that you can¡¯t ever use it again¡±

    ¡°Takanashi-san, I change my mind, please do this rusted one first¡±

    ¡°Kay, no problem!¡±

    After that, Takanashi-san cheerfully tossed the rusted sword into the fountain, and began the ritual of remodelling.

    As we had just ovee a battle with close to a hundred Goma along with a Boss Goma, it was high time for some well deserved rest. We collected all theparatively better weapons from the Goma, and since Takanashi-san could repair those, we needed to wait for that too.

    Of course, washing the dirt off our clothes and bodies was crucial psychologically as well as hygenically. In other words, it was time for a bath.

    ¡°Woah, Sakura-chan, your skin is so pretty~¡±

    ¡°S-stop Kotori, don¡¯t touch me there¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m jealous of Sakura¡¯s figure, but ss Rep has it good too¡±

    ¡°What are you saying Asuna,pared to me, you definitely win¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯ve gotten bigger again see, honestly, they¡¯re in the way when I¡¯m fighting¡±

    ¡°Not jealous, I¡¯m not jealous at all¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong ss Rep, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not you know. Ryouko-chan¡¯s a bit sensitive about that after all¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°Nihaha, of course, it¡¯s about her boobs!¡±

    ¡°Wh-what the, Minami!¡±

    ¡°But Ryouko-chan, you can¡¯t be jealous of Asuna-chan when right here, there someone so much, greater¡ª¡±

    ¡°KyaAAAAAA!?¡±

    ¡°Th-this sheer volume, my hands look tiny!?¡±

    ¡°Minami, enough is enough!¡±

    ¡°Minami-chan you perv(hi)!!¡±

    ¡°Nyaha, my bad, you two, I¡¯m sorry! So wait, not there, wai¡ª Kyaaa!!¡±

    Fun-filled voices rung about.

    Yes, right now, the 5 girls were in the middle of bathing using the fairy square¡¯s fountain. Naturally, I, being the only guy present, was driven away. It¡¯s of course dangerous to wander around alone in the dungeon, so I¡¯m standing near the entrance to the fairy square facing the wall. If by chance, I were to turn around, I don¡¯t think I would be viewing paradise. The girls are likely washing up on the opposite side so as to be out of view as much as possible.

    Nevertheless, I am not so much a fool as to attempt turning around.

    ¡°You understand, nii-san? You are absolutely not, to try peeping¡±/

    Sakura had decreed.

    I am too, a man. A healthy highschool boy, with the natural urges thate with being one. However, as a man, I¡¯m not stupid enough to want to peep while putting their trust to the test.

    Even still, that Sakura being so wary of me, am I really that untrustworthy?

    ¡°Nii-san, at times like this, you tend to cause trouble someway or other, so you need particr attention!¡±

    I was reminded as such. Certainly, there was that time like our middleschool field trip, or that time when we went to the beach with some friends, I inadvertantly ended up walking in on them while they were chinging; certainly, those kind of idental events did happen¡­ but, but still, when she¡¯s so inly wary of me, as her brother, I¡¯m just saddened.

    ¡°Fuuh, tranquility, tranquility¡±

    Challenge epted, Sakura. I shall now be the noblest of gentlemen. There shall be no case, of meying eyes on your, or the other girls¡¯ naked bodies.

    And, after painfully passing the time, from their voices, it seemed that their washing hade to an end, and they had began dressing up. Alright, I passed the test¡ª I rxed, but right then,

    ¡°KyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    A scream like the tearing of silk echoes. This is, exactly the same, same as that fearful, despairing cry I heard before facing the Boss Goma. It was Takanashi-san.

    Hearing such a tense shriek, my rxed state of mind switched into that of battle-readiness. It can¡¯t be, did a monster suddenly appeared here in the fairy square? Taking up the sword at my waist, I quickly turned.

    ¡°What happenned, Takanashi-sa¡ªnn!?¡±

    ¡°Nooo!! Save me Souma-kuuun!¡±

    There, a teary-eyed Takanashi-san was running to me in white underwear. The almost dazzling soft, porcin maiden¡¯s skin, and those springing twin hills, they scroched these eyes of mine. As if she¡¯d gotten the wrong size. They seemed close to spilling out.

    ¡°Uaah!? Wait, Takanashi-san, your clothes!¡±

    ¡°Fueeen!(crying sound)¡±

    Before I know what was what, I was clung onto by a Takanashi-san in her underwear, being hugged tightly. T-this is bad, I can¡¯t draw my sword like this. No, not that. This soft feeling on this body of mine is, dammit, not that either!

    ¡°Please wait, Kotori! Nii-san is over th¡ª¡±

    ¡°Jeez, didn¡¯t I say it¡¯s dangerous to run off like that?¡±

    ¡°Sorry sorry, Ryouko-chan meant well alright?¡±

    As I was bound by Takanashi-san, and had entered a state ofplete immobility, new pairs of underwear kept popping into my eyes one after another. Pink, ck, sky-blue, the girls appearing in underwear of all these colors, as family, as friends, even if I didn¡¯t particrly like them, they would only appear cuter, more beautiful than any model in fashion magazines.

    In other words, Sakura, and Asuna, and Natsukawa-san, these three had appeared before me in their lingerie.[8]

    ¡°Kyaa! Nii-san, why¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wh-, S-Souma¡­¡±

    ¡°Fuee!?¡±

    I guess these three hurriedly tried to chase after Takanashi-san who has suddenly run off. So hurried that they forgot that they too were in their underwear same her her.

    ¡°Fueeen, Souma-kuuun, Kotori was, she was soo scaared¡±

    ¡°¡­ Nii-san, what might this be?¡±

    A dangerous air drifts from Sakura all of a sudden. Aah, I wonder why, she¡¯s inly covering her chest with her arm like girl¡¯s do, but this cute sister of mine, I can¡¯t help but be terrified of her.

    ¡°J-just wait Sakura, this is a misunderstanding!¡±

    I shouldn¡¯t have made such blunder. Just that, Takanashi-san had screamed so loudly that I thought it was an emergency. That¡¯s why, being embraced by Takanashi-san in her underwear right now is not from my intention, but by her own free will. I have nothing to feel guilty about.

    ¡°Well, I am in fact engaged to Souma, so him seeing me in my underwear¡­ is no b-big deal¡­¡±

    ¡°Nihaha, Sorry, Souma-kun, you¡¯re not that happy seeing li¡¯l old me right¡±

    With faces red and eyes watery, I can¡¯t feel too convinced you know. Sorry you two, I¡¯ve caused you a lot of shame.

    I promise I¡¯ll make it up to you so please¡­ please help stop this dangerous Sakura.

    ¡°Wait, calm down Sakura, this is an unforeseen ident. I just¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nii-san you, you jerk(baka)!!¡±

    Aa, so Lux Sagitta, also works without a bow, I thought as I was enveloped in dazzling light.

    ________________________

    [1] Counter & Reflector are as is, simple. Ò»¤ÎÕýÈ­ ¡ª Ichi no Sei Ken ¡ª Righteous Fist. As can be implied, his house is a dojo.

    [2] Ë«„‡Ê¿ ¡ª Dualwielder, only in the sword sense.

    [3] I recently found a good reference to the described eyes, like, long-slit, droopy, cat-like etc.

    [4] Onee-sama! Tvtropes is a godsend

    [5] Kotori-tan refers to herself in the third person~

    [6] ¹Å´úÕZ½âÕi?Ðò ¡ª Kodaigo Kaidoku: Jo¡ª Ancient Language Deciphering: basic ie. babelfish

    º†Ò×åb³Éê‡ ¡ª Kani Renseijin ¡ª Simple Remodelling ie. magical ¡®crafting¡¯

    ÉñÂ}ÑÔÕZ¡¸¾Ü½~¤ÎÑÔÈ~¡¹¡ª Shinsei Gengo ¡°Kyozetsu no Kotoba¡±¡ª Sacred Tongue: ¡°Word of Rejection¡± ie. fus ro dah

    Ä§Á¦½âÎö ¡ª Maryoku Kaiseki ¡ª Mana Analysis¡­ better exnations right after.

    [7] An education image(possibly NSFW)

    [8] (This is a joke note) If we consider the listing of colors being not randomized, but in the order that the girls appear in, Sakura should be Pink, Asuna ¡ú ck, and Minami ¡ú light blue. With Kotori obviously being White, we got the official colors of these girls¡¯ pantsu. Yes, this is important. ording to this, pantsu can tell a lot about a girl. Well, not irl, but in these trope-ridden web novels, its bound to say at least 50% of their personalities. Furthermore, the fact that only these girls (no ss Rep/Ryouko) appeared at this juncture is, I believe, a literary karma, plot armor type of thing. As for who¡¯s plot armor it¡¯s supposed to be, of course it¡¯s Ryouichi¡¯s. You know, Yuuto (Hero¡¯s) best friend who kicks ass with him. It¡¯s been established that he¡¯s being shipped with Ryouko, so Yuuto cannot have hi moments with her. This is because it would turn into a form of NTR. Now, we know how adamant the author is about heroines and NTR, so I¡¯m expecting no such development in the future. And, maybe I¡¯m going off in a tangent here, but this also establishes what sort of girls are epted in a ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± harem. With top-tier looks, it¡¯s not big enough to have their characters ovep, they even got different ways of calling him. You¡¯ve got Sakura the incest-bait (that this one guy in thements keepining about) who¡¯s all about that Nii-san, it¡¯s got a level of closeness appropriate for a highschooler sister who¡¯s not afraid to be close to her brother. Minami, the genki girl, and Kotori, the token loli, who go with the normal Souma-kun, they¡¯re not as close, but still top-tier beauties who, dare I say, belong to his harem. Finally, there¡¯s Asuna, the cool one, who makes do with just Souma, no honorific = +closeness, no first name = -closeness, but that¡¯s just because she¡¯s the cool one; calling him Yuuto would be too affectionate for her personality. Now, we all know Sakura¡¯s the winner. Since Yuuto always seems to give her special attention. Even when refering to people in his mind, he designates Sakura separately, like his very own Best Girl. Her pantsu are also pink, so of course she wins. As for ck, err Asuna, she¡¯s the dark horse, the closest rival for Sakura, and also has the trait of fiancee and matching activity(kendo). Hiroki being killed off gives the perfect excuse to add her into the harem without hero having guilty feelings. Additionally, Her bold behaviour makes her a fan favorite and she¡¯d be, in another story, the best girl the audiance majority loves. Natsukawa, miss blue ranger, has no chance. She¡¯s the equivalent of the green haired girl who never wins. Her and white, Kotori, just make up the numbers, cause harems are never just 2. Kotori is here for the loli-service¡­ and the oppai-service. Of course, we¡¯ve got Reina, the other loli, who¡¯s allegedly also in the harem with the foreighner-service. But she hasn¡¯t appeared much yet, so I shan¡¯t say anymore. As a final aside, Ryouko who says Yuuto-kun only shows that she¡¯s a close female friend, but someone who musn¡¯t be touched¡­ at least if Ryouichi doesn¡¯t end up dying.

 Chapter 38: Harem Leveling

    Chapter 38: Harem Leveling

    ¡°¡ª Me, Asuna, and Natsukawa-san. The three of us will be vanguard. Sakura and ss Rep are in rear support. And Takanashi-san eill stay close to the them, so we have her protected¡°

    We decided everyone¡¯s positions in our new 6 member party, before restarting our dungeon capture.

    There were a few idents here and there, but now we¡¯re all set. Takanashi-san¡¯s remodeling had borne excellent results, and our dirty clothes were done being washed and mended.

    In the first ce, the reason why this incident, that is, why Takanashi-san had a maddened runaway, happened was because ss Rep had applied Mimesis Worms on everyone¡¯s clothes so that they¡¯d get fixed while they washed up. She had thought it to be a beneficial action, but Takanashi-san went and carelessly tried picking up her uniform instead of the prepared gym clothes. This is where she ended up touching the object of her fears, the insect, the Mimesis Worm.

    A sad tale. Nobody was at fault, with everyone being only a victim, an unfortunate conclusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry Yuuto-kun, I never imagined it¡¯d turn out like that¡±

    Apologized ss Rep garbed in her gym clothes in such a nonchnt expression that I felt a bit of anger boiling up. That damn ss Rep, it¡¯s because she hadn¡¯t had her underwear seen that she¡¯s so awfullyposed.

    Anyway, let¡¯s forget grudges of the past, and focus on the dungeon before us.

    Our originally stable 4-member party now has the powerful swordsman, that is Asuna, and though she can¡¯t fight, she can help by improving and replenishing our equipment, and support us in a bunch of other ways, Takanashi-san. These two would make us all the more strong.

    ¡°This area appears to be mainly Skeletons¡±

    It has been an hour since we started walking. And with the only monster we¡¯ve encountered in that time being Skeletons, I can agree with Sakura¡¯s observation.

    Despite being somewhat the representative of all weak monsters, the Skeletons appearing here had weapons of much better quality, and with their newfound swift and powerful movements, they turned out to be quite powerful enemies. Herded into groups, or rather I should say toons, of 5 to 10, they even showed signs of organized movement.

    And deserving special attention is the captain of the Skeletons leading those toon. The troops wore thoroughly ckened (they were likely white before), tattered surcoats, and equipped themselves with iron swords and spears with only a tinge of rust. However, the Captain Skeleton had on an iron helm, and with body armor, gauntlets, and leg pieces, it came fully protected. The great halberd it held was not rusted, but had a dull gleam of steel, clearly disying good quality. In addition, it also had a round iron shield, strengthening its defense even further.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think my sh can go through all of that¡±

    ¡°Right, it really looks tough with all that armor. Souma, you¡¯re lucky you got that Break¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s like in a game, blunt force is more effective on Skeletons every time¡±

    When that Boss Goma was swinging around its Demon Sword, at times, as if releasing a battle art, it made a noticeably powerful strike. Even if that didn¡¯t hit you, it made a shockwave so strong that just being nearby would almost get you blown away. That would be its Break.

    Since it was using that move, I must have acquired it when I beat it.

    ¡°But what¡¯s being really useful here is Sakura¡¯s light-attribute right?¡±

    This too was exactly like in games. The Skeleton, a monster of the genre known as undead, is greatly weakened when against the light attribute. It¡¯s a fact we¡¯ve known since the time when it was just me and Sakura.

    With a simple Lux Sagitta, the Skeletons crumble and turn to ash. The aiming doesn¡¯t matter. Just by sliding against an arm or leg, the arrow of light causes annihtion.

    It¡¯s probably from all the experience fighting, but Sakura attained some new skills.

    Lux Shield(Shield of Light)

    A low ss defense magic of the light attribute. A shield of brilliant white light guards against evil.

    Lux st(Light Cannon)

    A low ss area-attack magic of the light attribute. A beam of brilliant white light cleanses evil.[1]

    In short, a shield and a beam of light.

    As for shield made with magic, I¡¯ve already seen this type of defence magic with ss Rep¡¯s Eis Shield. Though named a shield, it isn¡¯t one that you take in hand, but basically, it¡¯s a wall of around the caster¡¯s height that springs out.[2]

    But its size can be adjusted by utilizing mana with expertise. Same goes for the toughness. Also, it¡¯s possible to create it separated from yourself, thus being able to provide defenses for the vanguard for example.

    ss Rep and Sakura, both reliable mages, can now not only dish out support fire, but in tougher times, with hard to reach enemies, they can also provide precise defensive options, makingbat all the more safe and smooth.

    The other one, Lux st, simply ups our firepower as a party. ss Rep also has this type of area-attack magic. Her Eis st, which she can use to take down enemies within a certain scope all at once, so we knew Lux st¡¯s effect right away.

    Where ss Rep¡¯s brings forth cold air like a blizzard, Sakura unleashes a scorching sh.

    The troops of Skeletons finding us anding with a frontal attack are exterminated all at once with just one of Sakura¡¯s Lux sts.

    And in the unlikely event that they make it through that preemptive barrage, there¡¯s all of us in the vanguard squad lying in wait with all our weapons applied with Holy Enchant. Facing our sacred des, even if they¡¯re slightly stronger, oring in groups, Skeletons don¡¯t stand a chance.

    ¡°¡ªAh, I just learned a new skill¡±

    ¡°Ooooh! You go Sakura-chan!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s been at it a lot, so the levelups are faster too huh¡±

    Taking a side-nce at the rearguard team happy for Sakura¡¯s steady progress, us in the vanguard are picking through the defeated Skeletons.

    ¡°Oh, lucky me, found a core even though it¡¯s a Skeleton¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to cut into any bodies, and only break a few bones to get it. Skeletons make life so easy¡±

    I guess it¡¯s because they¡¯re stronger, even Skeletons are dropping cores. These are located mostly inside the skull, so looking at the red glow leaking from the eye sockets or from between its teeth makes it easy to know if it has one or not. The Skeleton captain is guaranteed to have one, and the troopers also drop them asionally.

    Core collection has been progressing well all in all. At this rate, we may have enough to use as energy for the Divine Gate to escape from here, and plus, a certain amount can be used with Takanashi-san¡¯s remodeling to strengthen ourselves as well.

    ¡°Hmm, this guy¡¯s halberd seems to be better quality¡­ Let¡¯s switch up then¡±

    Moreover, getting some proper weaponry is great. I don¡¯t know how long I canst with just my one sword from that knight we found. Of course, I carry a sub weapon like a knife or short-sword, but having another main is never a bad thing.

    Though not as well as the sword, I have learned how to handle weapons like a spear or naginata from jii-san(grandpa). We pretty much had a jack-of-all kind of code for martial arts.

    Of course, I¡¯ve never used a halberd, that¡¯s like an axe-tipped spear, or any Western weapons of the sort, but well, as I¡¯m using it now, it doesn¡¯t give me major issues. It can cut as well as stab, so it¡¯ll be convenient in the long run.

    ¡°¡ª Yay! Kotori got new skills too! Thankyou God~!¡±

    Come the third time since entering the Skeleton area that Takanashi-san was using the fairy square¡¯s fountain to start her weapon repair, she raised joyful cheers.

    From all the battles, everyone has been steadily leveling up, with Sakura getting the most out, but it was a fact the nonbat-oriented Takanashi-san was being left out and feeling a bit envious. Asuna was also saying how Takanashi-san not getting new skills was making the person herself more and more anxious. She was worried about her too.

    ¡°You did? That¡¯s great Kotori. So what are they?¡±

    ¡°Ehehe, check these out¡ª¡±

    Standard Remodeling Carry out standard remodeling. In decoding all of creation, it is but the first step.

    Ancient Language Deciphering: proficient Can read the ancientnguage. Limited to second-ss.

    ¡°With this, Kotori can make even more amazing weapons!¡±

    Seems like the newly acquired skills are the superior versions of Simple Remodeling and Ancient Language Deciphering: basic respectively. All our weapon remodeling and strengthening has been done so far using these two skills so it¡¯s appropriate to say she has improved.

    Looking as how excited she is, I think we can expect the remodeling to produce weapons of even higher performance with the same materials as before. One more good news would be that the failure rate for it was dropping significantly. ¡°It¡¯ll be indestructible!¡± Takanashi-san was boasting.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Takanashi-san, I¡¯ll be expecting a bit¡±

    ¡°Yep! For Souma-kun, Kotori¡¯ll make the best weapon ever, and gift it to you!¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡±

    She must be really happy being useful to everyone, her brilliant smile going ear to ear is a pleasant scene to see.

    ¡°¡­ Nii-san, may I ask what you are doing with that hand?¡±

    ¡°Ha! This is, you know¡±

    I somehow ended up stroking her head. I mean, her head¡¯s at the perfect spot too. Plus, Takanashi-san doesn¡¯t seem to hate it, in fact, she looks so happy like the the pet dog we kept a long time ago.

    ¡°You know, I would know what exactly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±

    I can¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t getting carried away. It really is a shame. As I lift away my hand, Takanashi-san also making a somewhat sullen face, that must be my imagination.

    ¡°¡ª So, Kotori can make stronger weapons with her remodeling now. With that in mind, should we try re-working them?¡°

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s make base here, and walk around the premises, see if we can find more cores and stuff¡±

    Hmm, hmmm, concentrates Takanashi-san in an afflicted voice facing while the fountain. She is focusing on her remodelling, while the rest of us discuss the n.

    ¡°I agree with ss Rep. Kotori¡¯s remodelling will take a while. It¡¯ll be more constructive to get some good materials rather than just waiting for her to finish¡±

    ¡°Yep, me too, I have a few things I wanna try out in real fights, practice makes perfect right!¡±

    ¡°Still, we just can¡¯t leave Kotori here alone just because the square is supposed to be safe¡­ Someone should stay. Other than nii-san of course.¡±

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°I agree¡±

    ¡°Same here¡±

    ¡°No other way about it¡±

    ¡°Heyy! Kotori doesn¡¯t agreee!!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s decided. Agreed, nii-san?¡±

    I can¡¯t fight the majority ruling. I haven¡¯t a clue why only I was forbidden to stay with Takanashi-san, but if they¡¯re this adamant, I¡¯ll have to yield.

    Well, I¡¯d be worried for the others if I stayed back. Maybe Sakura already foresaw that. As expected of this sister of mine, or rather, my thought patterns must be too simplistic.

    ¡°Right, if you¡¯re all set, let¡¯s head out¡ª¡±

    With that, we spent the next two days with the current fairy square as a base, and gave it our all for the so called leveling. The results of which are as follows:

    Souma Yuuto?Hero

    Learned skills

    Hi Step Boosts mobility. A single kick birthing afterimages, trampling space itself.

    Storm Kick A foundation of the Souma-Style Unarmed Combat Arts. A leg that is fast, heavy

    Body Buster A foundation of the Souma-Style Unarmed Combat Arts. Grab, break, throw.

    Impact Area-damage attack. A devastating blow that spreads around further shockwaves.

    Acquired skills

    Fortify Bones Full-body Strengthening. A sturdy skeleton improves power overall.[3]

    That¡¯s how it turned out for me. As I was leaping and jumping around with Hi Walk, at some point, I realized I could kick into the air too, that is, perform the fabled double jump, and so ended up learning Hi Step.

    Other than that, as I used some of the already ingrained Souma-Style martial arts techniques depending on the situation, following Righteous Fist, the two foundations of kicking and throwing were also mixed in with the learned skills.

    That and there¡¯s Fortify Bones. This has to be from fighting Skeletons. Full-body Strengthening may not sound like much, but a boost in physical strength reallyes in handy.

    On the other hand, Sakura didn¡¯t get any more new skills. She must¡¯ve already gotten the maximum growth she could with Skeletons. Well, fighting the same enemies over and over makes for great practice with magic, she¡¯s had a good deal of that with the skills she has already learned.

    Kisaragi Ryouko?ss Re¡ª I mean, Ice Mage, yup.

    Eis Curis Sagitta(Frost Spear)

    Ice-attribute magic of the intermediate level. Arge spear of ice pierces the enemy.

    Summon Eis Elemental Summons an Eis Elemental of beginner level.[4]

    ss Rep was also mastering her newly learned skills at the same rate as Sakura. Eis Curis Sagitta can be said to be a superior version of the attack magic she has be so adept at using. So learning this one next was a matter of course.

    Summon Eis Elemental is a new type of magic for ss Rep too. This summonned Eis Elemental is a blue, glowing, mist-like sphere of around 30 cm in diameter. Like a fairy, it has wing-like parts, and as for whether it is a living creature or only a clump of mana, it certainly begs the question. This thing doesn¡¯t speak, and nor does it make any sounds, but will move ording to ss Rep¡¯s will.

    The elemental itself can¡¯t attack, or strictly speaking, though it can¡¯t utilize its internal ice mana to freeze anything, it can go and burst near an enemy¡¯s head or near the legs, causing it to stop moving or be confused. It makes for a new kind of support we haven¡¯t had before. Though, it¡¯s not like we need much help with just Skeletons.

    Kenzaki Asuna?Dualweilder

    Bone Cutter Kenzaki-Style Sword Art. Even bones are severed with ease, a capable de.

    Quaking Drill Kenzaki-Style Sword Art. A spin added to the thrust unleashes a shockwave.

    Edge Shaver Kenzaki-Style Sword Art. When locking des, cut through and surpass the enemy.

    As Asuna got used to fighting Skeletons, It¡¯d be great if I could just cut through bones too, she gained a skill matching her thoughts, and another move that makes a good impact to a bone body. Bone Cutter enters from the crown and has the force to cleanly split apart the spinal cord right down the middle. Furthermore, Quaking Drill grants a tremendous impact to the her de, making bones scatter to bits when hit.

    When attempting to take on enemy attacks, she learned the defensive Edge Shaver. Normally, Asuna would use her Sky Hop, a speed enhancing battle art that¡¯s like a sister skill to Hi Step and Hi Walk, and carried out the strategies to always avoid enemy attacks. But she spent these two days training in rtive safety to acquire Edge Shaver. Thinking of situations where defending would be crucial and preparing for such situations in advance isn¡¯t a demerit at all.[5]

    Incidentally, the Kenzaki-Style Sword Art tacked on to all the skill descriptions aren¡¯t from Asuna¡¯s family¡¯s style at all. It¡¯s unknown whether the God of Dualwielders did it randomly, or that actually the Art of the Kenzaki-Style also emerged in this otherworld. Asuna seems to be wishing for thetter case.

    Natsukawa Minami?Thief

    Hi Step Boosts mobility. A single kick birthing afterimages, trampling space itself.

    Repel Repel enemy attacks using weapons or armor.

    Dual sh Two back-to-back shes

    Shadow Pull Tricks the enemy into seeing a clone for an instant. A form of illusion art(genjutsu)

    Shadow Lace When moving in shadows, sneaking ability rises.

    Hide Attack Aiming from right behind, the enemy is struck precisely in the vitals[6]

    Looks like the one who got the most new skills ended up being Natsukawa-san. Hi Step is the same as mine, and Repel is simr to Asuna¡¯s Edge Shaver.

    Dual sh is a battle art borne out of her frustration of not being able to defeat a Skeleton in one hit, and so creates abo with another. Shadow Pull can be used to mislead the enemy and attack in while they¡¯re distracted. It can otherwise it can be useful for evading too. There¡¯s this restriction of the clone onlysting a moment, but since Natsukawa-san¡¯s namesake is her speed, I¡¯m sure she can pull through.

    Shadow Lace and Hide Attack came about after cases where we noticed the Skeletons while they didn¡¯t see us, whereupon we could naturally perform a surprise attack. Using these two together, Natsukawa-san can take on and one-sidedly annihte a group of around 5 or so of them. Her vocation is supposed to be Thief but she¡¯s practically an Assassin at this point.

    Seing Natsukawa-san, who never had any formal martial arts training like me or Asuna, doing so well in our frontlines, I¡¯m again reminded of the concept known as talent. Asuna was even edging to recruit her as a student in the Kenzaki-Style once we get back to Japan.

    Like that, we were leveling up at a great pace. At this point, I think any one of us could take on a whole toon of Skeletons no problem.

    And then, after sacrificing more than a hundred Skeletons to our cause, their cores and equipment underwent our Sage, that is Takanashi-san¡¯s, special processing, and became newly made gear for ourselves.

    ¡°Whaff, I¡¯m finally done with e~veryones things¡±

    Great work, we all thank Takanashi-san for her efforts, while our upgraded weapons are passed around.

    I¡¯ll mention mine to start off:

    Pdin¡¯s Sword A sword used by a certain pdin. It has an emblem of a red lion engraved on it.

    Steel Halberd A halberd forged from superior steel.

    Iron Dagger A general quality dagger.

    Takanashi-san says the weapons¡¯ names and descriptions pop into her head right after she¡¯s done remodeling. Is the naming done by the Sage¡¯s power or is it a function of the fountain? Well, it¡¯s fine either way.

    Anyway, that knight¡¯s sword I had gotten back then was born anew as a Pdin¡¯s Sword with a much sharper edge. After feeding in multiple halberds taken from the Skeleton captains, we got back one made of steel. We used up a decent amount of cores, so looking at the before-after, there¡¯s a wide difference in quality.

    I had asked for a throwing knife anticipating cases like with the Boss Dog, which is where the Iron Daggeres in. It says general quality, but in a ce where you can only get rusted des from Skeletons, this is a good upgrade in its own right.

    Oriental Bow of the Saintess A bow used by the Saintess Sakura. It possesses a glint of light.[7]

    ¡°¡­ Saintess Sakura pfft¡±

    ¡°W-what is the meaning of this embarrassing description, hey, Kotori!!¡±

    ¡°Eeh~! Not her fault, Kotori¡¯s not the one thinking these up kay~!¡±

    Somehow, the description is making out Sakura to be a genuine saintess. Before any vocation, she¡¯s supposed to be a normal highschool girl. But the text makes it appear as if she has been a holy woman all her life.

    That being said, though Takanashi-san¡¯s remodeling didn¡¯t change it¡¯s outer appearance, that of an archery club bow, there is currently a clear difference in its durability. And even if the string breaks, she can quickly fix it with a bit of remodeling.

    ¡°Sorry about your wand Ryouko-chan, looks like Kotori can¡¯t handle magic weapons yet¡±

    The long wand being used by our Ice Mage, ss Rep, is one we plundered from a Skeleton captain of the mage ss. This ss seems to be somewhat rare as we only encountered 3 during the recent leveling session. Luckily, on the 2nd time, it was shooting out clumps of ice magic everywhere, and after defeating it, we got a weapon for ss Rep.

    ¡°Right, magic wands may need special attentionpared to normal weapons. Perhaps we¡¯ll have to wait for the Remodeling skill to get stronger, or maybe you will need something like a Magic Remodeling skill¡±

    ¡°Hmm, Kotori¡¯s wondering, any clue how she¡¯s gonna learn it?¡±

    ¡°For now, just don¡¯t tinker around with my want alright? It¡¯s my only weapon after all¡±

    ¡°Hey~! What do you take Kotori for, meanie~!¡±

    Takanashi-san seems to be making a show of fuming in anger, but all of us have already seen how she tried to use the other 2, fire and wind attribute wands, and tried tobine them with her remodeling. We saw how it was a great big failure.

    Leaving the wand upgrade as an assignment for the future, Asuna and Natsukawa-san¡¯s equipment were also processed in due order.

    de of Cleansing A de exorcised of its curse. Now it is not wickednes, but a holy light that grants it power.

    Knight Saber A single-edged de used by Knights. Piercing or shing, it serves its purpose.

    Iron Sword A general quality sword.

    Iron Short-sword A general quality short-sword.

    Bandit Knife A shiny knife suitable for threats as well as killing. A must-have for robbery and murder alike.

    Kill Carver A kitchen knife not for cuisine, but thirsting blood, it was reborn to kill.

    Iron Short-sword A general quality short-sword.

    Iron Dagger A general quality dagger.[8]

    Those were, respectively, Asuna and Natsukawa-san¡¯s weapons. With the upgrades this time, we¡¯vepletely gotten rid of any rust in our things, with the description now saying General Quality. Of course, Asuna¡¯s two-sword style and Natsukawa-san¡¯s dual-knife mains were made much stronger as well.

    ¡°Look at that, this swords glowing even without Holy Enchant on it¡±

    ¡°The description did say something to the likes of Sakura¡¯s light fully purifying it¡±

    ¡°Yeah, whatever it is, it¡¯s a good sword if nothing else. This Knight Saber has a good feel too. With these I think I can really bring out my dualwielding potential¡±

    Appreciating her great quality swords with a satisfied smile, Asuna strokes Takanashi-san¡¯s head. Naturally, there isn¡¯t a peep from Sakura. The heck, so it¡¯s A-OK when it¡¯s a girl?

    ¡°Right, so now that everyone¡¯s got their things, you guys want to head out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m satisfied with the results, so why not¡±

    ¡°Juste to Kotori once you get new materials, she¡¯ll fix you right up!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey you guys, why do my knives have these ominous descriptions, hey?¡±

    Her eyes slightly damp, Natsukawa-san was questioning therge, bulky, survivalist fashion Bandit Knife, and also, though it was once a normal sized kitchen knife, it was now bigger, and more like a sword, she was questioning the Kill Carver held in her hands.

    ¡°Hey, Souma-kun! Why do only mine gotta be like this!¡±

    Uaah, you¡¯re asking me!? I didn¡¯t wanna be involved. I was even nning to ignore it and head out¡­ Crap, think think.

    ¡°Eh, well that¡¯s¡­¡±

    I peep to my right, Sakura just looks away. Trying left this time, theres ss Rep. She¡¯s supposed to be Natsukawa-san¡¯s best friend but, she too averts her eyes. Asuna¡¯s looking at me as if expecting me to give a great answer, not a hint of support from there. Finally, the perpetrator who originally caused this mess with her nasty names and descriptions, Takanashi-san, she wasn¡¯t even facing this way.

    Guys, give me a break here. So this is that so-called womanly-pact thing huh. Scaaary¡­ Yup, alright then, I¡¯ll just have to try something and hope Natsukawa-san doesn¡¯t get depressed.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s cause, uh¡­ you¡¯re a Thief, right?¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m not a bad Thief alright!! Fueeen!¡±

    We spent the next 30 minutes before heading out consoling Natsukawa-san as she¡¯d started crying.

    ________________________

    [1] ¹â¶Ü ¡ª Hikari Tate ¡ª Lux Shield and ¹â³h ¡ª Hikari Hoo ¡ª Lux st

    [2] I wonder if I mentioned this before, but stuff I¡¯ve been TLing as Ice was pronounced like aizu and not aisu so I was very troubled what to use instead. I did a bit more research now and found in German Eiz, meaning Ice, has the same pronunciation, so I believe This is what the trantion is meant to be. My problem was looking for ice intin roots because ignis, terra, aqua, aer, are alltin, but there¡¯s nothing intin that sounds like aizu, and I was stuck there. Incidentally, I also checked what Kuro no Maou TLs did and it¡¯s either Ice or Aiz (no idea why). Anyway, TLDR, ICE ¡ú EIS (pronounced like ice with a Z)

    [3] Hi Step and Impact are as is.

    ¹õí¤ê ¡ª Arashi Keri ¡ª Storm Kick

    Ìå±À¤· ¡ª Tai Kuzushi ¡ª Body Buster

    »îÐÔ¹ÇÉí ¡ª Kassei Honemi ¡ª Fortify Bones

    [4] Eis Curis Sagitta is as is. šê¾«ë‘ÕÙ†¾ ¡ª Kouri Seirei Shoukan ¡ª Summon Eis Elemental¡­ I¡¯ve changed Kris ¡ú Curis, h htin for spear.

    [5] ¹Ç¶Ï¤Á ¡ª Hone Tachi ¡ª Bone Cutter

    Õð¤¤´©¤Á ¡ª Furui Ugachi ¡ª Quaking Drill

    æ€Ï÷¤ê ¡ª Kou Kuzuri ¡ª Edge Shaver

    ¿ÕÌø¤Í ¡ª Kuu Hane ¡ª Sky Hop, thisst one, may get proper name by authorter, but it¡¯s like this for now.

    [6] Hi Step, Dual sh, Hide Attack are as is.

    Ž¤­ ¡ª Hajiki ¡ª Repel, is same as what Futaba-sama had.

    Ó°²Ð¤· ¡ª Kage Nokoshi ¡ª Shadow Pull (lit. Shadow Leaving)

    Ó°¶É¤ê ¡ª Kage Watari ¡ª Shadow Lace

    [7] Changing Saint ¡ú Saintess. It¡¯s sexier. Also, oriental bow as in traditional japanese bows.

    [8] Çå¤á¤ÎÌ«µ¶ ¡ª Kiyome no Tachi ¡ª de of Cleansing¡­ or purification/exorcism.

    ÈË”Ø¤ê°ü¶¡ ¡ª Hitogiri Houchou ¡ª Kill Carver (lit. Murder Kitchen-knife)

    ¥Ð¥ó¥Ç¥Ã¥É¥Ê¥¤¥Õ ¡ª Bandeddo naifu ¡ª Bandit Knife, I tried to match it with the description, but should it be Banded Knife?

 Chapter 39: Cerberus

    Chapter 39: Cerberus

    Level ups done, equipment upgraded, we made our way through the dungeon better than ever. The usual Skeleton toons wereing up, getting more numerous as we went in deeper, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop us anymore. If all the Skeleton troopers were as strong as the captains, maybe it¡¯d itch a bit.

    But before we could feel too proud of defeating enemies left and right, we had reached that ce.

    ¡°This, has to be the boss room, right?¡±

    A conspicuouslyrge door, no, it¡¯d be easier to call this a gate. Reina¡¯s folks are pretty rich, with a mansion and all. This door is as big as their main gate. Otherwise said, it¡¯s big enough to let arge truck through if opened.

    ¡°I hope the boss is a Skeleton too¡±

    ¡°But we can¡¯t know what kind of monster is inside till we look¡±

    Since we¡¯re not in a game, there wouldn¡¯t be any reason for it to be one. But if the thing in there was a big Skeleton, we¡¯d certainly be more thankful.

    ¡°Whateveres out, we¡¯re gonna have to defeat it. So let¡¯s believe in our strength and do this¡±

    ¡°Yep, if it¡¯s this team, we¡¯ll be fine!¡°

    ¡°Kotori¡¯s cheering for everyone too!¡±

    We¡¯re ready as can be. In spirit, in strength, we¡¯re in perfect form condition in both respects.

    ¡°Alright, yeah¡­ let¡¯s go!¡±

    With great courage, we pushed open the thick gates, and stepped foot into the boss room.

    ¡°¡ª!?¡±

    A fierce presence knocked at us the moment we entered. Even in our old world, if you sharpened you senses, you could somehow sense something like a person¡¯s presence¡­ but this, I¡¯ve never felt something this big. Rather than feel, it was more like I was pped in the face by it.

    Seems like the lord of this chamber doesn¡¯t intend on staying hidden.

    It¡¯s a circr room, big enough that you could hold a pro baseball match in here. It was dark enough that you couldn¡¯t see all the way to the back, but torches, spaced evenly on the walls, had automatically caught fire all at once.

    ¡°Hyaa!? W-what¡¯s that¡­ it¡¯s way too big¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s, a boss for you¡­¡±

    Natsukawa-san and Asuna, acting vanguard on either side of me, both swallow hard. I wasn¡¯t an exception. Seeing the boss¡¯ giant frame illuminated by the mes came as not so little of a shock.

    ¡°¡­ Cerberus¡±

    That was the boss, I could only describe it as such. With the supple yet tight muscles of a doberman, it boasted the size of an elephant. Covered in crimson fur that looked as if it was on fire, thinking how simr the color scheme is to all those Red Dogs we¡¯ve beaten, maybe this guy¡¯s their evolved form?

    And its most characteristic trait being, its three heads. Three sharp, ferocious faces lined up beside one another, tongues out making rough breaths, pairs of eyes ring at us, it looked exactly like Earth¡¯s depiction of the Hound of Hades

    ¡°Nii-san, this monster is clearly too different from anything we¡¯ve fought before¡±

    ¡°I know. But if we can¡¯t beat this guy, there¡¯s no going ahead¡­ there¡¯s not going, back home¡±

    Facing a beast surpassing even that Armor Bear, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not afraid. Maybe we won¡¯t even be a match. Someone could die too. On top of that, my sense of self-preservation is screaming at me.

    But I won¡¯t withdraw even one step.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, you¡¯re absolutely right Yuuto-kun. Everyone, we must do this¡±

    To ss Rep¡¯s words, everyone nods with strength.

    ¡°From its looks, it¡¯s not too different from a Red Dog. But in size, it¡¯s in a different league all together, so don¡¯t panic if it charges. Sakura, ss Rep, if you guys can stop them with your defense magic, we¡¯ll go for the kill¡±

    ¡°Yes, nii-san¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s slowing down, it will be better if we can lure it in. Korori, can you find out how it fights?¡±

    ¡°Ehm, it uhm¡­ it goes m! and shoots a lot of fire, so head¡¯s up guys! And also, if it got serious, maybe all three heads will go at the same time!¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s a me thrower, my ice shoulde in handy. It¡¯ll likely decrease our offensive potential, but I¡¯ll try focusing on everyone¡¯s defense¡±

    ¡°Then the rest of us¡¯ll just have to work harder then!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like we practiced guys. Leave attacking to the vanguard, while the rear focuses on support¡±

    At this time, as though its hunger had reached a peak, the Cerberus sluggishly rose and was about to begin its hunt. Its six bloodthirsty eyes piercing into the prey that is all of us.

    Sorry, but I won¡¯t be letting you have a single person standing here. Everyone¡¯s definitely getting out of this alive.

    So please, Goddess of white light, please grant me the power, the power of a Hero, the power to protect everyone¡ª

    Our death match with the Cerberus continues.

    ¡°Haa¡­ haah¡­ Almost, there¡­¡±

    Itsrge, sharp fangs and ws have grazed me many times. My whole body is riddled with cuts, and its asional fire breaths have scalded my skin. But even so, I¡¯ve managed to avoid any direct blows, and with Sakura¡¯s Healing Light cast down at practically miraculous timing, it never got to anything fatal. I can still move, still fight¡­ But me, and everyone else, our exhaustion is severe. Nevertheless, We¡¯ve damaged the Cerberus using all that energy. shes from me, Asuna and Natsukawa-san have been engraved on its body uncountable times, making it bloody all over. All three heads are exhaling hoarse breaths, revealing a color of fatigue.

    Somehow, we¡¯re all still standing. No one has copsed yet. But we can¡¯t rx. We¡¯re at our limits just concentrating on the fight, and to make matters worse, the Cerberus is now in a state of a desperate wounded beast.

    ¡°¡ªSouma-kun! Watch out, the boss¡¯ mana is going up!¡±

    The one shouting the warning was of course, Takanashi-san. With her Mana Analysis, she can kind of tell when an enemy¡¯s magic gets invoked. It¡¯s all thanks to this skill the we could know in advance when the Cerberus would shoot its methrower, and thus had sess in defending against, or evading it.

    So Takanashi-san raising her voice this time could only be that the Cerberus was attempting to do something different from usual. From around it, I somehow also sensed a slight presence¡­ a presence of mana, I should rather call it.

    ¡°Guys, something¡¯s up, get away!¡±

    Tired as they are, Asuna and Natsukawa-san used their respective mobility boosting battle arts without blunder and withdrew. The moment they took distance from the frontlines, the Cerberus drew back its heads and released an extreme roar.

    ¡°¡ªoOOOOohn!!¡±

    Instantly, the red fur of the Cerberus dyed in ck. Pitch ck as if dipped entirely in ck ink. Yet its zing red pupils retained their original glow.

    This is getting ugly¡ª I thought instinctively.

    ¡°HEY, it¡¯sing! The fire¡¯s¡ª¡±

    Overshadowing Takanashi-san¡¯s words of warning, all three heads burst out mes. As if, as if it was spitting out every bit of it¡¯s umted, seething anger towards us.

    ¡°Kuh, it¡¯s going everywhere¡±

    ¡°How do we attack it now!¡±

    The Cerberus bellows its me in rage. No aim, no nothing, as if submerging everything in hellfire, it spat fire in every which way. As Natsukawa-san correctly observed, we have no way of approaching theyered walls of me zing before our eyes.

    ¡°GaAAAUuu!¡±

    Instead of attacking, the Cerberus moves nkly ignored us as we have even lost a path of retreat in the torrent of mes. Naturally, it won¡¯t burn in the slightest. The Cerberus nimbly crosses the zing sea of fire.

    Its destination being, none of us in the frontlines, but behind us. Damn, it was aiming for the support team.

    ¡°ss Rep![1]¡±

    ¡°I know¡ª Eis Defan(Ice Wall)!!¡±

    Aiming to put a stop to the rushing Cerberus, ss Rep used hertest ice attribute magic, an area-wide defense magic called Eis Defan. Its magnitude is leagues greater than the self-protection wall of ice made using Eis Shield. It is a giant ice barrier capable of holding at bay even a giant monster the likes of the Cerberus.

    And up till now, it was because of this magic that the Cerberus had endured aiming for our rearguard.

    ¡°GAAa!!¡±

    But there was no stopping that frenzied, jet-ck beast. With immense force, the Cerberus mmed its body into the wall of ice. Arge crack spiralled along its surface, and the wall seemed close to crumble.

    Bent on demolishing the obstacle, the Cerberus spewed methrower from its two peripheral necks, and weighing itself on top, it beat the wall with its forepaws.

    ¡°KyaAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Along with Takanashi-san¡¯s scream of desperation, ss Rep¡¯s Eis Defan is pulverized. Nothing more obstructed the Cerberus.

    The walls of me surrounding us have yet to ease, forbidding any chance of counter-attack. We¡¯re not even 10 meters apart, but a maze of scorch divides us. We have no more time either.

    Shit, please, please let me make it. I¡¯m getting there really soon so, please hold on!

    ¡°Aaa!? Sakura-chan, run! It¡¯s after you!!¡±

    As Takanashi-san called out, my spine froze. Beyond the mes, I saw the central head of the Cerberus sucking in a noticeablyrge amount of air. This is when my foreboding changed into conviction.

    ¡°SAKURAA¡ª!!¡±

    Something I¡¯d never seen it do in the whole battle, the Cerberus gathered scorching ze into a point, shooting it as a big fireball. Too fast. The fireball shot and hit at bulletspeed. A pir of fire rose, grand enough to reach the tall ceiling of this room.

    ¡°S-Sakura¡­ no¡­¡±

    No way, I couldn¡¯t say. I clearly saw how powerful that fireball was. It wasn¡¯t something you could dodge by stepping a bit to the side. And Sakura only had her Lux Shield to defend with. There¡¯s no way she could ward off that level of explosion with a simple shield of light.

    ¡°Sakura-chan! Sakura-chaan!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t, Kotori! It¡¯s dangerous going there!¡±

    I hear the voices of ss Rep and Takanashi-san from the other side of the mes. It¡¯s at least good that Sakura and those two were standing spaced out¡­ It¡¯s frustrating I can¡¯t consider that lucky.

    No, not that, that¡¯s not it. That¡¯s not what I mean.

    ¡°N-never¡­¡±

    Right now, it isn¡¯t the time toment on my small-mindedness, nor my powerlessness.

    ¡°Never, forgive¡ª¡±

    It isn¡¯t even time to grieve for the loss of my cherished little sister.

    ¡°¡ª Just you, I¡¯ll never forgive you!!¡±

    Yes, now, right now was time for only revenge. Because I am her brother.

    Cross Calibur The unique Sacred Sword granted to the Hero by the White God.[2]

    Just as those words flow into my brain, the Pdin¡¯s Sword in my hands gush in light. I remember. This feeling, it¡¯s the same one I had when I awakened as a Hero.

    Yeah, right, that¡¯s right¡­ this was granted to me, to the Hero, my Innate Skill.

    ¡°HaAAAAAAAAaaa!!¡±

    I make a swing with the brilliant, dazzling sword of silver. Just that, and the fire wall is cut away like butter.

    And I have nothing more in my way.

    ¡°GoAAAa!¡±

    Looks like it sensed my presence. The Cerberus turned all three of its heads in my direction. Bearing its fangs, it let out a howl of intimidation. No, not so much intimidation, as it was actually getting ready to attack.

    Its thick, beastly paw, one that could easily squash a human body, flies towards me. Of course, garnished with sharp, extended ws. If that hit, it¡¯d certainly work as a devastating blow but it was¡ª so slow.

    ¡°Haa!¡±

    I twist my body to dodge, and throw in a swing. As the de of light passed through, the resilient meat that only gave fractions of an inch even with battle arts was now being cut like a heated knife on butter.

    ¡°GyoOAAAAAa!?¡±

    The foreleg flies as my de arcs into it, the Cerberus bellowing in excruciating pain. So even a monster cries if it loses a leg or two huh.

    But I won¡¯t let it be over with only that. This Cross Calibur won¡¯tst forever. So I¡¯ll end it now.

    ¡°UoOOOOoh¡ª Tri sh!!¡±

    First, the head closest to that leg I sent off. The Tri shes that ur almost simultaneously shred its tongue, chop its snout, gouge its eyes. This head won¡¯t be doing much anymore, but it needs to be finished off. With a Thrust between the eyes, I end its function.

    ¡°¡ªGhAA!¡±

    I guess using two solid battle arts would make time for the other heads to react. The central head gaped its maw and attempted to bite. A simple but valid counter-attack: closing in with the shortest distance and digging in with the fangs.

    ¡°Counter¡±

    Seeing through the moment it was about to seal those jaws that could swallow a person whole, I stir my sword. The t of the sword ms into the central head, making it swivel.

    ¡°KhoOOoo¡ªGoAAAa!!¡±

    Its remaining head didn¡¯t try biting but attempted to shoot a fireball. It takes arge breath; the pre-attack action is too simple to understand. Looks like it wants to shoot immediately, so the size is smaller than the one shot at Sakura. It should be somewhat less powerful, but more than enough to barb-a-que someone whole.

    But I won¡¯t step back. If I did, I won¡¯t beat this demon.

    ¡°Reflector¡±

    Faced with a scorching fireball in my face, I cut. Not the beast, but the me itself; it may seem weird to say, but I¡¯ve already used this Cross Calibur to wipe away a wall of fire. That being so, there¡¯s no way it can¡¯t do the same for a fireball.

    The fireball had split as if avoiding me, and feeling the remnants of explosion some ways behind my shoulders, I leap towards the head. Trampling over the middle head that I had hit with Counter, I swing the sword of light towards the one that shot the fireball.

    The brilliant de enters from the nose, going straight and deep, reaching all the way to the middle of the eyes.

    ¡°One, left!¡±

    As I turn, thest one still kept its fangs ready even with two of its heads destroyed. With its mouth gaping, it looked as if wanting to bite again, but seeing the embers leaking from its teeth¡ª I see, so its actually nning to use a methrower.

    I can¡¯t go betting on Counter or Reflector to cut through that powerful beam. I need to dodge here, but I don¡¯t want to lose this distance. I probably have the stamina and mana to only attack one more time. Lame, I know, but my body has started creaking as if warning me of its approaching limit.

    I can only attack once. I don¡¯t have any spare energy to evade, find a weak spot, and attack from there on. Then, I¡¯ll have to just go for it.

    ¡°Haa!!¡±

    Just as I jump, the area under my feet inundates with a torrent of crimson. If I was a momentte in that instant decision, I¡¯d be roast by now. But the fire hasn¡¯t stopped. The Cerberus calmly saw me dodge by jumping, and angled its neck, bent on reducing me to ash with its unending fire breath.

    ¡°UoOOOOOOOooh¡ª¡±

    And as the swirl of me closed in, I kicked the air and shot forward. I happen to know Hi Step. Its not much, but it is a technique that allows for mobility in mid air.

    Marking a foot in the empty air, I reached it, the root of the Cerberus¡¯ neck connecting to its final head.

    ¡°¡ª Nero Lightning(Instant sh)¡±

    The Pdin¡¯s Sword¡¯s light dazzled brighter, ring. This was no sh and neither was it Tri sh, but a new battle art. The luminescence of my sword extended itself into an ovepping de of light purposed to slice away my enemy.

    With that Pdin¡¯s Sword that had be a sort of giant light saber, I swing at the Cerberus¡¯ neck with the limits of my strength.

    My head felt like it was going white from the torrent of light¡­ But I somehownded on my feet.

    Then, as if its stores of energy werepletely emptied, the light from the de vanished. Along which, came the unbearable fatigue. Heavy, my body¡¯s too heavy. I could copse any second now.

    ¡°Fuh, haaa¡­¡±

    After breathing deeply as if letting outrge sighs, finally, my body regained a bit of vitality.

    ¡°¡­ I did it, Sakura¡±

    There stood therge Cerberus. Its peripheral heads hideously chopped up, and the one in the middle,pletely sliced off. No doubt its dead.

    But the gruesome corpse of the monster quickly morphed into light. Towards the death of this sworn enemy of mine, there was no deep kind of emotion, but only, what could perhaps be described as, a mechanical process of absorption. Thergest amount of those brilliant particles of light to date had formed, and as usual, they were sucked into my body¡­ leaving only the core at their origin. No trace of the fearsome monster remains.

    Ah, over, it¡¯s over now. I did it, I avenged Saku¡ª

    ¡°¡ªReally nii-san, always overdoing it¡±

    ¡°Wh-¡­ O-oh it¡¯s S-Sakura¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t care if the voice is a delusion. I honestly thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, it seems I caused you some worry¡­ Nii-san look, I¡¯m fine¡±

    From the smog remaining from the mes, arge white sphere of light emerged. Repelling both scorch and soot, inside that beautiful and bizarre ball of light, I could make out a very familiar shape.

    ¡°Oracle Field(Heavenly Barrier), It seems to be an innate skill of the Saintess[3]¡±

    I don¡¯t care about the justification. For me, just Sakura, her being safe there, beyond the light, that was all that mattered.

    ________________________

    [1] (a joke note, I¡¯m too bored) Why does everyone not just use Ryouko, ss Rep just sounds awkward as fuck when I¡¯m trating it.

    It¡¯s a culture thing, I get it. In old anime (and some modern crunchyroll loligagging) they used to trante stuff like Onii-chan into their names, like Kyousuke of something. But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s all that required nowadays.

    Plus I bet a lot of weebs (not excluding myself) find the inclusion necessary as it gives a sense of the level of intimacy shared by the characters. That is not to say it can¡¯t be done in English (I wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯m just a lowly WN reading weeb) but it¡¯s because we¡¯re weebs that we require it.

    But ss Rep. ss Rep tho. it¡¯s Iinchou if anyone was wondering. I try to justify it in my head like, I¡¯ve seen other TLers do it! or It¡¯s just one extra syble to say! or How else am I going to imagine a sexy-cool bespectacled bishoujo without calling her ss Rep!?

    I try to do all that but it¡¯s kinda getting ridiculous. Is it though? Aren¡¯t I just stressed? I¡¯ll lie down, then keep tranting¡­ Eh, since we¡¯re on the subject of weeb stuff, Iinchou ends most sentences with ¡ªwa ¡ªda wa, hopefully someone finds that a good thing to know.

    [2] So this is the same way they say White God in KnM¡­ snicker

    [3] For those not in the know (as in, aren¡¯t reading Kuro no Maou), firstly, why(naze)!? Anyway, Oracle Field is like, a staple move from one of the main girls in KnM. And a little before, Nero Lightning, Nero is a character from there too. and he uses dem Light attributes with dat special sword too, also Instant sh. A lot of parallels, Shaman is like an alternate(?) universe from the KnM stuff. So I¡¯ll bet you, the reader, will have a greater appreciation for this if you read that one also. Yoshi is actually consistent with the TL schedule too, and doesn¡¯t do month-long hiatuses!

 Chapter 40: Remnants and Loot

    Chapter 40: Remnants and Loot

    ¡°¡­ Hh-!?¡°

    My eyes fling open as I jump awake.

    ¡°T-the boss is!!¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Momokawa-kun¡±

    Instead of the heinous red Orthrus, the one sitting in front of me with a smile was the bright and cheerful Futaba-san. The enemy seemed to be gone, and missing too.

    ¡°Eh, Ah¡­ Morning¡±

    This ce doesn¡¯t look like the boss room so much. More like, isn¡¯t this just a in old fairy square?

    As soon as I realized that, I decided to ask Futaba-san what happened.

    ¡°By the time I got out of that wall of fire, Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san, they were both, the boss had¡­ But it looked weakened, so I could kill it alone¡±

    So ites back to her Berserker strength I see. If I were to end up being thest one standing, it¡¯d be game over right there.

    Anyway, the fact is that Futaba-san skillfully overcame the boss, and taking me, who was half-dead from friendly fire, she got out from the boss room, and safely arrived to the next dungeon area that starts off with this fairy square.

    Really, I¡¯ve been relying on her from start to finish.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­ Sorry Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°Why are you apologizing, Momokawa-kun?¡±

    ¡°Cause I was really, really useless back there¡­ No, it¡¯s worse than that. Because of me, our n turned into a mess, and I even got myself done in my the boss¡±

    If I had chosen not to retreat, but boldly face the battle, if only I did that, maybe Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san, maybe at least one of them would still be here now.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong at all! It¡¯s because, those two, they only¡ª¡±

    ¡°No look, I¡¯m the one who tried to run away off the bat, that¡¯s just fact. Them losing trust in me right then and there was inevitable.¡±

    ¡°But, Nishiyama-san, she shot you! I, I get it you know. Her and the boss riddled with cuts, that was obviously from your Pain Return¡±

    Exactly. In a state of being bitten down and stuck still by the boss, Nishiyama-san¡¯s Aer st went straight for the critical hit. Like trying to solve a hostage situation by killing both felon and hostage.

    ¡°That¡¯s my, just deserts, right¡­¡±

    Honestly, from Hirano-kun egging her on, to Nishiyama-san herself actually having shot me, I can¡¯t really let those pass with a little grumbling. Like, what the eff, the hell¡¯s wrong with you, go to hell.

    But, I just can¡¯te out and say it. It¡¯s not about spitting on their graves or anything, but like, it¡¯s cause I¡¯m the one who got everyone out of sync in the first ce¡­ so it really was, me getting what wasing. I shouldn¡¯t have panicked, and done better.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault! Momokawa-kun, you have not one bit of me in this!!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, just you saying that¡­ No, just you not abandoning me, and even saving me from there, Futaba-san, that¡¯s more that enough¡±

    This useless Shaman, he was one foot in the grave already, it would¡¯ve been fine to leave him behind as another stain in the boss room. And that important health potion, he even got that used up on him too. Unbelievable, such a waste.[1]

    Healing me from that miserable state, and so perfectly at that¡­ That potion is so much of a cheat item, my ointments seem like a joke. You should obviously hold on to something like that to use on a fighter like Futaba-san.

    ¡°I¡¯d never, ever betray you. I won¡¯t run anymore either. I swore, that I¡¯d protect Momokawa-kun!¡±

    Thanks. Really, my sincerest thanks, Futaba-san. With your trust in me, I¡¯m so happy I could cry. If our genders were switched, I¡¯d be head over heels harder than a cliche RomCom heroine.

    ¡°Yeah, me too, I won¡¯t let you down¡±

    I¡¯ll make next time work. Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san, they could¡¯ve been real allies with us.

    Trust. That¡¯s right, trust is important. I still have a will to try and trust someone else.

    Betrayed all too easily by Masaru, someone who¡¯s supposedly my friend. Then because of thosest two people, I was left half dead. But then there¡¯s Futaba-san, she¡¯s someone who saved me. So it¡¯s still too early, too early to give up on trusting others.

    No, us human beings, in the first ce, we aren¡¯t supposed to live in extremes. It¡¯s when we can guarantee our individual safety, procure adequate food and clothing, it¡¯s only then that we can begin to reason, we can be social creatures abiding by the rules of society.

    That being the case, going around fighting monsters in life or death scenarios every single day is just in wrong. Gathering allies, building our forces¡­ It doesn¡¯t have to be perfect, but in an environment where we can actually rx, that¡¯s when we can be our best. Plus, we¡¯re still mentally immature kids, just highschoolers. So this applies to us all the more.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun¡­ Ah, that¡¯s right, I brought back their things, let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything we can use¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yup, let¡¯s¡±

    She even managed to get those, I thought in admiration while we started sorting through the items of the two departed.

    The thought of those two bing sacrifices for our survival doesn¡¯t well up the slightest hint of crying or grieving in me. Maybe, I¡¯m already too far off the deep end from this whole dungeon lifestyle thing we¡¯ve been doing. Just look, right now, I¡¯m calmly looking through a couple of dead ssmates¡¯ bags, objectively searching for useful things we can pilfer.

    ¡°¡­ Momokawa-kun you¡¯re, crying?¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ Ahh, yeah, crying, kinda, maybe¡±

    What¡¯s this ¡°kinda maybe¡± BS. Aren¡¯t you¡¯re eyes creating these nice little waterfalls right now?

    Ahh, I¡¯m d. Not yet, I haven¡¯t lost all my humanity yet.

    Sorry, sorry Hirano-kun, Nishiyama-san. I still can¡¯t like you guys for what you did, but it¡¯s not like I think it¡¯s good that you died. I¡¯m sure we could¡¯ve, should¡¯ve gotten along better¡­ sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.

    I quietly cried, as my body trembled under the weight of their sacrifice.

    I had made a re-apprehension of my conscience, but that aside, we really needed to sort out our things.

    First, and this is a real treasure this, we have to consider how to use Hirano-kun¡¯s good quality sword.

    ¡°Here, it¡¯s for you, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    ¡°No see here, it obviously gotta be your sub-weapon¡±

    She offered me the sword like she was handing over Valentine¡¯s chocte with romantic intentions attached, but I deny it outright.[2]

    ¡°Eh¡­ B-but, I¡¯d feel bad getting something this good¡±

    ¡°Futaba-san, you¡¯re fighting in the frontlines where it¡¯s most dangerous, so we¡¯ll have to equip you with the best of the best. And I don¡¯t think that Goma battle axe has much of a life-expectancy.¡±

    ¡°But you too, for the just in case, I strongly think you need better weapons too Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I disagree¡­ but unfortunately, my thin arms can¡¯t really swing around a sword that size, you see¡±

    It¡¯s the case of the weapon being too high level to equip. I can¡¯t even imagine myself elegantly cutting down an attacking monster with this sword.

    ¡°Since I can¡¯t make any use of it, you¡¯re the only one I can count on for this¡±

    ¡°S-so you¡¯re saying¡­ I got it. I, I¡¯ll make sure and kill all the enemies. I won¡¯t let a single one get close to you, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    What fervor. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s because of her Berserker nature, even a girl like Futaba-san gets excited from attaining a good weapon.

    That being settled, the best piece of loot smoothly went where it belonged, and now we only needed to distribute the rest of the stuff. But then, those two didn¡¯t have that many high value items in the first ce.

    Even that miraculous health potion that saved me from the verge of death, Nishiyama-san only had one of those. Coming second best, there¡¯s only a few of those clovers. We already have ointment A, so those aren¡¯t especially important to us either.

    That and there¡¯s Nishiyama-san¡¯s wand of wind magic. We tried it out even though we knew, but as expected, neither I nor Futaba-san could use it. I had the slightest hope of just maybe, but no matter how I prayed, I couldn¡¯t get a breeze out. You should just get rid of useless goods. But the inner miser in me simply wouldn¡¯t allow us to leave a genuine magic wand to gather dust¡­

    ¡°Now, do it, Futaba-san!¡±

    ¡°Eei!!¡±

    Swinging her axe with magnificence the likes of the legendary Kintarou, she severs the wand. She cuts off only the green orb part that seems to be screaming, Look at me, I¡¯m a real powerhouse here! Futaba-san¡¯s strike is powerful yet precise, cleanly splitting the orb from the rest of the wand, and so we easily obtained that beautiful green centerpiece.[3]

    I¡¯ll just hoped it¡¯lles handy at some point, and stuffed it deep in my bag.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be useful, but I took these fangs from the boss¡±

    Thanks to Futaba-san acting like a vet yer in those games where you go around collecting monster parts, we have obtained Orthrus Fangs x 2. These are our item drops. Not really.

    These fangs felt too small to be knives in my hands, but they¡¯re still thicker and longer than my thumb. An impressive pair of teeth you¡¯d think belongs to a dinosaur.

    ¡°You know, if you hit these on something hard, sparkse out. It¡¯s just like flint¡±

    ¡°Woah, it really does, this is great!¡±

    When I tried knocking one on the edge of the fountain, quite a bit of sparks flew out. This amount is way too much to be caused by mere friction.

    Since the Orthrus could blow out fire, maybe the fangs have magical properties too. Or maybe it uses mmable gases with wind magic, with the fangs are there for igniting the whole thing.

    ¡°So, are they useful?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t make it into a methrower, but as a fire-starter, it¡¯s perfect. We do have the lighter, but the fluid won¡¯tst forever right¡±

    The lighter we¡¯ve been using was obtained from Takashima-kun from the baseball club who¡¯s secretly happened to be a smoker. It¡¯s thanks to this that we got to enjoy some delicious snake meat.

    And since we conveniently happen to have two of these fangs, me and Futaba-san will carry one each.

    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right, fufu, I¡¯m d then¡±

    ¡°So remember that we know monster¡¯s can have naturally useful materials other than cores inside them. Let¡¯s try and collect those too from now on¡±

    Sure, she noded with a smile and delight. Futaba-san sure is a great person to work with. Not a hint of finding my proposed dirty-work, of literally salvaging through blood and entrails, a pain in the ass or something.

    But I shouldn¡¯t just these leave things to others. I¡¯ll start learning and try help out a bit. Next time we see a monster fitting the criteria, let¡¯s get her to teach me.

    ¡°Ah, Momokawa-kun, there¡¯s this too¡±

    Finally, Futaba-san rummages a bit through her pocket and offers me the item she retrieves. So this second present from her, what ever shall it b¡ª

    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s, Hirano-kun¡¯s G-Shock!?¡±

    ck strap with a silver body, it¡¯s a wristwatch with an analog disy. I recognized that familiar design instantly.

    ¡°You looked like you wanted one, a watch¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah, since it¡¯s so convenient and all¡­¡±

    Don¡¯t tell me, was I really that obvious? I never thought I was a person with too many material desires though¡­ gotta stop that habit.

    ¡°So I can really have this?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Futaba-san seems to dere, but I¡¯m kinda worried what Hirano-kun would say. I could just end it with, dead men don¡¯t talk¡­ but really, I¡¯m not so much a romanticist as to ignore useful items for sentimental reasons.

    It wasn¡¯t even a full day with them. We spent a truly short time together but still, as arade, I¡¯ll make full use of these remnants they left behind in the dungeon hereafter.

    ¡°Thanks¡±

    And with that, we¡¯re all set. We¡¯ll rest in this fairy square a bit longer, then, once again, dive into the unknowns of the dungeon.

    ________________________

    [1] If you get it, then fine. This paragraph is just him being pessimistic in the 3rd person(?)

    [2] Honmei as opposed to Giri/Friendship. This wasn¡¯t necessary right? Everyone and their dog has seen a Valentine¡¯s episode¡­

    [3] This Kintarou.

 Chapter 41: Poison Bog

    Chapter 41: Poison Bog

    ¡°Ah-¡­Ruinhilde-sama¡±

    ¡°Mine devotee, Momokawa Kotarou. It doth be slight, but I see thou hast bolstered thine powers of the Shaman¡±

    ¡°T-thank¡­ you¡­¡±

    Before I noticed, I was once more standing apanied by grim reaper-looking God of Curse.

    I had decided to nap a bit before we headed out, so I guess I¡¯m being summoned to this wonderful God area in that span. Seriously, I just can¡¯t get used to this. I was let off without any painst time, but you never know when that¡¯ll change. Like really, isn¡¯t there a better a better way to do this?

    ¡°Strength of emotion, of hope, that doth be what feeds and nurtures thine curse. Howe¡¯er, with solely emotions, meaning found ist not¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­ As in, the results will be botched if I don¡¯t actually defeat monsters and show concrete progress, something like that, right?¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡±

    As if satisfied with that reply, the bizarre skull-only head nods in approval.

    Well, it is logical to think that the experience points won¡¯t enter unless you actually kill something. Stuff like getting all pumped up in a fight with a big boss like, ¡°I¡¯ll never lose to you! UoOOOo!!¡±, and then, miraculously getting a new power, finally to end with an epic victory; that kind of thing is only eptable in cheap RPG scenarios with half-assed cut scenes.

    In other words, no matter how much I long for some attack moves, I¡¯ll be getting zilch if I can¡¯t show the results God is satisfied with. But what if, there¡¯s no offensive curses in the first ce. Just ept it and take up a sword or something. What if that kind of heartless reality is awaiting me?

    No way that¡¯s right, right? Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s curses have attack oriented skills right?

    ¡°Very well, let us grant it, this power to injure another, thou so wishes for¡±

    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re kidding!?¡±

    No wait, right then, wasn¡¯t he legit reading my mind? Don¡¯t tell me, all those monologues are being transmitted to you? M-my apologies, I know my thoughts may seem incredibly rude sometimes, but please, these things aren¡¯t in my control!

    ¡°All is fine. Thou hast earned, shown results enough, to garner this curse. It is simply that¡±

    ¡°Whoaa, t-thank you very much!¡±

    Being straight-cut praised makes me kinda, really happy. I¡¯m not what you call the getting praised type. My parents are also prettyissez-faire, not going around congratting their kid for any and all things, and due to that kind of home education, not being praised is my norm. My thought pattern works with the motto: it¡¯s fine as long as they¡¯re not mad.

    To sum up, I¡¯m just not used to praise. Too much pampering and I¡¯ll get cocky, I kind of worry if that could happen.

    ¡°Uhm, but I don¡¯t remember doing very much in thest boss fight so¡­ is it really alright?¡±

    ¡°The curse¡¯s might, rteth to the depth of one¡¯s own karma. Those that resent with misguided hate simply cannot fathom the abyss that is the curse¡±

    If I¡¯m getting this right, he must be talking about how I didn¡¯t begrudge Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san. Someone who gets all boiled up, and starts raging towards people for any little thing won¡¯t bepetent as a Shaman, is what he¡¯s saying.

    But then, what¡¯s supposed to be the right timing I need to be angry at? In any case, I don¡¯t feel anything other than wanting absolute revenge against Higuchi though.

    ¡°A great curse,eth at the end of greatposure and spirit¡ª Now, Momokawa Kotarou, presenteth thine hands¡±

    ¡°Y-yes¡­¡±

    Ah, I guess it¡¯s time. Time for getting a new curse. Will it hurt? It won¡¯t right? My thoughts were increasingly getting concentrated on that question rather than what offensive type curse I¡¯d be getting.

    ¡°Know that a Shaman is solely in spirit not, but as well in flesh, he is curse. Now bear that sigil of curse¡±

    Taking my out-stretched right hand, on the back of it, Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s chalk-white, knife-like, bone finger stabb¡ª

    ¡°GyaaaAAAAAAAAAAaa!!¡±

    He cut me! He¡¯s really cutting, no, he¡¯s gouging at it!?

    God¡¯s fingertip was mercilessly scraping against the insides, the meat in my hand, making the wound arger hole.

    ¡°That indeed is, the very first step to bing a Shaman¡±

    Ahh, fuck, it was pain this time huh!

    Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s important words went in my right ear, and out my left. Screaming to throat-shattering levels, I fell unconscious at some point doing God¡¯s trial, and somehow escaped that hell.

    ¡°¡­Guess, we should get going¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    After replenishing in herb, and finishing theundry + repair of our clothing, we re-entered the old dungeon. Futaba-san looks cheerful and at ease, but I just finished up a nightmarish level up ritual so I can¡¯t really say the same for myself.

    But I can¡¯t go showing off too much of a pitiful state. I¡¯ll try not to.

    ¡°This area seems, kinda like the first one?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­ it¡¯s somehow dark, gives off a bad aura too¡±

    We¡¯ve been walking on a stone passage and weren¡¯t seeing where it ended. There¡¯s the usual light panels spotted around on the ceiling, and to me, it looked dark as ever¡­ But Futaba-san said ¡°a bad aura¡±, so there has to be something. Well, it¡¯s not like she has any Berserker skills like enhanced instincts or a sixth sense of something.

    ¡°Gotta be careful then, there could be traps¡±

    ¡°But they said you can¡¯t find any of the traps here unless you¡¯re a Thief¡±

    Right, from what we know, unless your vocation happens to be Thief, you¡¯d be hard pressed trying to discover any traps or treasure chests. Meaning, it¡¯s no use without the appropriate skills.

    Or more like, if us normal highschoolers could find them without any of these special skill, I¡¯d seriously doubt the trap setters I.Q. No well, there¡¯s traps set by Goma living in the dungeon, and we fell into one of those too¡­ Though I think we can somehow manage with something of that level. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll fall for something so obvious over and over, I won¡¯t okay!?[1]

    ¡°Still, we should never let our guard down in this ce¡±

    ¡°Ah, Momokawa-kun, stop there¡±

    At the moment the narrow passage came to an opening, Futaba-san briskly stops. And I was dangerously close to crashing into thatrge behind in front of me. Talk about a close call, I¡¯d like to praise myself, but also dismay a bit.

    Futaba-san, not having a clue as to my internal disharmony, attempts to peer into the end of the passage with a serious expression. From that action, it¡¯s obvious there¡¯s something there. I regained my calm, and cautiously, also peeked in.

    ¡°Uaah, aren¡¯t those like¡­ Zombies?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought too¡±

    With a wide floor and high ceiling, it was a familiar tunnel-likerge passage where, there two human shaped creatures we¡¯re distinctly visible. Like a pair of adult and child, they had a clear difference in height as well.

    Additionally, both their bodies had be rotten ck withrge portions of skin peeled off revealing the fibers of meat within. In parts of the arm or around the ribs, even the meat was gone and their white bones were peeking out.

    As for clothing, both individuals only had a a dirty rag around their waist. Wandering around like that, going ¡°Ooo¡° in a low voice, I really can¡¯t imagine them as anything other than zombies.

    ¡°¡­ The smaller one¡¯s a Goma¡±

    ¡°And the bigger¡­ I wonder, it doesn¡¯t look like a normal human¡±

    The smaller Zombie, looking at its size and build, it unmistakably share¡¯s roots with one of those gluttonous devils that have since descended into the realm smallfry thanks to Futaba-san. But as for the bigger one, it¡¯s all tall andnky, its overall outline is clearly different from any Goma I know. Bigger, meaning it¡¯s bigger lined up with other Goma. It¡¯s actually around 5¡¯7¡±170 cm I guess. Taller than me, but not so much reaching Futaba-san.

    So at a nce, you¡¯d think it¡¯s an adult man on the thinner side¡­ but that skin, it¡¯s like it became closer to human but retained that colored so characteristically reminiscent of Goma. Perhaps it¡¯s, an evolved form?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they will be tougher than Skeletons¡±

    Futaba-san announces their imminent defeat. Seriously this girl, she¡¯s grown so strong, so courageous since back when I met her in the dungeon, it¡¯s like she¡¯s a different person entirely. If we had a status attribute called manliness, she¡¯d already have 10 fold the number I would.

    ¡°If those Zombies are really as weak as Skeletons, I want to test out my new curse¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take out the bigger one then¡±

    That¡¯d help. It¡¯s hard to think the Goma got stronger because it became a Zombie. There¡¯s the supposed setting that a Zombie¡¯s brain has its limiter removed and it can call on 100% of its speed, power, yada yada, But if that we¡¯re true, I¡¯d expect it to apply to all undead monsters, and those Skeletons would¡¯ve been much stronger in that case.

    It¡¯s ok. I can defeat this.

    Futaba-san and I left the passage and entered the tunnel.

    ¡°Ei!¡±

    First strike goes to Futaba-san. An unimaginable blunt force that can pulverize a Skeleton¡¯s skull, it¡¯s her stone throw.

    The small stone flies in a smooth, straight line making a whistle, and ms a direct hit on the bigger Zombie¡¯s chest. With a short scream-like moan, the Zombie falls.

    ¡°UboaAAAA!¡±

    On the other hand, the Goma Zombie¡¯s reaction was sharp. Makes you think as if it already noticed us when we entered. When its friend was done being shot, it had already started running towards us.

    ¡°Uaah, it¡¯s the damn running type!¡±

    I let out aint on impulse. Fuck this, zombies should just be zombie-like and slowly stalk towards you. The hell are you doing making a sprint with perfect arm swings, you bastard!

    Well, the fact that I can actually see it running means that the brain limiter thing is still on and it hasn¡¯t be super strengthened, so that¡¯s some relief. One thing to note though, its power looks like it hasn¡¯t changed since it was alive.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    And since it hasn¡¯t changed, there¡¯s no way it¡¯llst against Futaba-san¡¯s attack. With one swing of her axe, the Goma Zombie was quickly divided in two from its abdomen, and releasing entrails and dirty ck blood, it was reduced to waste lying on the passage.

    ¡°Ah, sorry Momokawa-kun! It wasing pretty fast so I kinda¡­¡±

    Those instinctive and decisive methods make Futaba-san a splendid Berserker if you ask me.

    ¡°No that¡¯s fine. Since we learned that you can beat them with little damage¡±

    The Goma Zombie¡¯s corpse doesn¡¯t even twitch. Kinda thought it¡¯d keep moving until the head was gone, and I¡¯ve also heard of types that keep going without a head too, but those cases don¡¯t seem to apply here.

    ¡°Plus, looks like that one still needs more work¡±

    Further ahead, the other Zombie was slowly rising up. It¡¯s chest area looks caved in, but nheless, it looks lively enough to start dashing anytime.

    ¡°Futaba-san, stand a little behind me please¡±

    She nods, and quickly falls back. But her grip on the axe hasn¡¯t loosened a bit. She¡¯s alert and wille to my aid if need be. How reliable.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be trying out my long awaited attack curse now, Ruinhilde-sama¡ª¡±

    I gently raise my right arm, and properly recite the aria.

    ¡°On trials not of will. On fate not of honor. On destiny of such aversion, I will carve my own path ¡ª ck Bloodline¡±

    A pattern that looked as if painted in fresh blood appeared on the back of my outstretched right hand. A magic circle, or rather, it looked more like a big eye. This is probably what Ruinhilde-sama was grinding away at with his sharp finger on the insides of my hand, a genuine crest of God. No, I guess it¡¯s a curse in this case.

    This mark of curse also extended to my palm. On this side, its was a simple X-mark. As I turned my palm and it faced the ground, a single drop of blood fell from the x-mark.

    With that, the prep-work for the curse is done.

    ¡°Putrefy, in the depths of vile red¡ª Rotten Bog[2]¡±

    One drop of ck Bloodline descended from my hand. And the moment that single bead of blood stained the ground, it spread out along with vigorous bubbling. Looked as if, the ground itself was bleeding out.

    This is in fact, just how my first offensive curse, the Rotten Bog, is supposed to work. With my blood as the epicenter, a poisonous pool, simr to Hell¡¯ske of fire, is created. It has a certain range, and a somewhat arbitrary shape and radius. The width and toxicity seems to be determined by the density and amount of my blood used. Incidentally, my blood isn¡¯t currently that of a normal human being, but has a kind of special attribution.

    ck Bloodline Blood that may be blessing or curse. No matter one¡¯s lineage, the fact that blood is an essence of life is absolute. Body, curse, magic, faith¡ª its effect manifests in a myriad of matters.[3]

    That¡¯s about it for the description in my head for ck Bloodline. Kinda like, it says bloodline, and I don¡¯t really have any special origin story, but this curse will help out with some stuff, is the feeling.

    Just letting it out there, I have a pair ofpletely normal, Japanese parents living in an ordinary Japanese household, no impressive ancestry whatsoever. Nothing like, in fact, the Momokawa house has been handing down this special technique for generations, or any of that bs.

    But it¡¯s clear that with this ck Bloodline, my blood has the ability to strengthen the Rotten Bog. It¡¯s just a gut feeling, but if I used in old blood to make the bog, I have a feeling I wouldn¡¯t get something this big or toxic.

    Which means, this is a luckybination of skills I got as a result of piling on experience as a Shaman.

    ¡°Yeah Futaba-san, get back a bit more!¡±

    The dark crimson pool of blood kept expanding in the passage. It gained a radius of 2 meters right in front of me. More that big enough to catch a dumb Zombie running in a straight line.

    Futaba-san and I stand a bit away from the Rotten Bog so we can counter it in case it tries passing over with a big jump, and we wait for the rushing Zombie.

    ¡°BuoOOAAAAAA!!¡±

    With a mad shriek, the Zombie steps foot into the swamp of deadly poison¡ª

    Rotten Bog In but a single step, the meat melts off, rotting into the toxic liquid.[4]

    That description being right on the money, starting from its first step inside, sizzling sounds came from the Zombie¡¯s feet as parts began melting off.

    ¡°Buah! GhoOOAAAAA!!¡±

    And then it fell down. Since the soles of its feet melted, it slipped smoothly, and sshed into the ground with the full momentum of its previous rush. With no defenses of speak of, the Zombie flopped head first into the poison bog.

    It was a scene you could maybe find in those gag prank shows on TV, falling down with a dumb expression and the works, but me and Futaba-san couldn¡¯t really point andugh at the end result.

    ¡°Urk, Uaaah¡­¡±

    Seeing that kind of gruesome melting damage from my own curse, I inadvertently let out a voice of aversion.

    Getting its body smeared in the poison, or more like, in the potent acid-like liquid, a loud fizz released from all over the Zombie along with smoke tinged in red.

    Writhing in agony, the Zombie attempted to get up¡­ only to find its hand on the ground had gone. Then I saw its wrist had just plopped off, then came its elbow, then the knee.

    ¡°Oo¡­AAa¡­¡±

    Losing any and all limbs to struggle with, what remained was only the pitifully frothing head and trunk. And in no time, the head crumbled away,stly leaving the Zombie¡¯s lone back, slowly descending into the acid. Its everything returning to nothing.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I did it¡±

    ¡°You did it! That¡¯s great Momokawa-kun, you beat the Zombie by yourself!¡±

    As I was reflecting on whether this kind of win was truly valid, Futaba-san raised her voice in explosive cheers.

    Reading the description, I knew it¡¯d end this way. I knew, but looking at the enemy dying so gruesomely¡­ I can¡¯t really feel like jumping in joy. Hoping for something a bit cooler in terms of killing, is probably too much to ask for.

    Aaaanyway, this marks my first real victory since bing a Shaman. It wasn¡¯t a series of lucky events like with the Armor Bear, nor was it getting saved by Futaba-san like in the Goma trap incident. It was simply, purely me achieving a win with my powers as a Shaman. One mere Zombie. But a Zombie nheless.

    So I¡¯ll own it. No matter how awful, how grotesque it looks, a win is a win.

    ¡°E-ehehe¡­ Thanks¡±

    With somewhat of a weirdugh and awkward bashful expression, I cheer for me as well along with the brightly smiling Futaba-san for my first ever victory.

    ________________________

    [1]Said in fluent Tsundere-speak.

    [2] ¸¯¤êÕÓ ¡ª Kusari Numa ¡ª Rotten Bog

    [3] ü\¤ÎÑªÃ} ¡ª Kuro no Kechimyaku ¡ª ck Bloodline (repeating from ch29)¡­ it¡¯s like a sharingan?

    [4] ¸¯¤êÕÓ ¡ª Kusari Numa ¡ª Rotten Bog¡­ it¡¯s like a portal, but there¡¯s no other side

 Chapter 42: Mandragora

    Chapter 42: Mandragora

    Looks like this area only has Zombies and Skeletons. The Skeletons are the usual sluggish and slow-reacting type, their attacks being monotone like some badly programmed A.I., they¡¯re your average mob monsters. Zombies consist of the Small Zombies, and the more human-like Adult Zombies. Though unlike Skeletons they don¡¯t carry weapons, Zombies can detect us and as a result, start shrieking and rushing at us, which is a pain.

    When encountered at corners, they¡¯d instantly go into battle mode ande at us, so it¡¯s quite nerve wracking. But Futaba-san has the guts and ability to calmly cut down those Zombies no matter what starting distance. Up until now, no matter what surprises came our way, she could always get the upper hand.

    It¡¯s not like we usually can¡¯t see theming, so Zombies aren¡¯t that big a deal. If we see them without them noticing, I can set up my Rotten Bog in advance, and Futaba-san can get their attention with her stones, fishing them out easily.

    If there aren¡¯t many, we can just wait behind the bog and the Zombies will jump in and melt on their own. If there¡¯s more than 5 or so, some of them can bridge across stepping on others that are still melting. Most of the time when that happens, the surviving numbers aren¡¯t much and they fall prey to Futaba-san¡¯s axe.

    When there¡¯s still more, I use ckhair Bind for support, and we can get a slightly bigger safety margin. Of course, Zombies aren¡¯t like that Orthrus, they can¡¯t breathe fire nor do they have any sharp nails or ded weapons. They can¡¯t easily escape my ckhair¡¯s grasp.

    Well, they¡¯re usually moving so fast, sometime¡¯s the ankle would just tear off from the momentum. So when I do bind them, I make sure to get both legs or the trunk.

    Like that, we arrived to at the end of the tunnel at arge clearing which I could describe as a graveyard forest. Once there, we beat a fairlyrge horde of them safe and sound, and pretty easily to boot.

    ¡°Fuuh, finally. All cleaned up, Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re easy to beat, but it sure is a lot of effort¡±

    In games, you certainly have strategies where you lure in small parts of a group of mobs towards you and whittle down their numbers, but that get¡¯s boring real fast. Most of the time you¡¯re just waiting to get to a high enough level or chance upon a good weapon to deal with them all at once. But that¡¯s a feeling strictly in games.

    ¡°I feel like I could take on around this much myself¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s an easier way, we should just use that. Safety first right? Taking risks should be only when there¡¯s a boss and you don¡¯t have much choice.¡±

    Like really, this isn¡¯t a game, but real life, with that life on a fine line. Safety is like the best luxury you can get. It may take more time, more effort even, but I¡¯ll happily put in the work for that option.

    The only downside: we can expect no cores from Skeletons as a given, but none at all from any Zombies either.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going. There could be more Zombies behind the trees so stay alert¡±

    From the tunnel, it looked like the Zombies were cleared out, so we stepped into the graveyard forest.

    I say graveyard, but basically, it¡¯s a forested dome where the ground has tree branches sticking out like grave markers. Though they can look like normal graves at a nce, they may as well be somethingpletely different.

    All of these branches show signs of being broken, so it¡¯s clear that they didn¡¯t grow naturally, and were put there by something else. Maybe the Goma decided to make this ce their gravesite, or maybe there¡¯s a monster that likes to break off branches and stick them into the ground. I wouldn¡¯t know.

    But yeah, I can¡¯t associate this scene with anything other than a graveyard. Plus, I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯re trying to save on power or just broken, but the light panels on the ceiling here are especially dim here. If someone¡¯s trying to set the mood or something, please stop.

    ¡°¡­ Hm¡±

    We were walking ording to the magicpass while being vignt of our surroundings, but something caught my eye all of a sudden.

    ¡°Futaba-san, wait a bit¡±

    There¡¯s no, what¡¯s wrong, or any question of the sort. With a simple, ¡°Yeah¡± of confirmation, she got into position as lookout and guard. I feel like Futaba-san¡¯s quality as a bodyguard rose at some point without me noticing.

    ¡°Hmm¡±

    I¡¯ll leave my impression of Futaba-san aside for now, and concentrate on that thing that caught my attention. Growing along the base of one of the thicker grave markers, it was a bundle emerald green grass. It may seem like ordinary weeds at a cursory nce. But a vividly poisonous purple from its root portion, something like a fruit, was peeking out from the ground. My guess would be that something like a carrot is buried in there.

    Well then, since I¡¯m curious, I¡¯ll just investigate this mysterious magenta with my Intuition Pharmacy¡ª

    ¡°A nt that resembles monsters, and has ominous human shaped roots. Against predators, or any who try to pull it out, it resists with a shrill noise released via a form of telepathy. Since ages past, it has been used for miracle drugs, wonder cures, and even deadly poisons. Due to its unique ecology, it is said to have a profound effect on the human psyche.¡±

    Intuition Pharmacy¡¯s usual casual exnation became all legit all of a sudden. What¡¯s up, ya look it up on Wikipedia or something?

    Anyway, aside from just how that whimsical skill works, a single name popped into my head from that description just now.

    ¡°So basically, it¡¯s a Mandragora right?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that, I¡¯ve heard of it¡±

    Yeah, the name itself is pretty famous after all. It¡¯s a familiar ingredient item in games, and it¡¯s a frequent staple in all sorts of fantasy media.

    It usually goes something like: it¡¯s got a human shaped root, and starts screaming when pulled out, granting death to whoever shall hear. There¡¯s also the mandrake. The name being simr, it¡¯s the nt that became the basis of the legend. But from the description, looks like it¡¯s not the Mangragora we know from Earth, and it¡¯s somewhat different from the ones in fantasy stories too. This should be a simr, but different nt peculiar to this otherworld.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try pulling it out¡±

    ¡°Eh, doesn¡¯t that kill you!?¡°

    ¡°It didn¡¯t say instant death, so we should be fine?¡±

    It supposedly resists via telepathy, an amazingly fantasy behavior. I¡¯m somewhat curious as to what that is. And naturally, as a Shaman, I simply can¡¯t let go of excellent material like this that may as well be miracle meds.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure? Really sure about this, right? If it looks bad, let it go right away alright!¡±

    Leaving be Futaba-san, who¡¯s transformed into a model overprotective mother, I grab onto the Mandoragora¡¯s leaves with expanding curiosity.

    ¡°Eii!¡±

    Yelling out, I pull hard. And in doing, a shrill bird¡¯s cry, or like a very high-pitched human voice rang out in my head.

    I see, so this is that shrill telepathic noise. Hmm, it¡¯s not much. Nails scratching on a ckboard or shattering ss would be more painful I guess. Also, isn¡¯t this a little too low volume?

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s out¡±

    In no time, it easily popped out.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, you¡¯re alive right!?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yup, no, it wasn¡¯t bad at all¡±

    With a satisfied expression, I dangle the harvested Mandragora in front of Futaba-san. Like, look at the fruit of mybour, look at it.

    Taking a good look, it does kind of look human-ish. The split tip obviously being the legs. There was that sexy radish trend right? It¡¯s pretty much that.[1]

    But with what seemed to be eyes and a mouth, it¡¯s head area had round, concaved parts, and with its full-on purple skin, it has an overall feel that you wouldn¡¯t want to eat it at all. Though yeah, I have a feeling I can make something really good from this.

    ¡°Futaba-san, you wanna give it a try? There¡¯s another one over there¡±

    ¡°Ehhh, it¡¯s really okay right?¡±

    Easy peasy, no but still, after a bit more of that, in the end, Futaba-san pulled it out.

    ¡°Yeah, I got one!¡±

    ¡°Nice, how¡¯s the voice?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I didn¡¯t hear a thing¡±

    Told you, we were happy to be able to easily collect the Mandragora, but the situation suddenly changed.

    The first one to notice was of course, Futaba-san, with her sharp senses or something that Berserkers seem to have.

    ¡°Something¡¯s there¡±

    I quickly stuff the 2nd Mandragora into my bag, and get ready to run at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°We¡¯ll retreat to the entrance. How is it?¡±

    ¡°Still clear, we¡¯re notpletely surrounded yet¡­ But I sense them from both sides¡±

    Too bad I don¡¯t have the ability to sense presences like that. Looking left or right, I see only silent foliage.

    With a quick nce back, there¡¯s the entrance from the tunnel to this clearing some 10 meters away.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, run!¡±

    It¡¯s damn right insane to run blindly when facing an unknown enemy and, though that may be a big concern, I fully trust in Futaba-san¡¯s decision-making ability. Her instinctive battle sense as a Berserker is tremendously reliable. My littleints can take a back seat anytime.

    And the moment I started running just as instructed, with a loud rustling, the monsters made their appearance around us.

    ¡°Baubauu!¡±

    It was a monster we hadn¡¯t encountered before, making noisy dog-like barking sounds.

    At a nce, they looked like one of those carnivorous dinosaurs I saw in an encyclopedia as a kid. Height being around that of a human, it was a bipedal lizard, with short fore-limbs that should be the arms, and a long tail. It was grey like cinderblock, and on its back I could see densely packed scales with a metallic glimmer.

    But its most peculiar, or more like, bizarre aspect would be it¡¯s disproportionately big head. It looked like a slightly angr cube. Splitting in jagged lines from the middle peeked it¡¯s wide maw. Matching its simrity to dogs, it had a long tongue sticking out from that mouth, dribbling foul spit.

    ring with its beady red eyes, it aimed for us looking expressly famished.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Goar!¡±[2]

    Of course, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen one, but I knew the name. We checked for mail in the note circle before heading out, so we know some info on this monster.

    Goars are a species of earth dragon that are small in size and form packs (I¡¯m guessing earth dragons are monsters that look like dinosaurs). They¡¯re omnivorous but prefer meat, usually scavenging on dead creatures, they will eagerly attack prey that seem weak enough to hunt. An aggressive, and vicious monster.

    They have no magic, but along with the sheer strength and quick-footedness boasted by all members of the earth dragon family, it uses its oversized jaws to reap its prey.

    These dangerous Goars had appeared, and in a pack of five no less. There could be even more hiding in the bushes. Anyway, there¡¯s a lot. And I can¡¯t think of a way we can take them on with just us two.

    This, may be a bit bad.

    ¡°Hmph!!¡±

    Futaba-san lets out a breath of energy. Looking there, the Goaring at her was blown away. That must be the counter-attacking ability of the Knight¡¯s skill #2, Repel.

    The attacking Goar not only got repelled away, but took a direct blow from the axe as well. It¡¯s belly being white and scaleless, easily split apart, spilling dark red blood and entrails.

    One of them being done in with such nimble movements and ease however, wasn¡¯t enough to caution its friends to give up.

    ¡°Futaba-san!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, you get back behind the bog, Momokawa-kun¡±

    By the time the next few Goars seiged us from the front, left, and right, I had somehow made it to the entrance by running full force.

    Over there was the Rotten Bog we had made to safely dispose of the horde of Zombies previously, spread end to end across the entrance as much as possible. This curse won¡¯t go disappearing on its own. Once made, it stays. However, like paint drying, it reacts to the air, and would eventually harden, loosing its toxicity, it¡¯d be harmless dirt.

    The one made there just now still hasn¡¯t dried up. Bubbling eerily, it seemed to be asking for new prey.

    ¡°Easy does it!¡±

    I leap across the very edge so I don¡¯t fall in. Well, we¡¯ve already confirmed that this poison won¡¯t work on me at all. So even if I made a mistake and stepped in, I won¡¯t be muddy waste.

    But that only ounts for my own body, clothes and equipment being barred from the exception. And I do not need some fan service scene of only my clothes and things getting melted away by some erotic Slime digestion event. But seriously, losing our gear could be a fatal mistake.

    Anyway, now this weak ass Shaman has made it to a safe location. Considering at their size, I can¡¯t imagine a Goar walking across the narrow portion of un-bogged area without dipping in.

    ¡ª And curse the body!! Red Fever!!

    Now that I¡¯m properly position in rearguard, my role is only to support Futaba-san. First, I aim a curse at all the Goars. The effect is negligible as usual though. I can only pray it¡¯ll dull their movements a bit.

    ¡°Yahh!¡±

    It¡¯s currently unknown whether my back-up was meaningful or otherwise, but Futaba-san yed a Goar with a full swing nheless.

    That¡¯s the 2nd one now. Futaba-san is holding position a little ways away from the entrance. Just close enough that I can use ckhair Bind in a practical manner. At this rate, she can finish them off by herself no proble¡ª Wait what? There¡¯s only 2 Goars around Futaba-san. Where¡¯s the other¡ª

    ¡°Uwaah!?¡±

    ¡°BaoOOOOOoh!!¡±

    Raising a piercing roar, one of the Goars were running towards the tunnel entrance. This fucker, it ignored Futaba-san and went for me instead!

    ¡°One got passed, Momokawa-kun! I¡¯ming right¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, you focus on the ones there!¡±

    Futaba-san turning around anding to my rescue at this point won¡¯t end well for either of us. The two Goars around her look like they¡¯re just waiting for a chance to pounce while maintaining distance. But more importantly, I can see another three, four of them poking out their heads from deeper in the forest. If that whole pack starts attacking all at once, even Futaba-san can¡¯t hold out.

    That¡¯s why, I gotta be able to take down at least one of these smallfries.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong,e get some!¡±

    I provoke it with a jittery voice from the other side of the pool. My enemy Goar was clearly wary of the Rotten Bog.

    Tch, those brainless Zombies would be jumping into the dubious crimson mud no questions asked, but guess it won¡¯t go so well with a monster based on real live animals. Its instincts as a living creature must be alerting it against danger.

    Huffing in rough breaths, for a while, it paced in front of the tunnel. Next, the Goar drew away. Did it give up, I wonder, but then it turned back towards here again, and started sprinting like no tomorrow.

    Is it trying to cross over from the momentum¡ª nope, I have a good idea about its ploy.

    ¡°O-oooh no you don¡¯t!!¡±

    Just as I thought, the Goar was going to use its monster-strength legs to jump across. The bog is 4 meters in diameter. If a highschool boy can make 4 meters in long jump, for a monster like this it should be child¡¯s y. Which implies, with my Rotten Bog only this big, it¡¯ll only be a low-tier obstacle for a Goar.

    Naturally, once it gets in, I have no hope of taking on this member of the Jurassic in a closebat situation. Relying on Pain Return won¡¯t lead to any kind of victory either.

    ¡°Fall into Heeeeellll!!¡±

    So I dropped it. Mid air, right around where it was above the middle of the bog, I pull the Goar down into hell.

    Already lurking in the depths of the bogmud, a monster-like jet ck tentacle flies out. I¡¯m talking about the one and only, ckhair Bind.

    Getting to this point, I¡¯ve been using it again, again, again, and again agains¡¯t Zombies, and even when Futaba-san didn¡¯t need any help at all, I kept practicing to the point of idiocy, and have be much more skilled at it since the battle with the Orthrus. It¡¯s thicker, longer, and with a grip like never before.

    ¡°GyAoOAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    With fierce sshing, the Goar that was defenseless mid jump is yanked into the toxic swamp by the abyssal tentacle. The fizzling, liquifying sounds are much louder than when Zombies were plunged in. It¡¯s no wonder, its body is much bigger than a Zombie, so naturally there¡¯d be more fizz.

    ¡°oOAAAAa! Bauh! BaAAAAa!!¡±

    ¡°Shut it, stay there¡­ sink dammit!¡±

    I further bind the writhing Goar with my ckhair tentacles. I call forth two more braids. One to hold down its tail rampaging on the mud, and the other to close its shrieking mouth filled with fangs. A total of 3 ckhair Binds tied it down into the powerful dissolving bog.

    How¡¯s that. When I realized that ckhair Bind isn¡¯t affected by the Rotten Bog like my body, this was born as my most powerful killerbo.

    ¡°Bao! BAa¡­ oo¡­¡±

    Never able to fully free itself, my dangerous battle with the Goar came to an end. My curses aren¡¯t strong enough to hold down that kind of monster head on.

    Looking at that Goar struggling so much, thenpletely losing its vitality and copsing at the center of the poison bog, I was released from being on edge, and just stared vacantly for a bit.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Haah¡­ HA! Futaba-san, where¡¯s¡ª!?¡±

    Realizing that the fight wasn¡¯t over yet, I hastily look around with a start.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, everything alright? The pack ran away already¡±

    Looking around, there were the massacred corpses of seven Goars scattered about, and Futaba-san looking at me with a wholehearted expression of worry.

    Just wow, while I was doing deadly 1v1, she¡¯d taken care of seven of them like nothing¡­ thesebat specialized vocations are just amazing.

    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ no problem, alive mostly. Not a scratch in fact.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. I¡¯ll go look for cores then¡±

    Looking at Futaba-san using her knife to fish out the Goar corpses so cheerfully, I kinda seriously thought, I can¡¯t live without this girl anymore.

    Futaba-san, I can¡¯t thank you enough.

    ________________________

    [1] Yes, radish the root vegetable.

    [2] You¡­ might disagree with the trantion of ¥´¥¢ ¡ª Goa ¡ª Goar. In Kuro no Maou, it¡¯s kinda established how it should be Gore (with all the trantors using that), but tbh, I just don¡¯t like it. Goa, I believe, is the dinosaur roar sound effect, so it makes sense to me to tl it as Goar, resembling Roar. If anyone¡¯s got a good argument for Gore, or a better TL, I¡¯d be d to hear it. (joke) Also, ¡°baubau!¡± sounds so boring lol, so I imagine it as Sam L Jackson saying ¡°Baubau muhfugga, I¡¯m here to fug u up!¡±

 Chapter 43: Secret Harvest

    Chapter 43: Secret Harvest

    So this happened. It was after clearing the graveyard forest, getting to the next fairy square, heading out from there, getting to another, simr Zombie filled area, and after finally reaching our 3rd fairy square.

    I made up my mind and asked her.

    ¡°U-uhm, Futaba-san, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, what is it?¡±

    That smile turning towards me, you¡¯d never think she¡¯s been spending a so many days in a dreary dungeon. Herplexion is great, and her skin looks healthy. Such a wonderful smile makes it a bit hard to say. But I must, I shan¡¯t dy it any longer, I¡¯ll give it to her straight.

    ¡°Y-you erm¡­ lost weight right?¡±

    ¡°EEehhhh!?¡±[1]

    Her eyes looked as if they¡¯d pop out in surprise. And that reaction being so unbelievably forced, must be my imagination.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t see it at alll! Me, losing weight, no way!¡±

    ¡°No no, you did, you slimmed down like, a ton!¡±

    Even a good-for-nothing like me can dere wholeheartedly, that Futaba-san, has gotten visibly thinner.

    I mean, I¡¯d obviously notice right? That waist that looked like a barrel had somehow be hourss shaped.

    No, to be urate, she¡¯s still got more inches around there than the average girl, but due to that overwhelmingly massive bust and hip, the whole thing looks rtively squeezed in. Nheless, it¡¯s clear as day that her figure went through a big change.

    Plus, those thighs that looked like tree trunks had now gotten somewhat defined. The form of her porcin legs peeking out from her skirt looks toned, drawing a beautiful curve down.

    Futaba-san now has in her possession, a body that is the envy of women, with sex appeal to make men stand fully in attention.

    ¡°Maybe, you¡¯re right¡­ ehe, ehehe¡­¡±

    That shy, bashful thing must be an act. But no doubt she¡¯s happy about it. She must¡¯ve been concerned about her figure, even a little.

    The current, thinner Futaba-san, with her round face that has much less fat around the edges, and with her big, round eyes, looks almost like one of those baby-faced idols. At this rate, she¡¯ll be true idol-tier in no time.

    ¡°Yup, believe me, you¡¯re seriously thinner. Must be all those harsh battles. And those power seeds too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so too¡­ I¡¯ve been getting more exercise than at school at least¡±

    Going to town with a rabid pack of Goars with a single axe isn¡¯t what I¡¯d call merely exercise there, miss.

    ¡°The calorie consumption should be intense, but does everything feel alright? Any dizziness?¡±

    ¡°Nope, none at all. See, after bing a Berserker, my whole body¡¯s much lighter¡±

    And in contrast, her attack damage has be tremendous. She can absolutely destroy a Goar¡¯s bulky skull with one swing after all.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine and all¡­ but losing weight too fast and getting worn out will be bad too alright?¡±

    ¡°Eeh, no way, but I can¡¯t get to normal size if I¡¯m like this!¡±

    That¡¯s not the problem here.

    Or more like, I myself couldn¡¯t bear to see her get even thinner and be like those slim models you find anywhere. To lose that super-sized bust and hip that¡¯s so alien to the Japanese popce, it¡¯d be simply dreadful.

    ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t force yourself. If anything feels weird, we¡¯ll take a break right away. Fairy square¡¯s are safe, and if it¡¯s a few snakes, I can go hunt them myself.¡±

    I¡¯d be hard pressed to order her to Get fatter! or something, so I¡¯ll have her maintain what she has now.

    Still, her waist has gone down so much, but the bust and hip seem unchanged. No, if my trained eye hasn¡¯t seen ¡°any changes¡± then there¡¯s no doubt to be made. Do you realize just how solemnly I¡¯ve been gazing at those treasures every single day? Secretly of course. What she doesn¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt anyone.

    ¡°Yeah, thank you, Momokawa-kun¡­¡±

    Getting all bashful like that, Futaba-san is now no inferior than any pretty-girl(bishoujo). With those massive jugs in her arsenal, it¡¯d be fair to call her one of the big three beauties of ss 2-7 alongside Souma Sakura and Reina A. Ayase. I¡¯d even take the initiative to start her very own fan club and appoint myself chairman.

    But yeah, seeing as I¡¯m not getting light headed and my pulse hasn¡¯t rised drastically even when I¡¯m with such a beautiful girl (the type I¡¯m not used to even looking at), it must be that. Going through all this hell together must¡¯ve made this bond. I could even call her arade and friend. At least, she is for me.

    ¡°Uh, Uhm, Momokawa-kun¡­ I kind of, wanted to say something, too¡±

    ¡°Eh! What¡¯s that?¡±

    Could it be, do I look tougher now too, is it that? Woah, this¡¯ll be great, it¡¯s perhaps time for me to finally upgrade into a manly man.

    As if. I deny the thought looking at my twig arms that can¡¯t even break off a solid fairy walnut branch.

    ¡°First names, can we¡­ go by first names?¡±

    ¡°Ah, sure, of course! We¡¯re a proper party now, so first names should be natural yeah¡±

    It does seem a bit too distant to call someone you¡¯re entrusting your life to by theirst name. Plus, it¡¯s these little things that tend to deepen bonds between allies all the more, the psychological effect is no joke. In fact, I¡¯d have asked for first names myself in due time, so it¡¯s a great suggestion.

    ¡°Sure, go for it¡±

    ¡°Wow, thanks so much, um, err¡­ Kotarou-kun¡±

    Oh man, what even, skipped a beat there. My nutdder won¡¯t hold out.

    Yeah, this is it. My, it¡¯s my first name being called like this by a girl, first time since birth. Like, those girls I yed with in kindergarten only called me Momo-chan.

    ¡°Huh, Uhm¡­ did I, say it wrong?¡±

    ¡°Uaahh!? No no, it was perfect!¡±

    I got dazed for a bit from the shock. Noo, so embarassing. I gotta get it together, or she¡¯ll take it the wrong way.

    ¡°And me too, first name okay?¡±

    ¡°Ah sure, les¡¯see¡­ Meiko¡±

    ¡°-!?¡±

    Maybe it seemed too alien, Futaba-san reacts with a jolt.

    Or more like, getting rid of the honorific was definitely the clincher. Futaba-san suddenly going all the way to Meiko is just rude. Like, what am I, her boyfriend?

    ¡°Ah, no, that was rude of me¡­ Erm, got it, Mei-chan, how about that?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ that¡¯s fine, Kotarou-kun¡±

    Man, first names, this is the life. Getting called like that by a girl, it¡¯s damn glorious. That damn Souma Yuuto, and all those other normies. You¡¯ve been enjoying this happiness like drinking water every single day¡­ Yeah, handsome guys are a privileged ss after all.

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be counting on you then, Mei-chan¡±

    We thus shook hands, symbolizing our deepened bond.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    And, while that was certainly a refreshingly prickling interchange amongst highschoolers of the opposite sex, that evening, I did something so horrible to Futaba-san, it was as if I was trampling on every bit of her pure intentions.

    The time was right around midnight. Thanks to the G-shock, we could now tell time very urately. In the fairy square where light shines 24/7, I peered at the other side of the fountain to find that Mei-chan, formerly Futaba-san, has fallen fast asleep.

    ¡°N-no¡­ I shouldn¡¯t do this¡±

    Guilt, self-disgust, and the utter fear of what if she finds out, makes me loosen my resolve.

    ¡°No, I decided, I can¡¯t dy this anymore¡­ It¡¯s now or never¡±

    I re-harden my resolve. Since, this is a necessity.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it, an actually useful mud doll¡±

    My goal is to make a Vile Mud Doll I can send to battle. Last time, I tried making one the size of a Skeleton and copsed from mana exhaustion. But this time, I know can do better.

    With the recent Zombie area capturing, I¡¯ve more or less realized that my curses are getting stronger. My most frequently used, ckhair Bind, goes without saying, and as for my only attack option, that is Rotten Bog, I¡¯ve gotten able to somewhat manipte the shape and increase the acidity. If those two can get visibly stronger to such a degree, then Vile Mud Doll will too. Or at least, there¡¯s the possibility.

    Eh, Red Fever? Who¡¯s that?

    That aside, unlike a certain shitty curse #1 I know, Vile Mud Doll is a real trooper, I¡¯m sure of it.

    ¡°I got all the materials I need¡±

    I¡¯m already done gathering the necessary items from the ones we¡¯ve been collecting from battles. Bones from Skeletons, cores, scales, and skin from Goars, and threw in some Mandragora too. I knead mud from the fairy square into a human shape to bury these in.

    Next, I only needed my blood, yes, my new ck Bloodline flowing through my Shaman-y veins, if I use that then it should be a lot stronger than before.

    But then, I had a sudden thought. If my blood isn¡¯t just a key to activate the curse, but also an ingredient itself¡­ then won¡¯t other body fluids work too? I don¡¯t mean saliva. I¡¯ll be frank, I¡¯m thinking semen.

    It¡¯s not in a lewd meaning, but because in some stories with alchemy and homunculi, you often have stuff like mixing human and horse semen. I recalled it when we found the Mandragora. In this world, human sperm is likely to have some magic properties as well.

    If it¡¯ll add some power to my curses, there¡¯s no waste trying. My measly spunk doesn¡¯t have any other use after all.

    ¡°O-oh kay, let¡¯s do it¡­ Hirano-kun, I¡¯ll be gratefully using this alright¡±

    In my hands is the infamous rubber balloon for adult use, in other terms, the condom. It was in a little corner of Hirano-kun¡¯s wallet that we now had in our possession.

    That being there could mean one of two things. He didn¡¯t use it with Nishiyama-san. Or, after using them, there was only one left. Man, I¡¯m so d we didn¡¯t teleport in during any of their fun time. That would¡¯ve been way beyond awkward.

    It may be obvious, but this is my first time using such an adult item. But I happen to have more than enough instructional video knowledge on its application and use. I had fixedly reviewed such instruction every single day, so using it should be a no-brainer.

    Though I never in my dreams imagined I¡¯d be using one for a sad reason like collecting semen by myself for Shaman purposes. But then again, not using it and cumming all over the mud doll would be even more awful. Sure, I¡¯m backed up from the full-time abstinence since the whole dungeon life started. I¡¯d like some time to masturbate in peace if I can, please.

    ¡°¡­ Hah¡±

    And, I¡¯m quickly done with the deed. I¡¯ve achieved my goal, but my heart is currently overflowing with guilt.

    ¡°Futaba-san, I¡¯m so sorry¡±

    I¡¯m so remorseful, I can¡¯t bear to call her by her first name right now.

    Are you familiar with the term lookout? For those not in the know, you¡¯re doing great, but unfortunately, that isn¡¯t the case for me.[2]

    It¡¯s when you¡¯re ying MMOs and the sort, and you masturbate to female character avatars.

    ¡°Can I do some lookout here?¡±

    Apparently they ask too. The darkness of MMOs runs chillingly deep.

    I¡¯ve never engaged in that sort of sinful gamey, but I can¡¯t make fun of those gentlemen performing lookouts any longer. Like, doing it IRL is fundamentally different form doing it in front of your monitor. No actually, this has to be some sort of crime.

    ¡°Really, I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡±

    I never meant to go this far. I just, wanted to confirm if she was actually asleep.

    But listen, hear me out ok? So on the opposite side of the fountain, there was this gravure-idol ss beauty sleeping defenselessly with those huge tits overflowing with eros . We don¡¯t have any nkets orforters supplied in the fairy square, meaning, we just lie down and sleep. In other words, this disasterously t h i c c girl was lying there, exposed to all of mother nature.

    Naturally, she in no way could be described as naked. Futaba-san was using her gym clothes as sleepwear. There wasn¡¯t a speck of indecent exposure. There wasn¡¯t at all but, just look, her breasts and butt were like they¡¯re desperate to escape from those stuffy articles of clothing. Just how damn big do they have to get to stretch out clothes like that? Me being a guy can¡¯t even imagine, and I bet even girls would find it a bit hard to process.

    Just that much was enough for me. Just that view entering my starved eyes was more than enough.

    But then again, there was that time when Futaba-san almost tried to kill me. So in the back of my mind I¡¯m imagining she¡¯d forgive me saying, ¡°Can¡¯t be helped nya~¡±.

    Just as I was daydreaming like that, she rolled in her sleep, facing my way. And like, I saw it. The front of her jacket was, how should I say, open. It¡¯s pretty warm in the fairy square, so wearing gym clothes over your normal clothes makes it a bit ufortable. Wearing just a T-shirt like I am feels just right.

    And so, it must¡¯ve been hot for her. Even when I, a perfectly valid male was right on the other side, Futaba-san had lowered the zipper of her jacket all the way to the middle.

    Blitzing into my eyes, was the cleavage between those milky white breasts. A valley so profound, it rivals any mystical mountain.[3]

    ¡°¡ª!?¡±

    Carnal Crest The intermediary of sex and magic. Love being itself a mode of curse, sexual intercourse is a ritual for¡ª[4]

    There was this curse description-like thing entering my head for a bit, but I had absolutely no mind to pay attention to something like that. What I mean is, if you¡¯re a man, you¡¯ll get it.[5]

    ¡°¡­ Hah¡±

    And there, we get back to the present. My big sighes not only from my emotional state, but also from a consequential loss of stamina. Didn¡¯t think I could let out twice in a row. I don¡¯t even need this much.

    But I don¡¯t have any other use for this, and it¡¯s scary to think what¡¯d happen if I secretly disposed of it at a corner here, so let¡¯s just use all of it for the mud doll.

    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m doing all this for my Vile Mud Doll. It¡¯s totally not because I wanted to relieve myself.

    ¡°Kay, I¡¯m doing this, I¡¯mma do this dammit¡±

    Having rid myself of worldly desires, I now fully concentrate on the curse.

    Withplicated feelings, I smear on the final ingredient over the mud doll, and we¡¯re set.

    ¡°On trials not of will. On fate not of honor. On destiny of such aversion, I will carve my own path ¡ª ck Bloodline¡±

    I can already make the blood without all that chanting, but at times like these, I imagine it¡¯s more effective if I do. So it¡¯s just in case.

    ¡°Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth¡ª¡±

    Falls a drop of blood. One, two drops. Have more, have as much as you want.

    The drips prate when falling on the mud, and on the cloudy white, they mix to create a sickening color.

    It¡¯s fine, sickening or ominous or whatever. Because this is a curse. Look as evil as you want, and get stronger.

    ¡°¡ª Vile Mud Doll¡±

    With that, I finish the aria. That time when I fainted, it was before I got to finish, so this means it worked. It¡¯s just, feels like I lost more energy than that double shot just now, so it must¡¯ve drained a fair bit of mana.

    Now, let¡¯s see how it went.

    ¡°Uaahh!¡±

    The change was so drastic I let out my voice.

    With the mud doll at the epicenter, thick liquid like in Rotten Bog was bubbling out. Can¡¯t be, I¡¯m sure I got the right curse. The aria was perfect, and my mental image was spot-on too.

    And looking closer, that muddy ce wasn¡¯t crimson like Rotten Bog, but ck as night. But I could also see blood red color peeking out here and there.

    Is this, that so called Chaos?

    As if answering my thoughts, the mud doll sinks into the boiling bog of chaos¡ª

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    I eximed, as the chaos bog started disappearing like it was only an illusion. After that, what was left, was but a small figure.

    ¡°Y-yes¡­ It worked¡­¡±

    It was a Skeleton, of jet-ck bone. It had a ck luster, a slight metallic polish that¡¯s perhaps from the Goar materials.

    It¡¯s height was upto my hips, so the size of a child. The limbs were also short so it looked like a child¡¯s bones made into a Skeleton.

    Well, looks don¡¯t matter. The crucial point is if it¡¯s strong.

    ¡°Try this¡±

    I hand over the Goma made spear, that I¡¯ve put to almost no use myself, to this ck Skeleton of a Mud Doll.

    ¡°Ga, Gaga¡±

    Acknowledged, it seems to say as it clicks its skeletal jaw-bones while receiving the spear. Taking stance, and a thrust. It¡¯s spear skill, even I can tell it¡¯s pretty awkward. I can¡¯t say it¡¯s good at all but¡ª

    ¡°Good, very good! This much is enough for now¡±

    But I¡¯m now sure of it, of this Skeleton¡¯s talent. Just being able to swing a spear, it¡¯s proof that it now has human level strength. Plus, it¡¯s got good thrusting speed too. Looks like it¡¯s got around the same strength as me, maybe a bit less.

    In sum, it¡¯s no longer that weak Mud Doll that had dismantled as soon as it got wet. That is to say, I can totally use this as a decoy or for kamikaze attacks. It¡¯s be a fairly convenient sacrificial pawn, and it adds to our numbers too. With its current size, I can have it do spear attacks, and next time, it¡¯s sure to do well distracting monsters. And when the timees, it¡¯ll be my life-saving shield.

    It doesn¡¯t have much fire power, but I got myself a good, obedient little soldier to use.

    ¡°Man am I d that went well¡­¡±

    With that feeling of relief, I drop to the ground as if some strings were cut. Both mana and stamina drained to the limit. My eyelids are so heavy, I¡¯ll just¡ª

    ________________________

    [1] Pans to the sky¡­ (lol)

    [2] ÒŠ’i¤­ ¡ª Minuki ¡ª Lookout. There isn¡¯t an English term for it afaik, so I made this up. Something funny

    [3]ÉîÉ½ÓÄ¹È ¡ª Shinzan Yuukoku ¡ª Deep valley mountains, Wiki yeah¡­

    [4] Òù¼y ¡ª Inmon ¡ª Carnal Crest¡­ I have no words. Well, I kinda do. I may change this when we get the full description.

    [5] I believe he¡¯s talking about this.

 Chapter 44: Zombie Area Capture

    Chapter 44: Zombie Area Capture

    ¡°Kyaa! W-what is this!?¡±

    With a scream from Futaba-san, I am relinquished from sleep.

    ¡°Mnah¡ª W-what happened Futaba-san¡±

    Still half asleep, I make the attempt to get up while rubbing my eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible Kotarou-kun! There¡¯s a monster in this fairy square! Also, first name please!¡±

    ¡°Eehh! Monster!? Where!¡°

    That¡¯s one hell of an emergency alright. Fairy squares are our only safe location. And if it came to be that some monsters could invade this space, we¡¯d have to start setting up watch.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s over there! That ck Skeleton!¡±

    ¡°Uaah, you¡¯re right! What is that, a new type of Skeleton!?¡±

    It had the figure of a child, with bones giving off a dark, metallic sheen, a jet-ck Skeleton. At one corner of the square, it was single-mindedly swinging around a spear like a Knight focused on training.

    ¡°Ah, sorry Mei-chan, that¡¯s one of mine, it¡¯s a Mud Doll¡±

    ¡°Eh, it is?¡±

    My head wasn¡¯t working right just after waking up. Obviously, that over there is the Vile Mud Doll I madest night.

    For now, I¡¯ll go ahead and exin.

    ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s how it is¡°

    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking it could work as a bit of support for you¡±

    ¡°Thankyou, Kotarou-kun¡±

    The perfect smile she shoots back rivals any bishoujo. Man, dungeon-diets sure are impressive.

    ¡°So, what¡¯d you name her?¡±

    ¡°Eh, name?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Nope?¡±

    Name, a name huh. Should be useful to have one I guess. If Mei-chan wants to give it orders, calling it by name would make it easier.

    ¡°Got it, let¡¯s go with Rem¡±

    It¡¯s a mud doll, Golem, so Rem. Looks like a Skeleton though.[1]

    Basic naming done and over with, I will now start calling this nice and loyal mud doll Rem. When I mentallymandede back, she stopped her training as if hearing me by telepathy, and began heading this way with a rattle of her bones.

    Standing in front of us, her back, or rather, spine was straight, standing at attention, holding the spear in a perfect vertical. If I gave her some armor, she¡¯d look just like one of those antique knight disys.

    ¡°She has great manners¡±

    ¡°Yup, she sure isn¡¯t like those soul-less Skeletons and Zombies you find all over¡±

    Speaking of which, it¡¯s not like I told her to stand at attention, so this pattern of action must mean that she¡¯s got at least some form of ego. There¡¯s also the possibility that shees preprogrammed with a certain level of independent activity.

    ¡°From now on, your name will be Rem¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Rem-chan¡±

    ¡°Gaga¡±

    Replying with a click of her jaws, Rem nodded no show understanding by rigidly lowering her skull.

    And like that, we got ourselves a new and improved Rem as a new team member(?), and began once more our venture into the dungeon.

    ¡°¡ª Yup, she fights pretty well¡±

    We¡¯re still in the same old Zombie area, and the genre of monsters appearing show no signs of change. Stone passages and the asional tunnel. And there were some graveyard forests in varying sizes as well.

    The first thing I confirmed was Rem¡¯s solo fighting ability. Whether it¡¯s Skeleton or Zombie, if it¡¯s a 1v1, she can win without much trouble.

    Skeletons are dumb and never paying much attention, so if I give her the correct image on how to attack, she¡¯ll go for it without an ounce of hesitation, bashing her spear into its bones. Once the Skeleton falls down, she¡¯ll finish it off by breaking its skull with the butt of the weapon.

    Zombies are a bit tougher than Skeletons. There¡¯s ones that flinch when stabbed and ones that don¡¯t. Most of the smaller, Goma Zombies are the flinching type, so with a few more stabs after the first one, it¡¯s dead. As for the ones that don¡¯t flinch, they¡¯d just bite onto her, and she¡¯d wrestle them down in most cases.

    That being said, Rem¡¯s body is only a collection of bones. Even if Zombies gnaw into her with their rotten teeth, she¡¯ll only get minor scratches. Rem doesn¡¯t feel pain, and there¡¯s nothing like any damage feedback to me either.

    So even when they bite, Rem uses her sub weapon, the Goma¡¯s knife (originally mine) to stab and kill. After enough times with the knife, the Zombie¡¯ll stop moving. Whether it¡¯s after losing a good portion of its meat, or after shedding too much of its decayed blood, I don¡¯t know the exact conditions for how Zombies die, but that¡¯s how Rem¡¯s been killing them. The only tough part would be that, unlike non-dead humans, they¡¯ll keep moving right up until death.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to keep Rem-chan beside you, she seems more suited for defending¡±

    The great thing about Rem is that she won¡¯t melt in Rotten Bog. Thinking back on ckhair Bind, my curses may be made to be non-interfering, or maybe they have nullification effects built in.

    Anyway, as for Rem, who I can technically ce smack dab in the middle of the bog, she is best suited to be my bodyguard.

    Rem is holding my old spear and knife, which leaves me unarmed¡ª would be a bad idea so I equipped that sheath-less knife I kept in my bag. I hung it at my waist with a cloth around it. That and, though it may be considered the most basic level of armament in the whole dungeon, but it¡¯s better than nothing so why not, I¡¯m carrying one of those wooden clubs used by Skeletons.

    It would seem like my weapons went down a rank, but thinking of our individual roles, this kind of gear distribution is actually more optimal.

    ¡°I really thought she¡¯d help you out at front you know¡­ Sorry, I couldn¡¯t make her strong enough to go into the frontlines.¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, don¡¯t worry. I just thought if I identally hit Rem-chan, she could break¡±

    Could break, more like, will definitely break. Just as Mei-chan has been destroying all those mob Skeletons, Rem would be in shambles no doubt.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to practice so they can handle the vanguard as a team some day¡±

    The next time we get allies, we¡¯ll have to at least keep up on that front.

    And with Rem now acting as my shield, we make our way through the dungeon. With Mei-chan wielding so much raw power, our progress is steady as can be. There are the Goars that often appear in the graveyard forests which she can make easy work of. Our first encounter with these monsters was in theirrgest numbers we¡¯ve seen to date, so the two or threeing out now are easy game.

    And though they¡¯re pretty small, we can get cores from these Goars. I don¡¯t know how many we¡¯ll need for escaping, but gradually pilling up on them should help somewhat. Collecting materials now, and not when you need them, at which point the task bes a chore, is gaming 101.

    With the prime objective of core collection, we also collect the Goars¡¯ scales and skins to asionally repair Rem. Making Rem sleep, I use Vile Mud Doll again. This is when Rem¡¯s ck chaos, the bog, appears, swallowing up the new materials along with Rem, and spitting out a shiny new version of her.

    It¡¯s a pretty simple procedure, so I¡¯m d I can use her without concern. Even if it gets a bit rough, and her arm and leg bones get broken, I¡¯m confident I can use Goars and Skeletons and heal her up right away. It¡¯s just, if she getspletely destroyed, I¡¯d have to rebuild her from scratch so.

    And it¡¯s about time I stop feeling guilty about that lookout incident. Though I can¡¯t say with confidence I can hold off on doing that again in the future¡­

    And as if receiving divine punishment for these vulgar thoughts, we ended up in quite a bind.

    This happened as we were walking along a normal passage. Suddenly, arge horde of Zombies came from the front and back as if initiating a pincer attack.

    ¡°Mei-chan, take the ones out front! I¡¯ll make the bog behind us, me and Rem will hold them off here¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll kill them quick, ande over right away!¡±

    It was a pretty harsh defensive battle. There were much more Zombies than I thought.

    ¡°¡ª Kuh, they filled up the bog dammit¡±

    Less than a minute after I manifested my Rotten Bog, it was chock full of Zombie corpses. The Zombies that would try and advance even after falling in were stabbed at and forced back by Rem and her trusty spear. With my weakass Skeleton¡¯s club, I also pushed Zombies from the pool¡¯s edge.

    I was attacking with the tentacles at the same time, so something really dumb like letting my club slip, it falling into the bog, and proceeding to melt into nothing, also happened.

    Though by the time I lost the club, I¡¯d already sunk a number of Zombies in the blood colored pool¡­ but there was still a lot more to go.

    I didn¡¯t have any space to step back and make another Rotten Bog. Mei-chan had been executing the Zombies out front at a rapid pace, but with her path made strewn in corpses, a new bog wouldn¡¯t do shit.

    ¡°Kuh, enough already¡­¡±

    There was around 10 more Zombies left. Not a number Rem could take on. And me going head to head with just one of them would lead to a swift game over. If it bit my neck, It¡¯d bepletely hopeless. At worst, I¡¯d be one of their own like in those zombie flicks.

    I couldn¡¯t expand the Rotten Bog. But I didn¡¯t have any other way of beating them. I had to make a new Rotten Bog any way I ca¡ª

    ¡°No, I still have there!!¡±

    I raised both my arms to call out ck Bloodline. On the back of both my hands, the same eye-like crest appeared.

    I swung both hands to the side, and cursed blood sprayed out, sticking to the walls around me. That¡¯s right, walls. If the floor¡¯s no good, I could just use the walls.

    ¡°Putrefy, in the depths of vile red ¡ª Rotten Bog!!¡±

    The blood-drops stuck on the walls transformed into pools of blood in the blink of an eye. It worked. Even vertical walls could be made into deadly pools of acid.

    At this point, I¡¯d gotten ufortably close to the Zombie horde that was running full speed.

    ¡°Sink into hell!¡±

    ckhair Bind leapt out from inside the bog like great serpents that just discovered prey. Moving nimbly, they snatched up the Zombies running ahead.

    ¡°BuaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa!!¡±

    I wondered if their pain receptors are still working? Forcefully mmed into the poison bog on the walls, the Zombies raised harsh screams.

    The maximum number of braided ckhair tentacles I could release was four. With that many, I could catch multiple Zombies at once.

    ¡°Tch! still not enough, but¡ª!¡±

    Zombies would keep moving if they weren¡¯t well melted, but the ones mmed into the walls were pretty much all cooked. I could release them from the tentacles, and they wouldn¡¯t being after me anymore. They¡¯d been highly damaged, and couldn¡¯t attack so I no longer needed to bind them, is what I mean.

    I released the 4 bodies, and captured another 4. With that, it¡¯s 8 Zombies out of the way.

    But I started off with 10. No, there was actually 12.

    Two of those had their feet stuck in the acid mud and we¡¯re melting down. But the other two were stepping over their deadpatriots, and using the sacrifice of thosest four, had avoided ckhair Bind. They had really closed in on me.

    ¡°Gagaaa!!¡±

    Right there, came in Rem, full verve. Her technique much sharper than I¡¯d ever seen, Rem pierced through one of the Zombie¡¯s chests. But these past few Zombies we¡¯re all therge type. Those can¡¯t be so simply killed.

    Its chest pierced through, the Zombie just kepting, lodging the de further into itself, closing in on Rem. That being the case, she couldn¡¯t take it out and attack anymore.

    ¡°You can do it! Push it away!¡±

    Rem obeyed and, letting go of her spear, she grabbed the encroaching Zombie around its waist. In terms of pure power, the Zombie would win, but maybe because it was weakened from that stab, the undead actually staggered. Even the small Rem, using every ounce of power in her body, was able to somehow, some way, push the Zombie into the bog running along the wall.

    The Zombie shrieked piercingly, and also¡ª

    ¡°AaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Thest Zombie, was already here.

    Twelve in all. Eight defeated by tentacles. Two died stuck. One held off by Rem. One more, thest remaining one, Icked a single way of stopping it.

    My spear is with Rem, the club, I lost a moment ago, I didn¡¯t have one good weapon. My sub, the knife, that I was holding was so short, it wouldn¡¯t serve as a smidgen of defense against this raging Zombie. Also, I really doubted if I could score a miraculous critical hit on its vitals with my shaky-as-fuck hands.

    Dead, I¡¯m sooo fucking dead¡ª

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my Kotarou-kuunnNAAAAAAa!!¡±

    Man that¡¯s a scary roar, is what I thought when the Zombie¡¯s head burst.

    An instantter, my slightly long bangs danced from the tremendous air pressure.

    Ignoring the crumbling Zombie that was releasing decayed blood and brain entrails, I turned my head.

    And there I saw Mei-chan¡¯s left hand swung to the back for just an instant. A pose like she¡¯d just thrown something behind her without even looking. Incidentally, her right hand was using her axe as a shield against a Zombie. And before I noticed, her left hand had made it back to the axe-handle, whence forth she continued making mince-meat of the remaining Zombies.

    Looking at the state of the Zombie¡¯s head and considering Mei-chan¡¯s hand movements, I guessed that she threw a stone behind her, achieving an splendid head shot at that.

    ¡°Mei-chan, you¡¯re¡­ just epic¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t imagine calling her something so over-familiar as Mei-chan anymore. With that much god-level skill, I¡¯d much rather go with Mei-chan-san.[2]

    Thanks to her, the Zombies on our tail end were all gone. I also finished off the half dead ones with my tentacles.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haah¡­ M-man, that was close¡­¡±

    So we had that episode of danger in the Zombie area as well. Which just goes to show, you can¡¯t let down your guard anywhere in this dungeon.

    Since something like this happened, Mei-chan started badgering me to carry Hirano-kun¡¯s sword on me as ast means of defense¡­ So for now, probably until we get something good again, I¡¯ll be borrowing the sword.

    So we switched up our gear, took care of the asional Skeletons, Zombies, and Goars, and finally arrived at a clearingpletely different from the other ones around here.

    Hmmm, doesn¡¯t look like a boss room¡­ but please, please just stay like that!

    ________________________

    [1] Rem will hereby be pronouned female¡­ if I¡¯m not forced to make it male due to raws¡­ In retrospect from this chapter, I feel a bit sorry. Also, in jap, L and R are kinda interchangeable.

    [2] -san = mad respect bruh

 Chapter 45: Armor Bear part.1

    Chapter 45: Armor Bear part.1

    ¡°¡­ Not a thing in there¡±

    Was Mei-chan¡¯s impression upon cautiously peeking into the room. And then I looked, and saw nothing there as well. A deste room like that first Skeleton room we saw. Or actually, it¡¯s more of a deserted space than anything. The walls aren¡¯t even in stone blocks but have rough, rocky edges sticking out.

    ¡°Thepass is showing straight through here¡±

    ¡°So we don¡¯t have to bother with the other paths right?¡±

    This cave-like room isn¡¯t that big. The square-footing being around that of half a gymnasium, it¡¯s like a circr hall. Since it¡¯s empty and all, we could see from end to end. There¡¯s the passage that thepass is pointing to, the one just opposite of us, and there are two more going into the 3 and 9 o¡¯clock directions. If I also count the way we came in, this ce would be a truly literal cross-roads. Every exit looks exactly the same, and without thepass we¡¯d be impossibly lost.

    ¡°I think we¡¯ll get to a fairy square after this¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been walking for a while, so it¡¯s about time¡±

    But it¡¯s always these kinds of ces that are set up as boss rooms. Though at a nce, it doesn¡¯t look like the Orthrus¡¯ room, since there¡¯s clearly nothing here, and it may as well be a simple vacant room. I don¡¯t see any semnce of a transfer circle either.

    ¡°I guess¡­ there¡¯s no boss here?¡±

    ¡°Who knows. The floor isn¡¯t stone, so it could evene out from underground¡±

    I¡¯ve seen movies where some disaster ss monster attacks people by detecting them through sound. Stuff like the Mongolian Death Worm is kind of a staple in fantasy works too.

    ¡°So, what now?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll use Rem to make sure¡±

    Now came the time where my little decoyes in super handy. Never mind being hesitant, I¡¯m absolutely giddy that I can put the mud doll to some good use.

    Just as proimed in that painfully short description, she has the attribute of absolute obedience. Rem¡¯s more than ready to carry out my scouting order. Showing not a bit of hesitation, she walks into the cave-like room.

    I¡¯m simply watching over Rem who¡¯s only acting on orders, but Mei-chan kinda had a look of pity. Who knows, maybe she¡¯ll snap if I gave out too many harsh orders? No look, you can¡¯t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs alright.

    As I was uselessly considering these things, Rem kept walking the span of the room when,

    ¡°GOoaAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    My whole body jumped from that single roar. You think it was simple fear? Nay, even the Orthrus let out this level of volume. The moment I heard this particr cry, I only felt pure terror. The reason? It¡¯s very simple.

    It¡¯s because I know the originator of this voice.

    ¡°A-Armor Bear¡­¡±

    It appeared slowly from the 9 o¡¯clock passage, the great, gray form. Shielded by a sharp steel carapace, this is the most powerful monster I know.

    As if announcing the continuation of the nightmare from that day, the Armor Bear had appeared before me once again. It had the same look, even the same intimidating aura as back then.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, that¡¯s the¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was literally a miracle I could beat it one time. We need to avoid this fight any way we can¡±

    I already told her about my struggle with the Armor Bear when we first met. With that peculiar appearance it¡¯s got, Mei-chan must have recognized it instantly.

    So as not to provoke it as much as possible, I suspended Rem¡¯s movements right then and there. Like a puppet with its strings cut, I stopped it dead still in the middle of the room.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t getting her back?¡±

    ¡°The bear¡¯s got a good nose. I think it knows we¡¯re here too.¡±

    Simr to when I dropped my lunch, or my gym jacket, the Armor Bear stuck its nose into Rem¡¯spletely still body, and started sniffing. But both visually and in the olfactory sense, Rem being only a collection of metallic bones was quickly judged as not appetizing at all. The Armor Bear lost interest in no time and¡ª

    ¡°Ahh, shit¡­ didn¡¯t work at all¡±

    It roared after seeing us in the passage.

    Shifting itsrge steel body, the Armor Bear slowly, yeah, just like back then, with the dignity of a ruler, it calmly approached us.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold it back¡±

    ¡°No wait, it¡¯s better not to get up close¡ª Rotten Bog¡°

    Opportuning the fact that the Armor Bear wasn¡¯ting with an all out rush, I make the attempt to try at a defensive battle of deadly acid. I really don¡¯t think it can make a great leap over the bog like a Goar would with the kind of body it has. If I manifest my maximum size, my 5 meter wide bog, it¡¯s gonna have to step in if it wants to get to us.

    As my blood-red swamp takes shape, the Armor Bear is almost here. Seeing a sudden ominous pool appearing in front of it, it stopped as expected. And again as expected, it got close and sniffed. I was hoping it¡¯d identally drink some and go die somewhere but¡ª

    ¡°GooAA!!¡±

    I guess I can¡¯t expect it to be that dumb.

    So you get it right? Coming closer is dangerous, and you should realize there¡¯s nothing you can do about it so just¡ª

    ¡°Eh¡±

    The Armor Bear just stepped into my poisonous bog. Naturally, the crimson water with its unbelievable acidity was sizzling like crazy, releasing white fumes all around.

    ¡°GAA!!¡±

    But that¡¯s it. The Armor Bear was like, don¡¯t make me walk this filth, punks, and made a cry of annoyance. It was crossing over my certain-kill Rotten Bog like no big deal.

    ¡°Get inside!¡°

    ¡°Got it!¡°

    Me from the right, and Mei-chan from the left, we simultaneously leap out from the entrance. I also call in Rem, who was in suspended animation, so shees back to me.

    There¡¯s a good reason why we didn¡¯t retreat deeper into the passage, but intentionally entered inside the room.

    First of all, since we saw how Rotten Bog won¡¯t work, we can¡¯t avoid closebat. If we ran back into the passage, there¡¯s no telling how persistently this bastard will chase us. With the Armor Bear behind us, if we add in all the Zombies and Goars we¡¯re sure to get along the way, it¡¯ll be the worst case scenario. I can see no way of us living through that kind of deadly pincer.

    So if we¡¯re gonna fight it anyway, I¡¯d rather we concentrate on the Armor Bear alone. And this ce is better for Mei-chan too as she can use the full reach of the long axe. In other words, defeating it here, in this room, is our best and only option for survival.

    Incidentally, if we try running to the supposed fairy square up ahead, it¡¯d be useless. The fairy square is only a location where monsters inherently don¡¯t approach, but if one sees their delicious prey scampering inside, it can step in with no real issue. It¡¯s not a game-like, absolute safe ce, and nor does it conveniently and omnipotently repel monsters and monsters only.

    Anyway, Mei-chan perceived my will to settle it here. I don¡¯t know if she understands all the reasoning behind it, but really, someone like her, believing in me without the slightest hesitation, she¡¯s the sort ally I¡¯d pretty much never find elsewhere.

    We can do this, me and her. Some Armor Bear, we¡¯ll show it who¡¯s boss any day!

    ¡°Entwine its escape¡ª ckhair Bind¡±

    The Armor Beares back from the bog with nonchnt demeanor as always.

    It looks at Mei-chan, then me, and Mei-chan again, finally choosing her as its target. You really want that meat huh?

    Damn fucking pervert, well I¡¯ll leave the name-calling to the side. The beast is seriously nning to take on Mei-chan, so I¡¯m d I can concentrate on support. That being said, I make no pause in unleashing ckhair Bind at max strength. I can currently do 5 braids tops. Just one has the strength to stop a Zombie dead in its tracks, and each have a length of a whooping 5 meters.

    Me going full-throttle, five ckhair tentacles bind the Armor Bear. Both forelegs, both hindlegs, and finally the neck, I entwine and restrain each part with a braid. The beast¡¯s advancees to a grinding halt.

    ¡°HaaAAAAAAAAaa!!¡±

    And Mei-chan, fitting the name of Berserker to a T, would never let go of such a perfect chance. As if waiting for my support, just as the restraints looked set, with perfect timing she burst forth with explosive strength and¡ª

    ¡°GAAAA!!¡±

    As that sharp roar echoed, I was made to realize the utter meaninglessness of my curse. Every one of my ckhairs that were supposed to be holding the Armor Bear were suddenly torn to shreds, and were miserably blown off.

    ¡°Guh!?¡±

    Fearing not the axe that could possibly destroy its helmeted head, the Armor Bear instead bashed against the de in stark contrast of action. This acted as a counter and tackle at the same time, blowing Mei-chan away.

    No matter how big I usually describe Mei-chan as, against a monster that¡¯s length-wise crossing 4 meters, she¡¯s nothing much. Her whole body danced through the air as if she had suddenly be a frail little girl.

    ¡°Ah, damn¡­ My axe¡­¡±

    She flew at quite the momentum, crashed and rolled on the ground, raising dust, but was nheless quick to get back up and, that¡¯s what she said. No talk of getting hurt, and not a single cry of pain, Mei-chan wasn¡¯t concerned about her own well-being or anything, but more about the loss of her weapon.

    ¡°Uaah, n-no way¡­¡±

    There¡¯s a lot to say about Mei-chan and the state of her womanliness, but I¡¯m pretty anxious about her loss of the axe just like she is.

    The axe wasing at unfathomable speed, and the Armor Bear voluntarily tackling into it, the collision resulting in the sad destruction of the former. The de had hit a particrly thick spike on the especially bulky shoulder armor. The spike was broken through, and the steel shell was marked with a gash, but that had been the limit for the weapon.

    The axe¡¯s de cracked apart. And what¡¯s worse, its wooden handle had snapped from the middle. It¡¯s clear that it won¡¯t be functioning as a weapon any longer. Mei-chan now only has this stick in her hand that was even worse than a wooden club.

    ¡°Mei-chan! The sword!¡±

    The weapon switch-up turned out for the worse. The steel sword that is likely the only thing we got that can take on the Armor Bear is currently with me. If Mei-chan still had it, she could¡¯ve counter-attacked right away.

    The only weapons she has remaining are the fairly dull hatchet and knife, one each. Compared to the sword, the quality is like heaven and earth. And that difference is being demonstrated clearly right now, in this life and death battle.

    So I started running, meaning to get it to her by any means.

    ¡°NO, Kotarou-kun!¡°

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine! The Bear¡¯s still set on you!¡±

    d she¡¯s worried for me, but if I don¡¯t put my life on the line here, we¡¯re both done for. The bog¡¯s poison was ineffective, and my ckhair restraints were easily broken through, putting a definitive end to whatever curses I had in mind for support. So the least I can be useful for is delivering a good weapon to her.

    Clumsily taking out the sword from its scabbard, I shout out my orders.

    ¡°Go, Rem!¡±

    Forget the body-guarding, and go help Mei-chan. I imagine it impossible for her shabby Goma¡¯s spear to do anything to that tough armor, but just diverting its attention for a bit would be enough.

    ¡°GoaAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡°

    As I attempted to move, the Armor Bear furiously chased after Mei-chan. After having mmed her with a tackle, it elerated itsrge frame into a charge, and nned to take her down while she was still half standing.

    ¡°Kuh¡­¡±

    Mei-chan had already corrected her posture, and nimbly dodged the rushing Armor Bear like a matador. But without any real weapon, she had no way to follow up with a stab to its defenseless back.

    The Armor Bear swerved around in that posture, and bearing knife-sharp ws extending from its paw, it swung its massive foreleg like a storm. I¡¯d be literally minced faced with that, but Mei-chan who¡¯d since gotten a great grasp of her Knight skill, Foresight, dodged it by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    ¡°Dammit, goddammit¡­ running out of time¡±

    There¡¯s no telling how long Mei-chan¡¯s god-tier dodging willst. She¡¯s having to concentrate so much on this seemingly never-ending burst of one-sided attacks that she didn¡¯t have any way to counter with her knife of hatchet either.

    Naturally, I can¡¯t just waltz into that sort of war zone, and hand over the sword to her. Even using Rem as a decoy seems iffy. I would fail the mission, and Rem would get destroyed meaninglessly.

    Feels like I¡¯m missing something¡­

    ¡°I got nothing to lose, so take this¡ª Red Fever¡±

    I use it on the Armor Bear anyway. But as it hasn¡¯t eaten any redshrooms of the like, I think a little heat won¡¯t bother it the slightest. It¡¯s already fired up and raging around, so a bit of extra body-temperature won¡¯t even be a bother.

    But that¡¯s no biggie. That was only for the heck of it anyway. Here¡¯s the real deal.

    ¡°I¡¯ll distract it for just a bit alright!¡±

    If it¡¯s Mei-chan, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get what I mean. The only good thing about fighting monsters, you can shout out all your ns and there¡¯s no problem.

    That being the case, I fire up my ckhair Bind one more time. This time, I¡¯m not making 5, but putting all that power together, making it bigger, longer, into one huge braid¡ª no, weaving the threads precisely, I make it into a sash. The jet-ck, glossy sash moved nimbly like the usual tentacles, and caught the Armor Bear from behind.[1]

    ¡°Gauh¡ª ¡±

    Freely moving ording to my thoughts, the tentacle wrapped around the Armor Bear¡¯s head. Winding around over and over and, after just moments, it had made a turban for the beast.

    But this bastard can easily cut up my hairs with the spikes in its armor. The reason my binding on all its limbs were shredded almost simultaneously was because they had caught into those thorns in its shell. Its head that looks like its wearing a helmet also equipped this manner of pointed protrusion, so my current means of restraint will be broken apart soon enough. Even without the spikes, it could use its fangs, its ws, just anything really.

    But this definitely did blind the bastard, and stopped its attacks on Mei-chan.

    ¡°Thanks Kotarou-kun!¡±

    Mei-chan swiftly takes distance from the Armor Bear, and runs towards me.

    The Armor Bear looked boiling mad, scratching around its face as if it got mites, it quickly tore apart the ckhair belt.

    But when the bear regained its vision, Mei-chan had already arrived. We¡¯repletely out of the Armor Bear¡¯s range. And in one more step, I can hand over the sword I¡¯m holding out.

    ¡°GaAAAAAAAAAAa!!¡±

    Right as the mad roar beat into my eardrums, a shock ran through my body. A dull pain erupted throughout.

    I didn¡¯t even know, what happened. Like what even. It felt like I was suddenly punched out of thin air.

    ¡°Uu, Aa¡­ Aaa¡­¡±

    When I came to, I was on the ground. Shit hurts. Not cause I hit my back falling, my whole body¡­ no, more on my left arm, side, and thigh I guess. My whole left side is stinging like crazy. Like that time I was in a snowball fight in gradeschool, I got hit with a snowball right in the stomach. That ball had a rock inside which I swear was full of murderous intentions, and that¡¯s the sort of pain I¡¯m currently feeling.

    Ah, I get it now, it¡¯s a rock. It was rocks. In small pellets like a shotgun.

    Earth attribute magic¡ª I first thought, mostly cause the gamer inside me was fooling around. How fucking stupid. Tasting this humiliation, I thought how I should¡¯ve realized this simple fact much sooner. Along with the iron-like taste of blood, the repulsive taste of dirt spread through my mouth.

    That¡¯s right, the Armor Bear would know it won¡¯t reach us, so it used projectiles. Making a submarine pitch motion, it gouged out the earth and made it fly. For a bear that size, it¡¯d be easy to dig up a decent amount of dirt. It did just that, and sted the rocks found inside straight at me.

    For the bastard, I¡¯d imagine it wasn¡¯t that big deal of an attack, just a small revenge for my actions. But on my end, this kind of physical damage scores hard every time.

    ¡°GOAAAAA!?¡±

    Seeing the Armor Bear yelling from the surprise pain, it just goes to show how much damage it cause me. Good ol¡¯ Pain Return that likes to show up in thete-game made its appearance, and showed the bear what hurt feels like.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!?¡±

    Ah oops, sorry Mei-chan¡­ The pain was a bit too much, I let go of the sword. It¡¯s a bit far to bring back.

    ¡°Ugh, Uuu¡­ Ouch, f¡¯kin hurts¡­¡±

    Sure it¡¯sme, I¡¯m trying to stand up as tears blur my eyes. Shut up with the ¡°Ouch¡±, the least you can do is y tough and do a ¡°I¡¯m all good!¡± From all the pain, I had sumbed to crying out, but returned back to action somehow.

    But the simple fact that I can do so, only means that the Armor Bear that¡¯s way many times tougher than me can do it much sooner.

    Pain Return is supposed to dish out the same proportion of pain I received, but the Armor Bear got up from its tilted posture, and as if saying its pain was already gone in the wind, it came charging.

    ¡°Kuh¡­ yaAAAAAAa!!¡±

    In an instant, Mei-chan looked at me, the Armor Bear, grasped the situation fully. Drawing the knife and hatchet from her waist, she took stance. Forgoing the sword, she stood right beside the absolute hindrance that is me, and with those pathetic excuses for weapons, she determined to take the crazed Armor Bear head on.

    ¡°GAAAAa!!¡±

    The storm ofbat restarts. Right in front of me sh the rusty des against sharp ws. It had be a domain I can¡¯t imagine to invade with my measly curses. And I didn¡¯t have the time to consider it either, their showdown saw its end instantly.

    ¡°¡ª!?¡±

    Knife cracked apart, hatchet broken midway. Still holding onto the weapons that had lost every part of their purpose, Mei-chan was blown away at terrific speed. The spray of scarlet arcing in the air told of the severity of her wound.

    Their crossing of des was over in a sh, but I could follow it, if slightly. Mei-chan¡¯s des had actually made it past the Armor Bear¡¯s shell, tracing along the joints in its shoulder and leg, but the issue was depth. With the in horrid quality of her weapons, she only prated a slight bit of skin.

    Since she had attempted to make her attack pass through that tempestuous chaos, this time, Mei-chan¡¯s Foresight couldn¡¯t make it in time to dodge. And she got hit. Even while abandoning all defense to make a fearsome Berserker¡¯s attack, she couldn¡¯t ovee the sheer difference in muscle.

    ¡°Mei-chan! Hang in there!!¡±

    ¡°Uuo, k¡­¡±

    After having rolled on the dirt that covered her all over in mud, Mei-chan slightly twitched. But that¡¯s it. It wasn¡¯t likest time where she got up and ready for battle without dy.

    I could see both Mei-chan¡¯s arms deeply wounded. She must¡¯ve used them to block right on the verge of taking those ws.

    But we all know there¡¯s no way you can block razor-charp ws with naked skin. Her arms were torn up sleeves and all, and I could clearly see blood seeping out vividly. Even If she got the sword now, she wouldn¡¯t be able to put it to good use.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy some time! Just get up somehow!¡±

    I had Mei-chan keep Ointment A, along with a variety of meds on her person. Both her arms are in a terrible state, but herbo of Ointment A and Blessed Body, she should heal her somewhat.

    It¡¯s our only hope of making aeback. A Shaman like me doesn¡¯t even stand a 1 in a billion chance to beat an Armor Bear. And obviously too, we¡¯re already at the face-to-face stage, and there wasn¡¯t any poisoned food trap triggered beforehand.

    Only Mei-chan can beat it. If we can¡¯t get her back into the game, this won¡¯t be a fight, but simple annihtion, no, from the Armor Bear¡¯s side, we¡¯d simply be dinner.

    So I absolutely need to put myself out there, hopefully buy some time so Mei-chan cane back healed. Strangely, I didn¡¯t think of running away.

    Maybe I can sense it instinctively that I have no chance in surviving if I ran away by myself.

    ¡°Ghrrrr!!¡°

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    Having that said, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m not scared. It¡¯s great that I jumped out to block its path from getting to Mei-chan, but one re from the Armor Bear, and my voice breaks, my body trembles in fear. With this crazy huge monster staring me down, I feel death looming right above. I¡¯ll be scattered meat any time this bastard chooses.

    ¡°C-c-coe at me, damn bear!! I¡¯ll fuck you up!¡±

    I stand before the Armor Bear as if trying to defend the fallen Mei-chan behind me. Looking at my tiny little knife, and pitiful excuse of a shaky-voiced taunt, the Armor Bear snorted roughly as if saying, ¡°What¡¯s with this pipsqueak, fuck off¡±, and continued to re at me.

    But I do have its attention now. Just like the time I encountered those delinquents from Kuro high downtown, at first, me and the Armor Bear are in a fierce stare down. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if those giant paws make my neck fly any time.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you chicken!? If you¡¯re gonna do it, then do it, just don¡¯t kill me ok? Pretty please!!¡±

    If it doesn¡¯t kill me, then I have Pain Return as myst defense. Those ws can cut me up, but if it¡¯s not fatal, then I can return that damage back. If I can at least get a gash across that shell, Mei-chan¡¯s chances of winning will go up all at once.

    That¡¯s why, the only action I can take is akin to a suicide bomber.

    Look at it Momokawa Kotarou, observe every millimeter of its attack. You avoid a fatality here, and the Armor Bear¡¯s as good as dead. So look at it, and make sure to¡ª

    ¡°Ah¡±

    I sounded, by which point, those huge ws were right in my face. They looked heavy enough to sever me into multiple sections. Like arge knife, they¡¯d start from the tip of my shoulder, sending my meat, bones and entrails to an all expenses paid trip to dissectionnd.

    It¡¯s totally over-the-top overkill.

    And though I knew all that, I didn¡¯t more an inch. I couldn¡¯t move I should say. Leaving aside curses, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for a weak ass highschooler like me to actually dodge from a real monster.

    My ns were all na?ve.

    ¡°¡ªaAA!¡±

    Blood sprays. The feeling of something hot grazing my body is the same as back then. Yeah, that feeling of a sharp w slicing into you, it¡¯s more of a heat than pain.

    ¡°AA! AAAAAAAA!!¡±

    And the excruciationes right after¡ª wait, it¡¯s strange, it looks like I¡¯m kinda alright. My uniform is still on me, and I haven¡¯t dropped my insides either.

    In contrast, there were dregs of ck bone sticking to me.

    ¡°Ah, AAAh¡­ Rem!!¡±

    And then I finally put it together. Rem had tackled me with all her might, and thanks to that I managed to avoid the Armor Bear¡¯s finisher.

    I was saved. And in return, Rem became a sacrifice. Her skeletal structure left only from the chest up, everything below was scattered here and there.

    Rem wasn¡¯t moving anymore. Still clinging to my fallen body, all her functions had ceased.

    Sorry Rem, and thanks¡­ You really were super useful.

    ¡°GoaaAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Looking at the roaring Armor Bear, I could see 4 gashes going across its body. It¡¯s thick chest armor shred apart, the lines ran down till its abdomen. Seems like those the tips of it¡¯s ws traced shallowly all along my upper body.

    Me and the bear both shed blood from our wounds, and both cried out from the consequent pain.

    ¡°Tch, it still wasn¡¯t enough, damn¡­¡±

    It¡¯s a level of damage where even I can stay conscious. Even if it¡¯s shell is a bit cut up, the Armor Bear is A-OK.

    Looks like, it¡¯s prided armor being broken, its blood being caused to shed by some smallfry really got on its nerves. It was ring at me like no tomorrow.

    It raises its log-like, no, its massive steel pir-like paw. Once thates down, I¡¯m dead for sure. I¡¯m still lying on the ground here, and in no posture to move away.

    Shit, its recovery speed is too damn fast¡ª that¡¯s all I could think as I stared tear-blurred at the paw raised over me, not even ready to ept this stupid death.

    ¡°¡ªGAA!¡±

    But that death didn¡¯te however long I waited. Before I noticed, its paw was lowered without cutting a thing, and as if it waspletely oblivious of my existence, the Armor Bear was looking elsewhere. I could even tell from down here, those sharp eyes were cautious.

    Just once, that huge Armor Bear, actually shivered.

    Huh, literally what could be there that made this damn monstrosity scared? As I turn myself around with that question in mind, right there was Mei-chan, standing.

    Her arms still dripping in blood, shrouded in a crimson aura, she was there, standing.

    ¡°Mei-chan, don¡¯t tell me¡­ you used Reagent X!?¡±

    ________________________

    [1] So sash, or obi err¡­ have you seen Tsugumomo? It¡¯s super interesting~ The manga is even better.

 Chapter 46: Armor Bear part.2

    Chapter 46: Armor Bear part.2

    ¡°Mei-chan, don¡¯t tell me¡­ you used Reagent X!?¡±

    It was very same that Goma¡¯s narcotic that Mei-chan had once inhaled raw, causing her to rampage. It¡¯s not currently on the level of a drug, but it¡¯s a inly hazardous substance nheless. Currently, she had an aura very simr to back then, when she absolutely ughtered all those Goma and kind of tried to devour me as well.

    She makes one powerless step forward like a wandering Zombie. A second, and third step. As she walks, she drips blood from her arms that had suffered severe cuts.

    A fourth. As she makes that step, she raises her face.

    And there, the usual gentle features were nowhere to be found. Eyebrows pushed together, the middle of her forehead was creased with absolute rage. Her pupils zed in brilliant crimson, they looked like they belonged to a demon.(oni)

    Taking in onerge breath, the Berserker roars.

    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    ¡°GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    For a third time, she and the Armor Bear sh.

    Her gushing crimson aura leaves behind afterimages as Mei-chan elerates. With speeds I didn¡¯t think possible for human beings, she instantly closes the distance with enough force to leave the ground in her wake caved in in the shape of her shoes.

    ¡°UAAH!?¡±

    Realizing that I was sitting in her path, I quickly rolled to the side and made way. But by the time I finished making those idiotic evasive maneuvers, she¡¯d gotten to a much higher altitude than me. Jumping high, she made it all the way up to the biped-standing Armor Bear¡¯s face (so an upward jump of 4 meters?). Making that inhuman jump, shended her heavy soles right on the bear¡¯s nose.

    ¡°FUGAHH!¡±

    Must be the first time someone less than half its height kicked it smack dab in the face. The Armor Bear¡¯s massive frame actually tilted.

    But only a bit. Quickly swinging its head back around, the Armor Bear used one of its legs to brace its stance. It then swung an arm in a fierce counter.

    ¡°Hmph, HAAAA!! ¡±

    After a sharp breath, her cry reverberates. Dodging therge swing with a swoop under, Mei-chan again lets her body fly, and with fists made in both hands, she pummels the Armor Bear¡¯s gut in rapid fire. I seriously wondered whether I was seeing things, but the moment of impact, that stomach covered in incredibly tough skin, seemed to undte.

    ¡°Goa!? GUAAAAAA!!¡±

    Unbelievably, human fists were dealing damage to an Armor Bear. There was the fact that she was targeting the area wounded by Pain Return, but still, what level of sheer force do you need in those fists to push back a beast 4 meters in size.

    As fresh blood spewed from its recently made wound, the Armor Bear cries out in pain.

    ¡°YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Continues Mei-chan¡¯s barrage. As if the previous one-sided beating waspletely turned on its head, the storming fists made a punching bag out of the Armor Bear, battering it mercilessly.

    All that blood spattering everywhere, is it Mei-chan¡¯s or from the Armor Bear? Even with her arms bloodied red, her aura only gained in intensity, venting like fire. Hit repeatedly, the solid steel armor warped, cracked, and widened even more at its opening.

    ¡°Gah, oaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    However, the tough bodied Armor Bear won¡¯t go down just yet. Being in mortalbat this such of a fearsome human, as if to disy its creed as a monster, the Armor Bear unleashes a powerful counter with its ws.

    Versus that, Mei-chan swings back a fist, poising to unleash her most supreme straight. Like an arrowunching from its bow, a great, a powerful punch is let loose.

    For a second, it looked as if, her scorching aura all gathered around that very tightly gripped fist, twisting sharply into a point like a raging tornado.

    ¡°¡ª Pile Bunker(Armor Splitter)[1]¡±

    That fist spiraling crimson broke past the Armor Bear¡¯s chest. Bare human hands had prated a bosom of solid steel. Should be damn impossible, but right now I¡¯m genuinely looking at Mei-chan¡¯s right arm pierced into the center of the Armor Bear.

    ¡°Gho, HaAAaa¡­¡±

    She pulls out her arm. A gaping hole, as if made with arge drill, appeared in the shell covering its chest. From there, clumps of blood began exiting like a waterspout, and finally, the great Armor Bear fell.

    Its mouth still open after the cry of anguish, the Armor Bear ceased movement. Now letting out an unending slew of blood from its chest, the beast kept soaking in a sea of that same blood.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haah¡­ Did it, I¡­ Beat it, Kotarou-kun¡±

    Arms drenched in red, Mei-chan who was dirtied in her enemy¡¯s blood, looked to me and smiled. It was that very same, her usual, utterly gentle, beautiful smile. And held in that right hand, glistening bright crimson even while covered in blood, was arge crystal¡ª the Armor Bear¡¯s core.

    Then, as if her strings were cut, she copsed.

    ¡°Mei-chan!!¡±

    Damn, her stamina, mana, both of those must be at their limits. She defeated the Armor Bear without receiving any fatal wounds, but since she had to use that drug, there¡¯s a chance she¡¯ll incur deadly levels of exhaustion. And though I had attempted to alleviate the drug¡¯s effects somewhat by mixing in the blueflower antidote in Reagent X, but we had no idea how effective it¡¯d be.

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯ll get more antidote and¡­ No, I gotta do patch up her arms first¡±

    Beside Mei-chan who¡¯s fainted and lying on the ground, I turned over my bag and hurriedly prepared to treat her. Though I say treat, I¡¯m only washing her wounds and applying meds on it. It¡¯s just like the time when I found her in that fateful fairy square.

    First I¡¯ll use the remaining water in the stic bottle to wash, to the best degree I can, her arms that look like they¡¯ve been dipped in a barrel of blood. Just as I guessed, Mei-chan forewent using Ointment A to heal them and went straight for the Reagent X. It¡¯s all thanks to that choice she made that I got out of receiving the Armor Bear¡¯s deadly finisher. A so called point of divergence in my fate if you will.

    Thank you. I can¡¯t thank you enough. Just look at these arms, these horrible wounds. Luckily it didn¡¯t get to her tendons, or cut deep enough to show bone, but the amount of bleeding was insane. To kill the Armor Bear bare-fisted in this state¡­ Perhaps Mei-chan has already left the domain of humanity.

    But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that she needs immediate treatment. I¡¯m thinking that with her Berserker skill #2, Blood Boost, she won¡¯t die from blood loss even after losing a fair portion. She¡¯s supposed to have shed a ton of blood, but herplexion still looks alright.

    Her life isn¡¯t in danger, is what I¡¯d like to think.

    I prayed to God. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s appropriate to pray to Ruinhilde-sama, the God of curse, but even so, I prayed devoutly, while treating Mei-chan¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°Haah¡­ W-with this she¡¯ll be¡­¡±

    Alright, I wan¡¯t to hope. At this time, I saw that Mei-chan was breathing gently in her sleep. Breathing, pulse, both look good. And her arms, with all that Ointment A Iid on, I¡¯m sure I can leave the rest to her Blessed Body.

    But I¡¯ll be fully relieved when we¡¯ve relocated to a fairy square. If we¡¯re attacked by monsters as we are now, we¡¯re done for. With me alone, I can take on one Zombie at most. If theye by the hordes, or if there¡¯s even one Goar, that¡¯s an instant game over.

    ¡°GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    That roar hitting my ears caused all my thoughts to freeze.

    No, just NO, impossible. This, isn¡¯t damn fair. As thoughts that attempted to escape reality appeared inside me, so did dreaded beast.

    A second Armor Bear. Like the one over there with the gaping hole had, this one also entered slowly from a passage.

    ¡°A, u, aa¡­¡±

    Our eyes meet. It paid not the slightest nce at its dead friend, and looked straight at me. A pair of humans all covered in blood.

    It¡¯s over, I can¡¯t, think of anything.

    I could run. Yes I could, but my feet don¡¯t seem to feel like moving.

    Running away, and dying somewhere else alone¡­ But then, dying here together with Mei-chan seems a bit nicer.

    Together? No, the hell are you thinking mate. I¡¯ve got myself the greatest curse ever. It can take anything down with me if it¡¯s a 1v1.

    ¡°Fuh, hah, haa¡­ Y-yeah¡­ Not an issue¡­ Mei-chan, this time, it¡¯s my turn to protect you¡±

    I¡¯ll take down this 2nd one with Pain Return and die. Mei-chan might just wake up right after. If it¡¯s her, she can go through the dungeon herself. She can survive.

    And, she¡¯ll get out of this dungeon, get to the kingdom, and then, it could take a while, but if she can make it back home to our world¡­ then this life of mine, might have some worth yet.

    Dying to protect a girl, it¡¯s glorious. For a man, it¡¯s damn well the greatest way to die.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Haa¡­ Hah, Hi-hihaha¡­¡±

    Levels of despair and tension skyrocketing, I leak a weirdugh. My heart¡¯s been beating annoyingly loud for the past while.

    The hell, fuck this noise, least you can do is let me look cool when I die. You know, like, See ya sweetheart, don¡¯t miss me too much.

    But man, if I know it¡¯d end like this, I should¡¯ve risked getting beat down, and rubbed Mei-chan¡¯s tits at least once.

    Those vulgar and stupid thoughts are the only ones running through my mind, nothing like that revolvingntern effect I hear so much about. Just goes to show, once a useless chump, always one.

    ¡°Fufuh, ahahaha¡­ Bite me, then die bitch¡±

    A fierce roar pierces into my ears. The Armor Bear bore its fangs, running towards me, a sole helpless prey¡ª

    ¡°Lux Sagitta!¡±

    White light shone. Pure white, powerful light that could almost blind you. Oh man, I¡¯m like, dead now right? No pain? That¡¯s great, I can rest in piece.

    ¡°UAAAAAAAAA!! Hot, TOO HOT!?¡±

    I¡¯m alive, I realized when I felt the afterburn hot enough to roast, and started rolling around yelling like a dumbass.

    ¡°Are you guys alright? Don¡¯t die yet!¡±

    ¡°So this is that Armor Bear. Looks strong¡±

    ¡°Waah, this bear-san, looks kinda super tough¡±

    ¡°G-good luck, girls!¡±

    Upbeat voices of girls go around. I¡¯m not deluded enough to this these are from a bunch of yful angels from heaven. I¡¯m alive. And I¡¯m still in this hell we call the dungeon.

    ¡°Help! We can¡¯t fight anymore!¡±

    There isn¡¯t one speck left of the me wishing for a nice peaceful death. Joy. The utter happy emotion I¡¯m feeling to be alive is driving my soul towards survival. I legit don¡¯t want to die, and almost can¡¯t believe I was nning a means of suicide just now.

    Whatever pain, whatever disgrace I face, I really, I just want to keep staying alive.

    ¡°Gauh! GOAAAH!!¡±

    The Armor Bear made a ferocious roar at the new humans that appeared¡­ but seeming to realize that it¡¯s disadvantaged, it turned around and headed back into the passage it came from.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Haah¡­ Yes, YES¡­ we¡¯re saved¡±

    In so much relief that I¡¯d faint, I saw a real angel smiling.

    ¡°It¡¯s a relief you¡¯re alright, Momokawa-kun¡±

    That smile from Souma Sakura, was simply, beautiful. Ah, if you smile at me like that, I¡¯ll darn be heartstruck.

    But right now, my heart¡¯s so full of happy that I¡¯m alive, that I can¡¯t add in any love or any of that jazz. Look, I¡¯m a simple dude: I see big tits, I¡¯m all in.

    Starting off with those rather rude first thoughts, I thus met Souma Sakura, and her merry bunch.

    ________________________

    [1] Fcking ¥­¥¿©`©`£¨©b?©b£©£­£­£¡ ¡­Eh? Why am I so excited? Well you¡¯d genuinely have to read Kuro no Maou to find out ;P . Well for those who are going TL;DR, it¡¯s basically MC¡¯s deux ex machina move. The Spirit Ball = Genki Dama, in DBZ terms if you will.

 Chapter 47: The Souma Harem

    Chapter 47: The Souma Harem

    ¡°So then¡­ Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san are¡­¡±

    After Mei-chan and I were rescued by Souma Sakura and her group, we relocated to the fairy square that was, as expected, close by. There, we decided to first get our stories out.

    Mei-chan was treated to the best degree possible, and though she wasn¡¯t in any danger of dying anymore, she was still fast asleep. That being the case, we¡¯d have to do twice thebor in talking so I decided to go first.

    ¡°A two-headed Orthrus huh. If only we were there. We could¡¯ve beat it with without any victims¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s bygones Asuna-chan. We never chose to be all split up like this¡±

    The ones twisting their faces in regret from learning about new deaths are, the samurai girl, Kenzaki Asuna and, our resident busty loli, Takanashi Kotori.

    I bet I couldn¡¯t even looked these total hotties in the eye if it was in our old lives. These two aren¡¯t just pretty or cute, but like, more like, they exude this aura or presence that only really beautiful people seem to. If it were me from a while ago, my head would¡¯ve simply gone nk, and this dialogue wouldn¡¯t be something we could call as such.

    ¡°After that, it was just me and Mei-chan. We somehow managing to stay alive and get all the way here and¡­ well you¡¯ve seen the rest¡±

    If it¡¯s only about how much of the dungeon we¡¯ve gone through, there isn¡¯t much to say. The only parts Souma-san would be interested in would be about how her childhood friend, Reina A. Ayase, was acting together with Higuchi, and concerning the people who¡¯ve died I guess. The people I¡¯ve confirmed to be dead are: Takashima-kun, Itou-kun, and the Hirano-Nishiyama pair. There¡¯s also the girl being eaten by a bunch of Goma I saw a while back. Still, that makes it a whole 5 people who¡¯re no longer with us.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d we made it in time¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough¡­ Seriously, two Armor Bears would¡¯ve been impossible for us¡±

    ¡°But just one should be prenty strong. I didn¡¯t see you guys have any good weapons so, is it that Futaba-san has a powerful vocation?¡±

    ¡°More like, is this girl really Futaba-san?¡±

    Takanashi-san¡¯s question is perfectly valid. If youpare the current Mei-chan to her from back then, I bet even her parents would have trouble recognizing her without a second look.

    The peacefully sleeping Mei-chan would go for a perfect role for Snow White or the Sleeping Beauty with how pretty she¡¯s turned outtely. Hmm, looks like she got thinner again.

    Could be a side-effect of Reagent X. More of those extra pounds were shed, and her muscles were toned to a point where her body line had literally zero resemnce to the previous barrel shape it used to describe. But the bust and hips still kept their same tremendous mass. Her¡¯s was a genuine body of miracles.

    But despite the super-speed diet treatment, there was no ck on her skin. This must be the grace of Blessed Body. If she ran for a beauty contests, this would be a tremendous cheat skill.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, Futaba-san doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯ll wake up any time soon, so mind if we start on our side¡±

    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s alright, I was just gonna ask too¡±

    Well, there¡¯s that thing I¡¯m impatient to ask about¡­ but they likely know what that is and are likely nning to tell the whole story and ease into it. Whatever the case, I need to gather info before making any sort of decision. I¡¯ll hear them out.

    ¡°After getting thrown into this alternate world, we quickly recieved our Vocations and started our own journey into the dungeon¡ª¡±

    Completely unlike my pathetic attempts at fighting my way through this hell, Souma-san¡¯s time in the dungeon went so smooth, it was like she was a yer in an RPG. And why wouldn¡¯t it be? After all, she got to join up with her brother, Souma Yuuto, right at the early game.

    ¡°A Hero¡­ So there really is a vocation like that¡±

    ¡°Yes, I happen to be a Saintess, and Asuna is a Dualwielder so there is probably other specialized vocations out there too¡±

    I got a slight migrane hearing all these clearly over-powered vocation names. This is that so called social disparity isn¡¯t it? Seems like even in another world, the distance between an average Joe like me and utter geniuses like the Souma siblings is greater than Heaven and Earth.

    ¡°But I think nii-san¡¯s Hero is a special case in an of itself¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s hard to admit, but Souma¡¯s strength is at a whole new level. If he wasn¡¯t there, we could¡¯ve gotten victims in that Cerberus fight¡±

    ¡°Souma-kun¡¯s totally amazing you know, he beat that Cerberus all by himself!¡±

    Cerberus as in¡­ pretty much the higher form of the Orthrus that took us everything to defeat. Apparently, it was much bigger too. And worse, it was firing out methrowers all the time, so there must be a wide difference in power too. And it¡¯s no doubt a much stronger monster than any Armor Bear.

    And to cut down that absolute monster of a monster all by himself, yeah, it¡¯s no joke or nothing, Souma Yuuto literally is rightful holder of the title of Hero.

    ¡°So why isn¡¯t Souma-kun with you guys now?¡±

    Souma-san and the others seemed to havee to this fairy square by warping from the boss room after beating the Cerberus. They beat the boss no problem, so it¡¯s strange that Souma-kun isn¡¯t here.

    ¡°That is¡­ right before teleporting, we ran into some trouble¡±

    ¡°Eh? Trouble? You mean there was still monsters in the boss room after you beat the boss?¡±

    ¡°No, not monsters, people¡±

    Souma-san hangs her head with a dark expression while Kenzaki-san knits her thin eyebrows in frustration.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me,¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was a group of boys from our ss¡ª¡±

    They used the core from the Cerberus to invoke the warp, and right then, three boys from ss entered the boss room. Ueda, Nakai, and Shimokawa, nicknamed the totem-pole trio, they took position as Higuchi¡¯sckeys. They weren¡¯t punks on the level of their boss, but they weren¡¯t exactly people you¡¯d nominate as good samaritans. They didn¡¯t have the guts to dye their hair, but always waxed it to tremendous shine. In short, they¡¯re a bunch of half-assed delinquents going to a prep school of all things.[1]

    ¡°Hell YEAAH, do it, bro!¡±

    ¡°Gotcha¡ª Aqua Bind(tidal whip)!¡±

    One of the three, Shimokawa, made his blue wand glow, and shot out a slender whip of water. Like a snake chasing prey, it serpented through the airtching onto Takanashi-san who was standing inside the transfer circle.

    ¡°Takanashi-san!¡±

    ¡°Kotori!¡±

    Souma-kun and Kenzaki-san were the first to react and reach out for her. But by then, Takanashi-san had already been whisked away by the water whip.

    ¡°Sick!! Got me a Kotori-chan guys!¡±

    ¡°Oi, you gotta get Sakura-chan, dickhead!¡±

    ¡°Get Kenzaki too yo!¡±

    ¡°Shut it fags, we only got one try at this, so I pick my fav, duh!¡±[2]

    They kind of started making a fuss, while Takanashi-san was kidnapped over to their side.

    ¡°Those three had eyes filthy in desire. I don¡¯t even want to think what they¡¯d do to Kotori¡±

    ¡°Uu, it was soo horrible¡­¡±

    Her small body shivers as Takanashi-san snuggles close to Kenzaki-san.

    ¡°I could imagine it was this bizarre situation we¡¯re in that turned them mad¡±

    ¡°Well, that and the power frenzy from their vocations should be factored in there too¡±

    Three guys risking life and limb in the dungeon, and when they finally find their colleagues, it¡¯s a full blown Souma Harem¡­ Yeah, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t understand their impulse to attack. But seriously, how retarded do you have to be to attempt something like that. They¡¯re either stupid beyond belief, or got high from Goma drugs. I myself would never dare to incur the wrath of Souma Yuuto, nope.

    ¡°So then, Souma-kun isn¡¯t here because he went to save Takanashi-san and couldn¡¯t make it for the teleport?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re exactly right. Nii-san rescued Kotori, and somehow got her back inside the circle but when¡­¡°

    When he tried to get back, the trio who didn¡¯t want to let go of their hunt got into a scurmish with him. As a result, the warp got started up and they all transferred here, leaving behind only Souma-kun.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ It¡¯s cause Kotori¡¯s so easy, she got kidnapped and stuff¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Kotori, it¡¯s over now¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m positive that nii-san can make it alone just fine¡±

    Souma-kun is strong enough to crush a Cerberus by himself. So he¡¯d have literally no issues making it in the dungeon. And it isn¡¯t even a debate if he¡¯ll lose to the totem-pole trio.

    Plus, it¡¯s not like he had to use the transfer circle in that boss room. In the Orthrus area, it was pretty much a one way street so we had to use the warp to get out. But in the Cerberus area, they apparently had many other paths to take that weren¡¯t being shown by the magicpass.

    And it¡¯s very likely that the trio and the Souma party took different routes to arrive at the same boss room.

    ¡°Then, how about we keep on the move with an objective to join up with Souma-kun, how¡¯s that sound for a n?¡±

    ¡°True, we don¡¯t have any choice other than moving forward after all¡±

    Souma-san strongly nods. She¡¯s obviously worried for her brother, but she she¡¯s calm enough to not go crying about it to someone like me at least. And I wouldn¡¯t be any help if she did either.

    ¡°I¡¯m just making sure here¡­ It¡¯s alright if both of us go with you too right?¡±

    ¡°Of course. We aim to get together with all our ssmates, and escape this dungeon with every one of us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, thanks¡±

    If I make it look like I¡¯ll cooperate, it should be fine. Even without Souma-kun around, these girls seem pretty powerful from what I¡¯ve been hearing. They¡¯re at least strong enough to make an Armor Bear flee.

    Souma-san the Saintess can not only use light attribute attack and defense magic, she also has the all important healing magic. Dualwielder Kenzaki-san is a pure powerhouse for our frontlines. The Sage, Takanashi-san is useless inbat, but her equipment remodelling is an amazing power in itself. The gear on these girls is obviously at a different dimension from ours.

    Mei-chan wouldn¡¯t be in this condition from some Armor Bear if she had gear that good.

    ¡°But look Sakura, you remember what happened just now. There¡¯s obviously gonna be people who won¡¯t cooperate with us¡±

    Kenzaki-san¡¯s sharp re pierces into me. Woah there, maybe she¡¯s¡­ No she¡¯s definitely suspicious.

    ¡°¡­ Erm, I know I¡¯m a guy too, but my vocation¡¯s pretty weak, so even if I thought about doing something, I couldn¡¯t do it¡±

    ¡°But with Kotori, it might not be impossible¡±

    ¡°Hiee!!¡±

    As if some bad memories resurfaced, Takanashi-san clung even closed to Kenzaki-san. That¡¯s fine and all, but please stop looking at me with those scared eyes.

    That being said, it¡¯s true that I can do anything to Takanashi-san by my own strength if I was up for it. Forget vocations and that crap, I may be small and weak, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯d lose in a match of strength against a cute little girl who¡¯s even smaller than me. Plus, I have my ckhair Bind and can literally restrain her like Shimokawa did.

    ¡°H-hey wait a sec, I¡¯d never do something like that alright? I¡¯m like everyone else here, I just want to get back to our world. So I¡¯ll cooperate with anything you want¡±

    ¡°Asuna, that was a bit much I think¡±

    ¡°Well sorry. But after that already happened, I¡¯ll can¡¯t not assume the worst case. And that time, I just left Kotori to Souma but¡­ This time, I¡¯ll be the one protecting her¡±

    ¡°Asuna-chan¡­ thank you so much¡±

    Such charming friendship. But it¡¯s sad that I have to face suspicion because of it. If I make myself their enemy, I¡¯m good as dead.

    ¡°No, I know I¡¯m not all that familiar with Souma-san or Kenzaki-san, so I can understand if you not trusting me so easily. I guess it¡¯s natural I¡¯ll be doubted being a guy and all, but uhm, you could look at it long-term and uh¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, rather than growing paranoia from both sides, if we work together for some time, I¡¯m positive we can form mutual trust¡±

    Mutual eh. They have the ability to forcefully remove me from their group if they want, but I can¡¯t do the same. I¡¯m the one who has to watch myself and show respect. Honestly, that¡¯s pretty mentally straining, and it¡¯ll be an environment where stress builds up¡­ But that¡¯s still alright. I¡¯ll walk the fate of one boasting the title of weakest, of the Shaman.

    ¡°Also, Momokawa-kun, I need a bit of a favor from you too¡±

    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡±

    I look to be asking, but I have a pretty good idea what that favor is. She wants¡­

    ¡°Nh¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, Mei-chan!? You¡¯re awake!¡±

    From right behind me, where she¡¯d beenid down on the soft grass, I clearly heard her leak a tiny voice. And as I suspected, though a bit out of it, Mei-chan opened her eyes.

    ¡°¡­ Kotarou-kun, you¡¯re safe, thank goodness¡±

    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s all thanks to you, Mei-chan, you beat that Armor Bear good¡±

    Her gentle smiling face truly looks like a goddess incarnate. I¡¯m almost pouring in tears from my eternal gratitude. Thank you, thank you Mei-chan.

    ¡°I¡¯m d, I¡¯m really, so happy¡­ I got to protect Kotarou-kun¡±

    ¡°Sorry Mei-chan, I made you go through all that. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help at all¡±

    ¡°Not at all, don¡¯t worry about that. Fighting is my role after all¡­ but Kotarou-kun¡±

    She¡¯s sure to have some fatigue remaining. Mei-chan heavily raises her upper body and sits up.

    But with sharp eyes that don¡¯t mark a hint of weariness, she then red at me, no, the individuals behind me.

    ¡°¡ª Why, are those two here?¡±

    There¡¯s two more members in the Souma-san party that rescued us. ss 2-7¡¯s prided ss Representative, Kisaragi Ryouko. Shiramine Academy¡¯s track and field ace, Natsukawa Minami.

    Those very same people who once left Mei-chan to die, her ex-party members so to speak.

    ¡°P-please calm down and hear me out, erm, those two, we¡¯re kinda working together now and¡ª¡±

    Basically, what Souma-san was trying to request of me was about ss Rep and Natsukawa-san. She wanted me to help convince Mei-chan not to begrudge them, or practically speaking, to prevent her from going into a killing frenzy all of a sudden.

    Of course, I¡¯d have done that without her asking. Leaving aside the wrong they caused Mei-chan, losing these potential allies at this point in time is full of demerits. For safer dungeon capture from here onward, having ss Rep the Ice Mage and Natsukawa-san the Thief would be a ton of help.

    There¡¯s no way Mei-chan isn¡¯t, even if slightly, resenting them, but right now, I gotta do something about¡ª

    ¡°Sorry Futaba-san. I shouldn¡¯t have decided on that back then¡­ No, I won¡¯t make excuses. I truly regret abandoning you from the bottom of my heart¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m so, so sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t save you¡­¡±

    They probably aren¡¯t doing this for show. ss Rep and Natsukawa-san both have a grave expression, and look like they¡¯re heartfully apologizing. These two should also have a proper sense of ethics and justice. They¡¯re surely not cold-blooded enough to justify themselves for abandoning their ssmate, saying it had to be done, and that it was that ssmate¡¯s fault to begin with. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve been feeling anxiety over it too.

    But that doesn¡¯t mean the victim in all this will so easily ept their apologies.

    ¡°Mei-chan, please bear it for now. I know you have a lot to say but¡­¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m alright Kotarou-kun¡±

    As if having discerned something, Mei-chan¡¯s expression softened all at once.

    ¡°ss Rep, and Natsukawa-san too, it¡¯s fine about back then. I understand that you had no choice and had to leave me behind.¡±

    ¡°But we¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, really. I don¡¯t resent you at all, I actually want to thank you, in fact. I mean, it¡¯s only because you abandoned me that¡­ fufu, I got to meet Kotarou-kun¡±

    A beautiful smile that stiffened my spine. What the, what¡¯s this strange intensity. Mei-chan is undoubtedly a lovely girl right now, but like, you know, it¡¯s because of that beauty that I feel the total bizarreness.

    ¡°I got saved by Kotarou-kun, and then caused him a lot of trouble too¡­ but then, I finally got stronger. I¡¯m not a useless pig anymore. I¡¯ve be¡ª A Knight, who will protect Kotarou-kun¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m grateful that you¡¯re saying that. But even if you can forgive me, I still can¡¯t forgive myself. So for a while longer, let me atone for it please¡±

    ¡°M-me too! This time, you can count on me too!¡±

    Ah, looks like Mei-chan hid the Berserker part. That¡¯s the only reason she¡¯d expressly name herself a Knight after all.

    We can¡¯t just trust Souma-san and the girls off the bat. So like the time we joined Hirano-kun¡¯s duo, We¡¯ll have to keep a few secrets.

    ¡°Man am I d you guys made up, or reconciled I guess. If Mei-chan got mad, I¡¯d be in a real bind¡±

    ¡°Geez, what do you take me for, you!¡±

    Hahaha, weugh as usual, and seeing that, the nervous ss Rep and Natsukawa-san also loosen up a bit.

    With that, our new party¡¯s inter-personnel problems were solved for the time being. Only on the surface though. The problem now is, how well we can actually coordinate¡­ I¡¯m a bit uneasy, but we¡¯ll find that out soon enough.

    ________________________

    [1] The 3 ppl named in order have the kanji for top ÉÏ, middle ÖÐ, bottom ÏÂ in their names, so they¡¯re the ÉÏÖÐÏÂ trio, which I paraphrased as totem-pole trio. Also, as some folks may see dyeing your hair as a regr part of life, japs seem to consider it in a bad light.

    [2] I¡¯d like to apologize if these guys sound too wierd, I don¡¯t really interact with media (or in reality) with individuals having this sort of disposition. Also, and I¡¯m making an educated guess here, from thest three dialogues, who is who? Obviously, thest one is Shimokawa who used the water magic, he likes lolis I guess. but the other two? Well, if you look at the attendance record, it has Ueda listed in the Archery club. Why would this DQN be in the Archery club? It¡¯s obviously exined in chapter 1, how ppl joined to breath in the air let out by Souma Sakura. So the one asking for Sakura is Ueda. That mean¡¯s Nakai¡¯s waifu is Kenzaki, wewd. Anyway, I think there¡¯s another joke in there with their names, how Shimokawa ¡ú bottom, likes the small loli. I don¡¯t know about the others.

 Chapter 166.1 - Ruined Citys Boss 1

    Chapter 166.1 - Ruined City''s Boss 1

    It had been a few days since we pushed our way through the depth of the ruined city, but we finally found the goal.

    ¡¸Yeah, that one definitely looks like a boss room.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    When we arrived in the deepest part of the area, the ruined city had already turned into a jungle city. This area was filled with high-rise buildings, so this ce might be the center of the city.

    There might be a lot of treasure boxes in this area, but we had no time to wander around in this western RPG open world-like map. Therefore, we decided to go straight towards the boss room and search only the area around our route.

    It seems the boss of this area, who had been waiting for us in the center of a jungle high-rise building, had quite apact size. That building was around five stories which almost turned into a giant tree.

    But the magicpass was pointing towards that ce, most of all, it was different from the other areas, there was this bizarre presence, or should I say it felt like stagnating mana.

    ¡¸Rem.¡¹

    ¡¸GUGOGO¡¹

    After replying to me, Rem ran into the high-rise building-like boss-room.

    The one who entered was Rem the 1st who had already strengthened even further with the addition of three living armor that protected the treasure box containing potion.

    Her base form had steel-like muscle from goliath and was d in ck steel armor resembling that of living armor. No matter how you look at it, she was such a splendid ck knight.

    Her inside might look empty since she used living armors as material, but she was definitely Rem. I was sure that the inside of the tinte bucket-like full-face helmet was Rem''s ck skull with her shining red eyes.

    Her equipment was a set of greatsword,rge spear, mace, and shield, literally all our armament we could lend her.

    Unfortunately, I could only use ¡ºSimple Alchemy Formation¡», that''s why all I could do was enhance the quality of the weapon. If it was the ¡ºSage¡»; Takanashi Kotori''s alchemy might be able to create a new weapon instead of only enhancing it like my case but well, I guess this was the limit of basic skill.

    Fortunately, the living armor''s weapon was already powerful enough even without my enhancement. It was a reliable weapon as long as the user was strong enough to wield it. And Rem the 1st who equipped all three living armors'' weapons was the strongest Rem.

    The ck knight Rem entered the building with shield and mace in her hands. It was a wise choice since the greatsword and spear with long reach had poorpatibility with narrow passage.

    But those weapons of choice weren''t my instruction, it was Rem''s own judgement. As expected, she was different from those stupid summoned skeletons, she could think for herself.

    ¡¸GUGO, GAGAGA.¡¹

    ¡¸No enemy or trap huh. Yup, shall we go.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    Mei-chan and I followed Rem to enter the building. There was nothing around the entrance, it was just a temple hall. Unfortunately, we didn''t find any treasure boxes.

    ¡¸It''s as if the boss room was right underground.¡¹

    Thepass obviously pointed downwards. Since that was the case, we should find the stairway to the basement floor first.

    I mean, inside the building was the same room and passage as everywhere else. Was the entrance really in this building? It looked the same as the other ruined building from the outside after all.

    As if that wasn''t enough, I didn''t even find a single high-zombie at all.

    ¡¸Kotaro-kun. Maybe it''s the stairs that we''re looking for.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that seems to be the case.¡¹

    Mei-chan found stairways on the first floor. The reason it was ced in a conspicuous ce in the corner, surrounded by a wall might be because it was an emergency stair, or deliberately hidden as a hidden passage.

    ¡¸But still, a secret basement in an inconspicuous building really gives me a bad premonition.¡¹

    Considering the fact that zombie-type monster such as high-zombie was running rampant in this area, I could say that this building must be rted to the mastermind behind the zombies outbreak¡­ was the kind of scenario that appeared in my head. In the first ce, this dungeon itself felt like a giant, underground research facility. But since the high-zombie wasn''t that powerful, it had zero to no impact in this dungeon.

    Thus, we went towards the boss room almost without encountering any kind of trouble.

    ¡¸For some reason, this area gave the same feeling as the normal dungeon.¡¹

    I agreed with Mei-chan, I felt the same as soon as we descended.

    The ruined buildings in the city did feel like they''re made of inorganic concrete, but this ce gave a familiar atmosphere to us. It was as if we''re back to the starting point of this dungeon.

    But the boss of this area was definitely waiting right beyond this point. After we arrived in an open, gloomy za, I felt a powerful presence enveloping our surroundings.

    ¡¸Let''s take a brief rest in this pace.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    We decided to ignore the powerful presence of the area boss and just take a rest, even if the boss''s presence made it hard for us to rest, preparation before the battle was a must. Somehow, it felt like we''re entering a safe point in front of the boss room.

    What? Dissatisfied? Then me your inability to get out of the boss room. Seeing that you couldn''t get out of your room, we had no choice but to take our time to get enough rest and preparation. Moreover, they''re going to be on alert until we enter the boss room, right? Since that was the case, let them wait for a bit longer, it wasn''t as if we caused inconvenience for them.

    ¡¸Kotarou-kun, I brewed tea for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    I drank pseudo-tea made from a mysterious herb while enjoying the honey-dango. Yup, it''s delicious. It felt like my brain was invigorated by the supply of sugar. Moreover, thanks to this sweet, the herbal tea with questionable vor tasted quite delicious too.

    Fuu, as I enjoyed thebination of sweets and tea, I confirmed our war potential before we entered the boss battle.

    First, we got the main attacker, our strongest ace, Mei-chan the ¡ºBerserker¡».

    There was no special upgrade in her armaments. Her main weapon was still the same ¡ºck Iron''s Knight Halberd¡»and ¡ºDark Tower Shield¡». Since it was originally an item that was enhanced by Takanashi Kotori''s alchemy from the armament they took from the living armour, it was literally impossible to gain even more powerful equipment than this unless it came from the living armor-type boss.

    It''s just that the shield ended up riddled with holes after the battle against crazed Sakurai-kun. Yeah, his strength was no joke since his arrow could pierce such a thick and massive shield. Anyhow, since leaving those holes alone might pose an unseen danger in the future, I tried to give it an emergency repair with ¡ºSimple Alchemy Formation¡».

    It might have magic properties since it was an extremely tough material, thus ¡ºSimple Alchemy Formation¡» might be able to do something about it. s, the ¡ºDark Tower Shield¡» didn''t give any reaction at all. In the end, the best thing I could handle was iron. Since that was the case, I decided to plug the holes on the shield using melted iron from the govu''s knife.

    Better than nothing.

    In addition, Mei-chan had ¡ºDismemberment Demonic Butcher''s Knife¡»which gave the air simr to that of cursed weapon as her sub-weapon. It seems that she used this knife to kill Sakurai-kun. It was Mei-chan''s favourite due to its excellent sharpness. Well, that was natural, it was originally her kitchen knife after all.

    Thus, I think we should be fine even without upgrading our current equipment. I mean, we literally insta-killed the boss of the previous area, Goliath with these armaments.

    Next was Rem. Rem the 1st could be upgraded to her Living Armor style-Dark Knight, Rem the 3rd was also received a little upgrade. We took the remaining parts of Living Armor''s armour to patch her up.

    Rem the 3rd equipment was a hand-me-down from Rem the 1st armaments. But since her speck was far lower than Rem the 1st-Dark Knight, I thought that it would be much better to equip her with a bow as our ranged attacker. Well, she was more like our all-around yer.

    Rem the 2nd was Arachne, otherwise known as Arachne Rem, she was responsible for our supply line since she carried the treasure box on her back.

    After that, I would summon a skeleton army with ¡ºFool''s Cane¡» before challenging the boss and have Arachne Rem arm them with weapons. But then, since Arachne Rem had a limit in how many armaments she could carry with her, she mainly carried a few swords with her. Nevertheless, being armed was better than not.

    Well then, thest one was me, the thing I could use as a weapon was the ¡ºRed Knife¡», and then ¡ºHiguchi''s Butterfly Knife¡», my strongest weapon.

    But well, my current main weapon was the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡» though. I guess I should use the best skull amongst my collection for this fight.

    ¡¸And yeah, ¡ºShaman''s Skull¡» is definitely the best for a serious battle.¡¹

    The main reason for that was its extremely powerful offensive skill, ¡ºPoison¡». And the ability that allows me to buff my allies weapon with ¡ºEnchant¡» was a huge deciding factor in choosing ¡ºShaman''s Skull¡».

    Rather, I might''ve to use ¡ºSummoner''s Skull¡» first to summon skeleton and change the skullter since I couldmand the skeletons even without the cane.

    Nevertheless, we got really buffed up, huh. Mei-chan, Rem the 3rd, thirteen skeletons, if it went by number alone, we¡¯d overwhelm the other party. And speaking of the boss room, we really rushed into the boss room only with this number of people.

    Well, whatever, these numbers were our clear advantage for now.

    ¡¸Shall we go now?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    Mei-chan stood up leisurely as if she was only dropping by the coffee shop before a date. I walked behind her, following the reliable back which didn''t give the feeling of excitement at all entering the boss room.

    ¡¸Another hall of the boss with few screw loose in their head, huh.¡¹

    And as I expected, the boss room was a hall but¡­ there was a twisted column around it. On the wall was an ominous relief of ivy or snake jam-packed together, just staring a few seconds at it was enough to make me sick.

 Chapter 48: A Shamanâ€™s Gear part.1

    Chapter 48: A Shaman¡¯s Gear part.1

    Before heading into the dungeon, we started off by refreshing our equipment.

    ¡°The area ahead from here isrgely divided into two types¡±

    ¡°One side is shown by the magic circle, and it continues deeper into the dungeon. The other route goes through the forest outside. The forest route has Skeleton soldiers, and also Goma who we think may possess equipment stolen from the Skeletons. If we go there first to gather materials, we should be able to take care of our equipment to a certain degree¡±

    Souma-san and her group had apparently done some investigation afternding on this area. If they had finished preparing after their first scan of the area, they¡¯d have left already, and wouldn¡¯t have been involved in our crisis.

    ¡°So the Armor Bear got here because it¡¯s connected to the forest huh¡±

    ¡°Souma¡¯s the only one of us who fought that bear, but I¡¯ll bet we can take it down with our current power¡±

    With a proper vanguard, and attack magic shooting from the rear, even an Armor Bear would down on its luck. Kenzaki-san isn¡¯t just being over-confident here. Fact is, that Armor Bear backed off right away.

    ¡°Then should we head off after a bit more rest? Futaba-san, you just woke up after all¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m perfectly fine. I can move anytime¡±

    Replying like a veteran mercenary, Mei-chan was munching on a bunch of fairy walnuts, umting that nutrition in a <i>wild</i> fashion. How utterly manly. That demeanor fits the Berserker to the T.

    ¡°Futaba-san, you know, you don¡¯t have to force yourself¡±

    ¡°No really, I am fine. Look, my arms are healed up too¡±

    Wow, they really are. Mei-chan put out her arms to show us, and though her sleeves were still a mess, the actual arms underneath not only had no wounds, but was back to their original spotless, beautiful skin.

    ¡°Souma-san, you used your magic to heal me right? It worked wonders see, thank you¡±

    ¡°Uh, huh¡­ But my Healing Light isn¡¯t all powerful alright. Please don¡¯t overestimate it. What <i>I¡¯m</i> wondering is, Futaba-san, you¡¯re trememdously quick to heal aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe it¡¯s that. I think I have a skill for that too¡±

    Her talking so fluently with <i>that</i> Souma Sakura is kinda like, like they¡¯ve been on equal footing since forever. When standing amongst these all-star pretty girls from ss, Mei-chan who has attained beauty not losing to their own, she somehow seems stunning.

    Feels like she¡¯s gone to a different. Honestly, right now you could say I¡¯ve gotten myself in a harem-like situation with 6 total hotties surrounding me. But I can¡¯t be happy about this at all. My shoulders are simply too thin. The only guys who ought to stand amongst girls like them are Souma Yuuto, or Tendou Ryuichi. Any other boy would be like me, just gawking awkwardly, or get into a crazed high like a horndog.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, Natsukawa-san, do you still have my knives?¡±

    ¡°HHhe!?¡±

    Natsukawa-san jolts so hard, I kinda feel bad for her. Faced with the kindly smiling Mei-chan, she¡¯s already in tears. Yup, this girl is absolutely terrified.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to get it back, if I may? I lost most of my weapons in the fight before¡±

    ¡°HYeass! I has it right here!¡±

    <i>Hii</i>, replies Natsukawa-san in tears, while she clutters around her waist to retrieve a short-sword, and hands it over to Mei-chan. The shorter than average Natsukawa-san standing face to face with the tallest girl in ss, Mei-chan, really paints an fierce picture. Their height difference is like that of an adult and child. Line them up, and their busts would show a simrly grand dissimrity.

    ¡°Thank you¡±

    Mei-chan who recieved the knife cheerfully, had surpassed any delinquent extorting someone out of their pocket change, and looked like a yakuza£¨mafia) member collecting all their belongings and property.

    Well then, about this, now returned to its rightful owner, knife¡­Kill CarverA kitchen knife not for cuisine, but thirsting blood, it was reborn to kill.

    Now then. We got ourselves this Kill Carver with a very ominous name and description, but with that I now have an idea of just how powerful weapons can be from Takanashi-san¡¯s remodeling.

    ¡°Hey lookie Kotarou-kun, this spear isn¡¯t rusty at all!¡±

    Mei-chan wasing over with a spear in hand that looked to be in very good condition. I could use it, or give it to Rem, and this iron spear would work great.

    Behind her, there¡¯s numerous iron helmets wearing Skeleton soldiers, all looking bisected, and piled in a mountain. All of this was Mei-chan and her Kill Carver.

    Once unsheathed, you can see a shiny de and, a slight red aura drifting from it. It¡¯s the same sinister aura let out by Mei-chan when she uses Reagent X. The thing¡¯s unnatural ferocity is now out in in sight, and its practicality was demonstrated right before my eyes.

    Currently, she has Hirano-kun¡¯s sword in her left, and Kill Carver in her right hand in a dual wield. She would usually use the long reach of the sword, but vying to get familiar with the sharp knife as well, she settled on a de in both hands. The Berserker Mei-chan¡¯s physical strength is off the charts already, so swinging around heavy iron swords is a cake-walk.

    ¡°I never though Futaba-san would get this strong¡­ it¡¯s like she¡¯s a whole new person¡±

    After gifting me the spear, she went back energetically to the front lines. Seeing that valiant back, ss Rep made aplicated face.

    ¡°Yeah, a lot happened after all. And look, Mei-chan¡¯s a Knight so this kind of power must¡¯ve been in her all along¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re the trigger to let that out that power, Momokawa-kun. Just what kind of magic did you use to change that perpetually scared girl into a heroic knight like this¡±

    ¡°<i>Ahaha</i>, it wasn¡¯t me at all¡­ I¡¯m thinking she just broke through the proverbial ss ceiling after fighting so desperately for a while¡±

    I slide the subject with a dryugh. What changed Mei-chan wasn¡¯t some amazing magic, but narcotic drugs that mess with your reasoning. It isn¡¯t a big secret, but it¡¯s not something to be open about either.

    ¡°How about we go a bit more?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sounds good. Let¡¯s¡±

    Kenzaki-san calls out and Souma-san replies, and all of us keep moving along the stone passages.

    There¡¯s been quite a fewbat situations like the one just now, and I somewhat got a grasp of their powers.

    Their vanguard is Kenzaki-san the Dualwielder and Natsukawa-san the Thief. Rearguard is Saintess Souma-san and Ice Mage ss Rep. Finally there¡¯s the Sage Takanashi-san, who needs guarding. Now adding to that, there¡¯s Mei-chan the Berserker, also in the vanguard, and me, the Shaman positioned in the rear. We¡¯ve never had a party so well bnced. Yeah, I feel like with all of us, any group of mob monsters will be dispersed easily. It¡¯s like we¡¯re in a well bnced dungeon crawler game.

    ¡°Hey uh, Souma-san, between Souma-kun and Kenzaki-san, Hero and Dualwielder, how much of a difference in power did you see?¡±

    ¡°Eh, between nii-san and Asuna? Let me think¡­ There¡¯s wasn¡¯t that big a difference in raw power. Just that, the Hero is somewhat, it feels like that ss grants a special sort of power¡±

    ¡°Like when he beat the Cerberus?¡±

    ¡°Yes, no matter what the crisis, he can make a breakthrough. It¡¯s that sort of seemingly bottomless strength.¡±

    ¡°So without that, him and Kenzaki-san are basically equal?¡±

    ¡°That may be true. Both of them have grown up with a lot training after all. It¡¯s almost simr to the power from a vocation¡±

    Damn I¡¯m cool. Just <i>look</i> how I¡¯m having a normal conversation with <i>that</i> Souma Sakura. While somewhat really surprised how this is actually happening, I quietly analyze the new information I¡¯ve received.

    I guess that¡¯s what you get being a Hero, it¡¯s one hell of a special vocation. This mysterious power that suddenly awakens and bursts through all obstacles when it counts the most, would be the meat and potatoes of Souma-san¡¯s story. But I can¡¯t be so optimistic about such an unknown power that seemingly rescues you from any pinch. I¡¯ll have to consider Souma-kun¡¯s solid skill as a swordsman and how it fairs against Kenzaki-san.

    ¡°Then how¡¯s Mei-chan? Compared to Kenzaki-san I mean¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe, but Futaba-san looks to have the same level of ability as Asuna¡±

    Natsukawa-san is in track and field as we all know, and her along with Souma-san have no experience in martial arts. But with the vocation of Thief, she attained a high prowess inbat¡­ However, her experience in this world is arge contributing factor to that prowess, and she clearly falls behind the actually experienced ones like Souma-kun and Kenzaki-san. If you think about it, it¡¯s an obvious result.

    Even if they get supernatural powers in this world,pared someone with simr powers, what matters in the end are individual differences. But throwing that theorypletely out the window,

    ¡°Futaba-san isn¡¯t supposed to have any of this sort of experience, no, she¡¯s supposed to be a normal girl¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re saying she has the skill to match Kenzaki-san?¡±

    ¡°It may be her natural talent, or else, it¡¯s a result from their difference in vocations. I don¡¯t see the real reason¡±

    Strengthening one¡¯s vocation is up to the individual. But then, if you¡¯re granted high-spec powers, you can ovee things like experience just like that.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m kinda relieved hearing that¡±

    ¡°Relieved? How so?¡±

    ¡°Err look, Kenzaki-san and Natsukawa-san have been using so many different skills while fighting. Mei-chan doesn¡¯t have such a rich array of skills after all¡±

    ¡°¡­ Momokawa-kun, you can see them using those?¡±

    ¡°Yeah well, it¡¯s pretty obvious¡±

    Like, both of them have been doing double jumps and all. No way they had those back in Japan.

    ¡°Kenzaki-san has one-shot attacks like sh. A single ded one, and one let out from both swords. Also, there¡¯s one that lets out a shock wave after piercing through. Well, these are just my guesses from what she¡¯s been using, for the past while?¡±

    ¡°And Minami? What about her?¡±

    ¡°I know from Mei-chan that she has sh. But it looks like she can do two of those back to back. But what¡¯s more amazing is that Natsukawa-san can dodge with Foresight even while moving super fast with High Walk. I think she also has Repel, but maybe she¡¯s not too confident in its power. I didn¡¯t see her use it often¡±

    ¡°I wonder, did you happen to watch martial arts matches often Momokawa-kun?¡±

    ¡°Nope, not at all¡±

    I have literally no interest in that area. I¡¯m more if a big fan of anime, manga and games. Always looking forward to epic finishing moves or super-tier magics being used in fantasy battle stories and such. But say I did watch martial arts, I¡¯d have no idea what move was used or what technique was being carried out.

    But no way am I spilling out all that jargon. I at least have the judgement to avoid my otaku fanboy-ing in public.

    ¡°I, see¡­ You¡¯ve been watching well¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s life and death after all¡±

    Depending on how the vanguard fairs, us in the rear could get into deep shit before we know it. So obviously we need to understand each others¡¯ strengths and weaknesses. Though it¡¯s not like a total noob like me can tell much from just looking.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to talk a bit more about everyone¡¯s skills once we get back, that alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. We need to do that or else we won¡¯t coordinate well after all¡±

    And like that, we smoothly finished gathering materials. The groups of Skeletons or Goma weren¡¯t a match for our amazing trio in the frontlines, so us in the back didn¡¯t have much to do. Nevertheless, the shamefully weak nature of my curses have indeede to light.

    I can¡¯t just use Rotten Bog with party members who aren¡¯t used to it, and I haven¡¯t reconstructed Rem either. In the end, all I could manage was some harassing from ckhair Bind. I can¡¯t help but be jealous of Souma-san and ss Rep shooting off light and ice attacks left and right.

    But the most annoying part about being in the rearguard was that Takanashi-san. As if using me as a shield, was always standing right behind me. Well, that was the formation so I can¡¯tin too much¡­ but having someone right on your tail is pretty annoying.

    <i>Don¡¯t bring along nonbatants dammit</i>, I want toin, but even though the fairy square will hinder entry to monsters, it won¡¯t do the same for beasts. In other words, horny bastards like that totem-pole trio coulde in so we always have to be together, is what it is.

    Takanashi-san has this super convenient self-defense skill, namely Sacred Tongue: ¡°Word of Rejection¡±, so frankly speaking, her safety is guaranteed even more than mine. In livebat, I may as well count as the bigger piece of excess baggage.

    She also has this Mana Analysis skill. It¡¯s like her remodeling ability with the fountain, but with this it doesn¡¯t even have to be a physical magic-imbued object, but also stuff like magic shot out by monsters. Depending on the type she can understand it, so she¡¯s not entirely useless inbats either. And it even feels like Mana Analysis can act as a higher form of my Intuition Pharmacy. If it has mana, she can handle magic and objects the same, so the skill¡¯s multi-use capability isn¡¯t limited in the least.

    <i>But the least you can do is carry a spear or knife like, for self-defense</i>, are my honest thoughts. Takanashi-san being so frail, she only carries cores in her bag. Though I¡¯m not in any position to tell her that. I¡¯m pretty much the same level of useless as her at this point.

    Anyway, there were some annoying points, but our harvest was excellent. Plus I got to see first-hand how these girls fight. You could say it was a very fruitful practice session.

    Incidentally, we were doing so well, that we made it to the exit into the forest outside. Since it was a good opportunity, we tried heading in a bit and¡­ <i>hell yes!</i> We found ourselves those some of those delicious snakes, three even. This is great Mei-chan, tonight shall be a feast.

    Well, when those 5 pretty girls saw how Mei-chan was joyously hunting down snakes and brute forcing apart their skin, we got a real jump out of them but¡­ <i>Fufun</i>, once they know this taste, they too shall be avid Snake Hunters no doubt.

 Chapter 49: A Shamanâ€™s Gear part.2

    Chapter 49: A Shaman¡¯s Gear part.2

    ¡°¡­ Woahh, this remodeling, is pretty amazing¡±

    Takanashi-san had taken the materials everyone gathered and put them through her remodeling. Seeing all the shiny new equipment lined up, I was honestly impressed.

    Iron Spear A general quality spear.

    Iron Short-sword A general quality short-sword.

    The weapons given to me look like 2nd hand goodspared to the ones carried by our frontliners, but shiny des with no rust are more than good enough for me. The quality is unbelievable. I¡¯m guessing what this remodeling does is, it cleanly collects the iron only from the materials and reconstructs everything into a de of the same shape and size. Shove in 2 or 3 of those rusty short-swords, and her remodeling can dish out a sparkly new iron short-sword. The logic of bunching up only the good bits to make something of better quality is fine and all, but then, where does all the rust go? Who knows. They like,pletely vanish. After the remodeling is over, you can only find the finished product inside the fountain and nothing else.

    But let¡¯s not sweat the small stuff. It¡¯s all good if we can get quality weapons. But here¡¯s where it gets better, you can actually mix in monster parts during the remodeling process. A synthesis of sorts.

    Red Saber A saber made with Cerberus ws as material. Embers fly with even light swings.

    A so called elemental weapon. Apparently, when Souma-kun beat the Cerberus, likely due to some special ability of the Hero, the monster turned into light particles and got absorbed into him. However, this ability is convenient in that it has the smarts to leave behind the core. And further conveniently, it also leaves behind monster parts that could be well used in the remodeling. Apparently, other than the core, the other parts are ones that hold a lot of mana, and that¡¯s seemingly how it discerns between what to and what not to leave behind.

    And so they now possess ws and fangs from the Cerberus.

    What man, we getting Drop Items now?¡ª I want to retort, but I¡¯ll refrain.

    Anyway, with that Cerberus w supplied alongside Kenzaki-san¡¯s Knight Saber, she got out the new and improved Red Saber.

    ¡°This is really good¡­ Look, fire¡¯sing out¡±

    ¡°A genuine magic sword I see¡±

    Even the cool and collected Kenzaki-san and ss Rep are wide eyed looking at the mes that spouted after swinging the sword. I myself went ¡°Woahhh!!¡± and got all excited.

    Still, all this material quality improving and even adding elemental attributes, feels like we¡¯re really making weapons, or I should say, like the crafting you see in games. You¡¯d normally have to get tools for manufacturing iron or other metals, like molds and all sorts of equipment, and also the right knowledge. This is all something Remodeling can do all in one go. You could even call it a cheat skill.

    The crafting produced by this magic figuratively scoffs ¡°MUDA MUDA!¡± at all the industrial achievements founded by the human race in all its history, as if proiming the utter futility of it all. I feel a bitplicated seeing a bit of magic easily surpass modern science, but my life is on the line here, so I¡¯ll dly take full advantage of it. My Rem is pretty simr in that respect too. Plus, whatever myints may be, Takanashi-san¡¯s cheaty production skill has already be indispensable for our survival.[1]

    As I was pondering in my positive impressions, she¡¯d made one more, another fire element weapon.

    Red Knife A knife made with Cerberus fangs as material. It is said that a malevolent devout had once used this de to pierce into his sacrifices, before finally burning them at the cross.

    ¡°Hey, why¡¯s mine have a scary description again, hey you!?¡±

    Natsukawa-san was overjoyed at receiving her new firey knife synthesized with the Cerberus¡¯ fang. Swinging away at the red-hot de that spit embers, she sent those feelings of gratitude to the weapon¡¯s creator, that is, towards Takanashi-san.

    ¡°UAA~N! Hope you like fried chickeeen!¡±

    ¡°W-wait, Kotori doesn¡¯t write these thiiings!¡±

    That¡¯s some good heat it¡¯s giving off. That should let her take on tough bodied monsters too. I¡¯d very much like Mei-chan to also equip herself like this, but it seems like those small Orthrus fangs simply can¡¯t exert Cerberus-tier levels of fire.

    Roaring Steel Halberd A halberd crafted with good steel and fine metallic monster carapace. The oversized axe de is its specialty.

    Roaring Steel Sword ]A sword crafted with good steel and fine metallic monster carapace. Its de is longer and wider than the norm.

    Steel Short-sword A short-sword crafted with good steel.[2]

    They didn¡¯t get an elemental attribute, but Mei-chan¡¯s new set of weapons are of iparably higher quality from the stuff she has been using before this. What needs special attention is the fact that we used that Armor Bear¡¯s carapace as the synthesis material.

    Since we used the Armor Bear¡¯s metallic skin, Steel made an upgrade to Roaring Steel. ording to Takanashi-san, this Roaring Steel is heavier than ordinary steel, but much harder in contrast. The weapons themselves were maderger than normal, so while they¡¯d be unfit for someone like Natsukawa-san with her speed-centric fighting style, it¡¯s pretty much a perfect match for a mega-power fighter like Mei-chan.

    Incidentally, the reason it¡¯s not an axe but a halberd is because we couldn¡¯t collect a good enough long-axes to serve as its base. The Skeleton captain¡¯s halberd is one of the easily attainable high quality weapons, so that was the main choosing criteria on this asion.

    A halberd is like abo between a spear and an axe, so you can both sh or pierce. It¡¯s pretty convenient like that, or so it would seem. As it has multi-usage functionality, wielding one can get fairly technical, is what I¡¯ve heard. But as the user was Mei-chan, her super Berserker powers can draw out its potential with any weapon. She¡¯ll get used to it in no time, so I¡¯m not too worried.

    There¡¯s Roaring Steel Sword that was improved upon from Hirano-kun¡¯s sword. And the Steel Short-sword which will be a spare. Well, she¡¯s already got the Kill Carver so that one won¡¯t see much use I guess.

    Now, we¡¯re all done getting everyone¡¯s respective weapons in order, but there¡¯s one more thing that I, have to get over with.

    ¡°¡­ Alright, looks like everyone¡¯s asleep¡±

    It was decided that we would travel along the correct route after getting some shut-eye. My watch tells me that it¡¯s a bit past 1 AM. Everyone went to bed around midnight, so they should all be frolicking in thend of dreams right about now.

    Me and the girls were split up such that our sleeping areas are on opposite sides of the fountain. The other side currently has paradise with 5 beautiful youngdies lined up sleeping, but this side just has the sole man, me, all by his lonesome. But right now, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s more convenient this way. The reason¡ª I don¡¯t think I need to exin too much. It¡¯ll be my 2nd time doing this after all.[3]

    ¡°Outside the square is a bit¡­ yup, bad idea¡±

    I bounce towards a corner of the fairy square. It had a fairy walnut tree, plus with the fountain, it¡¯s a double blindspot. Pretty much the ideal location.

    ¡°Haaa¡­ Man, this is nerve-wracking¡­¡±

    My pulse is rapidly rising. But it¡¯s better thanst time, since I guess I got used to it a bit more. But it¡¯s probably mostly because I¡¯m not doing it while looking at Mei-chan.

    ¡°Calm down¡­ you need to do this, don¡¯t keep avoiding it and revive Rem¡±

    No wait, if I calm down, doing this will just get more difficult. I need to be excited more or less. You can do this, me.

    ¡°¡­ Haah¡±[4]

    Along with a heavy sigh, I have once again sessfully collected the final ingredient to make Rem, the Vile Mud Doll. I thought it¡¯d end up this way, so I had kept my exclusive collection tool, the condom, all nice and cleanly washed. There¡¯s a myriad of reasons I resent the prospect of using this again, but I can¡¯t afford to choose my methods. Like, do you think I can ask those lovely party members if they happen to have one?

    Honestly, I¡¯d rather not walk this tightrope. I want to make Rem without using this if possible¡­ But the previous Rem¡¯s power was greater mostly because this semen was used as an ingredient, it would seem.

    This assumptiones from when us and Rem were fighting together. I happened toe into contact with her a lot, and somehow understood how she was made and stuff. It¡¯s not like I can suddenly open up a game-like status screen for her, read descriptions and look at different icons and what not.

    But from experience with all my other curses, where I just get it when I¡¯m not supposed to logically know something, I can be sure that the information is correct. Therefore, once I felt that semen is an essentialponent, it became indispensable. There¡¯s a limit to materials, so I don¡¯t have the leisure to try out a version without semen to see if the power actually goes down.

    I thought about it. There¡¯s the safe route of exining everything and having them understand, but something tells me the moment I start on that subject, I¡¯d be kicked to the curb, so nope.

    But I absolutely need Rem in my current state. I can¡¯t just rely on Mei-chan for everything. If Rem wasn¡¯t there, I would¡¯ve been killed by that Armor Bear.

    We¡¯ll be heading back into the danger soon, and I could die instantly if I don¡¯t have Rem substitute for me in a dire situation.

    The girls might find out, but my fear and sense of self-preservation takes priority. I don¡¯t want to die regretting not making Rem here and now.

    Anyway, I¡¯m done collecting, so all¡¯s well.

    After I¡¯m done, no one would know Rem¡¯s ingredients from just looking at her. And they wouldn¡¯t bother to find out. I just mixed some monster materials and done, what of it? I could simply persist. That way, it¡¯s not embarrassing for me, and the girls won¡¯t care much either. it¡¯s a win-win for everyone.[5]

    Now, same asst time, I¡¯m perfectly prepped for Vile Mud Doll. A Skeleton captain¡¯s bones will serve as the frame this time, and I added in its core too. Additionally, what was before Goar scales is now Armor Bear shell. Both quantity and quality of materials have been bumped up a notch. I¡¯m definitely getting a more powerful Mud Doll Rem after this.

    Plus, I¡¯ve already had Tananashi-san prepare a 2nd Steel Spear for Rem to use. So her armaments are also receiving an upgrade.

    ¡°Fufuh¡­ This is kinda exciting¡±

    From all the new prospects to power up, I unconsciously let a smile show, and with the now well filled adult rubber balloon in hand, I get on my feet¡ª and right then,

    ¡°Momokawa, what are you, doing over there¡±

    Spine froze.

    She found out. She saw. How, why. Bad thoughts rush in one after another, making my head a vomit-inducing swirl of disorder. But even within that chaos, I quickly knew who she was.

    The person standing there when I slowly turn around¡ª

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!!¡±

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    ring at me with eyes like the devil incarnate(an oni), there stood Kenzaki Asuna, with her sword at my throat.

    ________________________

    Author¡¯s postscript: This is unrted to this story, but ¡°Kuro no Maou V: Witch in Love¡± is now on sale. There¡¯s a gaiden chapter you can only get in this published version so please have a look![6]

    ________________________

    [1] IS THAT A JOJO REFERENCE!!1 XD¡ª yes, yes it is.

    [2] The Red weapons¡¯ names are as is. „‚âŸ ¡ª Goutetsu ¡ª Roaring Steel

    [3] OK I seriously double checked about there being 5 girls on the other side, I don¡¯t know why man, there¡¯s supposed to be 6 right?

    [4] Hmm¡­ somebody was asking for silver lining in thements :^)

    [5] win-win is such a fun word, remember to make a circle with your index and thumb while extending the other three fingers when you say it. Also, watch Sakura Quest¡­ it¡¯s super fun lol.

    [6] This is a few arcs ago in KnM, when he got Evil Eater, and Wrath Pun battle I think. I havn¡¯t seen the book so I can¡¯t be too sure tho. Anyway this is just advertisement for the book, but apparently the gaiden¡¯s pretty cool. Author summarized it somewhat, and it¡¯s a what if about if Kurono never escaped from theb. He apparently still meets Lily somehow, and there¡¯s characters that appear in the ch 500s in that gaiden (the bookes out in that time frame), so I guess with current trantions you don¡¯t really have a grasp of some of the characters. Anyway, my point is, if you happen to buy the book, can you please send me scans of the illustrations inside? I¡¯ve been really curious about this for a while. And my second point is, we should totally badger Yoshi to trante it lol.

 Chapter 50: Crack

    Chapter 50: Crack

    ¡°Answer the question Momokawa! What the <i>hell</i> were you doing just now!¡±

    ¡°N-no wait¡­ just wait ok! Watch the sword¡­¡±

    Her sharp de pointed at me, Kenzaki-san seems extremely agitated. She is so mad, I can¡¯t begin to describe her as only angry. She has an air around her that¡¯s telling me that any form of excuse or small talk will cause my neck to drop by her wrath. No, in her current state, if I zip up now, she might just do it unconsciously.

    Having fallen into an abrupt and unfair state of crisis, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m calm either.

    ¡°Sto-stop¡­ Kenzaki-san, if you kill me, you¡¯ll also¡­¡±

    ¡°Bastard! After excuses you start threatening now!¡±

    ¡°Uaaah, I¡¯m sorry! B-but, I¡¯m telling the truth. If you identally stab me, you will get the same wound. So the sword, please pull it back¡­¡±

    It¡¯ll be toote after the deed is done. I made sure to clearly exin to everyone how my Pain Return works. But holy shit man, humans are <i>such</i> valiant creatures, braving any danger if they get a little too mad. No, I guess it¡¯s because Pain Return doesn¡¯t have any sort of solid form, so I can¡¯t expect them to intrinsically get that hitting me is a bad idea.

    ¡°Shut it Momokawa, don¡¯t underestimate me¡ª <i>Hmph</i>!¡±

    ¡°GUH!?¡±

    Kenzaki-san drew back her sword, but as soon as she did, a fistnded in my gut. It wasn¡¯t anything like a frail girl-punch, but heavy like an iron ball. It was a devestating punch.

    Naturally, my abdominal muscles being as weak as they are, I couldn¡¯t bear the attack at all. Strength drained from my knees, and I copsed onto the ground right there.

    ¡°Uh, Ugh¡­ ow, ow¡­ <i>hi,c</i>¡­ ow¡­¡±

    I cried with a pathetic voice. The sting in my stomach hurts so bad, I felt it¡¯d be better to simply die than suffer through this. The pain was too much, I had no capacity to feel shame or dishonor.

    This pain and humiliation is the same one I felt when I was lynched my those Goma. It should be the 2nd time, but you never get used to this kinda shit.

    ¡°<i>Tch¡­</i> It¡¯s the curse. How annoying¡±

    I breathe deeply to control the pain, and look upwards. There, stood Kenzaki-san with a face warped much more than can be described as merely <i>annoyed</i>.

    She definitely got a taste of the same pain as me. But the hell¡¯s with this difference in reaction. How does this woman keep standing so normally after getting gut-punched this hard¡­ No, this too must be a result of our diffrence in vocations. A Dualwielder like Kenzaki-san is adapted to battle, and must have a high degree of pain resistance. Though it could also be a result of her long years of hellish sword training.

    ¡°<i>Hah, haa¡­ haah¡­</i> K-Kenzaki-san, why are you¡­ doing this¡­¡±

    I can¡¯t hold out if she attacks again. The intense pain slightly subsided, so I try to speak up. Presently, I have no methods to end this other than trying peaceful dialog. No matter how unfair she¡¯s being, if I return with, ¡°You punched me! Fucking bitch!¡±, that¡¯s like asking for assisted suicide.

    Ah man, being weak sure sucks.

    ¡°<i>Why</i> he says¡­ Bastard, <i>you tell me</i> if you understand what you just did¡±

    The hell do you want from me, don¡¯t ask if you already know.

    ¡°You dog. You sure got guts doing <i>that</i> while us girls are sleeping right there, huh Momokawa!¡±

    Well fuck you too, I went out of my way, all the way into this corner, out of <i>courtesy</i> alright. You¡¯re talking as if I raped someone in their sleep.

    ¡°Souma never did something like this, not even once¡­ This is why men are such¡±

    ¡°<i>Haah¡­haah¡­</i> Kenzaki-san, you¡¯ve got it wrong¡­ I just, really needed this for my curse, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop making excuses! Have some shame!¡±

    Grabbing my cor, she forcefully makes me stand¡­ not even. Kenzaki-san being the tallest among us below Mei-chan, my small body lifts easily into the air. I couldn¡¯t touch soil even if I stretched on my tip-toes.

    My neck is, a bit constrained too. It hurts.

    ¡°I¡¯m sor¡­ wait, stop¡­ don¡¯t hurt me¡­¡±

    Begging as if I¡¯m about to be killed, I ready myself for another punch.

    ¡°You really think I¡¯m letting you off after you¡ª¡±

    ¡°What in the-, Asuna, what¡¯s going on here? What¡¯s all this shouting for¡±

    Right then, a voice came from the direction of the fountain. This intonation and tone, it¡¯s ss Rep.

    Maybe because she was called by name, Kenzaki-san let go of me. Ouch. I fell instantly andnded on my butt.

    <i>I¡¯m saved</i>¡ª isn¡¯t something I can gullibly assume. Maybe her appearance doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯sing to mediate, but actually that the situation just leveled up into a group lynching.

    ¡°Oh, Ryouko, sorry for waking you up¡±

    ¡°You woke me up too, Asuna¡±

    ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s up~, what happened guys?¡±

    Following ss Rep, Souma-san and Natsukawa-san also called out.

    ¡°There was an incident. Listen guys, this bastard¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡­ Kotarou-kun?¡±

    Mei-chan had also, woken up. With this much noise, I¡¯d find it weird if she hadn¡¯t.

    Mei-chan was rubbing at her sleepy eyes. But the instant she saw me, those eyes changed. It was the Berserker¡¯s eyes. Those that she makes to ughter monsters.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!¡±

    Mei-chan appeared in front of me in a sh. Her speed being super-ss, I mostly didn¡¯t even see her run.

    ¡°Ah, Mei-chan¡­¡±

    But when I saw herrge body standing to defend me, <i>Ah fuck</i>, how pathetic. My tears won¡¯t stop. Finally, now at least, my life isn¡¯t in danger. I was relieved from the very depths of my heart.

    ¡°J-just what, is going on here¡±

    Me, Kenzaki-san and,ing to the rescue at sonic speed, Mei-chan. With this much of a dangerous scent drifting about, ss Rep quickly caught on. The other three rushed over. Since Takanashi-san isn¡¯t here, she must be out like a log.

    ¡°Momokawa, talk. Don¡¯t make a girl speak about such repulsive things¡±

    Even a guy can¡¯t outright say stuff like, <i>I was masturbating</i>. And you seriously want me to open the closet in front of ss 2-7¡¯s prettiest girls gathered around? No, their prettiness aside, I¡¯d doubt my sanity if I could calmly say something like that to any girl.

    ¡°¡­ I was, masturbating here¡±

    But I said it. I had to, or else we wouldn¡¯t solve anything.

    ¡°Eh, EEH!? What, you mean you¡­¡±

    ¡°Please, tell me I misheard¡­¡±

    ¡°<i>Ni-nihaha¡­</i>¡±

    I¡¯m dying from the shame. ss Rep made a face like she was bbergasted. Souma-san, as if she¡¯d heard something so obscene she¡¯d barf. Natsukawa-san waspletely drawn back and making a wry smile. As for Mei-chan, I¡¯am too scared to check.

    ¡°L-listen I, I don¡¯t think I have anything to be guilty about. This was absolutely necessary for my curse and¡­ But you seriously can¡¯t show something like this to anyone, so I tried to do it secretly and¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough with the excuses, Momokawa¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop that Kenzaki-san. You¡¯re scaring Kotarou-kun¡±

    Kenzaki-san still looks like she has a big knuckle sandwich ready for me, and Mei-chan boldly stands in front of her to prevent her from dishing it out. Her wide back defending me looks so strong and reliable.

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, so everyone can go back¡±

    As if dering, <i>Nothing to see here</i>, Mei-chan casually attempts to disperse the crowd. And naturally, everyone says ¡°Alright, we get it¡ª¡° and the matteres to a close, and that doesn¡¯t actually happen at all.

    ¡°Futaba, are you seriously sticking up for Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t even count as sticking up or anything. What did Kotarou-kun do wrong anyway?¡±

    From Mei-chan¡¯s tone, it seemed like she believed me word for word. <i>He didn¡¯t have any ill will, he only did what had to be done.</i> She¡¯s speaking as if she¡¯s tantly ignoring my sin of performing self-pleasure in the same room where all the girls were sleeping.

    ¡°You heard what he did. This bastard¡¯s been looking at us girls with lecherous eyes all this time. And he even has the gall to exin himself with a curse or whatever. Do you think we can forgive this?¡±

    As for Kenzaki-san¡¯s opinion, I can¡¯t say I agree with all of it¡­ But I can half concede that her¡¯s would be the correct reaction from a girl. Getting so mad as to put a sword to my neck and punching me in the gut, is a bit much. But she¡¯d obviously feel disgusted to no end if there was some scumbag fapping in the same room they¡¯re all breathing in. It¡¯s an issue of psychological noneptance.

    ¡°I uhm, well, I don¡¯t feel too good about it¡­¡±

    ¡°N-nihaha, I don¡¯t really, get that sort of stuff so¡­¡±

    ss Rep and Natsukawa-san weren¡¯t screaming stuff like, ¡°You disgust me, sick wanker¡±, and disying outright disgust. But clearly they¡¯re hastily sliding the subject. These two aren¡¯t doing this out of considering for me, but for Mei-chan. They¡¯re weak against her right now. So they can¡¯t express strong opposition towards her.

    ¡°Futaba-san listen, even if what Momokawa-kun said happens to be true, I honestly believe that what he did was bad. What he did was, for a young man, clearlycking in delicacy¡±

    But in contrast, Souma-san spoke with conviction. Once a girl says it like that, no man in the world has any way of making excuses. It¡¯s a guillotine. Lack of consideration,ck of delicacy. For women, those can be valid enough reason to condemn a man.

    ¡°<i>Delicacy?</i> Souma-san, are you seriously ming Kotarou-kun with a worthless reason like that?¡±

    <i>Cut the jokes bitch, they ain¡¯t funny, and this ain¡¯t no time for ¡¯em either, capisce?!</i> I almost heard a sort of rageful inner voiceing from Mei-chan¡¯s reply.

    ¡°It¡¯s a <i>very</i> important reason. Look here, including you yourself, there are currently 6 of us girls here. And the only boy among us is Momokawa-kun. But even if he¡¯s the sole boy, we must not forget our morals. If not, the whole team might suffer from the friction¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯ll force only Momokawa-kun to endure it, is what you¡¯re implying?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the only one now, butter on, if we join up with any of the other boys, these rules will stay the same¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Just admit it, you just want yourselves to livefier lives¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯m asking the impossible. Since, when nii-san was with us, nothing like this happened at all. Just think about it, in our current situation where both sexes must work together, we need to maintain the rules¡±

    ¡°And let me guess, you, Souma-san, will be making these so called rules?¡±

    ¡°No, not just me, all of us¡±

    Majority rule. That is a concept any Japanese knows and has learned to ept.

    Were my actions right? Or were they wrong? We don¡¯t even need to vote on that. Out of the 6 girls, Mei-chan is the only one on my side. Getting a majority vote is a pipe dream within a pipe dream.

    ¡°Futaba, howe you¡¯re trying so hard to protect Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°I could say the same, why¡­ why are you getting in Kotarou-kun¡¯s way?¡±

    ¡°You saw how he¡¯s so adamant about what he did. You¡¯ve been with him all this time, Futaba. Who knows what he¡¯s been doing to you¡±

    A sudden pang of guilt stabs at my heart. That day when I made Rem, I had sinned heavily, performing the <i>lookout</i>. If I went like, <i>At least I didn¡¯t touch her</i>, I¡¯d really get my neck offed by Kenzaki-san.

    ¡°Futaba-san, I won¡¯t be insensitive and ask what sort of rtionship you have with Momokawa-kun. But even if you¡¯ve sworn yourselves to one another, in our current circumstances, having sexual rtions would be simply wrong¡±

    ¡°Hmph, aren¡¯t you simply jealous you can¡¯t get Souma-kun to look at you that way?¡±

    ¡°T-this has nothing to do with nii-san!!¡±

    Souma Sakura raises her voice all too suddenly. A-and with ferocious intensity. I had always thought that she had this air towards Souma-kun that made them have such a pink atmosphere that any normal couple would have to admit defeat but¡­ I totally didn¡¯t expect this. It¡¯s no joke, Souma Sakura actually loves her own brother.

    ¡°Hey wait, Sakura, calm down¡­ alright, and Futaba-san too, I really need you to not pursue this¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand your feelings. I didn¡¯t mean to mock you¡±

    ss Rep slides in with perfect timing. And I¡¯m d Mei-chan backed off too.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry as well¡­ I lost myposure a little¡­¡±

    That right then wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d call <i>a little</i>. She said it with so much passion that, I bet her fanclub¡¯s chairman would faint if he ever saw it.

    ¡°Whatever the case, we are all in this mess together. So Futaba-san, you¡¯d at least agree that we need to establish some rules correct?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡±

    ¡°About the incident with Momokawa-kun, I could say not everyone had a proper grasp of the do¡¯s and don¡¯t¡¯s. So let¡¯s rule it as a mistake due to ignorance. And it¡¯s not like he defiled anyone either¡±

    You think I can be that daring? With <i>these</i> girls of all people? I don¡¯t have enough lives for that. But I¡¯m grateful you actually said some facts.

    ¡°We let you off with just one punch. You should be thank our tolerance Momokawa¡±

    ¡°<i>Punch</i>, Kenzaki-san¡­ did you perhaps, hit Momokawa-kun?¡±

    Holy crap. I just saw a little bit of that red aura drifting from Mei-chan¡¯s slightly trembling shoulders.

    ¡°Cause he was saying he¡¯s gonna curse me or something. I gave him a good one in the gut. I was going pretty easy on him too, but he started crying like a pansy. What a weak excuse of a man¡±

    ¡°¡­You¡¯re dead¡±

    Mei-chan tightens her fist, and the aura begins to swirl. I get reminded of that Armor Bear getting ending up with a hole in its chest. Yeah, she damn well has enough power to kill someone with her bare hands.

    ¡°No don¡¯t! Mei-chan!¡±

    I made a full spurt tackle, grabbing onto Mei-chan¡¯s waist as if I was an American Football yer. But, like that 100 year old sacred tree in the shrine near my house, she doesn¡¯t even budge. But, <i>soft</i>. And a tight waist. She¡¯s seriously slimmed down huh¡ª wait no, this ain¡¯t no time to be impressed.

    ¡°<i>Kyaa!?</i> Kotarou-kun!?¡±

    An unbelievably cute voice leaks from the bloodthirsty Berserker. I¡¯m literally the only one being desperate here. Does Kenzaki-san even realize she was standing on the fine line between life and death?

    ¡°Mei-chan, I¡¯m d you¡¯re doing this for me, I really am. But this time, I did something super careless so don¡¯t!¡±

    The girls¡¯ eyes towards me clinging to Mei-chan was severely painful. So I quickly took my arms off her waist, and in the same movement, prostrated myself. It¡¯s the ever famous bowing down in a dogeza.

    ¡°I¡¯m deeply apologize, it was all my fault. Please find it in yourselves to forgive me¡±

    There is some shame. But I¡¯m not particrly resenting them. Mei-chan got angry for me and, though it might be inappropriate considering the situation, I was really happy. That even <i>I</i> had at least one ally. I can¡¯t be more thankful for her trust towards me.

    ¡°Asuna, and Sakura too. Look, Momokawa-kun is even lowering his head, let¡¯s forgive him¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine with that. I can¡¯t think ming him any further would be productive¡±

    ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time, Momokawa¡±

    And having attained clemency, I finally stand up. Ah, legs are a bit shaky. Must be damage from sacrificing my pride. I wonder how Mei-chan is seeing me right now. I, who was so quick to dogeza. I¡¯m scared to look.

    Calm down, just rx, me. I honestly feel like crying right now, but there¡¯s something I just have to finish saying.

    ¡°¡­Uhm, excuse me but, the curse I was trying to do, I have permission to do it right?¡±

    If I can¡¯t make Vile Mud Doll, there would¡¯ve been no point in going through all that pain for a little bit of semen.

    ¡°Momokawa! You little¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait Asuna. Momokawa-kun, that curse of yours, do you absolutely need it?¡±

    ¡°Vile Mud Doll is a curse that creates a golem. If I have this, it can be a shield at sudden unprecedented moments. When we fought the Armor Bear, it was because that golem took a hit for me that I didn¡¯t die¡±

    ¡°And to make that, you uhm¡­ you have to use <i>that</i>?¡±

    ¡°Without it, its power drops drastically. It¡¯s like, how alchemists use it for making a homunculus, heard of that?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I see, if it¡¯s like that, then I guess you¡¯d need it¡±

    ¡°Oi, Ryouko, what¡¯re you talking about. What¡¯s all this about that homun-whatever-you-said¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter, so please keep quiet¡±

    As I¡¯d expect from ss Rep¡¯s extensive knowledge. Plus she has good judgement too. It¡¯s super helpful.

    ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re free to make that Mud Doll of yours this time¡­ You already have, <i>that</i> ingredients right?¡±

    It¡¯s sorta cute how ss Rep is having a hard time asking. Honestly thought she¡¯d gotten used to this business with Tendou-kun¡­ is she perhaps, inexperienced? My condolences, ss Rep.[1]

    ¡°I just need to chant it out and that¡¯s it¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh, alright then¡­ As for the next time, let¡¯s think about that at another asion¡±

    ¡°Oi Ryuoko, this guy didn¡¯t get it through his head at all. As I thought, he needs some¡ª¡±

    ¡°Asuna, I know you¡¯re very strict about these things, but you need to rx a bit too. The rules weren¡¯t set, so there won¡¯t be any penalty either¡±

    ¡°If it was our dojo, it wouldn¡¯t have ended with a beating¡±

    ¡°Sakura said it remember. We¡¯ll all be deciding on the rules from now on. And making them too strict would, that in itself create friction¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s just go back to sleep for today. We¡¯re leaving in the morning right?¡±

    Though reluctant, they probably didn¡¯t want any more stress either, so apart from Mei-chan, the youngdies silently headed back to their ce of sleep.

    ¡°Uhm, ss Rep, thanks¡±

    ¡°¡­ If it¡¯s thanks, tell it to Futaba-san¡±

    With a somewhat tired smile, ss Rep withdraws in quick steps.

    ¡°You too Mei-chan, can¡¯t thank you enough. You really saved me¡±

    ¡°Why¡­ did you stop me¡±

    ¡°Of course I would, we can¡¯t start something with those girls over this little thing¡±

    ¡°But Kotarou-kun you¡­ it was, so awful, you, you even had to dogeza and¡­¡±

    Why¡¯s Mei-chan making a face like she¡¯ll cry? I¡¯m the one who lowered his head in shame, right?

    ¡°No problem, since they calmed down after I lowered my head, it¡¯s great result-wise¡±

    ¡°But, but then¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really no problem. You believed in me Mei-chan, so I¡¯m fine¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, Kotarou-kun¡±

    Ultimately, full drops of tears indeed fell from both her eyes.

    I¡¯m stumped. How does one go about consoling a girl in these cases, I really have no clue¡­<hr>

    [1] Yup this sentence has a lot of nuance and innuendo lol. You probably get it, but I¡¯ll selfishly exin anyway. He thought she had sex with Tendou Ryuichi already. inexperienced = virgin. condolences becase Ryouko clearly likes him but he won¡¯t notice, much less do the deed with her.

 Chapter 51: Cave of Insects

    Chapter 51: Cave of Insects

    ¡°<i>Kyaaa!?</i> Wh-why? Howe there¡¯s a monster in heeere!?¡±

    Morning. I wake up to the piercing shrill sound of Natsukawa-san¡¯s scream.

    ¡°WHAT!? Where is it!¡±

    ¡°Eh, what in the, just, what is this spiky ck Skeleton?¡±

    ¡°It looks terribly ominous¡­ there¡¯s no doubt it¡¯s a fearsome monster. Get back everyone. I¡¯ll use my light magic to¡ª¡±

    ¡°UAah! H-hold your horses Souma-san!¡±

    And so I prevented the newly reborn Rem from being destroyed by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    ¡°¡ªI see, so this is the golem you made, Momokawa-kun¡±

    I introduced Rem to everyone.

    Appearance-wise, she¡¯s a jet ck Skeleton. And likely because I used Armor Bear parts, a part of her body had took form of an armor-like shell. There was a single horn like an oni¡¯s on top of her head. Her shoulders and limbs had spikes simr to the Armor Bear, and the ck shell looked like it was fused with her bones. She was a size bigger than before, getting up to my chest height-wise.

    ¡°Rem-chan, you got bigger. congrats!¡±

    ¡°G A G A!¡±

    Mei-chan sent over some warm words, and Rem seemed to happily nod. Last night when I cast Vile Mud Doll, I sort of understood something. Apparently Rem¡¯s memories, experience and what not are all passed down through the generations. When I make a new Rem, the thing that allows Rem to have independent movement, let¡¯s refer to it as her soul, gets transferred over to the new one as if she got reincarnated. This soul itself stays inside the chaos that manifests when I start making Rem, and the ck Skeleton body only acts as a vessel from what I understood.

    We weren¡¯t with thest Rem for long, but she had fought a ton of Zombies in that short span of time. Her movements had clearly be more adept. If all the growth gets passed down like this, there¡¯s nothing better to ask for. Finally, even my curses are getting some convenient cheat-tier functionality.

    ¡°Hey hey Momokawa-kun, this thing is really safe right? It won¡¯t start suddenly attacking us, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, she mostly doesn¡¯t have any ego. She¡¯s more like a robot that moves only by order¡±

    <i>Uhee</i>, stares Natsukawa-san with a suspicious expression towards Rem. I exined it already, but it didn¡¯t seem to work. Well, Rem¡¯s a full-on monster on the outside, so this sort of reaction is expected.

    ¡°It¡¯s called a curse, so you never know when it¡¯ll feel like attacking humans¡±

    ¡°When that timees, my Lux Sagitta will take care of it¡±

    ¡°Now now you two, there hasn¡¯t been a single incident where our vocations worked against us so, this should be fine too. I could say my Summon Ice Elemental works simrly to this¡±

    Souma-san and Kenzaki-san on the other hand, are openly wary towards Rem. But rather than the golem, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s their distrust towards me. For these two,st night¡¯s wanking incident must have solidified their impression of me as a filthy perverted bastard.

    ss Rep, please try and hold them back. I wish you the greatest luck.

    ¡°Anyway, we should really get going. Asuna, can I get you to wake up Kotori?¡±

    But still, whetherst night or now, Takanashi-san isn¡¯t waking up at all while everyone¡¯s keeps making all this noise¡­ I¡¯m somewhat worried someone might pull a prank on her one of these days.

    With the Thief being specialized in using their eyes and ears, we had Natsukawa-san lead while heading back into the depths of the dungeon. Behind our recon, Natsukawa-san, followed Mei-chan and Kenzaki-san, our vanguard warriors. After them are ss Rep, and with Takanashi-san between them, Souma-san. I was at the very rear. Of course, I had Rem protecting my back after equipping her with proper weaponry like the Iron Spear and Iron Short-sword.

    This vanguard-rearguard formation is constructed such than Takanashi-san is in the safest ce. Myself being in the very back, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m safe in the least. If we¡¯re ambushed from behind, I¡¯d be suddenly on the frontlines after all. If Rem wasn¡¯t there, I¡¯d probably be insta-killed like in those jump-scare monster movies. And obviously, when we¡¯re moving in a row like this, the person at the center would be safest. Even if there¡¯s nobat, the guy at the rear could be left behind without anyone noticing, so there¡¯s that danger too. I kinda feel like it wouldn¡¯t be strange if Souma-san intentionally left me behind after what happenedst night. I¡¯ll be careful.

    ¡°<i>Wuwuh</i>, heyy, are you <i>absolutely sure</i> we¡¯re going the right way!? No like, do we seriously have to go in there!?¡±

    Natsukawa-san at the head stops. Naturally, the rest of us follow suit.

    ¡°No mistaking it¡­ the magic circle is pointing straight in there¡±

    ss Rep reconfirms. I¡¯m not doubting her, but I quickly check my circle too and, yup, no mistake there.

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this¡±

    ¡°Same here¡­ but we have to pass this, this cave¡±

    That¡¯s right, we are currently in front of not the familiar stone passages, but arge cave that looked as if it was forcefully dug through the wall. It¡¯s size is simr to therge tunnel-type passages. Being as wide as a highway, it had a ceiling tall enough to pass arge truck through.

    Of course, unlike the dungeon ruins, the ground inside was earthen. The ce looked tough to walk on. Most striking of all was the absence of light panels.

    ¡°<i>Hiee</i>¡­ It¡¯s pitch dark in here¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be needing a light then¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll do my¡ª Summon Lux Elemental¡±

    As Souma-san chants, a white, fairy-like little ball of light, one more, a total of 4 gently fly out.

    ¡°Sakura, are you alright using this many?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t need to fight, so the mana expenditure is fairly low. And I¡¯m just letting them drift around us, so I don¡¯t need to concentrate on moving them either¡±

    Those sure are convenientmps. The light elemental things were going here and there, getting closer and farther, all by themselves. Plus, it¡¯s all hands free. I hope my curses can achieve this sort of convenience someday.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s keep going¡±

    With spirited words from Souma-san, we step foot into the eerie cave.

    ¡°Heyy, emm, anyone know where this cave ends¡­¡±

    ¡°Since the circle is showing us, I believe it should connect to somewhere inside the dungeon¡±

    ¡°This cave is clearly different from the architecture inside the dungeon. I don¡¯t think we will get to a fairy square before it ends¡±

    ¡°<i>EEeeeh~</i>, this suucks!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just pray that we get out quickly¡±

    We¡¯ve been 10 minutes inside this suspicious cave. I¡¯m walking quietly, listening to the radio that is the girls in the rearguard. Luckily, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯ll leave me behind anytime soon. There¡¯s Takanashi-san among them, so our durable vanguard has to be considerate and trek at a slow pace. If it¡¯d been just been me, I bet they¡¯d be aiming to get out of here as fast as possible. It¡¯s in ces like this that a person¡¯s appeal and standing are tested.

    As I kept pondering about the interactions between us cast members, something happened, and Natsukawa-san called out.

    ¡°Careful, everyone! There¡¯s something there!¡±

    ¡°Sakura, I need more light. Looks like there¡¯s monsters moving in those side paths!¡±

    With this cave as the root, there were quite a number of small holes branching out like alleyways. We¡¯ve been well aware of them since we came in. Looking at the construction, I thought just maybe¡­ But it looks like monsters really doe out from there. I¡¯m willing to bet they¡¯re the ones who dug out this cave.

    ¡°Here theye!¡±

    What came were reallyrge ants. Their height being around that of Rem, a meter and a bit. Alit by the white luminescence of the light elementals, their carapaces shone in ominous ck glimmer. As their bodies became more visible, I could clearly discern that they were indeed, insects.

    Like insects, they had 6 feet. But only 4 of them stood it on the ground, the 2 in front were raised up, acting like arms. Its posture looked simr to that of a praying mantis. But that loud droning and horizontal mandibles on their heads were uncanny to ants. So, I¡¯m calling them ants.

    And much like ants do, these Big Ants also appeared in a swarm. There wereing out one after another in lines from the holes around us.

    In no time, there was a forest of ants facing us, making that annoying shrill buzzing as if they were excited to find some appetizing prey. It doesn¡¯t look like we can avoid this fight.

    ¡°Watch out, these ants might spit acid!¡±

    I shout out a warning to our frontliners, and simultaneously, the battle begins.

 Chapter 52: Ant and Mantis

    Chapter 52: Ant and Mantis

    And lucky for us, the Big Ants weren¡¯t that strong after all. We had 0 injuries, and they had 20 deaths, making it a perfect victory.

    Their ck shells weren¡¯t as tough as an Armor Bear¡¯s and ded weapons worked well enough. It <i>was</i> harder than a Goma or Red Dog, so Natsukawa-san had to aim for the joints most of the time. The fire from the Red Saber and Red Knife was super effective as well. They were a big factor to our win. We just happened to be equipped with weapons that those monsters were weak to, talk about a lucky break.

    Plus, I didn¡¯t see any of that acid spit I was worried about either. Our fighter team¡¯s weapons had gotten well doused in the Ants¡¯ emerald green blood, but didn¡¯t look like they were melting or rusting away at all. So I guess these Big Ants don¡¯t have any poison? What they also didn¡¯t have were any cores, unfortunately.

    ¡°Eww¡­ it¡¯s soo gross¡­¡±

    But though we¡¯d won by miles against these Big Ants that were in fact smallfry, I guess girls and the creepy crawlies don¡¯t mix in any world.

    ¡°Bear it for now, Minami¡±

    ¡°Uuuu, no way¡­ Asuna-chan, you can handle this?¡±

    ¡°Just barely¡±

    ¡°And Futaba-chan, you¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Eh, me? I¡¯mpletely fine¡±

    <i>Wow, Mei-chan, you¡¯re making me moist.</i> I imagine I¡¯m pretty used to corpses by now, but these gross insect cadavers makes your skin crawl at a whole new level. Even as a guy, I¡¯d rather look away. Souma-san and ss Rep have been doing exactly that as much as possible, and Takanashi-san is in tears already.

    Anyway, we made sure to be wary of more Big Ant attacks, and progressed further along the cave¡ª no, I could call it, the Ant¡¯s Nest.

    But as we go along, I am made to realize my mistake. This isn¡¯t an ant¡¯s nest, but a Cave of Insects. Theye, thee, many other big insects, creeping, crawling, theye.

    But well, a majority of those were simple bugs. They didn¡¯t have any particr hostility towards us, so were different from actual monsters. Grasshoppers, caterpirs, wood lice, even ones I¡¯ve never heard of¡­ Swarms of these pests were crawling on the ground around us. Their size would be considered big by normal standards, but they only went upto fist size.

    So even if it made you a bit sick, the relief of safety was the more prioritized emotion.

    I¡¯m not especially good with insects or anything. But strangely, I¡¯m pretty alright with this. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been going through this fierce life-or-death dungeon survival that I can stay rtively calm amongst theserge bugs that many people would instantly faint upon sight.

    Though yeah, if I happened to see any suspicious ones, my Intuition Pharmacy can tell if it has poison or how dangerous it is. So I can have some peace of mind that way too.

    ¡°KyaAAAAAA!!¡±

    Aaand, there goes off another piercing scream provided by Takanashi-san. The reason being: our torches-cum-light fairies were being crowded around by some big moths.

    ¡°Not again¡­ I will burn them with my intense light, so everyone get back¡±

    Seriously, why do you gotta do this every time? Wastes time, and mana too. Look there, Mei-chan has moths sitting on her shoulders and isn¡¯t even batting an eye. She keeps walking all the same. Yeah I know. It¡¯d be unfair to want that level of iron-heartedness from those girls.

    Also, Intuition Pharmacy already told me how these don¡¯t have any poison. So they¡¯re not something to be afraid of.

    After that, we took care of a few more Big Ant swarms, and were progressing steadily. Then,

    An ominous hum of wings echoed inside the cave.

    ¡°Careful guys, we¡¯ve got a big one¡­ it¡¯s here¡±

    From beyond the loose curve of the cave appeared a mantis. Donned in dark emerald carapace, it had the characteristic long and thin mantis-like shape. But the main point of interest would be its long and sharp scythes. An actual mantis would use those forelimbs to only grasp onto its prey, but this one looks like it would use them to actually slice them apart. Its two scythes we¡¯re shiny, metallic, and looked extremely sharp.

    At around 2 meters in height, it was quite bigpared to the Ants. If you count its long and slender abdomen, it would easily cross 3 meters length-wise. With that massive frame, it was buzzing away with its fanned wings, and flew in really fast as if sliding over the ground.

    Armed withrge des, plus the high agility of its wings, the Mantis disys more than enough danger to be a threat to our safety.

    ¡°Let¡¯s use magic first. Don¡¯t close in carelessly¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d be great if we could finish it with ranged attacks but¡­ If it does end up close, be careful¡±

    Souma-san nocks an arrow of light on her bow, and ss Rep holds aloft her ice wand. The frontliners also draw their respective weapons.

    In response, the Mantis raises the both scythes, spreading them in a show of intimidation. Both sides geared forbat. Any moment now, arrows of light and ice will fly, and the fierce battle will¡ª inside all that tension, the hem of my uniform gets a light tug.

    ¡°Rem?¡±

    <i>We¡¯re kinda busy here</i>, I think while turning around, whereupon Rem faces behind us, and readies her spear. <i>You idiot, the enemy¡¯s in front of us see? Must be a bug in her programming</i>, is not something I¡¯m so dumb as to presume.

    ¡°There¡¯s Ants behind us!!¡±

    Soon enough, we heard that loud droning againing from the path we¡¯d left behind.

    ¡°Eh?! this is craz¡ª¡±

    ¡°Watch out!¡±

    The Mantis elerated with shrill noiseing from it¡¯s wings,mencing its assault. Souma-san and ss Rep¡¯s magic arrows were supposed tounch at this timing, but because I called out to them about the attack from the rear, they lost focus.

    Both Souma-san and ss Rep had, for a moment, diverted their attention behind them. But the Mantis had begun moving so they had to shoot anyway. In a hurry, they shot their magics with terribly weak aim. As a result, the light and ice arrows flew in a straight line and made impact only around the Mantis¡¯ feet, as if trying to avoid the creature. They didn¡¯t serve to stop it, or even slow it down.

    But though the Mantis used its new momentum to start its onught on our vanguard, I could no longer afford to keep watching the action. The Ants closing in from behind had atste into visible range.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do something back here, you handle the Mantis!¡±

    I¡¯m reminded of that recent trouble with the Zombies. It¡¯s the same thing again. If I can hold them off until Mei-chan gets rid of the Mantis, it¡¯ll be our win.

    Big Ants are kinda strongpared to Zombies though.

    ¡°Putrefy, in the depths of vile red¡ª Rotten Bog¡±

    What I <i>can</i> do is also the same as before. I can only use Rotten Bog to hold off the invasion. Will this bog really work on these tough-shelled insect monsters? I can only hope. If it doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to make do with ckhair Bind.

    ¡°Souma-san, support the vanguard, ss Rep, help us here!¡±

    ¡°Eh, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°What the, Momokawa-kun, you can¡¯t just give us orders!¡±

    Crap, I forgot. I didn¡¯t have even a speck if leadership ability. There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll simply listen if I ask like Mei-chan would. Souma-san and ss Rep are fully aware of the Mantis in front of them and the Ant swarm behind getting closer by the second. But they¡¯re divided between the two and can¡¯t make a decision. Or more like, they¡¯re almost panicking already.

    Goddamn, I don¡¯t have the any time to slowly convince them.

    ¡°ss Rep, I¡¯m begging you here! Rotten Bog!!¡±

    The first bog I made was on the ground. This one, on the walls. The Big Ants are insects and as such, they cane crawling along the walls just fine. Whether it¡¯s 90 degree walls, or the ceiling even, they walk along the surface as if ignoring gravity.

    Implying, even with the ground and walls on both sides bog-ified, it won¡¯t be enough.

    Shit, this is a problem. I need to have my blood stick to manifest the bog. The curse seal on my palms can spray out, but not far enough to reach the ceiling.

    Gotta do something, gotta block them somehow, or those Ants will get too close¡ª

    ¡°We can stop the ants with ss Rep¡¯s wall! Fuck, here goes nothing!!¡±

    Along with some words of persuasion, I shove a hand into my bag of stones that I¡¯ve yet to use. I take out a small pebble.

    As I¡¯m grasping it, I release blood from the curse seal. I would¡¯ve thought getting a bit of blood on it would be alright, but that¡¯s not what happened. Maybe this is an effect of ck Bloodline, but the spat out blood crawled bubbling all over the pebble, fully engulfing it.

    I feel like, this is gonna work. With that conviction, I throw the bloodied pebble up towards the ceiling.

    ¡°Spread out, Rotten Bog¡±

    Awesome, it worked. As soon as the pebble knocked on the surface, bubbling crimson bog expelled from that center-point and shrouded over the ceiling.

    With that, all 360 degrees were wallpapered in poison. And if ss Rep could raise her Ice Shield on our shore, the defense would be perfect.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Rem! Cover me!¡±

    ¡°Ga Ga Ga!¡±

    Man, Rem¡¯s so cute how she listens so well. Now, let¡¯s show ¡¯em your new powers appropriated straight from the Armor Bear!

    I grip my spear and stand together with Rem. Atst, the Big Ants have started stepping into my Rotten Bog.

    <i>GIIIIII!</i> One cries out shrilly.

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s melting!¡±

    My utmost thanks, Ruinhilde-sama. Your esteemed curses have worked swimmingly against these insect curs.

    With hard sizzles, the tips of their pointy legs are were melting away. Their posture was slowly crumbling. They kepting nheless, but at the point where they were melted up to the middle of their legs, their bodies finally sshed in. Like those Zombies, the Big Ants also tasted the acid defeat of my poison bog.

    ¡°ckhair Bind!!¡±

    However, the time that Ants needed to melt intoplete incapacity was clearly longer that Zombies. Must be their shells. The first one that entered the bog died pretty easily, but from the 2nd after, they were running fast enough to just barely cross it.

    Of course, we can¡¯t let them pass or we¡¯re screwed. I¡¯ve been using my ckhair Bind and Rotten Bogbo to sink the Ants one after another.

    But my Rotten Bog can get fully covered with a mere 10 or so Zombies. Compared to human-size Zombies, these Ants with their big frames will fill it up in not time.

    ¡°Uaah!? What fell just now!?¡±

    With a huge ssh, something ck-ishnds in the middle of the Bog. Arge volume of acid rose, and almost reached all the way to us. That was close.

    Looks like what fell was an Ant with its legs melted. It must have been caught in the ceiling bog. With the legs melted first, its body had only to be released down.

    It¡¯s great that I could seal off the ceiling route that¡¯s hard to defend at, but with Ants falling from above too, the ground bog was being buried in them even faster.

    This is bad. At this rate they¡¯ll make their bridge of corpses too fast.

    ¡°AAah, go to hell!¡±

    ¡°GAGAA!!¡±

    I keep manipting my ckhair Binds and also attack the Big Ant that¡¯s alreadye to the edge of the pool. We strike our spears into it in full force, pushing it back into the poison. Rem and I both don¡¯t have much muscle to speak of, but we weren¡¯t weak enough to fail in taking down something already half melted.

    That being said, that right now was too close forfort. I honestly don¡¯t know if we canst another 30 seconds.

    ¡°C¡¯mon ss Rep! We¡¯re dying heree!!¡±

    ¡°<i>Kuh</i> Pierce, Ice Sagitta!!¡±

    Finally, we got our magic support, now we can win this!

    ¡°Ryouko!!¡±

    ¡°You concentrate on supporting our fighters Sakura, I¡¯ll help back here¡ª Ice Shield¡±

    In a moment¡¯s time, thick walls of ice rose powerfully in front of me. Those Ants overflowing the bog were steps away from the wall. Now stuck behind the shield of frost, they could only uselessly pick at it with their melted legs.

    They looked like suffering denizens of hell being punished in theke of fire. <i>Hahaha</i>, melt away you mongrels.

    ¡°Yes, we can do this, we¡¯re doing this¡­ now sink! ckhair Bind!!¡±

    With support fire, plus a reliable barrier of ice holding off the enemy, our fight suddenly had the tablespletely turn to our side. I got excited as hell, and went wild with my ckhair tentacles, while also making good use of my spear.

    There were two, three walls of ice raised with gaps between them enough so that the Ants couldn¡¯t pass through. Using those gaps, me and Rem dealt the Ants already suffering in acid, a nice helping of spear.

    ¡°¡ªIce Sagitta¡±

    ¡°UOOOOOOH!!¡±

    ¡°GAAaa!!¡±

    And somehow or other, we fought off around 20 or so Ants.

    ¡°<i>Haah¡­ haah</i>¡­ I-is it over¡­¡±

    Yeah, shouldn¡¯t have jinxed it.

    ¡°GIKIii!!¡±

    A single Ant was attempting to jump over the Ice Shield.

    Crap, it¡¯s thest survivor. And to make things worse, we killed a lot of them at the pool¡¯s edge so their bodies had piled up enough for it to climb and make the jump.

    As I¡¯m thinking, it became toote. The Ant was already in front of me.

    ¡°GAGAAA!!¡±

    The first one to react was Rem. She went to intercept without so much as a word from me. Really, how upstanding.

    ¡°GAH!!¡±

    But Rem doesn¡¯t have that much power still. Even if it¡¯s only one Big Ant, she isn¡¯t strong enough to win in a head-to-head match. No, she¡¯d lose in fact. Rem has her trusty spear on her, but she¡¯d be outnumbered by the Ant¡¯s powerful mandibles and two arms 3 to 1.

    But as long as I¡¯m here, Rem won¡¯t be doing this alone. If it¡¯s just one Ant, I can easily bind it up. As long as it¡¯s not moving, we don¡¯t have to bother anyone else about it. Rem and I can skewer it with our spears.

    Souma-san or ss Rep could use their magic¡­ but the Ant is in a really bad position. It practically pounced into the middle of the rearguard, so any close range magic attacks might hit someone. Looks like ss Rep is also troubled whether to shoot or not.

    Well then, the best choice in this situation would be to capture it using ckhair Bind so she can fire at ease. So I didn¡¯t panic and calmly invoked the curse.

    ¡°ckhair Bi¡ªind!?¡±

    ¡°KyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    With that piercing shriek, my curse was disrupted. She ms into me, almost making me fall.

    ¡°Kyaaa! Noooo!¡±

    ¡°Uaah, wait, hey, Takanashi-san!?¡±

    The onemitting such an act was of course, Takanashi-san. As if she was using me as a shield, I was tightly grabbed from the back and couldn¡¯t move as I wanted. And She was shaking me so roughly, neither do I have the calm to cast my curses, nor can I get into position to use my spear. There¡¯s a life-threatening monster right there, and we¡¯re messing around like idiots.

    But as for why this girl, the only person in the party who doesn¡¯t y any role in fighting, suddenly panicked so hard after the monster got this close¡ª I really don¡¯t have the time for any psychological analyzing right now.

    ¡°Let go! Let go hey!! I can¡¯t fight like th¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nooo!! Save me! Souma-kuun!¡±

    There¡¯s no awesome Hero here dumbass! We can handle a damn Ant without Souma-kun so stop being a pain.

    Like, you can just use your Word of Rejection and protect yourself dammit! Why aren¡¯t you doing that, stupid idiot!

    ¡°L-Let me go dammit!!¡±

    ¡°Kyaa!! Ouch!?¡±

    I forcefully shook her off of me. I may be weak, but I can sure as hell manage something with my strength if it¡¯s against the petite and slender Takanashi-san. But in contrast, I can¡¯t hold back.

    In other words, she bashes hard on the ground. Takanashi-san isn¡¯t a sporty girl to begin with, and splendidly failing to break her fall, she fully allowed gravity to do its work. Ouch indeed.

    But before I can pity, I gotta do something about this An¡ª

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±

    The Big Ant¡¯s sharp forelegs wereing at me full swing. Rem¡ª has her spear stabbed into the Ant¡¯s abdomen and giving it her all to stop it from moving. But the Ant¡¯s life force isn¡¯t weak enough to be deterred by a mere spear.

    It¡¯s over, I can¡¯t stop it anymore.

    ¡°GUAah¡ª!¡±

    It was a miracle I didn¡¯t die then and there. The two scythes only cut lightly at my left shoulder and below the arm on my right. They¡¯re only flesh wounds, but it hurts so bad I want to start rolling on the floor and cry.

    No well, try as I might to endure it, I can¡¯t fight back at all, so it¡¯d be no use. In its next attack, I won¡¯t be so lucky¡ª

    ¡°Pile Bunker¡±

    The Ant¡¯s body exploded like a water balloon. Pieces of it¡¯s thick, ck, and metallic carapace flew off like it was made of the thin rubber.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, are you hurt?¡±

    Ah, that¡¯s right, in the end, Mei-chan¡¯s the only one always looking out for me.

    ¡°Thanks, you saved me¡­ and the Mantis?¡±

    ¡°It was close, but we beat it¡±

    As I follow the gently smiling Mei-chan¡¯s gaze, I see its head removed, both scythes torn off, wings made into shreds. It was the Mantis¡¯ gruesomely massacred corpse. From the results, it would seem like it was a one sided ughter, but Mei-chan said it was ¡°close¡±, and both Natsukawa-san and Kenzaki-san look tired too. It must¡¯ve been a tough opponent.

    ¡°No wait, Kotarou-kun, you <i>are</i> hurt!¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s ok¡­ stings like hell though¡±

    Yes I¡¯m weak so I can¡¯t act tough forever. Like, it hurts you know? I said it was a flesh wound, but those <i>do</i> hurt. It would¡¯ve gotten into my meat in just a bit more. And Mei-chan who can go, ¡°Kuh!!¡± and endure stuff like this, is simply too handsome for words.

    ¡°Souma-san, can youe heal Kotarou-kun?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m good, my meds can handle stuff like this¡­¡±

    ¡°No can do, there¡¯s a limited supply of those right? And with magic you can heal up right now. So Souma-san, can you please hurry up?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I will start with Kotori¡±

    Souma-san made a stern face and said. She made a quick nce at me, and quickly started going over to Takanashi-san who was lying sprawled and crying a river.

    ¡°Souma-san, aren¡¯t you getting the picture? I¡¯m doing all this so you can atone to Kotarou-kun you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t see what you mean. Girls should be given priority in treatment, and that is simply what I¡¯m doing¡±

    Awkward silence ensues. Mei-chan¡¯s expression had frozen in that smiling state but¡­ <i>This is dangerous</i>, is what I honestly felt.

    ¡°Sakura! Look at that, Momokawa-kun¡¯s wound looks serious. He¡¯s bleeding too, so you should do him first right?¡±

    The one who repaired the broken air was our ever-reliable ss Rep.

    One momentter, Souma-san nods.

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t see that well¡±

    ¡°Ah, sure¡­ I don¡¯t really, mind¡­¡±

    Then, feeling an infinite level of awkwardness, I received Souma-san¡¯s Healing Light. My first experience of healing magic. It¡¯s efficiency was so stupidly good, my ointments seemed like trash inparison.

 Chapter 53: Leader part.1

    Chapter 53: Leader part.1

    ¡°¡ªSo there was a fairy square, we made it¡±

    In a stroke of good luck, right after oveing the Mantis onught, we passed the cave and safely made it to the following fairy square.

    The strain of battle. Additionally, with the psychological revulsion of being surrounded by insects for so long, everyone looked more exhausted than usual. Forgetting any work or words, we all dropped our equipment, and eased ourselves onto the soft grass.

    ¡°You too Rem, good work¡±

    ¡°G A G A¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t mind if she sat down too. Rem was still holding her spear and standing straight, motionless to my side as Iy on the ground.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, everything alright?¡±

    Mei-chan pops in with a smile. I was lying t on the ground and she was standing real close to my head and, woah, what the, holy-, I can kinda see it, inside¡ª

    ¡°Mei-chan! Yup, none at all, no problem!¡±

    It was a moment¡¯s nce. I sit up in a hurry to chase away the visions of pink cloth tucked in those tender, plump thighs. Good Lord almighty, I was this close to being stuck staring.

    If I end up adding filthy peeper to my known title of wanker scum, I¡¯ll really lose any dignity I have left within this harem party. And if I lose Mei-chan on top of that, I won¡¯t have any allies left. Thinking about how absolutely terrifying that is, I can easily ovee the bliss of looking at panties. Life. Life is damn important.

    ¡°Souma-san¡¯s magic healed me up perfectly¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good. You know, after you get healed by magic, sometimes the injuries open up again. It¡¯s apparently like first aid to only block off the wounds right away¡±

    ¡°Eh? It¡¯s like that?¡±

    ¡°It is. Kenzaki-san and Natsukawa-san said they experienced it¡±

    Looks like the vanguard members have been exchanging useful info. At present, Souma-san has something close to the worst impression of me, so I can¡¯t carelessly start a conversation with her. If Mei-chan¡¯s doing even a little bit of research on their powers, then I¡¯m super grateful.

    Still, I guess healing magic isn¡¯t all-powerful after all. If the injuries are too severe, it won¡¯t work. It may seal them temporarily, but it won¡¯t grant aplete recovery. That could mean that there¡¯s other types of healing magic that are simr to my ointments. That is, they do healing with actual recovery as the final objective.

    That¡¯s good. My meds will still have a purpose now. At least, until Souma-san gets that recovery-type healing magic that is.

    ¡°Hey, how about lunch?¡±

    Looking at Mei-chan now, no one would dare say stuff like, ¡°Of course you¡¯d suggest lunch¡±, and make fun of her.

    ¡°Sure, walnuts as usual?¡±

    ¡°About that, there¡¯s a little something I need you to look at Kotarou-kun¡ª¡±

    She says as she sits down beside me, and starts rummaging through her bag. Wonder what it is?

    ¡°¡ªSo it¡¯s this insect, can you see if we can eat it?¡±

    ¡°UAAH!?¡±

    What she took out towards me was, an insect with many thin legs and a red carapace like crayfish. It looked a lot like a caterpir.

    ¡°Its shell kind of looked like lobster, so I thought maybe it was edible¡­ How about it?¡±

    Mei-chan, you really enjoy these exotic foods, don¡¯t you? I could understand eating snakes and such back on Earth, but do you really have to grasp at these suspicious creatures in another world? She seriously knows no fear man. Someone like her must¡¯ve eaten puffer fish at least once.[1]

    ¡°L-let¡¯s have a look see¡­ Ok, no poison, and looks like, there¡¯s no other problems eating it either¡±

    ¡°Really!? Awesome!¡±

    ¡°But I think you should at least cook it first¡±

    And wasting time no further, Mei-chan and I started gathering firewood, and made a hearth like we did for roasting snakes. Souma-san and the girls came by to ask what we we¡¯re up to, but looking at the Lobster Worm, they turned blue in the face and backed away.[2]

    If Mei-chan can draw out her ideal taste from this, I bet another culinary revolution would transpire among the girls. Speaking of which, even Takanashi-san has been actively pursuing the capture of those snakes. The juicy taste of meat is simply unmatched.

    ¡°¡ªAnd, done!¡±

    ¡°Wow, cool, it¡¯s really like lobster!¡±

    At 30 centimeters length-wise, the creepy worm that looked like an animated lobster tail, was now on a skewer. It let out puffs of steam and shone in an appetizing gloss.

    Peeling away the shell, its tightly packed, previously clear-ish white meat had solidified to a tasty, solid white after baking in heat. There were even semnces of scarlet stripes going across so I couldn¡¯t see it as anything other than a big, roasted lobster tail.

    ¡°Well, here goes nothing, Kotarou-kun¡±

    I swallow back my gathering saliva, and carefully watch Mei-chan bring the roasted skewer to her mouth.

    ¡°¡­.!? This is-!¡±

    ¡°How is it!?¡±

    The moment of truth. Will it taste like lobster, or will it be worm?

    ¡°It¡¯s not that juicy, and the taste is prett-y nd¡­ but it¡¯s lobster alright!¡±

    ¡°All right!¡±

    And thus, we triggered yet another culinary revolution during our time in the dungeon. The Lobster Worm, tasted indeed like lobster. The next time we see these, we¡¯ll be grasping for them like no tomorrow.

    ¡°That was great¡±

    We relished the grilled lobster. Saying stuff like, Man, wish there was some soy sauce and mayo, we sit rxed over the grass, and chat idly. A bit farther away, Souma-san and the girls were gingerly attempting to eat some of the roasted Lobster Worm that we shared.

    Incidentally, the one who drew the short straw turned out to be Natsukawa-san. Grabbed in a Nelson hold by Kenzaki-san, her bitter cries as ss Rep inserted the skewered item made me think, she has great potential as an actress.

    ¡°Tell me Kotarou-kun¡­ Isn¡¯t it frustrating?¡±

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s up all of a sudden?¡±

    Mei-chan asked me with a serious expression, but I replied making a stupid face. If you¡¯re talking about frustration, I¡¯m plenty frustrated being thrown into this harsh, life-and-death scenario, but why ask about that now?

    ¡°Those girls are bad news. When we were fighting the Mantis, you were almost killed by an Ant, right Kotarou-kun? ¡­ Even when Souma-san and ss Rep, even when both of them were right there¡±

    Her words sounded slightlyced with venom.

    ¡°Th-that time¡­ was like a surprise attack, so we just weren¡¯t ready for it¡±

    Since I got to hear that intense dialogue between her and Souma-san, I knew that Mei-chan has quite a bit of dissatisfaction with our clumsiness in that fight. It didn¡¯t turn messy due to ss Rep cutting in, but there¡¯s no way she¡¯s actually fine with it.

    ¡°If they just listened to your orders, there would¡¯ve been no problem at all¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s no way people will move if I suddenly start ordering them around. I¡¯m not their leader and haven¡¯t been approved as one either¡±

    If this was Souma-kun, I bet everyone would very willingly follow his lead even if they were panicking. That¡¯s what it means to be approved of. Literally who in their right mind would listen to some unpopr, short, otaku guy from a corner of the ss? Not me, I wouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Then tell me, who do you think should lead us?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ If you¡¯re asking me, it has to me Souma-san or ss Rep right? There¡¯s also Kenzaki-san, but she¡¯d be too busy fighting up front to hand out orders, so not her I guess¡±

    ¡°You know, I really think we should properly decide on a leader with everyone. To be honest, I was thinking this ever since we made a party with them¡±

    Mei-chan¡¯s concerns are perfectly valid. You can gather up top-ss, powerful individuals all you want, but without any proper teamwork, there will only be disorder. And in fact, with the current ability of our party, we should¡¯ve been easily able to handle something like a Mantis and Ant pincer attack.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, I think you need to be the leader¡±

    ¡°Eh, no way, that¡¯s impossible¡±

    ¡°No really, I know you can do it. That¡¯s right, even in the fight just now, if you weren¡¯t there, someone like Takanashi-san would¡¯ve died¡±

    True, I can bet Souma-san or ss Rep would¡¯ve somehow gotten out of it, but I can¡¯t say the same about Takanashi-san. From what I¡¯ve seen of her, she may have powerful skills, but she certainly doesn¡¯t have the ability to make quick decisions and make actual use of them. She may eventually die because of that w.

    With that powerful Mantis making an appearance, everyone was concentrated towards it up front, andpletely neglected to keep an eye behind. Including me. If Rem hadn¡¯t alerted me, I would¡¯ve lost my chance to manifest Rotten Bog.

    ¡°Souma-san and ss Rep, they aren¡¯t good enough. Those two don¡¯t have the resolve to make a decision that might or might not lead us to death. The only one here who can do that is you, Kotarou-kun¡±

    ¡°No, I mean¡­¡±

    No way, isn¡¯t something I can say. To be perfectly honest, I really want toin about what was up with Souma-san and ss Rep in that fight.

    But, there¡¯s a big but. My orders were only good in retrospect. If that Mantis happened to be so strong that they needed both Souma-san and ss Rep¡¯s help to get rid of it, then my choice would¡¯ve been the wrong one. The frontliners would be defeated, the rear then attacked, and we¡¯d face total annihtion, the end.

    Then again, we couldn¡¯t just ignore the Ants behind us either. With just Rem and me, they would¡¯ve gotten through, no doubt about it. In fact, one still did. If the Mantis was stronger, it could¡¯vee to the point where, I¡¯d have to sacrifice myself to attempt stopping all the Ants alone.

    ¡°No listen, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll always make the best choice and¡­¡±

    ¡°I can dly leave my life in your hands Kotarou-kun. Anything you say, I¡¯ll listen¡±

    Mei-chan stares fixedly at my with a smile so charming I¡¯m sent into shivers. With how she said that right in my face, it¡¯s like she¡¯d even try doing the impossible if I just ask.

    ¡°Yeah. You know Mei-chan, you¡¯ve been following along with what I said all this time. I ended up giving you orders all the time back then but¡­ I think I finally get how lucky I was being in that position. Thanks, Mei-chan¡±

    ¡°I only did what was right you know? Bing a Berserker did make me a bit stronger¡­ But that¡¯s it, only a bit. I¡¯m always being saved by you after all. And Kotarou-kun, even when that 2nd Armor Bear came, you didn¡¯t run, did you? You stayed beside me the whole time right?¡±

    ¡°Well uh, worst case, I¡¯d get eaten and take down the Bear with me¡­ Yeah no, actually, maybe my knees just gave out¡±

    Right. Even after those girls swooped in and saved us, my legs were still gone. I couldn¡¯t even try to stand up.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure about this. That¡¯s why you have to do it, Kotarou-kun¡±

    Man, this is the kind of stuff you say when youpletely trust someone huh. Like, I know we¡¯re having a serious conversation and all, but my cheeks feel a little itchy. My lips might start twitching upwards any second. No, stop that, me. Yeah, I¡¯m super weak to getting praised. An easy catch, if I do say so myself.

    ¡°¡­ But me bing everyone¡¯s leader, that¡¯s still impossible¡±

    ¡°Why¡±

    ¡°You may believe in me, Mei-chan, but the others, all of them don¡¯t. You remember right? What happened when I was going to make Rem? With that one incident, their trust in me hit the dirt¡±

    ¡°But you were just¡ª¡±

    ¡°ss Rep only got them to understand, and that¡¯s still better than nothing. Souma-san and Kenzaki-san were really disgusted you know. The two of them are seriously uptight about that sort of stuff, so they could still be holding in their anger¡±

    On a side note, Takanashi-san seems to be making a shield out of me on a daily basis. I¡¯d be very offended if she had dark intentions like wishing I¡¯d die like that.

    ¡°You can¡¯t make someone leader if everyone can¡¯t trust him. Even I can tell that our party is a mess¡­ But if I start getting cocky now, the party itself could be broken apart¡±

    More like, they could just throw me out.

    ¡°But I agree with you that we need a leader, at least in appearance. Mei-chan, can you talk to Souma-san or ss Rep, see if any of them want to do it?¡±

    We should¡¯ve decided this from the start. For example, if ss Rep had the awareness that she was leading us, she could¡¯ve given out orders even in that sudden pincer attack.

    And even if we didn¡¯t decide, we should¡¯ve at least discussed and simted cases of surprise attacks, pincer attacks, or traps.

    We may have been granted special powers, but ultimately, we¡¯re only students. We aren¡¯t trained soldiers or nothing. And this dungeon isn¡¯t nice enough to let us off with just relying on our skills.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, are you really fine with that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have a choice. It¡¯s fine. If we get better as a team, we¡¯ll have a little less stress and¡­ Maybe they can find it in themselves to forgive me a little too¡±

    I said to Mei-chan with the best smile in my arsenal. Yeah no, it¡¯s not like a smile from me can put someone at ease though. But I¡¯m trying to get the point across that I really am fine with that.

    ¡°Huh¡­ I understand, Kotarou-kun¡±

    Being looked at with a slightly worried face from Mei-chan, I thought of myself, kinda pathetic.

    ________________________

    [1] You gotta eat puffer fish real carefully cause it contains lethal poison. Google-sensei says one puffy has enough poison to kill 30 normies.

    [2] ¥¨¥ÓÓó³æ ¡ª Ebi Imomushi ¡ª Lobster Worm, lit. Lobster Caterpir

 Chapter 54: Leader part.2

    Chapter 54: Leader part.2

    Courtesy to: Lionmask

    ===

    ¡°¡­ Futaba-san is, acting strange¡±

    Upon confirming that Momokawa Kotarou and Futaba Meiko were happily chatting at another corner of the fairy square, Souma Sakura turned to Kisaragi Ryouko and Kenzaki Asuna, breaking the ice with those words.[1]

    ¡°Yeah, I think so too¡±

    ¡°H-hey now, Sakura, and Asuna too¡­ What are you two saying all of a sudden¡±

    Ryouko spoke as if denying their assertions, but truth be told, she was the one most keenly aware of the oddity that was Futaba Meiko. After all, she had seen first hand how the girl was. How she always got flustered, and becamepletely useless baggage duringbat.

    ¡°I know I wasn¡¯t good friends with her or anything back in school, but I¡¯m positive that Futaba-san never had a personality where she could ruthlessly kill monsters like that¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like she¡¯s a different person. And the way she fights¡­ She¡¯s practically going mad¡±

    She would know well. Asuna has been seeing her fight up close in the vanguard. Sakura and Ryouko have also been seeing how Meiko fights from behind in their rearguard position. Using her oversized halberd, she would be a storm of raw power, doing away with Ants one after the next. It was vastly different from the more elegant methods employed by Asuna or Minami. Savage even.

    ¡°No well, she is a Berserker after all¡±

    In reality, Futaba Meiko¡¯s true vocation hade to light since the beginning.

    That reveal was without a doubt, achieved through the powers of the Sage, Takanashi Kotori.

    Eye of Veracity For a true Sage, man or matter, all is subject to no falsehoods at but a nce[2]

    It was a power Kotori attained quite recently, and it served to let her know the vocation and skills belonging to others. Like peeking at their Status screens, Minami had described, but her colleagues, being strangers to the world of gaming, wouldn¡¯t have much appreciation for such a statement.

    At present, Kotori could only see the vocation, and only part of the whole array of skills inside someone. But it is hypothesized that these holes in the information would be filled as Kotori grows as a Sage.

    At any rate, the moment Futaba Meiko was seen by her Eye of Veracity, her lie had beenpletely exposed. Of course, their side had also kept this truth-seeing power hidden, so since both sides were equally exchanging untruths, they didn¡¯t press the subject.

    ¡°But let¡¯s consider the circumstances a bit. She must have changed for the need to adapt¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean, she was changed, by Momokawa-kun?¡±

    ¡°What are you¡­¡±

    Ryouko¡¯s breath catches. Though she attempts to ask, the intelligent Ryouko couldn¡¯t possibly not understand the insinuation. That is how terrifying the prediction Souma Sakura had just put to mouth.

    ¡°We already know his vocation is Shaman. Like we¡¯ve seen with his Pain Return, his magic is different from the normal ones like Ryouko¡¯s or mine. It¡¯s very peculiar to say the least¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯ve got no clue what other nasty curses he¡¯s got hidden away¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. For instance¡­ Couldn¡¯t one be, for mind control?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡­¡±

    ¡°Is possible. You can¡¯t deny that¡±

    A moment of silence governs the scene.

    Mind control. For him to have such a bone-chilling magic is¡­ imusible, difficult to believe, but yet, as Asuna said, not impossible. They were in a world ruled by the supernatural existence known as magic. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for any form of magic to exist.

    ¡°That may be so¡­ But none of us here, as far as I know, look brainwashed¡±

    ¡°He likely needs to meet specific conditions. Unlike you or Minami, Futaba-san has been alone with him for much longer. He could¡¯ve done anything to her during all that time.¡±

    ¡°We girls can¡¯t let our guard down either, or else he might just go for it¡±

    Momokawa Kotarou was in possession of a mind control curse, and he was silently preparing to bring them all under his domination¡­ Calling this out as idiotic delusion, just wasn¡¯t possible for Ryouko.

    And that is no doubt because, she too was extremely fearful of that very same possibility.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just her mad fighting that made me think Futaba-san was strange. The most curious thing about her, it¡¯s that crazed obedience towards Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°You remember what happened at the fairy square right? Futaba not only didn¡¯t me him, she even covered for the bastard. I felt it from her, she wouldn¡¯t bat at eye making every one of us her enemy¡±

    ¡°Yes, I really had to hold my breath there¡±

    Haah, exits a pained sigh from Ryouko. As someone who had cut in to mediate, it would be great if she could share her building stress with her two friends even if a little.

    ¡°But look, isn¡¯t Futaba-san favoring him over us,pletely natural? We know for a fact that Momokawa-kun is her life-savior¡±

    ¡°But, you can¡¯t just¡ª¡±

    ¡°Sakura, Asuna, you haven¡¯t had to abandon anyone yet, so I don¡¯t think you understand. This sense of crushing guilt¡±

    ¡°Ryouko¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, I made you remember something painful¡±

    No, the one who suffered true pain, that is, the pain of being infinitely close to death, was not her, but Futaba Meiko. Ryouko still remembers it hauntingly. That excruciated, sobbing voice echoing from behind as she walked away.

    Perhaps Futaba Meiko had indeed died there, alone and helpless. Perhaps the girl they were seeing now, was someone else putting on her name. Perhaps she too was just another golem, the moving doll Kotarou had ssified his Rem as, and is able to create using his curses.

    However, Ryouko would not let herself descend into the spiral of suspicion like her two friends facing her.

    ¡°I personally don¡¯t think we should act so paranoid of them. If these suspicions are wrong¡­ We¡¯d be making a practically irreparable mistake. It¡¯s not something you can wave off with a simple apology¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re, not wrong¡­ I understand. But I do believe we should stay cautious. If Momokawa-kun does turn out to be the type cunning and vicious Shaman we¡¯re imagining, the first one he¡¯d target is the one mentally weak from guilt towards Futaba-san. That is, you¡±

    ¡°Yes, it might turn out just like you described¡­ But, I¡¯m trying my best to believe otherwise¡±

    ¡°Me, I can¡¯t trust one inch of that Momokawa. He¡¯s a bastard that had no problem throwing down Kotori remember?¡±

    She was likely talking about the event where they were ambushed by Ants from behind. Ryouko too had seen Kotori crying, clinging desperately to Kotarou and him unremorsefully shaking her away.

    And it is because Kotori was injured by that action, that Sakura had tried applying healing magic on her first. Like Asuna, seeing Kotarou apparently not concerning himself with the safeguard of a frail girl must have been absolutely loathesome for Sakura as well. Or rather, having beheld her always strong, always kind older brother from a young age, Sakura may have felt the action many degrees harder to forgive.

    ¡°About that time, we have our share of responsibility for that too. I don¡¯t recall me or Sakura being able toe to their rescue¡±

    ¡°True. I admit that was ourplete blunder. But If we simply listened to Momokawa-kun¡¯s orders back there I, I just can¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°We do it once, and he¡¯d start thinking we¡¯ll listen to his every little whim. Next time, we¡¯re gonna have to avoid that sort of stupidity so, Sakura, Ryouko, one of you should takemand.¡±

    Asuna¡¯s way of putting things was overflowing with distrust towards Kotarou from all possible directions. But her mention of them deciding on proper leadership was an opinion needing more attention.

    ¡°That¡¯s fair. Yuuto-kun is gone and we¡¯ve been leaving that subject a bit vague. We should work on fixing that¡±

    ¡°Em, so, who are we picking? I¡¯m sure Ryouko being the ss Rep will be perfect for the job¡±

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not¡­ If it¡¯s about fighting, isn¡¯t Sakura the better choice?¡±

    ¡°All the same to me. But have a good talk about it you two¡±

    And just as Asuna was about to leave Sakura and Ryouko to decide on the subject amongst the two of them like it was none of her business,

    ¡°¡ª Hey there, mind if I join in on that?¡±

    ¡°Futaba!?¡±

    Futaba Meiko had arrived with what seemed to be an eerie grin on her face. The air around her was strange enough that Asuna instinctively brought up her guard.

    With a slight nce, she confirmed that Kotarou was lying down on the grass, perhaps taking a nap. Minami and Kotori had been asleep since their meal, and so weren¡¯t participating in their talks.

    Recalling their rough battlesing here, their bodies seeking rest upon nightfall simply couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°So you were listening to us, Futaba-san¡±

    ¡°Something about how it¡¯s good if we decide on a leader? I heard a bit of that¡±

    It was lucky she hadn¡¯t listened in on the subject matter they were on right before. As naturally it would be troublesome if the individuals concerned heard them, Sakura had chosen a distanced spot from Meiko and Kotarou before starting the discussion.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about that. We also did a bit of reflecting on thest fight¡±

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s great, we¡¯re all on the same page then¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s hear what you got to say Futaba. Thinking to apply yourself as a candidate?¡°

    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m always fighting up front, and that¡¯s not a good position to give orders from, no. It¡¯s like that for you too, right Kenzaki-san?¡±

    It seemed like Futaba Meiko had the capacity to judge what consists of leading a team.

    ¡°So you do understand. That makes things much faster. I will bepletely frank on this then. Futaba-san, between me and Ryouko, who do you think should be the leader?¡±

    Sakura, not too eager to converse, makes a weighted reply. From her tone, it is implied that she shall not allow Momokawa Kotarou to take the position. Now the question is, how will Meiko respond to that iron will?

    Sakura and Asuna had an air that they could enter battle any moment. As for Ryouko, the whole affair was causing her great stomach pain.

    ¡°Just making sure, but why not Takanashi-san?¡±

    ¡°Sadly, Kotori isn¡¯t up to par for this¡±

    An instant answer from Asuna. It is perhaps their close friendship that allows her such an unreserved opinion.

    ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s one way to put it. She¡¯s the type that just isn¡¯t suited for battle¡­ Yep, totally get it, I was told that too, being sub-par and all¡±

    Kisaragi Ryouko, as cool and collected as she were, had her face dyed in shock at the smallment Meiko added.

    ¡°Ah, sorry, I¡¯m not mad about that or anything. It was true after all. It¡¯s all in the past¡±

    Having it told as such with casual movements of the hand and an impish smile that would easily string along men, Ryouko had no words.

    ¡°So, do you have your pick, Futaba-san?¡±

    On Sakura pressing her to answer the original question, Meiko looks her in the face and answers as such,

    ¡°Ufufu, I¡¯m sad to say, but I¡¯m thinking both you and ss Rep aren¡¯t up to par either¡±

    ¡°¡­ Mind, borating?¡°

    ¡°In my mind, both of you aren¡¯t too different from Takanashi-san in that respect. I can¡¯t imagine leaving my life to you¡±

    Meiko made light chuckles, while Sakura sternly lowered her eye-brows. The expression, sparks flying between them, would be a perfect fit to describe the scene.

    ¡°Then, if I¡¯m guessing right¡­ You¡¯re thinking Momokawa-kun is the best person to be the leader¡±

    With much reluctance, Ryouko entered the fray.

    ¡°And why not? Do you people not get it still, even after thatst fight?¡±

    If ss Rep had listened to Kotarou-kun¡¯s instructions, we would all be much happier. If she just listened to him earlier, we could¡¯ve won with more ease.

    Meiko speaks as if admonishing a child.

    ¡°True, I¡¯ll admit that me and Ryouko weren¡¯t the quickest thinkers during that. Bute next time, don¡¯t think that we¡ª¡±

    ¡°Next time? Did you just say that, Souma-san. You should know there isn¡¯t any next time in deadly battle¡±

    I will be careful next time. I won¡¯t make the same mistake a 2nd time.

    That moral dogma is essential for students and members of society alike. People make mistakes, reflect on them, and grow as a consequence.

    But it is of no doubt that those mistakes are permitted only because those people live in the civilized society of Japan.

    Their current location is inside a cruel and unforgiving dungeon. Fierce monsters make it their den, and on top of that, powerful boss monstersy in wait¡­ It is a miserable survival scenario with zero second chances.

    ¡°Hey, tell me I¡¯m wrong but, you girls aren¡¯t thinking this is some sort of game right?¡±

    Meiko speaks further. All of you, you¡¯ve be used to it. I have too. If you just think your enemy is a monster, you can swing your de without second thoughts, she says.

    ¡°You¡¯ve alle fighting for your lives here, I don¡¯t imagine otherwise. You fought monsters where, if you lost, they¡¯d simply eat you¡­ but you didn¡¯t lose. What I¡¯m wondering is, have you even been in any real danger?¡±

    Absolute difference in power. These girls have yet to taste it, the utter despair of having no path left to you other than death. Not only that, they hadn¡¯t suffered any major injury to speak of.

    ¡°Complete nonsense. We fought that Cerberus right, I was practically inches to death¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that Cerberus was tough as nails, there¡¯s also that big Goma I had to fight before, that was a close one too¡±

    ¡°But, Souma-kun came and saved you¡±

    ¡°Correct, nii-san woulde and save us, any time and any ce¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, so it¡¯s fact. Then let¡¯s say, I try killing Souma-san right no¡ª¡±

    Instantly, a naked de gleams in the light.

    A quick-draw in speeds surpassing the eye. Unsheathed without so much as a sound, the sword is pointed directly as Meiko¡¯s throat.

    ¡°What¡¯s the big hurry, Kenzaki-san? You¡¯re soo on edge¡±

    ¡°Futaba¡­ That was some hell of a bloodlust you had there¡±

    ¡°Bloodlust? Ahaha, that¡¯s a good one, is it from a manga? Well, I¡¯m sure it was just your imagination¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t test me!¡±

    Just slightly, Asuna¡¯s de of Cleansing presses into Meiko¡¯s neck. A slight motion and the girls fair skin would be ruined in red by the razor-sharp de.

    It wasn¡¯t an action on the level of a joke. But Meiko was the prime aggressor, is what Asuna, no, Sakura and Ryouko, all three of them were convinced of that.

    Bloodlust. Such a thing certainly exists. At least in this magic-driven parallel world, it can be clearly felt. That applies all the more to Asuna, a Dualwielder possessing considerable perceptive abilities.

    And having fought alongside her, Asuna also knows that Meiko can feel this bloodlust as well. She has seen the girl conduct herself in battle, sensing the thick bloodlust exuded by monster, much simr to herself.

    ¡°Seems like I scared you, sorry about that. But you did get my point right? Right now, Souma-kun isn¡¯t here. If I happened to seriously attempt murdering Souma-san¡­ Tell me, will Souma-kune save you then too?¡±

    ¡°That¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hold that thought Sakura, and calm down¡­ We get it, Futaba-san. You may be right that we¡¯ve been relying on Yuuto-kun too much. For fighting as well as for mental support¡±

    Ryouko holds back Sakura who had a face telling she was about to burst back in arguement. At the same time, sent a nce at Asuna telling to pull back her sword. Her perceptive friend recieved the message, and quietly returned her de to its scabbard. Meiko¡¯s neck had not one millimeter of a scratch.

    ¡°No well, I¡¯m not saying that¡¯s a bad thing. Souma-kun is strong right? I get that you¡¯d want to rely on him.¡±

    From their stories, it was as if he was guided by fate itself. Souma Yuuto¡¯s timing was too good. Like when his sister was attacked by an Armor Bear, like when Asuna and Kotori were cornered by the Boss Goma. And simrly for the Cerberus fight. His timing ining to their aid, his timing in bing stronger in a pinch. All of it was superb. Perhaps even sheer luck was aponent of Souma Yuuto¡¯s powers.

    ¡°But if you make that your excuse and do nothing, if you don¡¯t put every fibre of your being into survival, I can¡¯t forgive you¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t follow. We have been trying to gather everyone under our wing, and together, do our best to find a way to escape this dungeon right?¡±

    ¡°Then what reason, could you possibly have for not epting Kotarou-kun? Is being under him that hurtful to your pride? Because you consider him to be below you? You¡¯re against listening to a man weaker than you that much? Or maybe, you just don¡¯t n on listening to any man you don¡¯t love?¡±

    This isn¡¯t the ce to be finicky over trivial things. It¡¯s all about the resolve to survive, even if you have to crawl through mud. No, you don¡¯t need resolve, just do it.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun is truly weak. But, in spite of that, he knows the way to survive. If he doesn¡¯t know, he can imagine one. That¡¯s not something me or Kenzaki-san who only rely on our strength can do. And the helpless and afraid me from back then, or say Takanashi-san now, can¡¯t do it either¡±

    Something that the Hero Souma Yuuto who, granted substantial strength and blessed bydy luck, simply can¡¯t do. Not relying on miracles, and using every method avable to him to grasp at a means of survival.

    It was likely only Ryouko who thought she was implying as such. A sort of consideration on Meiko¡¯s part for not explicitly mentioning Souma Yuuto.

    ¡°Hey, how about it, I¡¯d really appreciate it if you listen to him just a bit. There¡¯s no need to worry, Kotarou-kun doesn¡¯t ask for anything impossible, and always takes care of you. See, he even took someone like me in, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap¡±

    Asuna cut into Meiko¡¯s plea with precision.

    ¡°Asuna!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, got it Ryouko. Futaba has a point, is what you wanna say right? I got a good idea what she¡¯s getting at¡±

    If you do, then what¡¯s with all this? Questions Ryouko.

    ¡°Call it emotions-based, or whatever. But I can¡¯t, in no damn way, bring myself to trust Momokawa. Can¡¯t imagine leaving my life to him, I¡¯ll hand those words right back at you, Futaba¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll ask why if you don¡¯t mind¡±

    Not giving an inch to Meiko¡¯s unnaturally expressionless face, Asuna boldly makes her say known.

    ¡°There¡¯s the incident in the square, and the time when he pushed away Kotori, those would be more than valid reasons¡­ But I¡¯ll give it you straight. I have no ns on ever obeying someone weaker than me¡±

    ¡°You mean that, as a woman?¡±

    ¡°Nay, as a swordsman of the Kenzaki Style!¡±

    Laughter had not ensued following Asuna¡¯s statement. Rather than not fitting the times, it gave the feeling of something a samurai-crazed otaku would cringe-indusingly say. In modern Japan at least, you ordinarily wouldn¡¯t find people other than individuals of those tastes speaking like this.

    But because they are so close, Souma Sakura and Kisaragi Ryouko know what truly consisted of the girl, Kenzaki Asuna. They know she wasn¡¯t ordinary in the least. They know of her grueling life-long training under the sword, and they understand how her this stern mindset of hers has been molded as a result.

    ¡°Hmm, more good facts. That means, if I were to be stronger than you, you¡¯d obey me without question?¡±

    ¡°If you win a one on one duel, I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s you or Momokawa, I¡¯ll pipe up and follow¡±

    ¡°Yup, wonderful. This makes things very easy¡ª A duel, let¡¯s do that¡±

    Suggests Futaba Meiko in light-hearted tone as if making a promise to go shoppingter.

    ¡°Hold it right there! You can¡¯t, no wait, aren¡¯t you being insane!?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop us, Ryouko. I¡¯m perfectly sane, and also very serious¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. There¡¯s that time when Kenzaki-san decided to get engaged to Souma-kun because she lost a duel, right?¡±

    Kenzaki Asuna makes important decisions via duel. Such precedent already exists. Everyone in their ss knows this. No, the turmoil of her engagement with Souma Yuuto was already known as a great legend among all in Shiramine Academy.

    ¡°Ryouko, when Asuna gets like this, you know there¡¯s no stopping her¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s no excuse to¡­ This isn¡¯t the time to start infighting¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry ss Rep. But Kenzaki-san¡¯s saying she won¡¯t settle on apromise if we don¡¯t do this. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any option apart from this if we want to be truerades¡±

    Ryouko practically wanted to cry when the one who epted that duel, the perpetrator herself, started consoling her. Or rather, her eyes were feeling moist already.

    ¡°Asuna, Futaba-san, you two are sure about this right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if Futaba defeats me, I¡¯ll give in to her demands¡±

    ¡°If Kenzaki-san wins, I won¡¯t bring up making Kotarou-kun the leader anymore¡±

    Well I can¡¯t really make you promise so we have the loser absolutely obey the winner or anything, continues Meiko, but Asuna epts anyway.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a swordsman or anything. So I¡¯m fine with those conditions¡±

    Meiko doesn¡¯t have one clue as to what Asuna consider being a true swordsman, but their negotiations thus conclude.

    ¡°Please tell me you aren¡¯t nning to use real weapons in this¡±

    ¡°The winner loses if the loser dies, that goes for both of us¡±

    They obviously hadn¡¯t lost all their good sense. But for Ryouko¡¯s own peace of mind, she needed to confirm anyway.

    ¡°Then do we go empty-handed? Ah but Kenzaki-san is a Dualwielder so, uhmmm, we could you fairy walnut tree branches as wooden swords(bokutou) right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it bare-handed, but with some form of weapon, I don¡¯t think either of us will regret anything¡±

    Both of them would find it annoying if the otherined she lost because she didn¡¯t have a weapon.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t get hurt¡­ or not I guess. It¡¯d be great if you keep it to a level Sakura can heal¡±

    And that was all Ryouko could say.

    Thus it came to be that Futaba Meiko and Kenzaki Asuna would duel with their convictions on the line.

    ________________________

    [1] This is a third person narration chapter with a lean towards ss Rep

    [2] ÕæÙž¤ÎÍ« ¡ª Shingan no Hitomi ¡ª Eye of Veracity

 Chapter 55: Kenzaki Asuna

    Chapter 55: Kenzaki Asuna

    Courtesy to: Lionmask

    ===

    ¡°Hmm, more good facts. That means, if I were to be stronger than you, you¡¯d obey me without question?¡±

    ¡°If you win a one on one duel, I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s you or Momokawa, I¡¯ll pipe up and follow¡±

    ¡°Yup, wonderful. This makes things very easy¡ª A duel, let¡¯s do that¡±

    Never did Kenzaki Asuna think she would propose a duel of all things to a woman.

    She had the awareness that she carried sensibilities far too different from the ordinary high school girl. There was even a time she was troubled by the fact, but after entering high school and at present, she had made her resolve.

    That, she wasn¡¯t any ordinary woman. That she was a swordsman of the Kenzaki Style.

    That is why, Futaba Meiko who, despite being a woman, knew not any fear inbat, was an existence very alien to her.

    No, let us say that considering their situation and being given their vocations, their powers for engagement, the girl managed to attain the psyche necessary to voluntarily seek battle. Kenzaki Asuna¡¯smon sense wasn¡¯t something you could write off as mere individuality in peaceful Japan. But she, Meiko, a normal girl, had also reached a simr state of mind having experienced deadly dungeon life. And in fact, even Natsukawa Minami, who was simply a girl from track and field team, had also grown to a level where she could fight equally alongside Asuna.

    But having gone so far as to challenge her to a duel, Futaba Meiko was just oundishpared to them. Was this incongruity a result brought about by her carrying the fearsome vocation of Berserker, or could it truly be a consequence of Momokawa Kotarou¡¯s deviant brainwashing?

    Asuna didn¡¯t care either way. They have promised to duel, so she would face the challenge with her pride on the line.

    ¡°¡ª Ready yet, Futaba¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    The pair hade to an open area found very close after exiting the fairy square. Simr to the ce where Kotarou and Meiko fought the Armor Bear, it was an empty lot with practically nothing of interest. There was the concern that monsters could barge in anytime, but both of them wished to withhold from engaging in the middle of the fairy square.

    They did make a quick surveince of the surrounding passages to ensure a level of safety. The fight won¡¯tst very long so it would only serve as insurance.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go¡±

    Present are only the two, Meiko and Asuna, the ones who would duel. They had declined any referee.

    Kotarou, Sakura, ss Rep. They would be hard pressed to call upon any of them to stay neutral. Should they be stopped at a bad time, it would give rise to dissatisfaction. Thereupon, they made sure to be alone so as to have no unnecessary interference.

    They stood at a distance equal to that used in a normal kendo match. Owning the name of Dualwielder, Asuna held a wooden sword in each hand. In contrast, Meiko carried just one, of extrarge size and having a ttened bat shape. Both swords used fairy walnut branches as material and were manufactured by Takanashi Kotori after they forced her awake to make them.

    Their duel was not one fulfilled by the forfeit of life, but one that challenged their credo. That is why, this too would serve to prevent any sore losers, as both of them were provided adequate arms.

    Although for the sleepy-head Kotori, she wasn¡¯t happy at all being made to make wooden swords for god knows why.

    Whatever the case, all preparations were set, and at longst, the duel between Kenzaki Asuna and Futaba Meiko kicked off.

    ¡°I¡¯m good anytime¡±

    ¡°Alright¡­ Ready, set, MATCH!¡±

    Asuna was by no means making light of Meiko. Her battle prowess had reached levels so forceful and barbaric you couldpare her to real war generals from the Sengoku era. In many a kendo tournament, and even informal matches, Asuna had faced these types of rough-and-tough individuals¡­ but Futaba Meiko, a Berserker¡¯s pressure, was a first even for her.

    In fact, as long as she carried her vocation, Meiko would be stronger than anyone in their original world. Her athletic prowess would easily surpass even the most excelling rangers from the SDF.

    It was a of level of monstrous strength utterly unattainable by any ordinary human being¡­ A level also applicable to Asuna.

    Right now, I¡¯m leagues stronger, stronger than father(otou-sama), and even stronger grandfather(ojii-sama) at his peak.

    Her skill with the sword needed no mention, just the strength dwelling in her body could thwart any challenge of technique.

    Thus Asuna and Meiko both wielded constitutions surpassing man. That being the case, only their ability would determine the stronger.

    Futaba Meiko had precise control of her abilities as Berserker, and could put those abilities to practice in battle. Her courage and spirit too were electrifying. But Asuna had also survived the same dungeon, tasting more than enough experience frombating monsters. Experience-wise, the difference between them would be negligible.

    That being so, Asuna was convinced that herself, having learned the sword from a tender age, would have a deciding advantage.

    ¡°Hmmh!¡±

    So just as the match started, Meiko threw her sword, perhaps an attempt to surprise her, but she handled it with ease.

    There was no cause for rm after all. The average kendo club-goer would likely get startled, but as a swordsman of the Kenzaki Style, Asuna had experience in matches against members of other Schools of teaching, and per consequent, was used to such surprises. Those called swordsmen may throw a dagger or two, and if they were studied in ninja arts, shurikens and kunai were muchmon.

    She would normally repel such projectiles, but anticipating the sheer power behind a sword thrown by a Berserker, Asuna didn¡¯t divert it like she would a shuriken, and chose to dodge.

    As Asuna nimbly side-stepped out of the way, Meiko had already be charging in. They were not particrly distanced in the first ce, and considering her mighty leg strength, the span between them would be closed in an instant.

    But precisely judging that speed was well within the abilities and experience of Asuna.

    Assessing that the sheer momentum to be too much to stop, she spurred another side-step.

    ¡°And¡ª¡±

    Meiko passes her by a hair¡¯s breadth. Upon her sessful evasion, Asuna faces Meiko¡¯s wide-open back, and strikes down both her swords.

    ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll end this!¡±

    No holds barred. Asuna acknowledged Meiko as worthy opponent she would need to go all out against. She approximated that the damage just now would cause her a swift copse, being unable to stand for a while. But with Souma Sakura¡¯s healing magic, she should be fixed up fast.

    Feeling her hitsnd true, Asuna was sure of her victory when,

    ¡°HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    The mad beast bore her fangs.

    ¡°Wh¡ª¡±

    As if the total damage dealt to her back equaled a lump sum of zero, Meiko swerved herself around, and pounced at Asuna right after she brought down her swords.

    Seeing the girl move as if the attack hadn¡¯t even struck, and then faced with an instantaneous counter-attack, even the ever perceptive Asuna had her work cut out for her.

    But with a back-step, she just barely made it. He had escaped being caught by Meiko¡¯s arms by a paper-thin margi¡ª

    ¡°Kuh!?¡±

    And there, Meiko threw the sand she had in her grasp. When did she pick it up? Or did she have some from the start? Whichever it may be, the critically timed smokescreen forced Asuna to dodge yet further relentlessly.

    Fully spinning herself around, she prevented the sand from robbing her vision, but that was all she could manage.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±

    Her arm was caught.

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me with sticks¡±

    Seeing Meiko¡¯s grin, Asuna finally realized. Duel: A ritual that guarantees preservation of life. Wooden swords: weapons that don¡¯t kill. Under these conditions, Meiko¡¯s triumph had been set in stone.

    Asuna had presumed that the match would end upon whoever made the decisive hit. However, Meiko acted under the rule that whoever defeated the other would win the fight.

    Asuna¡¯s moment of assuming victory as her swordnded on target was, precisely what Meiko aimed for. She never thought she could otherwise catch Asuna, who had a plethora more experience over her.

    ¡°HAa!!¡±

    She hears Meiko¡¯s yell and, her vision inverses. The next moment, a piercing impact runs the length of Asuna¡¯s back. She had been thrown down using the same hand that was grabbed. There was an attempt to break her fall using her free hand, but that proved futile versus the sheer momentum with which she was mmed into the ground.

    ¡°Kha, Ha¡­¡±

    She felt as if all the air in her lungs burst out. In severe pain all over her body, Asuna simply wanted to gasp in some air,

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    But just as she was about to, the tip of Meiko¡¯s foot bore into her stomach. As if she was a ser ball. Without the slightest mercy or hesitation, the kick exploded in Asuna¡¯s slender and toned abdomen.

    Her body made bent in a V as she was flung away. Asuna rolled on the ground, groaning from the fierce pain assailing her insides. She was giving it her all, just so the stuff that was already at the base of her throat wouldn¡¯te flooding out.

    But the merciless hammer that is Meiko¡¯s foot,nds there once more.

    ¡°Bu-, ughee¡ª¡±

    Copious amounts of blood-mixed vomit escapes Asuna¡¯s orifice of intake. Her once gant face was now warped in pain, excreting semi-digested waste. Meiko looked down on that disy with cold, disdainful eyes as if she had seen a squashed cockroach.

    ¡°Tell me Kenzaki-san, does it hurt?¡±

    Her dim, hazy consciousness somehow heard Meiko¡¯s question crystal clear.

    ¡°Guh, uu¡­ W-what, do you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you if it hurts¡±

    ¡°Th-this much pain¡­ is nothing¡­¡±

    Her vision goes ck. Itsts only a moment, and upon regaining sight, Asuna tastes iron on her tongue. Pain along with stuffiness in her nose.

    Her face was kicked. Blood flowed from both nostrils, further defiling Asuna¡¯s beautiful visage.

    ¡°How about now?¡±

    ¡°Uu, n-nothing¡­¡±

    ¡°Not enough it seems¡±

    This time, the face and stomach, both kicked. Asuna was smeared in dirt as she rolled, and then fell copsed. But Meiko didn¡¯t ask her again. She kept on kicking Asuna as she rolled further along the lot much like a dribbling ser ball.

    ¡°Hah, Aa¡­ W-wait, stop¡­ loss, my loss¡­¡±

    ¡°Why, aren¡¯t you slow, Kenzaki-san. Don¡¯t you think we already know who lost? What I¡¯m asking you, is if it hurts or it doesn¡¯t¡±

    Her foot is slowly raised over Asuna¡¯s head. What would happen once she stomps down on the sole of that shoe in her view? Asuna didn¡¯t even want to imagine the ensuing pain and humiliation.

    ¡°Hii¡­ Just, please just stop¡­ hurts, it hurts alright¡­¡±

    The dignified visage of the swordswoman had wholly degenerated into the face of a girl, terrified. And seeing that, as if satisfied, Meiko spoke.[1]

    ¡°You¡¯re spot-on, Kenzaki-san. When you punch and kick people, it hurts. It¡¯s very, very painful and scary. That¡¯s why violence is bad¡±

    It was a gentle voice, like a kindergarten teacher reprimanding children involved in a fight.

    And having done saying that, Meiko¡¯s raised leg was mercilessly stomped down on Asuna¡¯s face.

    ¡°GAaah!?¡±

    ¡°Do you see, Kenzaki-san? This, is violence¡±

    Havingpletely broken Asuna¡¯s nose, Meiko continues to speak as the girl writhes in pain.

    ¡°But see, humans are creatures than get used to violence. We¡¯re really quick to take up violence for ourselves, and in time, we even learn to desire using it¡±

    The reason is simple. It grants you pleasure on an instinctual level. Control. Conquest. The sense of supremacy over others. And sometimes, using violence to enact justice. Unteral violence truly grants a many forms of catharsis.

    ¡°Pride of a swordsman? Won¡¯t obey the weak? Don¡¯t make meugh. That¡¯s nothing more than nonsense you made up because you think you¡¯re strong enough to use violence¡±

    You have pride because you are strong. You can look down on the weak because you are strong.

    ¡°Saying you¡¯re a Kenzaki Style swordsman and stuff, poor you, Kenzaki-san. You¡¯ve been training since you were small right? So much that you could evenpete with Souma-kun despite being a girl¡±

    Kenzaki Asuna is certainly strong. The duel concerning her engagement to Souma Yuuto was a close match. Asuna¡¯s sword skills were above and beyond him. But Souma Yuuto, fully utilizing his dominance in strength being male, along with his the martial arts(taijutsu) of the Souma Style, he barely managed to score victory.

    It was a fierce match where Souma Yuuto wouldn¡¯t have won unless he gave it his all.

    ¡°There¡¯s where you got your little misunderstanding. You used your pride as a just cause to inflict your own brand of violence. Yet you never knew how scary true violence is¡ª¡±

    This time, it wasn¡¯t her foot, but Meiko¡¯s whole body that descended. A mounting position so to speak.

    Though she had since lost weight, the stout build that possesses the title of tallest amongst all of ss 2-7¡¯s female students plopped itself all at once on Asuna¡¯s stomach. She gasped hard from the intense pressure.

    ¡°¡ª So, I¡¯ll just have to teach you¡±

    Having a smile so serene you would think she was a holy woman, Meiko took her tightened fist, and bashed it into Asuna¡¯s wretchedly wounded face.

    It was violence beyond the irrational.

    Kenzaki Asuna, a girl who had continuously and rigorously trained in the sword, for the first time, experienced violence just for the pure sake of it.

    ¡°Aah!¡±

    ¡°This pain, is Kotarou-kun¡¯s pain¡±

    She was supposed to have be used to pain.

    Bruising and body blows were daily. She had suffered fractures from intense training. Once, having a wooden sword stabbed in her eye during a match, she had even experienced nearly losing half her sight.

    But all that would only be considered dangerous, never scary.

    In practice and in bouts, anyone who got injured received swift treatment. Even her father, as strict as he was, when Asuna got injured, he would go blue in the face ande running.

    Yes, Kenzaki Asuna was loved. Loved as a matter of fact by her whole family that ran a swordsmanship dojo, and even loved by the pupils of said dojo. The opponents of other schools she faced, even they would garner respect and awe for the single daughter who would inherit the Kenzaki Style.

    There was pain, and there were injuries. But there was never fear.

    ¡°Ah, Ghah¡­ S-sto¡­¡±

    ¡°This fear, is Kotarou-kun¡¯s fear¡±

    Unending is the storm of violence. The fists keptnding on her without pause.

    You¡¯re a girl, so don¡¯t injure your face. Her father had warned as she would charge her opponent with no concern for injury. It was a memory from, perhaps, when she was 10 years old. That stringent father who would always, only teach his daughter sword techniques was, despite himself, caring for her. As a child, she was surprised by such an act, but yet, slightly happy.

    Kenzaki Asuna is a swordsman, and at the same time, she is a woman. As a result, she grew up with a face strewn in dignity that would make anyone nce twice.

    But that beautiful face was currently being destroyed by the Berserker¡¯s relentless violence.

    ¡°Do you see, Kenzaki-san? You did something this terrible to Kotarou-kun¡±

    Asuna¡¯s vision blurs in crimson.

    ¡°Apologize¡±

    The raised fist reflecting in her eyes stained scarlet was dreadful beyond belief.

    ¡°Apologize to Kotarou-kun¡±

    Pain. Pain. She¡¯s in so much excruciating pain, but why doesn¡¯t it stop?

    ¡°Don¡¯t do bad things to Kotarou-kun¡±

    Please stop.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt Kotarou-kun¡±

    Please save me.

    ¡°From now on, just be quiet and listen to what Kotarou-kun says¡±

    In her flickering conscience, Asuna realizes that the drizzle of fists had finally stopped.

    Ah, finally. It finally stopped. I survived.

    ¡°Since you lost Kenzaki-san, you lost the duel, after all¡±

    It¡¯s fine, losing or whatever. As long as I¡¯m released from this fear, this pain, anything is fine.

    ¡°Go on, say it¡±

    ¡°¡­ I, I am, sorry¡­ It is my loss¡­¡±

    I really apologized, I admitted my defeat, so, please stop. Stop, please. Why, just stop, why, HELP, NOO¡ª Please don¡¯t hit me.

    As her inner voice describes, Meiko¡¯s upraised fist descended in a final, solid punch.

    The blunt noise echoing into her skull must be the sound of her heart breaking. Her prideful, swordswoman¡¯s heart, tempered like a fine katana, was shattering into tiny pieces.

    Asuna¡¯s consciousness then finally sinks into darkness, wholly despair-bound.

    ¡°Ahaha, I did it, Kotarou-kun. I won the duel with Kenzaki-san. Fufu, I hope you¡¯ll be happy~¡±

    ________________________

    [1] I saw swordswoman here because they specifically make the distinction in the raws.

 Chapter 56: Revolt

    Chapter 56: Revolt

    Courtesy to: Lionmask

    ===

    ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    And, with the usual Takanashi-san scream ringing in my ears, I jumped awake in a big hurry.

    ¡°UAAhh!? What, enemies, where!?¡±

    I keep restlessly looking around, but there¡¯s no monster in sight. It¡¯s the same old fairy square, and the not so same old, new party members. I was napping on the side of the fountain opposite to our girl¡¯s area, where the denizens are currently making a racket. They say even three makes a crowd, but the scream just now gave a more emergency-y feeling. The biggest noise came from Takanashi-san, but ss Rep and Natsukawa-san also had simr reactions.

    Yeah, something¡¯s definitely up.

    ¡°Uhm, ¡¯scuse me, something happen here? Everyone alri¡ª¡±

    I attempted to ask calmly, but those words froze solid in my mouth when I saw that.

    ¡°Ah, Kotarou-kun. I did it see, I had a duel with Kenzaki-san and won!¡±

    Now she¡¯ll listen to every word you say, she happily deres the girl¡¯s ve status, but her words kept going into one ear and out the other.

    Mei-chan sported a jolly smile as she nonchntly pulled along Kenzaki Asuna like a bag of trash.

    Grabbed by the nape, the girl¡¯s limbs were powerlessly spread asunder. They didn¡¯t even twitch, as if she was already a corpse. What¡¯s worse, she looked so awful, you could call her a victim of gruesome ultra-violence.

    Her face was beaten to a pulp. In more precise terms,pletely fucked. It was way passed the level of being beaten ck and blue, and had devolved into a swelling mass of red and gore. There was nothing left of her, Kenzaki Asuna¡¯s beautiful, dignified visage.

    ¡°Ah, Asuna¡­ no¡­¡±

    ¡°God, how horrible¡­¡±

    I¡¯m not the only one swallowing his breath seeing the drastic change in Kenzaki-san, Souma-san and ss Rep were the same. Natsukawa-san and Takanashi-san couldn¡¯t even voice out. They were just huddled together, shaking like a pair of small animals.

    ¡°What is it, something the matter? Ah, I bet you¡¯re worried about Kenzaki-san? Ahaha, rx rx, she¡¯s just a little fainted is all¡ª¡±

    With a cute Ei, Mei-chan lopped Kenzaki-san¡¯s body as if she was throwing away an empty beverage can. It was as if she was handling not a human being, but an object.

    The girl¡¯s body rolled like a piece of bulky garbage, and stopped right around Souma-san¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Here you go, Souma-san, you should really get to the healing her¡±

    Souma-san was in a daze, just looking at Kenzaki-san and didn¡¯t seem to show any signs of using her healing magic. Does she not understand the situation? Or is it that she can¡¯t bear to believe this atrociously disfigured girl is actually her close friend?

    ¡°¡ª Kenzaki-san!¡±

    Snap out of it woman. Kenzaki-san is in a dire condition. If we don¡¯t do something soon, it won¡¯t just be scars, she might end up with permanent brain damage too.

    She probably had her face pummeled over and over. And not by just anyone, but by Mei-chan who wields a pair of ferocious Berserker fists. I bet I wouldn¡¯tst even one of those punches.

    I ran towards Kenzaki-san¡¯s motionless body while taking out one of the palm-sized sacks of Ointment A, that I had prepared beforehand, from my pocket .

    Upon closer inspection, Jesus, this is worse than I thought. I kind of want to look away. But it looks like she¡¯s breathing, and I got a pulse from her wrist too. She looks in dead from the outside, but like Mei-chan reported, she¡¯s only unconscious.

    But that clearly doesn¡¯t mean we can rx. I shove my hand into the sack and, with a solid chunk of ointment on my fingers, fingers shaking from tension and unrest, I gently begin applying it on her face.

    ¡°Souma-san! Healing magic, quickly!¡±

    ¡°Eh, Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Just do it before toote! Do you want her face to have lifelong scars!?¡±

    After she got back to her senses from my desperate yelling, Souma-san put together her hands as if praying, and began a magic incantation that I couldn¡¯t quite hear.

    ¡°Please let this heal her¡ª Healing Light!!¡±

    A faint, gentle radiance envelops itself around Kenzaki-san¡¯s head. And, as to be expected from a Saintess¡¯ healing magic, the severe swelling wells down right before our eyes, and for now, her face regains a state where you can at least look at it without wincing.

    But it¡¯s a fact that Healing Light will only temporarily reverse injuries, so I need to use my ointment too. Since, once the magic wears off, her scars wille right back up. Full recovery should take a bit of time, that is, if my Ointment A does its job properly, she should be good in less than a day.

    ¡°Haaah¡­¡±

    Having finished all the treatment I could, I let out a dreary sigh, and very nervously, raise my head to look at Mei-chan.

    ¡°Huh? K-Kotarou-kun¡­?¡±

    Her face is what I could describe as bewildered. Honestly, I¡¯d describe my face the same.

    Having seen Kenzaki-san roughed up to such a degree didn¡¯t make me go, ¡°Ahaha, serves you, violent bitch!¡±, in fact, it didn¡¯t make me happy at all. I can¡¯t even pretend to smile having made to see something so horrible. I can tell that my face is currently very tense, my eyebrows furrowed in anger.

    ¡°The hell did you do this for!¡±

    This is the first thing I need to ask. If I heard her right, it was something about having a duel with Kenzaki-san and then something about winning said duel. I have no idea how, and in what possible way, this coulde about.

    ¡°Eh, huh, whut¡­ You¡¯re not, happy?¡±

    ¡°¡¯Course I¡¯m not happy!!¡±

    ¡°Ah, Uhm, I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I was thinking for your sake, and¡­ Kotarou, kun, sorry¡­¡±

    Shit, I got impatient and my words got rough.

    I don¡¯t see the gist of what she¡¯s saying. Was my reaction that wierd for her? I admit that I had a bit of a grudge, but don¡¯t tell me she thinks I¡¯m the sort of scum who¡¯d be happy to see a girl beaten to the point of breaking for such a small reason?

    Ah, fuck it. There¡¯s way too much going on, and I can¡¯t think straight at all. Mei-chan looks like she¡¯s gonna cry, no wait, there¡¯s already tears forming at the edges of her round eyes. Everything¡¯s a damn mess.

    Like seriously, I¡¯m the one who wants to cry. Mei-chan one-sidedly beat up Kenzaki-san. This whole situation is going in a direction where the damage in our party-member rtions will bepletely irreparable.

    ¡°I get it, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s alright Mei-chan. Don¡¯t worry. You don¡¯t have to force yourself to exin, so rx¡±

    ¡°B-but, but I¡­ I just, wanted to¡­ Uuu¡­¡±

    Man, this reminds me of the time we first met in the dungeon, wait, fuck, I gotta stay focused on reality now. Anyway, I gotta know what happened, or else I wouldn¡¯t know how to deal with it.

    ¡°Uhm, so ss Rep, you know what happened?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Right, I¡¯ll exin Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°Wait! No, I mean, I really was, thinking for Kotarou-kun and¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I know that, so don¡¯t worry okay, Mei-chan? And you did it for my sake right? So thanks¡±

    It seemed as if her shaky hands were going to grab onto ss Rep any moment now, so I quickly took Mei-chan¡¯s hands myself. I hold onto those fair, slender hands that you wouldn¡¯t imagine can punch a hole into an Armor Bear. They¡¯re so warm. Despite the mess we¡¯re in, I got a bit excited holding a girl¡¯s hands. This is pathetic.

    ¡°K-Kotarou-kun¡­¡±

    Ultimately, Mei-chan bursts into wretched sobbing, and while I console her saying that it¡¯s okay, I turn my gaze towards ss Rep, seeking her testimony of the truth.

    ¡°Sorry. If I only knew it¡¯d turn out like this, I should¡¯ve stopped them even by force¡­ Listen Momokawa-kun, the one would brought up the duel was actually Asuna¡ª¡±

    From there on, ss Rep told me everything.

    How they were also discussing that they should decide on a leader. How Mei-chan then entered the fray and fervently dered that I be the one truly deserving the title.

    How, when they were thinking her opinion also had some value, Kenzaki-san strongly opposed. Saying she wouldn¡¯t obey anyone weaker than herself and what not. What prideful warrior are you pretending to be here? I wanted to retort, but knowing Kenzaki Asuna, she¡¯s the type of person who¡¯d totally say that.[1]

    As for what happened after, I could call it one side bringing on the heat, and the other side bringing their own. Mei-chan was like, Then I¡¯ll just win and make you listen, and epted her challenge to settle things with a duel. Kenzaki-san then went out with her, full of confidence¡ª which leads us to now.

    ¡°Jesus¡­ you, can¡¯t make this shit up¡­¡±

    I can only sigh. The story is just too nonsensical. It¡¯s so damn hot-blooded, you¡¯d think they¡¯re characters in a battle manga from one of those weekly shonen magazines. On top of that, you got girls doing this shit. Literally makes no sense.

    Like, fights between girls, aren¡¯t those more like, putting thumbtacks in the other one¡¯s shoes, or dousing them with a bucketfull of water when they enter the toilet, or like, spreading rumors that they dopensated dating(enjou kosai). Things that are 10% physical and 90% psychological damage right? Then howe it¡¯s one hundred frickin¡¯ percent physical here!

    ¡°I feel so terrible about this. I knew it wouldn¡¯t end well, but despite that¡­ I should¡¯ve just stopped them, whatever it took¡±

    ¡°No ss Rep, don¡¯t take it as your own responsibility¡±

    I honestly think it was karma, though Souma-san would probablyin about that. Sure, Mei-chan¡¯s the one who brought up talk of duels, but knowing the Kenzaki Asuna¡¯s character, you could say she was revved up for it already.

    I¡¯m sure she had the resolve. A wound or two. She should be well aware that matches like these aren¡¯t fun and games. And having watched Mei-chan fight, seeing her Berserker strength, I doubt she thought of her as an easy opponent.

    But despite that, she consented to the duel. The result bringing severe wounds on top of losing was but another possibility among the many. Win or lose, one of those was bound to happen. And I don¡¯t think Kenzaki-san¡¯s the type of trash who¡¯d only y when they¡¯re guaranteed to win and set up a rigged duel. This isn¡¯t like n00b-hunting in a fighting game.

    She made all that resolve and lost, so she should just ept the resulting wounds. Then, as promised, she should obey whatever Mei-chan says. Like a ve. Since that¡¯s what she, Kenzaki-san, made her bet on.

    And I¡¯d be insane to expect everyone to ept something like that. Seeing her state, I also honestly felt it. That it was too far.

    ¡°Uuu, uuu¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, Kotarou-kun¡­ I never thought, it would¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, you said all that thinking of my, no, everyone¡¯s future¡±

    From then on, for a little longer, the fairy square was all silent, except for Mei-chan¡¯s quiet sobbing.

    ¡°¡ª Let¡¯s have ss Rep be our leader¡±

    This is the main cause of it all: who the leader should be. In an attempt to put an end to the matter, I break the silence.

    ¡°Eh, but I¡­ Momokawa-kun, are you really alright with that?¡±

    ss Rep is inly flustered. As for Souma Sakura, maybe she thought I¡¯d appoint myself, her face is also dumbfounded.

    Natsukawa-san and Takanashi-san, they couldn¡¯t really follow the conversation in the first ce, and were still huddling close and shaking a bit.

    ¡°I think everyone would want either Souma-san or you to be leader. It doesn¡¯t matter either way right?¡±

    ¡°Well, more or less¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. There wouldn¡¯t be any problems with either of us bing leader¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be voting for ss Rep¡±

    Leaving out the two candidates, if Kenzaki-san, Natsukawa-san, Takanashi-san, and Mei-chan all say ¡°Either way is fine¡±, then the deciding factor rests on me and Mei-chan. I really don¡¯t think Mei-chan will disagree with mee this far, so in essence, we have two votes in ss Rep¡¯s favor. With that she has the majority vote and we¡¯re done.

    ¡°I will go ahead and ask, why pick Ryouko?¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s because there¡¯s still a bit of mimunication between me and you, Souma-san¡­ You don¡¯t seem to trust me very much¡±

    In other words, ¡°Bitch, you just hate me¡±, something like that. But there¡¯s no point in aggravating her by saying that. Especially when you¡¯re super weak like me.

    ¡°True, I don¡¯t have much faith in you Momokawa-kun. However, I am not the kind of person who would openly discriminate against someone for such a reason. It¡¯s regrettable you think so of me¡±

    Yeah, I guess shed¡¯d have to be clinically retarded if she couldn¡¯t guess what I meant. Souma-san looked somewhat offended.

    ¡°Souma-san, It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doubting your character or anything, but ss Rep¡¯s been covering for me for a lot of stuff these past few days. So I¡¯d obviously pick her as leader¡±

    Between Souma-san and ss Rep, there¡¯s no need to consider who I trust more.

    Tell the truth, I think my rtionship with Souma Sakura is broken beyond repair. She is good as a person. But a severe stuck-up. And to top it off, emotional as fuck. Once she hates someone, she¡¯s merciless. She¡¯d be the first to outcast me given the chance. Or else, she could even subconsciously order me to take a position where I¡¯m sure to die.

    On the other hand, ss Rep is much more of a safe choice. She¡¯s impartial to all, and would even have my back¡ª Well no. I¡¯m not gullible enough to actually think that.

    The reason she¡¯s been covering for me is all because of her guilt towards Mei-chan and nothing else. Seeing Kenzaki-san in that state must¡¯ve made her quite scared too. She already carries the sin of abandoning Mei-chan. What if, she¡¯s the one who turns into a bloody pulp next time.

    So as long as I have Mei-chan, ss Rep can¡¯t make light of Mei-chan¡¯s trusty partner that is me.

    The condition known as fear is simple, yet absolute. You can¡¯t ovee it all that easily. ss Rep wouldn¡¯t ask the impossible of me unless we¡¯re in big danger. So I can believe in her. As long as she stays weaker than Mei-chan, that is.

    ¡°I see, alright, I will be the leader then. I may have some shorings, but let¡¯s all work together on this¡±

    I make solitary apuse congratting ss Rep¡¯s new post.

    But I¡¯m not done yet. It¡¯s already impossible for everyone in this party to reconcile. So, even if I have to be a bit forceful, I¡¯ll make a ce for me in it.

    I¡¯ve decided. It¡¯s sure to be a big policy change. Once I say this, there¡¯s no turning back.

    But I¡¯ll do it. I have to do it.

    ¡°And, one more thing. Mei-chan even went so far as to duel Kenzaki-san to try and make me the leader. I want to give back to that so¡­ I want to be appointed sub-leader¡±

    ¡°Wh-why you, we cannot allow this!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m, of course, not forcing this on you. We can do it fairly, with a vote. Well, if Souma-san doesn¡¯t want to run for the position, it can always go to me by defau¡ª¡±

    ¡°Then I am also announcing my candidacy. With that, I am now the sub-leader¡±

    ¡°Nope, not quite. We¡¯re both at a draw¡±

    You¡¯re being a bit slow there, Souma Sakura. Did you perchance forget who that is, lying at your feet?

    ¡°Natsukawa-san and Takanashi-san are on your side right, Souma-san? But as for Kenzaki-san¡­ She gets to be on mine¡±

    ¡°Wh-!?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Mei-chan?¡±

    Thank you, Mei-chan. This is the vote you won for my sake, this one, very precious, blood-stained vote.

    ¡°Ah, Kotarou-kun¡­ Yeah, yep, that¡¯s right! Me and Kenzaki-san both vote for Kotarou-kun!¡±

    Mei-chan replies bright as a sunflower. That¡¯s great news, she finally stopped crying.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mock us! Momokawa-kun, what do you think a person¡¯s free will is?!¡±

    ¡°It was in fact Kenzaki-san¡¯s free will to do it like this right? Saying if she lost, she would listen to Mei-chan. Kenzaki Asuna, a proud swordsman of the Kenzaki Style, she swore it. Souma-san, you¡¯re an outsider in this matter¡±

    ¡°That is just sophistry!¡±

    ¡°Then please go ahead and ask her after she wakes up. Ask her if her bet on the duel was a lie. Ask her if it was just some schoolgirl¡¯s half-joking promise, ask her if that¡¯s a promise she has not problem breaking. You ask her that alright?¡±

    Kenzaki Asuna can¡¯t do it. Especially with all that pride on the line. She can no longer go against Mei-chan. And finally, Mei-chan believes in me.

    I¡¯m truly grateful. Thanks to Mei-chan, I received the piece called Kenzaki Asuna. With this, I can more or less swing my weight around.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain that if it¡¯s Kenzaki-san, she will keep the promises that she makes. So if Mei-chan requests her to vote one way, Kenzaki-san will do it, even if she isn¡¯t willing¡±

    ¡°I, I can¡¯t¡­ allow this, we cannot, allow this¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatever you think, we¡¯re now both at two votes each. So the final decision wouldnd on ss Rep¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ryouko!!¡±

    Souma Sakura shouts as if to make her appeal. I¡¯ve been saying some pretty dicey stuff so ss Rep may just think I¡¯m too dangerous and end up choosing Souma-san.

    So now, I have to make the clincher. I¡¯ll let her know the merits of me being sub-leader.

    ¡°So ss Rep, before you make the call, can I just say something?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Go on, Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°If I became sub-leader, I¡¯d be basically following what you say. If it isn¡¯t an emergency situation like the surprise attack with the Mantis, I won¡¯t even bother you during fights. Though, if you need any advice, I¡¯m always avable. I can¡¯t really do much, but I¡¯ll work together with everyone, and I can promise to give it my best¡±

    ¡°O-oh, that would be helpful¡­ Is that all?¡±

    ¡°If, by some odd chance, I don¡¯t be sub-leader¡­ I will leave this party. Along with Mei-chan and Kenzaki-san, that is¡±

    ¡°-!?¡±

    I¡¯m taking Kenzaki Asuna hostage. With Souma Yuuto separated from you, Kenzaki-san is one of your indispensible vanguard members. You already have that extra baggage that is Takanashi-san so, can Natsukawa-san alone maintain your frontlines? And please remember that you even needed Mei-chan to beat that powerful Mantis. We still haven¡¯t made it past the Cave of Insects, so I really hope you¡¯re not thinking you can survive with just the 4 of you.

    ¡°Sorry, but if it looks like I can¡¯t get a good position, I don¡¯t think I can work with your team. I¡¯m sure you have a ton ofints about this, but just think of our circumstances as a whole, and bear with me. I think you can ept me, considering everything¡±

    That¡¯s all I have to say. I yed my hand. TURN END.

    ¡°It¡¯s all in your hands now, ss Rep¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Awkward silence once again dominates the space. Is she really still considering, or is it a form of resistance? ss Rep is smart, she should know the answer already.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sakura, but Momokawa-kun has a point¡±

    ¡°Ryouko! Why!?¡±

    ¡°Yuuto-kun isn¡¯t here, and we can¡¯t afford to take any chances. If we start losing people, we won¡¯t make it far. We just can¡¯t afford any infighting¡­ So I¡¯ve decided. Momokawa-kun, you¡¯re the sub-leader. Good luck¡±

    As if she¡¯d made a tragic resolve, ss Rep had a grim, and somewhat tired face, as she extended her hand.

    ¡°Thanks. Let¡¯s work hard so we don¡¯t get any more casualties¡±

    With the exchanging of this stiff handshake, despite its foundation now sustaining a massive crack, the worst harem party would continue its existence.

 Chapter 57: Yokomichi Hajime

    Chapter 57: Yokomichi Hajime

    The name¡¯s Yokomichi Hajime. Just a bit of an otaku, but otherwise a perfectly normal high school student.

    September the 21st. It¡¯s yet another lifeless Monday. Haah, man, life sucks balls. Even when I¡¯m dead tired from watchingte-night anime in real-time, do I really gotta do this in literally the crack of dawn? Make Mondays in the afternoon. How about you make that aw, damn useless politicians. I¡¯m a taxpayer ain¡¯t I? For like, when buying shit.

    So while having these deep thoughts about politics and shit, my cool and mannerly face makes it to ss perfectly on time.

    ¡°Fuu¡ª, bufuuu¡ª¡±

    Panting hard. What the fuck, why¡¯s my ss gotta be in the frik¡¯kin¡¯ 3rd floor. You wanna cripple me every morning? I¡¯m not payin¡¯ cheap tuition here, get a damn esctor. Like c¡¯mon, it¡¯s literally the 21st century.

    ¡°Bufuh, look guys, Porky¡¯s wheezin¡¯ a lung out¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯cha hear him go oink oink just now?¡±

    ¡°Dude, don¡¯t be mean, you KNOW Porky can only make porky noises¡±

    Oy, I can hear you, totem-poles. What¡¯s with these fuckin¡¯ mob characters. Wanna fight me? I got the absolute MASS to crush you t faggets. Are you literally retarded? This is kung-fu 101.

    Ahh, screw this, today¡¯s just a in, shit day. Fuck you too, damn small-fries.

    But I¡¯m not one to cause a ruckus. I¡¯m super gentle, and a pacifist too, so I¡¯ll let those fuckwads off with a little stern look.

    Hmph, damn right, ya losers. They stopped their retarded yapping after I looked a little. Scared of my bloodlust no doubt. I can take down small-fry of their ilk with some simple eye cont¡ª

    ¡°¡ªOi Porky, the fuck you look¡¯nat¡±

    ¡°BUUH!? I-I¡¯m wasn¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Ah? Lyin¡¯ to me, bitch? If ya got something to say, say itrdass¡±

    ¡°Hey like, isn¡¯t that enough Higuchi~? Yokomichi¡¯s scared outta his pants¡±

    ¡°But Kyouko, fags like that gotta be¡ª¡±

    ¡°Dude, we¡¯re like, totally not first-name BFFs¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal, wai-, ow, stop hitting me, hey¡±

    Ff, Fuck... All these fucks... Fuckin¡¯ DQN Higuchi. He got the totem-pole trio as hisckeys and acts all high and mighty. Loser king of the loser monkeys. Fucking bastard, if I got serious, you¡¯re dead mate. I¡¯ll get you someday. I¡¯ll fuck you up.

    Higuchi Kyouya. In short, a delinquent. A piece of DQN scum that doesn¡¯t belong in our high performance demanding prep-school, Shiramine Private Academy. He¡¯s the type of human trash I hate most.

    And I have to add that Japanesews are too soft for letting this sort of bastard roam freely. DQNs like him should be on put down. It¡¯s because they let these scum of the earth have rights that we still can¡¯t achieve world piece.

    Once I think up a means to a perfect crime, it¡¯s hasta vista baby.

    Have fun with that little slut of yours, while you can.

    Tch, Randou Kyouko you fucking slut. Don¡¯t go around thinking you saved me you bitch. Any woman hanging around DQN scum are just as bad.

    Just look at her, this Kyouko girl looks like an absolute slut every way you look at her. No way she isn¡¯t selling herself. 30,000 for one go I bet.

    Her hair¡¯s even dyed blonde. It¡¯s an dirty yellow unlike Reina, who¡¯s a natural. And it don¡¯t suit you either, ugly. She¡¯s all glitzy with a metric ton of make-up on, and looks like those prettied up actresses (hags) you see on TV.

    Not to mention, that tan. Like Oi Oi woman. Her skin¡¯s burnt brown like those ganguro gals. She¡¯s like a girl version of those totem-poles, but even her group of cronies don¡¯t have their skin baked like that.

    Blond hair and ck skin, she¡¯s like a model slut if I¡¯ve ever seen one. A dirty woman who¡¯s probably lost her virginity in the 5th grade.

    But, I will acknowledge those big tits and ass. If it¡¯s just the tits, she¡¯d be #1 in our ss 2-7 that¡¯s full of all the hot chicks. She¡¯s the biggest¡ª well, if we don¡¯t count that irregr of a pig that is Futaba Meiko, she¡¯s still #1. Trust me on this. Kenzaki Asuna and Takanashi Kotori have big ones, sure, but Kyouko¡¯s are massive.

    Just do JAVs already. I¡¯ll even fap to it twice for you¡ª oh crap, popped a boner.

    ¡°Bufuu¡ª¡±

    Calm down, me, think of flowers and kittens. Can¡¯t let people see this, I got my cool image to keep. I¡¯ll just find my seat while Higuchi and Kyouko are fooling around.

    Fuuh, geez louise. At times like this, I need to stop looking at ugly sluts and refresh my eyes with some real babes.

    ¡°Unbelievable, nii-san, I take my eyes off you for one second, and this happens. Please try to restrain yourself a little.¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, you worry too much Sakura. I¡¯mpletely fine see?¡±

    Souma Sakura was chatting at the front of the ssroom. That girl is undoubtedly the hottest babe in this ss, no, in all of Shiramine Academy, I boldly im. That face, those proportions, that personality, it¡¯s all 11/10. A perfect girl, as if she was literally hand-crafted by God.

    Although, I myself feel sorry about the plebians who fall for Sakura. Me? I got my eye on this one girl. She¡¯s quite the diamond in the rough.

    ¡°Bufuh... Yukiko...¡±

    Head on her desk pretending to sleep, therey my sweetheart, with her seat conveniently right next to mine, Nagae Yukiko.

    Yukiko is a in, somewhat short, and docile girl, and like me, never tries to stand out in ss. With those out-of-trend, thick, ck-rimmed sses, and furthermore, being a member of the literature club, her description only bolsters her inness attribute.

    But I can tell, you see. Those losers who go for Sakura or Reina, or even Asuna or Kotori or ss Rep, they¡¯ve all got a case of shit taste. So it¡¯s only me who can tell. Where Yukiko¡¯s real charm lies.

    ¡°... They¡¯re, practically twins¡±

    Soft, silky, and short cut ck hair, ck-rim sses. A small, delicate looking body that seems it would break from a simple embrace. Not to mention that superbly ephemeral aura around her... That¡¯s right, from the masterpiece that triggered my long journey into otaku-dom, The Mncholy of Suzuhara Haruka, she¡¯s almost identical to one of the heroines, Nagae Yuki. Hell, even their names are a syble away, this has gotta be fate.

    I really thought it was destiny. Yuki is my beloved. Despite the numerous otaku media in various formats which I¡¯ve since consumed, she is someone I still im as mai waifu. What I want to say is that Yukiko is literally the advent of my Goddess who has transcended the wall that is the 2nd dimension to encounter me.

    In other words, Nagae Yukiko is my waifu.

    This Yukiko is the only sunshine in my boring school life, and I would spend this shitty Monday basked in her once again¡ª but that never happened.

    GI, GIGIGI, GI¡ª IIIIIII!!

    As that sudden dissonance rang, my peaceful everyday life hade to an end. And what awaited me, was a fantasy world of swords and magic.

    That¡¯s right, on this certain day, I, Yokomichi Hajime, a totally normal high schooler, was summoned into a parallel world.

    Eh, wait a sec, this is just like¡ª

    ¡°Buh, Bufufuh, let¡¯s do it... In this new world, I, will have the Strongest Cheat and will be the HAREM KIINGG!?¡±

    I so shouted in ecstasy as I was thrown from the ssroom into the jet-ck abyss.

    ¡°WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!? WH-WHY¡¯S MY CALLING A FUCKING WARRIOR, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!¡±

    Bull-fucking-shit, what is with this normal as fuck calling!? What ¡®Warrior¡¯, gimme a fucking break, this is literally the definition of weakass mob-tier calling! I can¡¯t even expect hidden cheats from a friggin¡¯ Warrior... I REFUSE to use an axe. That weapon that, in like, every game and anime, is super shit-ss. I will never, NEVER use it!

    ¡°Why dammit, Why Warrior of all things... Why mee...¡±

    Where the actual fuck is God! Bring me to the white dreamscape where you apologize for sending me to this world by ident, do it now! And because you can¡¯t send me back, load me up with a ton of Cheats, you fuck!

    What¡¯s the big idea making me Warrior! You telling me to die!?

    ¡°Cheat! I want my Cheat!? Hand it over! Limit breaking Status values! Unique Skills! Get me a Skill Stealer! Give me the Sage¡¯s Knowledge! Super-tier Magic that only I can use, or let me build Modern Weaponry, anything dammit! Parallel worlds are meant for this shit you LAZY FUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!¡±

    For a while, I screamed out mypletely justified anger at the jackass of a god, and reluctantly began my dungeon capture in search of a harem.

    ¡°¡ªFuh, Bufuh, Fufu... Ahh, I get it now, so it¡¯s like that¡±

    What I mean is, this is totally a Growth Cheat right? It gotta be right, right?

    ¡°Bufuh, what ¡®monster¡¯, scared me for a sec. These are all slime-level small-fry¡±

    The first prey I killed was a goblin you¡¯d find in any RPG. They¡¯re apparently called goma or something, but parallel world rules can suck it. I¡¯m calling this thing a goblin.

    Anyway, so this fuck ugly goblin was walking around by itself like a moron, so I took a stone brick I foundying around and bashed his head in from behind. You don¡¯t show mercy to monsters. We¡¯re in a life-or-death situation here. I¡¯ll even shut away my heart if it¡¯s for the sake of survival. (badass)

    Well, the goblin went down with one shot. Then, I got 3 EXP!

    Yeah no, there¡¯s no EXP. Still WTF, howe there¡¯s no Status Screen here? How am I supposed to check my growth if there¡¯s no leveling system? I guess it¡¯s that. You can¡¯t see your stats unless you get a card from an Adventurer¡¯s Guild?

    Whatever. I just beat this goblin, so I got my hands on the rusty sword it had. It was sorta slimy to hold, and had this awful stink, pretty much the worst grade weapon, but holding a real sword... Kukuh, how should I describe this, like your blood is boiling? Seems like, even though I was a perfectly good,w abiding, citizen and student in my peaceful homnd, I was in fact, a born warrior at heart.

    ¡°Buheheh... Ain¡¯t gonna lose now¡±

    A wild Goblin appears!

    Is it thest one¡¯s friend? After I got my sword, they kepting one after the other. But small-fry, they are still.

    ¡°With my insane talent, I don¡¯t even need a damn Cheat!¡±

    Force Boost: Boosts Strength. Strength of a Warrior.

    Toughness: New vitality rushes into the body. Even in battles of attrition, it bolsters courage.

    el Boost: Reaction speed boost. Speed boost. Dodge the enemy¡¯s attack, and counter.

    The Warrior¡¯s novice skills are nothing special and are allmon stat boosts. BUT. It¡¯s well within my talents to go from Common Skills to World¡¯s Strongest.

    With a single rusty sword, I gloriously curb-stomped like, 10 of those goblins.

    sh: Boosts attack power. A sharp strike cuts the enemy.

    And I quickly got a battle art too.

    ¡°Buhahah! Hell yeah I¡¯m strong! I¡¯m he strong... And I¡¯mma get stronger!¡±

    Whether it¡¯s goblins, or skeletons, or zombies, or zombie dogs, I fucking ended them all. The more I kill, the stronger I get. There¡¯s no Level disy, but I know, I know it in my gut. I can feel my Status rising like no tomorrow. I learned a shit load of new skills and battle arts too.

    Ahh, this is it, this is that exhration you feel when you grow right? It¡¯s fucking great. I can¡¯t go back to vidya after experiencing this. That stuff is for retards.

    ¡°Fuck YEAH! I¡¯m simply awesome! I¡¯m lucky as fuck!¡±

    From this rickety box that positively screamed ¡®treasure chest¡¯, I got my hands on a real sword. Rusty swords are so trash, who¡¯d even use that junk.

    This one didn¡¯t have a smidgen of rust. It¡¯s a brand-spankin¡¯-new de. And big too. The de-width is double that of the goblin¡¯s sword, and the length easily surpassed a meter. Like a bastard sword? Donno man.

    But it¡¯s definitely got a size and weight that normal people wouldn¡¯t be able to handle. That¡¯s right, this isn¡¯t for plebs.

    I¡¯m different. If I try picking it up with my epic strength¡ª Look, so easy. It¡¯s just the right weight. Yeah, it was such a pain in the ass cutting away at all those small-fries that came in packs. A big sword to mow ¡¯em down is what real pros do.

    ¡°UHoh!? Holy balls, this is EPIC!¡±

    I literally blew away 3 goblins in one fell swoop. O-fucking-P. I¡¯m getting too OP here.

    I can¡¯t get enough of this euphoria from ughtering these half-pints. All their blood sshing everywhere is disgusting, but with the high I get from putting them through a human blender, I don¡¯t give a single fuck. The buzz is real.

    ¡°Bufuuh, getting tired of these weaklings. I need myself a boss fight¡±

    It happened right as my zeal for dungeon capture was at an all time high.

    ¡°Somebody, help¡ª¡±

    (Notes from lion mask) **Author''s Postscript (Paraphrased):**

    Says he made the arc 5 Q&A as usual, please read if you can.

    He got new reviews for Shaman too. Says that Shaman is still not therepared to Kuro no Maou, so he''s d if there''s even one more new reader.

    TN: I... went a little crazy with this chapter... BUT! I feel it is in character so do understand! <hr> Editor here. From here to chapter 63, trantion credit goes to Lion Mask and source can be found here. I''m doing simple edits and posting here for NU purposes. Again, as I mentioned in chapter 141, another TLer joined and he''s gonna start doing chapters in the correct order from next week or so.

 Chapter 58: Nagae Yukiko

    Chapter 58: Nagae Yukiko

    Nagae Yukiko was a in girl. Compared to the many distinctive girls of ss 2-7, youngdies positively brimming all with their own individual charms, in such a box of gems, Yukiko could be described as very ordinary. Her face, despite being slightly on the prettier side, wouldn¡¯t turn any eyes.

    But that was fine. Yukiko didn¡¯t want to be an idol or anything. Standing out wasn¡¯t fun, being stared at wasn¡¯t fun either. If she could live out a calm, quiet, peaceful school life, that would suffice. No, as ofte, Yukiko¡¯s life had already undergone a very exciting change. She had been feeling happiness the likes she¡¯d never felt before.

    But on the morning of September the 21st, that joyful student life of hers came to a sudden and abrupt end.

    ¡°Uuu¡­ What¡¯s, where, am I¡­¡±

    She opened her eyes in a dim stone-built room. If she were to believe the mysterious announcer, she was likely already inside a dungeon in a parallel world. That would certainly be the case¡­ But one could not expect Yukiko, the normal high school girl she was, to suddenly have a grasp of the situation. That would also be the case.

    Having wept in despair for a time, Yukiko ultimately started moving ording to the man¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Calling... Cryomancer?¡±

    With her three starter abilities, Eis Sagitta, Eis Shield, and Eis Mist in hand, Yukiko, with nothing better in mind, decided to look for her scattered ssmates. Mustering up her courage, the girl began her search into the eerie passages intecing the dungeon.

    ¡°Hii-i, Wh-what, what is, that...¡±

    Attack, defense, and additionally, magic that could release a mist so as to confuse the opponent or allow the caster to escape. Yukiko had all theponents necessary to put up a decent fight, but that never meant that she actually could. Even if you had a gun and knew how to use it, it didn¡¯t mean you could shoot with it urately in deadlybat.

    Yukiko would waver even when shooting her ice arrows at the monsters called red dogs that were no bigger than stray dogs. So there was no way she could handle a goma, that vile creature that was exceedingly uglier than a human, but also exceedingly close to one in shape.

    Yukiko could only shake in fear, silencing her breath as she progressed through the dungeon. The only magic she could bring herself to use was the one that would hide her from enemies, her Eis Mist.

    ¡°Uuu, sniff¡­ I hate this¡­ why, how much longer do I have to do this...¡±

    She would spend more and more time in the fairy squares, crying to herself. But wait as she may, no one woulde to her rescue. All her ssmates must be ahead of her, making good use of the powers granted by their calling. So she must keep moving. To once again meet her good friends, her reliable ssmates, and most of all, that person she held dear.

    With whatever courage she could still muster, Yukiko relied on the cold mist that would hide her as she dove once again into the dungeon. And naturally, her control of said Eis Mist had progressed. She could now release it freely and control its thickness. She even learned a new spell.

    Eis Mirage: Can project the caster¡¯s image while inside Eis Mist.

    Numerous times did Yukiko pass around packs of monsters using her adept control of the mist and her ghostly decoys. She had grown a knack for being unseen.

    But like all things, there came a limit. The dungeon wasn¡¯t so sweet as to let one survive simply by running and hiding.

    ¡°Hah, hah... No, help...¡±

    Shrill beastly grunting followed behind her. It was the cry of goma. A savage cry symbolizing their exaltation and sadistic ecstasy from hunting down a helpless prey.

    At a corner of a certain forested dome, Yukiko was soon discovered by the horde of goma.

    ¡°No... No no...¡±

    Once seen, Yukiko¡¯s powers of visual deception were halved. And with their numbers, the goma would eventually run into her in the fog, no doubt.

    Yukiko ran desperately. She wasn¡¯t a fast runner. She wasn¡¯t good at sports at all. But she ran. Even if she was out of breath, even if her legs broke, she ran.

    They were goma. She already knew of the cruel, gluttonous nature of these creatures from her notebook. But even if she wasn¡¯t aware, she needn¡¯t make a big guess on what these hideous demons would do once they captured her. She didn¡¯t have to guess, her instincts were screaming.

    That she would die once caught. That, after seeing the depths of hell, after experiencing excruciating pain, she would die.

    ¡°NO... Please help... Somebody¡ª¡±

    She had no choice but hope for rescue. Anyone would do. It didn¡¯t matter as long as they saved her.

    ¡°Somebody, HEEEEELLPP!!¡±

    And sure enough, someone did indeede to her rescue.

    ¡°HYA¡¯HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Arge, ck figure suddenly appeared on the scene. It carried in hand arge shiny sword and¡ª

    ¡°¡ªSLAAAAAASHHH!!¡±

    With a single swing, the horde of goma, that were almost at her neck, were all sent flying.

    ¡°Hiii!?¡±

    Head, arms, legs, all flew. Human shaped creatures were chopped into pieces in cold-blood. But unlike in movies or anime, the scene wasn¡¯t toned down in the least. The gory deaths of those living creatures were burned into Yukiko¡¯s eyes.

    Goma were monsters, sure. But at this moment, Yukiko saw for the first time how their blood was the same red as her own.

    ¡°Bufuh, FUFUFUH, DIE!¡±

    Reluctant to let go of their prey, the goma roared as they trampled over their fallenrades to face their new enemy. Seeing which, the man with the greatsword gleefully continued his massacre.

    ¡°Die, DIE! Diiee, ya fucking mobs!¡±

    He swung everywhere like a chaotic storm. No Style, no form, nothing that could be called technique. But the oversized de, swung around with the might of a giant, was more than apt for the task at hand.

    ¡°Fucking, won¡¯t even make EXP, these shit ass mobs! Die, DIE, ORA!!¡±

    It was a fight akin to devastation. Seeming as a unteral ughtering of the enemy, and at the same time, like the chore-some work of crushing red fruit in a mixer.

    ¡°Buhyahyahya!! DIEE!! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORAA¡ª¡±

    At this point, it was a mere calction of absolute difference in status. Simply, Artless Extreme (bullying of the weak).

    ¡°¡ª I¡¯M FUCKINNGGG STROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!¡±

    And then, no more goma remained as far as Yukiko could see. They may have all been shed into bs if meat, or perhaps a few survived to run away.

    At any rate, the only thing reflecting in her eyes now was the man who had saved her. The man who stood in the middle of ake of blood, garnished in pieces of meat and garbage¡­ Doused red in blood, stinking of rotten fish, and with a figure uglier than a even a goma, there stood her savior.

    ¡°Bufuuuh, fuu, fuuuh...¡±

    The man heaved his shoulders up and down inrge strokes, wheezing like a pig as he slowly calmed down. In fact, his body was obese enough to make his semnce to a pig almost uncanny. His height was a standard 170 cm (5¡¯7), but his abnormally swelled gut and girth made him look muchrger.

    For the petite Yukiko, it would be no exaggeration to call him a giant. She felt such a pressure.

    This man then swayed with a swing of his body and turnd himself to Yukiko¡¯s direction. From beyond the lenses of her thick spectacles, a pair of muddy ck pupils stared at her.

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t bring herself to express thanks.

    Young women like her were generally not good with blood. Let¡¯s take an example: say there was a man obstinately hitting on such a woman, and say another unknown man jumped in, in an attempt to save her. But, it turned out that the 2nd man was too strong, or rather, that man had gone into a frenzied storm with his fists¡­ How pitiful, the flirtatious first man now had his face smashed in, bleeding profusely from his nostrils, his front teeth broken off. All in all, a terrible sight to behold.

    Having been shown such a live performance of gruesome violence, any normal woman would think like so: ¡®I¡¯m scared.¡¯ She wouldn¡¯t feel anything other than fear. Her heart skipping to make her say, "Thank you, I¡¯ve never met a strong and handsome man like you", wouldn¡¯t even be thest thing on her mind.

    Nagae Yukiko was only an ordinary high school girl. It wouldn¡¯t matter that she was on the verge of death. In no possible way could she have her heart burst into love and affection surrounded by a scene of senseless ughter. The colors dying her small chest were not too dissimr to the ones she had as she was being chased down by ravenous goma. Blood red fear, and pitch ck despair.

    ¡°Gufuh... A, Ahh, Uhhm, Nagae-san, are you Alright?¡±

    His blood-soaked face grinned crookedly. Yukiko instinctively looked away.

    ¡°... Y-yeah... al, right...¡±

    She answered in tears, words somehow mixed in.

    ¡°Ahhhh, I, I See, Great, AAh, that¡¯s GREAT! You Loo-looked like you were in Trouble!¡±

    ¡°!?¡±

    He edged forward. Yukiko shivered as if by recoil. But she somehow managed to hold down the scream that was right at her throat.

    ¡°A, Ahrr, Are you still Scared?¡±

    ¡°Ah, uu... It was... r-really scary¡±

    ¡°It was, was it, it Suuure was! Buhahahah! But rest Assured Nagae-san! You¡¯re Safe as long as I¡¯m here! I can swat away Goma like Flies, and most Other monsters can¡¯t do much against my Awesome strength¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hi-, ii...¡±

    As if a tap had burst, Yukiko, having reached the limit of her endurance, devolved into a weeping mess. Gotta stop crying, gotta answer him now, she thought. But in spite of her will, the tears once let set loose would no longer stop.

    ¡°E-Eh? You¡¯re Crying!? why, Why the Hell! I saved You, I beat all the Goma, SEE!?¡±

    ¡°S-sorr... I¡¯m, sorry... It¡¯s s-still scary... I was, so scared... I can¡¯t, calm down yet...¡±

    Her head was turning strange from terror and despair. But Yukiko still managed to muster up every inch of her survival instinct, for a final, desperate act of resistance. This act was, to lie. A woman¡¯s lie, purposed to deceive a man.

    ¡°Ah, AAAhhh, got it, I totally Got It! Yup, that¡¯s Right, I¡¯m not the Dense MC type, so I get what you Actually mean, I totally actually got your Message!¡±

    ¡°Y-yea... So, I think, I can¡¯t stop¡­ A little, more...¡±

    ¡°Bufuh, fufuh, don¡¯t Worry, Fuhii, don¡¯t worry your pretty little Head, Nagae-san. I will, proh-Protect, yuuu¡±

    His repulsive wheezing snared in her ears. Yukiko¡¯s crushing dread didn¡¯t even allow her to raise her head to look. The man was already at arm¡¯s-length.

    ¡°Nagae-san, I will, Always, protect You! Fuhih, Fuhihi...¡±

    She feels something slimy touching her head.

    ¡°!? Nn, kuh...¡±

    Her head, was being stroked. By a greasy, blood-smeared hand.

    She was psychologically repulsed to the brink of losing consciousness. Mortified to the point where she was considering instant suicide, Yukiko gritted her teeth, and painstakingly answered,

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ Thank you¡­ Yokomichi, kun¡­¡±

    ¡°Buhih! Don¡¯t sweat it! And you can just call me Hajime! And I¡¯ll call you Y-yuhi-Yukiko alright!¡±

    Had she fallen into some cruel god¡¯s sadistic game?

    Nagae Yukiko. The savior sent down for her in a moment of crisis was¡ª The single most loathsome boy in ss 2-7. It was Yokomichi Hajime.

    ¡°Somebody, help¡ª¡±

    I heard it. It¡¯s Yukiko.

    I thought it was destiny.

    ¡°Bufuh, fufuh, don¡¯t Worry, Fuhii, don¡¯t worry your pretty little Head, Nagae-san. I will, proh-Protect, yuuu¡±

    Our fates were practically entwined.

    When I saw her, Yukiko was being chased down by goblins and driven into a corner. If she¡¯s caught, I¡¯ll get to see the plot-line of a dounjin yed out.

    And, that¡¯s where Ie in!

    This, is literally happening... Is this, legit light novel-tier plot, is seriously gonna be happening!?

    Being OP as fuck feels too good already. But now, Yukiko¡¯s watching me, my sweet, sweet Yukiko isying her eyes only on me. And I showed her alright. The coolest, most epic thing a man can do. I had her witness how I can and will protect the girl I love.

    She¡¯s pretty much in the bag now. Yukiko Route, full steam ahead.

    ¡°Nagae-san, I will, Always, protect You! Fuhih, Fuhihi...¡±

    Would you look at that. Yukiko looks so damn happy with me stroking her head. Her shoulders are trembling and she¡¯s sobbing quietly. This has gotta be because, after being almost crushed by fear, she is relieved to the point of tears from being rescued by her ultimate savior. That¡¯s me.

    It¡¯s okay, Yukiko. I¡¯m here for you. I¡¯ll always be here for you, babe. I won¡¯t let ¡®em touch a hair on your body.<hr>Next

 Chapter 59: Yokomichi Hajime and Nagae Yukiko

    Chapter 59: Yokomichi Hajime and Nagae Yukiko

    Nagae Yukiko was in despair. She was already in a dungeon where man-eating monsters strutted about. But of all things unlucky, the one she had to pair up with turned out to be Yokomichi Hajime.

    The title, Gross Otaku, wouldn¡¯t fit anyone better than him.

    If it¡¯s only a passive interest in anime, manga or games, most boys would be involved in at least one of those. Even Souma Yuuto, alongside his wholesome practice of kendo, would on asion, y video games, enjoy manga, chat with his ssmates on those topics; getting a disapproving word from his sister on as a result.

    There were also boys with a greater than average interest in the domain. In Yukiko¡¯s eyes, the mismatched pair that was Momokawa Kotarou and Saitou Masaru would be described as normal otaku, and most others in ss likely thought so too. There were plenty of other otaku-ish boys around, so these two never stood out. They were basically living quiet, non-outstanding, peaceful school lives, where they wouldn¡¯t cause any trouble unless it was something big, and in addition, never inspired any disgust from others, making them epted as members of the same ss.

    But in stark contrast, there was Yokomichi Hajime. Even though Saitou Masaru was simr to him, being fat in addition to being an otaku, the former wasn¡¯t hated. In fact, his over-excitable personality actually gathered a positive impression of him in ss.

    Yokomichi Hajime and Saitou Masaru. The fundamental difference between the two, inplete honesty, would be in their character. Yukiko didn¡¯t know what was going on in Hajime¡¯s mind, and neither did she wish to know. But considering that he would repeatedly cause problems in ss, it would be fair to brand him as ill-mannered.

    Every word of his came out asints. Always cynical, never focused, denying everything. On the spring of entering section 7 of their 2nd year in highschool, Saitou Masaru, as a fellow otaku, called out to Hajime who stayed in his lonesome. In response,

    ¡°¡ª Tch!! This is why I hate filthy casuals!¡±

    Snapped Hajime, and Masaru, predictably, also got mad, starting off a dispute. Yukiko should know, she was there when it happened.

    It didn¡¯t devolve to the point where the homeroom teacher would intervene, or they would be sent to the counseling room, but Hajime would often get into simr squabbles with other people in ss too.

    Thus,e the dawn of Golden Week, he attained the nickname of Porky. The boys hated his self-important guts, and the girls detested his simply ugly appearance. Yokomichi Hajime was thus, isted. Like the saying goes: let the sleeping dogs lie, as such, it never turned into bullying and everyone simply ignored him. But this in fact protected the peace of ss 2-7. Since basically, Hajime never called out to anyone himself.

    ¡°Here, Yukiko. We only got walnuts, so eat up¡±

    And at present, that Hajime was behaving as if he was her closest friend¡ª No, as if he was her lover, he was being insistently over-familiar. For the already weak-willed Yukiko, that act itself was incredibly terrifying.

    ¡°Ah... Mm, thanks...¡±

    With trembling finger tips, she received the fairy walnut from Hajime¡¯s hand. Those hands that had just now finished murdering Goma were dabbed in plenty of blood. Naturally, the walnut grasped by such a hand would also be... But Yukiko couldn¡¯t allow herself to shout, "That¡¯s filthy!" in refusal.

    ¡°¡ª Hii!?¡±

    Yet, she ended up letting out a small scream because, the next moment, Hajime grabbed her hand. Even when simply touching with her fingertips gave her such an awful sense of repugnance, having her whole hand tightly grasped gave her psychological damage akin to cockroaches crawling all over her palm.

    ¡°Ah, my bad, it¡¯s just¡±

    ¡®Just¡¯ what exactly? She had no interesting in what sort of wed logic in his brain made Hajime suddenly grab a girl¡¯s hand he¡¯s not even close with. But she at least understood that such an action doesn¡¯t ¡®Just happen¡¯ and she realized the ulterior implications behind it.

    ¡°Yukiko, your hand¡¯s, so warm¡±

    Her spine chilled over. The feeling struck her like lightning, the feeling that, as a girl, her body was in danger.

    But the frail Yukiko could do nothing but stiffly shake her shoulders. She could, in no way, draw back her hand.

    ¡°N-not really... They¡¯re, normal¡±

    Her only form of resistance was a curt response. She must not let this man see her fear. Much less her disgust, that, she absolutely cannot hint at.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never let go of this hand. Yukiko, I¡¯ll always protect you...¡±

    Spouting iprehensible and unreasonable bogus, Hajime reluctantly lets go of Yukiko¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Uuu... Uu...¡±

    Finished with their unsavory meal of walnuts and water, Hajime had fallen asleep, and Yukiko finally got a chance to wash her hands. She kept her hands sunk in the chilled fountain water, unconcerned with her fingers numbing from the tips, simply needing with wash, cleanse, and purify herself.

    ¡°I hate this... I can¡¯t, stand it anymore...¡±

    Yokomichi Hajime was strong. He was wholly relying on the power of his Warrior calling, but he, nheless, brought out its potential and wielded it as his own.

    He had the gall to tell her, ¡®I¡¯ll protect you¡¯, with his stinking breath, so at the very least he seemed to have concern for her safety. In fact, whenever they encountered any monsters, Hajime would keep Yukiko behind him and hunt down those beasts with determination. Despite the fact that he looked like a psychotic killer intoxicated in blood and violence, it was also fact that he actually protected Yukiko from those fearsome monsters.

    As long as she was with Hajime, she would be much safer than if she was alone. She could live without a constant fear for her life.

    In spite of that, this situation, where Yukiko was alone together with Hajime was, as a young woman, presenting an unprecedented danger to the thing most important after her life.

    Hajime had yet toe on to her forcefully. But, having her head stroked, and just before, with her hand... His actions were clearly escting.

    She wasn¡¯t one to boast an abundance of experience with men, but Yukiko could at least tell when one¡¯s gaze was muddied in desire. She was not interested in whether Yokomichi Hajime was truly in love with her, but she couldn¡¯t help but realize how he was lusting after the her like a dog in heat.

    If Yokomichi Hajime had a forceful personality like Higuchi Kyouya, he would have no doubt had his way with her upon arrival at their first fairy square. Against the practiced Warrior, Yukiko, who didn¡¯t even have the courage to shoot a monster with her ice magic, had no hope of resisting. Once Hajime felt like it, Yukiko would most definitely be vited.

    Perhaps, she should just give up, epting him could be a guarantee in it¡¯s own right, she thought. It was as if Hajime was thinking he had be the protagonist in a shonen manga, and as a result, he was trying very hard to act cool in front of her. That was the scary part. There was no way of telling when he would attack, when his lust would ovee his reason. No, that time may not be far, that fate would surely befall her soon enough.

    Her small hope would be if they could meet up with other ssmates before then... But Yukiko couldn¡¯t honestly rely on that either. Looking at how Hajime was behaving, he might as well consider others as obstacles and remove them. Remove, or otherwise said, he could straight out murder them. Yukiko could quite easily imagine those ssmates who ignored him having their heads lopped off by Hajime¡¯s blood-smeared greatsword.

    She wanted to escape. She wanted release from the curse that was Yokomichi Hajime. But she couldn¡¯t help but be terrified of the hell that would surelye after.

    ¡°Please, someone... Anyone, save me...¡±

    But this time, God didn¡¯t answer Yukiko¡¯s pleas.

    And then, That time finally arrived.

    ¡°¡ª Yukiko I¡¯m, in lo-LaLuh-love with you, so¡±

    After beating a particrlyrge red dog, one so called boss monster, they had teleported from the transfer circle in that room and arrived at a new fairy square. And upon arrival, suddenly, and without any rhyme or reason, a blood-soaked Hajime spoke those words.

    ¡°Eh...¡±

    She had expected this. Yet, there was no way she could be prepared for it... Yukiko ending up desperately limiting her expression to only surprise.

    ¡°I Love you so... I¡¯m d-doing it, Alright?¡±

    Hajime takes hold of Yukiko¡¯s small shoulders with his dirty, bloody hands.

    ¡°Hii!! NN-O...¡±

    She couldn¡¯t think. Hajime¡¯s words of confession, these were in essence, a telling sign that he had reached the limits of his reason.

    ¡°I can do it right? RIGHT?¡±

    Little by little, his grip on her shoulders tightened. It was painful.

    ¡°NO¡ª¡±

    Rather than physical pain, it was her mental agony that was being tested. Her life may be at risk, but she realized that she simply couldn¡¯t let Hajime have his way with her.

    It was possible that her pride as a woman had, just then, ovee her fear.

    ¡°¡ªNOO!!¡±

    Mustering strength in her slender arms, Yukiko pushed away at Hajime. Naturally, his already 100 kilogram mass, along with his newfound strength as a Warrior meant that Hajime¡¯s body wouldn¡¯t budge. Insdead, Yukiko herself staggered, but seeded in escaping from his hands.

    ¡°Eh, huh?... w-Why...¡±

    Hajime stared dumbfounded at his hands that had been made to let go, somehow utterly bewildered. Perhaps he never even dreamed that he would be rejected.

    ¡°I-I have... someone I, like...¡±

    The phraseing out of her mouth was of the most orthodox in rejecting a confession of love.

    ¡°huh, HAh!? You¡¯re... kidding me¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true¡±

    It was no lie. Nagae Yukiko being in love, was the unfiltered truth.

    ¡°N-no way, Souma¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not Souma-kun¡±

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s Tendou!?¡±

    ¡°No, not him either... I like, no well... I¡¯m already, dating him¡±

    ¡°Wuh... What the hell... The Fuck are you on about, no Way, Who is it then!?¡±

    ¡°¡ª Higuchi-kun¡±

    That too, was no lie. Inplete and utter truth, Nagae Yukiko loved Higuchi Kyouya, a boy of the same ss, and furthermore, they were in a rtionship.

    ¡°Ha, HahA... No, damn, way... That¡¯s gotta be a lie, almost got me¡±

    Hajime¡¯s reaction would probably be the same as anyone in their ss.

    Nagae Yukiko, an unremarkable, in, quiet girl. Higuchi Kyouya, if one doesn¡¯t count exceptions like Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuichi, he would rank towards the top in ss, and for better or worse, possessed a powerful character. If put in a school caste system, the boy and girl would no doubt be inpletely separate levels.

    In fact, the two had no point of intersection in their school lives. And there was no one iming they saw them talking to each other in ss either.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying, I really am in a rtionship with Higuchi-kun¡±

    ¡°Lies! Lies, lies, there¡¯s no damn way... You got no fucking Proof!¡±

    ¡°I have it¡±

    Yukiko withdrew from her pocket, her smartphone that she had turned off upon her arrival at the dungeon. Her ghastly pale fingers softly opened a digital picture album.

    ¡°Here, this is a picture from our first date¡±

    What was projected there was a scene that would be impossible to find in the 2-7 ssroom. An image showing a joyful couple, Nagae Yukiko and Higuchi Kyouya, their bodies in close proximity.

    It was likely a holiday, as they were both in their everyday clothes. Yukiko looked as in as ever, while Kyouya stood out with his shy silver essories. Looking at them together, no one would think that they suited each other but, Yukiko¡¯s shy, bashful expression, alongside Higuchi¡¯s strangely giddy face made the two of them appear as though they were truly happy together.

    ¡°No way... Yukiko, with fucking Higuchi... With that fucking DQN...¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that about Higuchi-kun (my boyfriend)¡±

    ¡°B-boyfriend... N-noh-NO fuckkin¡¯ WAY! SHUT UP, that¡¯s a Lie and you Know it. Me, you¡¯re Messing with me, you just wanna Trick me, don¡¯t You!?¡±

    Suddenly shouting, Hajime snatched away Yukiko¡¯s article of proof that was her phone.

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    Hajime¡¯s stubby, ckened fingers thus mercilessly disclosed the maiden¡¯s hidden away memories. Indeed, Yukiko¡¯s phone not only had that one picture of those two together, but had many other wonderful scenes together with her boyfriend preserved inside.

    Things like the time when they first started going out, they were at a nearby shopping mall where they almost ran into the Souma siblings, and had to quickly hide away. Things like at the beach, at the pool, at the festival, all those summer vacation events that could be called cliche yet were utterly thrilling to do together with him.

    And finally, like the time they first did the deed, her first, at some point in the summer.

    ¡°Ah, a...uaAAAA...¡±

    Making a face of anguish as if he¡¯d just seen something otherworldly levels of disgusting, Hajime groaned, and released the phone from sheer shock. The still lit screen showed the couple, in bed, naked, and holding each other close.

    ¡°wh-h-Hoh-WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRE!!¡±

    It was no different from a beast¡¯s roar. Hajime¡¯s sudden howl was easily overshadowing the recently defeated boss red dog¡¯s cry.

    ¡°youUUU, stiNKIN¡¯ WHOOORREE! T-thought you could Trick me, did yooOUUUUUUUUUU!¡±

    ¡°¡ª Eis Shield!?¡±

    As if he had transformed into an animal, he kept saying iprehensible things while furiously charging at her... Which she just barely stopped with a shield of ice.

    ¡°Bugeh!?¡±

    Having mmed face first into the bulky wall of ice, Hajime staggered and yelped like a frog being stomped on.

    However, a Warrior¡¯s charge was no small force. Despite him bashing against the ice wall like an idiot, the thick ice had suffered a crack.

    ¡° Eis Mist!¡±

    She invoked her specialty without a moment¡¯s dy. From the beginning, Yukiko only had this to escape from monsters.

    ¡°Fuck! Oi, where¡¯d you Go, where Are you, Yukikooo! I¡¯ll never forgive you, fucking bitch, acting all proper to Decieve ME, you putrid stinking Whore, try¡¯na Honeytrap MEE!¡±

    Along with the foul and hatefulnguage, because she had be a mage, Yukiko could feel it. She could feel beyond the pure white mist, the presence of raging mana. Mana wasn¡¯t only the energy used to invoke spells, but also served as the source of the superhuman strength dwelling in a Warrior. This effect applied for humans and monsters alike.

    This magical presence acted as a form of bloodlust, warning Yukiko of her greatest crisis yet. She had no choice but to escape, even if it meant leaving the safety of the fairy square.

    ¡°Hah... Hahh!¡±

    She simply ran through the stone passages. Run, run as she may, the ever-encroaching voice never got far away. It was fortunate that Hajime never attained any speed enhancing, or as he called it, Mobility Boosting Skill, but since he had nigh inexhaustible stamina from his Toughness, loosing him proved difficult. Hajime was slow on his legs, but Yukiko wasn¡¯t fast either. If she was a runner like Natsukawa Minami, she could have zipped away without trouble, but Yukiko was a genuine bookworm, and in addition, had a mage ss. Running fast was asking too much of her.

    ¡°Hah... Hahh, Ah!?¡±

    And ultimately, Yukiko¡¯s luck had run out. At the end of a narrow alley-like stone path, she ended up... At a dead end.

    ¡°Bufuh... BuFuh... Yukikoo... Wait dammiit, yukikoOOOO¡±

    Revenge. This is my revenge after having everything betray me, my rightful vengeance.

    Nagae Yukiko. She made a big mistake betraying my pure love. I won¡¯t forgive her, never, I won¡¯t forgive you... Fuck, you fucking closet slut bitch. NTR is seriously shit, fucking terrible.

    ¡°¡ª Fuuh, Fuh, Bueeeh, oh, Oh HEY, It¡¯s a Dead End¡±

    At the end of a long passage, there was a dark, dreary, stone-built room. This dungeon has a ton of these things, rooms that don¡¯t go anywhere. There¡¯s no hidden doors or passages, and as long as no ce is copsed, it¡¯d serve as a dead end.

    In other words, me standing in front of this one entrance to the room means, Yukiko¡¯s been perfectly cornered.

    ¡°Eheh, Yukikoo...¡±

    This is for revenge, so Yukiko can¡¯tin no matter what I do. I can do anything to her and it won¡¯t be my fault. Yukiko, my precious Yukiko, right now I have the right to do anything to you... That¡¯s right, anything.

    ¡°Y-Yukiko...¡±

    I entered the room. In this dark, ssroom-sized room, I quickly find Yukiko. She has nowhere left to run, so she¡¯s probably given up, and is huddled up in a corner.

    The room¡¯s already murky as hell. I can barely see the corners but... Yukiko¡¯s fair, slender arms stand out in the minuscule amount of light.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s too Late to apologize ok... This is all your Fault... Y-you had the nerve to get a Boyfriend without telling Me... Worse still, it had to be fucking Higuchi... You¡¯re over, bitch!?¡±

    I was at the peak of rage, and was about to pounce onto the seated down Yukiko when, I noticed. First, I picked up the smell. I¡¯ve been getting very familiar with this scent these few days.

    Then, I saw. The pool up blood spreading under Yukiko.

    ¡°Sh-she¡¯s dead...¡±

    You¡¯re kidding... L-legit? Yukiko¡¯s legit, dead?

    ¡°H-howe...¡±

    I don¡¯t get it. I have no idea, but I¡¯m getting shivers. My legs were shaking but I edged closer to Yukiko even while staggering.

    ¡°Uahh, she¡¯s literally... dead¡±

    Blood, wasing out of Yukiko¡¯s neck. It was still vividly pouring out. Must¡¯ve stabbed it just recently.

    There¡¯s a blood-stained knife in her right hand. This is the one I gave her as a gift for self defense, a rtively good quality goma knife. She stabbed this into her throat, no doubt.

    And tightly gripped in her left hand was... a memo pad?

    ¡°Ah, Fuck this... Y-you really liked Higuchi that much more than me, fuuuck...¡±

    On the memo pad, there were pictures of Yukiko and Higuchi kissing while hugging, no, there was a heart drawn on the part where their lips touched, shitty photo booth (purikura) pics. Stuff like, ¡®Yukiko, Kyouya, one year anniversary, we¡¯ll be together forever <3¡¯ was written down.

    ¡°Goddammit... Yukiko...¡±

    I really loved you, you know. Why, how did it turn out this way. Strange, this is all out of whack.

    I was supposed to make a harem in this parallel world, where I¡¯d make only Yukiko my legal wife, and live every day happily... I was even sure it was destiny the moment I encountered her in the dungeon... This is all a lie. This just has to be a bad dream.

    Actually, there¡¯s no way Yukiko and Higuchi are going out. Yukiko¡¯s the same as Yuki from The Mncholy of Suzuhara Haruka, she¡¯s docile, and in, but he cute and¡ª

    ¡°Y-Yukiko...¡±

    Looks beautiful even though she¡¯s dead. It¡¯s like she¡¯s just sleeping. If there wasn¡¯t the stab on her neck and the pool of blood, I¡¯d only think she was sleeping.

    I¡¯ve watched Yukiko¡¯s sleeping face many times now. I¡¯d been secretly watching when we rested at the fairy squares. I¡¯m pretty good at holding back, if I do say so myself.

    Like really, just looking at Yukiko¡¯s lovely and defenseless figure, makes me...

    ¡°Ah¡±

    Pop a boner. Look, even now, even when I know she¡¯s dead... Crap, WTF, I¡¯m fucking diamonds.

    Hold up bro, what¡¯s wrong with you. Yukiko¡¯s dead for crying out loud. She ain¡¯t sleeping man. She¡¯s dead, meaning she ain¡¯t waking up, ever. She won¡¯t wake up no matter what, you, do...

    ¡°Uahh, Ah... She¡¯s, still warm...¡±

    I touched her. Yukiko¡¯s peaceful face resting eternally, I stroked her fair cheek with a finger. It was astoundingly, warm.

    ¡°UOOH, oh man... This is, awhh man...¡±

    I hold her face with both hands. The texture of Yukiko¡¯s infinitely soft, warm cheeks transmit fully into my palms. It feels different from a doll (figurine). It feels like a woman.

    ¡°Hah, Hah... Yukiko... Yukikooh!¡±

    I¡¯m having my first kiss. There¡¯s this old line where it says it¡¯s supposed to taste like lemon but... The taste of Yukiko¡¯s lips, it was much more amazing.

    ¡°yumMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!¡±

    Holy-fucking-balls. Tasty. Seriously tasty. It¡¯s sweet like my mouth is melting, while bitter enough to make the tip of my tongue shiver in delight. The taste is all over the ce, but every one of those vors are stimting, and all of them are satisfying. Simply delectable.

    What literally is this? Do all girls taste like this? I wonder why, saliva isn¡¯t supposed to have any taste. But then, where¡¯s this irresistible tasteing fr¡ª

    ¡°Ah, blood¡±

    I got absorbed on the kiss, and made her lip area sloppy with my saliva. A tiny stream of blood exited from her half open mouth. Yeah well, she got stabbed in the throat so some blooding out isn¡¯t all that strange.

    But still, the red blood oveyed on Yukiko¡¯s porcin white skin looks really vivid. Red on white, it¡¯s a simple 2 colorbination, but if I think of it like Yukiko¡¯s blood on Yukiko¡¯s skin, it¡¯s kinda exciting. It¡¯s turning me on.

    I can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s in a sexual meaning or an appetizing one. But one thing¡¯s for sure¡ª She looks delicious.

    ¡°!?¡±

    I lick it, the blooding from her mouth. With that, I understand.

    Ahh, it¡¯s this, this is it. That explosively delectable vor I tasted, it was the taste of blood.

    ¡°Y-YukiKOH¡ª¡±

    About what happened after, it was like seeing a dream, my consciousness was hazy. But the event was distinctly left in my mind. It was my glorious, first time.

    It started with a kiss. I fully indulged myself in the taste of her lips and tongue¡ª bite, munch¡ªYukiko¡¯s mouth and tongue are so small, I could eat them up with one bite.

    ¡°Hah, hah...¡±

    Next came her chest. If you¡¯re any sort of man, boobs are life. Like pealing the skin off a peach, I impatiently took off Yukiko¡¯s sailor uniform¡ª rip, tear¡ª Her modest breasts white as snow¡ª crunch!! You¡¯re beautiful, Yukiko.

    ¡°Fuhah, buhaAAA...¡±

    Well it¡¯s rude to the girl if you only focus on her breasts. I¡¯m a guy who¡¯ll love every nook and cranny of his woman¡ª chomp, chomp ¨C¨C One at a time, with great care, I partook in every morsel ofYukiko¡¯s body allowing not a single leftover. But look, therees a point where a man¡¯s gotta do what a man¡¯s gotta do.

    ¡°Bufuh, fuh, fuh...¡±

    The moment Iid eyes on her underwear, pure white, perfectly reflecting Yukiko¡¯s prim and proper image¡ª smash.

    ¡°BuruooOOOOOOOOOooh!!¡±

    I feasted on Yukiko, deliriously, ignoring all else, I devoured this woman¡¯s whole body.

    This wasn¡¯t like the sexual catharsis of ejaction. This satisfaction wasn¡¯t something you can get with simple sex. Domination? Conquest? Monopolizing?

    Nope, all wrong. This has to be what they call ¡®love.¡¯

    I love Yukiko. And She loves me. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so tasty, that¡¯s why it feels so good. I couldn¡¯t think of any other reason.

    This clearly meant that Yukiko was always, only mine. Yukiko is only mine. And now, the two of us had be one. I¡¯m so relieved, no more worries now. I¡¯m not letting that fucking Higuchi touch a hair on her body. That bastard will never touch my Yukiko.

    Ahh, love, love is such a wonderful thing.

    ¡°¡ªBufuh, BURRRPP!¡±

    After relishing in my love, what came up from deep in my stomach was a big ol¡¯ belch with a bit of red haze mixed in. Maybe cause I¡¯m stuffed, I suddenly feel really sleepy.

    I mean, obviously you¡¯re gonna sleep after you have a go at it. I ced my heated body on the chilly floor to cool myself down, and lied down with my hands and feed sprawled out.

    There was nothing around me. There was no one else here, not anymore.

    Since, Yukiko and me, we¡¯d already be one.

    As I basked in the afterglow of having eternally bonded to Yukiko, I fell asleep in the greatest mood ever.

    ¡°Feast¡±

    Which would mean, what I¡¯m hearing now is in a dream.

    ¡°Feast, Feast¡±

    Someone was talking. More like, shut up already, it was more like a howling beast? What I¡¯m hearing is just howling, but I somehow understand what it¡¯s saying.

    ¡°Feast to your heart¡¯s content, quench your thirst¡±

    I could see a dim figure of the howling beast, maybe. What is that? A lion, no, wolf? Maybe a pig? I don¡¯t get it. But it¡¯s big. It was a huge, ck beast.

    ¡°Wee, kinling of mine, wee¡ª Cannibalizer¡±

    Kinling Cannibalizer

    Evil Eater: Feast on all things. Meat, bone, poison, magic, and asionally, even on skills, you can feast on all.

    Great Maw: For feasting on all things, a monstrous mouth, and a gigantic jaw.

    Bottomless Stomach: For all things feasted on, a gargantuan gut.

    Predated Skill(s)

    Nagae Yukiko¡¯s Ice Magic: Reproduce a part of lower grade ice magic.

    There¡¯s this bizarre feeling of stuff vigorously entering my head. It¡¯s not a very good feeling, but, never mind that, I just wanna sleep.

    I forgot about that vague image of a beast, and this time, peacefully, fell asleep.<hr>Next

 Chapter 60: Butterfly

    Chapter 60: Butterfly

    Hot damn, look what time it is! It¡¯s time to get another totally awesome power from my patron god. That thought came when I realized I was once again in that same old ck dimension.

    "I shall grant you a new Protection"

    ¡°Yes, thank you very much, Ruinhilde-sama!¡±

    So if you can, please spare me the pain! Thinking this was also a same old repetition.

    "Chaos. It is not a thing that merely exists as phenomena"

    Ah, he¡¯s started another one of those iprehensible God lectures again. To be perfectly honest, even if he goes all deep and profound on me when he¡¯s giving me a new Protection, all I care about is if it¡¯s gonna hurt or not, so none of the talk is actually entering my head, you know?

    But well, I¡¯ll try hearing him out as best as I can. I hope he¡¯s OK with that.

    "Put two people together, and they¡¯re either friends and foes. With three, one vies to take a position of neutrality, or even opportune for the winning side. The situationplicates as you add more. In other words, chaos ensues"

    Ruinhilde-sama grandly spread out his arms, as he spoke deeply on the nature of chaos. And out of nowhere, brilliant lights burst forth. From every conceivable direction, the lights danced like a storm of cherry blossoms.

    Red, blue, yellow, green. These lights flickered in a myriad of colors¡ª no, not quite. They were butterflies. With ck-lined wings like those of the ck swallowtail, these critters pped about each with their own color. Hundreds, thousands of these glittering butterflies were dancing and, I see, this really is an illusory scene worthy of being called a miracle of God.

    "Mine devotee, Momokawa Kotarou. As you are still of mortal flesh, take time in dipping deep into chaos. Lose yourself, be immersed, and set yourself adrift, if not... Hmm, at any rate, you did well"

    ¡°I, I see¡­ wai-, Buwah!?¡±

    As I wondered if what this god was saying is that I¡¯m very praiseworthy, the gathered butterflies in the darkness rushed towards me all at once. A-Are you stupid, do I look like a flower with delicious nectars inside! I didn¡¯t think so!

    ¡°Uh, Uuh, FuwaaaAAAAAAAAA¡ª¡±

    Swallowed into the storm of butterflies, I Log Out from the God Area.

    Contra-beat Butterfly: Using medicines, create a butterfly that releases the opposite effect with it¡¯s scales.

    With this new curse in hand, the Worst Harem Party, with me inaugurated as its sub-leader, entered once again into the dungeon.

    It need not be said that the atmosphere surrounding us was really bad. None of us showed it on our faces, but none could deny that the air was dangerously close to its boiling point.

    Nevertheless, our progress itself was going alright. It¡¯s because ss Rep, who I myself believed to be a good leader, took her position seriously, so we were able to fight as a team somewhat OK. There were a few ces where her decisions felt a bit off, but they weren¡¯t anything big, so I generally went with it.

    If we could survive thanks to her orders, then I had no qualms. The only time I did speak up would be when we encountered enemies that were actually life-threatening.

    Right, for example, like that powerful Mantis from before¡ª The Note Circle has since updated to let us know that it¡¯s known as a Knight Mantis¡ª and like that time when 2 of those appeared at once.

    ¡°ss Rep, let¡¯s get Mei-chan up front¡±

    ¡°But then, the rearguard¡ª¡±

    ¡°Give me some ice walls after my bog sets in. There¡¯s two of those Mantes this time, so if we don¡¯t go full power here, we might regret it¡±

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, everything alright?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, thest junction was a few hundred meters back. Even if we get Ants from behind, we can buy time with the bog and ice. If you guys can take out even one of those Mantes in that time, we¡¯ll win easy.¡±

    ¡°Got it, then, I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    Leaving behind a bright smile, Mei-chan became a gale as she rushed off to battle up ahead.

    As of currently, our usual formation had Kenzaki + Natsukawa in vanguard, ss Rep and Souma Sakura in the middle, with me, Takanashi, and finally, Mei-chan protecting the rear. To speak of what¡¯s different from before, we¡¯ve got a solid mid-guard with our magebo, ss Rep + Souma Sakura, so it¡¯s a step in the right direction I¡¯d say. Also, we¡¯ve had Mei-chan stationed with us, so the defense back here has improved too.

    All of these changes were things I suggested before heading out. ss Rep asked a few questions about my rationale, but otherwise epted right away after I answered.

    It was a tough decision taking Mei-chan away from the front, but in the dungeon, there¡¯s always the danger of a pincer attack. At any rate, it was necessary to put more strength into our rearguard. Plus, taking into ount the current circumstances between Mei-chan and Kenzaki... Anyway, Kenzaki¡¯ll fight better if we put her only with Natsukawa-san. This also takes into ount that we need to put her Dualwielder skills to full use.

    ¡°Rotten Bog¡ª and done. Alright ss Rep, Kenzaki-san and Natsukawa-san will take on one of the Mantes, you and Souma-san provide spell support with all you got. Me and Mei-chan will stop the other one¡±

    ¡°Can you two handle it?¡±

    ¡°We can slow it down. In that time, you guys have to beat yours quick!¡±

    ¡°... You don¡¯t, need to tell us¡±

    ¡°Got¡¯cha!¡±

    Souma Sakura behaved outwardly annoyed, but anyway, Natsukawa-san gave out an earnest reply. Kenzaki-san didn¡¯t say anything, but she probably understands the n.

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, so Kenzaki-san, don¡¯t bete okay?¡±

    ¡°O-of course... Just, leave it to me...¡±

    Facing the Mantes, Mei-chan who was shoehorned into the vanguard, spoke to Kenzaki with a smile. To which thetter replied with a shakey voice. Yup, we definitely can¡¯t put her and Mei-chan together any time soon.

    Aside from that, considering everyone¡¯s feelings on the matter, it¡¯d be much better to split the work between me and Mei-chan, and the Souma team.

    ¡°¡ª Guys, they¡¯re here!!¡±

    Natsukawa-san who possessed the Thief¡¯s enhanced hearing, clearly deciphered the position of the Mantes by the beat of their wings echoing inside the cave and announced that their arrival was upon us. It¡¯s because we had her excellent perception that I could hand out orders and even had spare time to exin the strategy.

    Now, all that¡¯s left was the fight itself. With our current collective strength, we should be able to take on 2 Mantes at the same time. It¡¯s a good chance, I¡¯ll test our my new curse magic here too.

    ¡° Lux Sagitta ¡±

    ¡° Eis Sagitta ¡±

    As expected, the two Mantes came flying from beyond the curve ahead, and our mid-field mages got the first attack in. And no, they weren¡¯t so stupid as to try and aim at both, and properly targeted only one, the one on the right, let¡¯s name this one Mantis A. Arrows of light and ice blitzed towards it.

    But this enemy wasn¡¯t half-baked. Sharply swinging it¡¯s 2 scythes, Mantis A deflected their preemptive attack.

    Seeing which of them the mages chose, Kenzaki-san and Natsukawa-san now knew their mark. Leaving A to those 4, me and Mei-chan started on containing Mantis B.

    ¡° Red Fever, ckhair Bind!!¡±

    I set Red Fever on A and B, just because, and extended my good old tentacles towards B.

    ¡°¡ª SHAA!¡±

    With a piercing cry, the braided tentacles, that were aimed for its 4 legs, were quickly scythed off. That being said, when you¡¯re on Mei-chan¡¯s level, even something like that worked as good support.

    ¡°Ha!!¡±

    With a spirited yell, she swung down her Roaring Steel Halberd. Mantis B instantly drew back its scythes and received therge ax-de.

    And stopped it. But, though slightly, the Mantis was indeed pushed back.

    ¡°Woah, Mei-chan¡¯s incredible...¡±

    She bested a monster in pure strength. That Mei-chan, it¡¯s like she was getting EXP every time she defeated an enemy and was levelling up when before I know it.

    Though I¡¯m jelly of her Status values that seemed to be rising so well, I¡¯ll get back to what I need to be doing. I mean, I¡¯m just a Shaman. The best I can do is maybe harass the enemy when we¡¯re in a fight.

    ¡°Soar, oh wings of misfortune, rooted in this¡ª¡±

    Reciting the aria engraved in my head, I take out my, practically useless since I never actually use it, antidote med. The usual ointment A is made of white blossoms(white flower), with small amounts of shamdelion(false dandelion), and fairy walnut leaf. This antidote here is made with the blueflower as a base, adding simr portions of shamdelion and walnut leaves.

    Who knows what kind of poisons this thing will work on. I can¡¯t really tell since Intuition Pharmacy only gave me a rough exnation. But whatever it is, it¡¯s definitely an antidote of some kind, no doubt.

    Implying that, this, using medicines, create a butterfly that releases the opposite effect with it¡¯s scales, effect of my new curse will allow me to take this and manifest a butterfly carrying the poison it¡¯s supposed to cure.

    ¡°¡ªContra-beat Butterfly¡±

    In the next moment, the pasty antidote reformed into swallowtail butterflies with a blue luminescence. They each gently fluttered up from the palm of my hand. I wonder if their number depends on the amount of meds used. The blue, poisonous butterflies rose from my hand until there were 10, which is when all the antidote had been expended.

    ¡°Nice, now go!¡±

    I trymanding them like I do Rem, and the poison butterflies start heading for the target just how I picture them to. Granted, they¡¯re going at a butterfly¡¯s pace, so it¡¯s quite honestly not fast. But having the ability to move freely in the air, they should be able to collide into the goal.

    This goal that is Mantis B was presently in fiercebat with Mei-chan. With it¡¯s big,pound eyes, there¡¯s no way it¡¯d miss my blue glowies. But as if implying it sensed absolutely no harm from them, the Mantis showed no signs of trying to avoid or drive away my butterflies.

    Making sure not to identally hit Mei-chan, I go around from behind and¡ª Bullseye.

    Uponnding on the Mantis¡¯ back, the butterflies, as if remembering that they were beings of curse mana, dispersed into blue phosphorescence. These blue-white glowy things must be their poisonous scales.

    ¡°Tch, it¡¯s not instant effect¡±

    All shots were on target. However, Mantis B showed no changes at all.

    ¡°That was useless, using ckhair would have been¡ª¡±

    ¡°Not at all. Look, this Mantis is getting weaker!¡±

    Yah! She yelled, swinging down her halberd once more. She beat back the Mantis even more than she had in her first attack.

    ¡°And it¡¯s reactions, are also¡ª dull!!¡±

    And another one. The upswing from her weapon cut off Mantis¡¯ right hand scythe from the base and sent it flying.

    The bug was a good match for Mei-chan using both its scythes in unison. Take away even one of those, and the fight was practically over.

    ¡°So believe me when I say, your poison really worked. Thank you Kotaoru-kun, it was a great help¡±

    Following the same swing that cut off its arm, she sliced off its left frontal leg. Its posture now broken, what remained was for it to be chopped up like a cucumber, its pieces finally sinking into a pool of its own green blood. With that as a background, Mei-chan gave me a delighted grin as she praised the efficacy of my poison butterflies.

    Honestly, I seriously don¡¯t feel like being praised at all. Any way you look at it, what I did only slightly weakened the creature. Mei-chan¡¯s the awesome one for turning it into absolute mincemeat.

    Wait, is the Souma team still fighting over there...

    ¡°Fuuh, we beat it somehow¡±

    30 seconds after Mei-chan was done, Mantis A, after being pin-cushioned by light and ice arrows, and hacked into by the dual weapon users, fell defeated.

    Seeing how their side was one upped by Mei-chan, Kenzaki-san was making nces at her with eyes that looked afraid.

    With my meds and Souma Sakura¡¯s healing magic, her absolutely devestated face was already fixed. When sheter opened her eyes, ss Rep took the lead and exined everything. Now, It was like her headstrongness was all a lie, and she listened without a singleint.

    But seeing her like that, no one, not even Mei-chan, said anything. Or rather, they wouldn¡¯t pry in.

    I think everyone¡¯s already fully aware. That Kenzaki Asuna¡¯s heart, that proud girl¡¯s heart, was torn down by the overwhelming violence of the Berserker.

    And now, Kenzaki-san was listening to not only Mei-chan, but even my own orders. This would¡¯ve been unthinkable for the old her. Should I call it progress, or maybe regression... Whatever it is, it¡¯s convenient for me.

    And so, Souma Sakura was the only person left in the list of people trying to get in my hair.

    I should just get Mei-chan to beat her up too, make life easier... Is the kind of evil thought popping into my head, but I¡¯m not stupid enough not to consider the consequences. Otherwise, soon, when we meet back up with Souma Yuuto, it¡¯ll be all over. If I act that straightforwardly evil, I won¡¯t live long.<hr>Next

 Chapter 61: Prior Visitor

    Chapter 61: Prior Visitor

    ¡°¡ªWhy in the world is this cave so long¡±

    Said ss Rep in a somewhat fed up tone.

    After that double Mantis battle, we¡¯ve been going through insect cave after stone dungeon after insect cave. We¡¯ve gotten pretty used to fighting in the caves, but well¡­ As ss Rep justined about, the one we¡¯re in right now felts like it¡¯s been going for ages.

    ¡°This is sort of like, we¡¯ll be meeting a boss soon¡±

    ¡°We could... A giant spider, the Rook Spider was it?¡±

    For some reason, the cave monster series seems to be prefixed with chess vocabry. The Ants are Pawn Ant, Mantis being Knight, and the spider type monster is designated Rook. This was all from updates on our notebooks. So obviously, there¡¯s gonna be the Bishop, Queen, and King types... But I don¡¯t want to meet them if possible. We didn¡¯t get any info on those, so I¡¯ll be praying that they don¡¯t live in this part of the dungeon.

    ¡°¡ª Uwah, spider nests! Ryouko-chan look, it¡¯s gotta be heree!¡±

    Natsukawa-san, who was walking ahead, let us know that our suspicions hade to fruition. As I mustered my courage and caught up to her, there, as expected, I could see a giant spider¡¯s nest.

    The grandness of the area was very telling of its status as a boss room. Despite being an underground passage dug out by the Ants, it had swelled into an atrium sorge, you couldn¡¯t see the cieling. The ce had enough breadth and height that the light elemental¡¯s brightness didn¡¯t reach very far at all.

    We could see dozens of spider webs lined along the walls of this giant pit. No doubt, there¡¯s going to be a Spider here. And it¡¯s going to be stupidlyrge enough to match up with its nest.

    ¡°Rep¡±

    ¡°I know Momokawa-kun. Alright everyone, if this Rook Spider boss really doese out, you know the n¡±

    So she says, but it¡¯s really nothing special.

    The spider webbing is likely very tough, but that¡¯s where our me imbued weaponse in. Kenzaki-san and Natsukawa-san have, respectively, their Red Saber and Red Knife, so they can handle it. Mei-chan¡¯s the only one without any attribute imbued arms, but with Souma Sakura¡¯s Holy Enchant, she should be able topensate.

    The rook represents a castle, or perhaps a tank in modern terms, so I¡¯m expecting the spider to be muchrger than the Mantis that was only a ¡®knight¡¯. Our magic arrows didn¡¯t do much to the Mantis, so the Spider, which may as well have a harder exoskeleton will be even more resilient to offensive spells.

    Basically, we¡¯re having all 3 of our fighters go in, with the mid-guard protecting those front-liners by barraging the creature with spells. Meanwhile, if we get any stray Antsing in, me and Takanashi-san in the rear-line will have to manage the situation. Fundamentally, we don¡¯t let the vanguard get distracted.

    If the Spider happens to be unreasonably tough-shelled, or if it starts bringing Mantises into the fight, we retreat. period.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s do this, people. Sakura, anytime¡±

    ¡°OK¡ª Summon Lux Elemental ¡±

    Souma Sakura created a fairy of light one magnitude brighter than the ones we¡¯ve been using up until now, and released it into the chamber.

    This fairy, that looked like a basketball sized bulb of light, lit up a much wider range, and after confirming that there was nothing suspicious on the ground, we entered the pit.

    ¡°I have the feeling the Spider mighte down from the webs on the ceiling, be caref¡ª¡±

    ss Rep was in the middle of cautioning us when,

    THUDD! A heavy impact grasped our ears.

    ¡°Uwah! Isn¡¯t this too fast!?¡±

    There, was the arachnid monster that left no doubt in mind about its identity being the Rook Spider itself. Its exoskeleton was gray and spiky like an Armor Bear¡¯s, and its 8 legs and giant abdomen were covered in red hair. Quite the toxic color palette. I could imagine that just touching those hairs could inflict paralysis.

    Huge, brutal-looking mandibles that could eat a person whole lined its mouth, and those 8 crimson eyes were looking¡ª Wait, what the, there¡¯s no life in its eyes.

    I mean, yeah, bug eyes always look lifeless, but Pawn Ants and Knight Mantises had eyes with a gleam to them. Enough that you could see them looking at you in pitch darkness. But that feature, was clearlycking here.

    ¡°... Is it dead?¡±

    After calming down a bit, that statement turned out to be fact. The Rook Spider had all its 8 legs sprawled out and its body was nted on the floor. Not a twitch from the tip of its legs to the edge of its mandibles.

    Wasn¡¯t it supposed to get the jump on us by swooping down from above? Howe its dead?

    No rather, who actually killed this thing?

    ¡°¡ªBuFuh¡ª, the hell, who turned on the damn lights?¡±

    It was a voice. Not a sound let out by a monstrous spider, but no doubt, a man¡¯s voice in the Japanese tongue. No actually, I had a good idea whose voice that was.

    ¡°W-wait... Yokomichi-kun?¡±

    ¡°Bufuh, the shit man, looks likepany¡¯s finally here!¡±

    Creeping up the Spider¡¯s back, the guy jumped down full of energy,nding in front of us with an impactful thud.

    There¡¯s no mistaking it, it was Yokomichi Hajime.

    ¡°Hii!?¡±

    Yelped Takanashi-san from behind me as if feeling a repulsion on an instinctive level. But setting her, who wasn¡¯t so strong willed to begin with, aside, I¡¯m willing to bet Souma Sakura and ss Rep were having reactions not very dissimr.

    Nicknamed Porky, this guy was unanimously hated in ss 2-7... Naturally, I too shared the sentiment as I too had gotten heated up with him at some point. This guy that literally everyone hates, this filthy otaku-type asshole, Yokomichi Hajime, hadnded down before us. His mere appearance was enough to warrant screaming from girls.

    Just look at him, this guy¡¯s supposed to be wearing the same uniform (Gakuran) as me, but his looks so filthy. I swear, he¡¯s never even looked for the soap fruit before has he? His clothes were absolutely soaked in third party blood, and he¡¯s been going with it.

    And he stinks. Bad.

    ¡°Oh, OH, UOOOOOOOOOOOO!? Holy fucking, Jackpot! Souma Sakura, Kenzaki, ss Rep... Oioi man, it¡¯s all the Hottest Chicks all lined up!!¡±

    For some bizarre reason, Yokomichi startedughing like a dog. He was pointing andughing like he was having the time of his life.

    Scary.

    Honestly, it¡¯s scary. No one, could say, anything. Even ss Rep, our responsible leader, had her expression frozen stiff. And seeing him buffawing like a buffoon, even I, as sub-leader, I wanted to do something here, but my body just wouldn¡¯t move.

    I was even thinking that fighting the Rook Spider would¡¯ve been an improvement for my mental state.

    Faced with a situation this far off our anticipations, we could only stand there, nted like trees.

    ¡°Great, it¡¯s fucking Great, now this is what I call Fate! Bufufuh, lets see, we got our Busty loli, Takanashi Kotori, the bubbly Natsukawa Minami and¡ª Good lord, oi, who the fuck is she!? Those tits!! Even ginormous is an understatement!?¡±

    Takanashi-san was quivering and had taken me as shield as she does. Yeah,pletely justified this time. Natsukawa-san was also shivering like she¡¯d been doused in cold water.

    On the other hand, even while receiving such frank vulgarities from Yokomichi, Mei-chan held onto her halberd like she wasn¡¯t even fazed. God she¡¯s handsome.

    Looking at Mei-chan back in front of me, getting ready to trash him, I got a few of my marbles back together.

    That¡¯s right. He may be the infamous Yokomichi Hajime... But he¡¯s still just a guy from ss. Before things get bloody, we should try and establishmunication.

    While the rest of the girls kept doing their tree impressions, I stepped out front.

    ¡°H-hey Yokomichi-kun, did you, umm, beat this Spider by yourself?¡±

    ¡°The who!? Oh it¡¯s Momokawa. Filthy Casual Momokawa! Kaah! Do you Think I need a dude in this situation? Have some damnmon Sense. Like seriously, traps are still gay, dammit!¡±

    Fuck, I hate myself for actually understanding what he just said.

    ¡°Yokomichi-kun, just, calm down a bit, I just want to talk¡±

    ¡°Talk? I seem to remember Every one of You trying not so much as to even Look at me before, and what, Now you want to talk? Isn¡¯t that a BIT FUCKING HYPOCRITICAL!¡±

    Yeah we ostracized you, and you deserved every second of it. Not that I¡¯d voice that.

    ¡°But see, we¡¯re in a real state of emergency here, so let¡¯s work together and¡ª¡±

    ¡°BUHAHAH! State of Emergency! Found ourselves in a Pinch have we? Fuck off Momokawa, you¡¯re just a Background character¡±

    ¡°... It¡¯s true that the powers I got aren¡¯t anything to write home about, But the risk of death is the same for every one of us¡±

    ¡°Like hell it is! I¡¯m the MC here! Look at this, Main Character right here. I quit life (IRL) cause it sucks balls, and came to another world to be a ve Harem holding, Cheat Power using ultimate Badass. I came here to rise up from nothing to the Strongest, just like in those temte fantasy stories. And you what, I¡¯ve Already done it!¡±

    I¡¯ll mention this a second time. I¡¯m in serious cringe fromprehension.

    The others were looking at Yokomichi like he was some gone-off-the-deep-end, drugged up, mental case, screeching and iling in the middle of traffic.

    Rx, me. The only one here with the ability to decrypt Yokomichi¡¯s incoherent and iprehensible howling is the only one who has the same otaku knowledge as him. That is, me. Right now, I gotta put real effort in tranting him, to keep him talking, and most importantly, to get some info out of him.

    ¡°Yeahh so, Yokomichi-kun, I¡¯m guessing you got a seriously powerful calling?¡±

    He isn¡¯t the kind of happy-go-lucky guy to be thinking that just being transported into an isekai is enough to get him a cheat power, that he¡¯d get to live the hero life as if the difficulty of the world is set to ¡®very easy¡¯. The only reason Yokomichi¡¯s been putting up this bizarre tough-guy act, has to be because he¡¯s gotten himself enough power to make him think he is one.

    No well, if I¡¯d gotten Mei-chan level offensive prowess from the outset, I¡¯d be one punching the shit out of that Armor Bear with my Pile Bunker, and might¡¯ve also thought, ¡®Hell to the isekai cheats yes!¡¯

    ¡°Bufuh, Bufufuh! Wanna know, Momokawa? Ya reeeeeally wanna know!?¡±

    Yokomichi was wriggling around being uselessly happy. This fat, dirty otaku squirming by himself looked so repulsive that, even as a guy, I¡¯m almost ready to throw up. It¡¯s to the level of making the insect residents of this cave look pure and untarnished.

    ¡°Tell me, Momokawa, what do you think of when you hear the word, Strongest?¡±

    Yokomichi asked me as if he wised up all of a sudden.

    ¡°Like, having the best powers, right? For example... being able to create or destroy universes, something like a god, I guess¡±

    ¡°Oh, not bad, pretty Good answer. Like a god huh, I guess That works too¡±

    ¡®Yup, not bad¡¯, he nodded to himself, and then came back at me with a counter for no reason.

    ¡°But think a bit, Little man, stuff like World Creation, BUfuh, that¡¯s like, Way too OP to be Fun. Wake up and you¡¯re a God, is like, nope¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t really think we can ever get to something like that with a calling either¡±

    ¡°Might be impossible, for small-fry mobs like You, that is. But me... Bufufuh, I might just get there man, Godhood¡±

    No dude, it¡¯s impossible, what are you on?

    ¡°Me, when I think strongest, I think Potential ¡±

    ¡°Potential? Like, to do anything?¡±

    ¡°Ya got it! It¡¯s one of those Growth Cheat varieties, ya¡¯know? Like being able to do stuff you couldn¡¯t do before. Stuff I can¡¯t do, I can just steal¡ª¡±

    Grin, he grinned with his disgusting face, smiling as if to show off his proud collection.

    ¡°NO WAY!¡±

    ¡°Call it Skill Eater. Me, I can plunder the Powers (Skills) of anything I Eat¡ª Like this!¡±

    Yokomichi opened his mouth wide, and in the next instant, spat out a white something super fast.

    ¡°Buwah, wh-what¡¯s... webs, from the Rook Spider!?¡±

    Webbing in thick bundles had me bound. My arm with the spear, both my legs, and the area around my waist all had white sticky threads coiled around.

    ¡°This guy¡¯s meat was pretty tasteless, but not half bad. And the thread looks like it¡¯s working good, nice, the Spider was a hit¡±

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!¡±

    ¡°Hold it, Mei-chan!¡±

    Looking at Yokomichi pointing andughing at me after binding me in spider webs, Mei-chan was about to jump him in a fit of rage, but I stopped her.

    Not yet. I can still avoid a bloodbath. We shouldn¡¯t fight yet.

    Because he¡¯s a ssmate? Not quite. It¡¯s more because, this guy can steal powers.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re pretty amazing, Yokomichi-kun¡±

    ¡°Always was¡±

    Seeing as Yokomichi didn¡¯t proceed to cut me down with that greatsword he¡¯s carrying, which I assumed was his weapon, I can assume that for him, this must be like a light joke and/or a demonstration of his power.

    No well, normally, if you¡¯re getting yourself covered in disgusting webs regurgitated out by an ugly bastard, you could easily imagine yourself suddenly a target.

    ¡°Yeah, and I was hoping someone with amazing powers like you could use it to protect everyone¡±

    ¡°Buheheh, yeah, protect, I¡¯ll protect ¡¯em alright, I mean, isn¡¯t that what MCs do?¡±

    So I¡¯m not a target, maybe, hopefully?

    At a nce, Yokomichi Hajime seemed like the type of guy with a lot of admiration for one of those light novel protagonists who seems to be loved by everyone around him, especially a collection of cute girls, who he proceeds to woo and who fight over which of them gets to be with him. One may judge Yokomichi to be an idiot who can¡¯t distinguish fantasy from reality. But in a way, this guy¡¯s simr to me, in the sense that he too was a member of ss 2-7. And he too saw that everyday scene.

    That scene, consisting of the perfection that is Souma Yuuto.

    Even I, fully aware of my ce in the ss caste, had often found myself feeling a spark of envy at those scenes. Yokomichi was tough, tough in a different meaning from Higuchi. Even when he knew we was being ignored and even shunned by the whole ss, he would always talk down to people, and generally considered them plebs. Him calling me a "filthy casual" of an otaku and looking down on me because of that, would be him expressing that personality of his.

    Anyway, he may be a huge pain in the ass, but if he says he¡¯ll fight along with us, I don¡¯t think taking him along is a bad idea. No actually, rather than getting hostile now and having this sort of guying after us, we should bear with it, and get him to be friendly.

    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. Right now, we¡¯re not just aiming for the Divine Gate but also a way to get all of us out of this ce. So honestly, we¡¯ll need all the help we can get¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yeahh but, to be Real here, I don¡¯t need any Other dudes around, you know... But, I guess I¡¯ll need someone to show off my greatest harem to! So yeah, Momokawa, you¡¯ll get the role of ¡®friend¡¯, in eroge terms¡±

    ¡°Gee, thanks¡±

    ¡°One more thing, I¡¯m killing Higuchi¡±

    ¡°That, I¡¯m down for, I¡¯ll even help you out¡±

    ¡°Oh, nice man, you totally get me, Momokawa¡±

    Am I supposed to feel good here? Looks like the deal¡¯s set on Yokomichi Hajime joining our party.

    If not for the fact that, this asshole who¡¯s already the subject of nausea for every girl had be high on the fact that he¡¯d gotten a dreamlike power like Skill Eater. And lettingpletely loose, he let his raw desires flow out in a barrage of heinous statements just now. Yeah, I don¡¯t wanna have him anywhere near me either.

    But no matter what my feelings on the matter are, the situation wasn¡¯t getting any better. I had no idea how many skills he¡¯s got eaten up. No, looking from where he defeated the Rook Spider all by himself, he might just have enough power to take us all on by himself.

    Which would mean, making him an enemy was synonymous to suicide. And if it ever came down to that, I¡¯d much rather have Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuichi on our side to fend him off. If it was those two, I had no doubt they could hold us together.

    ¡°Ok, so I take it that you¡¯ll be working with us then?¡±

    ¡°Oi oi, you guys¡¯re the ones begging me to protect you, right? That means, all of You gotta lower your heads to Me, and make a Proper request¡±

    I take a peek behind. First, let¡¯s see what the leader, what ss Rep says.

    Swallowing hard after witnessing my negotiations with Yokomichi, she had quite the pale face... But in reality, she did seem to have a grasp of the situation, and though reluctantly, she gave me a nod.

    In contrast to her, Souma Sakura was ring at Yokomichi like she was harboring intense disgust. Her wariness of him was at MAX. Well, I guess I can concede that as being an obvious reaction from a girl. Mei-chan and Kenzaki were pretty much doing the same. And, looking absolutely freaked out was Natsukawa-san, who ironically seemed the most cute and girly of the bunch.

    That reminds me, what about Takanashi-san, who¡¯s supposed to be the most terrified of them all¡ª

    ¡°N-No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!¡±

    The moment I looked at Takanashi-san, she exploded in tears, and screamed like no tomorrow.<hr>Next

 Chapter 62: The Cannibal Hungers (1)

    Chapter 62: The Cannibal Hungers (1)

    ¡°Wai-, what are y-, Kotori!?¡±

    Guess she reached her limit. This was the frank impression I had seeing Takanashi-san cry out in fear andtch onto ss Rep who happened to be near by.

    This is bad. This might as well mean that negotiations have broken down... No, I can¡¯t let it. These girls may hate it from their very core, but starting with Takanashi-san, I have to get all the girls here to bear with th¡ª

    ¡°Run! We have to run now! He¡¯ll eat Kotori, he¡¯ll eat everyone!¡±

    ¡°... Eh?¡±

    It didn¡¯t click for a moment¡ª But then I got it, I understood what Takanashi-san was trying to say. I understood it, all too well.

    Yokomichi Hajime had Skill Eater. From the way he spat out the Rook Spider¡¯s webbing, to the fact that he himself dered to have feasted on its meat. From just these 2 observations, I could naturally deduce that this Skill Eater of his allows him to plunder the powers of the monsters he eats.

    It¡¯s amon trope. I¡¯ve seen many a story where the absolute weakest of protagonists grow stronger and stronger by eating. Starting off with stuff like a slime, or goblin or horned rabbit, you see them gaining their powers and grow (cheat) their way to peerlessness.

    But there¡¯s another thought. The terrifying thought that, does this voracious form of skill stealing target only monsters?

    ¡°Kotori, his calling! What is his, what is Yokomichi Hajime¡¯s calling!¡±

    Shouted Souma Sakura. Before I could even react, she was urging Takanashi-san for an answer.

    ¡°He¡¯s a Cannibalizer! And he already, ate, Nagae-san!¡±

    Hearing the answer, I was shocked, jolted with much greater trepidation than when I witnessed that nameless girl being eaten by goma.

    Goma were monsters, hideous as the sky is blue. Not humans, monsters. That¡¯s why them trying to eat humans could be considered reasonable behavior.

    But a fellow human doing the same, that¡ª

    ¡°Lux Sagitta!!¡±

    And before I noticed, a light arrow had pierced itself right at Yokomichi¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Yokomichi-kun, that was a warning. We don¡¯t want to have to kill you. So please quietly, go back. And do not,e near us, ever again¡±

    ¡°... Haa?¡±

    Yokomichi reacted as if bbergasted. It¡¯s vexing, but for once, I¡¯m inplete agreement with the younger Souma.

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m so dense as to not see the meaning behind Souma Sakura¡¯s warning.

    I¡¯m suspecting that Kotori-san just took a peek at Yokomichi¡¯s Status info by some skill or calling ability of hers that they¡¯d kept hidden from me. And although there¡¯s the matter of my shock upon learning of this hidden Sage skill, let¡¯s not get sidetracked.

    She mentioned Nagae-san, in other words, the girl belonging to the same literature club as me, Nagae Yukiko. And we just learned that he ate her, in other words, he killed and feasted on her.

    There¡¯s epting one¡¯s shorings, and then there¡¯s trying to team up with a literal crazed cannibal, thetter of which, I¡¯ll have to decline. Personally speaking, after bing aware of this fact... No, even if it¡¯s some kind of misunderstanding, as long as there¡¯s the smallest chance of it being true, I will firmly oppose joining hands with Yokomichi.

    But seriously, Souma Sakura, it¡¯s like you¡¯re looking to start something.

    ¡°What, the, Fuck is with that Attitude? And just when I said I¡¯d Protect your Sorry asses¡±

    ¡°I have nothing more to say, to a murderer like you. Turn back and leave, right now. Or else¡ª¡±

    Bitch was off her kilter, I thought, despite not being her target. How the hell did she go from 0 to 100% intensity so quick. She waspletely underestimating, no, she was misjudging Yokomichi¡¯s strength.

    Meaning that, she¡¯d categorized him as someone that we must drive away, no questions asked.

    Ah, goddammit, this stupid bitch. All my oiling up on Yokomichi from just now, it¡¯s like that shit wentpletely over her head.

    I¡¯m certain of it. That, if we fight Yokomichi Hajime, if we engage with this Cannibalizer, there¡¯s a huge risk of us losing someone. So if we were going to fight anyway, rather than something half-assed like a warning shot, she should have shot him dead with him never realizing.

    Thanks to Souma Sakura¡¯s unneeded warning, we¡¯d now lost our important chance at a surprise attack.

    ¡°¡ª Shut Your trAp, fucking wHore! If you¡¯d oNly been Quiet like YuKiko, I¡¯d¡¯ve given yoU SO much LOVing y¡¯knOW!¡±

    As expected, Yokomichi was riled. He¡¯d blown his top. Negotiations were already in smithereens.

    I¡¯d better get ready. There¡¯s no going back from this.

    ¡°DO IT! MEI-CHAN!¡±

    Along with my yell, blew a fierce gale.

    No, this wasn''t mere wind. It was the figure of Mei-chan swinging up her Halberd as she passed me in an instant.

    ¡° ckhair Bind!!¡±

    I sic all the ckhair tentacles I could muster towards Yokomichi, almost as if getting him back for the webs.

    He didn''t know about my powers at all. That went double for Mei-chan¡¯s strength. Tentacle binds plus a Berserker¡¯s full swingbo, not something you can handle so easily.

    I did feel a hint of guilt. Killing him, Yokomichi, a ssmate, and a human being. It was definitely an attempt of murder. I felt the guilt of making Mei-chan do that.

    No I don¡¯t think Mei-chan, despite herself, could actuallymit murder without feeling a thing. She¡¯s got to be aiming to lop off an arm or something.

    She is, right? But she was clearly swinging down right on top of his head... Crap, is he dead?

    ¡°¡ª Whatthe!? You try¡¯na KiLL me, OI! MomokaWAA, fucking bEtrayed me, did¡¯ja, baStard!?¡±

    Yokomichi moved at speeds imperceptible to my eyes, drew out the greatsword on his back, and sessfully received the headsplitter from above. Tch, he¡¯s changed gears to fighting mode already, Yokomichi¡¯s reaction speed was fierce.

    But the weird shit didn¡¯t end there... What, is with his arms? He had desing out of his elbows. I recognized those, they¡¯re definitely Knight Mantis scythes. After quickly shredding my ckhair, he used his, now free, hands to defend against Mei-chan¡¯s attack.

    So this, is the power of Skill Eater. What growth cheat, what skill master, he¡¯s just a damn monster.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, Futaba-san! How could you! Are you nning tomit murder!¡±

    ¡°Bitch, just shut up! It¡¯s all cause of you that we¡¯re in this mess¡ª Contra-beat Butterfly!!¡±

    This is unbelievable. Here we are taking on the grave responsibility of literal manughter and Souma Sakura¡¯s still acting all holier than thou. So I argued back almost by reflex while letting fly my new curse magic of poison butterflies whose effectiveness was still vague.

    Mei-chan and Yokomichi had already enteredbat status. But it looks like the Mantis des were in the way, so they were gone from his elbows at some point.

    Still, this bastard¡¯s actually able to hold his own against Mei-chan in a match of des, he¡¯s got to be pretty good with swords. This Porky was being a real pain in the ass.

    But while he¡¯s busy with that, I call up Rem to cut away my web bindings with her knife. I can finally move.

    ¡°Ghh, Va, Facking azzholes, you bitches wanNa Go! Then I¡¯ll sHow you go, damN stinkin¡¯ whoRes¡±

    Still locking des, Yokomichi made the most indecent grin he¡¯d made yet. A smile so ugly, even as a guy, I felt vited.

    We had to kill him. I was convinced.

    ¡°All hands, attack Yokomichi! ss Rep,e on!¡±

    ¡°Ryouko! We mustn¡¯t resort to murder, you hear me!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t kill him right now, and he¡¯ll rape, kill and then eat you, all of you!!¡±

    ¡°Buhyahahaha! Chill Momokawa, I¡¯m a nIce guy, so even if they¡¯re fiLthy sLuts, I¡¯ll eat them rEal tenDer! Here, Ice BrEath!!¡±

    After making a quip at our idiotic discord, Yokomichi released arge volume of chalk white breath.

    ¡°¡ªKh!?¡±

    Mei-chan reacted instantly. She dodged the Ice Breath that was both in name and appearance simr to the ice magic of Eis st, and barely avoided direct contact. But sadly, my butterflies weren¡¯t so lucky. Every one of them were instantly blown away.

    Yokomichi just kept spewing out his Ice Breath and¡ª What the, we¡¯re in a fog now!?

    ¡°Mei-chan, take some distance! Everyone else, keep close!¡±

    The cold white mist thickened as it surrounded us. And in no time at all, Yokomichi¡¯s figure, as he was generating this blinding curtain, had disappeared on the other side.

    Damn, we can¡¯t see shit in here.

    He should be in the same condition. But, what if he has a skill to see past the fog?

    ¡°L-listen girls, we have to fight now that it¡¯se to this! Hold your weapons ready!¡±

    ¡°Ryouko, we can¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about whether we kill him. Let¡¯s just focus on defending ourselves¡±

    ¡°... I guess it can¡¯t be helped then¡±

    ¡°I, I got it, Ryouko-chan!¡±

    ¡°No problem¡±

    ¡°Fueeehh, scaared, Kotori¡¯s scaaared...¡±

    Thanks to ss Rep¡¯s convincing, the rest of them were finally getting prepped for battle.

    ¡°ss Rep, we¡¯re changing formation. He could attack from anywhere, so let¡¯s circle out¡±

    ¡°Eh, ah, got it... Kotori, you go in the middle. Me, Sakura and Momokawa-kun are surrounding her. Minami, stay in front of me, Asuna to Sakura, and Futaba-san please go over to Momokawa-kun. We don¡¯t know where the next attack wille from, so stay alert everyone¡±

    Our formation was more a triangle than circle. With Takanashi-san at the center, we had the 3 rear liners, including me, with our backs to her. And in front of us we stationed the vanguard team members. Considering our numbers and everyone¡¯s powers, this was the best defensive position we could manage.

    But still, Yokomichi never attacked us while we were practically dragging our legs to make this sudden formation change. Is he underestimating us?

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, what are our chances of escaping?¡±

    ¡°The entrance wasn¡¯t too far off... But trying to find it in this fog will be too dangerous. Plus, he could¡¯ve already blocked it off with those webs¡±

    That¡¯s probably why Yokomichi didn¡¯t attack us right away. When I said it, it suddenly felt very possible.

    ¡°More importantly, Takanashi-san!¡±

    ¡°Hiiik!?¡±

    ¡°Anything else you know about Yokomichi¡¯s powers?¡±

    I really can¡¯t see a thing, but I kept my gaze fixed to the front, with me and Rem holding our spears ready. From behind me, I could hear Takanashi-san¡¯s ¡®uhhs¡¯ and ¡®umms¡¯ of deliberation on my question. Seriously, just tell me already.

    ¡°W-well you see, Kotori can¡¯t see it if she doesn¡¯t look at it so... there was a whole lot and, Kotori doesn¡¯t remember¡±

    So she means like, if she doesn¡¯t directly look at the guy, she can¡¯t see his Status stuff like calling or skills.

    ¡°Anything you can remember?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, that icy magic was... it was from Nagae-san, if Kotori recalls¡±

    ¡°¡ª CorRRrect! Damn, Kotori-cHan, she can totAlly see my Status¡±

    We could hear Yokomichi from beyond the mist. The direction of his voice was unclear, but it was apparent that he was at a distance close enough to hear us talk.

    ¡°So yeah, Yukiko was a CryomaNcer you know. Always sCared and faint-heArted and totally Yukiko-like. Not like she Didn¡¯t have aTTack magic like Eis SagiTta, cause she ToTally did, but then, she was alWays too scared to fight mOnsters. So gueSs what sHe did. She used This very same Eiz Mist and hId away insIde, letting everything Hostile pass by uNaware. So girly-like isn¡¯t she? She was adorable¡ª¡±

    ¡°Got you!!¡±

    With a heated yell, Kenzaki-san took arge stride forward, and swung at him.

    It looked as if something shaped like Yokomichi was split in two... wait no, a mirage? The figure instantly lost its color and blended into the fog.

    ¡°Bufufu, that one¡¯s Eis Mirage. ThoughT it was Me, didn¡¯chA?¡±

    Tch, clicked Kenzaki-san in annoyance, as she stepped back into position.

    ¡°Looks like he can make illusions in the fog¡±

    ¡°Unff, every tiMe I use this Skill, I feel One with YukikO prEcious¡±

    Hearing a phrasing that feels somehow familiar, I started to see one, two, many Yokomichi-like chubby shadows. They all looked blurred under the cover of mist and... Shit, I can¡¯t tell which one¡¯s real at all.

    ¡°Hey, heey guys, where¡¯s the real one, guyyys¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic Minami. He¡¯ll have to move to attack us, so it¡¯s that one¡±

    ¡°¡ª You reAlly sure aBout thAt¡±

    I felt a whistle of wind in my ear. The sound somehow seemed familiar.

    ¡°Ouch!?¡±

    Yelped Natsukawa-san. I looked back in a panic, and saw her holding her cheek while still grasping her knife.

    ¡°Minami, what happened!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a-alright, no biggie, it¡¯s just a scrat¡ª!?¡±

    A beam of blood trailed along her cheek. It was most definitely just a scratch. It was at the level where Souma Sakura¡¯s healing magic could take care of it in a jiffy. But just as she spoke, Natsukawa-san went ghastly pale in the face.

    ¡°Eww, what is this... it¡¯s slimy and, and, stinks...¡±

    On closer inspection, I could see a clear mucous-y substance mixed with the blood along her cheek.

    ¡°Oooff, so goOod, you¡¯re so taSty Minami-cHan! It¡¯s A whoLe difFerent vor from YuKiko-chan... no Wonder you¡¯re our trAck and fiEld super ace. It¡¯s fuLL of Your livelinEss and Energy, wild yet feMinine, your bloOd¡¯s got this dEliCiously milD voR.¡±

    ¡°... It¡¯s, his tongue¡±

    I witnessed Yokomichi licking his lips, on the other side of the fog.Next

 Chapter 63: The Cannibal Hungers (2)

    Chapter 63: The Cannibal Hungers (2)

    It really was his tongue. A long, slimy tongue. Like the one that great frog boss of theke had. He had one as well.

    In other words, the additional substance smeared on Natsukawa-san¡¯s cheek would be: his saliva. He had soggily licked her on the face.

    ¡°E-eww! Ew, it¡¯s dirty, yuck¡ª AH, ukh, kuu¡­¡±

    ¡°Minami, what happened!?¡±

    ¡°Oh, noice, working Wonders ain¡¯t iT? Like, poTent as fuck? That¡¯s goOod. I¡¯d be aNNoyed if she had a rEsistance skill or sOmething¡±

    ¡°Watch out! He¡¯s got paralysis poison on his tongue!¡±

    ¡°Well techNically, I¡¯m groWing poison tHorns on it. Got it frOm eatinG this weiRd yellow froG, and hoNestly, thought It was preTTy shit... YeaaAh, this is That ¡®useless juNk suddEnly becOmes relevant¡¯ troPe huH!¡±

    ¡®Legit MC 101 right here!¡¯, he howled in distinct joy, while I was hastily rummaging through my bag.

    I had nothing for paralysis. But thinking on it, he called it ¡®poison¡¯, so if I use the antidote that I previously only used for making poison butterflies, it just might work.

    ¡°Please let this heal her¡ª Healing Light!¡±

    ¡°BUHAHA, Sakura-chAn, aRe you being leGit here? That¡¯s Just healing Magic you knOw! That shit just heaLs HP, not Status eFFects, DUH!¡±

    Can¡¯t be too sure about that. Souma Sakura had this cheat-like calling called Saintess. She might as well have the specs to heal stat effects along with HP, no problem.

    ¡°Sorry Sakura-chan... it isn¡¯t, working¡±

    ¡°N-No way, why!?¡±

    ¡°BUHAHAHAHAHA!! My sIdes are in OrBiT!!¡±

    Tch, this bitch is useless even at her specialty. If I had to, right here, right now, elect one of us as the biggest dead weight, I¡¯d choose her instantly.

    ¡°ss Rep, my antidote could do something about this. Try it on her¡±

    ¡°Alright¡±

    ¡°Wow, what¡¯s uP with tHat, MomOkawa? You caN make druGs and shiT? Let me gueSs, the calling is... ApotHecaRy!¡±

    WRONG, dumbass. Also, I had no obligation to correct him either.

    ¡°Your Silence only Means I¡¯m righT, aren¡¯t I? Bufufuh¡±

    This guy had to be missing a decent amount of brain cells. Did he think he¡¯d be the intellectual type now?

    Well, thanks to Yokomichi having a st all by himself, Natsukawa-san managed to apply my antidote.

    ¡°Minami, how do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I can move now... But not much, my strength is a bit, gone¡±

    Natsukawa-san informed ss Rep of her condition in a weak, almost silent voice. She wasn¡¯tpletely recovered via the antidote, though I can¡¯t say I was expecting it to be that easy.

    ¡°Look out, Minami¡ª Ugh!?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Asuna-chan!¡±

    Kenzaki-san was trying to cover for Natsukawa-san as she couldn¡¯t move under paralysis, but she wasn¡¯t up to the task, and as a result, she too became a victim of the vile tongue. A slight cut, like she had been touched with a knife, appeared along her exposed thigh.

    ¡°Oho! What¡¯s thiS... This tasTe is even more feiSty than MinAmi-chan! The poWer, I fEel da PAWAH!!¡±

    ¡°Asuna, take th¡ª¡±

    ¡°How aboUt NOPE. C¡¯mon, lemMe have some Too¡±

    Kenzaki-san¡¯s surroundings became home to sharp whips of wind. Try handing over the antidote and the tongue wouldtch onto the hand, try throwing it and the tongue would grasp it mid-air.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine... I just feel a little, numb, is all. I can fight, fine¡±

    ¡°Heh, so Asuna¡¯s the High Res type? But look at That, those moVements aren¡¯t so Pin-Point anymore, aRe theY?¡±

    It¡¯s not like Natsukawa-san fainted from it, and from my perspective, Kenzaki-san looked fine, holding her sword with the same strength as usual. But if it¡¯s against a swordsman or warrior, in other words, closebat types, they should be able to tell the difference from a slight paralysis. Though there¡¯s always the possibility that Yokomichi¡¯s trying to be cool by saying lines from martial-arts manga.

    ¡°Shit...¡±

    Barely no time had passed, and he already got two of our fighters. This is bad, he¡¯s just ying games with us with zero effort, and he wasn¡¯t even a boss monster.

    Still, from staying hidden in the mist, to confusing us with illusions, Yokomichi¡¯s defenses were practically wless. ss Rep and Souma Sakura did try firing their magic a couple times, but to no effect. These two had already acquired their respective long range area of effect spells, Eis st and Lux st, and they¡¯d tried using those to get him from across the fog. But yet again, no luck.

    Other than hiding in his fog, Yokomichi likely had defensive measures against iing spells. It could be some ice attribute defensive spell plundered from Nagae-san, or something else entirely.

    Whatever he had, fact is that wecked a means to attack him. And obviously, we couldn¡¯t do an all or nothing charge. We¡¯d be finished if he had webs set up all around us. There¡¯s also the chance that he¡¯ll avoid the vanguard and go directly for us support roles.

    In the end, we couldn¡¯t budge from our current formation.

    Yet, on the flipside, Yokomichi had that convenient tongue of his that was gradually, but devastatingly, breaking down our forces.

    ¡°Khh, ouch!?¡±

    ¡°ss Rep!¡±

    ¡°MWahh! And This one, this vor here¡¯s reEal subtle! It feels aLL Cool and Intellectual rolling on my tOngue¡ª¡±

    And now, his vile tongue had reached us mages in the back. I¡¯m a guy, and he probably didn¡¯t want to cross ¡®that¡¯ line, so the next one to get tasted would be Mei-chan, Souma Sakura, or Takanashi-san huh... So one in three. If we could predict who he¡¯ll target, we could try and intercept¡ª

    ¡°Leet¡¯s see noww, who shaAall I Partake in neXt... Will it be miss Top Hottie of 2-7, Souma Sakura? Or how about the DElectable candy that is Kotori-chan, the Busty loli? MiGht it perHaps be the mouth-watering Piece of eXtra Large Steak, the Mystery Super Titties-chan!¡±

    Yokomichi should be well aware of his superiority in this situation. He was acting all casual, but he still had his tongue poised for the next assault. Talking boisterously like this should be for getting himself revved up, but it also served as a psychological attack towards the enemy, causing unease and panic.

    ¡°HyahhAA!! I¡¯m fucking Ready! We¡¯re saVing the Best for RIGHT NOW, Souma SakuRAA¡ª!¡±

    ¡°¡ª!?¡±

    The paralyzing tongue zipped in irregr zigzags in the air, slipping past Kenzaki-san, whose senses had been numbed, and aimed straight for Souma Sakura, whom she was guarding behind her. By the time I saw it, it was already there. In this thick fog, I had no way of observing anything unless it was near point nk range. And Souma Sakura, she had no way of blocking such an assault¡ª or so I thought.

    ¡°AGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    The vehement scream did note from the girl who was supposedly defiled by the filthy tongue. It actually came from the other side of the fog. In other words, it was Yokomichi, not Souma Sakura, who¡¯d taken damage.

    ¡°Wuh, what the FucK is that... you got a fRiggin barrieR!?¡±

    Souma Sakura was crouching down, frozen in fear, and looked extremely ripe for the picking. However, what I saw enveloping her body was a faint sphere of light. Looking at her figure surrounded by the elegant ball of light, I could only see it as some kind of omni-directional barrier or shield.

    ¡°¡­ That, is one of the Saintess¡¯ inherent skills, Oracle Field. It¡¯s a powerful barrier of light that could even divert the Cerberus¡¯ fire st.¡±

    Expositioned ss Rep in a somewhat dispirited tone.

    Tch, damn you, Souma Sakura, no actually, these girls were still hiding something like this, like why.

    ¡°Arh, dat stinGs dAmmid! Fuck, ya Burned my tongue bitCh! What¡¯s uP with thaT OP barrier asspull, fucKing hEll!¡±

    Hate to say this, but I agree with Yokomichi here. Now that I knew that Souma Sakura had this great self-defense barrier, I could also see the utter bullshit of her cowering in the back-lines.

    Fuck me, if I knew she had an ability that guaranteed her own safety, I¡¯d have made a n to use her as bait to draw Yokomichi out of this fog. But because she¡¯d revealed it just now, only using it to protect her precious self, I can¡¯t use this for shit.

    ¡°Tchh, guess I gotta Leave Souma Sakura for Last after all... Ehe~, no worries, she¡¯ll make for great Desert¡±

    Since Oracle Field was revealed, it became merely a self-defense option for her own use. If I had to make a n involving it at this point¡­ There¡¯s always the option of having her do a full frontal charge at him. It could be just the thing to reverse this situation where we were being more cornered by the second. But now that I think about it, there¡¯s no way Souma Sakura would consent to doing any dirty work like that.

    Screw that, this bitch is more trouble than she¡¯s worth.

    ¡°Mei-chan, the next one shoulde for you or Takanashi-san. Can you catch it?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s one in two, maybe¡±

    After asking in a low voice, I got a response in the affirmative. If Yokomichi¡¯s nning to follow the same pattern, Mei-chan should be able to counter him, to an extent. If we can cut off his paralytic tongue, I¡¯m guessing Yokomichi¡¯s method of ranged attack will be eliminated, and he¡¯ll have to either run away, or switch to close quartersbat.

    We took a few hits already, but it¡¯s fine. We still had a chance at victory.

    ¡°... but who?¡±

    I poise my ckhair Bind to shoot at a moment¡¯s notice. If I can slow down the tongue even a little, I¡¯m sure Mei-chan will take full advantage of that dy.

    My chances are 50-50. Yokomichi will be gunning for either Mei-chan or Takanashi-san.

    ¡°Eeny meeny miNy mo, taste a Girly by the¡ª Nope, it¡¯s a Trap!¡±

    And that¡¯s why I was helpless. His tongue was actually aimed at me.

    ¡°UAAAH!!¡±

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!?¡±

    A sharp pain surged through my neck. Crap, I¡¯m done for¡ª At Mei-chan¡¯s yell, I was ready for some profuse bleeding, but in reality, felt only a drop of blood sliding down.

    My wound was, shallow.

    He¡¯d said they were poison thorns, so it shouldn¡¯t have that much slicing ability.

    ¡°Huff, huff, haaa...¡±

    My pulse suddenly shot through the roof. The moment I thought I was in danger of dying, I ended up starting to panic. Calm down me, I¡¯m still fine. This is nothing, a mere flesh wound.

    As I got a grip on myself, I told Mei-chan, who looked like she was itching to run to my aid, to stand her ground.

    That aside, fucking Yokomichi, despite everything he said, he literally did aim for a guy. Guess that means he was actually fighting seriously too, in his own way. I could¡¯ve sworn he was only drunk on the notion of dominating the top-ss beauties gathered here...

    ¡°...-ous¡±

    Right then, an almost inaudible mutter came from beyond the mist. Here I thought he¡¯d beughing his ass off as usual, boasting how he went and paralyzed me, but he only muttered, quietly.

    ¡°... -elicios¡±

    Delicious. I¡¯m certain that¡¯s what he said.

    ¡°DeLiCiouSss!! THISH iSH DE-FUCKING-LICIOUUUUUSSS!!!¡±

    It sounded like he¡¯d reached the height of lunacy.

    ¡°Wuh, wh-what the fuck was THAT! So good, holY Fuck it¡¯s goOOD, so Dayum GOODD! MomoKaWaaa, yer BloOOod, howe ish sho GOoooOOOooOOD!?¡±

    Fuck if I know.

    ¡°UuoOOOooOOo!! Traps Aren¡¯t so Gay after aLl! This is IT, I¡¯m Joining the baNdwagon and LoooVInG IiiIIitt!!¡±

    Shit the bed. This cannibalistic blood sommelier just told me my blood is leagues more delicious than all the hot girls here. What do I even do with this information?

    No seriously, this reaction was too strange. The reason why my blood would be especially delicious, or rather, different, was... Ah, could it be an effect of ck Bloodline?

    ¡°C-can¡¯t, I can¡¯t handle it AnYmoRe... that Divine taste... I¡¯s gotta have moOAar, MomokAWAaAAAa!¡±

    Yokomichi roared like he¡¯d just snorted a palmful of goma drug.

    ¡°Yerrr, miIIIIIIIIiiiiIInnNNeeee!!¡±

    He wasing for me.

    Even without the senses of a warrior, I could just tell.

    ¡°Won¡¯t let you. Kotarou-kun has¡ª¡±

    And as for the Berserker, she was way ahead of me.

    The tongue wasing straight at me. This fleshy whip that had its tip riddled in paralytic pins like a cactus was shooting towards me and, Mei-chan grabbed it.

    ¡°IGH!? I-AaaAA!!?¡±

    Using strength on a level that could punch a hole through an Armor Bear, she pulled. And along with an ugly scream, Yokomichi was instantly yanked in from beyond the mist.

    It seemed as if he¡¯d stretched his tongue to the limit. Desperately struggling with his mouth wide open, Yokomichi was being pulled in by Mei-chan¡ªBy the Berserker, who had her halberd readied high with the other hand, ready to end things.

    ¡°¡ª Me! Protecting him!¡±

    She swung down without the slightest hint of mercy.

    ¡°GYiyaAAAAAaaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Those would be his death throes¡ª No, not quite. It was a scream of pain from paying the price for avoiding a certain fatality.

    Yokomichi understood that he had no way of slipping away, so in that instant, he bit his tongue off.

    ¡°AArrrghh, id hrrrdddss!!¡±

    He was yelling in agony as if he¡¯d lost something important, while Mei-chan, who had missed her mark due to an unforeseen form of evasion, took to making a swift follow-up.

    However, I guess it should be expected that Yokomichi too had ample experience in battling monsters. Even as he recoiled from his amputated tongue, he was able to defend himself from Mei-chan.

    ¡°FuGh, this bitch, DIE damnit! UGAAA¡ª!!¡±

    Right before Mei-chan could close the distance, Yokomichi widened his bloodied mouth and spat out, not spider webs, not icy breath, but intense crimson mes. This bastard, don¡¯t tell me he ate a Red Dog boss and can st fire too!

    ¡°Ng, Khh!?¡±

    Not even Mei-chan could withstand a face full of fire. Her body sizzled in the heat, as she made a quick retreat.

    This is bad, he¡¯s getting too far. Yokomichi used his fire to chase Mei-chan away from him.

    His tongue was cut off from the base so there was no more risk of him using that, but there really was no telling what other long range attacks he had in there. We had to finish this before he ran back into his Eis Mist. It¡¯s time we fought back.

    ¡°All hands, attack! Rem, you¡¯re up!!¡±

    As if tapping in for Mei-chan, Rem charged in with her spear. And one step behind her, I followed.

    ¡°ckhair Bind!!¡±

    ¡°NUuaAA! Oiii, not this shit againn!?¡±

    The moment his mes paused, I tied him up with ckhair Bind. The braided tentaclestched onto his wrists, ankles and waist.

    This was of course, something he had already escape from once. And as expected, Yokomichi grew out mantis des from his elbows, whereupon he would release himself¡ª but this time, he didn¡¯t quite make it.

    ¡°TCHH, fuck DAmmit!¡±

    Rem had gotten dangerously close, and he couldn¡¯t cut away all the binds. Forgoing the ckhairs on his ankles, Yokomichi used his now unbound arms to block Rem. Wait a sec, I can¡¯t see his greatsword on him. Maybe he dropped it when Mei-chan yanked him in. What a fool, but this is exactly how I like it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll destroy yoOOUUuu!!¡±

    With no sword, Yokomichi could only use his fists. The mantis des had now vanished and reced by a pair of spiky white bone-like gauntlets. Perhaps he got these from preying on Skeletons or some derivative monster of that family.

    With those fists-cum-spiked clubs, Yokomichi countered Rem¡¯s spear.

    He first shoved away the spear de. Hard enough to break apart the wooden spear. But, Rem knew not fear. Unfaltering at the loss of her weapon, Rem charged in with a body m. Her¡¯s was a small skeletal body, such an attack would be practically powerless, but Rem actually managed to make it work.

    ¡°Oi! This little shiT, Die!¡±

    His fists of bone came down on Rem like a hammer, and she ended in swift destruction. But because of that, in that single moment, Yokomichi¡¯s focus was concentrated entirely on Rem. Pain from his missing tongue. Panic from being suddenly pulled into closebat. Yokomichi was, in that situation, not in his best condition to react.

    ¡°YaAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    So now, it was my turn to strike.

    Not unlike Rem had just before, I positioned my spear and charged. I can¡¯t expect any real fire power from my curses. But I had this, this fine steel spear. It¡¯d be a waste not to put it to use.

    I might be a Shaman, I might have no real skills or status corrections, but what I did have was this spear. Solid steel and with a long reach. And with Yokomichi practically handing me his unwariness, I couldn¡¯t afford to miss.

    So I cast far away any semnce of fear or guilt towards the concept of murder. Without the slightest hesitation, I mustered every ounce of my strength to kill my ssmate, this unbearably ugly, repulsive and vile, cannibalizer.

    ¡°Ugha!?¡±

    My speartip stabbed into Yokomichi¡¯s side. But, it¡¯s, tough. The sheer level of resistance I was feelingpletely overshadowed the time I stabbed the Red Dog. It was as if, the thing I was trying to prate was a thick, rubber tire.

    I hadn¡¯t missed but, it was nowhere close to enough.

    ¡°Gha, Aaa... Thaaat huuurt, MoMOKaWaaAaAA!¡±

    ¡°Woaah!?¡±

    One swing from Yokomichi¡¯s arm. With that, my spear met the same end as Rem. Irrecoverably smashed, the tip that had inched into his stomach feebly ttered as it dropped to the ground. As for myself, the wielder of the broken weapon, though not as hard as Rem, I had also crashed pathetically into the floor.

    ¡°Haah, Haa... fuh...Fukhh... I need moRe BloOd...¡±

    With blood flowing out from his side, Yokomichi red at me in bated breath. Those bloodshot eyes, yup, this guy¡¯s got ¡¯em, the murder eyes.

    ¡°Buh, bluhd, BLOOOOD!! YOu, MomokaWA, I¡¯mmaa, dEVOur, YOUUUUUUHH!!¡±

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!¡±

    Yokomichi jumped me. Right then, Mei-chan, who knows when she got there, grab my cor from the back and pulled.

    She prioritized rescue over offense, and for that, I¡¯m in her debt.

    ¡°Spread all Anguish¡ª Contra-beat Butterfly ¡±

    After that sessful dodge, I unleashed my curse. The material for the Contra-beat Butterflies this time was something I¡¯d been using pretty much constantly, Ointment A.

    This thing could quickly heal up cuts caused by monster bites or scratches. Now reversed, this awesome healing effect wasunching the offensive on Yokomichi. This ointment that could close up any wound that wasn¡¯t fatal was now, yup¡ª

    ¡°IEYAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!?¡±

    It opened them right up. It strengthened blood flow. And maybe, it even made the recipient more sensitive to pain.

    Yokomichi, who had beening at me without a care to the tiny stab wound I gave him, was now being gouged into by the Contra-beat Butterflies, howling in pain.

    ¡°AAAHHHH!! SHIHTT! FUCCKINGG SHIIAAA¡ª¡±

    Even while writhing in pain, Yokomichi began breathing fire. Mei-chan held onto me, and nimbly withdrew.

    ¡°Let go, I¡¯m fine already! It¡¯s now or never, we can kill¡ª¡±

    ¡°...Sorry Kotarou-kun. That might, not be a good idea¡±

    Spewing crazy amounts of fire, Yokomichi had essentially built a wall round himself, making it a situation where we couldn¡¯t close in at all. After that, all I saw beyond the ze was him turning around, and running off.

    ¡°UaaAAAAaaAAA!! Momokawa!! MOMOKAWAAAAAAAaaaAAAaaAAA!!¡±

    Yokomichi fled, while yelling out my name, for some reason.

    ¡°So he ran... Haah¡±

    I let out a sigh in relief. Whether it came from surviving this ordeal, or from ending up not having to kill a person,

    I didn¡¯t know, not really. Editor here. This concludes all the avable pastebin chapters from lion mask. As I''ve mentioned, the new trantor will be doing the following in-order chapters (more info in the discord server), so trantion credit for anything of this series posted here that''s not out of order goes to him.

 Chapter 64: The Resolve To Murder Is

    Chapter 64: The Resolve To Murder Is

    We had repelled the cmity that was Yokomichi Hajime, and left the Rook Spider¡¯s pit. Too bad there wasn¡¯t a transfer circle there. But even if there was, we couldn¡¯t activate it since we didn¡¯t have the Rook spider¡¯s core.

    We continued our journey through the caves, in silence. Everyone, was silent.

    ¡°...¡±

    I wanted to give them a piece of my mind, a big one. We couldn¡¯t kill that piece of shit Yokomichi. No one even fucking helped. Only me and Mei-chan were fighting that psycho.

    Like fuck, were these girls actually delusional? Especially that bitch Souma Sakura, doing unnecessary shit as always. If you got a problem, you can just go stick it up your¡­.. But of course, I wasn¡¯t so stupid as to blow my top over something like this right now.

    Talking about how shit they are wouldeter. At least, not here. Better if it¡¯s at a Fairy Square.

    ¡°Ah, th, that¡­¡±

    While our journey continued in this gloomy vibe, Natsukawa-san, who¡¯d taken point, spoke up with a nuance of despair. Shit, looks like we ain¡¯t outta the woods yet.

    ¡°What, the hell? ... Another spider nest!¡±

    At the end of the cave, there was a hole that seemed to be the entrance to another Rook Spider habitation. This one lookedrger than the one earlier.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun, are you sure we should head in like this?¡±

    ¡°We have to pass through eventually, don¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Well... It does seem unrealistic to go back to the previous fairy square at this point¡±

    Right now, we seriously needed a fairy square to recuperate.

    Ourbat potential had been shed in half. Although not entirely paralyzed, Natsukawa-san, Kenzaki-san, and Mei-chan, our vanguard team, were still afflicted with paralysis poison from that sleazebag, Yokomichi. My meds seemed to have alleviated most of the effect, but it¡¯d be better if they recovered fully, and that took time.

    ss rep was also afflicted, but the effect was light, probably because she had a mage ss. I also got hit but... I still didn¡¯t feel anything. Maybe because I¡¯m a Shaman? Maybe there¡¯s a hidden correction that grants me poison immunity?

    Well, even so, I was sure as hell not gonna use poisons on myself to find out.

    Rem was also gone. Which meant that I¡¯d also lost a valuable asset. As soon as we arrive at the next fairy square, I gotta gather materials to resummon her.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop here and get ready before we head in there¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that¡±

    No one was opposed. Well, not like they were enthralled by the idea either.

    I mean, we were in a cave, with a fucking spider hole, and we were about to camp right in front of it. Ants or mantises could ambush us from the hole or from behind. We had no choice but to alternate between resting and keeping watch of both the front and back of the cave.

    But honestly, I couldn¡¯t rest. I couldn¡¯t believe I was having such a hard time calming down.

    ¡°¡­ Kotarou-kun, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    After finishing her shift as the first on watch duty, Mei-chan said that as she sat down next to my lonesome self.

    ¡°Why, are you apologizing?¡±

    ¡°I, let Yokomichi-kun escape. I was, so close to killing him too¡±

    Man, our morals sure are turning to shit. She was calling him with a ¡®-kun¡¯ like normal, but apologizing for not being able to kill him?

    Mei-chan seemed to be regretting it, but during that opportune moment, her arm was numbed from grabbing onto that tongue, so she couldn¡¯t possibly follow up with any fierce attack. If she still had power in her arm, she could have pulled Yokomichi over to me, I¡¯d bind him, and then she¡¯d crush him with her halberd.

    ¡°It might¡¯ve been for the best, since we didn¡¯t be murderers¡±

    ¡°No, Yokomichi-kun will surelye back and attack Kotarou-kun¡±

    I wanted to deny it, but when Mei-chan said it with that much confidence, even I started to feel the same way.

    ¡°It would¡¯ve been for the best, to finish him then and there¡±

    That¡¯s right, since, this Skill Eater would get stronger the more he ate. When we meet him next time, he¡¯ll definitely have newly plundered skills.

    The first time was bad enough. If he got more nasty abilities... Shit, I don¡¯t want to imagine how fucked we¡¯ll be then.

    ¡°¡­ Mei-chan, you deliberated on it too, right?¡±

    ¡°On what?¡±

    She had questioned back in an expression that made me highly doubt her moralpass, but I¡¯m gonna pretend I didn¡¯t notice that, and borate.

    ¡°Killing someone I mean¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. If it¡¯s to protect Kotarou-kun, I won¡¯t hesitate to kill, even if it¡¯s a fellow ssmate¡±

    Man, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m an asshole for feeling relieved from her bold answer.

    When Mei-chan went berserk, she seemed to lose any ability to settle things humanely. When she fought Yokomichi, she was surely attacking him with the intent to kill.

    But, if she told me that it was in order to protect me, that she¡¯d even be willing to kill others... As a human being, and as a man, It didn¡¯t sit right with me to hear her say that. She could have just sugar-coated it like Souma Sakura.

    Still, I was d. d that I had someone like her to watch my back. After all, the only one I could depend on in this sorry excuse of a party was Mei-chan. In a way, I was actually really happy to have her protect me.

    ¡°I see. Thank you¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so, don¡¯t worry so much, Kotarou-kun.¡±

    Ah, She saw through me huh. Now I feel stupid for worrying.

    ¡°Sorry¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Yokomichi-kun has already killed Nagae-san. Murderer? No, he¡¯s a cannibal, right? He¡¯s pretty much no longer a human being. He¡¯s like a Goma, an enemy that we have to defeat¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re, right¡±

    She was right. Yokomichi was a monster. A man-eating, blood-chugging monster. I don¡¯t know which mad god changed his calling to ¡®Cannibalizer¡¯, but it was obvious that Yokomichi was no longer a human.

    If you hesitate to kill a monster because of morals and ethics, then you¡¯re the one whose gonna kick the bucket.

    Even if I say that, will I be able to convince myself to carry out the deed?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.... I won¡¯t hesitate either. So next time, let¡¯s kill that son of a bitch together.¡±

    ¡°Mm, thanks, Kotarou-kun.¡±

    Once I did it, I¡¯d probably still be conflicted. What if the things Souma Sakura said were right after all? Did I really have the resolve the kill others? Could I carry that weight? I didn¡¯t know.

    But, if someone had to bear the brand of murderer, it shouldn¡¯t be only Mei-chan. I would bear it with her.

    That, I was sure even I could do.<hr>Next

 Chapter 65: Rush

    Chapter 65: Rush

    ¡° ¨C¨C Now then, guess it¡¯s about time¡±

    We were, fortunately, not attacked by any monsters during the break, so were able to at least get some rest. The color of fatigue hadn¡¯t quite left our faces, and the girls with paralysis weren¡¯t fully recovered either.

    ¡°Listen, everyone. Inside there might be a Rook spider. But, just like with the previous pit, we don¡¯t know if we can transfer out from there. If it¡¯s not a boss monster, we should avoid fighting¡±

    ¡°So then, we should first figure out if there¡¯s a transfer circle and kill the spider if there is. If not, then just pass through, do I have that right?¡±

    Towards Souma Sakura¡¯s inquiry, ss rep agreed with a nod.

    Although I wanted some monster cores, now was not the time. It¡¯d be better to avoid a fight if we can. We aren¡¯t in some RPG where the only way forward is to hack¡¯n¡¯sh every single monsters like an idiot.

    ¡°Well, guess I¡¯ll take point¡±

    ¡°Yes, we leave it to you, Minami¡±

    We¡¯d have the thief go ahead and scour for the possible transfer point. Meanwhile, the rest of us will prioritize looking for the exit.

    After confirming our strategy onest time, we descended into the spider pit.

    The light elemental flying around Natsukawa-san lit up the path inside the dark hole. It didn¡¯t look much different from the earlier nest. Other than expecting that Yokomichi might beying in wait here too, nothing much had changed.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite spacious here¡±

    ¡°Yeah, might just be the size of a forest dome¡±

    It really was around the size of a domed baseball stadium. Souma Sakura¡¯s elemental couldn¡¯t illuminate the entire area.

    Anyway, I couldn¡¯t see the spider or any other insect monsters here....

    ¡°Ryouko-chan! I don¡¯t see it here¡±

    After searching for about 5 minutes, along with Natsukawa-san¡¯s pleasant voice came disappointing news.

    ¡°I understand,e back now, Minami¡±

    ¡°But Ryouko, We don¡¯t see the exit either¡±

    As Kenzaki-san said, the only problem we had now was that we couldn¡¯t find the exit. We¡¯ve circled around the whole dome only to realize that the only connection to the outside was the one we used to enter.

    ¡°¡­ What do you think, dead end?¡±

    ¡°Might be above us¡±

    This was a nest created by insects. That being the case, they would have no reason to create an exit near the ground. Whether it¡¯s wall or ceiling, many insects can walk just about anywhere, ergo, they can make the exit anywhere as well.

    ¡°But then, we might not be able to get to it¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I think I can create a makeshift rope with my ck hair binds¡±

    And, just as I looked up to the dark ceiling in consideration ¨C¨C our eyes met.

    Eight crimson eyes glowing in the dark.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Rook Spider, no...¡±

    Eight more eyes pop in, then 18 more, then more. When I¡¯d counted those, there were already more, 30, 40, 50, what the fuck.

    Gleaming red eyes, countless as stars in the sky, nketed the ceiling.

    ¡°Retreat! There¡¯s too many!¡±

    Takanashi-san¡¯s scream reverberated throughout the whole pit, and at the time, every goddamned monster dropped down to attack.

    The first one tond was, covered in a gray shell with 8 huge legs, it was the Rook Spiders.

    ¡°Damn, over there is!?¡±

    We were blocked from our only way out by 2 Rook Spiders thatnded in front of the exit, like intimidating castles, just as their names implied.

    Not only that. They spewed copious amounts of webbing from their bulging abdomens, so much that it¡¯d put Yokomichi¡¯s disy to shame, and that blocked the exit. The sticky, white, voluminous thread quickly closed off the exit,pletely isting us.

    ¡°They, actually set a trap¡­ ¡±

    We¡¯d already fucked up from the start. We¡¯d somehow or other made it all the way here. Since we were weakened, we wanted to quickly reach safety and so, rushed. We all probably thought that we could push through in the end.

    Shit shit, it was me who¡¯d actually ended up thinking of it like a game.

    Just look at those numbers. There was no rule that said we¡¯d only face a convenient amount of monsters that we could safely push through. Not anymore though. Dungeon just went, ¡®fuck you guys, enjoy my special monster house bitches!¡¯

    All those other times, we¡¯d been merely been lucky.

    ¡°Wh, what do we do? At this rate...¡±

    ¡°We break through, no other choice! Mei-chan, get those spiders!¡±

    I didn¡¯t have time toment on the stupidity that walked us into this monster house trap. It¡¯s better to actually deal with the situation before we fucking die.

    Even if it was already toote, I won¡¯t just sit around waiting for my death.

    ¡°Mei-chan, Kenzaki-san! Stop the spiders! Souma, ss rep, spell walls, stop the swarm of ants. Natsukawa-san, you deal with the stray ants! Also, lend me your Red Knife! Takanashi-san follow me, we¡¯ll clear up the exit ¨C¨C spread out Rotten Bog!¡±

    Don¡¯t know how much of that they¡¯ll follow, but I rapid-fired orders anyway, while employing my own obstruction type curse magic.

    Mei-chan had already rushed forward with a battle cry, fiercely swinging at the Spiders. An army of ants had began crawling from the ceiling across the walls to the floor right after the Spiders hadnded. We had no luxury to strategize.

    ¡°Everyone, we need to escape from here, now! Do what you have to until Momokawa-kun clears the exit!¡±

    ¡°Alright, good luck, Momokawa-kun!¡±

    After ss Rep voiced agreement, starting with Souma Sakura, the other girls finally started moving. Natsukawa-san was even nice enough to dash up to me with her ace-tier speed, hand over her knife, and dash back instantly.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun, go!¡±

    Mei-chan shed away like a veritable storm, and pushed the Rook Spiders away from the exit. Kenzaki-san also brandished her twin des, one, a long sword, and the other, a ming saber, and helped clear the way. Well, it¡¯s now or never.

    ¡°Takanashi-san, after me!¡±

    ¡°B-but I...¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t safe here, it isn¡¯t safe anywhere, just run girl!¡±

    I grabbed onto the hesitant Takanashi-san¡¯s arm, and made a break for the exit. The distance was no more than 30 meters, but honestly, it¡¯s a shit ass crazy n to run through the ce where vanguard fighters and giant monsters were duking it out.

    But still, I avoiding tripping over like an idiot, and somehow made it. Also, Takanashi-san, she managed to follow after me, half crying.

    ¡°Haaa¡­. Haaa¡­. Shit dammit, there¡¯s way too much¡­.¡±

    When we¡¯d finally arrived, what greeted us was absurd amount of webbing. If I were to charge in, I¡¯d be a statue within thirty centimeters of pration. Trying a knife on it would end up dulling said knife.

    So to ovee this ordeal, we needed the Red Knife with its de imbued with fire. Elemental weaponry FTW.

    ¡°With this ¨C¨C Uaah, hot! HOT!?¡±

    As I imagined, the webbing burned away easily under the Red Knife¡¯s mes. However, some of these threads, still on fire, were dropping all around me. Quite dangerous. If I¡¯m not careful, I¡¯ll be burned.

    ¡°Momokawa-kun! Not done yet!? We¡¯re can¡¯t hold on much longer ¨C¨C Eis st!¡±

    Damnit, I know! With a quick look back, I could see the fight on their end was pretty intense as well. Rapid shooting spells everywhere to prevent the ants from getting past the barriers of ice and light. Their output was outstanding¡­. But the ants didn''t know fear, they were like death soldiers, madly rushing forward to fulfill their duty. Our mages were already on the brink, even with Natsukawa-san''s help.

    Mei-chan and Kenzaki-san were also fighting the good fight. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like there was a rule that they would fight one Rook Spider each. There wasn''t anything stopping the ants from butting in. Although they seem to be managing for now.

    Naturally, those two wouldn¡¯t be able to aggro all the ants, so it was inevitable that some made their way towards me and Takanashi-sa¨C¨C

    ¡°No, NOOOOOOO!? DON''TCOMEANYCLOSER!!¡±

    The antsing straight towards us caused Takanashi-san to scream. Though, it wasn''t your ordinary scream. The sage¡¯s very words contained power.

    Sacred Tongue?Words of Rejection. With the Sage''s skill activating, the monsters stopped moving just as Takanashi-san decreed.

    The ants that were about to jump us suddenly froze in their tracks, their sharp fore-limbs still in the air, poised to attack. Since I could see a bit of twitching from the tips, perhaps they were resisting the words of power.

    ¡°Alright, Takanashi-san, keep it up!¡±

    ¡°Aieeee! Kotori caann¡¯t!¡±

    Despite her denying it, the ants were still stationary.

    It was totally worth it bringing Takanashi-san with me. It¡¯s such an awesome power. Using it like Souma Sakura does, as in, only for self-protection, was such a waste. In these situations, the least they could do is be human shields.

    ¡°Okay, half way there¡­¡±

    While everyone kept giving their all in battle, I continued burning away the spider thread seal. At this rate, we should manage to escape.

    But, the dungeon just had to bitchp us at thest moment.

    ¨C¨C¨C VMMMMMM

    It was a familiar sound of buzzing insects. An annoying noise they¡¯d make as they rapidly pped their wings. There was only one kind of insect that would make this despair inducing noise.

    And we knew it all too well.

    ¡°Well fuck¡­ Now the mantises show up ...¡±

    Up above from the ceiling of the pit, came down the green knights with dual sickles. The Knight Mantes.

    ¡°Kuh...¡±

    ¡°Damn, reinforcements¡±

    ¡°UAAAA, h-how, are we, supposed to even!?¡±

    There were 4 Knight Mantises in all. They went to each of the vanguards. Mei-chan and Kenzaki-san who were in their respective death matches with the Rook Spiders, and Natsukawa-san who was holding off the ants.

    We had 3 vanguards. Since each of them picked 1, thatst one¨C¨C

    ¡°A, ah, Aa...¡±

    Rushed over to me and Takanashi-san, the weakest members of the party.

    ¡°NOOO!? Get away, getawaygetawaygetaway!!¡±

    Words of Rejection activated. The mantis froze just like the Ants...... W-wait, it wasn¡¯t working. It¡¯s sickles still moved, slowly, but still moved.

    ¡°No, NOO, No, please no¡­ ¡±

    Takanashi-san was actually whining while she squeezed her hands together as if praying. Maybe this helped her activate her Words of Rejection to the limit?

    Still, the mantis moved, even if slightly. Maybe, if it took just one more step, if it stepped within Takanashi-san¡¯s barrier of rejection¡­ Its effects would crumble.

    ¡°Shit, shitshit¡­ Here of, all ces¡­ ¡±

    Like hell I¡¯ll die.

    ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll die!¡±

    I swung the red knife in a frenzy, I didn''t give a damn about the burns. But the webbing wouldn¡¯t burn along with the speed of my swings. It¡¯s slow. No, it did get a bit faster, but it¡¯d be toote before I finished.

    Fuck, it was all for nothing, too many monsters for us to handle. Any moment now, the sheer amount of ants may as well us.

    Maybe, someone¡¯s already died?

    ¡°Damn, damn it all¡­ ¡±

    This sucks. I¡¯m so scared. So scared that I can¡¯t even look behind.

    ¡°Can¡¯t die here¡­ Can¡¯t die here¡­ ¡±

    I¡¯m worried about them. Especially Mei-chan. But my head was filled to the brim with fear of my own death, and I kept shing away in awkward movements.

    The fear and pressure was driving me insane. My vision had gone white, I could pass out any moment. Even though I should be hearing the desperate cries of Takanashi-san using her Words of Rejection right behind me, I wasn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t see anything. I couldn¡¯t, hear, anything.

    But, for some reason, I did hear this:

    ¡°Save me, nii-san¡±

    Souma Sakura. That bitch. Even until thest moment, she still kept being stupid.

    I felt a deep resentment towards her, but right then,

    ¡°CROSS CALIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡±<hr>Next

 Chapter 66: Enter the Hero

    Chapter 66: Enter the Hero

    White. The light was a blinding white.

    That intense white light blew away all the insects around me like a storm. Pawn Ants, despite being human-sized, were sted off, swarm and all. Burned by the light, chopped up, their legs and body sections became individual pieces. The horde of insects literally disintegrated into ash from the white light.

    The torrent of light further raged forwards as a gigantic shining sword and gouged into the ground. It split the ant horde and even shed through the castles of gray, the Rook Spiders, like tofu in a split second.

    The two spiders fell and the mantises and ants were reduced to half their numbers. Overpowered. Now this, this felt like real magic.

    No, not quite ¨C¨C this was the power of the Hero.

    ¡°I¡¯m here for you, Sakura¡±

    Behind flowing locks of ck hair, the light of determination could be seen from the eyes of the handsome and strong boy who stood there, his glimmering sword drawn.

    It was the hero. It was, Souma Yuuto.

    Shiramine Academy¡¯s most perfect male student. The man most suitable for the title of Hero.

    ¡°Nii-san!¡±

    ¡°Thank God you¡¯re safe, Sakura. Everyone too. But, it¡¯s dangerous here, we have to get out quickly!¡±

    As he shouted, he brandished his sword of light again. Then the white light, like a tornado, revolved around his de, getting bigger and bigger.

    There was no technique needed to aplish his task. Before the destructive power of his light, the relentless ants, and even the mantis Natsukawa-san was dealing with, evaporated.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move people! Yuuto-kun has cleared the way!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s reaction was quick, they¡¯d moved even before ss Rep had spoken. Except for me, I was still slightly dumbfounded.

    I mean, hell! Souma-kun¡¯s power was way too overwhelming. It made our previous struggles look like child¡¯s y.

    Haha, fucking idiot Yokomichi. This here¡¯s the real cheat!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kotori!¡±

    ¡°Mm, Asuna-chan!¡±

    Kenzaki-san came to pick up Takanashi-san, easily dealing with the mantis and ants still frozen due to words of rejection. I waspletely ignored, She grabbed onto the small girl¡¯s hand and started running.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, handle those ants please¡±

    The only one thinking of me, was of course, Mei-chan. I was so thankful for that, I could cry. But, I didn¡¯t need her to grab my hand like Takanashi-san. Since there were still so many ants, I had to work Mei-chan just a little longer so that the path Souma-kun had cleared out wouldn¡¯t be over run.

    ¡°Guys! Over here!¡±

    Souma-kun, though not as intensely as the first time, was still waving around his sword, curb-stomping the horde of ants. Behind him, a huge hole had opened up, one we couldn¡¯t find in our initial search.

    So, the passage was actually buried? I see. Souma-kun hade from the other side, he¡¯d broken the wall and created this hole.

    Finally finding the exit, I dashed to it with all the speed my legs could muster and somehow managed to slide through.

    ¡°I¡¯m thest one! Close it now!¡±

    ¡°Got it, get back a little, Momokawa¡±

    I tumbled to the side to avoid getting in the way of Souma-kun¡¯s attack. Turning around, I saw a scene of countless antsing at us like a ck tsunami.

    ¡°HAA!!¡±

    With that shout, came another sh of light. Aiming at the entrance plus any ants there, the sword of light cut ¨C¨C causing the once open hole to be buried under a pile of earth and rubble.

    ¡°....Haaa¡±

    That¡¯s when I could finally sigh in relief.

    ¡°Ahh, nii-san, thank god, thank god...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sakura, making you worried and all...¡±

    ¡°.....Haa¡±

    Then I sighed in exasperation. Sure you could say it was a heartfelt reunion between siblings, but I couldn¡¯t give one shit.

    ¡°Alright everyone, I know you¡¯re tired, but we should get moving quickly. There¡¯s a transfer circle not too far from here. We should use that to leave this insect cave ASAP¡±

    Everyone raised a cheer. Of course, we all wanted to escape from this giant insect hell.

    Even if we stayed, considering the ability of those ants, they could probably clear out the copsed wall pretty quickly. You really can¡¯t afford to rx anywhere in this ce.

    With dead tired bodies, we moved along the cave, Souma-kun leading.

    ¡° ¨C¨CSeriously, it¡¯s great we could all reunite again¡±

    ¡°Even so, how did you know where we were?¡±

    ¡°It was a coincidence really. But when I got close enough to Sakura, the lux elemental showed me the way¡±

    ¡°Eh? Nii-san, you can also use Summon Lux Elemental?¡±

    ¡°Well, when I noticed, I¡¯d learned it already. But unlike yours, it¡¯s more blue-ish¡±

    Like this, he said as he put out his finger, manifesting a light blue phosphorescent light. It flew around like a firefly, then disappeared.

    ¡°I never thought, it could work for searching¡±

    ¡°You got it, maybe because you also use elementals? The others don¡¯t look like they understand¡±

    And, after going over some details on how he happened to rushed over, Souma-kun turned towards me.

    ¡°By the way, that¡¯s Momokawa, and the person next to him...¡±

    Before this, Souma-kun was already partied up with her sister, meeting the others along the way. Mei-chan and I were certainly the new faces here. Well I guess he needs a greeting?

    ¡°I¡¯m a Shaman. And this is Futaba-san, she¡¯s a Berserker¡±

    I told the truth. We couldn¡¯t exactly lie anymore since Takanashi-san possessed a skill to see others¡¯ calling and skills. So there was no longer a point in hiding Mei-chan¡¯s calling.

    ¡°Is it your calling that made you so, slim¡±

    ¡°I, I guess... Uhm, hello¡±

    Souma-kun looked a little, no, quite bewildered actually.

    Well, it¡¯s no surprise, when any ssmates saw the current Mei-chan, they had a simr reaction. Since it¡¯s a totally dramatic before and after effect, like the ones you see in those fishy dieting advertisements.

    ¡°You really saved us back there, Souma-kun. Thank you¡±

    In front of the school¡¯s no.1 "Ikemen", Souma-kun, Mei-chan wasn¡¯t shy or nervous. She expressed thanks and showed a genuine smile. I wonder if it¡¯s because she¡¯s been ustomed to battle, that she could act so brazen?

    Maybe she¡¯d already fallen for Souma-kun who appeared super cool from the earlier rescue.

    Women are said to be realistic creatures. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if she abandoned a weak shaman like me for a braver, more reliable and cool hero.

    She might be interacting with me normally now, but soon enough, she¡¯d start to subtly take distance and.... Fuck, it¡¯s depressing just thinking about it.

    ¡°There¡¯s the room we want¡±

    Apparently, we¡¯d arrived at our destination. The ce he pointed to was, I see, it was another one of those ces where the cave bits end and stone dungeon starts.

    As we entered, we were on a path leading straight to the boss room. Simr to the one in the Orthus¡¯ room, I could see a faintly glowing magic circle engraved on a tform.

    ¡°Ah, I just remembered, we didn¡¯t collect the cores from the Rook Spiders¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it ss rep. Since I already defeated the monster that was already in this room, we can use its core¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed, Yuuto-kun¡±

    ¡°It was weaker than the Cerberus, so maybe that¡¯s why I could solo it. Anyway, let¡¯s quickly get inside. If this works the same as the previous ones, then we should be able to teleport to a fairy square¡±

    We were in dire need of some rest, so his suggestion was wee. We¡¯ll be humbly making use of the core Souma-kun had.

    Everyone entered the circle in practiced movements. Finally, Souma-kun, who held the soft ball sized red crystal, the core, spoke,

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll start it up¡±

    The core reacted immediately, letting out an ample volume of light. As if melting into the light, the core began to slowly crumble. At the same time, the magic circle below began it¡¯s own flickering. When that light got intense enough to blind us of our surroundings, that¡¯s when we¡¯d get teleported.

    So basically, we¡¯re out of here in less than 10 sec ¨C¨C

    ¡° ¨C¨C Wah!¡±

    Suddenly, I felt a force on my body. I was pushed. From the back, strongly.

    I yelled like an idiot as the hard stone floor made its way to me, all I could manage to do was pull up my hands so that I wouldn¡¯tnd face first.

    ¡°Ouch!?¡±

    It was falling damage. I¡¯d pitched forward and fallen to the floor. I was just standing normally, howe I suddenly fell?

    The reason was obvious. I was pushed ¨C¨C but by who?

    ¡°Ke-Kenzaki-san¡­ ¡±

    I turned around to find, Kenzaki Asuna, with both her hands stuck out, she¡¯d stiffened up in that posture. Her expression could be described as stupefied, or perhaps nk, herself not understanding what she¡¯d just done.

    That, was thest I saw of them.

    ¡°Kotarou-kun!?¡±

    ¡°No, Futaba-san! It¡¯s dangerous to jump out now!¡±

    All around me was already white. Beyond that, there was Mei-chan¡¯s desparate voice calling to me, and also Souma-kun¡¯s voice trying to stop her.

    ¡°A-Ahh ¨C¨C ¡±

    Before I could return any words, there was only silence. After that, I could see again.

    There was only the faintly glowing magic circle.

    No one else, nothing else.

    ¡°No, noo¡­ ¡±

    In other words, I¡¯d been left behind. Editor here. This chapters ends Momokawa''s perspective for 3 more chapters, after which this arc, lion mask called it ''Cannibalizer'', ends. Don''t worry, the next arc ends worse. Also, next weeks chapters may bete.

 Chapter 67: Rage

    Chapter 67: Rage

    Shrouded inside the light of the transfer magic, Kenzaki Asuna thought about her duel ¨C¨C her worst and most disgraceful memory, it all shed back inside her brain.

    ¡°Ah, a¡­¡±

    She stared at her hands.

    The feeling of pushing off Kotarou was still fresh on her palms.

    The light from the transfer magic had faded quickly, but her mind still felt white.

    The sight before her was all too familiar, one that could be found dotted all over, a fairy square. But, it couldn¡¯t be said to be a ce where safety was absolutely guaranteed.

    ¡°Aiee ¨C¨C ¡±

    Asuna felt, like she had fallen into hell.

    Because right in front of her, stood the Berserker, mad as an ogre.

    ¡°KenzAKIIII, ASUNAAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    Among the individuals there, Futaba Meiko was likely the only one who knew what had transpired just moments ago. Only that Berserker, screaming in wrathful rage, knew.

    The transfer magic had activated as expected. However, on the verge of their return to safety, Kenzaki Asuna had pushed Momokawa Kotarou out of the circle.

    And thus, aside from Kotarou, everyone had arrived at the new fairy square.

    This was in no way an ident. Kenzaki Asuna had the clear intention and willingly knocked away Momokawa Kotarou.

    And being shown the crime in such an obvious disy, it was no wonder that Futaba Meiko was furious.

    ¡°AIEEEE, N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t Takanashi Kotori, the most cowardly member of the party, that raised that horrified scream. It was Kenzaki Asuna.

    That, could be expected though, considering that Futaba Meiko symbolized absolute fear for the girl. The incarnation of unreasonable violence. Her ultimate trauma.

    Kenzaki Asuna was not only petrified, she almost downright fainted from taking the st of bloodlust directed towards her.

    And, towards the frightened and helpless Asuna, the mad berserker swung her fist with all her ¨C¨C

    ¡°Stop, Futaba-san!¡±

    The explosive sound that reverberated in the fairy square, was apanied by a huge shockwave.

    Souma Yuuto took on her punch, no, the Berserker¡¯sPile Bunker that had the characteristic crimson aura, directly on his palms.

    The destructive power burst out, causing bloody cracks to appear on Yuuto¡¯s palms. Although he braced himself, he was still pushed back, his heels digging into the ground, because of the impact. If he¡¯d taken that punch half-heartedly, it¡¯d be quite the sight, seeing him sent flying. It was that powerful.

    Imagining what if this burning red fist had directly hit the face of the defenseless Asuna¡­ He couldn¡¯t help but shudder.

    ¡°Could you move, Souma-kun¡±

    He shuddered further from her voice. To him, Futaba Meiko sounded like the grudge-filled sound from his sword before it was purified of its curse¡­ No, hers was much worse.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Please, Futaba-san, just stop¡±

    However, no matter how frightening it was, no, exactly because the opponent was scary enough that she could kill someone, Souma Yuuto couldn¡¯t back down. He couldn¡¯t stand to back down.

    This was the first time he¡¯d seen Kenzaki Asuna cry. At this time, he hadn¡¯t perfectly grasped the whole situation. However, he would still protect Kenzaki Asuna. His body radiated such determination .

    ¡°¡­ Oh¡±

    Meiko¡¯s eyes sharply looked around her.

    Shit. Souma Yuuto thought as he instinctively understood her intention. Futaba Meiko already saw everyone there as her enemy. She had attacked Kenzaki Asuna fully understanding that.

    Surely, the rest too could feel her abnormal level of enmity.

    Souma Sakura had her bow ready, and Natsukawa Minami, despite looking terribly nervous and rmed, had her knife drawn.

    ¡°Damn... Futaba-san, please, for now, just forgi¨C¨C ¡±

    ¡°Asuna!! Why the hell did you do that, you imbicile!!¡±

    A hysterical scream, along with the sound of a p, drowned away Yuuto¡¯s words.

    Everyone saw it. The moment their ss rep, Kisaragi Ryouko, had mercilessly thrashed Asuna¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Ah, Ryouko..¡±

    ¡°You idiot, idiot! How could, you do that!¡±

    Twice, three times, ss rep repeatedly struck Asuna¡¯s face. Sakura and Minami who were momentarily dumbstruck, then quickly reacted.

    ¡°Stop, stop it, Ryouko!¡±

    ¡°Ryouko-chan!¡±

    The two quickly rushed towards Ryouko and Asuna, separating the attacker.

    The mage had hit quite seriously. Asuna¡¯s cheeks had turned red, and the individual herself looked quite dumbfounded at the turn of events.

    ¡°ss, rep, why did, you¡­ ¡±

    Still blocking Meiko¡¯s path, Yuuto turned back to ask Ryoko who was being held back.

    ¡°It was the fact that Asuna did something totally inhumane! She pushed off Momokawa-kun before the transfer¡±

    ¡°That... Wasn¡¯t it an ident? It¡¯s true that it looked like she did that, but there¡¯s no reason for Asuna to¨C¨C¡±

    ¡°If you want a reason, then I have it¡±

    Although he¡¯d rushed in to save the party from the insect horde, Souma Yuuto didn¡¯t know what happened after he¡¯d gotten separated from his party. Of the events along the way, of their meeting up with Momokawa Kotarou and Futaba Meiko, and of the incidents that happened thereafter.

    ¡°Futaba-san, I¡¯m sorry... I know this isn¡¯t something that can be forgiven with a simple apology, but from now on, we will help you find Momokawa-kun, cooperating with us on this should be the best option. I won¡¯t ask you to forgive Asuna, but we will surely set things right!¡±

    Ryouko, who practically begged, caused Meiko to turn a cold eye ¨C¨C no, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly said,

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll hear you¡±

    To those words, everyone let out a breath of relief. At least for now, Meiko had fought down the intense urge to murder Asuna right then and there, and stifled her rage.

    ¡°First, Yuuto-kun, let me tell you what happened between us and Momokawa-kun¨C¨C ¡±

    Ryouko calmly kept at her story, even as Yuuto showed shock at the delicate yetplicated, bitter and mistrustful rtionship amongst them.

    ¡°I, I never knew¡­ ¡±

    Ryouko finished her exnation and Yuuto finally understood the situation. No, from his perspective, the whole thing was still quite hard to believe.

    First, about the fact that they simply couldn¡¯t function as a party even with Sakura and ss Rep with them¡­ But more importantly, that the gentle Futaba-san he knew had challenged THE Kenzaki Asuna to a duel, and moreover, that the former had won after beating thetter to a pulp.

    Because he had himself once fought Asuna seriously, he understood how powerful she was. However, after taking the blow from earlier, Yuuto also understood how powerful a Berserker was.

    The high school girl called Futaba Meiko, in her entirety, had totally changed. This changed girl had in turn changed Asuna... Subjecting her to pure violence,pletely destroying her pride as a swordswoman.

    It was unbelievable. No, it was more correct to say, he didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    Nevertheless, since Asuna was in fact behaving like she was in a nightmare, he had no choice but to ept that truth. That for Kenzaki Asuna, Futaba Meiko was the object of her absolute fear.

    ¡°Asuna thought that Futaba-san was brainwashed by a curse from Momokawa-kun. So, she thought that if she got rid of him¨C¨C¡±

    ¡°Th-that¡¯s not! I just, wanted to¡­ ¡±

    ¡°How was it not like that, Asuna? You caved in to your fear and tried to¡­ To murder Momokawa-kun¡±

    Asuna hugged her head as if she thought it was the apocalypse, and Ryouko stared her down, bitterness slightly tinting her expression.

    She understood that the girl was traumatized. She wanted to be on her side,fort her if possible. But Asuna had in factmitted a grave crime.

    It was probably meaningless to debate good and evil in the dungeon. But Ryouko herself hadmitted a simr crime. That was exactly why she couldn¡¯t forgive it. She never wanted to feel that helplessness again, and she wouldn¡¯t let anyone else.

    ¡°H-hey, ss rep, isn¡¯t this a bit much?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Ryouko. Think about how Asuna feels, she¨C¨C ¡±

    ¡°Stop, Yuuto-kun, Sakura. Please, do not say any more in Asuna¡¯s defense¡±

    Being so sharply reprimanded, the Souma siblings could do nothing but stay silent.

    This problem wasn¡¯t one to be resolved with a half-hearted apology. For Ryouko, it was because Asuna was such an irreceable and important friend, that she had to face her sins.

    Most importantly, this was the only way in order to save Kenzaki Asuna¡¯s life. Kisaragi Ryouko keenly knew this.

    ¡°Asuna, just for the sake of it, let¡¯s hear your side. Why did you do it?¡±

    There was practically no meaning in listening to Asuna¡¯s side of the story, since she was already a broken mess. But still, if they didn¡¯t hear it, there couldn¡¯t be true eptance. Not for Meiko, not for ss Rep herself, but for the friends who believed in Asuna.

    ¡°M-Momokawa¡­ It¡¯s all his fault¡­ Everything, because of him¡­¡±

    ¡°And what did Momokawa-kun do wrong exactly?¡±

    ¡°Ever since we met him, everything¡¯s gone strange!¡±

    Asuna yelled. That Momokawa Kotarou was an evil man whomanded curses.

    That he no doubt stared lewdly at the girls when they slept, with how he had masturbated in the same ce. That Kotarou, who had fortunately joined a party consisting of beautiful girls, secretly nned to make them all his own. And that, just like Futaba Meiko, with her abnormal degree of loyalty towards him, he conspired to put a brainwashing curse on them as well.

    ¡°Asuna, stop being delusional¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m NOT! I¡¯m not delusional! If that¡¯s true, then why was I¡­ Why did I get¡­¡±

    Asuna tried to deny it.

    That It was because of the evil brainwashing curse, that Futaba Meiko had brutally assaulted her. She wasn¡¯t normal, nor was she sane. ¡®For Kotarou-kun¡¯, she¡¯d kept repeating. There was no way Asuna could see her as sane.

    ¡°¡­ Hey, was it really that bad of an injury?¡±

    Everyone could assent to Yuuto¡¯s question. The only reason the scars on Asuna¡¯s face disappeared so cleanly was due to Sakura¡¯s healing magic and Kotarou¡¯s ointments that elerated natural recovery.

    ¡°Futaba-san, why would you go so far¡±

    ¡°Because Kenzaki-san wouldn¡¯t yield, you see. Also, it was Kenzaki-san who punched Kotarou-kun first. I can¡¯t forgive her for that¡±

    ¡°Just, just for that¨C¨C¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, Yuuto-kun? To Futaba-san, Momokawa-kun is her savior. Momokawa-kun saved her life, where I had abandoned her¡±

    What was more important? Her savior, Momokawa Kotarou, or the girl who had cruelly abandoned her and her merry band of friends? It was a no brainer.

    ¡°As for the result of that duel, no one has any right toin. Still, I regret not being able to do anything to stop it¡­ However, Asuna and Futaba-san both fought with mutual determination and consent. Yuuto, you of all people, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s undue for someone unrted toin?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s right, you¡¯re right, ss rep. If Asuna fought by her own will, then no matter the oue, I have no right to me¡±

    Although Yuuto said that, Ryouko thought, that he likely wouldn¡¯t hold true to it had he seen the state Asuna was in after the oue. He could show understanding only because the incident was gone and passed.

    Which meant that in conclusion, Kenzaki Asuna was the only one for whom that duel from the near past had not ended. The fear, the pain, it all stayed with her, the trauma eating into her.

    ¡°Whether Asuna truly thinks that Momokawa-kun can do brainwashing, or whether it¡¯s just her way of coping from the trauma... That¡¯s not the point we should focus on¡±

    She could show no sympathy towards her important friend.

    ¡°Now, everyone please listen. Sure, we had our doubts about Momokawa-kun, we never did fully trust him. But remember, he hadn¡¯t in fact done anything to us, while we on the other hand, one-sidedly deemed him suspicious and went so far as to get rid of him. As a human being, as a fellow ssmate, that mode of conduct is simply wrong¡±

    Ryouko argued once more. What started it all was themselves getting disgusted by Momokawa Kotarou¡¯s actions and ming him. Then, when they had to work together regardless of the strained situation, his every action aroused suspicion.

    ¡°Before that duel, I said this, remember? What if our suspicions were all misced? What would we do then?¡±

    It was a proven fact that Kotarou didn¡¯t have any brainwashing magic thanks to Kotori¡¯s Eye of Veracity. And in reality, Kotarou hadn¡¯t behaved suspiciously at all, his feud with Sakura was only natural considering the sort of situation he¡¯d been pushed into.

    ¡°Whatever the excuses are, Asuna was, without a doubt, first to raise her hand. She pushed him out of the transfer circle, an act practically synonymous to murder. You all should know that¡±

    Asuna had simply pushed Kotarou. She hadn¡¯t done anything like stabbing him with a knife. But that action was the same as pushing him in front of a moving train.

    Subjecting him to face the dungeon alone, how would that not be the same as attempting to murder him. Anyone who¡¯d experienced the dungeon first hand should know.

    ¡°So, how¡¯s she going to atone for this try at murder of hers?¡±

    Meiko asked ss rep the most important question, getting to the crux of the matter.

    ¡°We must, save Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°We will¡­ Continue exploring the dungeon. Since we¡¯ve already teleported, we can¡¯t turn back¡±

    ¡°You mean you¡¯re not going to search?¡±

    ¡°Since everyone¡¯s destination is the same, the only reliable way of finding him is to keep going, and Momokawa-kun knows that too, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    It was extremely doubtful whether Kotarou could actually manage to survive in the dungeon alone. And there was no way to know his whereabouts, and it was unimaginable that he would do something as hopeless as passively waiting for rescue at a nearby fairy square. After all, he¡¯d want to proceed through the dungeon if he had any hope to survive.

    ¡°¡­ Fine. But we have to thoroughly proceed through the dungeon to search for him¡±

    ¡°Yes, we should extend our scope of exploration from now on¡±

    The normal strategy was to proceed following theirpass, but if they were looking for someone, they would have to take a longer, more in depth route. Even if they couldn¡¯t find him in their current zone, there was the possibility of finding clues. The dungeon wasplicated, filled with countless zones and paths, so even if Kotarou was in the same zone as them, he might be directed in a different path.

    That said, looking through the vast area of the dungeon was a fool¡¯s errand. Everyone¡¯s goal was to get through this dungeon, so if they missed the opportunity to meet up, then hopefully, Kotarou had already gone further past them.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you won¡¯t be punishing Kenzaki-san at all?¡±

    ¡°Futaba-san, I understand you¡¯re angry¡­ But we definitely need Asuna¡¯s strength, whether it be for the search or simply fighting monsters in the dungeon¡±

    There was the adage of strength in numbers, but most importantly, there was the fact that Asuna was a Dualwielder, making her an important asset to their battle prowess.

    ¡°I do understand that, but isn¡¯t that too naive? She tried to kill someone, you know? Do you really think that it¡¯s okay to leave her be?¡±

    ¡°W-well that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Besides, I just can¡¯t trust Kenzaki-san, you know? I can¡¯t fight with this crazy murderdy behind me, it¡¯d be better if we left her here. Actually, that¡¯s a good idea. After we save Kotarou-kun, we¡¯lle get her¡±

    ¡°Wha!?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that just like making her a hostage?

    However, it was reasonable for Meiko to propose such an arrangement.

    Kenzaki Asuna, with the intent tomit murder, had pushed Momokawa Kotarou away from the transfer circle. Regardless of whether Kotarou-kun lived or died, it was a crime nheless, and a crime mustn¡¯t go unpunished.

    Meiko, in other words, had proposed to imprison Asuna in that fairy square. Imprison her there until Kotarou was rescued. If Kotarou turned out dead, then Asuna¡¯s attempted murder would change to actual homicide¡­ and her punishment would change to life imprisonment. Practically speaking, a death penalty.

    ¡°Wait, Futaba-san! please reconsider¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who wants to help Kotarou-kun. In fact, every one of you don¡¯t care, you¡¯d feel better if he was dead¡­ Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re thinking? How about you tell me, Souma-san?¡±

    ¡°I, I have not had any such thoughts!¡±

    ¡°But, you don¡¯t feel like helping, right? Isn¡¯t it a pain? You¡¯ve finally reunited with Souma-kun so who cares about anyone else, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never considered such selfishness. So, of course I¡¯m willing to cooperating in saving Momokawa-kun¡±

    ¡°Cooperate? Ahaha, cooperate she says, ss rep. Souma-san, haven¡¯t you¡¯ve been listening?¡±

    Ryouko reacted like a frog being stared at by a snake when Meiko eyed her in a dry chuckle. She was starting to resent Souma Sakura¡¯s fastidious personality.

    ¡°Cooperating, don¡¯t you mean, it¡¯s your duty?¡±

    ¡°Um, Yes.... That¡¯s right, Futaba-san¡±

    Ryouko consented with a trembling reply.

    Cooperation, in the end, only amounted to much if both sides actually had good intentions. Let¡¯s help Kotarou to make amends for Asuna. To Souma Sakura, that¡¯s exactly it. What she cared about was her friend, Asuna. Kotarou¡¯s life or whatever, it would be thest thing in her list of priorities. In her head, it was only, ¡®I¡¯ll cooperate in order to resolve my friend¡¯s problem¡¯, not ¡®I have to go help! Because my ssmate¡¯s life is in danger¡¯.

    Whether Souma Sakura realized that she was weighing the life of a person against her friend¡¯s feelings, there was no way for Ryouko to know. However she could quite easily see that to Futaba Meiko, her friend¡¯s priority on justice and friendship and what not could only be seen as ill intent.

    ¡°See, that¡¯s how it is, ss Rep. Kotarou-kun¡¯s life doesn¡¯t matter to you all¡­ So wouldn¡¯t putting up Kenzaki-san¡¯s life for his make you guys seriously search for him too?¡±

    If, right at that moment, they actually fought against Futaba Meiko, how many of them would die?

    She could preemptively attack her with an Eis Sagitta, scoring an instant head shot¡­ No, not possible. Meiko had Evade and looking at her fighting against monsters, she¡¯d grown proficient in her natural reflexes even without the skill. If she tried shooting magic at her now, she could easily see a future where the girl would swiftly dodge and her own neck would be crushed the next instant.

    If that happened, it¡¯d be pandemonium. Most likely, Souma Yuuto would be the only survivor. Since he was a Hero, he could even defeat this Berserker¡­ At the cost of everyone else sinking into an ocean of blood.

    They couldn¡¯t afford to turn Futaba Meiko into an enemy.

    Ryouko desperately repeated to herself: Don¡¯t give up. There¡¯s still hope.

    ¡°Please, Futaba-san... I¡¯ll tell everyone to properly search, so... Please don¡¯t let me lose anymore of my friends¡±

    Finally, tears started to fall from Ryouko¡¯s sharp eyes. With shoulders trembling and voice quivering, she was desperately trying to plead for the safety of her friends.

    ¡°Fine, since you¡¯ve gone to that extent. There will probably be plenty of monsters and strong bosses on the way so, Kenzaki-san will have to work hard as penance, won¡¯t she?¡±

    Meiko said, eyeing the desperate ss rep coldly.

    ¡°But please know, that Kenzaki-san¡¯s life won¡¯t be guaranteed without Kotarou-kun¡¯s¡±

    With Kisaragi Ryouko¡¯s hard-fought pleading, they were able to appease this berserker with no blood spilled.

    However, the insane contract where they would exchange one person¡¯s life with another¡¯s had created a deep, forlorn rift among the party members. Starting with the suspicions towards Momokawa Kotarou, to Futaba Meiko who had changed, turning into the symbol of fear and trauma for Kenzaki Asuna¡­ It was as if a curse had been ced on the party to slowly drive them mad.

    ¡°Kenzaki-san, you should thank ss rep, she just saved you¡±

    With a smile, Meiko said such words. In response, Asuna¡¯s shoulders started to tremble and she began sobbing in bitterness.

    ¡°Wait for me, Kotarou-kun. I¡¯ll definitely, save you¡­ ¡±

    With Asuna¡¯s audible sobbing and her many friends consoling her, happening as a backdrop, Meiko vowed to save Momokawa Kotarou in her heart. The trantor for the in-order trantion got a bit busy, so we''re changing the schedule to once a week for the next month. In other news, CLICK NEXT TO GO TO CHAPTER 68. I capitalized that so it''s harder to miss. This is likely Lion Mask''sst contribution to this series and was posted as an april fool''s joke. I''ve checked through it and it''s an actual trantion so we won''t be bothering with it.

    CHAPTER 69 should follow this link when it''s done next week.

 Chapter 68: Kizaki Akane and Kitaoji Rurika part.1

    Chapter 68: Kizaki Akane and Kitaoji Rurika part.1

    ¡°Kyaaaaaaa!¡±

    A girl¡¯s scream, like the tearing of silk, echoes throughout the cave of insects.

    ¡°Hey Akane! Isn¡¯t that enough crying, give me some cover already!¡±

    ¡°G-g-gimme a break here¡ª There¡¯s bugs, there¡¯s ants, I can¡¯t do thiiis!?¡±

    In the dark cave where light wouldn¡¯t reach, zed a spot of fire. This floating ignis elementalfire spirit shone on two girls wearing the Shiramine Academy¡¯s sailor uniform, and also illuminated the forms blocking their way; cking theirrge mandibles, what stood before them was a swarm of pawn ants.

    ¡°Just shoot dammit!¡±

    ¡°Nooo! ignis kris sagittame spearaaa!¡±

    Her eyes moist, the girl called Akane fires a chantless, fire attribute, intermediate level, attack magic.

    Having the misfortune of getting involved in a sudden otherworld summoning, she was a student of ss 2-7, Kizaki Akane.

    Quite like a girl of her age, faced withrge ant monsters, she furiously cried out in her displeasure; but in contrast, her tall and slender figure didn¡¯t allow her to hold such a small and frail image.

    With her bob-cut hair, and sweet, droopy eyes, Akane was blessed with tall stature, but had an innocent face and timid personality. She was especially weak to every variety of insect. And faced with such gigantesque arthropods, she was more than likely to loseposure when handling her fire.

    ¡°Hot hot!? You idiot! nning to burn me here!¡±

    ¡°Sorryy, Ruri-chaan!¡±

    The girlining to this fire mage, Kizaki Akane, held an iron sword in her hand, solidifying her role as the vanguard. Akane having aimlessly shot magic that made sudden bursts of me spread out in this narrow cave was quite a reproachable act.

    ¡°Well, I guess it took care of some of ¡¯em... Leave the rest to me!¡±

    ¡°Ok, go for it Ruri-chan! Ei, ignis enchantigniting¡±

    Having her de receive the fire enchantment as support, Ruri took her red hot, spark-bursting, scorching sword in one hand, and dived into the fray of ants.

    Exhibiting such brave and boldbat, wielding the Vocation of swordsman was Ruri, full name Kitaoji Rurika; another student of the same ss 2-7[1]

    Compared to Akane, who boasted a height befitting a member of the volleyball club, Ruri was around a head shorter. Along with Reina A. Ayase and Takanashi Kotori, she was in a three-way deadlock in achieving the title of smallest in ss 2-7.

    Small build and a tender visage like that of a small animal. Putting her long, ck hair up in a ponytail; it was a heartwarming tale of wanting to imitate Kenzaki Asuna, one she admired for her gant form.

    And despite the difference in appearance in the two, their great courage in taking up the sword to battle fearsome monsters was all the same.

    ¡°¡ªfuuh, that wasn¡¯t too bad¡±

    With fire being effective against the ants, together with Ruri¡¯s own martial arts easily cutting into the carapace, all the enemies had been safely defeated. At the end, Ruri took a big swing, dispersing the mes of enchantment, and with practiced motions, returned her de to its scabbard.

    ¡°L-let¡¯s get out of this ce already¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty tight in here, too risky. Let¡¯s walk faster¡±

    The two girls warmly held hands, walking through the cave.

    Kizaki Akane and Kitaoji Ruri, these two were certainly best friends. From a young age, childhood friends who¡¯ve always been together. However, now they are¡ª

    ¡°¡ªYaay! A fairy square, look Akane!¡±

    ¡°Huff, thank god, we can finally rest¡±

    After many encounters with ant swarms, and somehow defeating the formidable mantis, the two had surmounted the cave and made it to an oasis of the dungeonmonly dubbed fairy square.

    With the fountain trickling refreshing water in front of her, as if parched, Ruri rushed towards it, scooping up the cold springwater to drink.

    ¡°Haa, so good¡±

    And as she cupped her hands to raise a 2nd mouthful, Ruri¡¯s small lips were blocked. What entered her mouth was not cold, soothing water, but hot, vigorous meat. The touch of a seductive tongue, coiling about.

    ¡°¡ªM-Mmn! Puhaa!? Geez, what¡¯s up all of a sudden, Akane!¡±

    ¡°I-I mean... it was scary...¡±

    Ruri, having found herself held to Akane¡¯s chest, was angered with the sudden deep kiss¡ª or so her blushed cheeks, and clouded eyes failed to support. Looking up, right above was Akane with the same, no, with an even deeper tint of cerise.

    ¡°So, hey, it¡¯s fine right, Ruri-chan¡±

    Closing her ecstatic eyes, once again Akane¡¯s soft, pink lips close in.

    ¡°N-not fiiiine!¡±

    Perhaps her embarrassment won over arousal, with a shout, Ruri used her thin arms to reject Akane¡¯s face and body.

    ¡°O-oh no!? Ruri-chan dumped me!?¡±

    ¡°No I didn¡¯t! Wait no, if you do it so suddenly... I haven¡¯t washed... so I definitely stink of sweat right now...¡±

    Seeing the girl¡¯s lovely figure embarrassedly squirming, Akane¡¯s breath grew rough.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind that at all! Ruri-chan¡¯s smell, I love it!¡±

    Fully ignoring how she was pushed away once, Akane jumps at Ruri¡¯s small body a second time. A strong hold with both hands, as if she¡¯d never let go. Between the breasts whose size you¡¯d reach faster counting down from biggest in ss, Ruri¡¯s face is buried.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m saying I mind!¡±

    ¡°Aah!?¡°

    Rejected yet again, Akane moaned uwuwu as she crumbled to the ground and took a fetal position.

    ¡°Geez... don¡¯t be depressed, c¡¯mon stand up. We¡¯re gonna be doing it together anyway right, the bath¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡±

    With the nimbleness of a cat, Akane vroomed her body up good as new.

    ¡°Can¡¯t really wash my back by myself... so help out you hear¡±

    Hmph, she looked away, ying hard to get as if acting out the age old clich¨¦.

    ¡°Ok! Let¡¯s scrubba-dub-dub, Ruri-chan!¡±

    With that, the two began taking off each other¡¯s uniform. And for a short while, echoing in the fairy square were the sounds of sshing water, and the frolicking voices of maidens.

    But that sound had gradually turned fiery; the white, naked figures of the two young women began to fervently, tightly, violently entwine together.

    Their secret game, only to be observed by the lovable statue of a fairy, fixtured on top of the fountain.

    Their sweat-filled bodies washed clean, Akane and Ruriy on the soft grass, ever so close, wearing jerseys in ce of night wear.

    ¡°...It¡¯s kinda, like in a dream¡±

    Akane mutters with a sigh.

    ¡°Yeah... fighting, dungeon life, I¡¯ve gotten used to it, but yeah, it¡¯s still like a dream¡±

    I didn¡¯t mean it like that though, she didn¡¯t put to mouth.

    Kizaki Akane was in love with Kitaoji Ruri. Even as kids, she had always loved her. They¡¯d fought many a time, but she had never felt true anger, true hatred towards the girl, she could say that with confidence.

    As a child, Akane was much more timid than her current self, and quite socially awkward as well; she couldn¡¯t speak up very well. Naturally, those types of children were prone to be isted... but she had Ruri.

    Curious and bold, a rascal who confidently pushed through all obstacles, the ball of feistiness that was Ruri would always grab Akane¡¯s hand, forcefully pulling her along, engaging her in various things. For that Ruri, Akane was likely seen as a convenient henchman of sorts to drag around.

    Always, at any moment, those two would be together like sisters. Bing the closest of friends before they knew it, looking back, all of Akane¡¯s memories were dyed in the wonderful colors of Ruri¡¯s smile.

    And when she noticed how great a role that girl had yed in her happiness, they had already be middleschoolers. It wasn¡¯t the case that something special had happened. It could be said that this realization was the proof of Akane¡¯s maturing.

    This wont do. I can¡¯t keep relying on Ruri forever. I must stand on my own two feet.

    With those feelings, Akane joined the volleyball club. Ofcourse, she didn¡¯t tell Ruri, it was too embarrassing. That she was tall so it would probably go well, she gave out a simplistic reason.

    And as luck would have it, Akane had talent in volleyball. Already a head taller than her middleschool ssmates, one could say that just her height yed a major role in blooming that talent.

    Despite her personality making her weak to tough challenges, with her reasonably good athleticism, and tenacious will, Akane began to grow in body and spirit. She had discarded her awkwardness. She learned to speak while looking straight at the eyes. The members of the volleyball club, her teammates, had all be important friends to her.

    But her feeling for Ruri, only those reached deep in her heart.

    No matter how many new friends she made, no matter how well she did as the volleyball ace, it wasn¡¯t enough. Ruri, if that girl wasn¡¯t there, she¡¯d fall apart. She didn¡¯t need to rely on her anymore, neither did she need her hand pulled along. Yet, if that girl wasn¡¯t close to her, the loneliness, the pain, something would plunge her into disarray.

    The girl called Kitaoji Ruri was her most precious, a special existence for her; That was something she realized soon after entering Shiramine Academy.

    ¡°¡ªHey, that Souma-kun, isn¡¯t he like, crazy hot?¡°

    A ssmate, a boy they¡¯d seen since middleschool; he was iparably handsome, he was bright, refreshing, just like a real prince. Or so Ruri described him with glistening eyes.

    Akane felt jealousy.

    And at the same time, awakened to her sexuality.

    Akane perceived her unattraction to the opposite sex. That being said, it wasn¡¯t like she would be aroused by females instead.

    It was simply the case that, the person she loved happened to be of the same sex.

    ¡°...Sigh, I wanna go home¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    When she noticed her love for Ruri, Akane had suffered. Endlessly worried and suffered. Hers was a love that wasn¡¯t meant to be.

    ¡°I wonder, if they¡¯re doing alright, Meiko and Hime¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they are. We¡¯re somehow doing fine see, so those two, they¡¯re definitely alright too¡±

    Ruri leaked with a sigh, words of worry for her friends, and Akane gently replied.

    Futaba Meiko and Himeno Airi. Those two, making four with Akane and Ruri, were friends who would always group together in ss 2-7.

    She was bad at cooking, so she¡¯d improve; or so Ruri determined to do in her first year of highschool, and then, her getting along with Futaba Meiko, a ssmate and something of a pro at the art, took a natural course in a good direction. Meiko was of gentle demeanor, and perhaps she was reminded of the timid Akane of day gone by, Ruri soon hit it off with her.

    Though when Akane saw her yfully hugging the soft, squishy Meiko who boasted great volume both heightwise and widthwise, it made her burn with quite the jealousy.

    As for Himeno Airi, she was a ssmate of Akane¡¯s since her 1st year10th grade; their seats were close, they ended up talking, and before they knew it, they¡¯d be friends who hung out. The girl wasn¡¯t as outstandingly big as her or Meiko, and wasn¡¯t as small, child-looking as Ruri either. in and docile, she was a normal girl you could find anywhere... but one of the few who knew of, and understood Akane¡¯s feelings.

    For Akane, and for Ruri, both Meiko and Airi are their important friends. Though they also worried about their other ssmates, they would end up thinking first about the safety of those two.

    ¡°Hey Akane, when we get back, what are your ns?¡±

    Though Akane had brought up the subject, as if trying to ease her anxiety, Ruri took it upon herself to carry it along.

    ¡°Eh, yeah, I wanna go y around a lot. With Ruri ofcourse... where should we go~¡±

    ¡°If you ask me, it¡¯s gotta be the mall. Kufufu, I¡¯ll go on a crazy shopping spree¡±

    ¡°Preach. So after that, should we go for some expensive fine dining?¡±

    ¡°Ah, what was it, that one, you know, that famous high-ss restaurant. The one in front of the station. Let¡¯s go there¡±

    ¡°Hey, after dinner, umm... I, kinda, umm, wanna go, to a, hotel, maybe¡°[2]

    ¡°C-calm your pants... didn¡¯t we just do it, pervert¡±

    Ruri says cheeks flushed,id, sleeping right next to her. Ah, this is bliss.

    Dungeon survival; perhaps it¡¯s because of this harsh environment, that Ruri had relinquished her body to one of the same sex, to her best friend Akane. Perhaps the truth was that Ruri too held feelings simr to hers.

    Kizaki Akane no longer cared for the reason.

    Her love had been answered. Only that mattered.

 Chapter 69: Kizaki Akane and Kitaouji Rurika (2)

    Chapter 69: Kizaki Akane and Kitaouji Rurika (2)

    The two girls who¡¯d finished their short rest, had once again started to advance through the dungeon.

    ¡°¨D¨DIgnis?st ¡±

    Akane shot a powerful, volleyball sized fireball which flew towards the middle of a herd of skeletons and exploded, their fragile bones immediately crumbling.

    ¡°YAAAAAAAA!!!¡±

    Ruri, wielding her sword, began to clean up the skeletons that had escaped the explosion. She was easily able to overpower these enemies without the use of battle arts. Her de that had been enchanted using Akane¡¯s Ignis?Enchant , easily broke down the skeletons.

    ¡°Awesome! That¡¯s my Ruri-chan, we won so easy!¡±

    ¡°Of course we did!¡±

    Ruri pridefully puffed out her uniform chest where as Akane had on an innocent smile. But in truth, she thought that Akane was much more ¡®awesome¡¯ than her.

    Currently, she could easily cut down skeletons, but when she first encountered this type of monster, she¡¯d been trembling in horror. She couldn¡¯t do anything.

    It was scary. She couldn¡¯t understand why she was in this dangerous other world dungeon. Fear welled up from the bottom of her heart. No, the feeling was actually closer to despair.

    Her only salvation came from when Akane appeared, as all she¡¯d done was weep in despair, unable to take a single step past the first room.

    But then, her first encounter with skeletons resulted in her being chased down, breaking her spirit.

    ¡°Hey Akane, let¡¯s just, die together¡­¡±

    She couldn¡¯t continue living in such a ce. She didn¡¯t want to attack or be attacked by those awful monsters. It was all a bad dream¨D¨D she was so desperate that she¡¯d be willing tomit suicide to escape from it.

    If her and Akane killed themselves together, she would do it.

    ¡°¨D¨DIt¡¯s alright Ruri-chan! I¡¯ll protect you!¡±

    However, Kizaki Akane had taken a stand, her hands blessed in fire.

    When her tall friend used her Ignis?Sagitta to shoot down the skeletons, telling her it was alright, holding out a hand in a gentle smile, it gave her courage.

    ¡°I never knew¡­ You¡¯re so strong, Akane¡±

    She said, taking that hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re with me, Ruri-chan, so I can do my best¡±

    Akane answered, with a smile dazzling like the sun.

    She¡¯d always known, that from long ago, Akane always had a stronger heart than herself.

    When was it that she¡¯d realized? Was it around when she was in third grade and she noticed Akane had grown taller than her? No, it wasn¡¯t because of the height difference.

    She realized that she couldn¡¯t keep pushing her weight around like she did as a kid. She couldn¡¯t be friends with just anyone, as girls would naturally form cliques. It was also getting scary to talk to the boys who only kept growing taller and taller.

    But Akane had be stronger. That shy Akane who used to only talk with her childhood friend (herself), had somehow be one of the people at the center of the ss. She was also doing great as the ace of the volley ball club.

    Surely, it was her who¡¯d be weak. Neither her heart nor her body had grown.

    And yet, Akane¡­ She kept piling onplexes towards the girl. She had a massive inferiorityplex towards her best friend.

    However, in proportion to that, her desire to be with Kizaki Akane only grew.

    I don¡¯t want to be left behind, I don¡¯t want to be abandoned.

    Anxiety welled up every time Akane got a new friend. She felt panic as she saw the girl even talking casually with the boys.

    She was weak, Akane strong. She knew they didn¡¯t match, but she wanted to stay with her, right by her side, forever.

    Her feelings only kept growing.

    Then, in the extreme situation where her life was on the line, she finally realized¨D¨D that feeling was called love.

    ¡°Ruri-chan, we¡¯ll definitely get back home¡±

    ¡°Yes, the two of us together, I know we can¡±

    And so, upon reaching the fairy square after their first battle in that dark and dreary dungeon, they shared their first kiss.

    Did Akane, really love her back? They¡¯d kissed despite being the same sex, they¡¯d even gone further than that. Was it just a form of escapism, trying to turn away from the cruel reality they were in? Ruri had no way of telling how Akane really felt.

    Yet, their current rtionship that was well past just being best friends, was definitely what she¡¯d wished for.

    Her itching anxiety and unease about how Akane might one day leave her, it all disappeared, when they held hands, locked lips, and connected their bodies. She¡¯d be as precious to Akane as the girl had been for her. She could believe in that.

    The momentary pleasure. The base lust. The unproductive deed of two girls loving each other.

    Faulty as they may be, those were the biggest reasons that turned Ruri into the brave swordswoman she¡¯d currently be.

    For the sake of Kizaki Akane, her sweet beloved, she would fight. She¡¯s told me that she would protect me, so in turn, I¡¯ll do the same.

    ¡°Well then, wanna get going¡±

    ¡°Ok let¡¯s, skeletons don¡¯t drop any cores anyway¡±

    After kicking away an un-undeded skeleton¡¯s head, Ruri looked ahead at the end of the path. There was a crossroad.

    ¡°Sooo, which way?¡±

    ¡°Wait a bit, let me check¡±

    She responded to Akane, who was just behind her, as she checked the note circle that acted as theirpass. The shining arrow pointed them left.

    ¡°Mm, okay, looks like it¡¯s¨D¨D¡±

    It happened the moment she raised her head, turning back towards Akane.

    Arge, ck shadow¨D¨D

    ¡°GRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH¡±

    An ugly, beastly bellow. Loud as it was, Ruri heard it quite distantly.

    ¡°¨D¨DRuri-chan!¡±

    Her vision suddenly flipped around. She wondered why that was. She saw that Akane was upside down.

    Huh. Why.

    With that simple question in mind, Kitaouji Ruriko¡¯s consciousness descended into eternal darkness.

    ¡°hoHOho whatT a Delicacy! Hot girl Meat is the bEeeesT!¡±

    Kizaki Akane doubted her eyes. She didn¡¯t even want to believe it.

    Ruri had, died.

    The man had suddenlye from the crossroads. He wore a dirty, ck outfit tainted with filth and blood, that differed from the stuff the gomas wore. It was something she was familiar with, the boy¡¯s uniform of Shiramine Academy. She also recognized that face, one that basically everyone in ss also knew.

    ¡°¡­Yokomichi, Hajime¡±

    The stain of ss 2-7, dubbed Porky, it was that disgusting, unsightly boy.

    He howled nonsense. As if he was aroused for some reason. He sounded more like a Goma than a human being. It sounded repulsive and evil.

    Fresh blood dripped from Yokomichi¡¯s mouth. It was Ruri¡¯s.

    He¡¯s mouth was huge¨D¨D it was big originally, but now his mouth could be opened up to the middle of his cheeks¨D¨D it looked like that of a monster. And with that mouth, he had chewed into Ruri¡¯s throat.

    He must¡¯ve had a skill to kill his presence. Ruri, who¡¯d been getting strong as a swordsman, hadn¡¯t noticed him at all. He had caught them in a surprise attack, in every sense of the term, and hadnded a strike on her vitals.

    ¡°Holy balls, if it isn¡¯t Kizaki AkAne. I must be tRippin¡¯!? I get to fEast on 2-7¡¯s Yuri couple as a pai¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°UAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!¡±

    Akane¡¯s sight was dyed red. It was no metaphor, all she could see was red from the fire that was roaring in front of her.

    This was her magic, but at the same time, it wasn¡¯t. Her fiery mana had burst out due to her intense rage.

    ¡°Shit, shIT, that¡¯s fucking HOT, ya dyke!! Goddamn, Akane-chan, you¡¯re a fucking pyroMancer!?¡±

    Unable to take the heat, Yokomichi agilely jumped back, contrary to what hisrge frame would imply.

    ¡°RURI-CHAN! RURI-CHAN!¡±

    After Yokomichi had left her sights, Akane saw what was Ruri¡¯s, corpse, lying on the cold stone floor. She rushed over and lifted the small girl¡¯s body up from the pool of blood.

    ¡°AH, Aa, uaaa¡­ ¡±

    She was devastated. Couldn¡¯t even say a word, not to mention her lover¡¯s name.

    Ruri was inly, painfully, dead.

    Her throat was practically gone, meat and bone and all, only a little bit of skin connected her head to the rest of her. Her head swayed when Akane tried to move her, as if it was on the verge of ripping off,pleting her decapitation.

    Akane hugged Ruri¡¯s upper body with one hand and supported her head with the other.

    Ruri¡¯s eyes were wide open. Her face was stuck in an expression of shock. Never again could she see her friend¡¯s sweet smile.

    ¡°Fuck, HeheH, that was Cuh-ray-zee, but don¡¯t Ya be thInkin¡¯ ya caN take me on with a lil bit of Fire! I got So many ResisTances, you¡¯ll¨D¨D¡±

    A dream. This was a dream, a very bad dream. The worst sort of nightmare.

    That had to be it, she thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Ruri-chan¡±

    Because, she was wrong.

    She had magic powers and ended up getting conceited. She thought the she could protect Ruri. That for her, she would work hard, for her, she¡¯d be strong. That they would get out of the dungeon, together.

    I, shouldn¡¯t have thought.

    ¡°Maybe, it would¡¯ve been better, if we died together back then¡±

    Then, we would¡¯ve just woken up. The bad dream would be over, and I¡¯d go back to my fun days in school. I wouldn¡¯t have to live every day terrified of this dark dungeon. And you wouldn¡¯t have ended up being eaten by that ugly monster.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I¡¯ll, be right there, Ruri-chan¡±

    She wanted to wake up too. She wanted to end this nightmare.

    And when she next saw Ruri at school, She¡¯d tell her. Her feelings. Her true feelings. She wouldn¡¯t hide it anymore. She¡¯d confess her love.

    That was what Kizaki Akane thought at herst moment.

    ¡°Ruri-chan, I love you. Let¡¯s be together forever¨D¨D Ignis?Force st ¡±

    Kizaki Akane and Kitaouji Ruriko. Their figures disappeared beyond the intense glow of crimson, as if the sun had exploded.

    ¡°---Buhha!? That was he baad! Like, totally shittin¡¯ my pants bad!?¡±

    After the intense st dissipated, Yokomichi Hajime raised his head. The unchanging stone gray passage had been entirely burnt ck.

    ¡°Holy shiT, that bitch¡­ Akane-cHan, are yOu some kinda suIcIde bomBer¡­ ¡±

    When he tried to pounce on Kizaki Akane who had exposed her back defenselessly, he sensed the crisis, with what he¡¯d im were the ¡®MC¡¯s 6th sense¡¯. In other words, his instincts.

    Shit¡¯s about to go down, he thought, as he came to a full stop and reversed. At that point, Akane¡¯s back was glowing like a bar of super heated iron¨D¨D And then, came a massive explosion.

    No one was left in that thoroughly empty passage. Only the residues of ck ash told of the scale of the recent explosion.

    The dungeon passage hadn¡¯t copsed, most likely because it was magically reinforced. Walls were always indestructibles, Yokomichi surmised.

    ¡°Well fuck, not a bite of Meat left¡­¡±

    It was like he was starving and a delicious full course meal had beenid out for him, only to have the table flipped. In the end, the only taste he got was that of Kitaoji Rurika¡¯s neck.

    The maddening taste of a lovely girl.

    On the way here, all he¡¯d eaten were unappetizing monsters. He could still eat them, but it wasn¡¯t any fun. They were hard, tasteless, smelly, and unpleasant, like dirt cheap chinese fish they sold at the market.

    But, his main problem wasn¡¯t taste.

    ¡°Fuck... if I ate Akane-chan and RuriRuri, I could¡¯a healed this gaping wound in my stomach¡±

    The wound once again panged, as he remembered. When he unthinkingly held his nk, he felt the wetness of blood on his fingers.

    ¡°Fuck, it horts¡­¡±

    That, was where Momokawa Kotarou¡¯s spear had stabbed him.

    Most of his wounds healed up if he left them be. If it was deep, all he¡¯d need to do was eat more meat. When he ate the flesh of monsters, their meat became his lifeblood and quickly fixed any damage.

    But not this. No matter how much he waited or how much he ate, it wouldn¡¯t close. It wouldn¡¯t heal.

    The cause was without a doubt, Kotarou¡¯s peculiar magic. It had the form of glowing butterflies. The moment they touched him, pain surged violently.

    He had the Warrior ss and so was resistant to pain. And when he¡¯d turned into a Cannibalizer he practically didn¡¯t feel it at all. And yet, those small butterflies reminded him of the human experience called Pain. Quite a lot of it.

    ¡°Fuck, my status is totally at Bleeding right now¡­¡±

    RPGs always have abnormal status conditions like poison and paralysis, but depending on the game, there was also the bleeding condition. The effect was simr to being poisoned. It drained away HP over time, and damage from enemies would increase, for example.

    And currently, he would be well described as suffering from bleeding. The blood would clot and scab over, but the wound would open again for no reason. And he¡¯d once again bleed out little by little.

    The only upside was that the blood loss wasn¡¯t too severe. It wasn¡¯t like he was constantly bleeding, and if he simply kept at his monster diet, his current body could actually replenish the blood faster than he was losing it.

    But that one wound, it just kept hurting. This pain could even put him at a disadvantage in meleebat with swordsmen and warriors. He needed to get rid of it quickly.

    ¡°Gotta keep lookiNg for more prEy... Hm, who¡¯re the rest of tHe babes from cLass again?¡±

    Since those two, Kizaki Akane and Kitaouji Rurika had turned into charcoal, he¡¯d have to give up on them. Hajime turned and walked away, putting a stop to any sort of regret.

    ¡°I gotta, I gotta cure This... HeHeh, fucking dEvour you I will¡±

    Just remembering put drool on his mouth.

    ¡°Momokawa KoTarou¡­¡±

    His blood was special. When he¡¯d first eaten Yukiko, it totally blew his mind, but the taste of Momokawa Kotarou¡¯s blood had totally eclipsed that.

    If Yukiko and other such beauties were first rate cuisine, then Kotarou¡¯s blood was a drug. They weren¡¯t even on the same level.

    As he was a Cannibalizer, by eating girls he could satisfy both his appetite and lust. Once he¡¯d experienced it, he simply couldn¡¯t go back to normal food. Even having sex, which he had longed for all his life, felt uninteresting. His hunger wouldn¡¯t sate without human meat.

    Cannibalism was his lifestyle and addiction¡­ But Momokawa Kotarou¡¯s blood, it was something else. In other words, it was different from Food or Sex, it was something, something extraordinary.

    He didn¡¯t know what that Something was. He didn¡¯t know, but he simply couldn¡¯t untaste that taste.

    ¡°I¡¯m soo gonna Eat You Up, Momokawaa, Kotarou-kyun!!¡±<hr>Next

 Chapter 70: Solo Dungeoning Again

    Chapter 70: Solo Dungeoning Again

    ¡°UAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±

    After screaming, pounding against the transfer circle on the tform, rolling on the floor crying, letting out all my pent up emotions, I finally regained enough calm to face reality.

    ¡°Kenzaki Asunaaaa¡­ that, damn bitch¡­ ¡±

    There it was, betrayal in in sight.

    Due to Souma-kun entering the scene, I let my guard down thinking I was safe. With him there, I would be relieved from continuing with this ridiculous farce of a party y and having to make all thosest minute strategies with those wonderful harem girls. No longer would I need to engage in that bullshit.

    Heck, from their perspective, with Souma Yuuto, they could just steamroll through this dungeon without worry. They¡¯d no longer need to alienate me, nor need to be afraid of Mei-chan anymore. Everyone working together, with Souma-kun as the center, this was how the dungeon capture was supposed to be. There was no motive tomit such an act of practically murder like leaving me behind... Well, that¡¯s how it should have been.

    ¡°Dammit, is this what I get for driving a proud sword girl into a corner!?¡±

    Most likely, Kenzaki Asuna had done it in the spur of the moment. She might not have realized what she had done.

    Apparently, Mei-chan¡¯s beating her into what was essentially bing my puppet had brought her mind to the brink.

    After being saved by Souma-kun, and ced in a situation where teleporting away from this wretched cave was moments away¡­ She¡¯d finally rxed. That moment was the perfect chance, and she knew it. Because that was exactly how Souma-kun had been separated from them.

    By pushing someone out during the transfer process, it was certainly possible to separate said person from the party. In order to be rid of me, that was the perfect chance. The berserker, Mei-chan, would be hard to push, but a frail shaman like me? She could do it easy, with a light push even.

    ¡°Mei-chan¡¯s gonna be totally pissed right around now¡±

    Even without Mei-chan, there was no way Kenzaki Asuna would be let off without me. She had a lot of grudges against me, but even then, we were still in the same party for a time and I had helped them out a lot. So she knew it was a bad idea, but still did it.

    Her notion was a clear act of betrayal towards an ally. A criminal act I could im. Since it was as if she¡¯d pushed me in front of a moving train.

    ¡°Just hope she doesn¡¯t up and kill Kenzaki¡±

    Well, with Souma-kun around, I doubt it¡¯d turn out like that. Even for Mei-chan, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to turn Souma-kun and his whole party into enemies, she would be easily subdued. Preferably, I¡¯d like if ss rep did some of her top-ss mediating, peacefully resolve the issue¡­ Though I feel like she¡¯d first copse from stomach cramps under all that stress. Maybe I should have made some antacid for her.

    ¡°Not like I¡¯m in any position to worry about others¡­¡±

    Right, I should be focusing about bigger problems, namely, myself.

    Everyone else had already transferred over to the new zone. And as the only person left behind, I naturally had no monster core big enough to start up the circle again.

    From here on, I¡¯d have to proceed through the dungeon alone. Yup, alone, solo capture as a frickin¡¯ shaman.

    ¡°I¡¯m, so screwed¡­¡±

    It¡¯s just like when I was first thrown into the dungeon. Seriously, I¡¯m gonna have to go solo thiste in the game?

    Totally unfair. It¡¯s like a Dark Souls no hit run.

    ¡°No, I gotta calm down, don¡¯t give up¡­ Even if it¡¯s me, I can at least do something¡±

    First, let¡¯s make a quick check. My full status.

    Red Fever : Puts the target into a slightly feverish state. C¡¯mon you, can¡¯t you be like, kinda, I mean...

    Pain Return : Returns the damage that the target has done in full. The injury remains. It¡¯s useful in battle and for threats, literally a double-edged sword as the description implies. I tend to use this guy more at the endgame.

    Intuition Pharmacy : Provides information about ingredients¡¯ effects and such, also gives me the ability to make various concoctions with said ingredients. My lifeline. The very skill that makes a shaman, a shaman. Kinda want to concoct some poisons soon.

    ckhair Bind : Shadowy tentacles that are capable of twining around an opponent¡¯s feet. Can be braided into a makeshift rope. Has a wide range of use. Though, I wish it had some more strength.

    Vile Mud Doll : A doll that moves ording to the owner¡¯s will. Absolute obedience. Rem is such a good kid.

    ck Bloodline : Is that blood a curse or a blessing? Even though there¡¯s nothing inherited from any predecessors, blood is still life. The body, curses, magic, faith¨D¨D it influences all. Also seems to taste delicious, depending on the person.

    Rotten Bog : Just one step inside, and it¡¯ll corrode your flesh, an extremely acidic swamp. My only ace in the hole.

    Contra-Beat Butterfly : Pick a concoction, and these butterflies will cause the reverse effects through its scales. This one¡¯s a resource consumer, can¡¯t fire willy-nilly.

    These 8 were the curses that I could use.

    Next would be equipment.

    Red Knife : A knife created from a Cerberus¡¯ fang. Blessed in fire, this de can really heat things up.

    Iron Dagger : A normal quality dagger.

    Box cutter : Something I had since before the incident. Has a couple of spare des.

    Stones : Stones I gathered for throwing. Perfect for making Rotten Bog on walls and ceilings.

    My main weapon, the iron spear, was lost during the fight with Yokomichi (truly a pity), but I did hold on to Natsukawa-san¡¯s Red Knife. A blessing amidst misfortune, as they say.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I can advance past this cave without this¡±

    When I unsheath this knife out of its leather scabbard, a thin coat of mes would ignite, clinging onto the red hot de. It should work as a light source for now.

    ¡°This ce actually goes deeper huh¡­ Gotta start somewhere¡±

    This transfer circle room was a part of the dungeon¡¯s stone ruins zones but, for some reason, this room was here, in what was clearly insect cave dominion. It was like a sudden offshoot to a teleport in the middle of the cave system.

    In other words, aside from the path we used to get to this cave, there was also a path forward that Souma-kun took to get to us.

    ¡°Since Souma-kun said he came through a boss room, the ruins area shouldn¡¯t be so far off¡±

    At least, the distance was supposed to be close enough that his Lux Elemental could detect his sister. Well, at least I hope it is.

    Right now, I couldn¡¯t activate this transfer circle, so my only choice was the other route. I should first backtrack through Souma-kun¡¯s path into the ruins area, then search for another way forward. Before that though, I should find a fairy square to take a breather.

    ¡°Ok ok, no time like the present¡±

    Even if I just sit around here, help won¡¯te. Mei-chan will surely try to find me, but since she¡¯s been transferred away already, she can¡¯t possiblye back. The only possibility is if we manage to cross paths at some point, on our way to the collective destination that was the transfer gate located deep within this dungeon. Because of that, I had no choice but to continue alone.

    Will I be able to meet up with Mei-chan, or will I meet other ssmates first? Or will I die from one of thetter¡¯s or a monster¡¯s assault? Thetter conclusion felt awfully likely to happen, but I guess it¡¯s all a matter of luck.

    I¡¯ll just have to do as I do.

    ¡°Oh yeah, about time I start building Rem¡±

    I gathered mud from the area, molded it into a humanoid figure, and without using any monster parts, made the weakest specs mode of mud doll Rem.

    ¡°Hmmm, not very reliable¡±

    Rem, who was built only from mud, was small like the first time I¡¯d summoned her. Now, even with just mud, I felt like I could make her human sized, but it made no sense to erge that already fragile body. It¡¯d only consume more mana, and worst case, might even break at the seams while moving around.

    So, I kept it at doll-sized.

    The resurrected Rem, appeared to be somewhat frustrated? Well, I don¡¯t mind really, she did a good job in that fight against Yokomichi.

    Besides, having Rem here will alleviate the loneliness somewhat. For that peace of mind, I was super grateful.

    Anyway, can¡¯t stay in this room forever. It¡¯s no fairy square, so ants might wander in. The rook spider pit that was sealed off might¡¯ve been dug open by now.

    Since I¡¯m all set, let¡¯s get a move on.

    ¡°Rem, you take point and scout for enemies¡±

    Acknowledging with a nod, Rem strode forward into the dark cave.

    The current Rem could only go slightly ahead of where the light can¡¯t reach, and since she was in her initial state where her body was so fragile, she currently had no firepower. Though she did have good perception which could be used to detect enemies. They weren¡¯t as great as Natsukawa-san¡¯s, but at least provided a littlefort.

    ¡°Urk, the knife¡¯s giving off light, but not enough¡±

    It was totally different from back in the harem party. My distance view was reduced to half of before. It wasn¡¯t like I was blind as a bat, but this cave that I had practically grown tired of, had suddenly turned into a new unknown danger zone.

    Leaving the scouting work to Rem, I walked behind her, paying careful attention to my footing.

    ¡°¨D ¨D!?¡±

    I literally jolted with every little clicking and crawling sound that passed me by.

    At this rate, if I ever get surrounded by a swarm of ants, it¡¯ll be over. A swarm, no, even if it¡¯s just more than two, I¡¯m fucked.

    ¡°C-c-calm down¡­ If any antse out, first, make bog, then, use bind and¡­¡±

    I felt so desperate, to the point where I kept going over simtions where I had to fight solo against multiple enemies, over and over, repeatedly in my head.

    I felt suffocated. All this tension was weighing down hard.

    I was keenly made aware of how great it was to have reliable teammates.

    How long have I been walking? I felt so exhausted. But this cave wasn¡¯t easy to walk in at all. I didn¡¯t feel like I¡¯d made any progress. I was tense too, which needlessly expended energy.

    Dammit. In my current condition, I¡¯ll bepletely exhausted soon, and if a crisises up¨D¨D

    ¡°Ah, Rem! You¡¯re back meaning, it can¡¯t be good news¡±

    Ahead of me, I caught sight of Rem, running back in a big hurry.

    ¡°Ants then?¡±

    Although she heard me, it¡¯s not like Rem could actually reply. But she shook her head, so apparently, it wasn¡¯t ants.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not ants, then¡­¡±

    It¡¯d be a way out of the cave? That naive idea was immediately denied.

    VMMMMM, by that despair inducing sound again.

    ¡°Motherfff¡­ Goddamn Mantis right off the bat!¡±

    Soon enough, it¡¯s silhouette was revealeding from the path ahead. With the Red Knife¡¯s weak mes only dimly lighting the cave, the Knight Mantis appeared much bigger than it was. I¡¯ve never felt more afraid of encountering one since now.

    ¡°SHAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    It also noticed me, and assumed an intimidating pose, raising both scythes high. Right after, its wings gyrated as it came after me.

    I can¡¯t win. Just me alone, I¡¯m no match at all.

    My head was going nk¨D¨D but, my survival instincts kicked in. I¡¯m so fucking scared. But, my body could move. I knew for a fact that I couldn¡¯t win, but that shouldn¡¯t be the case for running away.

    ¡°Spread out! Rotten Bog ¡±

    Invoking the curse using the bloodseal on my palm, Rotten Bog started to expand out in front of me. The mantis moved by slightly hovering, so obviously the stagnant bog on the floor was a non-issue for the monster.

    But, it was the greatest offensive I had on me. Well, this is just for the initial set up.

    ¡°¨D¨D ckhair Bind¡±

    From the mantis¡¯ shadow, tentacle-like ckhairs sprung out. They started wrapping around its limbs¨D¨D But the mantis was faster.

    ¡°SHAAA!¡±

    With a swipe of its scythes, the monster cut down my tentacles. This is why we need actual vanguards like Mei-chan vanguarding people like me. The mantis continued towards me like it was nothing.

    Likely because it was wary of the poison swamp under its feet, rather than running over on its 4 legs, the mantis really did hover right above.

    The mantis flew as if it was gliding over the floor of the cave, not a square inch of its feet touching the surface of the acidic swamp.

    ¡°Pull it down¡±

    ckhair bind, once more. This time, the hairs came out from within the Rotten Bog.

    However, they were also cut by the scythes. The mantis shortly paused, hovering above the swamp, and with an urate sh, cleanly dealt with the braided ckhair Binds that had slithered out of the swamp like a tentacle monster.

    It wasn¡¯t enough. I couldn¡¯t slow its approach since it could cut them down instantly.

    In that case, how¡¯s this.

    ¡°Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth¨D¨D¡±

    The incantation barely finished. The mantis was already done slicing apart the rest of the tentacles, it was soon approaching the bog¡¯s perimeter. But, I made it.

    I practically threw the drops of blood from my bloodseal, aiming right at the Rotten Bog.

    And there, stood Rem, submerging her body fully into the bone-melting bog; she was melting apart in a rapid pace.

    ¡°¨D¨DVile Mud Doll!!¡±

    Re-summon? No, it was more of a restructuring.

    I¡¯d remake Rem¡¯s body, not with mud, but instead the toxic solution of Rotten Bog. A human figure was a necessity in the creation of mud dolls, so I had Rem¡¯s initial body fulfill that requirement. Now I¡¯m just hoping I finished the canto and the curse activated before the original body went to mush¨D¨D

    ¡°Hold it off, Rem!¡±

    Responding to my cry, bulky, poisonous sludge rose up from the bog acid.

    Its limbs were asrge as logs, with an all-around thick, massive body. Despite that, the muddy creature was dripping constantly as if it was about to copse in on itself.

    However, Rem kept together that humanoid form, and grappled the mantis.

    ¡°KYOWAAAAAAAAAAAAA¡±

    The Rotten Bog monster held therge insect in its embrace, thetter¡¯s carapace melting under the bog acid enveloping it; The mantis screeched in pain.

    Now!

    Now, finish it off? No, it was now the perfect chance to run the hell away.

    ¡°Keep stalling it!¡±

    Rem was my decoy. I ran along the very edge of the cave where the bog didn¡¯t reach. I could feel Rem and the mantis¡¯ intense struggle behind me.

    Rem¡¯s body, probably because it was very much liquid, was on the verge of copse already. The mantis was struggling fiercely, piercing its scythes into Rem, but shing wasn¡¯t very effective on that semi-liquid body. In spite of that though, all the shing, stabbing, and general rampaging around was taking some toll, causing Rem¡¯s body to slowly break apart.

    Rem would most likely be done in before the mantis¡¯ body melted down from the acid. And if that mantis still had any functional legs, it¡¯d be more than capable of chasing me down and murdering me.

    I didn¡¯t have another Rem to act as a decoy, I couldn¡¯t use this trick anymore. And depending on how much damage the mantis sustains, ckhair Bind might not be of use in finishing it off.

    I didn¡¯t need to bet on some all-or-nothing, right now I was more likely to live if I ran. Plus, it wasn¡¯t like if I happened to somehow defeat the creature, I would suddenly level up and get my status restored.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Haah¡­ ¡±

    I forgot all about scouting ahead, I simply ran. Right now, my priority was to get away from the struggling mantis behind me.

    ¡°Spread out, Rotten Bog¡±

    I didn¡¯t know if it¡¯d be any help, but I cast Rotten Bogs at random intervals. If the mantis did lose its wings, plus got enough legs done in that it couldn¡¯t walk on the walls or ceiling, it might just give up instead of risking my bogs.

    ¡°Shit, shouldn¡¯t use blood so heavily¡±

    After casting my 3rd swamp, I started to feel unsteady. Won¡¯t humans die after losing half their blood? I think it was around 2 liters on average. And since I¡¯m smaller than the average person, I was even worse off.

    Using my bloodseal did allow me to forego cutting myself every time, but I should watch it so I don¡¯t get anemic.

    As I was thinking about a danger to my life quite different from the man-eating mantis struggling some distance behind me, I could see a light up ahead.

    ¡°Could it be, the exit!¡±

    Great job, I¡¯m proud of you. As if the dungeon was rewarding my solo struggle, I could see a light, the boundary between cave and ruins, the goal.

    ¡°Haaa¡­ haaa¡­ Finally, I made it, somehow¡±

    Lurching through the exit, what I saw was a room not unlike the Orthrus¡¯ boss room. But the difference was, there was a gaping hole in the wall connecting this room to the cave.

    Yeah, this, without a doubt, was the room where Souma-kun defeated that boss he mentioned. The room had good lighting too, one nce around and I could tell that there was no trace nor shadow of anyone or anything.

    Guess the boss was yet to respawn? Or maybe, just defeating it once permanently kills it? At any rate, that¡¯s good news to me. I¡¯m struggling as is, please don¡¯t ask for more.

    Then again, this IS a boss room and you at least have to face some strong enemy once you enter. As if the dungeon was demanding such, an enemy did appear.

    ¡°GYOOAAAAAAHHHH!!¡±

    Goes without saying, it was the Knight Mantis that I¡¯d elegantly avoided just previously.

    It seems Rem fucked it up quite a bit. It had lost its left scythe, the wings were gone to the point where flight was impossible, and there were various marks of corrosion all over its body. It looked practically dead.

    ¡°Tch, what a tenacious bug!¡±

    It¡¯d be great if it just dropped dead right now. The bug was pretty unrelenting, like it was holding some sort of grudge against me, even after it¡¯d gotten a full body makeover.

    ¡°¡­ Final battle, I guess¡±

    Since it was caught up, it¡¯d be dangerous to run and leave my back wide open. It had lost its wings, but still had the four legs. It was faster than me, and even if I put out Rotten Bogs, it seemed likely to just jump over, or simply push through with willpower alone.

    Since I¡¯d already lost Rem¡¯s base body, I won¡¯t be able to summon Super Poison Rem like earlier either.

    Still, the mantis was dying. If I could just dish out a bit more damage, I should be able to kill it.

    However, I didn¡¯t have any means of dealing that fatal push.

    The mantis looked so unsteady, and yet, it still raised up its remaining scythe. My only weapons were the Red Knife and the dagger. Both were des with a short reach, and it¡¯d be suicidal of me to close in with them.

    Meanwhile, its scythe had a reach much longer than a longsword. If I went up with my knife yelling out ¡°Die Fuckface!!!¡± like some Yakuza shooter, I¡¯d surely be cut down sideways. Even if I had my old spear, my ability to kill wouldn¡¯t improve.

    Shit, a Shaman doesn¡¯t do close quartersbat. I won¡¯t win that way.

    ¡°SHAH! SHAaa¡­¡±

    The mantis looked wary, it raised a high pitched screech, and kept its distance. The atmosphere was balls to the wall tense.

    In reality, I had no power topete against this green faced fuck. The mantis apparently hadn¡¯t realized yet. Because once it thought, ¡°Hey, this kid¡¯s actually weak,¡± this match would end with but a single move.

    This wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying. Think. I needed to think of a way tond the finishing blow on this dying mantis.

    Wasn¡¯t there something? Was there something? Something I could do to get this ming knife inside its body?

    The Red knife had the firepower to do it. As long as I stabbed it before its scythe could reach me, of course¡­ Dammit, there was not time to find a branch somewhere and fashion it into a spear, if only my arms could stretch out¨D¨D Wait, wait wait.

    ¡°SHAAAA!!¡±

    The mantis screeched again. It was once again back in action; it¡¯s patience had run thin.

    ¡° Rotten Bog!!¡±

    I plopped in a bog on reflex.

    Although notrge, the Rotten Bog suddenly appearing in front of it did cause the mantis to grow cautious and it backed away.

    Good, that was all I needed. Rather than a physical wall, the bog had be a psychological barrier, sessfully keeping the mantis away.

    Now, my turn. I¡¯ll kill it first, before it can think to jump over or bypass the small bog.

    ¡°¨D¨Dckhair Bind ¡±

    I conjured up two braid-acles of hair from my own shadow. I then proceeded to have them grab the Red Knife and dagger respectively.

    Ugh, I felt so stupid. It was only at thesest minute showdowns, that I came up with these clearly obvious applications.

    That¡¯s right, my arms themselves can¡¯t stretch, but ckhair Bind could do that all day long.

    ¡°Go!!¡±

    The two knife-tipped ckhairs flew out like arrows straight towards the mantis.

    ckhair Bind had, at first, had a length that was just barely enough to bind around the target¡¯s ankles, but after continuous usage, binding monsters and dragging them down into the bog, it could now extend to quite a few meters. The strength and speed had both been improving little by little.

    If I attach a knife to one of these tentacles, I essentially create a ranged weapon with a reach much longer than any spear. It¡¯s like the scythe and chain, but not as technical in its usage. Well anyway, since I could move the tentacles at will, I could freely attack every which way I chose. It was extremely easy to handle.

    ¡°KYYOAAAA!!¡±

    I took aim, stabbing the two des straight towards the mantis¡¯ torso. Though one of them was an ordinary de, the other was zing. On impact, a plume of me burst out.

    ¡°Nice, it hit¨D¨Doops, that was close!¡±

    It raised a painful groan, confirming that damage had been dealt, which is when I immediately drew back the knife-tentacles.

    The mantis brandished its scythe fiercely, whether intentionally or acting out in desperation, I didn¡¯t know, but my tentacles would be easily severed if touched by that. And by obvious consequence, the knives tipping said tentacles would then be dropped. I couldn¡¯t afford to let that happen.

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll aim somewhere your scythe can¡¯t reach¡­ Like your back and hind legs¡±

    Making use of my overwhelming advantage in reach, I¡¯d take my time cutting it up until it dies. I dub it: the pin-cushion maneuver.

    Although it was frustrating that I couldn¡¯t kill it in a single blow, then again, I¡¯m supposed to be a support role. Who¡¯s big idea was it to make a Shaman fight melee?

    ¡°Take thiiis!!¡±

    I wanted to take better aim, but it wasn¡¯t like the mantis was going to take this lying down. It realized how it was being targeted, and took action to desperately defend itself. In other words, it started moving around like crazy.

    Finding my target had be a lot harder now. I should just aim at the general location of its back. Anywhere was fine, as long as it hit.

    ¡°Uwa! Wait jus-, NO NO NO!?¡±

    The mantis didn¡¯t even try to register the feeble amount of damage and madly dashed towards me. This was bad, this was so bad, I was done for if it got in range.

    I had to expand the Rotten Bog. Make it so that the mantis wouldn¡¯t want to approach me.

    ¡°KYOAAAA, KISSSHHHHAAA¡±

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit! Ahhh, too close, stay away, stay away, dammiiit!¡±

    I kept retreating from the mantis, putting down more bog, all the while trying to find a chance to stab it with my tentacle knives. I barely edged by as the creature almost cut my body, this happened over and over again. I was desperately running around the boss room, screaming, crying all the way¨D¨D

    ¡°Kyooo, kiaa¡­.¡±

    Under my repeated attacks and the bog¡¯s poison, the mantis finally stopped. That terrifying scythe too, just hung there powerlessly, it looked like it won¡¯t move anymore.

    ¡°Die, DIE!--¡±

    The mantis was immobile. I stretched my bog under its feet, restrained it with ckhair Bind, cast Contra-Beat Butterfly to add additional damage, and finally, pin-cushioned it with my knives.

    Check and mate.

    ¡°DIEEEEEEEEE!!¡± Next one (71) will be out in 8 days.

 Chapter 71: Curse + Curse

    Chapter 71: Curse + Curse

    ¡°Ha, haha¡­ Finally, finally a fairy square¡±

    As if to congratte me for my death match with the mantis, the next fairy square was just beyond the boss room.

    For better or worse, no one else was there.

    I was finally relieved of that long strenuous tension. I felt so relieved that I just plopped down on the grass and fell asleep¨D¨D But before that, I wanted to go back and get the loot, so I picked up my dead-tired body and dragged back the Knight Mantis corpse, which I had just left there in the boss room, to scavenge for parts.

    ¡°...Urgh¡±

    I had copsed. When I woke up, I immediately saw it, the mantis¡¯ huge head right in my face. Talk about a rude awakening.

    After retrieving the corpse, I was well past my limits, and I¡¯d apparently passed out.

    Now that I think about it, even after aplishing the feat of soloing the Knight Mantis, I hadn¡¯t actually leveled up AKA Ruindhilde-sama didn¡¯t bestow me any new curses. Well, I guess it won¡¯t be like defeating monsters in a game, and mechanically gaining new skills.

    ¡°Haahh, so tired¡­¡±

    My body was still stiff from exhaustion. I must¡¯ve slept a long while. Although I was not so exhausted, I wasn¡¯t exactly in a battle-ready condition either. Must¡¯ve been all that mana I ended up using.

    Yeah, for the time being, I should continue resting here. There¡¯s no point in hurrying. While I¡¯m at it, I should alsoe up with a few strategies for the future.

    ¡°Uhmm, let¡¯s see, do theundry, make some meds, summon Rem¡­ Nahh, I should get something to eat first¡±

    There weren¡¯t any snakes or shrimp worms, so I had no choice but to eat a tasteless meal of walnuts. I drank down the cool fountain water while munching on the nd walnuts. It was pretty lonely. I wanna eat meat. No, RICE, I wanna eat rice.

    ¡°...haahh¡±

    I was the type to spend my holidayszing around in the house, but despite feeling so unmotivated right now, I still managed to perform my tasks. I washed my uniform that¡¯d been pretty roughed up from the repeated battles, found some Mimesis Worms to patch up patches, while gathering some flowers and nts around the fairy garden and make my meds.

    The various meds such as Ointment A were also ammunition for using Contra-Beat Butterfly. I should make extra for both healing andbat purposes.

    Then, I did maintenance for my weapons. Especially the Red Knife, since such rare weapons didn¡¯t just drop everywhere. It was also a great source of light, not to mention it could be used to ignite things, it really was useful for survival. Maybe I¡¯ll just permanently borrow it.

    ¡°Now then, next is Rem¡­ No, not yet¡±

    Afterpleting my preparations and maintenance, my body now felt like it was in working condition, but I shouldn¡¯t over do it.

    This time, I¡¯ll be using the parts from the Knight Mantis I¡¯d defeated in the earlier death match. With those parts, I should be able to create a body, whose performance will be on par with the one from the armor bear parts. Or close to it, at least. However, in proportion to getting better performance, a big helping of mana will also be needed.

    If I made her while I wasn¡¯t in tip top shape, I might just copse from mana deficiency again. As for the blood I¡¯d used in my earlier battle, I¡¯m not even sure to what degree it had recovered. Worstes to worst, I might just die from the double entendre of ack in both mana and blood.

    Let¡¯s take my time, slowly test the waters¨D¨D I thought, practically like an elected politician that had no intention of keeping their promises, so I decided to do something else I¡¯d been wondering about. .

    ¡°Let¡¯s practice attacking¡±

    Of course, I mean using the new way of having ckhair Bind hold weapons. I¡¯d used it to kill the mantis, so it was already a proven effective method for actualbat. This was something even an amateur like me could do, since I only needed to one-sidedly attack while outside of the opponent¡¯s range.

    Well, a real vanguard warrior like Mei-chan could easily shred this sort of attack, but I could at least manage gomas, skeletons, and other small mob monsters. If I could stab my opponent from a safe distance, it most definitely beat having to put down a bog and dragging it inside, not to mention the cost-effectiveness of this was better, since I¡¯d be losing much less mana and blood.

    After Mei-chan had be a Berserker, I¡¯d subconsciously left all the actual fighting to her. Rather than trying to be stronger myself, I was more focused on how to effectively use Mei-chan¡¯sbat prowess, and how to not get in her way in battle.

    Heck, with her level of power, it was the right idea too. And we¡¯d managed to work with that.

    But, she wasn¡¯t here anymore. I didn¡¯t have any allies to rely on, I was truly going solo. So right now, I needed some way to fight on my own.

    Let¡¯s do it, gone will be the weakest Job! The shaman is strong! The best Job of all! We stand on the cusp of the age of curse! Long live Ruinhilde-sama!!!

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s do this nice and steady¡±

    Okay, let¡¯s use one of the fairy walnut trees. The trunk was as thick as a human torso and the 2 branches are somewhat like arms, so it¡¯ll make a good substitute for a human figure. I tried outlining a face and other things using the sharpie I had in my pencil case that¡¯d been lying in the deep recesses of my bag. I also drew those target circles like in dart boards, so it¡¯d give me a picture of how urate I was.

    My weapon of choice was obviously NOT the red knife, since the tree might catch on fire, so I thought of using the iron dagger, but considering that it¡¯ll probably dull the de, it too was a no go, so instead I made a knife carved out of a branch as substitute.

    ¡°Seal off the path of escape, entangle¨D¨D ckhair Bind ¡±

    Somehow, it felt like a while since I¡¯d done the full chant. This curse that I¡¯d grown familiar with after repeated use, it was to the point where I could easily cast it as the normal long hair or the braided hair version.

    From the shadows at my feet, a ck braided hair-like tentacle slowly rose like a snake raising it¡¯s head.

    ¡°Come to think of it, can I cast these from ces other than shadows?¡±

    The basic condition of casting ckhair Bind was that they¡¯d need to extend from shadows. In a ce with only light, it didn¡¯t work. But, as long as there was shadow, whether it¡¯d be from mine, an enemy¡¯s or from the natural terrain, I could cast it. However, I required a visual of said shadow for it to work.

    Right now at least, that was the basic activation condition for ckhair Bind that I knew of¡­ But, for example, could I cast it from my hands? Or maybe use the hair on my head as a medium instead?

    ¡°¨D¨Dthe heck!? It actually worked¡±

    The results from the experiment: A sess. I was amazed with how easy it actually was.

    ¡°Woah, it¡¯s long, and wavy¡±

    Right now, my hair was pretty long, it reached all the way down to my heels. Also since it could move if I willed it, so the long hair was easy to operate. With that said, I could also make it hold weapons.

    When I tried waving around a knife, there was no weird feeling of my head being pulled on. So apparently, it could be manipted as normal. How the hair supported itself was a mystery, but right now, let¡¯s not worry about the small stuff.

    But, I couldn''t really think of a merit for using ckhair Bind this way. It did move, bur there wasn¡¯t much more power behind it. It seemed impractical to use it in actualbat. Maybe I could use it if I went bald?

    Incidentally, when I dispelled it, the wavy long hair shrunk and my normal hairstyle returned. It was a relief that my hair didn¡¯t disappear altogether.

    ¡°Ah, doing it with my hands feels a lot better¡±

    For my next attempt, I grew them from my palm. From around the spot with my bloodseal, the hair came out in braids, it felt like I was holding rope.

    However, because they were tentacles that could move freely, it felt like my very hands were stretching out.

    ¡°Yup, this style is definitely better to use with weapons¡±

    I tried brandishing it towards the fairy walnut tree a couple of times, it had a natural feel to it. Well, even if I used it from the shadows on the ground, there wasn¡¯t much change to the uracy, so I guess it was just the problem of my image of how to properly wield the weapon.

    But, I don¡¯t think I can take this lightly. Especially since a good mental image could have a major impact on how fluidly I could control and fight using weapons.

    ¡°Kinda feels like, I¡¯m a chain and sickle ninja¡±

    Although it wasn¡¯t exactly like how you would picture a chain and sickle. Hmmm, it¡¯s like¡­ umm¡­ a throwing knife? I think? Ah, who cares.

    I grabbed the substitute knife in both hands, and took a random pose.

    ¡°Wind-style¡­ Gale de!¡±

    While I shouted out some ambiguous name that I may or may not have heard in a game, ck hair-like tentacles sprouted out of my hands, both wood knives shot towards the trunk. As I took aim, or more like, I just pictured the trajectory of the tentacles, and with pinpoint uracy, they hit the neck and torso area that I¡¯d outlined by sharpie, and came back to me like a yo-yo.

    ¡°Oh man, that was kinda awesome¡±

    Yup, I was just praising myself.

    But, if you think about it. To cut something so urately from several meters away, just how many people are there that could do the same? Probably, other than a trained specialist, no one would be able to urately cut and retrieve their weapon as efficiently as I could right now.

    Furthermore, add on the fact that I could manipte it freely, isn¡¯t this chain that was the ckhair Bind totally a cheat weapon? In reality, I did seed in dicing away and finishing off a Mantis from outside its attack range.

    ¡°With this ckhair Bind and add-on weapons, won¡¯t I be a chain-sickle master? No seriously¡±

    Woah, hold that thought, calm down. I know my name is Kotarou, but I have no association with the Fuuma n whatsoever, I have not an inkling of talent in bing a shinobi.

    ¡°And I can¡¯t be satisfied with just this. I have to get even stronger¡±

    In future dungeoning, I should probably expect stuff like the mantis appearing as the small-fry ss of mobs. A well ced chain-sickle attack could easily deal with humans, but itsck of power against bigger foes was a cause for concern.

    I wondered, couldn¡¯t I add more firepower with my current skill set?

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±

    Should I just increase the amount of attacks? I could currently use ckhair Bind to pop out quite a few tentacles. There was no need to be so hung up on the whole dual wielding thing. I could go tri-wielding and even quad-wielding, an omni directional attack style.

    ¡°I can get weapons from any gomas Ie across but¡­ it¡¯ll be much more difficult to control with too many of them¡­ Just a matter of practice, I guess¡­¡±

    If I could secure more weapons it¡¯ll add more ways of attack, but even if I can¡¯t use them all, I could have my extra tenties stick to restrain enemies, like how it was originally supposed to be used. This¡¯ll lead to a more all-rounder type of attack style.

    I¡¯m worried that if I concentrate too hard on fighting, I might lose awareness of my surroundings. Before, I had Mei-chan as the vanguard, which left me free to watch all around. But, once I was at the front, I might not have the spare time to be so wary of possible attacks, for instance ambushes from ants, even if I was extra cautious.

    However, that of course is the downside of anyone going solo. Apart from close quartersbat, let¡¯s think up a method to counteract that disadvantage.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just a simple increase in firepower¡­ Using fire should do the trick¡±

    Fire was a great means of dealing extra damage. The size of the me didn¡¯t matter, what mattered was the heat output. With the red knife, I could easily light a fire despite myck of pyromantic ability.

    The idea was to set my ckhair tentacles on fire. They had the same feel as real hair, so I expected it to burn well¡­

    ¡°Wha!? Th, this smell! This won¡¯t do at all!¡±

    I immediately dispelled it. Fortunately, with the tentacle gone, the fire also disappeared.

    Although it did catch on fire, it didn¡¯t exactly go as nned. When it started to burn, it was also apanied by a strange smoke and was only slightly lit on fire, hardly enough to actually cause any sort of injury.

    Most importantly, it stank like ass.

    Right, yeah, when you burn hair, there¡¯s that sickening smell that apanies it of course. It¡¯s a given, since sulfur makes up a bit of theposition of hair. Guess it was also the same for the hair from ck Hair Bind.

    At any rate, other than maybe using it as a form of harassment, it¡¯d contribute nothing in terms of firepower. Well it might be effective on monsters with an acute sense of smell, like red dogs maybe? But, it¡¯s not like I wanted to proactively use it.

    ¡°Since that ¡®fire enchant¡¯ clearly didn¡¯t work¡­ I don¡¯t think I have anything else that can¨D¨D¡±

    Ah, wait wait, wasn¡¯t I forgeting something really important?

    ¡°¨D¨DOf course, Rotten Bog!¡±

    In the previous fight against the Knight Mantis, I¡¯d sessfully reconstructed Rem¡¯s body using the Rotten Bog. It was pretty effective too, result-wise.

    There was also a point to make where Rem was doing her very best but¡­ could this mean, maybe I couldbine curses?

    In the first ce, Rotten Bog doesn¡¯t corrode my body nor does it degrade the hairs from ckhair Bind. That¡¯s why my signaturebo was always using a tentacle to drag a monster into the swamp.

    It feels like it was intentional, rather than a coincidence, that the effects didn¡¯t counteract each other. Well, the curses were originally from a god. And, since Ruinhilde-sama created them, it¡¯s like a game system where all my spells conveniently show a certain level of synergy.

    Since Super Poison Rem¡¯s was a sess, maybe I could develop even morepound curse magics. Alright, let¡¯s try that out immediately.

    Apound curse magic of ckhair Bind and Rotten Bog.

    ¡°Decay, within the corrupted red abyss ¨D¨D Rotten Bog ¡±

    While experimenting, I¡¯d been using the full chants for the curses. It feels like a long time since I¡¯d done this, just like with thisst one and ckhair Bind.

    By the way, I was feeling kind if off put about creating a bog inside the fairy square, so I created it at the exit outwards. The Rotten Bog that wasid down was quite good, it spanned the entire width of the passage outside.

    Ok then, the real thing starts now. Magic is all about the image, I firmly imagined the magic that I wanted.

    ¡°Seal off the path of escape, entangle¨D¨D¡±

    It was the correct aria for ckhair Bind, but was it really alright using the same thing whilebining it? Even if it was fine with Rem¡­ Hm, won¡¯t get any errors without trials, let¡¯s change up the spell canto into what I¡¯m imagining the end result as.

    Don¡¯t underestimate the literature club. Thinking up magic incantations is right up the alley for those chuunibyou light novel authors.

    ¡°Twine into hairs, O rotten red, be thread which vites flesh and bone¨D¨D¡±

    It happened the moment I finished my random ass image-cantation. They flew out of the Rotten Bog¡¯s acid as if they¡¯d been waiting for the moment I called upon them.

    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s ckhair Bind, but red!¡±

    They rustled like tall grasses as these red colored ckhair Bind tentacles were extending from the surface of the swamp. Each one of them had the muddy red texture just like how I imagined them, the ckhair Bind had taken on the toxic characteristic of the Rotten Bog.

    ¡°Nice, let¡¯s try things out with you¡±

    Having somewhat high expectations, I tossed one of the wooden knife substitutes towards it. While it drew an arc over the poisonous bog, I manipted the red ckhair tentacles to grab it.

    The moment when an ominous red hair tip touched the branch, there was sizzling, and the branch was cleanly sliced in half.

    When the hairs actually grabbed onto the now halved piece of tree branch, the item started getting finely chopped before falling into the bog in small pieces.

    ¡°I-it¡¯s¡­ a sess¡­¡±

    No, this went beyond just a ¡°sess¡±.

    ¡°This is amazing, an offensive curse!¡±

    Rotten Bog, by itself, was like and mine since it stayed in ce, but if I used this, I could have this once stagnant curse rise up and unleash its merciless acid on my enemies. It¡¯s no exaggeration to say that I¡¯d finally gotten myself a curse that I¡¯ve been waiting for all this time, one that can actually attack, actively at that.

    ¡°I did it, I finally did it!¡±

    My tension skyrocketing, I wanted to grant my first ever original curse magic its own name.

    ¡°Hmm, alright, thou shalt now be called Acid Wire!¡±

    Redhair Twine : Skin will burn if touched, Meat will rot when entangled, Even bone will melt lest it twines. Red hair manifesting deadly acid.

    A name and exnation popped into my mind at the very next moment. Oh Ruinhilde-sama, must we not have western letters in these names, is that so¡­

    There was that bit of interference from my deity, but anyway, like this, I managed to sessfully create an all new curse. A message for those who haven''t seen the discord announcements: Starting from this, there will be one of these chapters not every week but every 8 days, the back tracking chapter will also be like this. Latest chapters will be weekly. Basically, 3 chapters in 8 day cycles. Depending on the situation we might increase or decrease the rate again. Have a nice day.

 Chapter 72: Shaman vs Goma

    Chapter 72: Shaman vs Goma

    ¡°¨D¨DSoo, I guess it¡¯s time.¡±

    A few new curses and a lot of practiceter, I finally decided to depart from the Fairy Square. I¡¯d done all I could here. Now, I¡¯ll be putting it all to practice.

    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go, Rem!¡±

    ¡°GAGAA!¡±

    Spiritedly shouted Rem, whom I¡¯d revamped with a whole lot of Knight Mantis parts.

    Reborn from the soil of the fairy square, my blood, and anything I could scavenge from the mantis, a whole new Rem stood by my side.

    First of, off with the previous spiky Armor Bear armor, a brand new elegant and streamlined green armor now covered her ck skeleton.

    But wait, there¡¯s more. Attached to her right wrist came a Knight Mantis¡¯ sickle. Tucked into the elbow when idle, Rem¡¯s new de could spring out for battle and be wielded just like a sword! Pretty much like a mecha.

    The sickle resized itself to be adapted for Rem¡¯s body, which is as tall (or short) as me. This way, Rem would be capable of reproducing the mantis¡¯ shing ability.

    This time¡¯s Rem, seemed to look more confident. The entire mantis¡¯ body went into Rem¡¯s reconstruction, including the monster¡¯s core. I felt that the mantis was slightly weaker than the armored bear, but strangely enough, its core is wayrger.

    While Rem was not as strong as Mei-chan, she was still much better than my poor excuse for spearwielding.

    Most importantly though, with Rem around, I won¡¯t feel too lonely.

    Otherwise, I might just go crazy after a while. If I was ever actually left for dead on an ind, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d end up making a volleyball into my friend¡­

    Disaster scenarios aside, having Rem explore the dungeon with me, I felt better, but still uneasy.

    Rem acted as my vanguard, while I took the rear. This part of the dungeon was stone, so it was lit from above. No need for me to use the knife as a torch, but I still kept it on my waist, should the need arise to draw it at anytime.

    ¡°Please, just let there be skeletons or something, nothing stronger.¡±

    I¡¯d only ever practiced with unmoving wooden dummies. I was still abat noob, I¡¯d rather test those sweet new moves on small fries than get roflstomped by the likes of a Knight Mantis.

    The more I walked, the more my confidence left me.

    It felt like a lot of time had already passed.

    My G-Shock said it¡¯d only been an hour or so. During that time, I¡¯ve gone through 2 simrrge rooms, to finally get to a wide corridor, dotted with stone pirs here and there, and even a forest dome¡­ No monsters in sight.

    ¡°Hey, maybe Souma-kun killed them all off.¡±

    Following thepass was leading me the same way Souma-kun tooking to us. He got to the insect cave from the Cerberus boss¡¯ room.

    The dungeon has multiple routes for each level, and there might just be ways further down without transfer circles. Thepass wasn¡¯t currently leading me the one in the insect caves from before. I was following it through another path.

    If I worry about how much time it¡¯ll take, all I¡¯m gonna get is a headache, since all the routes must be connected one way or another.

    ¡°GA!¡±

    Right then, Rem stopped.

    ¡°¡­ What is it?¡±

    Nothing in sight. Looks like Rem could sense them from a distance.

    ¡°GAGA.¡±

    ¡°Follow you? Okay.¡±

    We were going there anyway, so whatever. We were at arge curving corridor. The wide passageway had thick columns at fixed intervals simr to temples.

    Rem went first, and hid behind a column. I followed her. We heard signs of enemies nearby.

    ¡°This sounds like, Gomas.¡±

    Their shouts still sound like gibberish to me, but they seem excited.

    Is it a fight or a hunt? I moved closer...

    ¡°... They¡¯re hunting down Ants.¡±

    From the shadow of the column, I could see 10 Gomas encircling 3 Pawn Ants. The floor got a new paint job, with blood and corpses.

    Three Gomas were down and one of the Pawn Ants had been skewered.

    Neither camp noticed me peeping on their hot blooded battle.

    ¡°So even the smallfry duke it out sometimes.¡±

    It still seems surreal, but it wasn¡¯t illogical.

    In games, monsters and the demon lord¡¯s armies were united to stick it to the hero sideways, and the human side could take a few pages out of their book. Not that that much work is put to breathe life into them anyway. They were, after all, mostly fodder for the hero to grow.

    But this here was real life, and those monsters there were now living creatures. Gomas had their settlements, and Pawn Ants made their nests too. Neither would be too chummy seeing a different species around.

    A bit of a sce in this shit hole, to think everything is not out to get you alone.

    ¡°This, is a chance.¡±

    When 2 dogs are fighting over a bone, a third one will carry it away.

    Gomas and Ants should have merely been slightly more reactive dummies, but stepping up to 10 gomas and 3 ants is just asking for trouble.

    ¡°Good, keep on killing each other.¡±

    On the other hand, if I let them thin out each other¡¯s numbers, I could just rush at the remnants and trample them. The gomas are numerous, but they¡¯re individually weak and poorly equipped. Some of them were even waving around unlit torches.

    That being said, although they were still small fries, the ants did possess huge ws and mandibles filled with a strength befitting insect type monsters.

    The disparity in fighting force is obvious. But no matter who gets the short end of the stick, most of them will be dead, or dead tired if lucky.

    So, I watch on¡­ 15 minutes of fightingter, it was over.

    ¡°Gruooohhh, Graaaggghhh!!¡±

    ¡°Nbaaa, Nbaaaa!¡±

    The Gomas won. The individual fighting power disparity couldn¡¯t offset the difference of numbers, leading to a ughter of the Ants

    That being said, the Gomas still had a run for their money, with only 6 survivors. One was mortally wounded, 3 moderately injured, and only 2 were unhurt.

    ¡°Geba! Gooza, Juba!¡±

    The survivors revel in their victory. Or at least, those that still could, the gravely injured one had drawn itsst breath.

    ¡°Alright, Rem¡­ let¡¯s go finish the job.¡±

    No one was watching their surroundings as they looted the corpses off their materials, still rejoicing.

    Total noobs. I wonder how did they survive in here? Of course, we¡¯re crashing their party. Free kill, I guess.

    ¡°Entwine its escape, with weaving hair¨D¨D¡±

    Concentrate. I¡¯d already simted how this¡¯ll y out. But there were still 5 of them. If I fuck up, no matter how weak and stupid they are, they can totally pwn us with zerg tactics.

    I gotta run them through quickly, quietly, and urately.

    ¡°Twine into hairs, O rotten red, be thread which vites flesh and bone¨D¨D¡±

    I was chanting 2 curses simultaneously, but that was only feasible because they both stemed from the same origin.

    In my right hand was the all too familiar ckhair tentacle holding the red knife and acting as the main weapon.

    In my left hand, to use with my new offensive curse, I was clutching a stone.

    ¡°¨D¨D ckhair Bind, Redhair Twine.¡±

    As the two curses came out from the bloodseal, they came together to form one single braid¨D¨D no, they were already knitting themselves into a rope.

    As for the way ckhair Bind knit itself into a rope, I had already wanted to improve on that since a while ago. Although the way they were braided into before had enough performance for a passing mark, I thought that they¡¯d be sturdier if they were braided into a more rope-like form.

    Apart from any other small improvements, I had to first understand the structure and process of the braiding method, it was tedious so I had postponed any experiments. I just couldn¡¯t make time for it with the others around.

    That¡¯s why, when I started soloing, I had more than enough time to experiment and improve the ckhair Bind. Although I had no genuine rope to use as reference, I used shoces and other rope-like objects that I got from my spoils and used them. It was a very cumbersome and tedious process, it also took up more time than what I had originally thought it would.

    Well because of that, I had been able to create a sturdy makeshift rope, and with the Red Knife this new and improved ckhair Bind had turned into a me-tipped tentacle.

    The rope improvement also applied to the Redhair Twine.

    The acidic properties of the Rotten Bog are also applied without the need to put down a bog, it was automatically applied from the moment it was cast out from the bloodseal since the venomous property of the bog originated from my ck Bloodline in the first ce.

    Because it is acidic, I can¡¯t attach any weapons on it like with the ckhair Bind. The hilt would melt, and it¡¯d quickly deteriorate the weapon, so for now anyways, I can only let the ckhairs equip any weapons.

    Well since the redhairs were basically weapons themselves, I can get by with just waving them around but¡­ For me, I felt it was more reassuring if they had something attached to the tips.

    So I used stones that wouldn¡¯t melt inside the poison of the swamp. The image is somewhat like a YoYo. By the way, back in elementary school, there was a time when everyone all had the YoYo-fever, and we all constantly yed with them all the time. I was pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself.

    Of course I never dreamed I¡¯d be using my super fancy YoYo moves like this. This dual-wielding style of using the ckhair Bind and the Redhair Twine was somewhat like using two YoYos at the same time back in the good old days.

    So, one had a de attached to it, while the other, a stone, each of them were currently flying towards the back of the Goma. There were aimed at a healthy goma. I¡¯m not gonna overextend so I¡¯ll be focusing down on one of them.

    ¡°GII!?¡±

    Bullseye. The red knife prated deeply into the center of its back, while the red hair wrapped around its neck. Both tentacles were attached to my hands so I got that positive feedback.

    ¡°GIAAAAAA!¡±

    The embedded red knife released its mes using its ignition ability. As I roasted its flesh, I pushed the de even further into its body.

    At the same time, I tightened the red hairs wrapped around its neck. The bloody tentacles soon demonstrated its acidic properties, dissolving the thin neck of the goma. With a sickening sound, the flesh started dissolving.

    ¡°Gobura!¡±

    ¡°Zebuu, Dagouba!¡±

    When theirpanion raised its scream, of course, the other gomas would be alerted to the abnormal situation. When they traced back the origin of the tentacles attacking their friend, I was of course at the other end.

    Was this enough? No, I had already dealt a fatal blow to it, so the rest will do itself.

    The Goma started to crazily wield its weapon and tried to cut the tentacles. I pulled on them quickly and they immediately returned to my hands. The ambushed goma fell down on the spot and started convulsing, it appears that it won¡¯t be getting up anymore.

    Well, considering that I had stabbed my knife into its back, melted down it¡¯s neck, it had already lost all its fighting potential.

    I didn¡¯t have time to pay any attention to that half-dead thing. I still had another four gomas to deal with. They had caught sight of me and started raising their battle cries, they seemed to be ready to charge at anytime. Still, the flow of the battle was still on my side thanks to the ambush.

    ¡°Spread out, Rotten Bog.¡±

    As soon as the red knife came back, I dropped down the Redhair Twine in my left hand and a Rotten Bog spread out with it as the source.

    Actually, if I put my blood on a stone and threw it, it was possible to use the stone as the source. Even with the stone stuck to the redhairs. Of course, I had already tested these ideas with the Rotten Bog, so it was possible.

    I exerted myself to spread the swamp to both ends of the corridor, blocking the waypletely. I used it as a barricade.

    ¡°Next, is you!¡±

    At the same time when the red hair returned to my left hand, I shot out the red knife tipped ck hair. I aimed at the goma running at the forefront. I¡¯ll start with the ones that are closer.

    ¡°Damun!¡±

    ¡°It parried!?¡±

    I didn¡¯t do any fancy movements, so it may have predicted the trajectory? The Goma had waved the knife in its hand, and deflected the red knife.

    Dammit, what¡¯s that Goma being all cheeky for?

    It wasn¡¯t the time to be cursing. Since it was blocked, there was a slight need to adjust my battle n. At this rate, I¡¯ll be surrounded by the others. Even if they¡¯re just Gomas, if they had the guts, it might even be possible for them to run past the swamp with will power.

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    I attacked with the red knife again and again, restraining the knife wielding Goma. While it stopped in its tracks, the other 3 kept on closing in.

    This was getting bad, the distance had been shortened. Shit, they¡¯re getting closer. Calm down, don¡¯t panic. It¡¯s alright, I had more ways to do this.

    Before I attacked again with the Redhair Twine, Iunch a different curse.

    ¡°Wind ¡®em up, Spiderweave Wind.¡±

    This isn¡¯t any new magic, it was just a derived curse from the ckhair Bind that I created. The effect was pretty simple, by weaving the ck rope tentacles into the shape of a spiderweb, it could be a big that could fly towards an enemy and entangle them.

    Since I had a thread-like skill, I¡¯d be pretty stupid if I didn¡¯t try to weave it into a. It was a brilliant and obvious idea, but in truth, this it actually came to me when I first saw some cobwebs by the side of the path.

    That¡¯s why after I finished developing the rope weaving technique, I went forward to try and create a. At first, I practiced so I could get it done in an instant, but because the structure was much moreplicated, it was difficult to shoot the 3rd and 4th time. Right now, 2 webs are my limit. Also the speed of theunched web is dependent on how hard I can throw it, so it wasn¡¯t exactly fast either.

    However, since the origin of the skill is from ckhair Bind, that meant it alsoes with the advantage of being able to beunched out from any visible shadow that enters into my sight.

    ¡°NOBAA!?¡±

    From the shadows of the columns, I released the Spiderweave Wind. Because it flew from a blindspot, the Goma was caught unprepared and was entangle in the ck web.

    I had targeted the Goma with the spear. The other two are equipped with a torch and a rusty sword respectively, and I figured that it would be easy for those two to escape, hence, I intentionally targeted the one with the spear since it¡¯d be much harder for it to deal with the with a polearm weapon.

    As expected, the spear-wielding Goma was rolling around the ground, frantically trying to extricate itself from the ckhair web entangling its body. Idiot, using your hands is even more useless.

    The spear Goma had been temporarily neutralized. The torch goma and the rusty sword goma were steadily closing the distance. Also, the knife goma had started to run again, trying to catch up to the others.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you this time!¡±

    I waited for the red knife to return, so as to seed in the next strike, just like earlier, I shot out the twin tentacles of ck and red.

    The target was the sword goma who had reached the Rotten Bog. Right in front of the swamp, it seemed to ponder on what to do next, since the swamp clearly had a shifty feel to it. It was the perfect chance.

    ¡°GUGYAAAA!!¡±

    Perfect, the red knife had hit its torso, the red hair had wrapped around its body and was corroding it with acid.

    One, two, three, that seems to be enough.

    After counting to three, I immediately release the sword goma. Thanks to the shallow stab and the fact that I didn¡¯t strangle it, the sword goma still had enough strength to withstand the pain. If I continued my attack for another 3 seconds, it may have been able to receive a fatal wound, but for now it¡¯s enough to just disable it. The finishing strike can wait forter.

    ¡°Next is ¨D¨D ¡±

    During the time when I was dealing with the sword goma, the torch Goma had enough time to make a running jump to try and cross over the swamp.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already anticipated that¨D¨D ckhair Bind ¡±

    From the center of the poisonous bog, ck hair tentacles popped out, ensnaring the stupid goma.

    ¡°NGOOOO!?¡±

    Its ankle was caught while it was in the air, it was pulled down straight into the poisonous bog. It was thrashing around on the surface of the bog, raising cries of misery and agony. However, no need to worry, once your whole body¡¯s been immersed fully into my Rotten Bog, you won¡¯t feel anymore pain, you won¡¯t feel anything really.

    ¡°UGOOOOOOOOOO!¡±

    With that scream that scraped at my ears, I noticed it.

    ¡°Damn, it jumped over!?¡±

    The knife goma that came a bitte mercilessly used the one that was drowning in the bog as a stepping stone and crossed over the Rotten Bog effortlessly.

    ¡°GARU, DAGOVA!¡±

    The distance that separated us was less than 3 meters. The knife goma who hadnded lightly, pulled out another knife from its waist and changed into a dual-wielding style.

    Meanwhile, the red knife and red hair were alreadying back to my hands.

    ¡°Heh, a battle between 2 dual-wielders, huh...¡±

    Right now, facing against this primitive creature that I had no way ofmunicating with, it kind of felt like we understood each other. The knife goma grinned and sneered while looking confident.

    So, I alsoughed.

    ¡°PUGYAA¡±

    I pointed my finger and sneered at it. It was inevitable. I mean, it was so confident wielding its knives at me, thinking that it would kill me easily, unaware of the dangering at it from behind.

    ¡°BUGYAAAAA!¡±

    It screamed, and from the back of the knife goma, blood sttered. The goma fell forward with a stupid expression on its face that practically said, ¡®Eh, seriously? Are you actually kidding me?¡¯

    ¡°Good job, Rem!¡±

    ¡°GAA!¡±

    What stabbed the knife goma was, of course, Rem, who was equipped with the Knight Mantis¡¯ Sickle. She had been hidden by a column beside me.

    Even if your role is vanguard, it doesn¡¯t mean you have to reveal yourself to the enemy from the beginning. If an enemy approaches me by jumping over the Rotten Bog, that enemy will be focused on me so I just needed to nk it with Rem.

    My first attack was a surprise attack and Rem¡¯s was too. Like that, I was able to swiftly take out two. The problem was the remaining 3. So after the torch goma fell into the bog, it was game, set, and match.

    ¡°Phew, I¡¯m d it turned out alright¡­¡±

    Break time.

    As I expected, the battle went on almost ording to how I nned it out and in the end I was able to annihte the enemies. You could call it a sess.

    ¡°But, there are many things to reflect on.¡±

    Even though this time¡¯s battle went well, my psyche during battle, wasn¡¯t up to my expectations. Especially in that moment when the knife goma deflected my red knife.

    Also, if Icked even a little bit of my calm, I may have lost that battle. Or maybe, with the additional loss of Rem, it would have been a narrow victory.

    ¡°As expected, solo battles are tough¡­¡±

    No, let¡¯s think optimistically. It was inevitable since I was going solo, let¡¯s just celebrate this brilliant victory and try to go through the next battle with confidence.

    ¡°Alrighty, now we collect the loot!¡± This was thest chapter tranted by nk. it was edited by Xikeb, and thenter TLCed and edited by me. Also, the next 3 chapters have been sponsored, they''ll be out soon.

 Chapter 73: Poison Marsh

    Chapter 73: Poison Marsh

    ¡°¨D¨D Hehe, great haul today.¡±

    Once I was done sending the rest of the half-dead Gomas into the afterlife, I went and started looting through their stuff. Of course, I set Rem to guard the rear since I didn¡¯t want any surprises.

    Let¡¯s have a look see here,

    Jagged Knife: This knife has no rust, but the edges are very jagged. One of the Gomas were using 2 so I got them both.

    Goma¡¯s Spear: A short spear that just screams shoddy. It¡¯s basically a tree branch with a w from somerge monster tied on.

    Rusty Sword: A rusty sword. Awful quality.

    Torch: A torch with a long handle. No, it¡¯s not lit.

    Bone Club: A hard club fashioned out of some monster¡¯s bone.

    Stone Adze: An adze like those from the stone age. It¡¯s made from the same stuff as the stone walls and ground.

    The above were all I could salvage in terms of weaponry. I know it all may seem like junkpared to the Upgraded stuff Takanashi-san makes, but it was better than nothing.

    ¡°Right, so the only useful ones are the knife and sword¡­ and maybe the spear.¡±

    I didn¡¯t need the other 3. It¡¯s not like I couldn¡¯t make use of them, just that they¡¯d be a chore to carry.

    For me personally, the other loot from the Gomas were a lot more valuable than the weapons.

    Torch Oil: The oil used to light a torch. Looks like they put it on a piece of cloth before setting it on fire.

    Goma Drug: This shit fucks you up. I¡¯m ready to use it on myself if pushes to shove.

    Goma Booze: Something that the knife wielding Goma carried in a small gourd. It reeks of alcohol, so I¡¯m calling it booze. Was it used as disinfectant? Not a chance.

    Rock Salt: I just eat it hoping it gives me my daily minerals. This is the all-purpose dungeon salt you can put on snake meat and Shrimpworms alike.

    Redshroom: This fe here saved me in my first encounter with an Armorbear. Never thought I¡¯d find Gomas carrying them.

    Plumshroom: Now this is a first, it¡¯s a purple mushroom. It looks dangerous as fuck, but it turns out that it¡¯s not actually poisonous¡­

    Goma¡¯s Leather Knapsack: Also from the Knife Goma, it¡¯s a bag made of animal hide. It¡¯s dirty like everything else they have, but practical nheless.

    Goma¡¯s Leather Satchel: A different sort if leather bag, this one¡¯s from the Goma that got done in by a Pawn Ant. It¡¯s also dirty like everything else they have, but practical nheless.

    And that¡¯s everything.

    The two bags will be super useful, and I could make Rem carry them too. The Redshroom, Plumshroom and etc. will go inside them. With additional bags, I could now carry a lot more stuff since my old school bag had been always packed full as ofte.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m here, might as well power up Rem too.¡±

    I mean, do I not have 3 fresh Pawn Ant corpses just ripe for the picking? These were all the ones the Gomas had generously killed before I ambushed them. Ant parts weren¡¯t as good as Mantis parts but Rem can get just a little stronger if I do add them. Though that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m also adding the Gomas, not at all. I¡¯d be able to tell by intuition what worked and what didn¡¯t in terms of making Rem stronger. And Gomas simply didn¡¯t at this point.

    ¡°Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth¨D¨DVile Mud Doll¡±

    Let¡¯s just see what happens with 3 whole Ant bodies¡­

    ¡°Wow, pretty damn good!¡±

    Rem dissolved into the chaotic magic circle thing along with all the Ants, and when she came back out, I could see visible change.

    She still had the basic Mantis shell armor, but now, the ces where the green armor was missing were reinforced with ck Pawn Ant shell armor. Now, the only visible part of the original skeleton body was the skull. Rem¡¯s body now looked like it was in full te armor.

    ¡°GAGA!¡±

    And the Mud Doll herself was also happy.

    Ok then, no point in hanging around here anymore. It¡¯d be great if I could just get going to the next Square already.

    ¡°¨D¨D Arff!¡±

    I could hear a dog¡¯s barking from further away in the passage.

    ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s not a dog¡­¡±

    I recognized this kind of bark. But before I could get my thoughts in order, they¡¯d already arrived.

    ¡°Arf!¡±

    ¡°Arr arff!¡±

    This annoying barking was not from themon four legged dog, but from a particr kind of two legged lizard.

    ¡°Goars!?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t seen these dinosaur monsters in a while actually.

    With theirrge blocky heads and maws lined with razor-sharp teeth, a total of three, four, five¡­ Fuck me, there were a whole seven of them.

    ¡°Open, Rotten Bog!¡±

    They were all running at me at full speed, and I stered the path in front of me with bog acid almost reflexively.

    ¡°Arrrf, gaarrr!!¡±

    I¡¯d seen them do this before too. The Goars had an acute sense of smell and so instantly realized that stepping into the bog was a bad idea. One even cried out in disgust as if from the awful smell or something.

    Alright, so before they think about jumping over to this side, I¡¯ll make my attack.

    ¡°¨D¨DRedhair Twine!¡±

    I summoned up the redhair tentacles from inside the bog andshed them at the nearest Goar.

    ¡°Orf, gyauunn!¡±

    The Goar¡¯s hard gray skin sizzled as the tentacles twined around it¡­ but with a forced shake of its body, the monster tore apart the acidic bindings.

    ¡°Shit, that didn¡¯t work, alright, run!¡±

    ¡°GA!!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t win this one, and having decided so, I turned 180 degrees and made a break for it.

    Redhair Twine was going to me useless on them. With their stony skin, I don¡¯t think the Red Knife would fare much better either.

    The only way I knew to beat a Goar was to ce it in my bog and bind it down for a while. That¡¯s what I ended up doingst time when one of them got past Mei-chan. I¡¯m saying that I needed that much time and effort to take care of just one.

    Even taking on 2 simultaneously was impossible, let alone 7.

    ¡°Arf Arf!¡±

    The one that I hit with Redhair and two others looked like they were getting ready to jump the bog. Meanwhile the 4 others had started eating the dead Gomas, and weren¡¯t focused on me. In practical terms, I had to take on 3 of them.

    ¡°Grab ¡®em! ckhair Bind!¡±

    Like I¡¯d done before, I used my ckhair tentacles to grab the Goar midair as it was jumping over that bog. Itnded with a ssh and a coarse sizzle. One down, right in the middle of the bog.

    But I had two more I needed to deal with.

    ¡° Spiderweave Wind!¡±

    Aiming for the moment when theynded, I shot two sticky spiderwebs at the 2 lizards. I summoned these webs from a shadow of a pir close to them, like I¡¯d done for the Gomas.

    ¡°Now¡¯s our chance, Rem! Run for it!¡±

    This was all I could do in terms of stalling. I simply didn¡¯t have the means to practically damage them through their tough hides, if I did, I¡¯d have used them now that they were caught in my various bindings.

    The Goma stuck in the bog should need just a little more thrashing around before all the ckhairs came loose, and the two stuck in Spiderweave Wind should get out even earlier.

    I needed to use this little bit of time to the fullest, either run far enough to lose them, or find a ce that can hide me.

    ¡°Shit shit, why is being a Shaman so damn shit!¡±

    Just when I thought I had my first big win, outes a tonne of monsters as if to mess with me. But, enough thumb-sucking, I just needed to run!

    ¡°<i>Haah¡­ haah¡­ t-that was not fun¡­</i>¡±

    With a stroke of luck, I chanced on a crack in the wallrge enough to barely let me in, and so managed to lose my pursuers.

    I was relieved, and yet, knew that this sort of thing was going to happen over and over from now on. I needed running-away Skills more than offensive ones.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s strange, thepass isn¡¯t pointing the same way anymore.¡±

    I was focused running for my life, so of course I hadn¡¯t had time to check thepass. I could try going back to the crack in the wall, but the Goars might be waiting for me. Plus, I didn¡¯t actually remember the way back anyway with how desperate I was.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope this direction works too¡­¡±

    I trusted thepass, and went for it.

    The stone passage sometimes got wider and sometimes narrow, and I simply kept walking.

    ¡°Oh, a Skeleton.¡±

    I met Skeletons a few times too. But Skeletons, Red Dogs and Zombies weren¡¯t that big an issue. They¡¯d usuallye in groups of two or three, at most four, which I was greatly thankful for.

    As for the way I took care of them, I used Redhair Twine, my only active damage curse, along with Rem. Yup, this was the appropriate difficulty for me.

    That¡¯s not to say I underestimated these small-fry, cause I totally didn¡¯t. These were the limited types of enemies that I could handle solo. I was going to make full use of them forbat practice.

    And so I continued on my new path, getting some fighting experience but not much else.

    That said, fighting was still exercise, it was pretty tiring. Just walking on and on was tiring me out too.

    I seriously needed a Fairy Square right around now. But instead, I got something unexpected.

    ¡°¡­ Huh? The walls here, they look kind of purple.¡±

    All of a sudden, I realized that the stone walls around me had taken on a faint purple tint. My guess is that it¡¯d been getting more colored gradually, and now was when I finally noticed.

    ¡°I, I can only hope this thing isn¡¯t broken.¡±

    At some point when I was being chased around by the Goars, thepass in my notebook had started pointing in apletely different direction. And that was the direction I¡¯d been following for a while now.

    This just gave me a bad feeling. Changes in the dungeon¡¯s scenery meant that there will be new types of monsters. And I doubt they¡¯d be kind enough to be weaker than Skeletons.

    There was a good chance that there¡¯d be Mantis ss powerhouses in this new ce too.

    ¡°No other choice though¡­¡±

    I had no choice but to head deeper in if I ever hoped to meed Mei-chan again. And at this point, going backwards wasn¡¯t an option either.

    Screwing up my courage, I only kept walking forward through the, now slightly purple, stone passage.

    And soon after, the scene changed even more drastically.

    ¡°What the actual hell is going on with this ce?¡±

    The walls were nowpletely dyed purple, making the area look almost toxic. That wasn¡¯t all, now, there were traces of deep purple tree root like vines running all over the walls. The creepy looking nt life continued further in.

    Purple Roots: Very poisonous. Theye from normal trees.

    I concentrated on them for a bit, and Intuition Pharmacy gave me some details.

    These rootsing from normal trees most likely means that the soil they grew into was saturated with poison which affected the roots too.

    ¡°So it¡¯s a poison zone from here¡­ Won¡¯t I get, like, poisoned?¡±

    I mean, it was a valid concern. But I didn¡¯t feel like trying to find another route this far in¡­ yeah, let¡¯s try heading further in.

    But the moment I feel anything off, I¡¯m hightailing it out of here.

    ¡°¡­ Which doesn¡¯t seem to be happening.¡±

    As I went further, the volume of poison roots increased, now fully covering the stone walls. Even the floor I was walking on had turned to mostly root and I had to watch my step around them.

    And after a while, when even walking was bing a tasking effort, the passage finally ended.

    ¡°Huh. It¡¯s a lot like¨D¨D¡±

    I¡¯de to a ce very simr to a forest dome. But there was none of that abundance of nature. All the trees were leafless, withered, and had gone white. The number of trees were far more scarce than in a forest, the ground was muddy, and the ce was dotted with some weeds here and there.

    The ce seemed absolutely deadly, and I had a good name for it too.

    ¡°¨D¨D It¡¯s a poison marsh alright.¡±

    This whole zone seemed to love the color purple with how much of it everything here was. And it wasn¡¯t just the color that made me think the ce was toxic. I could see purple liquid bubbling out of ces likeva.

    It was like they took an area straight out of an RPG game. I mean, yeah the whole dungeon is like that, but did we really need to recreate a poison zone too?

    I could almost feel like there was a purple skull icon above my head, indicating a poisoned status that slowly drained my HP to 0.

    No, that hadn¡¯t actually happened, at least not yet. I didn¡¯t feel any pain, nor had coughed up blood. So, since I had seemingly no problem breathing the air here, I decided to scout around.

    But really, this ce still didn¡¯t sit right with me. It didn¡¯t cause any negative effects on my body but it made me sick to look at this scenery for too long.

    After walking a little while longer, I was in luck.

    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s actually a Fairy Square. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s one here.¡±

    It was like a cabin in the woods. Four stone walls and a roof made up a small building right in the middle on the dead forest. The entrance didn¡¯t have a door but inside I found that it was a Fairy Square like anywhere else. A safe zone.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll make this my base while I¡¯m here.¡±

    With thepass and Fairy Square, I was now sure that this wasn¡¯t just some meaningless area. This ce had a Boss.

    I couldn¡¯t win against most Bosses, but I think I could handle it if it¡¯s like that big frog we¡¯d once faced. If the Boss here looks manageable, I wanted to try my hand at beating it. Maybe this dungeon is just made in a way that you have to beat a Boss, <i>any</i> Boss, to get to the next level.

    If it turns out that this whole dungeon was built with this concept, the magicpasses we use might not be showing us the correct way, but the way to the nearest Boss of the floor or to the nearest transfer circle guarded by said Boss.

    Well, not like I can confirm any of that. I¡¯d finally gotten to a Fairy Square so I wanted to get some well deserved rest. After that, I needed to explore this marsnd zone.

    ¡°¡­ I should get going.¡±

    I got some sleep, made lots of blueflower antidote paste, just procrastinated for a while more, and then finally got in the mood to go back out there. Rem had been standing guard at the entrance all this time, and she was raring for some action too.

    The outside had ayer of fog now. And when I breathed it in, I started coughing violently, or not, I guess. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t so thick that I couldn¡¯t see where I was going, so I paid it no more attention. I still felt in no way poisoned even now, and it only seemed like the toxic marsh took on a deadlier atmosphere.

    I explored this new an unknown ce like I always did, fidgeting around in worry. And in that manner I found the first new monster of this zone, well not really.

    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s a Mandragora!¡±

    It was the nt said to be the root of all medicine, I¡¯dst seen these quite some time ago. But even now they¡¯re at the level of pretty much useless for me. Mainly because my concoctions just don¡¯t use this as an ingredient. I could only use it as extra parts for Rem. No really, I even tried putting it in with Ointment A and Antidote, but Intuition Pharmacy didn¡¯t indicate a change in effect at all.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°GAGA?¡±

    I used the freshly picked Mandragora on Rem to see what happened but, at least on the outside, I couldn¡¯t spot any changes.

    ¡°Mmm, I guess you¡¯re movements are smoother now?¡±

    It was just intuition telling me that. Well, I was all for it if there was a positive effect. I didn¡¯t care how minute, if it got me stronger, I¡¯d use it.

    ¡°Oh, and here¡¯s one of those Plumshrooms.¡±

    The next thing I found was that new purple mushroom I¡¯d salvaged off the Gomas recently. I discovered that these grew a lot around the white, dead trees.

    ¡°And Redshrooms too¡­ maybe those Gomas got them from here.¡±

    Both Redshrooms and Plumshrooms seemed to grew a lot in this zone, and as long as I make this ce my base, I won¡¯t run out of them at all. That being said, I still didn¡¯t have an actual use for them.

    I sort of wanted to make a potent poison with the Redshroom that was strong enough to kill an Armorbear, but I didn¡¯t know how. In the first ce, this poison had to be ingested while I already had Rotten Bog a Curse that dealt poison damage by simple touch, and also its derivative, Redhair Twine.

    ¡°Man, sometimes I wish I could just absorb stuff like Rem or¨D¨D¡±

    Or Yokomichi¡¯s Skill Eater, yeah. And as I was getting weirdly envious, I saw a nt that really stood out.

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s what, a really big Plumshroom?¡±

    That¡¯s kind of the only way I could describe the thing. It was a <i>big</i> mushroom. As big as me, in fact. Did mushrooms really get this big?

    ¡°Ski, skreeee¡­¡±

    And they don¡¯t start screaming like that, right?

    ¡°No shit, it¡¯s a monster!?¡±

    I quickly took a step back from the creature, and as if on cue, it started getting up. It made a <i>screee</i>-ing sound unlike any bird or insect I knew, and was now standing up on two legs.

    It wasn¡¯t quite humanoid and looked like a badly made mushroom costume. Its legs were short, and it had something like hands, or fins or I don¡¯t know what. It¡¯s mushroom stalk was extra thick and bulky.

    As for a name, let¡¯s call it a Matango, like the movie.

    It started shaking, and its head that was like a purple colored Maitake mushroom started released a shit ton of some mysterious powder. Spores, if my guess is right. And if I breathed that in, I¡¯d either froth at the mouth and die, or take a journey into a psychedelic wondend.

    ¡°Shut up! I know just the way to take care of nt monsters like you!¡±

    My gamer instincts tingling, I swiftly drew my Red Knife with a ckhair tentacle and stabbed the Matango.

    ¡°Skreee, skreeeeeee!!¡±

    I jammed the firey de inside and gouged left and right. This Matango¡¯s body was nowhere as tough as that of a Goar, and the red hot edge easily sliced up the fungus.

    In no time at all the Matango¡¯s whole body was on fire, and the monster was reduced to an obnoxiouslyrge roasted mushroom.

    I was able to attack away from the range of its spores and defeated it rather easily.

    ¡°Wait, no, get away!¡±

    Well, it wasn¡¯t quite done roasting yet, and was thrashing around in pain with its body engulfed in mes, which was getting a bit too close forfort. Note to self: stay away longer next time.

    ¡°Phew, d this thing wasn¡¯t too strong¡­¡±

    I sighed in relief after the Matango died, its body nowpletely ash. Which was too bad, since I couldn¡¯t even use it for parts now.

    But this did prove one thing: there were in fact new species of monster here.

    I continued on my way, on alert for other new monsters that might appear. But nothing much happened for a while after that. The same bubbling pools of poison here and there, the same white trees, mushrooms, Mandragoras and the asional Matango. The same scenery.

    Let¡¯s see, what else, I caught a snake that should be good for dinner, and panicked a bit when I found a giant leech on my leg like the time with the frog Boss, that¡¯s about it. Matangos were just weak. So long as I took care to avoid the spores, they were a bunch of clumsy pushovers. They were weaker than Skeletons and didn¡¯te in groups either.

    This ce didn¡¯t seem so dangerous after all. No, that kind of thinking will get me killed. It was going to get serious soon. Why? Because I was soon about to reach the center of the poison marsh where I¡¯d supposedly find the boss.

    ¡°Heck, even the ground is turning purple.¡±

    A clear change from just before. The muddy ground under my feet was taking on that same toxic color as if it was permeated with liquid from those poisonous pools. It was the type where you¡¯d get damaged just by walking on it, but I seemed to be fine.

    ¡°And what¡¯s with all the Mandragoras?¡±

    There were way too many Mandragoras here. It could be because this tainted earth was a good fertilizer for them, but there were just so many that I thought someone might be farming them here.

    And beyond this Mandragora farm, I spotted arge, if not thergest pool of poison here.

    The long body of water was actually in the shape of a crescent moon, and right beyond the pool, surrounded by that moat of deadly toxicy the thing I was looking for. It was resting openly there like it owned the ce.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Boss alright.¡±

    A giant lizard, no that rounded smooth body reminded me more of a Japanese giant smander. It¡¯s figure was a lot like that somewhat protected species back on Earth.

    But that isn¡¯t to say it was exactly like one. The beast wasrger than an Orthus, clocking in at 5 meters long, and also, it¡¯s whole skin was an eerie off white.

    I don¡¯t know if this was just how it was or if it was an albino variant, and it didn¡¯t have red eyes so¡­ No, it didn¡¯t have eyes at all.

    I couldn¡¯t find anything resembling eyes on it¡¯s smooth, round head and I¡¯m sure they weren¡¯t just closed. Instead, it had linear slits on both sides like the gills of amprey.

    This thing really creeped me out.

    ¡°Giant Smander¡­ No, let¡¯s call it Basilisk.¡±

    And then it, yawned, I think. It opened it¡¯s gaping maw with a <i>skaa!!</i> and let out a thick purple haze. Instantly, Intuition Pharmacy reacted and told me that that gas was a poison more potent than even my Rotten Bog.

    This Basilisk had an extremely deadly poison breath attack, of that I was now certain.

    ¡°A-and there goes my dream of taking it down solo¡­¡±

    I wasn¡¯t even thinking about trying to attack it as a test run or something. I was absolutely terrified, making myself small behind a thick tree trunk, at best managing to spy on its actions from afar.

    I couldn¡¯t get any closer and let it notice me. Actually, it might¡¯ve noticed me already now that I thought about it. It didn¡¯t have eyes, which meant it didn¡¯t use sight in the first ce. Meaning that it used its other senses to detect things.

    Scent, for example. Which meant that me hiding like this served no purpose at all.

    And since it wasn¡¯t trying to attack me or anything, I might as well go back and be on my way¡­.

    ¡°But that¡¯s definitely the transfer circle over there.¡±

    I¡¯d noticed it already. The Basilisk was actually resting right on top of a stone tform. And I could see the runed circle carved on it. Even thepass was pointing straight at the Basilisk so my guess was spot on.

    That was my ticket out of here.

    It took a lot of effort getting here. And if I went back, it was Goar territory. Could I really just walk away¡­?

    ¡°I¡¯ll just watch it for now.¡±

    Information was key. This wasn¡¯t an enclosed room like the Orthus Boss, it was open world. I willy low for now, observe every action of the Basilisk, like a wildlife photographer.

    I will know the Basilisk, and only then will I decide on how to proceed. Whether I decide to fight or flee, I need to wait for now, with patience. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 74: All-New Harem Party

    Chapter 74: All-New Harem Party

    With the blue Lux Elemental guiding me, I had been running around in the dungeon in hopes of reuniting with the party I¡¯d gotten separated from. I¡¯d been anxious, worried, vexed even that even while I was on their trail, they must be going through tough battles one after another, and I ran with the utmost urgency¨D¨D And then, I¡¯d found them.

    The girls were in arge cavernous pit, surrounded on all sides by giant bug-type monsters, which I managed to quickly disperse with shots of my Cross Calibur, a Skill I was actually getting rather adept at using. I was so d¡­ so d that the Goddess had given me the power of a Hero.

    So d that I¡¯d made it in time, that I managed to save everyone ¨D¨D But I soon learned that I was wrong.

    ¡°<b>Ken, zaki, Asunaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!</b>¡±

    I¡¯d taken the full brunt of the Berserker¡¯s fist on my right palm. That strength, that weight, even now, after Sakura hadpletely healed the wound, I still felt the asional pangs of phantom pain. The rage from that one blow, and the pain that opened my eyes, taught me just how much I was missing. About the truth, about what happened.

    After that, ss Rep filled me in.

    How those two, Momokawa Kotarou and Futaba Meiko, were under attack by an Armorbear and were in dire straights. How the girls had admirably saved them. How, even if the two students who never really stood out in ss, even if they were barely acquaintances, they strived to work together, to help each other¡­ with more news of deaths, we needed to do this together, help each and every one we can, and escape this dungeon together.

    Be it me, Sakura, ss Rep, or anyone else, they¡¯d think so too. Wasn¡¯t that why they fought?

    But that clearly wasn¡¯t all there was to it. I was made to understand that hard truth.

    I believed in Sakura, and I trusted ss Rep. I believed in Asuna¡¯s strength of will, in Takanashi-san¡¯s kindness, and in Natsukawa-san¡¯s cheerfulness. I wanted to think that these bonds of trust would keep us strong.

    ¡°If I¡­ if only I¡¯de back sooner¡­¡±

    The constant battles, the harsh struggle for survival. I was loathe to admit that even those sweet, gentle and strong girls couldn¡¯t remain the same within all that stress.

    The friction between Sakura and Momokawa. The duel between Asuna and Futaba-san.

    Maybe it was simply inevitable that they couldn¡¯t trust Momokawa, what with him being the sole male among them. And Futaba-san considered him her savior. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine her being furious once that happened.

    But there was also the fact that that one incident had caused Sakura and Asuna topletely mistrust him.

    I wanted to think that it wasn¡¯t any one person¡¯s fault. It wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault. Yes, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be anyone¡¯s fault, but a crack had been already formed.

    And it all happened under the stress for survival, when no one had the soundness of mind to attempt at healing that scar ¨D¨D

    ¡°If I just¡­¡±

    And as those emotions festered to a boiling point, another tragedy had urred, this one I had no idea how to handle.

    And yet, we were not allowed to stop moving forward.

    Asuna had pushed Momokawa off the transfer circle. Futaba-san had flown into a rage. And ss Rep risked it all to calm her down.

    Even with this fatal scar that led to the worst possible turn of events, we still needed to cooperate in order to get out of this dungeon. Thanks to ss Rep¡¯s efforts, Futaba-san had been convinced to go together with us.

    And so we advanced deeper into the dungeon.

    We were currently in a familiar type zone, stone ruins, and no new strong monsters had appeared. Skeleton Troopers in the passages and packs of Red Dogs in the forest domes. All of which we could easily manage.

    We knew how to fight these monsters, and were able to safely dispatch them. But it was so silent. Everyone only spoke when necessary but otherwise went about killing the monsters without much dialog.

    Futaba-san was incredibly strong, and Asuna, who I was worried was suffering from psychological duress, had no issues in dealing with monsters. Sakura and ss Rep provided great magic support, while Natsukawa-san was adeptly dealing with any possible surprises. Even Takanashi-san who couldn¡¯t fight was holding strong. As for me, I tried to fight harder than anyone, frustrated with how I didn¡¯t want to lose anyone else, and practically venting it onto the monsters.

    No, this wasn¡¯t enough. Just feelings won¡¯t be enough to save everyone. We¡¯d now be, with the addition of Futaba-san, a party of 7. We were one party but we were far from being <i>one</i>.

    It was easier now. But as we advanced in this state, as the zones got more difficult, as the Bosses got even deadlier, could we really ovee everything as we were? ¨D¨D The future didn¡¯t look good, I was angry at my own powerlessness, and the rush to get stronger was boiling over.

    ¡°Quite the long face you have there, Yuuto-kun.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ss Rep¡­¡±

    We had gone past 2 more Fairy Squares, and were now taking a break inside the third.

    This Fairy Square marked the end of the ruins area as the the other side led to earthen ground and an actual sky above. This Fairy Square seemed to have been constructed at the summit of a small mountain and I was sitting right outside, gazing nkly at the scarlet twilight sky and the deep jungle expanding out into the horizon.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know why¡­¡± I continued, ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything. I know we can¡¯t keep going like this, but I just don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    ¡°I know, and it¡¯s fine, this is one of those things where you can¡¯t do anything even if you want to. We all just need time.¡±

    ¡°Still,¡± I tried to argue.

    ¡°I think, that it¡¯s starting to get better, just a little. Well, not better, but back to normal I mean.¡±

    ¡°Y-you think so?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ and it¡¯s thanks to Futaba-san. I thought she hated all of us a lot more with how she was, but that girl has been nothing but cooperative.¡±

    She was right. Futaba-san didn¡¯t like us, to the point where it wouldn¡¯t be strange if she got into constant arguments. Asuna¡¯s actions had dire repercussions for Momokawa, but at the end of it all, we¡¯d dealt no punishment to her at all. We could try exining it all we wanted, about how this wasn¡¯t the time to be fighting amongst ourselves, or how Asuna was an important vanguard for the party, but that wouldn¡¯t erase the raging hate that Futaba-san felt towards my childhood friend.

    And yet, despite all that, Futaba-san was acting as if she wasn¡¯t bothered by it at all. She had almost noints and had been extremely cooperative with the party. She was not only a stronger vanguard than Asuna, she even took it upon herself to be the party¡¯s cook.

    Her snake roast was amazing. And currently, she¡¯d gotten her hands on a lot of these Shrimpworm bugs, and was excited over having them freshly grilled. While Natsukawa-san, who was not too keen about suddenly being picked as assistant chef, was helping out with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Honestly, you wouldn¡¯t believe how relieved I am.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel so responsible, ss Rep.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, then how about you help me out next time and calm everyone down instead?¡±

    ¡°Urk¡­ sorry¡­¡±

    Back then, I hadn¡¯t even had everything exined to me, so I waspletely at a loss as to why everything was happening. I had no way of helping ss Rep negotiate with Futaba-san, and could only manage to physically stop her from hurting Asuna.

    ¡°I can only hope that there won¡¯t be a next time. If we made her that mad again, I don¡¯t think we could stop it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to imagine having to fight each other¡­¡±

    ¡°Still, just keep this in mind, if wee to find out that Momokawa-kun died after all¡­ well, I¡¯m just saying be prepared for the worst.¡±

    ¡°¨D!? Hey, don¡¯t tell me¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying it¡¯s a possibility. It¡¯s one of the worst case scenarios. Yuuto-kun, I just want you to think about it.¡±

    Having said what she needed to say, ss Rep turned her back to me.

    ¡°Also, try not to be that depressed in front of the rest of them. You don¡¯t have to mean it, but just show a bit more energy. If you do that, then the rest of them will try to be optimistic too.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sure, I can do that.¡±

    ¡°And about Asuna, be there for her, alright? I¡¯ll talk to Sakura on my end.¡±

    It hurt a little to hear thatst part, because I knew how important it was. I decided to sit here a while longer.

    ¡°Nii-san, the dinner¡¯s ready.¡±

    And I¡¯d continued to keep to myself until Sakura called me in. I hadn¡¯t found my answer, and the thoughts and worries only kept going in circles in my head¨D¨D but ss Rep told me to try, so I tried putting on a smile, at least for them.

    Just the act of smiling more is said to improve one¡¯s mood. If I looked depressed, I¡¯d just keep getting more depressed.

    ¡°Uh, guys¡­ do I really have to eat this?¡±

    But as if trying hard to turn that smile upside down, there was now this big, piping hot caterpir-like bug served in front of me. This must be that Shrimpworm I¡¯d been hearing so much about. Sure it had that juicy red and white striped pattern that was a lot like shrimp, but overall, it still looked the shape of a beetlerva.

    ¡°These Shrimpworms are quite big, aren¡¯t they? They look delicious.¡±

    ¡°That basin we found still has a lot left. I¡¯ll be sure to go catch moreter.¡±

    ss Rep and Futaba-san were all smiles as they chatted while prodding the grilled worms with their chopsticks.

    ¡°Check it out! I used my new magic to make soy sauce, and even mayonnaise!¡± chirped Takanashi-san.

    ¡°I¡¯m still amazed by how much it can do, that replication magic of yours,¡± Sakura chimed in.

    Just the other day, Takanashi-san had gotten a new Skill, Lesser Replicate. She¡¯d used this new Sage magic to make copies of the small packets of soy sauce and mayonnaise she had in her lunch box.

    This Replicate magic was, as Sakura said, really amazing in how it can make exact copies of things¡­ But as it stood currently, with Lesser Replicate, she could only do small items. It also required varied amounts of mana depending on the thing being replicated, and sometimes even required supplementary ingredients.

    It was a great Skill as a concept, but it wasn¡¯t quite useful for bolstering our strength like her Upgrades did. But it instead proved to be extraordinary in terms of diversifying our food, since I didn¡¯t think we woulde across soy sauce of mayo any time soon in this world.

    Takanashi-san was grinning ear to ear as she caked mayo all over her Shrimpworm, while Sakura on the other hand only slightly added soy sauce on hers. None of them had any qualms about eating this it seemed.

    ¡°It¡¯s very good. The little bit of seasoning makes a lot of difference.¡±

    Even Asuna, whom I was worried sick over, had on a small smile as she chewed on the literal grub.

    ¡°¡­ Seriously, how are they all fine?¡±

    It didn¡¯t make sense to me how all these girls were so naturally dining on worms of all things. And it wasn¡¯t like they were all fine with being around live insects from the beginning. I know that Sakura, for instance, wasn¡¯t fond of bugs at all, while Takanashi-san used to run screaming if a slightly big one ever came up to her.

    I myself didn¡¯t have a problem swatting away cockroaches and the like, and thanks to the deep mountain training with my grandfather, I could handle eating snakes and other non-conventional food. I don¡¯t mean to brag, but I do have a few more survival skills than your average high school guy¡­

    ¡°Souma-kun~, why are you not eating~?¡±

    ¡°Wait, hold on, Natsukawa-san!?¡±

    I¡¯d left my te untouched as I watched, with a tinge of horror, how the girls were eating so nonchntly, which was when, Natsukawa-san, with her sneaky Thief skills, had sneaked up close to me. Her eyes were scary.

    ¡°I, I was about to right now, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡±

    ¡°Yes really. And why are you ring at me like that?¡±

    ¡°I just want you to <i>enjoy</i> these Shrimpworms that I worked so hard to peel, that¡¯s all~¡±

    ¡°Of course I will, I¡¯ll have them now, in fact.¡±

    Then I looked down. I could only see this thing is beetlerva.

    Oh, no, I can¡¯t let it get to me. I need to move my chopsticks now, or else.

    ¡°Souma-kun~¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m eating them! I¡¯m eating them, alright!¡±

    So, just, please, give me a second to get ready for this¡­

    ¡°Hey guys~, it looks like Souma-kun doesn¡¯t want to eat the nice Shrimpworms. Won¡¯t you help me convince him~?¡±

    ¡°EH!?¡±

    As though my hesitation had spurred her into action, Natsukawa-san seemed to see it as her duty to have me eat this one way or another. And she had no problem involving the rest of them too.

    ¡°That reminds me, this is going to be the first time Yuuto-kun eats the Shrimpworms, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. Nii-san, please don¡¯t worry, it may look like a worm, but the taste is oddly very shrimp-like I assure you.¡±

    ¡°Wait, ss Rep, Sakura, why are you two holding my arms?¡±

    Exchanging a knowing look amongst each other, Sakura and ss Rep grabbed tightly on to my right and left arms respectively. Why are you doing this, let me go, I can eat by myself!

    ¡°Souma-kun, the Shrimpworm is so yummy, you just have to try it! With lots of mayonnaise!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t keep eating only walnuts, this is for your own good. Eat.¡±

    ¡°I said I¡¯ll eat! I promise, so you don¡¯t need to force me alright!¡±

    In addition, Takanashi-san and Asuna strongly rmended the Shrimpworms by each clutching on to my shoulders, further holding me in ce.

    ¡°I think he should try it with just salt for the first time.¡±

    ¡°There you have it Souma-kun, say ahh!¡±

    Futaba-san held up the te with the fat grilled worm with a gentle smile, and Natsukawa-san grabbed it with a pair of chopsticks and brought it close to my face with an evil grin. The smell itself incited my appetite but the white jiggling meat so up close shoved my head back into thinking that this was indeed a worm that they were forcing on to me.

    Nope, can¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t have the courage or bravery to take a bite out of this thing. And here I thought I was a Hero.

    ¡°P-please, I, I¡¯m not ready for this!¡±

    ¡°<i>Nihaha,</i> neither was I, now open wide!¡±

    ¡°No, wait, no, I¡¯m not¨D¨D aaaaahhh!?¡± Kono [chapter 74] wa supons¨¡ no [Nn N.] no teiky¨­ de ¨­kurishimasu.

 Chapter 75: Basilisk Observation Report

    Chapter 75: Basilisk Observation Report

    I¡¯d started preparing for a possible solo Basilisk subjugation, and for that I needed a way to safely observe it.

    ¡°This looks good enough.¡±

    The first of those preparations was stealth equipment. Basically, I¡¯d made a ghillie suit.

    I first took all the Goma rags I¡¯d pilfered, and fashioned together an overcoat with the use of ckhair threads. I then dipped this coat into one of the bubbling purple bogs and as I expected, the clothing was now died the same color. I added random bunches of weeds and mushrooms on top and done.

    Still, the Basilisk didn¡¯t have eyes, and making this camouge might have just been a huge waste of time, but I wanted to believe it wasn¡¯t. Well, at least I now got another use out of ckhair bind: now I could make string with it. In string form, I could actually separate it from it¡¯s shadow, or my body, and it¡¯dst quite a while.

    Depending on how I practice with this, I might be able to make my thicker and longer tentacle hairsst longer too.

    Another new way I¡¯d used ckhair Bind was for climbing trees. This Curse had grown a lot from the noodley tentacles it made when I first got it. Now, my tentacles had the strength to hold down a thrashing Goar, so obviously they could lift up my less than 50 kg body.

    And no, it wasn¡¯t like I was swinging tree to tree like Tarzan, but now I had the option of climbing up ces and survey the area.

    The camo suit and tree climbing practice took all of the first day.

    And only thereafter did I start my focused observation on the Boss of this poisoned zone.

    So anyway, since I¡¯m still alive, I guess it¡¯s going well. The Basilisk didn¡¯t seem to notice me at all. I didn¡¯t know if it was just ignoring me or it actually hadn¡¯t detected my presence. And I didn¡¯t want to test the waters just yet because it was still seriously scary, so I kept up my observation from afar.

    And once I¡¯d done that a few days, I learned 3 things.

    Number 1: the Basilisk mainly eats Mandragoras.

    It the morning, it gets up from its resting ce, crosses over the crescent shaped moat and goes towards the Mandragora field just beyond. It then uses its short but thick front nails to dig out and eat the nt creatures. And it eats with gusto. So much gusto in fact that it made me want to eat one too.

    Here I was thinking that if it ate that many, that fast, the field would be empty in no time¡­ But the next day, I saw that the area that the Basilisk had grazed on had regrown its portion of Mandragora already. And that made me think. This whole spot must be a special area where its made so that Mandragoras grew at an rming rate. It might just be how the dungeon keeps the Basilisk in its spot, like with some kind of magic fertilizing device.

    So thispletely ruled out biding my time until it starved and weakened.

    Alright, Number 2: It eats other monsters too.

    This was something I saw when I was getting kind of sleepy while watching the big white thingze around all day.

    A group of Gomas hade, chasing after a Matango. I was so fucking d I had my ghillie suit on, like holy shit. Gomas being here and collecting mushrooms meant that this zone was part of their hunting grounds too. And if they found me, I¡¯d have one more problem to deal with.

    The rowdy bunch of Gomas didn¡¯t notice me at all and made a lot of noise chasing down the running mushroom.

    I guess they didn¡¯t want to breathe in the Matango¡¯s spores, which must¡¯ve been poison or something after all, so they only did ranged attacks like throwing stones or torches or using their bow and arrows. Because of this slow method, they couldn¡¯t quite finish off the Matango and had made it to the banks of the crescent moat, Basilisk territory.

    And when the Gomas stepped into its field of Mandragoras, the Basilisk made its move. It¡¯srge body was not the fastest, but it moved almost silently. It waded into the crescent pool without making a sound, approached the new invaders quietly, like a preying alligator, and ¨D¨D

    ¡°Boaahhhh!¡±

    It raised its head from the bog and coated the annoying Gomas with its acidic breath. With a color closer to ck than purple, this breath looked deadly, much more putrid than the gas it released when it yawned.

    Bathed in the toxic smog, every one of the Gomas instantly started writhing in pain, flooding blood from their mouths, and then falling dead. Their ck skin instantly began blistering, with red popping bubbles, and melted away.

    The way I once saw Gomas eating a human was chilling, but this was terrifying in a whole other vector.

    But I was used to death by now. I wasn¡¯t shocked to the point that I¡¯d forget to analyze this attack.

    ¡°¡­ So it can¡¯t melt clothes?¡±

    The Gomas looked awful, I mean, they always did, but all these Gomas were just pulsing meat now. And yet, non of their clothing or weapons had sustained any damage. This didn¡¯t happen with my Rotten Bog. Which meant that the Basilisk¡¯s breath didn¡¯t melt inorganic things, or it didn¡¯t have a strong enough acid or reactiveponent to do it. It could be some kind of poison that only affected living things, or an acid that highly specialized in melting them.

    Still, that shit is scary. The Gomas all died from taking in one breath, and, I only noticed itter but, the Matango had also died writhing around. The mushroom monster obviously didn¡¯t have blood and had be a withered husk.

    ¡°One shot of that and I¡¯m dead.¡±

    And I don¡¯t think holding my breath would help. This reminded me of that one movie with the terrorists using this kind of poison gas. What was it, VX gas or something?

    Anyways, after its prey had died, the Basilisk waded out of the bog and ate it all up.

    Finally, Number 3: the Basilisk¡¯s lifestyle.

    This was something I could confirm only because I had Hirano-kun¡¯s watch, since inside the dungeon, there was no day and night, it was all lit up from above, all the time. And since I possessed this ability to measure time exactly, I was able to get a good estimate of the Basilisk¡¯s daily lifestyle.

    The Basilisk ate its staple of Mandragoras in the morning. Only once. But if other monsters entered its territory while it wasn¡¯t asleep, it will hunt them down and eat them. I¡¯ve observed it doing this twice, once with the previous incident with the Gomas and the Matango and another time with a lone Matango wandering around aimlessly.

    It sleeps at night. It went to sleep right around sunset time, and didn¡¯t move at all until sunrise time. It didn¡¯t move much during the day either, but it still waddled around, sometimes raising its head in a yawn, so I knew it was awake. It keptpletely still at night so I marked that down it as not awake.

    This was the info I¡¯d obtained over a 3 day stakeout. I had to suffer through a lot of boredom to get to this point, since the Boss was essentially like a NEET, it justzed around all day. I even had to pull all-nighters so I could measure its sleep cycle.

    I¡¯d prefer to get more long term data on the monster, but I wasn¡¯t exactly killing time here. These three days of observation should give me a good enough estimate of the Basilisk¡¯s behavioral patterns.

    Now then, let¡¯s address the main issue.

    ¡°I have no idea how to kill it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have any attack strong enough to kill this thing.

    There was the possibility that I could sneak up on it at ¡®night¡¯ time, but if it woke up, I¡¯d be at aplete loss as to what to do, and, of my life. I¡¯m dead if that destructive breath hits and I¡¯m also dead if it kicks me with those wed paws.

    I¡¯d have to prepare a stick or two of dynamite if I wanted to kill that mammoth of a creature in one go. Needless to say, I did not in fact have a method of manufacturing such a Nobel prize winning explosive. If Mei-chan was here, I bet one solid blow to the head from her would do the job, but I had to think realistic, not miracles.

    ¡°So I can¡¯t sneak up on it, then¡­ Uhhh, maybe set a trap?¡±

    I had to think like a caveman trying to hunt a mammoth. I can¡¯t challenge it head on since that would be extremely stupid, but I could trap it, seal its movements, then keep attacking till it dies. I saw this historical documentary where there was a picture of cavemen who¡¯d dug a pit where they dropped the mammoth and were all stabbing it with their spears.

    ¡°Can¡¯t do that either. I¡¯m just one person, and how the hell am I going to make a pit that big anyway.¡±

    This was still a solo mission. I guess with Rem it made two of us, but still, I couldn¡¯t see us two prodding away with a Goma¡¯s spear doing much to the Basilisk.

    And digging a pit thatrge wasn¡¯t exactly a viable option. Even with shovels, I highly doubt I had the stamina or will power to build even a human sized pit, let alone one for a 5 meter long creature.

    And let¡¯s say I worked my ass off and did dig a Basilisk sized hole, and let¡¯s also say that I somehow got it to fall in. With the type of body it has, I could easily see it just climb out like an oversized newt.

    ¡°I gotta think more outside the box. I¡¯m a Shaman, and what¡¯s a Shaman have¡­¡±

    Right, Curses. No impressive finishing moves, no indominable strength, and no lightning fast wits. What this high school otaku got from his patron God Ruinhilde was solely the power of Curses.

    And so I had to work with what I had. I had to think up more and more ways to make use of these Curses.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I sighed, ¡°looks like I¡¯ll need to do a lot more experimenting.¡±

    And once I went and decided on that, I figured I should just try out every little idea I had.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start off with, Mud Doll.¡±

    ¡°GAGA?¡±

    Oh, I didn¡¯t mean you Rem.

    I¡¯m thinking of making a second one. Which reminds me, thest time I tried this, before that Orthus fight, I¡¯d run out of mana mid way, and the ritual ended in failure. Currently, I could tell by intuition that I could handle having 2 at the same time without much effort, but I wanted to avoid copsing from mana depletion if at all possible.

    It didn¡¯t have to be as strong as my current Mantis gear Rem, just making one that can wield a spear would help a lot with our DPS.

    ¡°The parts are, okay-ish.¡±

    The mud base would be the stuff from this zone. The skeleton being a Skeleton since I didn¡¯t have anything better. And, let¡¯s just throw in some Mandragoras.

    This should be enough for a trial run.

    ¡°Alright¨D¨D¡±

    I dropped blood from my bloodseal, and recited the full aria. Let¡¯s see where this gets us¡­

    ¡°¨D ¨D Hawa!?¡±

    My eyes shot open. The first thing I saw was the familiar white ceiling of the Fairy Square.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I passed out again?¡±

    ¡°GA.¡±

    Rem nodded, standing beside me and looking down. Come on, you gotta be kidding me.

    I¡¯d went and depleted my mana again.

    ¡°Tsk,¡± I clicked, ¡°gone and wasted all that time.¡±

    I honestly felt like I could do it with my current mana, but it seems I¡¯d overestimated myself. And here I was, so excited to get double the Rems, why does my body have to be so weak all the time?

    ¡°GA, GA!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Rem, I¡¯m not that depressed.¡±

    Rem was patting me on the shoulder which, I guess was her trying to be considerate. I mean, she didn¡¯t have to do it that awkwardly, but, wait, that¡¯s,

    There was another Rem.

    No, this wasn¡¯t the same one with the green Mantis parts, this new one was the familiar small, ck skeleton type that I had a while ago.

    ¡°H-holy shit! It worked, it worked!!¡±

    So apparently it took all my mana to make, but I now had an all new Vile Mud Doll.

    ¡°Awesome, now to name you¨D¨D¡±

    I was excited to name the new one, when I suddenly noticed, or should I say, kind of knew already? Anyway, because of the link I had with Rem, I understood something.

    ¡°¨D ¨D Huh, so you¡¯re Rem too?¡±

    ¡°GAGA.¡±

    Rem and the second one both nodded. Like, simultaneously to the dot, as if Rem was controlling both bodies.

    I don¡¯t know if I should say that Rem had a personality, but she was still something like an AI that controlled a body. So I¡¯d always thought that if I made a second one, then a different AI would take control of that body.

    But Rem was in fact manipting both these Mud Dolls. Two bodies with one mind. I couldn¡¯t really imagine how it worked, but maybe it was easy for Rem as she was born from a Curse.

    ¡°Okay then,¡± I epted, ¡°so how¡¯s the new body? Can you move it normally?¡±

    ¡°GAGAA!¡±

    The Rems started shadowboxing to prove that there were indeed no issues. The original Mantis ded Rem swung around her Mantis des, while the second one punched the air. Oh, it just made a kick too.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡±

    ¡°GA!¡±

    Rem appealed again, which for some reason, sounded to me like she was saying ¡®You bet¡¯cha!¡¯ Must be my imagination.

    Anyway, so no problems on the control front. Rem will be able to control both of her bodies withoutg or confusion. She won¡¯t get into problems in, say, moving both left arms at the same time.

    What¡¯s best of all was that both of them fighting together would not even be teamwork. With one mind, they could move perfectly in sync.

    ¡°And that makes Rem all the more powerful¡­¡±

    And all bodies of Rem would be controlled by the sole Rem, making for precise and crisp movement. Oh boy, oh man, I¡¯m getting excited! Is it finally time to unleash my Super Awesome Servant Army!?

    ¡°Beating that Basilisk, I, I might just be able to do it.¡±

    Let¡¯s just called the second Rem, #2. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 76: How to Draw a Hexagram

    Chapter 76: How to Draw a Hexagram

    A sess like this was a good starting point. I needed some time to recover my mana now, so to best make use of this free time, I took Rem and #2 with me to go and observe the Basilisk some more.

    The Basilisk was in its usual spot,zing around as always, while I was also only casually observing the beast. I still felt like a pro cameraman just waiting for that perfect shot.

    As for today¡¯s events, no stupid Gomas had run into the Basilisk¡¯s territory, and neither were there any stray Matangos. The zone Boss only got up to have it¡¯s big breakfast of Mandragoras and didn¡¯t do much else.

    But one new thing did happen.

    ¡°This, it¡¯s definitely the thing¡¯s skin.¡±

    Doing a once over on the Mandragora fields, I saw a white piece of skin just lying there. It had an area of around 30 cm squared. This was by no means something I¡¯d caused, for example, by attacking the Basilisk when it least expected it and tearing off a piece of skin.

    ¡°So this Basilisk sheds too.¡±

    Meaning that this was naturally shed off skin. How the Basilisk, or any monster for that matter, was born in this dungeon was still an unknown for me, but I knew that this monster in particr needed to sleep and eat. It was a living being. It shedding its skin could be a sign of growth, and if not, it could just be a way to get rid of its old skin.

    Incidentally, I had #2 go to the field and collect the skin.

    ¡°Mng, using it for Rem parts kinda seems¡­ iffy.¡±

    With how small it was, I didn¡¯t think it could cover all of Rem with the skin. I¡¯d expect that a few parts of her body would get some white skin patchwork at most, which would be less defensive and more ornamental. And frankly, we had no time to make fashion statements.

    ¡°Ah, wait, I¡¯ve got just the right use for this.¡±

    It was as if a lightbulb flicked on on top of my head. I¡¯d spent the day resting and watching the Basilisk, so my mana had recovered enough to shoot a few Curses before going to bed.

    ¡°¨D¨DRotten Bog.¡±

    I let loose a drop of blood and made a puddle sized bog. I then cut off a small piece of the Basilisk¡¯s shed skin andid it down on the acid puddle. Then I waited¡­

    ¡°Damn it, it¡­ wait, it is, it¡¯s melting. Yes!¡±

    With this little experiment, I tested whether my Rotten Bog would really work on the Basilisk¡¯s skin.

    In games and fantasy, Basilisks that specialized in their acidic breath always had strong resistances for simr type attacks. It was like fighting a dragon with fire, I¡¯d almost assumed that the Basilisk was immune to any and all poison.

    But the only way I could even imagine defeating a creature sorge was by using the Curse that had the most damage output: Rotten Bog. If my acidic swamp had an effect on it, I could finally start thinking up a n of action.

    ¡°Damn, this might just actually possibly work.¡±

    The Basilisk skin wasn¡¯t showing any changes for the first few seconds in the puddle bog, but soon enough, I could see small bubbles forming on it, and gradually, the piece had started melting. Roughly estimating, I could see that it took more time to dissolve than Mantis shell, but it definitely wasn¡¯t immune. Which was good, since if it¡¯d been as tough as Armorbear shell, I might¡¯ve just given up on this mission altogether.

    Anyway, this basically meant that I could use Rotten Bog on it effectively. It could be that its meat, that is, the muscle under the skin, is even more resistant to acids, but I really didn¡¯t want to imagine that possibility.

    ¡°Which leaves me with the problem of how I¡¯m going to make a Basilisk sized Rotten Bog.¡±

    The biggest one I could make now was just barely 4 meters long. The Basilisk was at least 5 meters by my estimate and it had quite the girth too. I needed a way to make a Rotten Bog that could hold the massive creature with room to spare, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 meters squared.

    On that note, I had a few problems to deal with. Namely, mana, casting speed, and whether I had enough blood to make it work.

    I mean, I could probably do it if I put my all into it, but killing the Basilisk would in no way end with simplyying down a bog. I¡¯d have to hold it in ce for a pretty long time, long enough for it to die.

    In other words, I¡¯d have to employ ckhair Bind for a while after I was done setting the bog and luring the Basilisk into it. Which meant that I¡¯d need to use more mana.

    I had to make a huge Rotten Bog and then I had to maintain long and tough ropes of ckhair Bind to restrain the Basilisk until it died. And with my current total mana reserves, such a feat was¡­ yeah, impossible.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll need a way to increase my mana, or alternatively, find a way to use less mana for my Curses.¡±

    I kept mulling over what I needed to do as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

    The next morning, I decided on continuing my Curse experiments.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get myself a sacrifice!¡±

    I call it the, ¡®Please, my Lord, Ruinhilde-sama, ept this sacrificial ritual and grant me one big awesome super Curse¡¯-n.

    I¡¯ll be frank, I had no idea whether this whole sacrificial shindig was going to do anything, but I also didn¡¯t know if it¡¯ll do <i>something</i>, so I¡¯d just try. I¡¯d justify my actions on the fact that the spells in this world are highly dependent on the caster¡¯s image of it, and thus, me doing something so Shaman-like should get me results.

    Since I already had to use parts and ingredients for Rem, I figured that a Shaman was the sort of Job that could make use of real world things in its other Curses too. So what I called a sacrifice would simply be another ingredient. Well, basically, it¡¯s just some guesswork on my part.

    ¡°That¡¯s the n, so let¡¯s go and get them, Rem.¡±

    ¡°GAGAGA!¡±

    Rem and #2 were raring to go, and the three of us then temporarily left the poison marsh zone and headed back into the ruins that led here.

    ¡°¨D¨D Wow, with the second Rem, I actually feel a lot more at ease. Thanks you two, you¡¯re the best.¡±

    ¡°GAGAA!¡±

    And after some time, we¡¯d done what we set out to do. Here are the day¡¯s pickings:

    Goma Corpse: A freshly killed Goma corpse that I killed by wringing its neck, so there was no blood or other wounds. I have two of these and Rem and #2 carried them back to base, one each.

    Matango Corpse: Found this one waddling around the Fairy Square so I grabbed it. I used my ranged knife tentacle attack and sent in Rem and #2 up close and personal as they were immune to whatever poison the Matango released. This walking mushroom was one of the easiest things for me to hunt.

    Monster Blood: Blood I collected from Gomas and Red Dogs and the like while they were still alive. I¡¯ve stored them inside the leather sacks the Gomas carried their water or booze in. I have around 2 liters.

    Core Fragment: Really small shards of monster core that the small mobs sometimes had. Rem went and collected them for me.

    I guess it wasn¡¯t a proper sacrifice since I was using corpses, but all these gory ingredients gave off a good shaman-y feel.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try with just the blood first.¡±

    I started off the experiments with the ¡®cheapest¡¯ ingredients. The cores, no matter how small, were still raw crystallized mana. I was pretty sure they¡¯d give me some boosts, so I was saving those for the actual fight.

    I poured a cup¡¯s worth of Goma blood on the ground, added a drop of my own blood, and invoked Rotten Bog.

    ¡°It¡¯s bigger¡­ but not by arge margin.¡±

    From yesterday¡¯s skin experiment, I remembered how big the bog was with 1 drop, so I could clearly tell that adding Goma blood slightly extended its breadth.

    ¡°But that¡¯s alright. Now I <i>know</i> that it does something.¡±

    If pushes to shove, I could very well collect a tub load of blood. Between Rem, #2, and I, we should be able to carry it all rtively fast.

    ¡°Time¡¯s a wastin¡¯.¡±

    I redid the experiment with all sorts ofbinations, and jotted down the results.

    It felt strange to use my notebook as a notebook, and not as a magicpass. It also felt odd holding a pen after so long. I made a table with my gathered ingredients and noted down the effects gained with a mix of 2 ingredients. Once that was done, I increased the number of ingredients to 3, then 4, and repeated thebination experiments.

    That said, my resources were limited and I couldn¡¯t do anything massive. I carefully measured out the more potent ingredients to be as efficient as possible.

    This work kept me busy for another 3 days. The time wasn¡¯t only used on the doing of the experiments but also time for going out hunting for ingredients and time required to replenish my blood and mana.

    ¡°Kind of went overboard there¡­ I need to start organizing.¡±

    After a few days of hunting monsters, which were mostly Gomas by the way, the Fairy Square I was upying had be littered with all manner of loot. Of course, I¡¯d left the bodies and other raw stuff outside, but killing all those Gomas basically meant I ended up collecting a whole bunch of their equipment and items. At some point, I¡¯d started thinking that I could find some use for literally <i>everything</i> they had, and now there were a bunch of dead, naked Gomas right outside my base.

    But the experiments were going quite well. I¡¯d gotten lots of little tools to use, and eventually, I¡¯d made a new discovery.

    ¡°This, I can use¡­ this, magic circle.¡±

    Magic circle. It¡¯s something that¡¯s appeared a lot, be it for granting us our Jobs, the all-importantpass, and even the somewhat useless texted updates.

    What I had discovered was that I could use them in my Curses too.

    ¡°The effects change slightly depending on how I arrange the ingredients.¡±

    That¡¯s right, by just changing how I ced the sacrifice items on the circle, I could manipte the Rotten Bog¡¯s size and depth.

    ¡°Circr ones are best.¡±

    The first magic circle we all had to draw in our notebooks was circr. I was sure that this shape would wield the best effect, even for my Curses. Just to be sure, I made sure to test with triangles and squares, but those didn¡¯t have as much effect as the circles.

    I drew out these circles as precisely as possible, with blood, of course.

    And drawing a perfect circle was easy. All I had to do was stick a spear at the center and tie another spear to it with a ckhair rope. Then I just circled around the first spear with the rope in a slight tension and carved the circle into the ground with the second spear.

    Pouring blood along this guideline gave me a perfect circle,pleting the first step.

    ¡°And I ce the ingredients in a hexagram.¡±

    I then drew a hexagram within the circle and arranged the ingredients on the 6 points where the shape touched the circle. For a while, I was at a loss as to how to draw a perfect hexagram, but let¡¯s not talk about that.

    First, I speared a point anywhere on the perimeter of the circle. Point A. The center point I already made when drawing the circle is point O. The line going from A to O and then straight until it reaches the other side of the circle is point B. Thus the line AB is the circle¡¯s diameter.

    After points A and B are in ce, I then drew an arc of the same radius centering on A. This should be obvious, but what I did was stab the spear on A, lifted the spear at the center O, and arced on the ckhair rope until I reached the circle on both sides. The intersections of the arc with the circle are points C and D. In other words, if A is the top, C and D are to its left and right. I then repeated the process with point B now as the center and got points E and F.

    Now I just had to draw the triangles AEF and BCD and vo, a perfect six-sided star, AKA, a hexagram.

    And after I painted the hexagram in blood, I now had a basic magic circle.

    Finally, at the center I copied the Bloodseal mark on my palm that had an eye-like shape, and drew that freehand on the center of the circle.

    Now I just had to ce the 6 ingredients on the 6 points of the hexagram.

    Which went clockwise from the top as follows: A Skeleton¡¯s Skull, a Mandragora, some Red Dog Blood, a Zombie¡¯s Head, some Goma Booze, and a Plumshroom. I piled a Goma and a Matango corpse at the center, and skewered them in ce with a spear.

    ¡°And, done.¡±

    This right here was the ritual circle I created after countless trial and error. This would get me the maximum effect out of my Rotten Bog. Looking it over, I took in how simr it turned out to the ult fiction back on Earth. Maybe the fanatics back there were on to something. Though, I guess this might just be due to my own mental image of this kind of ritual. Anyway, all this work had led me to a process where I could gain a much more massive bog without expending any extra blood or magic.

    I named this circle the Hexagram Eye.

    Just hexagram wouldn¡¯t do at all since I didn¡¯te up with the shape, but I figured I should give it a simr name. Gotta give my props to the math gods.

    After all, the only part that could be called a personal touch would be the central eye symbol I got from Ruinhilde-sama.

    ¡°I can win¡­ I can beat the Basilisk, with this.¡±

    This can give me the edge I need.

    I can do it. I can kill the Basilisk. I was ready to solo challenge a dungeon Boss.

    For the next 2 days, I focused on preparing for the confrontation. Well, it wasn¡¯t that different from what I was doing before, just more hunting mobs, mainly Gomas, and collecting items and ingredients.

    There was a quiet agitation in my heart. This wasn¡¯t something like a surprise encounter with an Armorbear, and I didn¡¯t have Mei-chan with me anymore. I had the weakest Job, Shaman, and I was trying to fight a massive foe, a Boss, all on my own. This would be the first time I was risking my life on my own volition. I was nervous as could be.

    ¡°Listen up, Rem, I¡¯m gonna exin the n.¡±

    ¡°GAGA.¡±

    Rem nodded seriously. We¡¯d gotten all our preparatory materials and I spoke out the n, mostly in order to make sure I myself knew it.

    ¡°First, we¡¯ll have #2 carry a Goma as bait and lure away the Basilisk.¡±

    I¡¯ve confirmed that the Basilisk moves to hunt down any monster, Goma or otherwise, that gets too close to its Mandragora field. It did this every time during the time I was observing it.

    But to make sure this works, I¡¯d need live Gomas, not corpses. I already had 2 of those. I¡¯d captured and tied them up outside the Square, and had Rem #2 on watch. With all my experience hunting them, I could now capture one alive without issue.

    ¡°We lure it to the Hexagram Eye I¡¯ve already set up. If #2 gets eaten along the way, the n fails and we fall back.¡±

    Every step needed to happen as nned, or else we¡¯re bound to mess up if we improvise. We could retreat if the live bait part doesn¡¯t work out and think up a new n. We were facing a monster so we could get away with doing simr ns a couple times without it realizing what we were up to. Or at least, I hoped.

    ¡°And once the Basilisk is on the ritual circle, I¡¯ll cast Rotten Bog right under it.¡±

    The real fight begins here.

    ¡°I¡¯ll instantly follow up with ckhair Bind, and hold it down. But only the head.¡±

    If it gets a chance to use its breath, I¡¯m done for. My first priority will be to hold its mouth closed tight.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to do anything with its body. That¡¯s where Rem and #2es in. You guys need to attack it as much as you can.¡±

    The more we can make it bleed, the better. Worst case, if it gets out of my bog, it¡¯ll still be injured enough that we can chase it down and kill it.

    ¡°With its massive frame, it¡¯s sure to thrash around a lot. We¡¯ll be using ranged tactics.¡±

    For that too, I¡¯ve prepared a few things:

    Red Knife Spear: I attached the Red Knife to a Goma spear. Great for stabbing the Basilisk from a safe distance.

    Torch Oil: The oil that Gomas use in their torches. I stocked up every pouch I could find and have a total of 2 liters.

    ¡°#2, you¡¯re on oiling duty. And Rem, you¡¯ll go stabby with the Red Knife and light it up. We¡¯ll turn it into BBQ lizard.¡±

    Just stabbing won¡¯t do any decisive damage to a monster that big. We¡¯d use the oil topensate for thatck of muscle.

    ¡°You need to make sure to only set fire to its hind area. If the mes reach its head, it could burn off my ckhair and I¡¯ll be decayed toast.¡±

    ¡°GAGA.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how this whole struggle with time will y out, and won¡¯t know until we actually went out and did it. But I wanted to keep an optimistic attitude.

    ¡°After you¡¯ve used up all the oil and set fire to it, don¡¯t stop attacking. All those spears, axes and knives we gathered up, give it all to the Basilisk, and give it good.¡±

    ¡°GAGAA!!¡±

    The Rems nodded with spirit. We¡¯re gonna stab the thing with every edged Goma weapon we got our hands on in the past week.

    ¡°The rest just depends on how long I can manage to bind it down.¡±

    This was the most important job. Everything would go to shit if I can¡¯t restrain the Basilisk with my tentacles. A big responsibility was on my head. Well, mostly because I was the only one here.

    It was nerve-wracking. It was extremely scary. But I had to try. If I didn¡¯t, I could never move forward.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this¨D¨D¡± This chapter was sponsored by Nn N. (and there''ll be more!)

 Chapter 77: Basilisk Subjugation

    Chapter 77: Basilisk Subjugation

    Me and the Rems had to make 3 round trips to and from the Fairy Square and the crescent moat in order to carry over all the stuff.

    ¡°haah¡­ haah¡­ I, need, a break.¡±

    We¡¯d set out full of energy and determination, but all that heavy lifting really took it out of me. I took a short break before setting everything up on location.

    I wasn¡¯t rushing. The Basilisk wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere today, or tomorrow, or the day after for that matter. Our prey is guaranteed to stay put and we had the advantage of choosing when to attack. This was one of the only merits of a Boss battle.

    ¡°And¡­ done. Not too shabby huh.¡±

    I was done drawing the Hexagram Eye to my liking. I¡¯d already repeated this many times for practice, so I¡¯d like to think I got somewhat good at it.

    I spent a lot of time thinking about where it¡¯d be best to draw this magic circle, finally settling on a spot at a corner of the Mandragora farm. If I got any closer, the Basilisk was likely to sense me as an invader, so I chose the nearest spot out of its range. If I wasn¡¯t willing to take this risk, it might even give up chasing after the bait, not want to get too far from its territory.

    And right now, I was ready. I gathered up my courage and set my n into motion.

    ¡°Alright, Rem. Do it.¡±

    ¡°GAGA!!¡±

    ¡°GuGyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!¡±

    Rem stabbed our little live bait Goma with a knife, not to kill it, but to have it bleed out little by little. So I had it stabbed in its nk, and it shrieked in pain. Of course, it was unable to move, or even thrash around, since I also had it tied up hard and tight.

    The smell of blood and loud screaming was sure to attract the Basilisk¡¯s full attention. And it was fine if the Goma somehow ended up escaping its bindings, since it¡¯d bleed out and die anyway.

    And damn was it loud. With the bound, madly wailing Goma now affixed firmly onto #2¡¯s back, the Mud Doll set off in the Basilisk¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Rem, you hide over there.¡±

    ¡°GA!¡±

    Rem and Iid down in our handmade ghillies and patiently waited for the big fish to take the bait.

    The path from here to the Basilisk was open, without anyrge obstacles on the way, and gave me a clear view of the Boss in the distance. #2 was walking straight to the target without faltering and the Basilisk was still sitting in its usual spot.

    ¡°¡­ Got ¡®em.¡±

    Once #2 passed the half way point, the Basilisk stiffly raised its body. This timing was within my expectations as it always showed some reaction once moving prey got that close. It didn¡¯t seem to act any differently this time too.

    ¡°That¡¯s far enough, stop.¡±

    It¡¯d be a bad idea to wait for the Basilisk to start chasing #2 since she wasn¡¯t all that fast, and it¡¯d just catch her before she made it back. She was also carrying a Goma, so there was that extra weight too.

    In order to sessfully lure it into our trap, #2 still needed to maintain some distance.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, almost¡­ now!¡±

    #2 turned back and went into a sprint, acting as if she was a dumb Goma that only just realized that there was a Basilisk there. The Boss in question reacted to this and started running after her, albeit somewhat slowly.

    It took the bait!

    ¡°Come on,e on¡­¡±

    #2 ran. The Basilisk chased. It ran in a way that didn¡¯t look fast and furthermore, didn¡¯t make any sound. But it was slowly and surely closing in on #2.

    Wait, is it gonna, no, they¡¯re too far, but then again, wait no, uh, maybe?

    ¡°¨D¨D Oh shit!!¡±

    While worrying if it¡¯d even make it all the way here, the Basilisk practically was.

    ¡°GA!¡±

    Rem yelled powerfully, and in the same moment, #2 dived right at the center of the ritual circle like a high school batter sliding into the home te.

    The ingredients were all in position at their respective points. The center had an offering of an almost fresh Matango corpse.

    And on top of that, #2 swerved and threw the bleeding Goma she¡¯d been carrying. With this, the final piece of the sacrifice was in ce.

    #2, now on all fours, made like a cockroach, and scuttled out of the way. And then¨D¨D

    ¡°<i>Boaaaah!</i>¡±

    The Basilisk opened its maw wide and went in for the writhing Goma.

    Perfect timing.

    ¡°Putrefy, in the depths of vile red¨D¨D Rotten Bog!¡±

    The scene changed vividly, yet in an instant. The circle and offerings transformed into blood red bog, and stretched out like a flood.

    Yes, get wider, get deeper. Get so big that you can swallow that acid breath monster whole.

    ¡°Bubgh, baaaaah!¡±

    Half of the Basilisk¡¯s body was now within my bog. I heard it¡¯s ear-piercing, shrill scream along with, yes, a very satisfying sizzle of melting flesh.

    It was working. Its skin wasn¡¯t tough enough to withstand my Rotten Bog. Its front and back legs along with the bottom half of its torso was under acid and it was definitely in a lot of pain. Of course it was. I¡¯d never seen it scream like that before.

    ¡°Now die in my acid¨D¨D¡±

    In my right hand I held not a de but a collection of small core fragments I¡¯d umted from mobs, while in my left hand, I had some Power Seeds. Hadn¡¯t used these in forever.

    I tossed the offerings in both of my hands into the giant bog.

    ¡°¨D¨Dckhair Bind!¡±

    And the jet ck tentacles that then rose from within the super powered bog was simrly powerful. These ckhair tentacles were the thickest and longest I¡¯d ever made.

    The ritual would not only grant power to Rotten Bog, but also to my binding Curse, ckhair Bind, depending on the ingredients offered, of course. Though, the only things I found to be effective for this purpose were the core fragments which supplemented my mana and Power Seeds that slightly increased the Curse¡¯s strength.

    But a slight increase was better than none at all. This battle was going to be a true test of strength for my ckhair Bind. I was better off using up the cores shards that hadn¡¯t been useful at all so far.

    A total of 4 tentacles appeared. They all wrapped around the Basilisk¡¯s head, tightening around its rubbery skin. I had now sealed its mouth shut, disabling its corrosive breath.

    I¡¯d heard that crocodiles, despite having insane biting force, didn¡¯t possess as much strength in terms of opening their maws. I really hoped this big guy was built the same way and focused my mana on binding its mouth shut.

    ¡°Ugh, a, damn it, uuh¡­ uuuuuurrgh!¡±

    The Basilisk was thrashing around, obviously, but now that I was holding it, I bodily felt its strength, a strength fitting for its massive frame. I felt a tremendous resistance that, if I were to rx my concentration for an instant, would tear all the ckhairs apart.

    Currently I was standing right in front of the beast¡¯s nose with my arms stretched out in front of me, trying to stand stock still with my utmost effort. I realized that I must look like a really dumb sidewalk mime artist.

    But right now, I couldn¡¯t afford to think about stepping to the side and out of the way, or taking up a weapon and striking the Basilisk since, the moment my hold on it breaks, it will rush forward to escape my bog, and really, one tackle from its massive frame should be more than enough to finish me off.

    This was ridiculous. In my head I was standing in a much safer position than this ¡®face-off¡¯.

    ¡°Gh! Garrgghhhh!¡±

    It whined in pain with its mouth bound. Must be the Rems attacking.

    I could see ck smoke rising from behind the Basilisk¡¯s back. Looks like they set it on fire as per my instructions.

    The albino beast squirmed in pain as its ass was literally on fire. Its bulky legs kicked around inside the bog as it tried to swerve its body from side to side.

    ¡°Shit¡­ dammit, damn you, die¡­ just die, you fuck¡­¡±

    Maybe the Rotten Bog wasn¡¯t as effective as I thought. No wait, maybe, right now, it was just my sense of time that had slowed down due to the adrenaline, and my bog was actually making quick work of its lower body.

    But the fact of the matter was that I was reaching the limits of my stamina, while the Boss still had strength to spare, what with the way it was rocking violently.

    Looks like they ran out of oil. Rem and #2 were currently busy throwing all the random weapons we¡¯d gathered. Some hit, some were knocked away, but overall, it didn¡¯t look like there was much of an effect.

    Wecked a decisive blow. The hell. The hell is this. I¡¯m gonna die. Mei-chan, where are you.

    ¡°Urrghhhh¡­¡±

    No. I won¡¯t wish for miracles. I still have strenght left, so I refuse to just give in. I can¡¯t hope that she¡¯ll save me.

    <i>¡°Save me, Nii-san.¡±</i>

    The image of Souma Sakura wishing to be saved was ying back inside my head.

    And she was saved. We were all saved. By her brother, by the Hero, by Souma Yuuto. He¡¯d rescued us in the nick of time. I realized then just what he was. I understood how she could believe in him. Believe that he¡¯d be there.

    But I won¡¯t. I refuse to believe that someone will juste and save me.

    It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t believe in anyone. I was sure that Mei-chan was doing her best to search for me even now.

    What I couldn¡¯t believe in, what I couldn¡¯t put faith in, was luck. I didn¡¯t think I was particrly lucky. But I didn¡¯t think I was born unlucky either. In this dungeon, I¡¯d been saved many times by outside intervention, by someone else. And I considered that pretty lucky for me despite ending up a weak Shaman.

    But in the face of true hopelessness, in the even of a crisis that spelled almost certain doom, in those moments of utter despair, something like a hero swooping in to save me, believing 100% that I¡¯d be saved no matter what, was just not something I could do.

    Why would I? Us humans had limits, all of us. Reality would always catch up. There is no hero. And even if there was, that hero won¡¯t appear every time. He won¡¯t even appear most times, really. He can¡¯t save everyone.

    Seeing Souma Sakura, I felt like she just didn¡¯t get that, it was like she didn¡¯t even know such a thing was possible. She believed in him with every fiber of her being. She believed in her brother, in Souma Yuuto.

    In short, she believed from the bottom of her heart that she¡¯d be saved, definitely, and from any crisis.

    And me, I couldn¡¯t stand to be that idiotic.

    ¡°Gghhhaaaaaaaaaaa!¡±

    So I won¡¯t give up. I¡¯ll put up a fight, I¡¯ll struggle till the bitter end.

    ¡°GAGAA!!¡±

    It was then that I saw that Rem was climbing up on the Basilisk.

    Throwing wasn¡¯t working out, so she¡¯d done this to attack directly. Wait, but I hadn¡¯t ordered her to do that.

    No, was Rem actually acting on her own initiative?

    ¡°GA! GA!!¡±

    Rem used one hand to stab the Red Knife into the Basilisk and, using it as a hold, she swiped down the Mantis de on her other arm over and over.

    Stop, get off, if you fall off, it¡¯s all over, dammit.

    ¡°GAGAAAAA!!¡±

    Rem payed no heed to my worries and kept stabbing and shing like crazy.

    She got close to falling off many times, but managed to stab into the Basilisk to brace herself.

    ¡°¨D¨D oooo, bauooh.¡±

    Finally, finally, the Basilisk¡¯s frantic resistance was weakening.

    ¡°Al, most¡­¡±

    It was still moving and I had no intention of rxing my hold on it. But I could definitely feel its strength waning.

    Soon. Very soon. I was fine. My mana and concentration were both nearing their ends but I was fine. Now, it only had to slowly melt away. Rotten Bog would do the rest.

    ¡°Hah, hahaha¡­ You did it, Rem!¡±

    I hadn¡¯t let up. My hands were still raised. I wouldn¡¯t mess up now.

    So, what happened next could only be called a surprise, it was simply the Basilisk doing somethingpletely off my expectations.

    ¡°Buoooohhhhh!!¡±

    In an instant, my world was died purple.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Wait what? It¡¯s not the breath attack is it? It¡¯s not the damn Basilisk¡¯s acid breath, right?

    How? Why? It¡¯s mouth is still clothed shut.

    ¡°Ah, oh¡­¡±

    So that was it. It was those gill slits it had on its face, like the ones on amprey. It shot out all this purple from there. It happened all too fast, but I¡¯d caught a glimpse. I saw those creepy whatever-holes spewing out the stuff like a pinched water hose. And then, everything went a very venomous purple.

    Shit, shit dammit. How was I supposed to even know about that¡­

    And while in the middle ofining, I came to a quick and obvious realization:

    Oh, I died. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 78: Vessel

    Chapter 78: Vessel

    ¡°¨D ¨D Ha!?¡±

    I woke up with a start. It was still dark, so my eyes were fine opening instantly.

    ¡°Momokawa Kotarou, adherent of mine.¡±

    A skull face was right in my face before I knew anything.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaahhh!?¡±

    The first thought that crossed my mind was a sudden invasion of Skeleton mobs, but I did in fact know this particr skeleton face. He was an ally, or actually, he was my patron God.

    ¡°Ah, eh, um, I mean... Ruinhilde-sama, I uh... have I perhaps, um, died?¡±

    I was in this God¡¯s dimension.

    Seeing his face first thing after waking up really knocked the drowsiness out of me, which was when I started remembering everything.

    We were moments close to finishing off the Basilisk when its fumes shot out from those gill slits. I should maybe consider myself lucky to have died instantly from that. When Gomas got hit by its gas, they always screamed in extreme agony before inevitably dying.

    ¡°Well done, for you have realized the second truth. And for this, I shall praise you.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What, I mean, thank you, my lord...¡±

    Excuse me, but rather than the usual deep and mystical lecture, I¡¯d really like to know if I¡¯m still alive or not please. Still, it¡¯s not often that I get praised by a God, so I think something good mighte from this.

    ¡°First, know that the star of another realm that you traced is not a thing to be considered a true magic circle. Yet, it is also true that what you made contains part of the Truth.¡±

    ¡°Um, do you mean, the Hexagram Eye?¡±

    My patron God nodded. So since hexagrams were a concept from Earth, I guess they really were from another realm in Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s perspective.

    ¡°I had believed to grant this to you much timeter, but you have shown me agreeable growth¨D¨D It is yours, Momokawa Kotarou.¡±

    Ruinhilde-sama raised a bony finger and a poison bog-like pool started bubbling up in front of me. This pool quickly formed into a jet ck lump.

    ¡°Um, what exactly is this?¡±

    ¡°A vessel of chaos. With endless possibilities, it garners man¡¯s hope, yet, is trifling. The holder makes its use.¡±

    ¡°I see, so it will depend on how I use it.¡±

    I just responded appropriately, but I honestly didn¡¯t want to have to do anything with this Vessel of Chaos thing. I just stared at it, and had absolutely no desire to get my hands near any of that ck, goopy whatever.

    Well, from the looks of it, the lump appeared like arge soup pot.

    The inside of this pot was a swirling ck that seemed to go on for eternity, churning chaos as if it would be able to grant any and all desires.

    Quite the curse-like effect I must admit, but, huh, I think I¡¯ve seen this before.

    ¡°This is... just like Mud Doll.¡±

    ¡°Its uses are many. Use this Cauldron as you will, proliferate your Curse.¡±

    I see, so it was simr to Takanashi Kotori¡¯s Upgrade in that I could make stuff by adding the right ingredients. So a production type Curse.

    ¡°My utmost thanks.¡±

    I do hope I can get a Curse strong enough to one-shot something like a Basilisk one of these days. But it¡¯d be very rude to say that so I didn¡¯t.

    Anyway, from the way this conversation was going¡­ didn¡¯t it mean that I was actually still alive?

    ¡°Second, the Mud Doll does indeed have a soul.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so Rem does have her own personality!¡±

    Now with this topic, I caught on right off the bat.

    ¡°You appear to be quite fond of it.¡±

    ¡°Sure am. Rem¡¯s really great.¡±

    I mean, she still looks like a Skeleton, but she always listens to me, works hard, and even ends up saving me a lot of the time. Rem¡¯s such a lovable little thing.

    ¡°Very well, it seems I have no need to speak to you on the way of Dolls. Do well to use your Mud Doll as you are.¡±

    It¡¯s not often that Ruinhilde-sama spoke this directly. And since I was inplete agreement with his words, I honestly agreed with a ¡®Yes.¡¯

    ¡°Now be off, Momokawa Kotarou, for you have already opened the gates of possibility¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°¡­ Ah, damn, I¡¯m alive, I¡¯m really alive.¡±

    I muttered solemnly. I mean, I always felt relief wash over me after an intense life or death struggle, but this sense of achievement was something I hadn¡¯t had since that first Armorbear way back when.

    ¡°And I actually beat the Basilisk.¡±

    In front of meid a giant lizard type skeleton. There was no trace of the Rotten Bog and the ground had returned to its usual cold, dry mud. Which meant that this huge skeletal frame had to be from the Basilisk.

    ¡°Ah, good, the core¡¯s still there.¡±

    I could clearly see the red, glowing core through the mass of bones. I suspect that Rotten Bog continued working even after I passed out andpletely melted down the Basilisk¡¯s flesh. I didn¡¯t know if cores just didn¡¯t melt, or the Rotten Bog itself was being a nice guy and didn¡¯t melt it for my sake, but I¡¯m d it didn¡¯t. Otherwise, this whole ordeal would¡¯ve been for nothing.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, hey Rem, good work back there.¡±

    ¡°GAGA!¡±

    Rem, who was of course standing stock still by my side till I woke up, bobbled her skull happily at my words. This action was also followed by #2 who was standing beside Rem.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t jumped on the Basilisk, I doubt we¡¯d be able to take it down as fast as we did, if at all.¡±

    I patted her head. Rem¡¯s current skull head was covered in an insect shell helm, so it wasn¡¯t a point of whether it felt good to pat or not, but more like I needed to be careful since some parts of the shell were pretty sharp¡­ Well, I¡¯m thankful to her so I¡¯ll take the small risk anyway.

    If I had to guess, shooting it¡¯s toxic breath through those gill slits must¡¯ve been a sort ofst resort for the Basilisk too. Under Rem¡¯s mounted assault, my restraints and the bog still melting it to the bones, it must¡¯ve felt desperate enough to warrant such a tactic. Something like a cornered mouse situation.

    ¡°That reminds me, howe thatst breath didn¡¯t do anything to me? I¡¯m sure it hit me directly.¡±

    Anyway, I didn¡¯t feel any pain or other abnormalities with my body. Plus, I already knew from my observations that the Basilisk¡¯s breath had no effect on any of my clothes or items.

    ¡°Huh, should I just consider it an extra service from Ruinhilde-sama¡­?¡±

    I thought jokingly, but then I was suddenly confronted with some new information in my head that seemed to deny that possibility.

    Venomic Vessel: Chaotic innards that repel a hundred poisons. A Curse that tramples on venoms, providing truth to pain insurmountable.

    ¡°Eh, huh, innards¡­ like, wait, doesn¡¯t that mean my organs are really fucked up now!?¡±

    That¡¯s human experimentation, Ruinhilde-sama! The forbidden arts!! I felt like shouting to the sky as I started quickly patting all over my body to see if anything was weird.

    That being said, it wasn¡¯t like I could feel these inside differences from the outside. I at least knew it wasn¡¯t like an extra heart since nothing other than my original one was beating.

    I was guessing that Ruinhilde-sama gave me an extra organ that looked like that swirling lump of chaos he showed me.

    ¡°Wait wait, calm down, yeah. It¡¯s not like I lost anything. This is a plus.¡±

    I mean, surely he didn¡¯t do something like rece one of my kidneys with it, right? I should try to look at this in a more positive light, like a Passive Skill that neutralizes any poison.

    ¡°So basically, if even Basilisk breath won¡¯t affect me, I guess I don¡¯t need to worry about most poisons.¡±

    I still didn¡¯t want to put it to the test by eating a redshroom though. I didn¡¯t have the guts for that.

    Yeah, as always, the vague vor text didn¡¯t help. But if it turns out that this is what saved me from that breath, than I¡¯m all for it. If I end up getting hit by any poison attacks in the future, I¡¯m hoping Venomic Vessel will show its worth.

    ¡°Also, this Curse¡¯s name, I guess it refers to Gu, that super venom thing where they put a whole bunch of poisonous insects in a pot in a sort of battle royale. Where thest one surviving is said to have the most potent venom¡­¡±

    Nope, nuh uh. I was NOT going to be testing that out. Like, won¡¯t that mean I¡¯d have to swallow live poisonous bugs to add them to Venomic Vessel? Like seriously no. I¡¯d rather risk a redshroom than eat one of those creepy crawlies.

    But then again, the description does kind of hint at getting something out of the poisons other than immunity, so it might actually have hidden effects.

    ¡°Nope, I really don¡¯t want to find out after all.¡±

    I¡¯ll just settle for the new anti-venom passive skill. No, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m dissatisfied, Ruinhilde-sama. I¡¯m simply admitting that whatever offensive boosts this Venomic Vessel can provide, I¡¯m not yet worthy to make use of them.

    ¡°B-better luck next time I guess.¡±

    But then, as if I was being irritating with my disrespect, another piece of info popped into my head.

    Witch¡¯s Cauldron: The pot of a witch is not solely for meals. It is a vessel of chaos that can birth magic, curse and concoctions, healing and poison alike.

    ¡°Wait what? Did I just get 2 Curses at once?¡±

    Huh, wow, I did, didn¡¯t I.

    This one was a lot closer to the thing Ruinhilde-sama showed me back there. My guess is that if I used this Curse, I¡¯d get a pot like that Vessel of Chaos I saw.

    If this thing is as powerful as Upgrade, it should be very useful for any uing fights. In fact, since I could now easily hunt down small numbers of Gomas and Red Dogs, I could actually gather the parts and ingredients to use in making whatever it is I would eventually make.

    ¡°So with this I should be able to make my meds a lot better. No, it says poisons too¡­ Oh yeah, if I can do poisons, I want toce our weapons with them.¡±

    It was a big step forward, but not something I could test right now. Takanashi Kotori¡¯s Upgrade seemed to expend a lot of mana after all.

    I¡¯d gotten a nap just now when I went into God¡¯s dimension, so I could walk around fine, but my mana hadn¡¯t recovered quite as much.

    ¡°I should teleport out of here already. I can think about the rest at the Fairy Square.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t going to be waiting to be attacked now when I¡¯m still tired from the Boss fight. I started quickly gathering up all the Basilisk bones I could carry and made swift preparations to warp out.

    I still had a lot of extra weapons and things gathered up at my Fairy Square base in this zone, but they weren¡¯t so important that I would go out of my way to get them now. I¡¯d already used most of the better quality weapons in this fight, which ended up being lost in the bog.

    Well, the fact that Rem saved the Red Knife from that vor of doom was something to be d about. Otherwise I¡¯d be really depressed having lost a valuable magic weapon.

    ¡°Any time now¨D¨D¡±

    Me, Rem and #2 all now stood on the transfer circle tform that the Basilisk used doze around in all day.

    I just need to hold this core up and the rest should be automatic. And this time, there wasn¡¯t anyone going to push me off either.

    ¡°¨D¨DMh!¡±

    Shrouded in blinding white light, I teleported to the next zone.

    ¡°Ah, it feels like I finally did it.¡±

    I opened my eyes to a scene I could call home, a Fairy Square. I¡¯m d we get transferred to one of these every time without fail. The frog Boss, the Orthus, and now the Basilisk too. It¡¯s home sweet home to a Fairy Square right after a tough battle.

    ¡°Man, I¡¯m tired!¡±

    I needed some well deserved shut-eye. I threw down the Basilisk¡¯s skeletal loot to a side andid down on the soft, grassy bed that was the ground.

    I closed my eyes and found myself quickly bing sleepy, and soon I¡¯d be in thend of dreams¨D¨D

    ¡°¨D¨D Look what we have here, Momokawa, ya little git. Still haven¡¯t kicked the bucket eh?¡±

    If that voice didn¡¯t reach my ears. If that familiar tone didn¡¯t absolutely destroy my drowsiness.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually kinda impressed ya made it this far. Y¡¯know, with that lousy Job of yers.¡±

    My eyes fell on his mocking smile. His dyed brown hair, his piercings, and that extra gaudy way he wore his uniform. But I know all too well. That behind that frivolous attitude hid nothing but malice.

    ¡°Yo, looks like ya came to. Guess I should say it¡¯s good to see ya again?¡±

    I would never forget the name of my mortal enemy, the first person I met in this world and by whose hand I¡¯d suffered the worst humiliation. With hate welling out from every pore in my body, I spoke his name:

    ¡°Higuchi, Kyouya¡­¡± This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 79: Higuchi Kyouya ( 1 )

    Chapter 79: Higuchi Kyouya ( 1 )

    ¡°¡­ Tsk. Thief huh. Well fuck you too.¡±

    I cussed. I felt ashamed at how I thought I was gonna get some great power, and instead, ended up being a damn Thief.

    ¡°Yeah, guess I kinda overdid it in middle school.¡±

    Shoplifting was my calling in those days. I stole whatever I could get away with. I didn¡¯t even want most of the stuff. I just stole for the heck of it. For fun.

    While there were a lot of dumbasses of the same nature who eventually just got caught, I never did. At some point, I went and realized that I¡¯d better stop now or there¡¯s no going back. I just felt in my gut that it was time.

    So a month after I quit, one of my <i>lifting</i> buddies got himself caught in a collectibles shop trying to get his hands on this real high priced SSR card. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time till he was made to spill the names of all the other guys he was doing this with. I¡¯d been clean for a month and counting, and had already gotten rid of all the loot I brought in, so they didn¡¯t exactly have any solid proof against me. That said, my folks did end up finding out that their son went around shoplifting and they sure gave it to me.

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I wan¡¯t expectin¡¯ you to fuck up one¡¯a these days, gahahaha!¡±

    My old man said after getting a crapload of punches in. It¡¯s like that saying, like father like son. I figured out why I was like the way I am all the way back in middle school.

    All that having happened in my life, I was quickly convinced, or I guess, gave up on fighting the fact that I¡¯d gotten Thief out of all the Jobs.

    Then, when I epted that new Job as mine, my head strangely got ahold of more info.

    Throw Dagger: Throwin¡¯ a knife is the basics of the basics, mate.

    Search ¡¤ Hi Sense: Really gotta hone that intuition, and stuff like findin¡¯ treasure or sensin¡¯ danger¡¯ll be a cakewalk. And you got a talent for it I¡¯ll give ya that.

    Unlock: It¡¯s practically in the job description. Yeah, practice makes perfect and all that rat shit, but with some good intuition ya might just get lucky.

    Huh. Guess these are those Skill things.

    And what¡¯s up with these descriptions being like someone¡¯s screwing with me? God¡¯s saying this right? Yeah, I guess the God of Thieves ain¡¯t much better than one.

    And looks like Throw Dagger¡¯s the only one I can use to fight monsters and that crap. And I can¡¯t use it without a knife or something like that.

    I do have a knife with me though. It¡¯s a personal one. One of those butterfly knives that were big a couple generations ago. I got used to carrying one in middle school, and just ended up having it in my pocket in high school too. Plus, this little guy saved me a bunch of times when some random yankees from ck High popped up.

    The good way to use a knife isn¡¯t stabbing people, but having the skill to slice ¡®em on the arms and stuff. Can¡¯t get away with downright murder after all. But you get good with the knife, and suddenly its your best friend when ites to dealing with idiots. Some asshats out there like to think they¡¯re big shit if they know karate, or judo or boxing and the crap, but they got nothing on a ded weapon. One cut on the back of the hand and they go crying back to their mommas.

    ¡°But here we gotta kill or get killed, ain¡¯t it¨D¨D oy fuck!?¡±

    I got this sudden danger sense in my head and a chill up my back.

    What the fuck is this shit.

    Then I realized that it must¡¯ve been Search ¡¤ Hi Sense telling me that there¡¯s danger around. I was in an empty stone room. I looked out the door from there and found the issue.

    ¡°Oi oi oi, you mean <i>that¡¯s</i> one of em monsters? Ugly little fucker.¡±

    It was this short man-shaped creature that clearly wasn¡¯t human. It had cockroach-like ck skin and a face that looked ugly as sin. It had a rusted sword too.

    It was prowling around in the passage outside and breathing rough all the way.

    Crap. Fucker¡¯sing this way.

    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s now or I¡¯m dead.¡±

    I was ready to kill it. Calm down, I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s alone. Might have others somewhere but now, alone. This was my best chance to kill it.

    My hands shaked at first. But I pepped myself into stopping it. My butterfly knife felt sharper in my hand, now more than ever.

    ¡°Die, bitch.¡±

    And that¡¯s how I, Higuchi Kyouya, got started in this dungeon survival.

    ¡°¨D ¨D Ugh, it¡¯s <i>you.</i>¡±

    ¡°You sure are friendly after I just saved your ass.¡±

    I killed a bunch of those ugly little fucks, called Gomas apparently, and had gotten a bit more used to fighting like a Thief. And after a while, I heard a girl screaming and ran toward it.

    I already got the Hi Walk Skill so I made it there in no time at all. I arrived at a big dome with a forest growing inside. I found the girl too, she was surrounded by a pack of Gomas.

    She was a small girl, with short, ck hair. I panicked, thinking it might be Yukiko, and went to save her immediately. If it¡¯d turned out be some numbskull like Yokomichi, I would¡¯ve killed him together with the Gomas.

    And after I was done rescuing her, it turned out I was wrong.

    ¡°What? I know you thought I was Nagae-san, can¡¯t fool me.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Did I now.¡±

    ¡°So it was true, you two are dating after all.¡±

    ¡°Shut it. What¡¯s it to you?¡±

    The one that¡¯s been bitching on for thest few minutes, Shinohara Emi, was a girl who looked a lot like Nagae Yukiko, also a ssmate and the one I was secretly dating. But this girl and my girlfriend only shared the same height and hairstyle. In everything else, Yukiko¡¯s leagues above. Most guys thought that Yukiko looked nd, but she had this delicate beauty to her and was really cute like that. Meanwhile, Shinohara here was below average at best. If I had to make it easier, while Yukiko¡¯s a solid 7 or even 8 out of 10, Shinohara¡¯s 4.5 tops. Make that 4 with thoseme sses she got on.

    Me and Shinohara didn¡¯t have anything inmon. We were in our separate groups, her being one of those girl otakus or whatever they¡¯re called. But she was still the leader of that pack, so she stood out in her own way.

    Must be one reason why she wasn¡¯t scared shitless and had the guts to talk back to me. Though it could just be her being a dumb cunt and thinking I won¡¯t punch a girl when I need to.

    ¡°Oi Shinohara, you meet anyone else yet?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but he¡¯s not really someone I like. What about you? Seen Souma-kun or Tendou-kun maybe?¡±

    What a damn bitch. Here Ie and save her and she¡¯s being all choosy.

    Whatever. Shinohara¡¯s the sort that gets off on fantasizing gay shit like Souma and Tendou sucking each other off. She¡¯s rotten in the head.

    ¡°So what Job did ya get?¡±

    ¡°Aquamancer, what about it?¡±

    ¡°The fuck¡¯s that, can you even use it?¡±

    ¡°I can, asshole!¡±

    ¡°So what were you doin¡¯ back there with all those Gomas?¡±

    ¡°T-they came out of nowhere alright, what was I supposed to do!?¡±

    What do you mean ¡®out of nowhere.¡¯ It¡¯s kill or get killed in this ce. The Gomas are smart enough to attack with numbers, so you gotta be better.

    ¡°<i>Haah</i>¡­ it just <i>had</i> to be Higuchi, didn¡¯t it. I have the worst luck.¡±

    ¡°I can hear you, oi.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going, shall we? Never know when those creeps might pop up again.¡±

    ¡°What, so you¡¯re gonna follow me now?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am. Be a man and make sure to protect me alright?¡±

    Shut up, bitch. Don¡¯t girls preach on about equality of the sexes in this day and age? Protect yourself.

    It¡¯s what I thought, but somehow going with the flow, me and Shinohara ended up staying together anyway.

    ¡°¡­ Wow, we <i>still</i> haven¡¯t found anyone.¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t even been that long.¡±

    ¡°Yes it has! What the fuck, anyone, seriously, like, literally anyone is fine¡­¡±

    On what happened after Shinohara started following me, in short, a few things. We got attacked by Gomas and other monsters here and there, and eventually, I found one of those things my Job¡¯s supposed to specialize in: a treasure box.

    We got a potion from it. Apparently it¡¯s a sort of magic water that can heal practically anything. I wasn¡¯t one to take things on face value, but the info we¡¯ve been getting in our notebooks hadn¡¯t been wrong yet.

    Life here was a far cry from mindlessly waking up every morning for school. It was like living in a real life RPG with all the stuff constantly happening. It hadn¡¯t even been that long since I got here in retrospect.

    ¡°Can you shut up and just walk?¡±

    I¡¯ve been in this dungeon for around 2 days now. In those couple days, me and the tag-along had only traveled 2, maybe 3 km deep. I guess this was another one of my Thief powers. I had a good grasp on time and distance. And it was thanks to this power that I somehow sensed that this dungeonplex was ridiculously huge.

    So if it¡¯s true that everyonended in different locations, of course we won¡¯t just run into them.

    ¡°You shut up! Ahhh, why, what did I do to deserve being alone with this creep¡­¡±

    My biggest problem right now though? It was this stupid cunt Shinohara constantly bitching about one thing or another. Dumb bitch wasn¡¯t even useful in fights with how she freezed up.

    Yeah, I know about how you can go loopy in this kind of scenario, but this bitch was really close to taking it too far. Now¡¯s around a good time I punched some sense into her¡­

    ¡°Fuck, no, calm down¡­ I do that, and there¡¯ll just be more problems down the line.¡±

    Yeah, I knew. I keow that I couldn¡¯t let myself snap in this sort of situation.

    I wasn¡¯t the only one with a super powered Job. Everyone should¡¯ve gotten one, and depending on what they got, even a weak little girl could have insanely powerful magic. I should keep in mind that everyone might have a secret weapon they can kill me with.

    Let¡¯s say I shut this bitch up for now. Sooner orter, we¡¯re bound to meet other people in the dungeon, and when that happens, she might just have the opportunity to get revenge¡­ In short, my best bet for staying alive is to not cause shit with any of my ssmates. Since it¡¯s like that, I can handle some amount of bitching.

    ¡°¨D¨D Huh? It says here that only 3 people can get out¡­ The fuck is¡­¡±

    And now we had a clear reason to go against each other.

    I learned this jarring fact about the dungeon, once again from the notebook magic circle, when we were resting in another one of the Fairy Squares.

    It said that only 3 people could use the final teleportation circle in the deepest part of the dungeon.

    It could be false info. It had to be. I wanted really hard to believe it too¡­ But my damn Thief¡¯s intuition was telling me that this really was ¡®fact¡¯.

    ¡°Wait what!? No, no no no, what the hell, no why, why only 3¡­¡±

    ¡°Oi, settle down already, Shinohara. It isn¡¯t set in stone or nothing and there could be other ways of getting out, yeah? And look, guys like Souma or Tendou might have pretty strong Jobs and once they round everyone up, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll manage somehow.¡±

    I said that to calm her down, but I didn¡¯t believe a word of that myself.

    Only 3 can get out. This was fact. In my head, it was already a settled matter.

    Which meant that I¡¯ll need to change my non-aggression policy.

    I knew that at least half the ss didn¡¯t like me, they hated my guts so to speak. I knew about that, I had no problem with it either. Though the majority of these were the losers or otaku of the ss. The once that went around spouting inane crap like delinquent, yankee, DQN. I used to just not bother with chumps like that, but now they¡¯d all have powers, which was real bad news for me.

    If only 3 people are allowed off this ce, it means that the ones they¡¯ll try and get rid of first are guys like me. In other words, they¡¯ll have to suffer no guilt even if they end up killing me.

    The other big problem is that with this kind of limit, you¡¯d have to pick 2 others to be on your side. And you¡¯d have to be very close to them if you¡¯re gonna trust each other.

    For example, the Souma siblings. There¡¯s also Tendou + the ss Rep and Kenzaki + Takanashi. For the rest, there¡¯s the Sakurai + Hinagiku couple who¡¯re constantly all over each other, there¡¯s Kizaki + Kitaooji, the ss lesbians, and Ooyama + Sugino, the ss gays. If anyone¡¯s gonna trust each other with their lives, it¡¯s one or all of these duos. Which implicitly meant that they¡¯d be willing to sacrifice others if it meant saving their partner.

    As for me¡­ I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d give my life for her, but I¡¯d save Yukiko given the chance. I mean, she is technically my girlfriend. Though, I¡¯m still not sure if she likes me that much or not.

    Anyway, this was the basic game n: I¡¯d make sure that me and Yukiko can make it back. I hadn¡¯t decided on the third person¡­ Well, it won¡¯t be Shinohara, that¡¯s for sure. I¡¯m sure I can find someone more deserving of the third ticket.

    ¡°So don¡¯t worry about it too much a¡¯ight? We¡¯ll meet up with the others and then we can put all our heads together and think up a solution.¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡±

    There you go. Now I¡¯ll appreciate it if you can die in a random ditch somewhere. You can do that, right Shinohara?

    And, once I started thinking like this, I felt liberated, like a tight vice being released from my heart. Sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 80: Higuchi Kyouya ( 2 )

    Chapter 80: Higuchi Kyouya ( 2 )

    The moment I¡¯d been waiting for hade soon enough.

    ¡°Hello~? Shinohara, you still alive?¡±

    ¡°¡­ nh, khh¡­ haah, haah¡­¡±

    Ain¡¯t so chatty now is she? Shinohara was breathing roughly, her face pale as if all the color had been drained out of it. Although, hearing an ugly chick like her breathing coarsely from behind me didn¡¯t feel sexy or shit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die on me now~, we¡¯re almost there, just you-, ah, found it.¡±

    I could see white light at the end of the dim passage. The Fairy Square. I knew for certain it was one since the two of us had left from there around half an hour ago.

    ¡°So. How¡¯re those wounds now?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Not, as painful, as before.¡±

    ¡°Huh. So those nts do work.¡±

    <i>Surprisingly well</i>, I thought. I was half in doubt of whether those four-leaf clovers even worked as well as they were said to. But seeing was believing, and I was seeing them in action right now. I¡¯ll try to be more serious about collecting them from now on.

    ¡°Man, I knew you were dumb, but you sure surprised me with that stunt back there.¡±

    It was too dumb to even be on a gag show.

    So after we left this Fairy Square, we arrived at another one of those dome forests, and got attacked by a pack of really obnoxious, red skinned wild dogs. With my current strength I could¡¯ve taken care of these mutts in a matter of minutes but¡­ let¡¯s just say a certain dumb bitch got too scared by their numbers and made a break for it. It was as if she felt not an ounce of guilt for leaving me behind to fight alone.

    I honestly couldn¡¯t believe how retarded she was. She could¡¯ve just stayed with me, shoot a few of her water spells, and we¡¯d could¡¯ve quickly dispatch those monsters. We wouldn¡¯t have had to kill all of them either. If we just got half, they¡¯d get cold feet and fuck off.

    But Shinohara didn¡¯t want to do her small part. She refused to ept the pressure of fighting for her own survival. She just ran.

    And what did she get out of that? It¡¯s a pretty funny story: apparently, after she ran a distance, a Goma suddenly popped out of the bushes and stabbed her.

    This Goma had stabbed her deeply on the side of her stomach. She¡¯d been brought down with that one move from a rusted knife. But the Goma wasn¡¯t able to finish her off since I¡¯d made it in time to kill it with a Throw Dagger.

    I¡¯d once thought that this Skill was going to be a pain to use, but now that I had knives to go around, I¡¯d actually found the skill pretty useful. I obviously didn¡¯t have a gun, and as a Thief, I didn¡¯t have any other ranged attacks like magic or archery either, so I was d I had this.

    So anyway, it was a pretty bad cut, so Shinohara used up all of her portion of healing clovers and somehow managed to seal the wound. She wasn¡¯t at the risk of bleeding out anymore, but, she¡¯d spilled a good portion of blood already. The clovers didn¡¯t recover any of that blood, and so she didn¡¯t have the strength to walk back on her own.

    But Shinohara still had to rest and let it heal for a while, so I reluctantly carried her back to the Fairy Square. I¡¯ve never done this much, with even Yukiko, so you better be grateful, Shinohara.

    ¡°Shut up¡­ uh, and look, it¡¯s not¡­ it¡¯s notpletely healed, is it¡­¡±

    ¡°Really? Sounds bad.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m still bleeding¡­ a little.¡±

    ¡°Uh huh.¡±

    I honestly couldn¡¯t give a fuck. She was still bleeding right now, but so what.

    That Goma really did a number on her. The gash looked so bad that it was somewhat funny to think a rubbing a few nts on could heal it.

    ¡°Uh, hey¡­ you, do have <i>that</i>, right?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The potion dammit!¡±

    Shinohara barked. She was still real pale in the face, but her irritation got the better of her. Oi oi, chill Shinohara, your wounds are gonna open up again.

    ¡°Ah, you mean <i>that</i>. I do, yeah.¡±

    Of course, I knew she was talking about the healing potion. It was the item I got when I opened a treasure box, using Unlock for the first time. Shinohara was right there when I did it, so obviously she knew about it too.

    She was a dumb bitch, but she wasn¡¯t stupid or greedy enough to demand I just give her something I got using my own power.

    ¡°Use it on me,e on, hurry up already¡­ can¡¯t that thing like, instantly heal anything?¡±

    ¡°Supposedly, yeah.¡±

    ¡°So use it already, what are you even waiting for? Why didn¡¯t you just use that in the first ce, idiot.¡±

    You¡¯re the idiot here, Shinohara. Do you really not get why I wasn¡¯t bringing up the potion? And here I was trying to have some delicacy.

    ¡°Nah, the clovers are working fine, aren¡¯t they? Get some sleep and you¡¯ll be good as new tomorrow.¡±

    I stood up with a swing of my body.

    ¡°HUH!? W-what do you mean, don¡¯t try to be funny, alright!?¡±

    ¡°Oi oi, not so loud. It¡¯ll open up your cut even more.¡±

    ¡°This¡¯d all be fine if you just handed over your¨D¨D arkh!?¡±

    ¡°See what I mean? Now calm your tits. I only got one potion, can¡¯t really afford to waste it if I don¡¯t have to.¡±

    ¡°Ikh!! Khhh¡­¡±

    She made a face like she wanted to say something nasty, but because of the pain, she could only let out a voiceless groan. Her expression scrunched up in a way that a girl should avoid doing. You¡¯re already ugly, so at least try not to look any uglier.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be saving it for next time. Your seem to be healing so just bear with it for a while. Next time, something even worse could happen to you, and we won¡¯t have a potion anymore if I used it now.¡±

    I said, being intentionally irresponsible, turned my back to her, and started walking away.

    ¡°A¡¯ight, I¡¯mma go take a walk around. You stay put here, get some sleep.¡±

    ¡°Ah, hey, w-wait, don¡¯t, heey¡­¡±

    Sheesh, talk about a pain in the ass. Notice already dammit. No way am I just gonna give you MY potion.

    I ignored her as she called me all sorts of names as I left the Fairy Square.

    Right around 2 hourster. I came back to the Square, not having done much other than walk around the surrounding area.

    I wasn¡¯t really looking for anything, just killing time. No, I¡¯ll admit, I was getting the jitters.

    I couldn¡¯t calm down, but these 2 hours gave me some time to resolve myself. This was my path, this was the only path avable to me. Shinohara could be healed up by the time I got back, and that¡¯d be fine in and of itself. And if she was dead, that¡¯d be fine too.

    But if it was the type of wound that just kept nagging at you, if it was something that just won¡¯t heal without a potion¨D¨D

    ¡°Yo, Shinohara. Still alive?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Fuck you.¡±

    Shinohara was alive. Her semi-closed wound didn¡¯t look any better. At this rate, she¡¯d eventually just die from blood loss anyway.

    She¡¯d been healed by the clovers to a certain extent, but they weren¡¯t enough to fully finish the job. They might¡¯ve actually saved her from a much faster death, now that I thought about it.

    I should take this as a lesson. Clovers were useful but not all powerful.

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m thinking I can let you have it, the potion I mean.¡±

    ¡°You will!?¡±

    Woah there, where¡¯d all that energye from?

    ¡°Yeah, not lying, I swear¡­ there is a condition though.¡±

    ¡°What is it!? I¡¯ll do anything, just say it!¡±

    ¡°Let me fuck you once.¡±

    Oi, what¡¯s wrong, cat got your tongue? You¡¯re the one who just said you¡¯ll do anything, remember?

    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t hear me? I asked if you¡¯ll let me fuck you. As in, my dick in your pussy, s-e-x, sex. Do you still not get i¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°A-are you insane!?¡±

    Seriously, howe you¡¯re constantly this loud? That wound really will open up if you keep this up.

    That being said, she¡¯ll soon be screaming for a different reason, if you know what I mean. She¡¯ll also have to move so much that it¡¯ll definitely cause more bleeding. Speaking of which, her wound might just not be the only ce where that happens.

    ¡°Calm down and listen alright. We¡¯ve been in this shithole 3 days already, and I haven¡¯t done it even once. It really <i>backs up</i>, y¡¯know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°That, <i>that¡¯s</i> your reason¡­ y-you shameless creep! You¡¯re actually trying to <i>rape</i> me!?¡±

    ¡°You say it like I¡¯m forcing you. I¡¯m making a deal with you here. Now, if you were a guy, I would¡¯ve never even brought it up. A guy would have nothing to offer.¡±

    But you¡¯re a woman.

    While I¡¯m a man. Which means that you do in fact have something to offer.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, that¡¯s still fine by me. I¡¯ll just have to hold back my libido for a while. Think about it, if I was the type of guy who couldn¡¯t hold back, I should¡¯ve already raped you by now.¡±

    No really. This dumb bitch sleeps without a care in the world. We were basically a man and woman sleeping in the same room, just a fountain between us, and the idiot never even realized how defenceless she was making herself. It was honestly so stupid looking at her, that I honestly didn¡¯t feel like taking advantage of the situation.

    ¡°Are you, are you actually fucking kidding me¡­ what kind of BS is this ¡®holding back¡¯, just admit that you think about sex all day long¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, have it your way. Deals off then. Sorry about that, Shinohara. I¡¯m kinda backed up here, just wanted to help you help me take care of it, that¡¯s all. But if you¡¯re not up for it, I guess I can¡¯t give you this potion here.¡±

    I said as I took out the potion, unting it in front of her.

    ¡°C-can¡¯t you pl¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°No can do. This belongs to me, and it¡¯s very, <i>very</i> precious.¡±

    Shinohara was stretching out her hand to take it, but I kept it <i>just</i> out of her reach.

    ¡°In the info we got in our notebooks, it clearly says that just by pouring this blue liquid on a wound, it¡¯s enough to fix it right up. And it¡¯s instant effect too, no pain or scars. Like magic, literally.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨Ddo it.¡±

    ¡°You say something?¡±

    ¡°I said, I¡¯ll let you do it, alright¡­ Now hand over the potion, asshole.¡±

    ¡°Oi oi, watch thenguage, that sorta stuff really turns me off. I told you already, I¡¯m fine with not doing it at all. Listen closely Shinohara, you¡¯re the one asking here. Not me.¡±

    I could almost hear her teeth grinding in frustration. She was getting really desperate now. She was already crying.

    ¡°I, I know that, okay¡­ please, um, have se¨D¨Dnnh!?¡±

    I didn¡¯t really want her giving me that sort of dirty talk. I¡¯d reserve my right to make a girl say and do nasty stuff only if they¡¯re pretty, like Yukiko for instance. A sub-par bitch like Shinohara just needed to shut up and offer her cunt.

    Well, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m that bad of a guy. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have started off kindly with a kiss.

    Having had her lips stolen while she was in the middle of saying her humiliating line with painful resolve, Shinohara reflexively stiffened up and almost tried to push me away... but maybe remembering that she¡¯d epting that this was going to happen, her hands fell limp as she gave in. She didn¡¯t even try to bite my tongue.

    ¡°¨D¨DNh, you reek of sweat.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Asshole.¡±

    Unlike her, Yukiko always smelled amazing. Though I guess I should¡¯ve expected this considering where we¡¯ve been the past few days. I probably stank too, and besides, it wasn¡¯t so bad that it¡¯d turn me off.

    ¡°Oh, look at that, you got some good tits on ya.¡±

    ¡°Not really¡­ it¡¯s normal.¡±

    True. But with her looks, I wasn¡¯t really expecting much.

    But I was pretty d about it. It wasn¡¯t often that I got to handle tits with a good squeeze to them. Yukiko¡¯s pretty small after all. I¡¯ll admit, you win in the breast department, Shinohara.

    Speaking of tits, I always wanted to have a go with a girl with extrarge knockers. Someone like Randou Kyouko, the size on those, damn.

    ¡°Meant to ask. Shinohara, you still a virgin?¡±

    ¡°Does that really matter right now?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. I¡¯m just trying to be considerate here. If it¡¯s your first time, I figured I won¡¯t go too rough.¡±

    I could never <i>not</i> go rough with Yukiko by the way. It wasn¡¯t even me, she became a monster in bed.

    I mean, she¡¯s always so quiet, I wanted to at least let her go wild when she wanted to. I really liked Yukiko, loved her in fact, so I tried to do good by her. But Shinohara, she was more like a prostitute than anything. I didn¡¯t really have to be gentle with her.

    ¡°So, you gonna tell me or what?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m a virgin. Got a problem with that?¡±

    ¡°Not really, it¡¯s pretty normal.¡±

    Now, let¡¯s just get it over with. I was ready on my end since a while ago. And after we¡¯re done... sorry Shinohara, I¡¯m gonna have to go back on my word.

    ¡°¨D¨D Woah, damn, it <i>is</i> instant.¡±

    The wound was closing up right before my eyes as I poured the potion over it.

    ¡°¡­ Ah, it, doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±

    And it worked so well that she wasn¡¯t even feeling the pain anymore. The clovers should¡¯ve helped but this was healing on another level.

    No, the most shocking thing here wasn¡¯t the power of the potion.

    ¡°Um, thanks¡­ I was kind of scared you weren¡¯t gonna use it.¡±

    ¡°What? You really think I¡¯m that bad of a guy? I can tell you know, I¡¯m no psychopath.¡±

    ¡°<i>Really</i>?¡±

    ¡°Yeah alright, I don¡¯t need to hear it. I <i>bought</i> your virginity with that potion. That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±

    <i>No it isn¡¯t, dammit. The fuck are you doing, you absolute idiot!? Why¡¯d you have to waste that precious potion on this dumb cunt? Are you actually retarded?</i> I was mentally chastising myself to no end.

    The surprising thing out of this whole ordeal, was the fact that I ended up using the potion at all. I¡¯d meant to leave her here, let her die. That was clearly the optimal option for me, the path that¡¯d give me the most merit. I¡¯d been only thinking of making her useful for once and fucking her before I left her to die.

    And my mind hadn¡¯t changed even while I was in the middle of screwing her.

    I wasn¡¯t charmed by her, mind you. The act of taking her virginity wasn¡¯t somehow more pleasurable than if I did it knowing she wasn¡¯t one. Why would it? Makes no sense. In fact, it felt much better doing it with Yukiko since I was so ustomed to doing it with her.

    But, yeah, after I was done... I kinda felt that it was fine. I was somehow okay with using the potion on her.

    I felt so stupid. I couldn¡¯t believe I got attached to this ugly bitch just after fucking her once.

    ¡°Higuchi, no way, are you blushing?¡±

    ¡°Do I <i>look</i> like I¡¯m blushing? I¡¯m not the virgin here, dumbass.¡±

    Don¡¯t get cocky with me, Shinohara. You start getting uppity, and there won¡¯t be a second time.

    ¡°Heh, you sound like a tsundere.¡±

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯tugh.¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s so strange. I just got raped, but it doesn¡¯t actually feel that bad.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t rape. I went through the trouble of getting your full consent, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°<i>Haah,</i> guess it¡¯s true that you stop caring about the small stuff when your life¡¯s actually on the line.¡±

    ¡°Bitch ain¡¯t even listening.¡±

    Shinohara was getting increasingly irritating with that wised up attitude of hers. Bitch only lost her virginity today and now she thinks she¡¯ll all grown up.

    This was why Yukiko was the better woman. She always got her quiet and proper act down in spite of the fact that she was a massive pervert inside. And guys fell for it left and right.

    ¡°Strange, I think I can get along with you a lot better from now on.¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence, I feel the exact opposite¡­ what do you say we go our separate ways from here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, quit kidding yourself. I¡¯ll be here to <i>asionally</i> take care of your ¡®needs¡¯, so you better work hard to protect me.¡±

    ¡°You got a real knack for bossing bossing around, don¡¯t you?¡±

    This bitch was really starting to get on my nerves.

    Ah well... guess I could keep her around for a little while. I gave up.

    ¡°¨D¨Dnh, take care of me, Higuchi.¡±

    She probably thought I was into her now. Shinohara and I exchanged a kiss. Talk about forced affection. And though half reluctant, I assented,

    ¡°Sure, guess it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Man, this is gonna be a pain when I meet up with Yukiko again... I stood up with my body heavy, thinking about all the problems down the road when¨D¨D Ah, this is bad.

    ¡°<i>Haah,</i> I need to clean myself, don¡¯t you peek alr¨D¨D Kyah!?¡±

    Shinohara had stood up with me, but I instantly pushed her out in front of me, on reflex really.

    ¡°¡­ The fuck?¡±

    I came to my senses when I saw the spray of blood that followed.

    I felt the wetness of blood on my skin. It didn¡¯t hurt. It wasn¡¯t my blood after all. It was Shinohara¡¯s.

    Right, Shinohara, what just happened to her?

    ¡°W-what, what just¡­¡±

    Shinohara droped to the ground. I did throw her just now. But simply falling over was hardly a reason for her to bleed like a fountain.

    Wait oi, how the hell do you get arge gaping wound on your back like that!?

    We¡¯d just had sex, so Shinohara was still naked. The white skin on her back was now gouged open. The size of the wound made it clear that it waspletely fatal. She was still gushing blood.

    ¡®Sinking in a pool of her own blood¡¯ seemed like the perfect description for the scene.

    I didn¡¯t get this. Why was this happening?

    ¡°Aaaaaaah!? Hey, you hit Emi, you idiot!¡±

    ¡°I, I was aiming perfectly! But then Higuchi, he just suddenly threw her in front of the¨D¨D¡±

    I saw some familiar faces at the entrance to the Fairy Square.

    A guy and a girl, both from my ss. The guy was Satou, and the girl, Iijima.

    Satou was a typical four-eyed otaku. The type of guy who didn¡¯t dare get near someone like me. He wasn¡¯t as disgusting as Yokomichi, wasn¡¯t as loud and obnoxious as Saitou, and neither did he have a girly face like Momokawa. One of the real nobody types.

    I get it now, so you¡¯re the bitch who shot that magic.

    Meanwhile, Iijima was, I think she was one of the girls in Shinohara¡¯s otaku group. She should technically be her friend. But I can¡¯t say I knew the details. She wasn¡¯t friends with Yukiko or anything, and Shinohara never mentioned her either.

    Anyway, I already had a basic grasp of the situation.

    ¡°Oi, you bitches¨D¨D¡±

    The one they were trying to kill was me. I didn¡¯t know if they were trying to save Shinohara, or if they didn¡¯t care what happened to her, but that didn¡¯t matter.

    They probably saw me naked and rxed after having just had sex and thought that it was their chance to get me. But they didn¡¯t ount for my Search ¡¤ Hi Sense reacting.

    It had instantly put my head into danger mode.

    As a result, even if I didn¡¯t mean to, my body moved almost subconsciously, thrusting Shinohara in front of me¨D¨D making her take the blow in my stead.

    Shinohara died, and it was my fault. I killed Shinohara. I¨D¨D wasn¡¯t even thinking that. It was his fault, he chose to shoot.

    Fuck this. Satou, I¡¯m killing you.

    ¡°¨D¨D You¡¯re fucking dead!!¡±

    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯d gotten this pissed. Once I started going out with Yukiko, I pretty much stopped constantly picking fights like I used to in middle school. I¡¯d mellowed out so to speak. So this felt almost nostalgic, topletely let loose and forget about the consequences.

    But in contrast to this burning rage fuelling me, my body moved smartly and dexterously. I quickly got down on the grown and reached for my gakuran. I slipped my hand into the pocket that held my weapon.

    I flipped up the edge of my butterfly knife as soon as I slid it out, and now ready, I took aim.

    <i>I can do this</i>. Attack spells couldn¡¯t be shot one after another like a machine gun. Some needed chanting, and others, while they could work without chants, they still left a gap in between consecutive shots.

    Satou was the only one holding a staff. Iijima had a sword, so she could be a Swordsman or Warrior, but I¡¯ll deal with herter.

    Having used Throw Dagger to the point of it bing practically second nature, I could now tell a lot about the speed or uracy of a knife throw before I even did it. And this sense told me that the mage, who was still hesitating between running away and attacking again, was easy pickings. I won¡¯t miss.

    ¡°Yaaaghh!?¡±

    My knife struck Satou right where I wanted. I¡¯d aimed for his right shoulder. It was a far cry form being fatal, but now, he won¡¯t be chanting so easily. Pain hurt after all.

    ¡°Yeaaaaaaaaaaaart!!¡±

    And I only pushed on from there. Without reaching for my belt that held my other knives, I judged that I should take full advantage of the situation, with the two still dazed from my earlier counter attack, and I ran at them with an intimidating roar. Even without any shoes on, (or any other clothes for that matter,) my Skill, Hi Walk, activated smoothly, getting me across the Fairy Square in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Oraa!!¡±

    Once I was close enough, I jumped, still maintaining the speed. I struck my heel dead on Satou¡¯s face as the bitch was still groaning in pain from the knife in his shoulder. I made him eat my full speed flying kick.

    ¡°Obgh, nhaa!?¡±

    Satou was knocked down, blood spurting from his crushed nose along with his shattered sses that sprayed its fragments everywhere.

    ¡°You like that, bitch!? I got a lot more!¡±

    I immediately followed up with a kick to his stomach. The sharp impact on his sr plexus caused Satou¡¯s body to rise slightly into the air.

    The bitch had now gone limp, but I was far from done.

    ¡°Try¡¯na kill me, ah? Hope you don¡¯t mind if I return the favor!¡±

    I was ready for this. I¡¯d already epted that I¡¯d have to kill sooner orter. Satou, you should help me test that resolve.

    I could almost thank them, these attackers. They reminded me that no, you really can¡¯t survive here without the willingness to kill.

    My doubts were gone now. I didn¡¯t feel anything changing in me, but I knew. I knew that now, I could kill.

    ¡°Die bitch.¡±

    I pulled the knife out of his shoulder and shed his throat.

    ¡°Khaa!! A, haa¡­!¡±

    Satou wheezed like he was out of breath. Blood sprayed all over me while I switched the knife into a backhand grip. I brought it down once again.

    I stabbed his heart. Once, twice. That should be enough.

    ¡°Ug, ah¡­¡±

    The bitch was now frothing red at the mouth. He¡¯d die in less than a minute. But I didn¡¯t exactly have the luxury to oversee his pain till the end.

    ¡°N-no! No, get away!¡±

    From not too far away, Iijima¡¯s yelling was getting to me. Her hands were shaking in terror as they gripped her sword, almost ready, but too scared to attack.

    Right. I needed to kill this bitch too.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to kill me too, right, Iijima?¡±

    ¡°Stay back! I, I¡¯m a Swordsman! I can kill you if I have to!¡±

    ¡°That a fact.¡±

    Who was she trying to kid with that pathetic stance. Her knees were shaking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t need that.¡±

    She was holding her sword with her hands all stretched out, so I went and kicked its handle, relieving her of her weapon.

    It was a move I¡¯d learned for dealing with scum who came at me with weapons in hand. It really saved me this one time when one of the more dangerous of ck High¡¯s punks picked a fight with me.

    The bastard snapped and pulled a knife on me when I pushed a few too many of his buttons, but lucky for me, he had no idea how to hold one. It was really my first time pulling a move like that, so imagine my surprise when I sent his knife flying. Of course, I made sure to teach his body how a real pro uses a de.

    ¡°Aah!?¡±

    The bitch in front of me right now reacted much the same way as that punk, too surprised by the sudden pain in her hand to realize that her sword was now gone from her grasp.

    The sword fell with a ng a little distance away. This bitch was an idiot too, she kept nkly following where the weapon was going and kept her eyes fixed on it.

    ¡°Ora!¡±

    This wasn¡¯t meant to kill, but I put a good amount of force behind my fist as I punched Iijima square in the face.

    ¡°Ngha!!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t as small as Yukiko, but this bitch was still pretty light weight. The dead straight punch with my full weight behind it lifted her off the grass a little, before she crashed back into it.

    After kicking her sword away to a corner of the Square, I gave her the same treatment as I did Satou: a kick to the stomach. Girls were surprisingly weak to that.

    ¡°Want some more, Miss Swordsman?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m, sorry¡­ no more¡­ please¡­¡±

    Oi oi, a punch and a kick, and you¡¯re begging already? Your Swordsman God must be crying with how pathetic you are.

    ¡°Iijima, tell me something. You guys saw me fucking Shinohara just now, right?¡±

    ¡°I, I didn¡¯t¡­ see¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, doesn¡¯t matter. The way I look right now, you might¡¯ve already guessed, but me and Shinohara were getting it on over there.¡±

    I was equipped with my butterfly knife, but was otherwise, in the nude. Not entirely clean though. I had my body painted with blood from both Shinohara and Satou already.

    ¡°So she was a virgin yeah? She was so loud and annoying the whole time that I barely got into the mood, y¡¯know?¡±

    I only got to do cum once, sad state of affairs that. Now if it was Yukiko, she¡¯d be all like, <i>c¡¯mon, you can do more than that,</i> really egging me on. But Shinohara, she was just done after one time.

    So, well simply speaking, I still had a raging boner going.

    And I wasn¡¯t shy about it in the least. I made sure Iijima knew what I wanted and how I wanted it, disying my full girth so she could get a good look.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll be fucking you now.¡±

    ¡°Uh, uu¡­ please, not that¡­ anything but that¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just go ahead and kill you then. But, I¡¯ll be killing you slowly and painfully, not the easy way like I did with Satou over there.¡±

    Death or rape, your choice. You get to choose which you get stabbed by, my fully erect dick or my blood soaked knife.

    ¡°O, oh, okay¡­ do w-whatever you want to me¡­ just, please, don¡¯t kill me¡­¡±

    ¡°Good. That¡¯s a smart girl.¡±

    Good choice.

    This was my second chance. I couldn¡¯t go through with it with Shinohara. I wasn¡¯t able make the cruel choice, once.

    ¡°Be good and listen to me, and I¡¯ll treat you real nice like I did with Shinohara.¡±

    But this time. This time I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll kill, I¡¯ll rape, and I¡¯llugh as I kick their corpses.

    ¡°¨D¨D huh, why¡­ no¡­ w, ait¡­ ¡±

    ¡°Phew, your pussy wasn¡¯t half bad, Iijima. See ya, rest in peace for me.¡±

    I fucked her for a while, until I waspletely satisfied. After which, I stabbed the bitch in the chest. I figured I ought to do it quick, else I risked getting attached to her too.

    ¡°Ah, gh¡­ a¡­¡±

    Iijima looked at me, her expression shocked like she couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d just done this. In response, I...

    ¡°Hah, I got it in me after all.¡±

    Iughed. I was able tough just like I wanted.

    Guilt. Morals. Regret. Stuff like that could just fuck off. We were in a damn dungeon and they¡¯d just be a source of stress.

    At least I was kind enough to give her a quick death.

    ¡°So how long are you nning on hiding over there?¡±

    I was done with her, so let¡¯s not waste time dealing with the next problem.

    I¡¯d noticed this fag just after I was done giving my first load to Iijima. He was so obviously scared shitless that I left him be until I was done with my business with the bitch. My instincts were telling me he wasn¡¯t going to be a problem. This fag didn¡¯t even have the guts to attack me like how Satou did.

    So I¡¯d left dealing with him forter.

    And my instincts were right on the money. This retard didn¡¯t move from his spot at all while I was getting my fill with Iijima.

    ¡°Get out here, now.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Hi-Higuchi.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just you, Saitou. Ya looked so scared in that corner, I thought you¡¯ere Momokawa.¡±

    Saitou Masaru entered the Fairy Square,pletely pale in the face.

    Fag was dual wielding a sword like the one Iijima had and a Goma knife like the ones I used, right and left hands respectively. He wasn¡¯t as big as Yokomichi, but he still had a big enough body that, if he used it correctly, could apply a lot of power.

    But this guy was a loser to the very core. Hecked the courage to even try to save a girl getting raped, and didn¡¯t have the smarts to pull off a surprise attack on me. I didn¡¯t know what his Job was, and I didn¡¯t have to. There wasn¡¯t a single chance I¡¯d lose to him.

    My Thief senses were tingling: This guy in front of me was a chump.

    ¡°Uh, uhh, uhmm¡­ why, did you do all this¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking question, Saitou.¡±

    I could easily gut him right here and now. But would it get me anything? The answer was No.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a choice, either die here, or be my ve ande with me.¡±

    The dungeon wasn¡¯t so easy to solo. I wanted to have people watch my back, people I could trust. Friends.

    But that wasn¡¯t possible in my case. Friends to watch my back? I fucking wish I had someone straight out of shonen manga like that.

    So my best bet was to force them. Find someone who looked useful and make good use out of them like a ve.

    ¡°A s-ve¡­ wait, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Just what it sounds like. You¡¯ll get to carry my stuff, act as bait, and be my meat-shield when I tell you to. Anything, I say, you do. You should thank me for finding work for a loser like you.¡±

    ¡°I, no, that I¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t like it, then die here, simple. This here is me giving you the right to live.¡±

    Tsk, damn fagget Saito. He was sweating bullets trying toe to a decision, but he was just wasting my time.

    Fucking make a choice. If you think I¡¯m gonna wait around until you wrap your head around this, you got another thinging.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a patient guy, so here, let me give you some motivation.¡±

    ¡°Huh!? W-wait, just give me some time to¨D¨D¡±

    This fag was so pathetically slow. Saitou didn¡¯t even see me Hi Walk my way right up to his face. What are those weapons even for, bitch.

    ¡°¨D¨DBuhaaaaaa!?¡±

    I socked him in the face. Oi oi, you¡¯re a big guy, what are you doing getting nted with one shot like that.

    ¡°Look at me, Saito! You know I¡¯m stronger than you! You follow me and you can go deeper into the dungeon. Work well for me, and I might just release you in the end, promise. So how about¨D¨D it!¡±

    He was like a living sandbag that¡¯d fallen to the floor because the chain broke. I gave him a decent serving of punches and kicks.

    ¡°U,urgh! Stop, stahp¡­ I get it, I¡¯ll do it alright! I¡¯ll be your ve!¡±

    ¡°Looks like we got a deal.¡±

    I gave his beer barrel belly onest kick before leaving him there.

    I had work to do. I was filthy with blood and sweat, so I needed to wash up at the fountain. I also needed to see if Iijima and Satou had any good stuff on hand and¨D¨D

    ¡°A¡¯ight, time to head out.¡±

    Now done preparing, it was time I finally left this Fairy Square.

    ¡°Walk in front of me, dumbass. I¡¯ll tell you if there¡¯s any traps up ahead, if I feel like it. Now walk.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, okay, alright, I¡¯m walking¡­¡±

    I kicked Saitou on the ass to get him moving, pushing him up to the doorway out.

    Finally, I walked into the Square, to the biggest Fairy Walnut tree.

    Under it,y the still body of Shinohara.

    I didn¡¯t bother doing anything with Iijima¡¯s or Satou¡¯s. But her, I felt bad about leaving her body in that state.

    It was a real pain, but I cleaned her blood off, put her uniform back on and rested her down with a white handkerchief covering her face. It was a present from Yukiko, and I¡¯d used it for her like this, sort of reluctantly, but I thought she deserved this much.

    ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡±

    I muttered. I really didn¡¯t know what I was supposed to be apologizing for, but I did anyway.

    I had no other words.

    Instead, I ced a healing clover, one of mine, beside her. I then stood up and said my good bye,

    ¡°See ya, Shinohara. You were an ugly and annoying cunt, but you weren¡¯t that bad.¡±

    I began walking, not once looking back.

    I¡¯ll fight for my own survival. I¡¯ll use any means, make any sacrifice. I¡¯ll do it only for my own sake, and I¡¯ll make it out of here.

    I dare anything toe at me. Whether it be Souma or Tendou, I¡¯ll take ¡®em all on.

    And I¡¯ll by thest one standing. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N... who also recently sponsored a lot more chapters, including 4 more of juju and 4 KnMs. They''ll being somewhat alternatively.

 Chapter 81: Hostility

    Chapter 81: Hostility

    ¡°Yo, looks like ya came to. Guess I should say it¡¯s good to see ya again?¡±

    ¡°Higuchi, Kyouya¡­¡±

    ¡°Woah there, you can rx man. I ain¡¯t looking for a fight, promise.¡±

    What kind of idiot did he think I was? There was no way he forgot what he did to me¡­ no wait, knowing this piece of crap, he might¡¯ve actually did.

    He was the sort of scum that could go on ruining others¡¯ lives without a care. His victims would obviously never forget, but for him, it¡¯d be just another day.

    Just my luck. If only Mei-chan was here. I¡¯d even encourage her bashing his shit sideways, which I¡¯d follow up by stripping him to his underwear, tying him up with my ckhair Bind rope, and tossing him into the middle of a monster infested room.

    ¡°Stop right there, don¡¯t youe any closer,¡± I cautioned him.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not gonna bite.¡±

    Higuchi was still talking casually, but he listened and stoppeding closer. He also had his hands raised as if to show that he didn¡¯t mean me any harm.

    There was a good amount of distance between us, but then again, I knew that he was a Thief. Natsukawa-san, the other Thief I knew, would be able to dash across this distance before I could react, so if I assumed that Higuchi was at least as strong as her, I was already within his range.

    Rem and #2 had, of course, sensed my distress and had swiftly taken up arms to defend me. But in all honesty, Rem, as she was currently, just wouldn¡¯t match up to an actual Job holder. The most she could do was buy a few seconds for me to prepare my next move.

    But there was still the fact that he hadn¡¯t tried to kill me instantly when I warped into this Fairy Square¡­ Which meant that he, Higuchi, had something he wanted, something big enough that he¡¯d try to get friendly with someone he once tried to kill for no reason other than convenience.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you either. But I have no ns to join your party, or talk to you for that matter. I¡¯ll be leaving right now, and I hope we don¡¯t cross paths again.¡±

    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be like that man. This zone¡¯s Boss is a real tough one, help us out will ya?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t tried any other routes?¡±

    ¡°Getting past this Boss is the easiest one.¡±

    ¡°What about Masaru and Ayase-san? Are they dead?¡±

    ¡°¡®Course not. They¡¯re still with me. Oi~, it¡¯s safe now.¡±

    Maybe he¡¯d somehow sensed that I was teleporting in and made them hide just in case.

    On Higuchi¡¯s call, Reina A. Ayase peeked inside from the Square¡¯s entrance, and then quickly ran in with her usual cutesy manner. She maintained enough distance from me so that we wouldn¡¯t need tomunicate.

    ¡°Kotarou¡­¡±

    Masaru followed soon after, his face looking extremely awkward. He obviously had a lot of things to say to me, but I didn¡¯t want to have to bother. I didn¡¯t have to deal with whatever sort of guilt he might¡¯ve been feeling and I wasn¡¯t the sort of big-hearted person that could simply forgive a once friend turned traitor.

    ¡°See? I know I don¡¯t look it, but I treat the people on my side real nice. And those two are living proof, aren¡¯t they? Seeing as I¡¯ve brought them all the way here.¡±

    ¡°Sure, and since you have 3 people already, you don¡¯t need me, right?¡±

    ¡°Gotta admit, there was a time when I was thinking along those lines, but uh, you could say I¡¯ve seen the light? Anyway, I realized that the dungeon¡¯s too tough with a party of only three.¡±

    ¡®Too tough¡¯ as in he couldn¡¯t beat this zone¡¯s Boss.

    That being said, Higuchi¡¯s proposal itself wasn¡¯t all that strange. I¡¯d even experienced it once when the Hirano x Nishiyama couple requested basically the same thing of me and Mei-chan. Even for trash like Higuchi, he¡¯d have the sensibility to cooperate in beating a Boss before yapping on about the 3 people rule.

    So if that really was their current situation, I at least didn¡¯t carry the risk of getting back-stabbed before we beat this Boss.

    ¡°Alright, fine. I can work with you¡­ but in return, once I show you how capable I am, you need to make me your 3rd member. Masaru¡¯s the 3rd now, but he¡¯s a ve, so be sure to get rid of him when that happens.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m totally okay with that. It¡¯s true that we gotta decide who to keep on the team based on merit. It¡¯s only fair, right?¡±

    ¡°Fair, yeah.¡±

    So Masaru¡¯s standing in the party hadn¡¯t changed since Ist saw them. Since Higuchi could still say he was fine getting rid of him, Masaru didn¡¯t matter to him at all.

    And currently, that traitor was very overtly listening in to our conversation, but didn¡¯t dare cut in. He¡¯d already been made to know that he was in the lowest rung, a ce from which he evencked the right to speak without proper permission.

    ¡°So, what do you say, Momokawa? Deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly happy about it but¡­ sure. I¡¯ll cooperate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s great that you catch on fast. Thanks man. Oh, and sorry aboutst time. Let¡¯s both try to forgive and forget since you¡¯re joining us and all.¡±

    ¡°I can promise to not bring in my personal grudges while we¡¯re cooperating.¡±

    ¡°That works too. Looks like, we got ourselves a deal. Thanks Momokawa, you¡¯re a real lifesaver.¡±

    ¡°Sure, don¡¯t mention it, Higuchi-kun.¡±

    Higuchi and I exchanged a stiff handshake. And then, at that moment, I made my resolve ¨D¨D I¡¯d kill him. Here. I swore it.

    But first, I needed sleep. I stationed Rem and #2 to stand guard, but going to sleep here was my biggest anxiety, to be quite honest.

    Higuchi had left me alone as I slept. I hadn¡¯t woken up to find a knife in my chest and neither had I been bound and gagged. This at least confirmed that the previous conversation wasn¡¯t just some big charade to make me let my guard down. His story about the high difficulty Boss now seemed a lot more usible.

    ¡°<i>*Yawn*¡­</i>¡±

    I yawned, looking a bit dazed as I¡¯d just woken up, but in my head, I was already thinking up ns.

    The first and foremost thing on my list was to kill Higuchi.

    Why? Naturally, because of the simple fact that this guy was crazy.

    Even if everything he said was true and he genuinely wanted my cooperation, I¡¯d still want to kill him.

    It was his psychopathic mentality. His attitude towards me on our first encounter and his treatment of Masaru clearly showed how far gone he was. I didn¡¯t consider that a bad thing, per se. His ability to make on-the-spot, ruthless decisions could be considered an important factor for survival.

    But it was that sort of mentality thatpletely negated any form of trust I could have towards him. Sure, I could work with him, we might even beat this zone Boss with me on the team. But then what? Higuchi was unfeeling to the point that any sum of effort on my part would garner not even the slightest amount of his loyalty or trust. Even if I, say, saved him from a grave wound with my ointments, he wouldn¡¯t turn into a trustingpanion like Mei-chan. He wouldn¡¯t bat an eye at letting me be fatally wounded even if he had the means of defending me.

    Higuchi Kyouya was a threat to me, maybe not now, but eventually, and definitely. So since we had this chance re-encounter, it was only natural that I try to eliminate him as soon as possible.

    But maybe I was just as crazy as him, what with how I was already making ns tomit first degree murder. No, I wasn¡¯t the same, I wasn¡¯t always like this. My mentality was learned.

    That time Higuchi stole <i>my</i> core from inside the Armorbear that <i>I</i> killed. That was when I learned true humiliation.

    And that time when Yokomichi attacked our party. That was when I learned that one of us students could, and had, killed another.

    I had a clear motive, and even a logically just cause to kill Higuchi. So I just needed to do it. Kill him.

    I wasn¡¯t harboring any doubts. There was no <iw and order</i> in the dungeon. I had to do everything in my power to survive. When I attacked Yokomichi with my spear, I struck him with the intent to kill. I just had to do that again. My conscience hadn¡¯t stopped my hands back then, and it wouldn¡¯t do it this time either.

    Anyway, enough about my resolve, that wasn¡¯t an issue.

    The big problem was the how. How was I supposed to kill this powerful Thief with the measly abilities of a Shaman? I had to think up a viable n, and fast.

    ¡°Yo, had a good sleep there?¡±

    ¡°Sure, whatever¡­ morning.¡±

    ¡°Hey man, you don¡¯t need to re. What, you the type that gets cranky in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I was born with this face.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    Higuchi was acting too friendly for my liking. He was the type that would wait right up until we beat the Boss together, and then pat me on the back saying good job, while simultaneously plunging his knife. And I wasn¡¯t the sort of naive idiot who¡¯d start getting friendly just because he was.

    What was he really thinking? That if he acted friendly, I¡¯d let my guard down? Or did he really not care¡­ It felt stupid to think too much about it. If he wanted small talk, I¡¯d just give him small talk.

    ¡°Ya didn¡¯t eat yet right? Want walnuts?¡±

    ¡°Just asking, but you don¡¯t have anything else, right¡­ like snake meat?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Snake?¡±

    ¡°Snake meat can be surprisingly tasty. Ah, I mean the non-monster variety.¡±

    I mean, I couldn¡¯t exactly say since I hadn¡¯t had snake monsters.

    ¡°Momokawa, you really eat snakes? Like, no joke?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You can roast them over a fire and use the rocksalt that Gomas use.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty out there, you a hero or something?¡±

    What did Souma Yuuto have to do with this?

    ¡°Try catching a snake if you see one.¡±

    ¡°Haha, sure, I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    Fucking Higuchi, he made a face like he¡¯d rather bear it with those tasteless walnuts than deal with eating snakes all of a sudden. What a fool, to not have realized the true bliss that is meat.

    I tried not tomit even a trace of this meaningless dialogue into memory while I ate a dreary breakfast of walnuts and water. Everything said and done, I hadn¡¯t thought up any good ideas on how to kill Higuchi.

    ¡°If you¡¯re done, let¡¯s go for the Boss.¡±

    ¡°You what now?¡±

    As if he was waiting for the moment I finished eating, Higuchi went and said something that heavily implied that we were somehow ready to face off against a Boss that I knew nothing about. Of course, my response was a firm ¡®no¡¯.

    ¡°Ah? The hell Momokawa, don¡¯t be azy ass.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going. You haven¡¯t told me a n or anything.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need that. It¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying it won¡¯t be fine. Aren¡¯t you stuck on that Boss yourself?¡±

    If this was Mei-chan with her Berserker strength, we could¡¯ve viably attempted winging a fight against strength based Bosses, ande out on top most of the time. But let me just put this out there: a Shaman is someone that needs precise information about his target, and even after aiming only at its weaknesses can the Shaman only barely manage to win.

    ¡°Ah well, you got a point.¡±

    This idiot¡­ No wait, maybe his apparent idiocy was a ruse.

    Yeah, I couldn¡¯t imagine Higuchi actually being that stupid. He¡¯d made it this deep into the dungeon mostly relying on himself, that is, he didn¡¯t have a strong supporter like Mei-chan or ss Rep to rely on. Heck, he was practically carrying 2 extra pieces of baggage.

    If he was only relying on his Skills like Yokomichi, he would¡¯ve parted ways with Ayase-san and Masaru by now. And unlike me, Higuchi had the power of sociability. He had The totempole trio as underlings, and couldmunicate fine with girls too.

    There were even rumors of him going out with Randou-san, the one girl who was even close to Mei-chan in terms of bust size.

    In other words, unlike me who was always minding my own business and being an otaku in a corner of the ssroom, he was making connections to people left and right. There was no way someone of his smarts would talk this senselessly for no reason.

    Just as I¡¯d been acting friendly while biding my time¡­ Higuchi was also showing me a facade.

    Meaning that he was only pretending to be retarded, just to see if I would let my guard down.

    For instance, say I epted his offer just now. Say I went with the flow, didn¡¯t at all try to get more info about the Boss, made no n or preparation, and just went for it. What would he think of me then? He would, from that point on, think of me as a pawn, that I was sure off.

    And once he thought that, Higuchi, being the scumbag he was, was sure to make full use of me until I wasn¡¯t needed any more. I¡¯d be a second Masaru, his ve number 2.

    Like hell I¡¯d let that happen.

    ¡°You need to tell me everything you know about this Boss first. How it moves, how it attacks, any special abilities, weaknesses, even things you might think it can do, I need everything.¡±

    ¡°Sure sure, but rx man. The Boss ain¡¯t going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°I know, so we don¡¯t need to hurry. But I¡¯ll still need to know everything first.¡±

    ¡°Ah yeah, exining¡¯s gonna be a pain in the, I mean, I¡¯m not really that good at that stuff, so instead¨D¨D Oi, Saitou, you do it.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Gasped Masaru, clearly rmed at suddenly being called. This whole time, he was sitting still at a corner of the Square.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really,¡±

    I was trying to say ¡®no¡¯ .

    ¡°Come on Momokawa, don¡¯t be like that. Sure, there might be some bad blood between you two, but back then, I was the one who forced him to do it, and you know, he¡¯s been pretty sorry about it.¡±

    Of course Masaru didn¡¯t do it by his own will, and I knew that. I could also imagine him being depressed over the fact that he was made to do that to me. But that didn¡¯t mean I was ready to forgive him. Actually, did Higuchi really expect me to listen to his titudes when he was the root of that whole incident?

    ¡°Look, we¡¯re gonna have to fight a Boss as a team, right? And I know you two were best pals, I¡¯m sure you can get along again like old times.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think I can get along, but I can talk to him.¡±

    ¡°Good good. You gotta start somewhere.¡±

    I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up.

    ¡°A¡¯ight, he¡¯s all yours.¡±

    Higuchi showed me a smile, that I knew was fake, as he switched ces with Masaru.<hr>Next

 Chapter 82: Killing Intent

    Chapter 82: Killing Intent

    ¡°Uh hey, it¡¯s good to see you, Kotarou¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure, whatever. Just talk.¡±

    I had neither the intention nor the time to make up and be friends with Masaru again. The one I needed to focus on wasn¡¯t my once friend, but Higuchi, and what he was nning by making Masaru talk with me instead of himself.

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll do that¡­ er, the Boss here was a pretty big guy, and¡­ I guess it looks like a Goliath.¡±

    ¡°By Goliath you mean from UB?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, exactly like that.¡±

    So it looked like <i>that</i>. I guess it wouldn¡¯t be strange to find something like that in this dungeon.

    Goliath is a guy who appears in the Old Testament, a 3 meter tall, and buff as all hell, warrior. And David, (you know, the guy with that famous nude statue,) was the one who beat him. This famous statue apparently tried to capture the figure of the biblical hero as he aimed a head-shot on his muchrger opponent.

    So anyway, over the years, the name ¡®Goliath¡¯ has been used in lots of media, and the one we were talking about was a game both me and Masaru had yed, UB, short for Undead Bounty. It was a zombie shoot-em-up and had a Boss monster called Goliath. And ording to Masaru, the Boss they were up against looked a lot like it.

    This UB Goliath basically looked like a gori. It had a lot of horns and spikes sticking out of it, and got red, glowing patterns when it went into rage mode, but was otherwise, just a big gori.

    ¡°Wait, does it also shoot beams out of its chest for no apparent reason? No wait, don¡¯t tell me it gets boulders out of nowhere and starts throwing them at you?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯d be just weird.¡±

    Phew. That mystery beam and boulder rush were both insta-kill moves if they hit you in hard-mode. I was d that this Goliath wasn¡¯t irrational like that.

    ¡°But we only fought it for a few minutes before running, so I can¡¯t tell you if it can use magic or not.¡±

    ¡°Okay, fine. Just describe what you know.¡±

    ¡°It only tried to punch or grab at us¡­ but the problem was that it was too big and fast for us to handle. If Ayase-san didn¡¯t help, we might¡¯ve been toast.¡±

    So it was definitely the super strength type. Damn, I¡¯m not actually that useful in melee.

    But now I was interested in Ayase-san¡¯s powers.

    ¡°And what¡¯s Ayase-san¡¯s Job?¡±

    ¡°Ah, um¡­¡±

    Masaru quickly nced at Higuchi like he was asking for permission. I didn¡¯t miss that.

    ¡°Reina-chan¡¯s got a pretty rare one,¡± the Thief answered, ¡°it¡¯s called Spirit Master and she can use fire, ice and lightning magic. She¡¯s pretty much like a master mage. Ah, technically it¡¯s her pets, Guardian Beasts, that do all the work, so she¡¯s more like a Summoner than Mage. You see it in a lot of RPGs.¡±

    Apparently they didn¡¯t need to hide it, so Higuchi exined the basics about Ayase-san himself.

    ¡°Uh huh¡­¡±

    If what he was saying was really true, then she had a really powerful Job as far as mage jobs go. Any other mage I saw had only one specialty element. For ss Rep it was ice, for Nishiyama-san it was wind, and for Souma Sakura, while she was a special case with the Saintess Job, she also just had the light element in her arsenal.

    And Ayase-san already had 3, fire, ice and lightning. That meant that she might be able to get more, like wind, or earth, or even light and darkness or some other element I couldn¡¯t even imagine.

    And her abilities weren¡¯t simply using the different elements, but using them well. I could guess this from the fact that her magic was strong enough to deter the Goliath enough to let them run back to safety.

    Plus, if she¡¯d really been weak, then Higuchi would be treating her not like a princess but like a ve. And since his behaviour towards her was the former, it meant that he also acknowledged that she was not someone to be trifled with.

    ¡°Got it. But I still need to see how you all fight in practical terms, so I suggest we try taking out some mobs in the general vicinity. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Whoa there Momokawa, trynna find a weakness already?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t fought in your team before, so I¡¯ll need to know some stuff. It¡¯s for better teamwork.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell whether he really suspected me or was just joking.

    ¡°Heheh, I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding. So you want to go now or?¡±

    ¡°A bitter, I need some more time. I got here right after fighting a Boss too, so I need to get some things ready.¡±

    ¡°OK, pardner.¡±

    Acting as if he took my word for it, Higuchi had nothing more to say, so he went away andid back on one of the fairy walnut trees.

    ¡°Uh, hey, Kotarou, can I uh, help with something maybe?¡±

    ¡°No need. You know what, you can fuck off. I don¡¯t want to deal with a traitor like you any more than I have to.¡±

    ¡°O-oh, right¡­¡±

    Yeah, his inly sullen face wasn¡¯t going to work on me.

    I didn¡¯t need to care about him. Right now, I had to reorganize my thoughts with all this new info.

    Around half a day¡¯s worth of resting timeter, we all left the Fairy Square so we could do that team building exercise I suggested.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s simr, but there¡¯s like a whole new feel to it.¡±

    This zone of the dungeon still had the same concrete-esque stone walls, but while before, everything was shades of gray, this y was practically white. This zone looked a lot cleaner, and the light panels above seemed brighter as well.

    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s lots of traps set up in this zone, so watch your step. Don¡¯t worry too much though, I can tell where they all are with my Thief senses.¡±

    Traps huh. Maybe I was lucky, but I¡¯d encountered exactly zero traps during my whole time in this world. The only time I heard of them was back when Mei-chan mentioned one. I had no clue as to how they worked or operated in the dungeon.

    I wanted to fix that soon¡­ but I had to get Higuchi out of the picture first. The more time I wasted, the better he¡¯d know my powers.

    ¡°It kinda feels like a hospital.¡±

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t see it, oh, don¡¯t step there, there¡¯s something in the ground.¡±

    Of course, there weren¡¯t any white beds or that astringent smell of antisceptic here, but the clean and white area surrounding us felt very clinical. There wererge white domed areas that seemed to mirror the green forest domes that I¡¯ve seen a lot. All in all, it looked like arge scale hospital.

    The rooms, the halls, the passages, everything was such a same stark white that it all almost seemed disorienting, but Higuchi was able to instinctively tell which spots had traps set up. Even the path he indicated just now, looked no different from any other. Of course, if it did, it¡¯d defeat the purpose of the trap.

    ¡°Higuchi, how do you tell where they are?¡±

    ¡°Intuition. Thieves have a specialty in that sort, don¡¯t know about other Jobs.¡±

    Natsukawa-san also said simr stuff about her intuition. This likely means that those with the Thief Job has a high probability of getting trap sensing skills.

    No, not just traps, Thieves were better at sensing enemy presences too.

    ¡°Skeletons up ahead. We can use them right?¡±

    Higuchi walked casually with his hands in his pockets, but was still able to urately detect which way the Skeletons were supposedlying from.

    ¡°You said before that the Skeletons here are the only easy ones right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll be fine for practice.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no problem.¡±

    Then, almost like a repeat of what happened with the Hirano x Nishiyama couple, we used Skeletons as fodder to show each other our abilities.

    ¡°¨D¨D There.¡± Higuchi said ¡°That¡¯s about it. Kind of a bummer that the Thief Job doesn¡¯t get any of those shy finishing moves.¡±

    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re pretty strong regardless.¡±

    It was a unit of Skeleton Troopers. I¡¯d first seen one of these when I was in ss Reps party and we were going around hunting Skeletons for their equipment. Back then, we were able to easily finish off those mobs as a 6 member party, but Higuchi was able to defeat almost the whole unit all by himself.

    His weapon was amon Goma knife that, despite him not using sh or any other Battle Art as far as I could see, cut apart the arms, legs and even the backbones of the enemy mobs. Once he cut them up, he would deliver a literally bone shattering kick to finish them off.

    His basic strength far already far exceeded the norm, but this could be due to him simply being physically stronger than Natsukawa-san or even Kenzaki Asuna even back in Japan.

    And this was clearly the tip of the iceberg. He should¡¯ve already gotten a bunch of Battle Arts, and if he used those fine-tuned movements with a Skill like Hi Walk, I might not be able to follow him with my eyes. Other than attack moves, he was also likely to have support Skills specialized for Thieves. All in all¡­ Higuchi was strong.

    Right, so I also got to observe how Masaru fought, though not much. While Higuchi dove into the Troopers¡¯ formation, two of those Skeletons broke off from the unit and came towards us. Masaru took on those ones.

    He¡¯d said he was a Warrior but¡­ frankly, it was very disappointing. I mean, sure I may have only seen powerful vanguard fighters like Mei-chan, Natsukawa-san and Kenzaki Asuna, but Masaru wasn¡¯t just badpared to them, he was worse by magnitudes. With his awkward fighting style, he was barely able to manage two Skeletons only after using a bunch of his Battle Arts. He was beyond hopeless.

    No, maybe I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. This could just be how a normal person with a magical Job looks. If I¡¯d been given Swordsman or Warrior, I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be just as hopeless as him.

    But now that I finally got to witness his level of strength, I could understand why he¡¯d let himself be Higuchi¡¯s ve all this time. This was his only means of survival in the dungeon. With his n00b skills, he would¡¯ve died at the first Boss if he went solo.

    ¡°The next room up ahead has some Skeletons too. Your turn Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Call out if you don¡¯t think you can handle it. We¡¯re teammates now, gotta help each other out, right?¡±

    My turn came along with another asinine line of titudes.

    We¡¯d scavenged some of the better equipment from thest unit of Troopers, so now Rem and I were better equipped. Rem dual-wielded a sword and club, while #2, who was not as strong, equipped a club only to focus on blunt damage. I had an iron spear like usual.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Rem. Just like the usual.¡±

    Rem and #2 dashed into vanguard positions while I was rear support. The three of us had experience hunting tons of Skeletons to prepare for the Basilisk fight. The Troopers here looked to have better equipment than the one¡¯s in the poison zone, but they weren¡¯t all that much stronger.

    My spear was useless as I only used a ckhair Bind tentacle furnished with stones at the tips to deal blunt blows. Once Rem and #2 beat them down enough that they were slow to react, I was able to crush them with my tentacle hammer.

    Though truth be told, it was faster to just let the two of them handle everything. The fight ended with the Mud Doll duo scoring more than half of the kills.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty much how I do it.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Nice, you¡¯re pretty strong yourself Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°No no, that took everything I had.¡±

    Thankfully, I was able to hide my stronger Shaman Skills. I only used the one ckhair tentacle for the makeshift stone hammer, while Ipletely hid the existence of Rotten Bog and Redhair Twine. They also didn¡¯t know about the Red Knife, my fire enchanted weapon.

    Still, I don¡¯t expect Higuchi to actually believe that this was my full strength.

    I was tense and nervous as to how far Higuchi had been able to deduce about my other abilities, and also whether he¡¯d sensed my intent to murder him. The both of us disyed only friendly facades as we progressed further into the dungeon.

    ¡°¨D¨D There. The Boss Room is right after this one.¡±

    We¡¯d arrived at our destination. Syed out before me was anotherrge, circr hall room, but this one with an ostentatious gate standing on the other end, in addition to a white monolith in the center that looked like a grave stone.

    ¡°And what¡¯s that white monolith supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°A save point, duh.¡±

    What a nice dungeon, to kindly set up a save point right outside a Boss Room.

    ¡°You mean, you don¡¯t know. Got it.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Momokawa, I thought you¡¯d like that one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought when I saw a Fairy Square for the first time too. This one¡¯s more like a checkpoint.¡±

    ¡°Welp, that¡¯s a real otaku for ya. You know your stuff.¡±

    It almost felt natural how easily he was able to make fun of me. It was still beyond annoying. Someone like me just can¡¯t get along with an honest to god DQN punk like Higuchi.

    ¡°Hmm, it really stands out here. Makes me think it has some purpose¡­ did you try putting a core near it?¡±

    ¡°We did yeah. Nothing. My intuition also told me that this wasn¡¯t a trap.¡±

    I touched the stone object all over and without any reserve, which lead to no particr result. I even borrowed a small core from Higuchi and touched it in multiple ces, which also showed no reaction.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a transfer device?¡±

    But even if that was the case, I simply didn¡¯t know how to use it. I couldn¡¯t find anything like a switch and neither was there any slot or groove to ce a core in.

    I did have one weird theory where this might be a g event object that only reacts to the chosen one, like Souma Yuuto. He <i>was</i> the Hero and all.

    ¡°Yo, you done yet?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m done. Couldn¡¯t find anything either.¡±

    I returned the core, and after giving the hall one more look over, I was ready to go back to the Square.

    ¡°You wanna go take a sneak peek at the Boss?¡±

    ¡°Need more time. Those Skeletons had some good stuff and I need to know what I¡¯m dealing with.¡±

    ¡°Careful ain¡¯t ya.¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, life on the line and everything. Of course I¡¯m gonna take my time preparing.¡±

    ¡°<i>Haah,</i> boring¡­ but you got a point.¡±

    Higuchi epted my proposal to return and had now turned his back to me.

    Now was my chance.

    My gut was telling me to go for it, and I believed that it was right. Higuchi wasn¡¯t looking at me, his hands were still in his trouser pockets and he believed that I would be silently following right behind.

    Just now, I said that I¡¯d take my time preparing. But the most important thing in a fight is to know when to just go for it.

    And I knew that that time was now. Now was my biggest and only chance. If I went along with Higuchi any longer, he¡¯d definitely make me into his pawn. I could honestly say that he was stronger than me. And once he is also sure that I couldn¡¯t do much against him, I¡¯d be another of his ves. Like Masaru.

    <i>Okay, I can do this. Right here, right now, I¡¯ll kill Higuchi.</i>

    ¡°Entwine its escape, with weaving hair,¡±

    I chanted that only inside my head. He was a Thief, and would likely hear me no matter how quietly I said it. I wasn¡¯t going to take even the smallest chances.

    As for Masaru and Ayase-san¡­ great, they were already outside on look out. They shouldn¡¯t be able to get to him on time.

    <i>Calm down, you got this. I have the power and weapons needed to instantly kill one unsuspecting and unarmed human being. I can do it, I will do it. I will kill him.</i>

    ¡°¨D¨Dckhair Bind!!¡± This chapter was sponsored by Nn N. There''s 3 more!

 Chapter 83: Friend

    Chapter 83: Friend

    First, I needed to hold him in ce. I cast a full chant, full power ckhair Bind, and manifested it from within Higuchi¡¯s own shadow as he was walking away with his back to me.

    The reason I didn¡¯t use Redhair Twine was because that Curse needed my blood to function, and I¡¯d need to at least raise my arms to shoot the red, acidic wires at him. So instead, I figured that with ckhair, I could be attacking from closer, ergo faster,ing from right under his feet, in addition to having a guaranteed element of surprise.

    ¡°Uoh!?¡±

    Got him!

    The worst case scenario, where Higuchi¡¯s intuition would sense my attacking and thereby dodge the close range tentacles, didn¡¯t happen.

    The nimble ckhair tentacle quickly wrapped itself around Higuchi¡¯s ankles, winding up to his waist so fast that it looked like he was being swallowed whole. His arms had been in his trouser pockets so the tentacle was able to wind around his whole body in a way that made himpletely immobile.

    The thinning tip of the tentacle spiraled up still more, now squeezing around his throat as if resonating with my antipathy towards him. But I wasn¡¯t about to waste precious time strangling him.

    ¡°Go!!¡±

    Imanded as I let go of my spear, in its ce, unsheathing the Red Knife and a normal one andunching them straight at Higuchi. I had of course, attached the duo of knives to a pair of ckhair tentacles, making my chance ofnding both hits on him, practically 100%. Higuchi was currently standing stalk still like a scarecrow in an open field. He was a target I couldn¡¯t possibly miss.

    As I¡¯dmanded them, Rem and #2 were also charging at my restrained prey, holding their respective weapons.

    My dual knife strikes in addition to nking attacks from both Rem and #2 should leave Higuchi in dire straights no matter how superhuman his current strength was. But even if all that still can¡¯t put him down, I only need to repeatedly stab him until he breathes hisst.

    ¡°Die!! Higuchiiiiii!!!¡±

    ¡°¨D ¨D Wow, takin¡¯ big risks there, Momokawa.¡±

    I felt my knives strike only air. Why, howe I missed?

    No, more importantly, why wasn¡¯t Higuchi <i>there</i> anymore?

    ¡°And here I thought Thru Bind was gonna be useless. Hehe, the God of Thieves really knows his stuff.¡±

    Thru Bind. Dammit, that¡¯s right, Higuchi had actually escaped <i>through</i> my ckhair Bind, effortlessly even.

    The sheer speed with which he performed this feat was so fast it was practically magic. Even though I¡¯d bound him up sopletely, I couldn¡¯t even register him escaping.

    And my knives that were dead set on gutting Higuchi only moments before, were now stabbing the space he was supposed to be, but in fact, wasn¡¯t. Even the ckhair tentacles that had been binding him still maintained the contours of his body.

    Higuchi himself was currently standing just one step away from the mishmash of knives and Curses that should¡¯ve guaranteed his death.

    What the actual fuck. No way could he have prepared for this. How can there possibly be a specialized Skill that can get him out of any sort of bound state¡­ No, this might just be the sort of Skill that¡¯s unique to the Thief Job.

    ¡°Fuuck! Rem!!¡±

    ¡°Hahah, toote!!¡±

    Higuchi raised his leg to make a kick, his hands still stuffed in his pockets. His casual kicking posture didn¡¯t have the elegance the likes of a polished technique delivered by Kenzaki Asuna, but he more than made up for it with his superhuman strength and speed.

    The sole of Higuchi¡¯s foot hit squarely on Rem¡¯s abdomen just as she¡¯de close enough to strike him with her sword. Reinforced with Knight Mantis parts, the current Rem should¡¯ve been as heavy as me, but she was nheless, easily sent flying.

    ¡°Oof, the hell, that thing¡¯s harder than I thought.¡±

    He must¡¯ve expected to break Rem¡¯s armor with that kick, which fortunately, hadn¡¯t happened. I didn¡¯t see any cracks on Rem¡¯s green body armor while she was still rolling on the ground from the previous impact.

    ¡°But this one¨D¨D Haha, broke like a sand castle.¡±

    Higuchi had speedilynded a second kick on #2 who reached him at almost the same time as Rem. But unlike her Mantis framed sister body, #2 only had a Skeleton base with a few Mandragoras added in. Her body, far less resilient, had shattered as it was also sent flying by Higuchi¡¯s war-hammer of a kick.

    #2 crumbled apart at the stomach, her two halvesnding separately¡­ Nope, nothing, I wasn¡¯t getting any more reaction from her. #2 was gone.

    ¡°Weak. You¡¯re still weak, Momokawa. And your stupid mud dolls are, heh, junk, that¡¯s what they are. Fitting minions for the weakest Job.¡±

    ¡°Wait. Higuchi, I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t forget that one special ability I have, right?¡±

    ¡°¡®Course, I remember. It¡¯s hard to forget a punch to the gut like that.¡±

    Shit, shit, shit¡­ Think, Momokawa Kotarou, think. With things as they are, I should give up on killing Higuchi and just focus on running away.

    I could imagine Higuchi beingpletely furious right about now, and even if he wasn¡¯t, he had surelybeled me as a hostile enemy. But as long as I had Pain Return, he wouldn¡¯t try to kill me directly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare think of killing me, Higuchi. Spare me from going down to hell with you.¡±

    ¡°Heheh, ya don¡¯t hafta tell me twice, Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll never get involved with you ever again, so let me leave from here right now. Peacefully.¡±

    Your move, Higuchi. Even if you try to kill me here, I¡¯m not as weak as I was back then. I won¡¯t let you beat me to a pulp like that, ever again.

    True, my surprise attack ended in failure, but I was far from powerless. If he sent Masaru, who still couldn¡¯t harness his Warrior abilities, to beat me up, I could think up a few ways to deal with him with ckhair Bind and Rotten Bog. He should realize that, like a cornered rat, my bite wasn¡¯t going to leave him with just scratches.

    ¡°Chill out Momokawa. Honestly, I¡¯m not even that mad at you.¡±

    Higuchi shrugged as he sneered out those words. What kind of bullshit was it this time? He obviously wasn¡¯t still nning on making me join his party, that I knew for sure.

    ¡°Momokawa, you got balls, I¡¯ll give you that. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d try to kill me this early. This kind of thing is literally impossible for a loser like Saitou. Heck, you might just be better at this than anyone else.¡±

    Thanks, I¡¯m putting my life on the line here, so I¡¯ll take that as aplement.

    ¡°You don¡¯t <i>feel</i> like you killed anyone yet¡­ but I can tell, you¡¯re dead serious.¡±

    He was able to <i>tell</i> stuff with his Thief intuition, which likely also clued him in on the fact that I was up to something. There was also the possibility that he only let himself get caught in the tentacle bind because he knew he could get out of it with Thru Bind.

    ¡°¡­ What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that I¡¯ll admit it. I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re a worthy enemy. It takes some serious balls to try and kill me with your shitty excuse for a Job, but you¡¯re the sort that might just pull it off. That¡¯s why you¡¯re a threat, an enemy.¡±

    His tone remained casual in spite of his serious words, which could only mean¡­

    ¡°So I did some thinking too. And I came up with a good way to kill you.¡±

    Dammit, Higuchi had already thought up a way to kill me!

    ¡°ckhair¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Hahah!! Too slow, Momokawaa!!¡±

    I had attempted to bind him from his own shadow once again, but he nimbly jumped away, evading the tentacle. Shit, so he was able to dodge just fine if he could see me do it. A Thief¡¯s agility was not to be underestimated.

    Wait a second, Higuchi didn¡¯t only dodge just now. Didn¡¯t I see him do something else?

    ¡°Akh!?¡±

    I heard the clink of metal hitting stone, probably the monolith, behind me. At the same time, I felt a sting on my cheek. Wait what? A knife? Goddammit, I didn¡¯t even see him getting ready to throw that. This might also be one of his Thief Skills.

    ¡°Ukh, fuck, that stung like hell.¡±

    But the fact that he cut me also meant that Higuchi himself had to bear the same pain. I could see a smooth cut on his cheek and a clear line of blood dripping down from the wound.

    But that repulsive smile was still stuck on his face.

    Calm down. No matter where he cut me, so long as he was also damaged in the process, Higuchi wouldn¡¯t dare aim for any vitals. He also couldn¡¯t afford to limit my actions by targeting my arms and legs. The status quo was still¨D¨D

    I suddenly heard a mechanical crank of moving parts, and the next thing I knew, the ground underneath me was gone.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    My feet stood on nothing. The solid white stone floor that I was standing on had simply disappeared.

    Huh? What is this? No no no, wait, it can¡¯t be¡­ a pitfall?

    ¡°Uaaaaaaaaaaah!?¡±

    I reached out my hands in delirium. No good. The area that had vanished from below me wasn¡¯t so small that I could reach for the edge. No matter how desperately I stretched out my arms, they didn¡¯t have anything to grab on to.

    ¡°Reeeeeeeeemmmmm!¡±

    ckhair Bind shot out of my palm. I made the tentacle rope as quickly and as tough as possible. That pre-Boss Room had nothing other than the monolith at its center, so only Rem could grab the rope that separated me from life and death.

    ¡°GAGA!!¡±

    ¡°Urgh!?¡±

    I felt a jolt as my body abruptly stopped its descent. It felt as if my arm was going to tear off of my shoulder. I only barely swallowed the pain.

    ¡°Urh¡­ holy, fuck¡­¡±

    I looked down only to see endless darkness underneath me. I could feel a cold breezeing from below. That settled it, falling down there meant absolute death.

    No, what mattered now was getting back to solid ground. I slowly absorbed back the tentacle, gently pulling myself upwards.

    On Rem¡¯s side, she had wrapped the other end of the tentacle rope around her waist and was worriedly peering down at me. Good. It looked like Rem had a firm hold on the rope and the rope itself was tough enough to support my weight. I should be able to make it like this.

    ¡°Wew, an instant rope, not bad. Not bad at all, Momokawa. It looks useful, so you must¡¯ve practiced a lot.¡±

    ¡°H-Higuchi¡­¡±

    Higuchi¡¯s face screamed of morbid joy as he clutched on to Rem¡¯s skull, mockingly peering down the hole. Rem was giving it her all just bracing herself so I wouldn¡¯t fall, and couldn¡¯t really do anything about it.

    ¡°What now, Momokawa? What¡¯ll you do once I push your cute little Mud Doll off and it falls with you?¡±

    ¡°Shit, shittt. You, you nned this. You nned on using this pitfall all along.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t just stab me normally since he¡¯d die too, but he could try all manner of indirect methods. For example, he could push the switch to a pitfall trap. This wouldn¡¯t be the same as physically pushing me off a ledge. He could pull a lever, push a switch, or make me unknowingly do any of those.

    But would that sort of indirect attack¡­ really work to deter Pain Return?

    I¡¯d never tried it, but my gut was telling me that yes, it would work.

    Pain Return would have absolutely zero effect on him if he were to push Rem off and let me fall to my doom.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t your normal pitfall, just to let you know. Go on, try to guess how I set it off.¡±

    Higuchi spoke to me while swiveling Rem¡¯s head with his palm, as if to tell me that any strange moves from me and he¡¯d do it.

    He now had control over my only lifeline. It might seem like him gloating about it was a stupid move, but maybe the position of power really got him going. Higuchi looked like he was having a st.

    ¡°The knife¡­ no, it was blood.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Good job, you¡¯re right.¡±

    This pitfall mechanism had activated right after Higuchi threw his knife. The knife had grazed past my cheek and only stopped after hitting the monolith behind me. If he only needed to use the knife, it would be meaningless to injure himself by cutting me.

    Which meant that he needed to somehow get my blood to the monolith to make it work.

    ¡°If it works by blood, that means that the monolith is some sort of sacrificial altar. You knew this and you guided me here for that purpose.¡±

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re on a roll Momokawa. You damn otakus really know your stuff, eh? I bet you yed games with this sort of stuff all day.¡±

    ¡°Hey listen Higuchi. Don¡¯t mess with shady stuff like sacrificial altars. You never know what it might do. Most times, this sort of thing just summons a really powerful monster.¡±

    ¡°Nah, not this one. This is just a teleporting device.¡±

    How did he know that? He clearly wasn¡¯t bluffing, he was saying it like it was a fact.

    ¡°Do the words, Ancient Tongue, mean anything to you?¡±

    ¡°Wait, you have a Skill to read that!?¡±

    ¡°What, you can read it too? No, you know someone who can¡­ well too bad you didn¡¯t notice it.¡±

    So that¡¯s it. He must have gained a reading Skill like Takanashi Kotori¡¯s Decode Ancient Tongue: Basic which he used to read the instructions for activating the trap set up in the monolith. This was how he also knew for sure that this was some sort of transfer device that needed a sacrifice. I hadn¡¯t seen anything that looked like letters when I was scrutinizing the object¡­ no, maybe it was just that I <i>couldn¡¯t</i>, since I didn¡¯t have the required Skill.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be using this to get to the next zone without needing to beat the Boss. It alles down to whether you have the right Skills or not in this dungeon. If you¡¯re gonna curse anyone, curse the God of Shamans who only gave you shit Skills. You can do that plenty once you¡¯re dead¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°W-wait Higuchi!!¡±

    Shouted a voice that wasn¡¯t mine.

    ¡°Ah? Fuck off, Saitou. And add the ¡®-san¡¯ you fucking fatass.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t what you said! You said we¡¯d work together with Kotarou to beat the Boss, right!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it again. Fuck off, bitch!¡±

    What the fuck, howe Masaru was doing this all of a sudden? He didn¡¯t have any ce in this. I was the one who was about to die and he, a loyal ve shouldn¡¯t have had anything to worry about. He wasn¡¯t going to get any thanks from me trying to feel guilt thiste in the game.

    ¡°Please man, you don¡¯t gotta do this, no really, you don¡¯t have to kill him right? Yeah, Kotarou¡¯s got a super weak Job too, so you can just¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Fuck that, think before you use that blowhole. That little motherfucker down there tried to kill me and it won¡¯t be thest time. His Job doesn¡¯t matter. He ain¡¯t a loser like you.¡±

    Well of course my Job didn¡¯t matter if I wanted to kill someone. I only need a knife to slit someone¡¯s throat in their sleep. He¡¯d be insane to try and recruit someone who¡¯s tried to kill him once already.

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that right, Momokawa!? You hate my guts, and you¡¯ve hated me ever since I stole that core from you!¡±

    Yeah. Ever since.

    ¡°But let me tell you one thing, I ain¡¯t letting myself get killed, not by you, not by anyone. Who cares how much you hate me, I sure as hell don¡¯t give a fuck¡­ I¡¯llugh as I kill you, and anyone else who tries this shit!¡±

    He would. Higuchi Kyouya was just that sort of person.

    ¡°So fuck off with your friendship crap, Saitou! Since you¡¯re here, just stand there and watch, watch as your friend falls to his death!¡±

    Then, Higuchi pushed Rem off. In fact, he kicked her off, and Rem was helpless to do anything about it. She was using all her strength and bnce to keep me from falling and that had left herpletely defenseless. And now she was falling, falling with me into the pits of a dark hell.

    My eyes met those of Higuchi beyond my reached out hand. His eyes showed crazed delight. He kept watching, despite his certain victory he kept watching to see if I made any move with my ckhair tentacles. He had also taken out his butterfly knife that glinted as if to tell me any struggling would be futile.

    Despite knowing that he would just cut it off, I had no choice, I had to try!

    ¡°Uaaaaaaaaaah, Kotaroou!!¡±

    My body jolted a second time as it stopped falling. Wait, why? I hadn¡¯t shot out any new tentacles so why?

    ¡°Tsk, Saitou, you bitch¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, Kotarou! I¡¯ll pull you up, I won¡¯t let you die!¡±

    Masaru had barely managed to grab a hold of Rem¡¯s ankle. He was on his stomach with his arm reaching into the hole.

    ¡°Why¡­ why are you trying to save me now, you traitor!¡±

    Masaru had betrayed me. I wasn¡¯t expecting anything from him. Our so called friendship was something that could only happen because we were living peaceful lives in Japan. It was a flimsy bond that held no weight here.

    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®cause we¡¯re friends!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you, you betrayed me and sided with Higuchi!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! I betrayed you once! But not again, I can¡¯t betray you again!¡±

    W-what was wrong with him¡­ what was he trying to achieve with this. He was just being an idiot. Now was not the time to y hero. He wasn¡¯t Souma Yuuto, and he couldn¡¯t be a hero like that no matter how hard he tries.

    Shit man, don¡¯t risk your life for this.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kotarou¡­ I¡¯m sorry I punched you¡­ I was too weak, I¡¯m supposed to be a Warrior, but I¡¯m just weak, and scared and¡­¡±

    Stop. Stop it already. I don¡¯t want to hear your regrets.

    I hate you. Because you betrayed me. You¡¯re the one I hate the most, right under Higuchi. I wanted to curse you.

    ¡°I beat you up, and just left you there¡­ I knew that you wouldn¡¯t be fine, and I was scared, what if Kotarou d-dies, I kept thinking that¡­ I just kept thinking that I had to say sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Stop, shut up. Stop confessing, I don¡¯t want to hear it.

    I¡¯m supposed to begrudge you, curse you¡­ ahh, dammit, I fail as a Shaman. I can¡¯t stop the tears.

    ¡°I know this isn¡¯t something I can just say sorry for! So I¡¯ll pull you up, I¡¯ll save you Kotarou!¡±

    ¡°Masaru!!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D <i>Haah,</i> these guys are trying to bore me to death.¡±

    All the while Masaru was desperately crying out his heartfelt apology and reaffirming his resolve, the heartless Thief sent his merciless gaze down at the two of us.

    And the gleaming knife in his hand had already swung down.

    ¡°Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!¡±

    ¡°Hope you had a nice chat there, Saitou. But ytime is over.¡±

    The knife stabbed into Masaru¡¯s shoulder. It had gone very deep. Deep red blood flowed down his arm, streamed across Rem, and dripped on my face.

    ¡°You can let him die now. Don¡¯t worry, just letting go probably won¡¯t count as you killing him, probably.¡±

    ¡°Urgh, u-gh¡­ no. I won¡¯t¡­ please, Higuchi, don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Oi oi, what¡¯s with this piece of trash. Where¡¯s all that courageing from, bitch.¡±

    Masaru screamed, once again Masaru screamed in pain. Higuchi had grabbed the deeply lodged knife handle and twisted it further into Masaru¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Masaru! Let go already! I can handle it, don¡¯t worry!¡±

    ¡°W-what do you mean, you can handle it¡­ Kotarou, I got this, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not letting go¡­¡±

    How was he even doing this? He was being subjected to pain he shouldn¡¯t be able to handle. It shouldn¡¯t be possible for him to act like it was nothing.

    ¡°Let go, dammit,e on!¡±

    ¡°No¡­ If I let go now, I can never, be your friend, anymore¡­ I won¡¯t do it. I won¡¯t be a worthless piece of trash like that¡­ again! I won¡¯t let go, even if I die, I won¡¯t let go!¡±

    ¡°A¡¯ight, then die.¡±

    Higuchi instantly pulled out his butterfly knife, as if to trample down that courage, as if to crush that wish, as if to silence that scream, as if tough as he burned it all down. Blood spurt out from Masaru¡¯s shoulder , scattering everywhere as Higuchi flicked his knife and aimed once again.

    ¡°Ah, kh, hhh¡­¡±

    A raspy noise leaked from Masaru¡¯s throat as blood flowed out. Sprayed out. Higuchi had aimed precisely at his carotid artery.

    ¡°No, Masaru¡­ Masaru, say something¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t. Blood was overflowing from Masaru¡¯s mouth, so much that he couldn¡¯t even breathe let alone answer.

    ¡°Ah well. That¡¯s another idiot gone. He only had to be my ve and he would¡¯ve lived a while longer. Courage don¡¯t work for idiots. Once he disobeyed me, he was as good as dead already.¡±

    Rambling on like he was annoyed, Higuchi stabbed Masaru on his back. This wasn¡¯t to deal any fatal damage but just because he felt like doing some extra violence. He kept stabbing his weapon on the back of another human being, of a ssmate, needlessly, callously, endlessly.

    ¡°M-Masaru¡­¡±

    ¡°Woah, is this legit? He didn¡¯t let go even after he died.¡±

    I¡¯ve killed lots of monsters, and I¡¯ve seen people die. So I could tell immediately. I could tell that Masaru was dead. His life had been exhausted and he was gone. My ointments wouldn¡¯t do shit at this point. Masaru would never open his eyes again.

    But He still held on. He still held on to Rem¡¯s leg, he still held on to me so that I wouldn¡¯t fall into the hell below.

    ¡°Haha, this is rich. This his pride or something? Even a loser like him got to show off in the end. Good for you, Momokawa¨D¨D¡±

    Laughed Higuchi as he kicked Masaru¡¯s corpse off the edge.

    ¡°¨D¨D You got to be friends again before you died. Have fun in hell together.¡±

    ¡°Higuchiiii!! youuu, bastaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrddddddd!!¡±

    And then, for the third time, I was falling. Together with Masaru¡¯s dead body, I fell into the depths of the sacrificial pitfall. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N. There are 3 more.

 Chapter 84: Shaman VS Thief ( 1 )

    Chapter 84: Shaman VS Thief ( 1 )

    ¡°¨D¨D Tsk. Nah, can¡¯t see all the way.¡±

    I was staring down into the dark pitfall where Momokawa had fallen down along with the fatass.

    It might seem like I was being too cautious, but lots of stories have it somehow turn out that they were alive after all and that crap. You¡¯d be an idiot to believe that they¡¯re dead without even confirming the corpse. This was something I had learned while fighting the many monsters of the dungeon. That no matter how close to death¡¯s door they may be, never, ever let your guard down until you <i>know</i> they¡¯re dead. This might be like that saying, a candle burns brightest just before it goes out.

    ¡°Oi oi, what¡¯s the damn hold up?¡±

    This teleport device needs a sacrifice, and offering one human is good enough to make it work. There was some more written down but that was the limit to how far I could interpret the Ancient Tongue on the monolith. Still, I thought I had it right so what gives¡­

    ¡°Meh, I can wait.¡±

    I had already offered up Momokawa and Saitou, that was two sacrifices. If that still wasn¡¯t enough, I¡¯d just have to give up. Offering a 3rd sacrifice just wasn¡¯t an option.

    I couldn¡¯t afford to lose Reina A. Ayase just yet. This wasn¡¯t due to me not wanting to kill her, no, it was because fighting her with my current strength wasn¡¯t wise. Her powers were a real pain, and I¡¯d be killed if she really wanted me dead.

    The problem wasn¡¯t Reina herself but those Guardian Beasts under her control. They had a will of their own and could act independent of her, their master, so even when she was asleep, they¡¯d maintain a vignt watch. There were not animals, but Spirits as implied by Reina¡¯s calling, so they didn¡¯t get hungry or tired either. As long as Reina had mana, they could function around the clock. It was hard to find an opening like that.

    ¡°Hey, Thief God, if you¡¯re listening, I killed two of them, so get me a good Skill, a¡¯ight? Something I can use against magic, man that felt dumb to say¡­¡±

    My senses suddenly shot alert. This was Search ¡¤ Hi Sense, no doubt about that. I used this Skill so much, I wouldn¡¯t mistake it for anything.

    ¡°What, the fuck is this¡­ Something¡¯sing, but what¡­¡±

    Momokawa did say that some powerful monster might get summoned, so was that it? Like, one sacrifice gets the transfer magic activated, but any more gets me a monster¡­ Shit. I wasn¡¯t even sure because I couldn¡¯t read everything that was there.

    No, this was different. I could tell.

    ¡°Tsk, the little motherfucker¡¯s alive¨D¨D¡±

    I could feel it clearly. This ¡®threat¡¯ had a burning hostility specifically towards me, this enemy wasing for me, climbing up from the depths of that dark hell.

    ¡°Higuuuchiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!¡±

    ¡°Fucking had to be you, Momokawaa!!¡±

    I could feel a boiling grudge in Momokawa¡¯s scream as thatrge, dark something leaped out of the pitfall.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dying here, and neither is Masaru¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Shit, you gone crazy or what¡­ that thing isn¡¯t alive. I killed Saitou.¡±

    The identity of that dark something was Momokawa, directing his cheeky, stray cat-like eyes at me in vengeful rage, along with Saitou, no, something that only looked like him.

    I said it looked the same, but it had some distinct differences.

    Over all, it still had on the same gakuran and had Saitou¡¯s swords hung at its waist. The most jarring difference was that its eyes showed only white,pletely rolled back, as if it was dead. Because it was dead. Saitou was dead.

    But there he was, still standing. Saitou, while carrying Momokawa, had climbed up the pitfall in a furious speed, and the two were now standing in front of me for a rematch.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dying until I get to kill you, Higuchi!¡±

    ¡°You, raised him from the dead¡­¡±

    That was all I could think of to exin it, and that was how it looked.

    All around Saitou¡¯s corpse, I could see parts of that Mud Doll, Rem, stuck to it like pieces of armor. He had the Mud Doll¡¯s skull fixed on his head like a biker¡¯s helmet, and its arms, legs and shoulders were covered in that tough, green armor. To top it off, it even had a long mantis scythe growing out of its right hand.

    It appeared as if Momokawa was controlling the corpse through his Mud Doll. And the fact that it could climb out of the pitfall meant that it wasn¡¯t weak. The walls along that hole were the same stone walls as in all the rooms here. They were t enough that any normal human would never get a firm grip, but it could be dug into using sharp enough ws.

    So the only reason it could¡¯ve climbed back up so fast, was with inhuman strength and those sharp ws I could see on its fingers, likely fashioned from Mud Doll parts.

    ¡°Tsk. You got another thinging if you think you can kill me. But I¡¯ll tell you this. Using a weak loser like Saitou was a big mistake.¡±

    ¡°No, with the two of us, with me and Masaru, we can, and we will, kill you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, Momokawa. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t have other ways to kill you¨D¨D¡±

    Like tying him up and throwing him into the Boss Room. If it works, then the Boss will die when it kills him, I can get the core and be on my way.

    Plus, throwing knives wasn¡¯t all I was capable of. Like him, I also had a pretty good binding Skill.

    ¡°Get ready, Higuchi. I¡¯ll give you a painful death.¡±

    ¡°Hah, bring it, Momokawa. I¡¯ll beat into you what it means to have the weakest calling!¡±

    To be frank, it was a miracle that this even worked. That, or the sheer depth of Masaru¡¯s regret as he died made it possible. It worked so well, that I almost thought his spirit was still helping me.

    ¡°¨D¨DVile Mud Doll!!¡±

    I cast my Curse, all the while falling closer to the bottom of the dark pit.

    For ingredients, I had my blood, Rem as the base, and a set of new parts, Masaru¡­ Masaru¡¯s corpse. I was sure it¡¯d work.

    I was attempting to reform my Mud Doll on the fly. I had already done it once when I solo battled a Knight Mantis. I had put Rem in Rotten Bog and recast her creation spell which had caused her tobine with the Bog. With that as a precedent, I knew that the process took only an instant. If it took any longer, I¡¯d likely go st at the bottom of this abyss.

    Higuchi¡¯s biggest mistake was using a pitfall this long. If this was only as deep as human hands could allow, I wouldn¡¯t have had the luxury to conjure up countermeasures.

    ¡°GU, GO, GAGA¡­¡±

    cked Rem. Both Rem and Masaru¡¯s body were instantly swallowed up by a familiar chaotic shadow substance. They had turned into a swirling glob of Curse for only a moment before the end result was revealed.

    The chaos vanished, leaving Masaru with Rem¡¯s parts stuck on to him like armor.

    Masaru quickly righted his body while mid air, grabbed me with a hand, and used the ws on his other hand totch onto the pitfall wall. It seemed as though Rem¡¯s bony hand had fused with Masaru¡¯s, making those ws sharp and metallic in nature. The ws released sparks as they dug into the walls, slowing our descent.

    ¡°T-that was scary.¡±

    I muttered after we¡¯d finally stopped. I was clinging on to Masaru¡¯s back while he was using both his arms and legs to grab the walls like a bug.

    Looking down, I could actually see a glimpse of the bottom now. Long, conical spikes were lined up at the very bottom of the pit, ready to kill anything that fell in. I was close. Almost too close.

    ¡°Masaru, no, I guess you¡¯re Rem now.¡±

    Of course, I knew that already. I hadn¡¯t resurrected him. This wasn¡¯t that sort of magic. This was the same old Vile Mud Doll, in other words, Masaru was only used as parts.

    ¡°Sorry, Masaru¡­ I¡¯m a Shaman after all, this is all I can do.¡±

    There might be something really fucked up about me if I had to use my own friend¡¯s body in this kind of ritual. But it¡¯s because I¡¯m his friend that I could understand how he would feel about this.

    ¡°And I know you¡¯ll help me out man. You and me, we¡¯ll kill Higuchi together.¡±

    Revenge was the only thing left to him. He wouldn¡¯t dare rest in peace before ending the life of his killer. So what if his own corpse was used to achieve it? That just proved the depth of his grudge.

    I knew this not as a Shaman, but as a fellow human being. This grudge, this hate was only human. I had to kill Higuchi by my own hands if I hoped to let Masaru pass on.

    ¡°GOOAAAA¡­¡±

    Cried Rem, who had possessed, or rather, was in control of Masaru¡¯s body. This looked different from the usual where she wouldpound and merge parts and ingredients into herself. It almost looked iplete¡­

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a Mud Doll anymore. It might as well be Necromancy.¡±

    Magic that could raise the dead. It certainly felt like something a Shaman should be able to do. Maybe if my calling was Necromancer instead, I could¡¯ve done this from the start. Or maybe a Shaman was a higher ss of calling that could use Necromancer Skills too.

    I couldn¡¯t really tell whether this was Mud Doll or some new Curse magic that spontaneously happened. But the details didn¡¯t matter right now.

    The important thing was that Masaru was helping me. He was able to stop our fall by piercing into the walls, proving that this Corpse Doll had tremendous strength and reflexes.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Masaru!¡±

    ¡°GAAAA!!¡±

    Masaru¡¯s Corpse Doll was even faster than the Pawn Ants in the Insect Caves, looking at the insane speed with which he climbed up the pitfall.

    ¡°Higuuuchiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!¡±

    ¡°Fucking had to be you, Momokawaa!!¡±

    Higuchi was no doubt surprised by the fact that I could survive a fall like that, but his Thief senses were sharp as ever, and he had already taken abat stance, ready to fight us.

    His right hand held the butterfly knife he had used to kill Masaru, and in his left, he held a well made long knife. He held both knives in backhand grips, and his form looked practiced and refined.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dying here, and neither is Masaru¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Shit, you gone crazy or what¡­ that thing isn¡¯t alive. I killed Saitou.¡±

    Yeah, he was right. Masaru was dead. He had his throat slit and had bled out like a tap. It¡¯d be strange if he was still alive.

    And now, we¡¯ll be thoroughly making him pay for giving Masaru that cruel, painful end.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dying until I get to kill you, Higuchi!¡±

    ¡°You, raised him from the dead¡­ tsk. You got another thinging if you think you can kill me. But I¡¯ll tell you this. Using a weak loser like Saitou was a big mistake.¡±

    ¡°No, with the two of us, with me and Masaru, we can, and we will, kill you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, Momokawa. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t have other ways to kill you¨D¨D¡±

    Even I had some ideas. He could easily tie me up and throw me into the Boss Room, for example. I wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that I could manage something as long as I had Pain Return.

    ¡°Get ready, Higuchi. I¡¯ll give you a painful death.¡±

    ¡°Hah, bring it, Momokawa. I¡¯ll beat into you what it means to have the weakest calling!¡±

    Oh I¡¯ll bring it alright. I¡¯ll use every curse I have to grant you the most painful death. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N. Next one isn''t tomorrow but soon-ish.

 Chapter 85: Shaman VS Thief ( 2 )

    Chapter 85: Shaman VS Thief ( 2 )

    ¡°Twine into hairs, O rotten red, be thread which vites flesh and bone¨D¨D Redhair Twine.¡±

    I grabbed stones in both of my hands, attached them to Redhair Twine strands, and flung them forward.

    At the same time, Rem drew the sword hung at Masaru¡¯s waist and dashed forward.

    We were going with the usual formation. The current Rem had enough battle prowess to be considered a proper vanguard, so I could calmly provide support from the rear.

    ¡°Oh, red ones now,¡± Higuchi eximed ¡°Lemme guess, they hurt real bad if they hit?¡±

    It looked like he could easily predict the trajectories of my redhair tentacles. Higuchi only needed to sway his body to the side to dodge the acidic wiresing so straightforwardly at him. Not only that, he even cut one down with his knife.

    ¡°The hell, this was one of my good knives, man.¡± Higuchiined.

    With a hiss of melting metal, that knife now had a small chip on its de. With that, and obviously from the way Redhair Twine looked, he should¡¯ve figured out its acidic nature.

    ¡°GAAA!¡± Right as Higuchi finished warding off my attack, it was Rem¡¯s turn to strike.

    ¡°Heh, this thing¡¯s doing a lot better than that bitch Saitou ever did!¡±

    Rem moved fast, as if she had perfectly assimted Masaru¡¯s Warrior specs into her new body. But despite that, she failed to cut down Higuchi with that powerful sh just now.

    Higuchi held his own against Rem¡¯s expertly flowing series of sword strikes. He almost made it look too easy, he was dodging, parrying and counter-attacking the corpse-doll without any change in his confident expression.

    ¡°Tsk, of course a dead body doesn¡¯t feel pain,¡± Higuchi spat as his butterfly knife lightly carved into Rems side. Some blood spurted out but the injury had done nothing to slow her assault.

    He must¡¯ve realized that fighting close range wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere, and he swiftly withdrew a few paces.

    ¡°There!¡± I yelled, taking aim.

    ¡°Nah!¡± Shouted Higuchi, easily dodging.

    Taking distance from Rem had only made him more open to my own attacks. My cursed red hairs were easy to reconstruct even if split.

    He could sidestep or cut away all he wanted, but my Redhair Twine would only keeping, relentlessly.

    ¡°¨D¨D Tch! This is getting nowhere,¡± Higuchi griped in annoyance.

    I felt the same. I wasn¡¯t hitting at all.

    Rem would close in again, match her sh with mine, Higuchi would dodge it somehow, take a few steps back, then get attacked by my redhair. The cycle kept repeating.

    Were we cornering him? No, judging by his expression, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. We kept repeating this back and forth but it seemed that Higuchi was losing neither stamina nor concentration. He just looked irritated.

    Should I keep at it? Could I wear him down like this? No, that was a bad n.

    He was stat-wise stronger than me, meaning that the longer this fight continued, the more time he¡¯d have to adapt to our two-front attacks and think up a way to strike back. I also couldn¡¯t say with confidence whether my concentration could hold out until then.

    It should be¡­ about time.

    ¡°Swell, Rotten Bog.¡±

    The strands of Redhair Twine Higuchi had been cutting away were all over the ce. In other words, drops of my blood were everywhere, meaning that now, I could manifest Rotten Bogs anywhere of my choosing.

    ¡°Huh!? Fuck!!¡± Higuchi cursed.

    Red bog acid bubbled up from under Higuchi¡¯s feet as though he had stepped on a trap. Of course, his danger sense triggered immediately, letting him jump away.

    Higuchi¡¯s feet touched the corrosive water only for a moment before he leapt up and away from the bog¡¯s effective radius. The acid had only slightly melted the soles of his shoes so no real damage was done.

    ¡°Swell, more!¡±

    I wrung out my mana to expand the bog as wide as possible. Now that he had seen Rotten Bog I had to make use of it before he had the time to adapt.

    ¡°Kh!?¡± Higuchi winced.

    The bog had suddenly expanded and that had clearly caught him off guard. That was probably the first time I saw panic rise in Higuchi¡¯s expression.

    <i>I did it.</i> I thought as my Rotten Bog grew beyond the spot Higuchi was set onnding.

    ¡°Die!!¡± I yelled.

    This time, his shoes weren¡¯t going to protect him. They¡¯d only need to melt away a little more to expose his bare flesh to the acid. For a Thief, having their feet damaged should be devastating. With his agility gone, he would no longer be able to so easily dodge Rem¡¯s powerful shes that borrowed their might from the Warrior calling.

    He had to protect his feet at all cost. He pitched his hands downward.

    Of course, sacrificing his hands wasn¡¯t going to be any better. His ability to fight would drop either way.

    ¡°Gh, goddaammiiiit!!¡± Higuchi roared, managing to save his hands.

    He had to sacrifice something else though. Namely, the long knife in his left hand.

    He had stabbed the de into the bog acid, causing it to vigorously start melting. But the few seconds that knife took to submerge had given Higuchi all the time he needed to make his escape.

    He put strength into his left arm, supporting the weight of his whole body on the single limb, and then jumped once again. I was amazed at how smooth and acrobatic his each movement was during that whole process, but figured that he could only do this by drawing out the full potential of his Thief calling. <i>No, this is not the time to get impressed.</i>

    ¡°Tsk,¡± I clicked my tongue, ¡°that didn¡¯t go as nned¡­¡±

    ¡°You sure pullin¡¯ all the stops, eh Momokawaa!¡±

    He only had to throw away one of his knives to escape Rotten Bog.

    Dammit, if only I¡¯d made it deeper. But no, I didn¡¯t have enough focus to both expand and deepen it at the same time. I didn¡¯t have a hexagram either. Forcefully broadening it had made the bog shallower than normal.

    No matter, I could think about thister. I had hoped to end it with Rotten Bog, but now I should prioritize thinking up a new¨D¨D

    ¡°Yeah, shouldn¡¯t take it easy just cause he¡¯s a mage,¡± Higuchi voiced as ifing to a decision. ¡°I¡¯ll finish it quick.¡±

    That was when Higuchi¡¯s eyes changed. He had been underestimating me, and had almost paid dearly for it, so he was now going to get serious.

    I may not have his danger sensing intuition but I could sense that clear change in his mindset. With no time to think up a n B, I sent in redhair to somehow try to dy him.

    ¡°Shit!¡± He was fast.

    He once again effortlessly snaked clear of the acidic strands as he made his move, much faster than before.

    He had used his empty left hand, grabbing another knife from his waist he threw it¨D¨D at least, that was how it looked.

    ¡°GAGA!?¡±

    Rem, who had been closing in, copsed on the spot.

    Rem didn¡¯t feel pain. Even if her body got stabbed, it shouldn¡¯t prevent her from moving. One knife wound from Higuchi shouldn''t have been enough to stop her.

    Which meant, Rem¡¯s sudden fall wasn¡¯t caused by the knife.

    ¡°Huh, wires!?¡±

    ¡°Hehe!¡± Higuchi snickered before making another knife throwing motion. ¡°Yer not the only one with a binding skill!¡±

    That was when I realized: he was not throwing one knife, but two, and at the same time.

    And in between those two knives was thin metallic wire. These knives, connected to each other, were not meant to stab directly, but only have the wire in between connect. Once caught, the knives themselves would wrap around the target via centrifugal force.

    Higuchi had used his first throw of wired knives to bind Rem¡¯s legs, and used the second one just now to restrain her arms and torso.

    ¡°Rem! Use your Mantis des¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± Higuchi yelled, moving to Rem¡¯s position in the blink of an eye. He then struck a powerful kick on the immobile corpse doll.

    ¡°GA!!¡±

    What in the¡­ His kick had actually managed to lift Masaru¡¯s overweight body, blowing it away. If I had been hit by that, there was no telling how many bones would be shattered, not to mention how my internal organs would undoubtedly be paste.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaah!!¡± I panicked. With Rem out of the picture, there was nothing to stop Higuchi froming right for me. Which was exactly what he was doing.

    I could only keep piling on the redhair, while also adding in ckhair Bind from his own shadow. I knew he had the Thru Bind skill, but it might still serve to slow him down.

    ¡°Heh, Can¡¯t, catch me¨D¨D¡±

    <i>Fuuuck, why don¡¯t they hit! He¡¯s this close, and I¡¯m sending in so many tentacles, but they just don¡¯t hit!</i>

    My ck tentacles were jetting out of Higuchi¡¯s shadow, sure, but once they did, it wasn¡¯t like they could move with the shadow; the shadow was simply a base to grow from, and at the speed he was going at, by the time ckhair bind was out, he wasn¡¯t even there anymore. Every new tentacle turned out useless, but despite that, I kept creating more, left foot, right foot, in his every step, not forgetting to pour in the redhair, but in no time¨D¨D <i>Crap, he¡¯s here!</i>

    ¡°¨D¨DCan ya!¡±

    ¡°Ahh!?¡± I yelped. Higuchi made his move. He, of course, wasn¡¯t going to stab me. But he was too close, what, what was he nning? He was moving too fast, I couldn¡¯t see what he did, no, I couldn¡¯t see anything.

    ¡°Ah, huh! My eyes¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°<i>Oraa!!</i>¡±

    While I was still confused at suddenly being blinded, I felt a sharp blow on my back. <i>Ugh, w-wh</i>¡­ I groaned, feeling crushed like a frog under a boot. I found myself knocked down and syed on the floor.

    ¡°Akh, fuck, that hurt.¡± Higuchi groaned in pain, ¡°Should¡¯a gone easier on that kick.¡±

    I shared the sentiment, literally. But it didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d broken any bones or hit any vital organs, so he sort of was able to hold back.

    It was then that I understood just how he was able to blind me so quickly.

    Basically, he just used a blindfold. It felt like a cloth was covering my face, maybe a handkerchief. The strip of fabric had enclosed in on my eyes and was held in ce using wires.

    The way he was able to insta-blindfold me could be one of his Thief skills, or a technique he himself made utilizing his original cleverness alongside his newfound superhuman dexterity. That didn¡¯t matter though. I couldn¡¯t even imagine putting up a fight in this condition. I wasn¡¯t the warrior type so I had no skill or ability to sense stuff like his presence or bloodlust and react to it instinctively. I honestly believed that a Shaman would never get any skill of that sort.

    I had to get it off, but once I thought that far, I¡¯d realized that I couldn¡¯t move my arms.

    He¡¯d gotten my arms.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even try to move, Momokawa. These wires are pretty sharp.¡±

    Higuchi had had the time to tie up my arms even before I could think clearly after receiving his ¡®weak¡¯ kick. We may have suffered the same damage, but him being a vanguard type meant that he was far more resistant to pain then me. It¡¯s the same concept as when Kenzaki-san gut-punched me.

    The sort of pain that made me want to cry and scream, he could brush off with a ¡®Fuck, that hurt bad¡¯ and be done with it. And while I writhed defenselessly on the ground, he had taken the opportunity toe up with and execute a method to incapacitate me.

    I felt the thin wires digging into my skin. I felt stinging pain in my arms, and not just that, it felt like even my fingers had been wired up. I couldn¡¯t even imagine how he had tied me up so thoroughly as it felt like my fingers would slice off if I so much as attempted to unclench my fist.

    ¡°A¡¯ight, good enough. Now you can¡¯t use those stupid curses anymore.¡±

    He clearly had no idea what he was talking about. Did he think I couldn¡¯t use curses just because he had sealed my arms¨D¨D

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about that creepy ck hair shit. It looks like you can make ¡®em anywhere but I know how you have to look to make it work. It¡¯s in obvious with how your eyes follow them around every time. You mage types can¡¯t really help that though, can ya?¡±

    Oh right. Every one of the Curses I used relied on me having a visual grasp of the situation. ckhair and Redhair, while I could technically use them without looking, they¡¯d be useless since I couldn¡¯t see where to direct them. Rotten Bog, Contrabeat Butterfly and even the all but useless Red Fever were the same, they all greatly relied on sight.

    And with my sight gone, I was made powerless.

    ¡°It¡¯s all over, Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°Wait!? Ahh! No no noo!!¡± I cried out.

    I was left without even a moment to struggle before he bound up my legs too. My ankles now wired up, Higuchi turned my body so that I was nowid face up. And then, he began dragging.

    Was he nning to throw me down the hole? No, he was certain to get Pain Return¡¯ed if he did. Then, it had to be the, the Boss Room!

    ¡°Dammit, let, go!¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± Higuchi cackled, ¡°ya sure can scream. You sound more like a girl than some of the ones I know.¡±

    <i>Shit, shit, no no no, this is all sorts of bad, actually crying and screaming isn¡¯t helping this situation. Think, man, think. How do I get out of¨D¨D</i>

    ¡°Oi, settle down. I don¡¯t need any more damage from your stupid curse.¡±

    Ahhh, it hurt. I got too reckless and ended up struggling against the wires too much.

    But that was all I <i>could</i> do. Higuchi¡¯s wires hadn¡¯t loosened at all. Compared to him, I had the rtive strength of an infant. No struggling on my part would so much as slow his steady march.

    Time was running out. The Boss Room had to be only a few steps away. Rem was still down. And even if she wasn¡¯t, and had attempted to release me from Higuchi, she wouldn¡¯t make it. I was on my own, I had to do something on my own.

    But I had no physical means of worming out of this. I was weak. I had my curses, and nothing more.

    If I could fight back with my tentacle curses, I would¡¯ve done so already. But I couldn¡¯t; Higuchi had seen how I used Redhair Twine by releasing them from my palms so he had sealed those hands with razor edge wires. He had made the smart move. My tentacles weren¡¯t so thin so as to allow me to cast them from a closed fist, and if I tried to open them, I¡¯d lose my fingers.

    Sure, I could make them thinner. I could make them as thin as hair and slither them out from a gap, but then they would be too thin to do any real damage. Wait, maybe I could make thin Redhair and melt the wires¡­ No, I wasn¡¯t sure I could manage that without him noticing. Shit. If Higuchi notices me trying anything, I was sure to receive another kick that would leave me wheezing in pain.

    No, if I wanted to get out of this, I needed to use as many tentacles as I normally would. Using an overwhelming amount should allow me to distract Higuchi.

    Should I risk losing my fingers? Or maybe use Redhair to free my hands first¨D¨D wait, wasn¡¯t there something else? A way for me to create arge number of tentacles even if I couldn¡¯t see or use my hands? Yes, yes there was!

    ¡°¡­ ckhair Bind¡±

    Right as I said that, my head felt ever so slightly heavy. This wasn¡¯t because I was concentrating hard, nor was it due to a fast depletion of mana. The top of my head felt physically heavier.

    The reason for it was simple: I was creating ckhair Bind from my own hair. I had even tried this once before so I felt exceedingly stupid forpletely forgetting about it until just now.

    ¡°Wha!?¡± Higuchi voiced in surprise.

    It had worked. I only had to reach for the hand that was dragging me along from the leg. I couldn¡¯t see, yes, but I could still normally make out where the parts of my body were. And right now, my numerous ckhair tentacles had bound themselves around Higuchi¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Tch!!¡± Higuchi spat.

    It was a strange, slippery feeling. I could no longer feel anything around the ckhair. He had used Thru Bind, no doubt.

    Higuchi had been forced to let go of me to escape being caught, and this gave me ample time to melt off the wires immobilizing me.

    I roughly wiggled my now extended front bangs to un-blindfold myself. The handkerchief was now off, and I could finally see my current condition.

    The bastard had wired me up really borately. I immediately cast Redhair from my closed palms and with the Rotten Bog level acidity possessed by these red tentacles, they quickly began dissolving the steel-like wiring entangling my fingers and arms.

    I suddenly felt really d I wasn¡¯t affected by my own curses. I¡¯d be in a bad ce right now if that powerful acid melted everything without distinction.

    My fingers were freed. I opened my fist to let out more Redhairs and started working on the wires on the rest of my limbs.

    ¡°Almost,¡±

    There. I was free, unbound, liberated. But Higuchi wasn¡¯t about to let thatst.

    ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡±

    He was already holding a pair of wired knives and within spitting distance of me.

    ¡°Cover!¡± I yelled.

    I quickly swished my head, spreading my ck(head of)hair in front of me like a shield. Higuchi¡¯s wired knives were, in the end, ordinary knives. They¡¯d at least get obstructed with a thickyer of tentacle hair blocking the way.

    I didn¡¯t have the visual prowess to see Higuchi actually throwing the knife with the level of agility he boasted, but this time, I knew where he was going to aim, and so, could put up a defensive.

    ¡°Shit, you and your goddamn curses!¡±

    And as I¡¯d expected, my ckhair tentacles had managed to catch the knives without issue. Higuchi¡¯s sharp throwing knives did cut off some of the hair, but against the sheer density of tentacles, they had lost all momentum.

    Higuchi quickly changed tactics. He surmised that thrown knives weren¡¯t going to be of use so he endeavored to close in on his own, his butterfly knife in hand.

    Which was not at all good for me, since he could easily escape any binding.

    ¡°GAGAAAAAAAA!!¡±

    And that¡¯s when Rem rushed in from the side, roaring.

    Great, she¡¯d made it. And it looked like it definitely took some effort. I could see many thin cuts all over Masaru¡¯s body.

    But wounds meant nothing for an unfeeling corpse-doll. Her sword ready to kill, Rem leapt at Higuchi.

    ¡°Outta my way, fataaass!!¡±

    Reacting incredibly fast, Higuchi switched target from me to Rem, stopping her powerful sh with his single knife.

    At this rate, we¡¯d likely return to the previous back and forth. Rem alone was unable to overpower him, and me using my Redhair from a distance meant that he could dodge or cut them away.

    To kill him, I needed something more.

    ¡°Ooooooooooooh!!!¡± I bellowed.

    I didn¡¯t try to think on it. While Rem and Higuchi were in the middle of their melee, I charged in, tentacles and all.

    I figured I needed to put my own body on the line if I wanted to stop that overpowered Thief.

    ¡°Youu little¨D¨D¡± Higuchi sensed I was about to do something.

    But Rem, implicitly understanding my n, closed in further to prevent Higuchi from backstepping away.

    ¡°Gotchaa!!¡±

    And thanks to that single moment his feet were stopped, I seeded in pouncing on to his back.

    I used all my ckhair to bind Higuchi along with myself. It didn¡¯t matter how, I had to be willing to use any means possible to slow down this psychopath, just enough to make this work.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let up, Rem!¡±

    ¡°Motherfuckeeeer!!¡±

    Higushi would, of course, try to shake me off, but he also had Rem and her sword to deal with, and that posed the more immediate danger. I clung on to Higuchi¡¯s back as if for dear life.

    Even while supporting my weight, Higuchi was managing to cope with Rem¡¯s sword stroke after stroke. Not enough. So why don¡¯t I attack too!

    ¡°Redhair Twine!!¡±

    I let out as much as I could. I was already clinging on him and he was doing his part to shake me off. I didn¡¯t exactly have the uracy to aim for a weak spot like his neck, and so justshed out randomly. Anywhere the redhair struck was sure to add damage.

    ¡°Akh, fuuuuck¨D¨D Guard Skin!!¡± Higuchi cried.

    By the time my redhairs snaked themselves around Higuchi¡¯s arms, legs and body, he had surrounded himself with a dim, blue glow. The redhair still hissed all around him, which usually indicated to something melting, but his clothes looked fine.

    <i>What, is this aura thing protecting his whole body? What the hell! Thieves even get full body defensive skills, this is so unfair!</i>

    ¡°GA, GAA!!¡±

    ¡°Ghh, kh, fukh¨D¨D¡± Higuchi leaked. It seemed using that omnidirectional barrier spell was taking a toll on him too. He must¡¯ve needed a lot of mana and concentration to maintain it, and this had markedly dulled his movements. This must¡¯ve been his trump card for when he really needed an out.

    <i>Good. It¡¯s going well, one more push and</i>¨D¨D But then again, I was plenty worn down myself.

    ¡°<i>Oraaa!!</i>¡±

    In a momentary pause between their locking des, Higuchi used Thru Bind. Suddenly, all the red and ck tentacles got repelled from his body, and I found myself clinging on to his back with no tentacle support. One twist of his body, and I was quickly thrown off.

    ¡°Whoa!?¡± I yelped, fell, and doing my best to ignore the falling damage, stood back up. Not good. I needed to get back on there, deal the finisher¨D¨D but, ckhair bind wasn¡¯ting out.

    ¡°Urp, th-this feels like¡­ shit, I¡¯m out of mana¡­¡±

    Of course I could still push out a tentacle or two, but my hair had return to normal and the massive amount from before was gone. One thing I was sure of was that if I even tried to pull off that stunt again, I¡¯d instantly fall unconscious.

    ckhair Bind, Redhair Twine, and one XL sized Rotten Bog shouldn¡¯t have drained me so much¡­ It might¡¯ve mostly gone to Rem when I used Corpse Doll on Masaru¡¯s body and practically created a new curse spell.

    Goddammit, this clearly wasn¡¯t the time to run out of gas.

    ¡°GUGAAAAAA!!¡± Roared Rem.

    ¡°Ooooh!¡± Higuchi roared back, ¡°Die, diee! I¡¯ll make sure you die this time, biiitch!!¡±

    Rem was close to losing. Higuchi still had his butterfly knife in one hand, and at some point, had brought out another one. Dual wielding knives, Higuchi was carving away at Rem.

    Rem was being sliced up everywhere but maybe because his des were shorter, she wasn¡¯t being dealt any fatal wounds. But despite being slowly brought to the brink, Rem only kept fighting on.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you! I¡¯ll make sure you die, Saitou, no matter how many times it takes! You think you can beat me, fag! You think a coward like you can kill me, huh bitch!!¡±

    Higuchi was close to his limit too. He hadn¡¯t suffered as many wounds, but he must¡¯ve been running on fumes already. So he yelled. The fact that I, having the weakest calling of Shaman, and Masaru, his cowardly, obese ve, had driven him to a corner like this enraged him to no end.

    ¡°GAAA!?¡±

    Finally, Higuchi had achieved a disarming double sh on Rem¡¯s wrist, causing her sword to drop.

    ¡°Haha! And here¡¯s ¨D¨D the finisher!¡±

    One more double, no, it was so fast that I could only see the result, but he instantly made another 4 shes across Masaru¡¯s neck.

    The knives had reaped apart meat and bone, causing Masaru¡¯s neck to drop. No, it hadn¡¯t dropped, it had fallen backwards, still caught by a flimsy thread of skin while exposing the insides leading above and below.

    ¡°Hah! See that. That¡¯s your ce, on the fucking ground where you bel¨D¨D oaaahh!?¡±

    Instantly. Rem, who was pitching forward, having been seemingly eliminated, suddenly raised her right arm. She had no sword of course, but what she did had was a Knight Mantis de, one that I¡¯d obtained after a grueling battle. With a crunch, she operated the joint in her wrist to flip the de into position. And his newly obtained sword had struck Higuchi right as his guard was down thinking the beheaded zombie was out of the picture.

    ¡°Graaaaaaaaah!!¡± Higuchi wailed, his left arm chopped off. This was the result of him desperately trying to avoid an otherwise fatal wound from an attack he had noticed toote. From the panic brought about by exhaustion close to the point of copse, to the relief of having thought the fight had been won, everything yed in dulling his Thief¡¯s intuition.

    For the first time, Higuchi had suffered a major wound.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!!¡± I bellowed, charging straight at him. My one chance hade. I had saved this trump card, waiting patiently for the right moment. My own knife, my Red Knife.

    No mana? No curses? Who cares, I could still move, couldn¡¯t I? I still had the magic weapon enchanted by fire. I at least had the strength to stab, burn, sear, kill, a weakened beast.

    ¡°Gh, gah, aa¡­ Mo mokawaaaa!!¡±

    Higuchi faced me, his left arm gone, his right, still tightly holding his butterfly knife, the one and only weapon he originally had.

    ¡°Akh, ahhhhhhhh!¡± I screamed in pain.

    ¡°Guaaaah, daammmiiitt!¡± Higuchi did the same.

    Higuchi¡¯s knifended, along with the double ended pain. He was no doubt unable to process the risk of Pain Return any more, and simply wanted to kill the approaching Enemy.

    My Red Knife was easily dodged, but in contrast, Higuchi¡¯s butterfly knife stabbed deeply into my right shoulder.

    Pain pain pain. Both of us screamed in pain.

    ¡°K-kill you¡­ Momokawaa, I¡¯ll, kill¡­ ¡±

    ¡°Ukh, a ahh¡­ shit, ahh¡­¡±

    But Higuchi could still manage the excruciating pain assaulting both our bodies. It was as if he was drugged up to the point that he didn¡¯t feel anything.

    I had even let go of the Red Knife from all that pain and had barely managed to push myself and lift it back up with my left hand. But Higuchi on the other hand looked as if getting stabbed in the shoulder meant nothing. He still held on to his knife absolutely bent on ending my life.

    ¡°You¡¯re, fucking, dead!¡±

    Higuchi took a step forward, swaying like a zombie. <i>Fucking great, he doesn¡¯t even care anymore! But I do! I didn¡¯t work this hard just to die alongside him!</i>

    ¡°GUGAAAAAAA!!¡±

    At that moment, Rem revived. Well technically, she simply hadn¡¯t stopped operating. Rem wasn¡¯t a living creature. Her sheer tenacity was only possible due to her nature as a mana powered corpse-doll.

    It didn¡¯t matter whether her neck was connected by only skin. Her face, Masaru¡¯s face, carried an expression of pure and unbridled rage as she bit down on Higuchi¡¯s leg.

    ¡°Akkhh, Nnnhhhaaaaaaaah!?¡± Higuchi howled, and then, fell over. Rem had bitten and torn his Achilles tendon.

    That attack ended up being her final contribution. I lost Rem¡¯s connection to me. What remained was the head that still carried that face of wrath, and now, a chunk of meat between its teeth.

    <i>Thanks Masaru. You really did end up saving me at the very end.</i>

    ¡°Dieeeeee, Hiiguchiiiiiiiiiii!!¡± I cried as I bore through the pain, positioned the Red Knife and charged into Higuchi. I didn¡¯t bother aiming, I just needed it to stab into him, and I pushed with my whole body to achieve this.

    ¡°Urrrgh!! Okh, gh, agh, ahh¡­¡±

    The red knife plunged into his stomach. Higuchi groaned. It wasn¡¯t so much a scream but a whimper¨D¨D but he still managed to knock me away with his explosive strength.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!¡±

    The red knife, being what it is, let out its fire. Higuchi was getting grilled from the inside centering around his stomach.

    The smell of cooked human flesh permeated the room, but Higuchi had yet to give in. His seemingly endless vitality refused to ept hising death.

    Higuchi grabbed the handle sticking out from his stomach, and pulled. Blood gushed out from his mouth and his eyes rolled back exposing their whites, but he pulled. He pulled out the red knife and threw it to the side.

    ¡°Heeh¡­ heeh¡­¡± Higuchi panted slowly.

    And with that, all my weapons had been used and exhausted. No wait, I still had my box cutter¡­ though, I wouldn¡¯t need it, not anymore.

    ¡°Gh, ahh¡­ Momokawa, hey¡­ lis ten¡­¡±

    I reached into my pocket and took out some Ointment A to rub on my shoulder. It was good enough first aid for now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, kill me.¡±

    ¡°Pft¡­ huhu, ahahahahaha!!¡±

    I could onlyugh. A dry, gutturalugh.

    I walked to Higuchi. I was dizzy from the pain in my shoulder and from my almost empty tank of mana, but I got closer¨D¨D and I gave him a kick.

    ¡°Grhhh!! Gh, uhh¡­ Come on, Momokawa, don¡¯t¡­ do this.¡±

    ¡°Haha, and here I thought I¡¯d never get to you hear you begging for your life. Guess I was wrong, Higuchi!¡±

    Once again, as Higuchiy on the white stone floor on his back, I kicked him, pushing forward.

    <i>I can, do it. This should, still work.</i>

    ¡°Stop, it¡­ don¡¯t do this.¡±

    ¡°I can, and I will. Higuchi, just so we¡¯re clear, I <i>will</i> be killing you¡­ also, I¡¯ll be sure to make full use of your death!¡±

    I continued pushing with my arms. He was surprisingly heavy, must be all the muscle. My shoulder hurt. But I could move it if I just bore the pain.

    ¡°Listen Momokawa, you, you¡¯ve never killed before right?¡±

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t, you¡¯ll be my first.¡±

    Right, this was supposed to be my first time killing another human being. I was slowly pushing Higuchi, offering him¨D¨D to the pitfall, still wide open as if demanding its promised sacrifice.

    ¡°All the more reason to stop¡­ don¡¯t be a murderer, you¡¯ll regret it, for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡°What about you? You¡¯ve never once regretted killing, have you!¡±

    ¡°Gh, heh¡­ haha¡­ Ya got me there, I¡¯m just like that. I don¡¯t feel much killing someone.¡±

    ¡°Hah, then I¡¯m the same.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not¡­ you¡¯re not like me, you¡¯re a good person¡­ so stop, while you can.¡±

    <i>Me, a good person? Well, if youpare me to yourself, I¡¯d be pretty upstanding I guess.</i>

    ¡°You¡¯re the type, who¡¯s sure to regret bing a killer¡­ So don¡¯t kill me. Just leave me here, and go.¡±

    ¡°Regret, huh¡­¡±

    Regrets? Like I give a¨D¨D well, I couldn¡¯t say that for certain. I didn¡¯t consider myself to be a psychopath like Higuchi, so I might start to regret killing him, someone I¡¯ve considered my worst enemy, somewhere down the line. I might start seeing nightmares about it, and I might sometimes think back, mull over whether killing him really was the right decision.

    I was weak. I was physically weak. I had a weak calling. I even had a weak heart.

    ¡°Just, go, leave me and go, you win¡­ I promise, not to mess with you, ever again. I swear.¡±

    ¡°You think I was born yesterday¡­ yeah no, fuck off with that!¡±

    Actually, I should really set aside my mentalplexes for now. Thinking logically, letting Higuchi live was sure to be more harmful than not.

    ¡°Whatever, you killed Masaru¡­ you killed, my best friend¡­ so this is payback.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you¡­ don¡¯t. Y¡¯know how they say, revenge isn¡¯t worth it¡­ ¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you just shut up already!¡±

    ¡°Stop, try and calm down¡­ then you¡¯ll realize, this isn¡¯t something you want to do.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me, Higuchi¡­ I <i>want</i> to kill you. And I know that I won¡¯t regret doing it one bit!¡±

    Of course I won¡¯t. I had no intention of suffering because I killed a piece of trash like him.

    ¡°You might¡­ and it¡¯ll stay with you, I¡¯m not kidding.¡±

    ¡°I said I won''t! Heck, I¡¯ll tell my future grandkids about it, that once upon a time, their grandpa killed the big baddy. I¡¯ll brag about it, and proudly!¡±

    I was right in killing him. There was nothing wrong with this. I had justice on my side¨D¨D to kill a killer, thus enacting justice. It was the ultimate contradiction. But I had nothing else to go on. I could only believe it.

    ¡°Momokawa¡­ please just,¡±

    ¡°What is it now!? Stay quiet so I can end this!¡±

    ¡°No, please just¡­ do me this, one favor¡­¡±

    Was this some sort of joke? Did he really think I was going to do him a¨D¨D

    ¡°My knife¡­ please, give it to Yukiko.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What?¡±

    Knife? Oh, he meant his butterfly knife. He¡¯d let it go when he was pulling out the red knife. It was his most noteworthy and deadliest weapon. It was currently on the floor, the de soaked in blood.

    ¡°I just, want her to remember me¡­ we, me and Yukiko, we¡¯re going out, y¡¯see¡­¡±

    ¡°Wh!? You, and Nagae-san?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I, really love her¡­ was even thinking, I¡¯d marry her, once I knocked her up.¡±

    What the, now that was a surprise. I could¡¯ve sworn he was going out with Randou-san seeing how they interacted in ss. On the other hand, I¡¯d never even seen him looking at Yukiko-san.

    ¡°Just do me, this one thing¡­ Oh, and when you do¡­ tell her that I lost my life¡­ fighting the boss, with all I had¡­¡±

    An idiot. He was an idiot. Not because he was trying to show off to his girlfriend thiste, no, it was because,

    ¡°¡­ Sorry, I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Oi, fuck your attitude¡­ just do it¡­ ¡±

    ¡°I really can¡¯t¡­ Nagae-san¡¯s already dead.¡±

    Nagae Yukiko was gone. She¡¯d been eaten by the Cannibalizer, by Yokomichi Hajime.

    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t tell him that. I was an idiot too. I was trying to be considerate towards someone I was about to kill.

    ¡°¡­ Huh¡­ heh, hehe, so¡­ Yukiko, she¡¯s dead too¡­ ¡±

    Of course, I didn¡¯t n on stopping. I¡¯d do this without regrets.

    I¡¯d kill him. I¡¯d kill Higuchi. He targeted my life, he killed my best friend, this delinquent, this DQN, I¡¯d kill him, once and for all¨D¨D So what if he was grieving the loss of his loved one, I¡¯d kill him.

    ¡°A¡¯ight¡­ do it already, Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­ goodbye, Higuchi.¡±

    I¡¯d expected him to pull a fast one at the end¨D¨D but he hadn¡¯t. He hadpletely epted his loss, and his death. So Higuchi fell, with no resistance whatsoever, into the dark pit of sacrifice. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 86: Sacrificial Exit

    Chapter 86: Sacrificial Exit

    For a while, I had just stopped thinking.

    I didn¡¯t feel a sense of aplishment after all was said and done¡­ But then, I wasn¡¯t feeling any weird guilt either¡­ I just didn¡¯t know what to think after doing something like this.

    I was tired. I was just, tired. I felt dull and fatigued after having done what I had to do, wanted to do.

    ¡°¡­ Shouldn¡¯t waste time at this point.¡±

    Higuchi hadn¡¯t been lying. Not long after he fell into the pitfall, a magic circle, one that¡¯s supposed to get me out of this zone, came to life. I used my notebookpass to check, and confirmed that it was now pointing at this new transfer circle and not at the door leading to the boss room.

    First things first, I went about gathering the bits and pieces of loot. As for Masaru¡¯s body, it had turned to ash at some point. I imagined it was an aftereffect of using him as a corpse-doll. <i>Sorry Masaru, I wanted to at least give you a proper burial¡­ but well, I think I avenged you, so let¡¯s call it even.</i>

    I didn¡¯t want to waste time mourning his death right now. I wasn¡¯t sure how long this transfer circle would remain active, and I seriously didn¡¯t want to make the mistake of missing my ride due to something like tiredness.

    I was exhausted to the point of having to almost drag my body to the glowing circle. The long, dark pitfall had gone back to being solid stone floor and this magic circle had appeared with the white monolith at its center. I¡¯d almost gotten there too, if not for¨D¨D

    ¡°Do it! En-chan!¡± cried a sweet, bell-like voice, which was followed by a gruff, beastly bark ofpliance, ¡°Orf!¡±

    ¡°What the¨D¨D¡± I turned around quickly, only to find its fiery, crimson mane right in my face.

    ¡°¨D¨DAhhh!?¡± I shrieked.

    I had been suddenly knocked down to the hard, stone floor. My whole body ached, but, I was okay. I hadn¡¯t suffered any new wounds, and the wound on my right shoulder wasn¡¯t bleeding out.

    My aching body was ordering me to stay put, but I had to get a look at who or what had attacked me out of the blue. I forced myself up to see,

    ¡°Ah! Reina!!¡±

    A remarkably adorable little girl was running by me in a particrly cutesy little girl manner. This blond haired, twin-tailed young beauty to behold was unmistakably Reina Adelhyde Ayase. Of course she was. She¡¯d been standing outside this room all this time while I was having a deathmatch with Higuchi.

    ¡°Oooorrf!!¡± came the savage bark from above me.

    ¡°Huh!? Wait, no, don¡¯t!¡± I cried.

    Let¡¯s get to the one who attacked me. It was basically a really big red-haired dog. This one was in a ss of its ownpared to the mob called red dog. It looked even more vicious than the Orthus, and actually, it was more like a lion now that I got a better look at it. It had a voluminous mane all around its head that had a red to yellow color gradation, giving an impression that it was actually on fire.

    This zing lion was, at present, staring me down with its red eyes, like I was its worst enemy. Yeah no, I had no chance against a monstrosity like this.

    ¡°Thanks En-chan! You cane back!¡± Reina called.

    ¡°Orf!¡± went the beast, giving me a final look as if to say ¡®You live for now, boy.¡¯

    It raised its massive body and nimbly ran over to Reina¡¯s side.

    Now I knew that it was absolutely obedient to the small girl. So this was the so called Spirit Master calling and its Guardian Beasts¡­ I could understand why Higuchi was treating her like an untouchable princess now. I wouldn¡¯t dare mess with someone with a killer guard dog like that either.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ D-don¡¯t!¡± I stammered.

    Reina and her <i>En-chan</i> were standing on the transfer circle. <i>My</i> transfer circle, the one that I staked my life, my pride on.

    No way in hell was I letting them take it from me.

    But, that girl, Reina, it was as if she wasn¡¯t acting on malice at all¡­ she was, not even looking at me as I yelled out to her¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Reina, Reinaaaaaaaa!!¡±

    That girl, as if she¡¯d done nothing wrong, as if she was just a pure and innocent little girl, was holding her Guardian Beast close, her eyes closed as if she was afraid where the transfer would take her. All too quickly, she vanished within the ensuing light of transfer magic.

    ¡°What¡­¡±

    What, what was with that girl¡­ Now that I thought back, she hadn¡¯t spoken one word to me this whole time, had she. During the short while I had joined Higuchi¡¯s party, she had acted as if I didn¡¯t exist at all, she seemedpletely oblivious to my addition.

    Then again, we had neither need nor motive to talk to each other in the first ce. I had no idea what sort of rtionship she had with Higuchi, so I couldn¡¯t know if she was safe to talk with.

    Seeing how uninvolved she was about everything, I figured that, even if she had a strong calling like this so-called Spirit Master, she¡¯d be too scared to actually fight, and was simply tagging along with Higuchi and Masaru while they did all the work. That was why Ipletely excluded Reina A. Ayase as a potential threat, and in fact, not once had shee to Higuchi¡¯s aid once our fight had started.

    ¡°Dammit, dammit!¡± I cursed, ¡°¡­ fucking Reina, she¡­ she was aiming for this, all along¡­¡±

    I was now sure of one thing: Reina A. Ayase was no ally of Higuchi. In addition, she had no intention of bing my ally either. She had no conscience to help either of us. We didn¡¯t register as something she needed to be concerned about.

    That was how she was able to ignore Higuchi even as I pushed him down to his death¡­ that was how she felt no guilt at having left me here. She had, in effect, seeded in getting rid of two meddlesome boys in order to reach her goal, all without so much as lifting a finger.

    And at the end of her goal, that is, once she meets Souma Yuuto again, she¡¯d go all ¡®Yuu-kun, I was soo scared!!¡¯ acting like she always did in the ssroom.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve killed her too¡­ nah, who am I kidding, I don¡¯t stand a chance against that monstrosity¡­¡±

    Fighting that was like asking to die. Higuchi had mentioned that she had 2 more of those Guardians, lightning and ice element. That En-chan was without a doubt her fire element Guardian, and just that one seemed impossibly strong. The fact that shemanded triple that strength basically meant¡­ it was practically a cheat calling the likes of a Hero.

    ¡°Ugh, haah¡­ shit, I need to calm down¡­¡±

    I felt so humiliated I could vomit, but anything I felt wasn¡¯t going to change the fact that she had stolen my exit pass and I was stuck here.

    <i>Think. There¡¯s gotta be another way, I could look for a different route for example.</i>

    ¡°No, impossible¡­ if there was one, Higuchi wouldn¡¯t need to resort to preparing a sacrifice¡­¡±

    There were apparently multiple other routes out of this zone, but Higuchi still chose this method. He did it not just to get rid of me, but because it was the safest and only way left to him. I¡¯d experienced first-hand how strong he was, but even then, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to beat this Goliath that was waiting in the boss room. He had surmised that fighting the boss had a strong possibility of getting him injured fatally, and he¡¯d also determined that all other routes were just as or even more dangerous.

    Maybe this really was the end of the line for me.

    My mana was practically nil, I was beaten and battered and the only weapons I had on hand were my red knife and Higuchi¡¯s butterfly knife which I took as my spoils. The strong Rem who I made with the hard earned knight mantis parts was broken and unsalvageable, Masaru was gone.

    Could I even make it back to the fairy square like this? This room was made different from the rest since it was right before the boss room, but it was no square. Monsters coulde in normally, and who knows, maybe some of the sensitive ones were following the stench of blood leading here already.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ it¡¯ll be fine, I can do this¡­¡±

    Right, it was still too early to give up. But I couldn¡¯t find any strength to put in my legs. The one light of hope that I¡¯d fought so hard to obtain had been stolen so easily, that my body wasn¡¯t listening to me under the frustration.

    Did all my struggling matter at all? Did Masaru sacrifice himself for nothing? Wouldn¡¯t me dying here be the same as Higuchi killing me?

    ¡°I-I can do this¡­¡± I repeated.

    Really, who was I kidding? The inside of my head was dyed in despair. I couldn¡¯t not imagine trying and inevitably, failing. I¡¯d rather die, taking Higuchi along with me if this was the sort of end waiting for me in this white zone.

    Iy there, wallowing in self-pity, for who knows how long.

    Footsteps. I could hear footsteps.

    ¡°!?¡± I went alert.

    Must be monsters.

    It sounded like there were a number of them. And since they weren¡¯t concerned with being quiet about it I could imagine it was¡­ a skeleton toon.

    ¡°Uh, um¡­¡±

    I deliberated on what to do. I could manage dual wielding my knives with a pair of ckhair tentacles, but that¡¯d be it. If I even tried to make a Rotten Bog I was sure to run out of mana and pass out.

    This was looking bad. There was no way I could take down a bunch of troopers with two knives.

    <i>So this is it, this is where I die huh¨D¨D</i>

    ¡°¨D¨D Ah? you¡¯re, Momokawa?¡±

    The guy who had addressed me did so intimidatingly as I gripped tight on to my two knives, tears already gathering in the corners of my eyes, and frozen stiff in fear.

    This was a guy from our ss, and one that practically everyone recognized. His hair was dyed blond (against school rules), and his whole body was armored in ayer of tough and toned muscle. An oppressive air marked the room as our ss¡¯ most famous delinquent stood tall in front of me. He was,

    ¡°Ah, oh¡­ Ten dou -kun?¡±

    The only one who had stood on the same ground as Souma Yuuto: Tendou Ryuichi.

    ¡°You wanna fight or what?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Wait wait wait, howe me calling his name turned into me wanting to fight him? Was it my eyes? It must¡¯ve been my eyes. Like, I know how my face looks like an angry stray cat, but unfortunately, I was born with it, and am certainly not as rude as I look. So please don¡¯t take this the wrong way, I¡¯m just an ordinary boy with ordinary¡­

    ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t. Makes this simple¨D¨D¡±

    Tendou-kun approached closer, takingrge, purposeful steps while I still sat stiff.

    ¡°¨D¨D Stay out of my way, I¡¯ll beat the boss.¡±

    His gleaming golden pupils radiated as he passed by me. The enormous sense of pressure from his presence had left mepletely befuddled and speechless.

    He should¡¯ve easily figured out how shitting in my pants scared I was, and so, without any further words, he headed straight ahead towards the door to the boss room.

    <i>W-w-wait, by ¡®fight¡¯, did he mean if I wanted to fight the boss? That¡¯s just in ridiculous, I¡¯m half-dead already at this point, and I sure as hell am not suicidal!</i>

    The errant thoughts rushed into my head only after that dominating presence was gone. Wait, did Tendou-kun even have a weapon? He waspletely empty handed right? ¡­ But he did look confident, which likely meant that he had a calling that could rival that of Souma Yuuto¡¯s Hero. First Reina¡¯s Spirit Master and now this¡­ cheats seemed to be a dime a dozen, where do I get mine?

    I was having sardonic thoughts again, when something else felt off¡­ Tendou-kun¡¯s eyes, howe they were golden? I mean, sure he bleached and dyed his hair, but he never wore color contacts. His eye color that should¡¯ve been ck were definitely golden just now. They were glowing too¨D¨D

    ¡°Wew, Momokawa looks like he¡¯s about to piss his pants.¡±

    ¡°I kinda feel sorry for him. Well, that¡¯s Tendou-kun for ya.¡±

    My head was getting swarmed in more thoughts when I heard 2 girls giving open remarks on the situation. I was still sitting so I had to look up to see them. They were also ssmates¡­ but I couldn¡¯t seem to recall their names.

    These two were more fashionable than in, so I, who didn¡¯t have much interaction with girls in the first ce, hadn¡¯t had even the faintest interaction with them. I could recognize that they were from the same ss but nothing more. I didn¡¯t know their names, and had had no reason to learn them.

    Meaning that they wouldn¡¯t have much interest in me either, which was true, since they quickly ran after Tendou-kun without a moment to waste.

    What were they? A party of course. It was another harem party, not exactly my strong suit. But then again¨D¨D

    ¡°Oh? Momokawa, you don¡¯t look so good.¡±

    And there was the fashion diva of the ss. She came walking in a slow, rxed gait, someone who was also far out of reach from my measly social circle, but whom I made sure to know the full name of nheless. It was the girl who¡¯d been heavily rumored to be going out with Higuchi, one Randou Kyouko.

    Her long, wavy blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, and with those sleepy, seemingly uninterested half closed eyes, she looked me over.

    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s blood all over you, are you really alright?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Uh¡­ sort of.¡±

    I managed to answer her question, sure¡­ but as this Randou-san was bending down to talk to me, I got a full, frontal view of the ginormous jugs judged widely as the best of the best in ss 2-7. Holy moly, no wonder those things are number 1 (¡ù Mei-chan excluded) in size.

    My gaze dreamily veered towards her chest, exposed due to the couple of undone buttons on her uniform blouse. I was quickly bing enraptured by the tanned brown, bewildering bosom whose deep cleavage wasid before me.

    ¡°Mm, kay, wannae with us?¡±

    Oh wow, like wow. Up until just recently, I¡¯d been despairing how it was the end of the line for me, but this pair of brown boobies blew it all away. It was as if the engine of my body had started spinning again, telling me to live on.

    Thank you Randou-san. You just saved my life.

    ¡°Sure, why not.¡± I said.

    Somehow, by pure luck, I ended up joining another party of ssmates, this one led by Tendou Ryuichi. This chapter was sponsored by Nn N.

    This is also the end of the arc and will be thest one until I finish doing stuff for my other series. In other words, the next one is in a while.

 Chapter 87: The Palace Zone

    Chapter 87: The Pce Zone

    Mavis VermilionNovember 6, 2018 at 1:15 AM

    Thank you for the chapter!!

    After that "Kotarou-kun, give me strength",I am really hoping for a Futaba''s pov chapter

    ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol><li>

    Reaper PhoenixNovember 6, 2018 at 1:22 AM

    Thanks 4 the chapter!

    Berserkers do spread terror on the battlefield if you''re not used to them. Having someone that doesn''t care about injury or death baring down on you and your allies is scary. You might take them down, but at what cost? Unless you have a sniper that can headshot them.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    39ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    SeedNovember 6, 2018 at 1:36 AM

    Thanks for the chapterReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    SeedNovember 6, 2018 at 1:38 AM

    When will the next chaptere out?ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 6, 2018 at 10:53 AM

    Thanks for the chapter~!

    Hmm, thatst part sounded forboding......ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 7, 2018 at 3:19 AM

    Mei-chzMis simply biding her time waiting to kill them all. Wrll that or she''s poisoning them slowly.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    AnonymousNovember 8, 2018 at 3:52 PM

    They should try to use the living armor as ... well, you know, armour ! they probably defeated enough to equip the whole partyReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    velozNovember 11, 2018 at 1:05 PM

    Thanks ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    AnonymousNovember 11, 2018 at 6:27 PM

    I''m still waiting for Asuna to die.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    MandoingoesJanuary 15, 2019 at 11:26 PM

    Ok lol this hero is frustratingly op mc should just grab ruinhilde by the cor and demand op skills and shit also like everyone has an op job which makes it worse but i like how momokawa cameback at higuchi like i aint dead bitchReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li>AddmentLoad more...

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 Chapter 88: Behind Her Smile

    Chapter 88: Behind Her Smile

    thanksReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol><li>

    UnknownNovember 19, 2018 at 9:25 PM

    I know Souma isn''t a bad guy but FUUUUCK HIM, he pissed me off for some reasonReplyDeleteReplies<ol><li>

    DBNovember 19, 2018 at 10:10 PM

    It took me a lot of time to understand it but once you do so it''s easy, Souma is a standard protagonist (closet pervert,protect girls etc...) but we are seeing this novel through Momo''s POV and he''s a mob character, what you feel is the hate a mob character feels toward an MC protected by the almighty plot armor plus the heroines are only cute and nice towards him, remember how are most mob characters treated by heroines in other novels.DeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    HuskeylordNovember 19, 2018 at 10:42 PM

    Also don''t forget this hero has a harem and in most harem stories the hero almost always gets every female caracter to join his harem like colleting trading cards. Hopfully this novel ends up with Futaba being the one that got away considering there is no mention of NTR. (hopfully Soma falls for her hard so when she says no its all that much better)DeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 19, 2018 at 11:00 PM

    I just hope this guy doesn''t end up like koukiReplyDeleteReplies<ol><li>

    SanteriNovember 19, 2018 at 11:25 PM

    At least Kouki had a redemption arc and got better during the after storiesDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 20, 2018 at 12:08 AM

    Seeing Kouki''s backyard on fire in the after stories, I don''t think he got betterDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 19, 2018 at 11:39 PM

    Don''t end like Kouki, you side-hero.

    I wonder if they''ll see how hard MC was trying somehow.....eh, prolly not.

    Thanks for the chapter~!ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    Reaper PhoenixNovember 20, 2018 at 1:12 AM

    Thanks 4 the chapter!

    The ne disappeared into her cleavage...

    ...

    ...

    *gulp*ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    Mavis VermilionNovember 20, 2018 at 1:27 AM

    I wanna see Futaba''s PoV so much!!

    I bet that she take the drop to give it to momokawa when they meet again..ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 20, 2018 at 1:42 AM

    Many thanks for the continuation of this awesome series and also many thanks to Nn N for hurrying it along with his donations.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    UnknownNovember 20, 2018 at 9:33 AM

    Souma. I feel like giving your safeguard to Mei-chan was a really bad idea. I mean I don''t dislike you or anything but...well we know where this is going once she senses Koutarou.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    twinklesNovember 20, 2018 at 5:04 PM

    This pisses me off for some reason.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    SeedNovember 21, 2018 at 12:30 AM

    "This chapter is sponsored by Nn N. (there are 2 more)"--- -------->Two more chapters or two more supporters ?ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    Slop doggyNovember 21, 2018 at 2:03 AM

    Now that she has that ne... she might be able to take down the whole party if she wants too. Asuna at least deserves to die. The rest dont but thats my opinion, not Futabas lol. Looking forward to more. ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    bobNovember 21, 2018 at 12:10 PM

    Ty for the chapter!ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    MomoSeptember 25, 2019 at 4:59 PM

    Thisment has been removed by the author.ReplyDeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li><li>

    MomoSeptember 25, 2019 at 5:00 PM

    Can someone exin me why Sakura took the "Amulet of Protection from Arrows" ?

    She already have a cheat defensive ability to protect her...ReplyDeleteReplies<ol><li>

    NuckinFutzSFJuly 10, 2022 at 3:51 AM

    Right it should have gone to ss rep the Mage. She does still have defensive spells but she is a high value target for sniping.DeleteReplies<ol>Reply</ol></li>Reply</ol></li>AddmentLoad more...

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 Chapter 89: Tendou Ryuichi ( 1 )

    Chapter 89: Tendou Ryuichi ( 1 )

    ¡°¨D¨D Fuck. How¡¯s it even end up like this?¡± Tendou Ryuichi muttered as he woke up lying sprawled on top of a stone tform. The first thing he saw was the grey ceiling, and then the grey walls on all sides. He was quickly convinced that this sort of, what he assumed was a storeroom fully built with solid stone, wasn¡¯t the sort of thing he¡¯d see in modern Japan.

    ¡°Real bad day¡­ for everyone I guess.¡±

    Every student of ss 2-7 of Shiramine Academy had been suddenly transported to another world, a ce not anywhere on Earth¨D¨D or so the story goes. A mysterious voice had started exining things over the ss inte, magic was apparently real, and in the end, the ssroom itself broke apart culminating in Ryuichi finally waking up in this stone room.

    Realistically, he¡¯d never believe something so absurd. He¡¯d confirm with his own two eyes just how real this whole summoning was. But strangely, Ryuichi didn¡¯t feel the need to. He¡¯d usually wave off something like this without a second thought, but he was somehow already convinced that this world and everything entailing it was all real. It was as if he was instinctively aware of the existence of this world that was different from his own.

    Ryuichi sat up on his tform, lit a cigarette with practiced movements, took in a long puff of the thing, and while looking at the now much shorter stick, he came to a daunting realization: ¡°Oh, fuck me. What if this world doesn¡¯t have any? <i>Arrgh</i>, dammit Ryoko, did ya have to take a whole pack?¡±

    He was beginning to regret letting that nagging ss Rep take a brand new, unopened pack from him. Which sucked, because the one he was on was the one, and only one he had kept hidden on him just in case.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just go.¡± Not one to dwell on meaningless thoughts, Ryuichi finished off his cigarette which calmed him down (not that he was agitated to begin with), well anyway, he figured he should get moving.

    ¡°But first, let¡¯s get <i>that</i> over with¡­ Ugh.¡± Ryuichi opened his notebook to the page with the magic circle and, as he thought, it really was weird. He felt reallyme having to rely on something like magic.

    But he had no choice really. Magic certainly existed in this world, and currently, as they¡¯d been informed, he was inside a dungeon with dangerous monsters at every other corner. Ryuichi wasn¡¯t one to deny that he had a good punching hand, but he was still only human. Even he¡¯d hesitate on going up against wild animals barehanded and alone. So, despite feelingme about it, he opted to receive whatever magic power the gods or what have you were supposed to give him.

    ¡°<i>Oh Gods above¨D¨D</i>¡± Ryuichi began chanting in a very annoyed monotone. This sort of thing didn¡¯t suit him one bit. Putting his hand on the badly drawn magic circle and asking Gods for help with a cringeworthy incantation like an ult nerd not only made him feel like aplete idiot, but also felt like an act of poetic irony where a well established delinquent has to subject himself to this sort of shame.

    In other words, Ryuichi didn¡¯t like this, not one bit.

    ¡°¨D¨D For we shall adhere to thine decree.¡± He finished. It didn¡¯t take as long as he thought, of that he was d. So there he was, having performed the ritual just as instructed¡­

    ¡°Oi, the fuck, nothing¡¯s happened.¡±

    Indeed he seemed to see no change. He¡¯d expected something akin to the glowing letters he saw on the ssroom ckboard but he was seeing nothing of the sort.

    ¡°<i>Tsk,</i>¡± he clicked his tongue, ¡°so much for magic. I feel like an idiot now¨D¨D <i>Grrh!?</i>¡±

    Suddenly, a searing pain ran through Ryuichi¡¯s whole body. This pain, this unforgiving, unbearable, unrelenting pain was so much worse than anything he had ever experienced. It was worse than being punched and kicked by a dozen other delinquents, it was worse than being stabbed in the stomach by one of them, it was worse than being thrown off his bike into the rough pavement, it was worse than any of that. Ryuichi wasn¡¯t a pansy. He got back up on every one of those asions, but this current, crippling pain he was under easily dropped him to the ground.

    ¡°Graahh!!¡± He screamed.

    He felt his heart lurch in a single, loud beat. Pain, pain everywhere. Pain as if the liquid blood in his body had multiplied, and then multiplied again. Pain as if blood would start jetting out from every pore on his body.

    ¡°Ghr, ouff, aaaahh¡­.¡± He groaned like he was about to die.

    Ryuichi desperately held down his chest, at the ce where his heart was furiously hammering away. He writhed in pain, but one thing he didn¡¯t do was give up. He refused to die from this. This was pain on the level he¡¯d never even imagined possible, it was pain enough to kill him if he let it¡­ but he wouldn¡¯t. Because he realized that this pain wasn¡¯t being caused by sickness or poison.

    It was power.

    Tremendous forces were surging out from within him, his body being too small a vessel to hold it all. But in spite of that, the torrential surge of power only kept pouring out, only kept saturating inside his body.

    ¡°<i>Aagh¡­ Fff, aaghh</i>¡­ this, is, nothing...¡±

    Ryuichi had underestimated just what this <i>magic</i> was. He had thought it would be like in fairy tales, chant a spell and vo, shout an attack move and bam. He had imagined it as easy, inconsequential.

    ¡°T-this, power...¡± If this was the power, the true power of magic in this world, then it was no subject of a bedtime story, there was no hope, no dreams¡­ only, purely, violence.

    ¡°Gh, ghaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡± His body exploded.

    Or at least, that¡¯s what he felt as the ravaging pain reached its apex. And it was at that very moment, that Ryuichi saw, no, he clearly felt this image, this <i>information</i>, get seared into his mind.Session Candidate: Tendou Ryuichi Calling: King

    Innate Skill No.1 : Law of the Jungle

    Innate Skill No.2 : ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D

    Candidacy Skills

    Right of Rule

    Royal Sword

    Treasury

    Ryuichi couldn¡¯t tell how long he stayed passed out after that, but at the time he awoke next, he felt extremely groggy while searching through his pockets for a cigarette, only to click his tongue in frustration as he remembered that he¡¯d finished thest one. Then, he also remembered the other thing that happened before he lost consciousness.

    ¡°... Haha, so this ce is like a tv game.¡±

    A particr sort of information had been engraved into his head. Terms like <i>calling, innate skill, candidacy skill</i> and other such jargon. The only connection Ryuichi could find with such words was video games.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t done that since I was a kid huh...¡± He reminisced back to his elementary school days, back when he was still a normal kid, before all the fights and mischief. He used to honestly enjoy ying on a home game console with his friend Yuuto.

    For Ryuichi, those memories seemed like something far in the past, but it was those very same experiences that was helping him make sense of his situation.

    ¡°... Yeah, let¡¯s just go.¡±

    And so, Tendou Ryuichi, possessing the calling of King, took his first step into the dungeon.

    Ryuichi had his first monster encounter in this world after approximately 5 minutes of walking along stone passages. This monster walked out from a corner up ahead.

    ¡°Oi oi, this is just ridiculous.¡± Not because they looked particrly strong, but familiar. Ryuichi had seen this sort of creature not only in his childhood video games, but also at the corner of his middle school science room. What appeared was a skeleton, a full set of human bones by the look of it, moving all on its own.

    ¡°What¡¯d they call you again? Skeletons?¡± He asked, not really expecting an answer.

    The skeleton did however answer by running toward him while making rattling sounds. It raised its wooden clubs over its head in order to attack.

    ¡°Heh,¡± he sniggered, ¡°You wanna fight, I¡¯ll give you a fight¨D¨D <i>Oraa</i>!!¡±

    Ryuichi easily closed in on the skeleton before it could even think to swing down its weapon. He figured these wooden clubs were no different from the metal bats often used by the delinquents of ck High, so he was used to dealing with them. The difference was that, while those ruffians had skin and meat on their bodies, the enemy in front of him had quite literally none. Ryuichi instantly changed his mindset to recognize that what he was fighting was veritably a monster, an enemy of strength unknown to him. And so, he would go with his full power just in case.

    It had been a long time since Ryuichi had to go all out on a punch, and it had been longer since he used his old partner from middle school: the brass knuckles. Which isn¡¯t to say his fighting senses had dulled, because his movements were as adept as ever. In no time, he shoved, equipped and drew the knucks from his pocket. And now, possessing a weapon to multiply his damage output, Ryuichi socked the skeleton square on the jaw.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± He eximed, having almost effortlessly knocked the boney creature¡¯s head off its shoulders. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that too easy, oi.¡±

    He had honestly not expected the monster to be so brittle. Not only was it unable to evade, but it had the lower half of its skull, from the jaw to the nose,pletely fall apart as the head flew off and hit a far away wall. And as that happened, the remainder of its body also stopped functioning. It skull-less skeleton dropped to the ground as if all of its stamina points had been drained to zero.

    ¡°So weak¡­ no, maybe it¡¯s supposed to be like that?¡±

    Everything else was like a game, so why not the enemies too? It could be that this dungeon assumes that everyone starts at level 1 and provides the monsters ordingly. Though it could just be a coincidence that he encountered the weakest of monsters as his first. Ryuichi didn¡¯t really care or want to think about it too deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just take this.¡± He figured having one was better than not, and picked up the club dropped by his first kill. And the moment he did,

    Royal Sword: Create a sword fit for a king.

    The skill name reacted intensely, as if demanding he use it.

    ¡°Yeah, but is this trashy club supposed to be my royal sword now¨D¨D Woah!?¡± Golden light enveloped the dirty old club in Ryuichi¡¯s grasp. It was an intense light, but Ryuchi was able to see that the dead skeleton on the ground was simrly shining golden.

    Setting target constituents¡­Wooden ClubSkeleton Bones

    Commencing synthesis: Royal Sword¨D¨D Finalized.

    A few lines ran past Ryuichi¡¯s mental eye before the golden light vanished. He then noticed that in his hand now was the synthesized Royal Sword. This thing was no longer the crude and chipped wooden club it used to be, but had transformed into a thick, spiky pole¨D¨D

    ¡°It¡¯s a damn nail bat alright.¡± <i>not even close to a sword,</i> Ryuichi couldn¡¯t help but mentally retort.

    The shape, the length, the splintered bone shards sticking out all over, it looked just like the infamous weapon of choice of Nailbat MASA, one of ck High¡¯s Elite Four. That midboss level delinquent would paint his bat white to make it have the semnce of bone. Ryuichi had cringed hard the first time he had the displeasure of witnessing it, and now¡­ well, his own was made of actual skeleton bone fused around a wooden club, but that didn¡¯t make him feel any better about it.

    ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± He¡¯d make use of it. It was better than the crude club at least, and its new shape was more bnced too. Ryuichi continued on his way within the stone passages, now with a weapon.

    ¡°¨D¨D Getting a bit tired of these.¡± Ryuichi muttered while finishing off yet another batch of skeletons. Those seemed to be the only type of monster on his encountering roster. The skeletons carried weapons of course, a club here, a spear there, but their movement and dexterity wasughable, and even facing a number of them simultaneously became repetitious work for Ryuichi.

    ¡°Give me,¡± he swung wide, ¡°A break already!!¡± destroying his umptieth skeleton, with a yell of frustration.

    His Royal Sword skill seemed to do something asionally after the frequent skeleton bashings. It would cause the defeated skeleton bodies to glow and sucked them into itself. It didn¡¯t grow or change shape but was likely repairing itself. Ryuichi wasn¡¯t exactly going easy on the weapon, and repeated swings naturally caused cracks to form and bone shards to break off. But once the skill did its thing, the weapon would return to its original, pristine state.

    ¡°And another thing. I¡¯ve been walking for¡­ damn long enough already, but I¡¯m not getting any tired.¡± Rather than his oddly convenient <i>¡®sword¡¯</i>, Ryuichi was more concerned about the bizarre changes in his body.

    He had been walking for quite some time, dispatching every skeleton as they appeared. Ryuichi was no stranger to a little exercise, but walking and even fighting for so long without the smallest sign of weariness just felt off to him.

    ¡°Who knows, maybe I¡¯m leveling up?¡± If we went by game logic again, the possibility wasn¡¯t out of the question. Perhaps, the more enemies he defeated, the more his maximum stamina would increase. It could be any number of game mechanics.

    ¡°Or, it could be that <i>mana</i> stuff...¡± Ryuichi knew the basics from the messages popping up on his notebook. It exined some things, but nothing substantive on the changes happening to his body.

    ¡°No use worrying about that either.¡± Ryuichi sighed. ¡°Gotta get myself to the end of this dungeon anyway.¡±

    This trek continued for half a day before he found his first fairy square, which is where he discovered the use of his third candidacy skill.

    Treasury: Storage fit for a king.

    And the first royal item that found its way to the treasury was a fairy walnut.

    ¡°Not a 4d pocket at all.¡± Ryuchi mused cynically, and he would be correct, as it wasn¡¯t a pocket, but a magic circle.

    This shining, golden circle could appear on his palm with a thought, and took in any physical object to store inside who knows where. Ryuichi could feel that the object was inside, and he could freely withdraw it as well. As for how much he could store in there, while it wasn¡¯t infinite like a true 4d pocket, it was certainly much more spacious than any volume a person couldfortably carry.

    ¡°Should¡¯ve loaded up on all those extra bones and weapons when I had the chance.¡±

    Just about every skeleton helt some sort of weapon. Some even had swords, actual ded ones. The problem was that these swords were always covered in rust, so Ryuichi wasn¡¯t so keen on using them. There was also the fact that swords or spears didn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d be as effective on skeletons as a blunt weapon. And since he hadn¡¯t known about the uses of his treasury skill, Ryuichi had refrained from picking up any extra baggage.

    ¡°Plus, I¡¯ve gotten nothing but the boney fucks this whole time. I can get more.¡± He might pick up something good along the way, Ryuichi convinced himself. He ate a tasteless dinner of walnut and water, and went on his way.

    He never did find a drop weapon he really wanted to have.

    ¡°... Is this thing getting bigger?¡± Having obliterated countless skeletons, the Royal Sword had gradually gottenrger before he noticed. While it was initially the size of a baseball bat, something a person couldfortably swing, the spiky club had now surpassed a meter in length and its girth had essentially doubled.

    The bigger the weapon, the more strength you¡¯d need to wield it. With a club too big, he risked missing his mark, or worse, letting the skeletons get a hit on him¡­ however, Ryuichi felt that the increased size was perfect for him.

    This made him realize that it was not only his stamina being affected by the continuous fighting, but even his muscle strength.

    ¡°So I¡¯m leveling up, and getting my weapon upgraded¡­ now¡¯s about the time a boss battle happens.¡± Ryuichi said,ing across a set ofrge double doors on an entrance quite unlike the rest of the ce.

    ¡°No surprise there, even the boss is a skeleton.¡±

    Inside the room behind the double doors, arge circr chamber the size of a baseball stadium mound, stood its sole upant at the very center, the 3 meter giant, the skeleton boss.

    ¡°This¡¯ll be fun.¡± Ryuichi had been getting increasingly bored with all those skeletons after all.

    The skeleton boss, nimble as it wasrge, turned to face the new intruder boldly entering itsir. It drew out the gigantic de stuck in the ground next to it and was ready for battle.

    ¡°Get some.¡± The skeleton boss responded to Ryuichi¡¯s taunt by closing in with swift steps, swinging its huge cruciform sword just as fast, likely faster than an ordinary human could see. Not to mention its length gave the undead wielder a tremendous advantage in reach.

    ¡° ¨D¨D Woah, fast fucker ain''tcha?¡± Ryuichimented as he back stepped away from the massive deing from over head. The heavy impact caused the floor to crack and raised up stone dust. Ryuichi was finally getting into the mood as the draft caused by the swing raised his blond dyed hair.

    ¡°But you¡¯re nowhere near as good as Yuuto. He¡¯s at least got technique.¡± Ryuichi mocked as he jumped all the way up to the giant¡¯s chest. And he swung his supersized nail bat with all his might.

    ¡°<i>Oraa!!</i>¡± It struck. His full power swing made a clean hit on one of the skeleton boss¡¯ kneecaps. It produced a dull sound like a hammer hitting a wall, creating cracks but not breaking the joint.

    ¡°Can¡¯t one shot this one!¡± He figured that breaking its legs would give him a clear speed advantage. But although he couldn¡¯t bust that kneecap, Ryuichi had seeded in making the skeleton boss¡¯ movements much slower. It probably didn¡¯t feel pain, but the damage had been substantial enough to hamper normal movement.

    ¡°I¡¯ve practically won already¡­ but I shouldn¡¯t take it easy against a boss. Yeah, better just finish it off.¡±

    From there, it was simply a matter of time before Ryuichi bashed enough times topletely destroy the monster. He first finished the job on the already fractured knee. Having now lost a leg, the boss lost bnce and toppled over, letting Ryuichi concentrate his efforts on its skull, the most likely weak point, and its right hand that held the sword, its only weapon.

    During that time, the skeleton boss had managed to swing, or rather, meaninglessly il its sword, a total of two times as the de didn¡¯t even graze Ryuichi, what with his superhuman stamina and reaction speed. He continued bashing his targeted locations.

    ¡°Oh, got the hand first, now¨D¨D¡± The fingers on its boney right hand were broken to the point that the skeleton boss couldn¡¯t maintain its hold on its weapon. And before the giant could reach out with its remaining left hand, Ryuichi picked up the dropped weapon with both arms. This sword was sized to match its 3 meter tall wielder, and would clearly not be easy for a human to use with any measure of uracy.

    Swinging it down on an immobile, defenseless enemy iling on the ground, however, was another matter entirely.

    ¡° ¨D¨D time to die!!¡± Ryuichi brought the hulking sword down on the skeleton boss¡¯ neck, thetter of whom having no way to defend against an impact of such caliber, easily lost its head, bringing the battle to a close.

    ¡°... I¡¯m supposed to step inside there?¡±

    The notebook mail service had already informed him about boss rooms containing transfer circles and also on how to use them. Still, Ryuichi wasn¡¯t very keen on walking into the magic glowy thing on the floor without a second thought.

    He had already collected the boss core of course. It was inside the skull.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try something first.¡±

    The magic circle at the center of the room was ready and waiting, but Ryuichi had some unfinished business, particrly with the boss and its big ass sword.

    ¡°Might just get a real sword out of this one.¡±

    And he was right, as his skill did exactly that.

    Setting target constituents¡­Large Skeleton BonesGreatsword

    Commencing synthesis: Royal Sword¨D¨D Finalized.

    The golden light vanished, leaving Ryuichi with a new greatsword in hand.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad at all.¡±

    The weapon had a rustic design, appearing as if a de had grown out of the boney grip. It wasn¡¯t pretty, it had no art, it was a very rough sword. But it was a sword custom made for Ryuichi¡¯s use. Both its size and weight felt just right. And let¡¯s not forget that this weapon had an actual de which would greatly boost Ryuichi¡¯s destructive potential.

    With this greatsword, Ryuichi felt that he could cut a simr Large Skeleton in half on the first swing. Satisfied, Ryuichi was about to turn away from the remaining bones which were missing some bits here and there, and that¡¯s when he realized something.

    Law of the Jungle: Feast! Reach the greatest heights by consuming the flesh of beaten foes.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s just¡­¡± Ryuichi brought down his eyebrows and tightly shut his eyes in contemtion. It was an act he¡¯d done not once in any of his fights so far, the act of worrying. Worrying should he really test out his innate skill.

    Coming to a decision, Ryuichi took a small, finger length piece of bone and bit down on it, like it was no different from having a smoke.

    Skill Predation

    Bonecrusher: Increased attack power toward bones.

    New Bone: Improved mending of bones.

    This chapter is sponsored by Nn N.

    Also, if you missed it, I posted illustrations from the first vol of jujutsushi. It has art from the first three arcs.

 Chapter 90: Tendou Ryuichi ( 2 )

    Chapter 90: Tendou Ryuichi ( 2 )

    ¡°.... this is, different.¡±

    After arriving at a fairy square upon his magical transfer following the skeleton boss fight, Ryuichi went outside to fine not stone passages that spawned skeletons like the previous area, but a zone full of green.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly a real jungle, as the floors and walls were still stone, but flora had clearly dominated the construction. The architecture of the zone also seemed to be different in that, while before there had been mainly passages branching out to small rooms, now there wererge forest like areas, domes to be exact, with short passages connecting them. Basically, it could be called a jungle zone.

    ¡°GuBeaaah!!¡±

    ¡°Shut it.¡±

    The first monsters ryuichi encountered here were a ck humanoid type called gomas. They tried to use the environment to their advantage, hiding behind bushes and on branches, and hadunched an attack on Ryuichi from all directions. Not an issue.

    ¡°These are easy too.¡±

    He designated them as smallfry from the moment he first saw one. They coulde in swarms and Ryuichi would have no trouble at all dealing with them. Of course, these short, ck monsters held ded weapons that could potentially injure him, but he felt not an iota of threat. He almost felt like yawning at the whole affair, but since they were kind enough to wee him, he figured he could at least show some gratitude by testing his new sword on them.

    Ryuichi needed only one swing to not only cut down the poorly armed gomas leaping at him from all directions, but the sh even chopped down the tree where their archery hiding, bringing it equal death.

    ¡°This thing¡¯s pretty sharp.¡±

    He was afraid that his sword would be as sharp as a block of wood, but thankfully, it wasn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the skeleton boss¡¯ sword that was of high quality or if his Royal Sword skill did the magic.

    Whatever it was, Ryuichi was satisfied with his new, reliable sword, and continued his march through the jungle zone in steady steps.

    Some timeter, and with a sigh, ¡°... Guess zone bosses are the only things that¡¯ll give me a fight.¡±

    This zone was different from the previous, skeleton-only area in that there were a variety of monsters here. There were humanoid ones like gomas and other ones that looked like animals.

    A weird, red dog that spat fireballs, horned monkeys that hopped around like bunnies, wild boars whose only course of action seemed to be ¡®charge¡¯, yellow toads with poison tongues, and many, many giant bug type monsters: man sized ants, bees and mantises, just everywhere.

    Predated skills

    Red Spark: Let off hot sparks.

    Sidestep: Make agile side steps.

    Charge¡®n Dash: Build up potential and perform a powerful charge.

    Paralyzer: Produce paralysis poison.

    Power of the Ant: Lift things many times your weight.

    Dissolver: Produce acidic fluid.

    Mantis sh: A quick and deadly double sh with scythes.

    Arriving at his second fairy square, Ryuichi reluctantly ate the least disgusting of the monster parts¡­ mostly a single piece of bone from each monster, and learned a number of new skills. He did not eat any gomas, however. Not because they were humanoid and it would be wrong, but because his gut sense had told him that eating that disgusting creature wouldn¡¯t get him anything.

    The skills he did gain didn¡¯t seem like they would be useful at all at the moment, but since this world worked on rpg mechanics, they might juste in handy somewhere down the line.

    After that, he went on to traverse more of the jungle zone,ing to a point where he didn¡¯t seem to find any new types of monsters, which was when he came to a dome muchrger and higher than any he¡¯d seen before. And as he took the first step inside,

    ¡° ¨D¨D Woah!¡± Ryuichi was met with an explosion right in front of him, followed by a hot gust of wind to the face. The powerful st shook therge jungle trees and threw up Ryuichi¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Could be a runaway boss?¡± he thought, never fearing a challenge. He took a bold stride inside and discovered the cause of the explosion.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re¡­ Tendo Ryuichi.¡±

    At the center of the dome that had opened up into a wide field, Ryuichi found the giant red creature.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s... a fucking dragon.¡± He noted.

    A ¡®red dragon¡¯ perhaps, as it could be called in a fantasy game.

    ¡°Hehe, surprised are we? This ¡®Smander¡¯ is my familiar, <i>my</i> obedient servant.¡±

    It¡¯s face was unlike that of a lizard and nor was it crocodilian. It had the ferocious look that could only be described as a dragon¡¯s. Rows of razor-sharp teeth lined its massive jaws and small sparks could be seen escaping the gaps in between. Its red wings were lifted outstretched and its two bulky legs allowed it to stand upright, giving the beast a certain regality, like that of a ruler of all monsters. Its long tail looked flexible and was yet covered in tough red scales that gave of a metallic sheen. One strike from such a tail could surely break human bone.

    However, Ryuichi noted that overall, the color of this dragon felt faded¡­ giving the impression that it was an old, aged dragon.

    ¡°Fret not. So long as I holdmand over it, Smander will not attack you.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Wait, when¡¯d you get there?¡± Ryuichi said as he finally noticed the young man standing arms crossed in front of the red dragon, looking awfully proud of himself¡­. From the fact that he was wearing the school uniform, Ryuichi quickly understood that he must be a ssmate.

    ¡°I have been here this whole time! You see this Smander? This is mine!¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah. Who are you again?¡±

    ¡°W-who am I¡­? Are you seriously asking that!? I am your ss Rep, for goodness¡¯ sake!¡±

    ¡°No? You¡¯re definitely not Ryoko¨D¨D Ah, right, there was the boy¡¯s rep too, I guess. Oh yeah, you¡¯re Kazuma, right?¡±

    ¡°Azuma! My name is Azuma Shinichi!¡±

    ¡°Sure, close enough.¡±

    Ryuichi was frankly terrible with names. Or rather, he found it a pain to remember people. Just didn¡¯t give a crap, basically. Then again, he kind-of-sort-of did remember seeing this guy stand at the ss podium along with Ryoko a couple of times. Maybe?

    Ryuichi finally connected the boy in front of him to the boy¡¯s ss Rep of 2-7.

    ¡°Alright, now what? You¡¯re gonna sic your <i>amazing</i> dragon on me, that how it¡¯s gonna go?¡±

    ¡°<i>Sic</i> him on you? Me? It is truly dr?le how the first thing you delinquents think of is fighting. It is because of people like you that young adults of our age have gotten thebel of being ¡®too short tempered¡¯. I personally think it is the adults who put <i>all</i> us youths into the same category as <i>some</i> hot-blooded muscle-brains need to get their own heads examined¨D¨D but I digress. Let me just say, that I have no intention of instigating any form of violence against you. Let us think about this logically, yes? What reason would I, a ssmate of yours, have to attack a fellow of mine when we should be joining hands one and all in order to surmount this catastrophe that has befallen us. In fact, the very suggestion of such barbarism is so carelessly nonsensical that¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Quit your bullshit.¡± Ryuichi put a swift end to Azuma¡¯s monologue. ¡°Your little <i>pet</i> almost went and attacked me and <i>you</i> had to stop it.¡±

    ¡°... What ever might you be implying?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again. Your damn dragon sensed <i>you</i> wanting to kill me, so it did its thing.¡±

    Ryuichi had of course been well aware of Azuma¡¯s presence at the moment the dragon had entered his visual range. He had simply forgotten this particr ss representative¡¯s name but, had no doubt that the youth in front of him was the master of the seemingly out of control dragon. Ryouichi had even seen Azuma gesture at his fire breathing pet from behind, firmly ordering it to stand down while he boastfully called out to the ss¡¯ toughest delinquent.

    ¡°It¡¯s all over your face.¡± Ryuichi said, driving the point home. ¡°Heh, guess that¡¯s an honor student for you? All goody-goody to the core.¡±

    The cocky smilepletely disappeared from Boys¡¯ ss Rep¡¯s, from Azuma Shinichi¡¯s face as he scowled, directing eyes of enmity at Ryuichi¡­. But he wasn¡¯t about to blow his top just yet. In no time, he straightened his expression, and looked Ryuichi in the eye: ¡°I cannot seem to understand what you might be implying. But if that is how you see it, I suppose I cannot convince you otherwise.¡±

    ¡°ying dumb, now?¡± Ryuichi saw no reason to y along. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want your pet lighting me up?¡±

    ¡°I kindly request that you stop it with those nonsensical provocations.¡±

    ¡°Then how about you fucking decide. Fight me or fuck off. I don¡¯t have time to y games.¡± Ryuichi said, shoving his hands into his pant pockets as a gesture that he was willing to give Azuma some time to make a decision. At the same time, almost naturally, he gave off the intimidating aura of a bad-to-the-bone delinquent squatting outside a convenience store past midnight, the type that an upstanding student such as Azuma wouldn¡¯t even think to approach. This left the Boys¡¯ ss Rep unable to speak right away.

    Azuma took in a breath, exhaled, then made his case, ¡±Listen, Tendo Ryuichi. Seeing as you havee this far inside the dungeon, you should be well aware as to what sort of ce this really is. Am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s your point?¡±

    Ryuichi understood it simply as a world where video game logic seems to work, except for the fact that dying here meant actual death.

    ¡°This ce is very, very dangerous.¡± Azuma began. ¡°We have been granted amazing powers by our Callings, but the creatures inhabiting this dungeon, the monsters, also have a variety of powers. I am certain that in the very depths of this dungeon, we are sure to encounter an unimaginably powerful boss monster.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°You may be proud of your strength, Tendo Ryuichi, you were even famous for it. But let me remind you, that strength back in our world means nothing here. A Calling grants us power easily surpassing any human being. Your Calling is your absolute lifeline, so it is only logical to assume that multiple individuals possessing these Callings can exert much greater power where they to cooperate.¡±

    ¡°<i>Oi</i>, you n on getting to the fucking point sometime this year? Quit wasting time.¡±

    ¡°Tsk...¡± Azumaplied irritably. ¡°In other words, I am saying that we should all work together, you, me, and all of our ssmates. Thus, Tendo Ryuichi, I suggest you refrain from suggesting that you want to act solo.¡±

    ¡°AAh?¡± Ryuichi barked. ¡°You telling me what to do now, is that it?¡±

    ¡°I am suggesting,¡± Azuma¡¯s voice began to grow in volume, ¡°and in very clear, logical, easy to understand terms, that we must consolidate our strength!¡±

    ¡°Calm down dude, your sses are getting fogged over.¡±

    As Ryuichi had correctly pointed out, Azuma¡¯s slim ck-rimmed spectacles had indeed been coated in the condensed vapor produced as a result of his heavy breathing. That calm retort from the supposedly hot-headed delinquent however, was akin to pouring oil on a fire.

    ¡°I am speaking calmly!¡±

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t get so worked up. We¡¯re gonna work together right?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The Boys¡¯ ss Rep had snapped. Ryuichi didn¡¯t go so far as to sigh in annoyance (even though he wanted to), but he was nearing the limit to his patience. He entertained the idea of shutting up his over-excited ssmate with a solid punch to the gut, but he wasn¡¯t sure if ¡®Fido¡¯ the dragon would sit idly while his master is being attacked. Ryuichi got the distinct impression that this whole thing was going to be a major pain in the ass.

    ¡°... Tendo Ryuichi, just tell me this. Are you going to cooperate or not, yes or no?¡±

    <i>Oi, where¡¯d Mr. Sophisticated go all of a sudden?</i> Ryuichi wanted to say as Azuma suddenly switched to speaking like a normal person, but he stopped himself, thinking it better not to fan the mes even further.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m gonna do my own thing for a while. If you want to get everyone together, be my guest. I won¡¯t get in your way.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯ll be fine acting all on your own?¡±

    ¡°Do <i>you</i> really think I can just hold hands and get along with everyone else?¡±

    To Ryuichi, it was sort of hrious how Azuma was seriously asking him, <i>him</i> of all people to cooperate. Feeling exasperated, Ryuichi decided to set him straight. ¡°Take a good, long look. I bleached my head, I don¡¯t give one fuck about the school dress code, and I even smoke¡­ oh, yeah can¡¯t smoke anymore. But you get my point. You even said it yourself: I¡¯m a delinquent.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t particrly proud of it, nor was he one for show, but, ¡°Can¡¯t be a damn delinquent if I let a stupid dragon scare me, yeah?¡±

    At some point, people just started calling him one. He hadn¡¯t strayed from the so-called ¡®honest¡¯ path, but merely became one through the natural course of his life. Therefore, being thrown into a dangerous world full of deadly monsters didn¡¯t seem like much of a reason to change his ways. That was Ryuichi¡¯s take on the matter.

    ¡°Ri-ri-ridiculous!¡± ss Rep Azuma had, as expected, not liked his answer.

    ¡°Think about it, do you even need me at all? Heck, your n might just go smoother without me around.¡±

    Ryuichi did not get along with many people. At most, there was his childhood friend who stuck to him through and through, but his other ssmates? They¡¯d be scared out of their wits just being in his presence. Ryuichi was keenly self-aware about these things.

    ¡°We can¡¯t have anyone do as they please in our situation! You are no exception to that!¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this we? You¡¯re making this bigger than it needs to be. I mean, you and everyone will be fine as long as Yuuto¡¯s around.¡±

    At the mention of said childhood friend, Azuma fell silent for a moment. ¡°... Yuuto? Do you mean Souma Yuuto-kun? Why, do you mention <i>him</i>.¡±

    ¡°Well, who else is gonna take charge?¡±

    One morning, the students of ss 2-7 had suddenly found themselves being sent to another world, thrown into a dungeon full of monsters where they¡¯d have to fight and survive. It was a scenario so unrealistic, it was more likely that they¡¯d be attacked by armed terrorists. And in that confusion and turmoil, only Yuuto could take charge.

    Ryuichi readily believed that only Yuuto, the guy who somehow stuck with him through thick and thin, had what it took to aplish the feat of uniting and leading the rest of them. He knew that neither he himself nor anyone else could do the same.

    ¡°N-Now look, <i>I¡¯m</i> the ss Rep! If anyone is going to take responsibility and pull everyone together, it should obviously be me! I can¡¯t believe you would¨D¨D ¡±

    ¡°Haha, good one.¡± Ryuichi couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Azuma¡¯s misguided sense of responsibility. Was their ss Rep, whose only <i>responsibility</i> had been doing a bit of paperwork, actually being serious? It only sounded like a silly joke to Ryuichi. ¡°But seriously, you¡¯re in way over your head. Times like these, you just gotta rx and let Yuuto handle it.¡±

    Ryuichi, of course, had meant no harm, and was simply advising Azuma on the facts that he genuinely believed. That being said, not many people would dly stand down upon being so frankly told that they were just ¡®not cut out for it.¡¯

    ¡°Shut up!¡± came the outburst. ¡°Shut up, you just shut up Tendo Ryuichi¡­ Do you think I will let you insult me like this!? You¡¯re, you¡¯re picking a fight, aren¡¯t you!? I¡¯ll show you!¡±

    ¡°Ah fuck, so we¡¯re back to the beginning.¡± Ryuichi sighed in futility at how the two were back on mildly hostile terms. He wanted toin about the wasted time, but Azuma¡¯s constantly flip-flopping temper had really ruined his mood for fighting. Arguing with this guy was not so much irritating as mentally exhausting.

    In fact, he much rather preferred the hot-blooded and straight-forward <i>¡°Oi, that¡¯s Tendo from Shiramine! Yer fucking dead!¡±</i> that the delinquents from ck High went with.

    ¡°<i>I¡¯m</i> the one in charge of ss 2-7! Souma Yuuto should be listening to me! And you, Tendo Ryuichi, do not think I¡¯ll let you go off on your own!¡±

    Ryuichi heaved a sigh. ¡°... So what, you¡¯re telling me to fall in line, is that it? Listen to you and be all buddy buddy?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, if you can that is. I judge a person not by their words but by their actions, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±

    ¡°So let¡¯s say I do that, and even fight my share. You¡¯re fine with that, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course. If you do as you say, I will dly admit that I had misjudged your character.¡±

    ¡°Hm...¡± Ryuichi made a testing hum. ¡°So yeah, I know this isn¡¯t rted, but about Ryouko yeah? She¡¯s pregnant.¡±

    ¡°Hu h!?¡±

    ¡°I knocked her up.¡±

    Azuma let out aically shaken voice followed with an equally dumbstruck expression. Ryuichi imagined that even a circus clown couldn¡¯t make a face this funny.

    ¡°Wh-wh-what, are you even¡­¡± Azuma began muttering, ¡°no, that can¡¯t, how could she¡­ Kisaragi-kun is preg...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. It was on our summer trip to Hawaii, you know, the one with Yuuto and a bunch of others. Kind of just happened.¡±

    He was in fact, lying. About the pregnancy, and about the child being his. All a simple lie. It was simply unfathomable to Ryuichi how such a strict and uptight girl like Ryoko would even begin to like him, the ss¡¯ number one delinquent. Cheezy scenarios like that belonged in cheezy shoujo manga.

    But they had in fact gone to Hawaiist summer break. Ryuichi would im he was practically dragged along by Yuuto but the fact remains that he went there. They¡¯d even given out souvenirs to some of their friends in ss, and talk of the trip had bemon gossip soon enough. Anyone and everyone knew about it.

    For the record, the trip included 9 members: the Souma brother and sister of course, along with Tendo Ryuichi, Kousaka Hiroki, Kisaragi Ryoko, Natsukawa Minami, Kenzaki Asuna, Takanashi Kotori and Reina A. Ayase. Evidently, the above listing consisted of practically all the top beauties of the ssroom, and so, many a jealous re flew about. Not toward Ryuichi of course, as the only boy who could even work up the courage to give him any looks would be Higuchi Kyouya, who, by all ounts, seemed very docile and uninterested about the whole affair. As such, and s, all the eyes of envy fell on Kousaka Hiroki alone.

    Which was not only unfortunate, but greatly unfair, as most of the female attendee¡¯s on the overseas trip had eyes for Souma Yuuto, and thus, Hiroki had experienced not a single spicy event throughout the whole adventure. Truly, he was the ultimate victim of it all.

    ¡°That¡¯s, just crazy...¡±

    ¡°Yeah man, we must¡¯ve been. I mean, we even kept fucking for a while aftering back. No condom or anything.¡± <i>Shit happens, am I right? Ha-ha-ha,</i> Ryuichi finished, thinking how bad his makeshift acting must¡¯ve looked.

    Now to see just how Mr. Straightced ss Rep, how Azuma Shinichi will react to this sudden revtion¡­

    ¡° ¨D¨D Yup.¡±

    Azuma said, no waver in his voice.

    ¡°Yup. I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Ryuichi looked at him. At his bulging eyes but otherwise emotionless face. He wasn¡¯t sure where this was going, but he sensed that it was strange. Very strange.

    ¡°You know, Tendo Ryuichi, I wanted to be a good person.¡± Azuma began. Ryuichi¡¯s first thought was that he was going to go off on another tirade, but his tone was cid. It was as if all the anger and frustration from just now had vanished into thin air. ¡°I am strong. It¡¯s because I¡¯m strong that I was granted such great power. Power that I would use responsibly. That is how it was meant to be. I aspired to use this strength wisely and protect my ssmates, take care of them, lead them back home, to Earth, to Japan. I truly wanted that, you know? Even if I knew¨D¨D ¡±

    At this point, Azuma¡¯s wide-open eyes had gone wet and glossy.

    ¡° ¨D¨D Even if I knew, that only three of us could go back!¡±

    ¡°Only three? Oi, what the f¨D¨D !?¡± The dragon attacked.

    Ryuichi heard a whistling intake of air, then saw from the red behemoth¡¯s gaping jaws, a sh of orange.

    Dragon breath. Dragons are creatures that breathe fire. It was the stuff of legends and folklore back on Earth, and in this world, a concrete and undeniable truth.

    Ryuichi already knew that though. He knew that the explosion he was met with upon his entry into this dome was caused by the fire of this very same dragon.

    Even Ryuichi, with his powered up body, couldn¡¯t take such an explosion head on. Before his ears began ringing, he not only made the split-second decision to dodge with one of his predation skills, Sidestep, but he additionally used his Royal Sword to shield himself from the st wave. Even then, he was blown back. That was a powerful attack. If he hadn¡¯t evaded, he would¡¯ve ended up as a smudge on the charred ground.

    ¡°<i>Tsk</i>... chances ain¡¯t so good here¡± Ryuichi judged that the open area he had tumbled to would only leave him open to attacks, and so, quickly standing up, he ran for the trees.

    ¡°<i>Fuh, fufu, fwahahahaha!!</i> You see now, Tendo Ryuichi! This, this is my power!¡±

    <i>Uh, no, your dragon¡¯s doing all the work,</i> Ryuichi wanted to retort but now wasn¡¯t the time.

    He was more or less hidden now, and didn¡¯t expect the dragon to burn down the whole forest. Even Azuma wouldn¡¯t risk that.

    ¡°This is all your fault, Tendo Ryuichi¡­ Here I was, trying to SAVE everyone using the STRONGEST power that only I was granted, and you just had to¡­ you, youuuuuuu!!!¡±

    The lie that Ryuichi had fathered a child with Kisaragi Ryoko had caused this madness within Azuma. Ryuichi had expected to rile him up, but he didn¡¯t expect the guy to go absolutely ballistic.

    ¡°<i>Great...</i>¡± Ryuichi sighed, ¡°You just had to get a nutcase go for you huh, Ryoko.¡±

    Ryuichi knew how Azuma Shinichi had a thing for Kisaragi Ryoko. It wasmon knowledge for the better half of their ss, a staple topic for those interested in love gossip. Azuma was just that obvious about it.

    And that¡¯s exactly why Ryuichi told the lie that he did. To test him.

    Azuma had made noble and virtuous ims. Like how he would gather and lead his ssmates through these troubled times, leaving no one behind and all that. But how far was he really willing to follow through with those ideals?

    For instance, what if it turned out that the girl he likes was carrying another man¡¯s child? What if the father turned out to be the type of scum that he simply despised, someone who boasted about their lewd deed in vulgar detail? Could he still make peace with such a man, in the name of his noble cause; could he work together with such a man, knowing all this?

    The answer to those questions, as it has been shown, is evidently, a big, fat NO.

    ¡°I¡¯m done! I¡¯m done being the stupid ss Rep! I¡¯ll escape! Me and, and the girl I love, only the two of us will survive and return back to Japan, we¡¯ll even start a family!¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah? Then take good care of my kid will ya? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be a great <i>dad</i>!¡±

    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Azuma screamed. ¡°Kill him! Smander!!¡±

    Another massive explosion. The forest was being set aze at an rming rate¨D¨D but the red heat of the huge fireballs were flying at random while Ryuichi was still hidden behind the thick green.

    ¡°So you do wanna fight, after all. Bring it on, Azuma¨D¨D ¡± A fireball flew toward the direction of his voice, but itsck in uracy made dodging easy. Each time the dragon¡¯s breath missed, it was an opportunity to get used to it.

    Firing rate, damage output, attack range and uracy, Ryuichi observed and learned.

    Ryuichi knew just how strong he was. So he knew that if he were to give it his all here, he had a decent chance at winning against that thing.

    The risk was exhrating, fun even. Without realizing, Ryuichi¡¯s mouth had curved into a wide grin as he took on the challenge:

    ¡° ¨D¨D I¡¯m ready, anytime.¡± This chapter was sponsored by Nn N. The next one is out too

 Chapter 91: Team DQN

    Chapter 91: Team DQN

    ¡°... I can¡¯t, believe it.¡±

    I was in a fairy square. Just when I had thought that all hope was lost and gone, I ended up joining another party of ssmates and we¡¯d used the transfer circle to safely teleport into the next fairy square.

    ¡°Shit, doesn¡¯t that mean that If I¡¯d only waited for a while longer, I wouldn¡¯t have had to engage in that death match with Higuchi¡­?¡± I was thinking on useless what-ifs. What if nobody had died before he, before Tendo Ryuichi arrived¡­ if that had happened, the rest of us wouldn¡¯t even matter. My vengeful curse, Masaru¡¯s undying friendship, and Higuchi¡¯s relentless greed; it¡¯d all have been meaningless in front of Tendo Ryuichi¡¯s awe-inspiring strength.

    ¡°He¡¯s OP as fuck. On par with Souma-kun¡¯s Hero calling no joke.¡±

    I got the chance to witness that power firsthand in the battle with the boss, with the goliath (temp name) that happened just earlier.

    The powerful monster waiting inside the boss room was just as Masaru had described: very simr to the the Goliath from Undead Bounty. It had the figure of a gori on steroids, with bulging, veiny muscles all over. It sported horns on its head like an oni from folklore, and its body was covered with grey, metallic carapace like an armorbear.

    <i>Yeah, no shit Higuchi was trying to find a loophole, just look at it.</i> Was my initial impression of the muscle-bound monstrosity. And its looks hadn¡¯t been for show either.

    ¡°Seriously, what¡¯s he even supposed to be? He doesn¡¯t feel like a Hero, but he¡¯s clearly not something nd like Swordsman or Warrior either. Wait, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the Demon King...¡±

    I¡¯d watched Tendo-kun fight the goliath from the door to the room that he¡¯d left ajar when he entered. The goliath, seeing its prey casually enter itsir, raised a dizzying howl, ready to pounce at any moment. While on the other side, Tendo-kun generated a bright golden magic circle at his hand, and the next thing I knew, he was holding a huge, red sword.

    Speaking of bigass swords, thergest one I¡¯d encountered was the ymore Yokomichi had, ¡®was¡¯ being the operative term. Tendou-kun¡¯s sword was a lot bigger. Not only was it close to 2 meters in length, its de was abnormally thick and girthy. I seem to remember that real life two handed swords go up to 2 meters, but they¡¯re a lot thinner, and made only as heavy as 3 kg so that they¡¯re actually practical.

    Tendo-kun¡¯s big, red murder-stick however, spat on the principles of real life physics, and looked truly like the epic cover-art tier de an RPG protagonist would use. No ordinary human could carry that giant lump of metal. Heck, I¡¯d be a pancake if it dropped on top of me.

    And yet, Tendo-kun had been holding it up with one hand, not breaking one drop of sweat. Carrying it wasn¡¯t all he did, of course. With blitzing speed, Tendo-kun delivered an overhead sh toward the goliath. At the same time, his sword burst in crimson.

    The result: Not only had the ground underneath charred in red, but the goliath was instantly split vertically in two. Its left and right where flung in opposite directions as bright mes wrapped them up. In the time it took gravity to carry the two halves back to the ground, they were nothing but charred meat.

    The battle with the goliath ended in one fell swoop and we all teleported here to this fairy square, end of shback.

    ¡°I¡¯d definitely be safe with Tendo-kun around¡­ yeah no.¡±

    I mean, if they insisted that we should all work together and look out for each other, I¡¯d be more than happy to oblige, really¡­ but I personally had doubts as to whether I could even get along with Tendo-kun¡¯s team.

    Just looking at the members told me that. We have Tendo Ryuichi, the ss¡¯ number one delinquent, the guy that even the meatheads from ck High feared, along with the top three gals of our ss. Basically, not one of them could be described as an upstanding student. In other words, they were Team DQN, consisting of apletely different race of peoplepared to someone like me.

    I mean, sure, I might¡¯ve called them gals or delinquency ording to the behaviour they showed in their corner of the ssroom, but they must¡¯ve also madepromises on that after having survived in this dungeon. That being said, I still don¡¯t know anything about them, their callings, how they¡¯ve been living all this time, their goals, nothing. Yeah, what if one day they suddenly decide to get rid of me, like <i>¡°Momokawa, just fuck off~¡±</i> I can totally see them casually dropping a line like that.

    Basically, I need more info.

    The first major hurdle would be actually talking to them¡­ I mean, I guess the pick would have to be Rando Kyoko. No no, I¡¯m not saying that because I like big knockers, mind you. She was, after all, the one who invited me to join their party. Tendo Ryuichi and the other two girls don¡¯t seem to give a damn, so I can¡¯t really expect a conversation from them even if I went for it. Rando-san it is.

    Not to mention that, for a while now, Tendo-kun was being flocked by those two girls on both sides who kept singing his praises. I heard terms like, ¡°So cool¡± or ¡°That was awesome¡± fly about, the kind of stuff you pay for in a hostess bar, but free of charge. Tendo-kun didn¡¯t look all that happy about it though, since he had justid down to rx.

    At any rate, I¡¯m simply not ballsy enough to attempt an interruption to whatever they have going on over there.

    Which leaves me only Rando-san, who was sitting a ways away from them, at the corner of the fairy square¡¯s fountain.

    Actually, even if I kind of feel nervous, thinking back¡­ I¡¯ve had experience talking to Souma Sakura and the rest of that aggravating Worst Harem Party, so I can definitely talk to a girl. I¡¯m even used to them talking to me like I¡¯m trash.

    ¡°Rando-san, can we talk? I wanted to ask a few things.¡±

    ¡°Ah~, heya Momokawa. Sure we can talk¨D¨D ¡±

    Standing in front of Rando-san like this is pretty daunting, to bepletely honest. Her hotness was in theplete opposite vector from the pure, and virtuous beauty of someone like Souma Sakura. I mean, her shirt was half unbuttoned, revealing that captivating cleavage; she wore her skirt short, which put on disy those th meaty thighs and, <i>oof, wait, please don¡¯t cross your legs to the other side while I¡¯m looking. It¡¯s extremely deadly.</i>

    So as I kept my urges in check, I faced Rando-san who seemed to gush in sensual pheromones.

    ¡° ¨D¨D after you wash up, kay? You stink.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! I¡¯m, so sorry...¡±

    Dead. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m dead. Having a girl say I ¡®stink¡¯pletely ripped out my heart¡­. I was too naive. My resistance toward my elemental weakness of ¡®girls¡¯ hadn¡¯t nearly developed as much as I estimated.

    I felt like crying, and decided to promptly go to the other side of the fountain so that I could abide to her suggestion, which is when she caught me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t struggle, hey. I¡¯m gonna get all this gunk off.¡±

    ¡°Eh, huh¡­ wha, wai!?¡±

    I suddenly found myself having my face wiped by Rando-san. In her hand was a wet handkerchief that she was using to scrub away the mud and dried blood off my face. The cold, rubbing sensations were giving me a pleasure unlike¨D¨D hold it, since when did I have that fetish!?

    ¡°Huh, Momokawa, you¡¯re...¡±

    ¡°Wha WHat aRe-!¡± My voice squeaked as my mind went into a raging panic. Rando-san suddenly moved in close, and while she kind of had a ton of makeup on, she still had a really pretty face under all that, which wasn¡¯t good for my heart at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty cute, you know that? A little bit of makeup and you¡¯d look amazing.¡±

    ¡°... Uh huh.¡±

    ¡°Trust me~, I can make you look totally fab.¡±

    ¡°No thank you.¡±

    ¡°Aww,e on. You got such nice, clear skin, and look it¡¯s so soft and bouncy~¡±

    ¡°No seriously, I¡¯m not interested in thwat sowt ob¨D¨D hey, stop it.¡± I mean, she suddenly started ying with my cheeks what am I supposed to say? It¡¯s not like I disliked the feeling, but in this context, I can hardly consent.

    ¡°Come on~ you¡¯ll be in good hands with me~¡±

    ¡°Please no!¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah, you¡¯re really dirty all over, huh. Kay, Momokawa, take ¡®em off.¡±

    ¡°<i>Haaa!?</i>¡±

    Okay, time out. She¡¯s changing subjects way too fast for me to follow. And did she just tell me to strip down?

    ¡°Take of your clothes, hey. Want me to do it?¡±

    ¡°Wait, no, I don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Chill, dude. I¡¯ve got lots of little brothers, so I¡¯m used to it.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not! What are you even saying!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying I¡¯m used to seeing the little pipsqueaks naked, so you don¡¯t need to be shy, alright?¡±

    ¡°No no, that doesn¡¯t make any sense¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Quit wasting time, you!¡±

    I wanted to scream in embarrassment, but quietly took off my uniform, obeying Rando-san. The girl in front of me didn¡¯t raise so much as an eyebrow as I stripped down to my underwear then and there. Sure, she might be used to seeing boys naked or whatever but¡­ this feels so fucking weird.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and wash these so you go and get some of those bugs. You know, the ones that fix clothes.¡±

    ¡°... Yeah, will do. Thanks, Rando-san.¡±

    I changed into my tracksuit without incident, and went on to collect the mimesis worms like I was told. My uniform needed a wash anyway and there were some rips here and there that also needed fixing. I felt like I had to thank Rando-san out of courtesy since she was willing to do half the job.

    Still, it¡¯s downright alien to me how a girl could just casually take a half naked boy¡¯s clothes and start doingundry for him¡­ it¡¯s as if she¡¯s got plenty of experience living with men already.

    We can count out Higuchi since in hisst words he essentially confessed to being in a rtionship with Nagae-san and not Rando-san like I had previously theorized. Then that just means she could be going out with a college student, or maybe someone even older, who knows.

    Actually, no. It doesn¡¯t matter what her rtionship status is. What I need to ask her about is her and this team of ssroom misfits they¡¯ve got going. Yeah, I¡¯ll do just that once I¡¯m done finding these worms.

    ¡°Heya, Tendo, do me a favor~¡± Rando-san called as I was making myself busy.

    ¡°What do you want, Rando?¡± Tendo-kun said drily.

    ¡°Can we like, wait till Momokawa¡¯s clothes are dry?¡±

    ¡°Like, fuck, Kyoko, we¡¯re not ying house ya know?¡± Quipped one of the girls beside Tendo-kun.

    ¡°Frickin¡¯ read the mood, Kyoko.¡± Said the other.

    ¡°Yeah whatever,¡± said Tendo-kun, ¡°you two can stay here. I¡¯mma go take a walk.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Rando-san, ¡°¡®preciate it~¡±

    ¡°Nah, I was just getting bored anyway.¡± Tendo-kun roused his body up from the ground like a lion waking up from his afternoon nap. As he dered so, he headed toward the door out of the square to make a survey of the the new zone.

    ¡°Hey wait for me, Tendo-kun~!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming with too~!¡± The two girls flocked right behind him as he left, one carrying a spear and another carrying an axe, with sub des hung at their waists. From the practiced manner with which they held their weapons, I could guess that they had melee warrior type callings.

    Descriptions aside, what was with that oddly strained conversation just now? Tendo-kun seemed normal enough, but those two girls had real acid in their tone.

    Wait wait wait, does that mean Tendo-kun likes Rando-san!?

    Damn, and I thought he was going for ss Rep¡­ no wait, maybe this exins why he always got so heated up with our female ss rep all the time. Plus, him and Rando-san kind of make a good pair, at least, appearance-wise. I mean, they¡¯re both bleached blond and all.

    Which means that those other two girls, who are <i>very</i> obviously trying to get his attention, would be facing the barrier called Rando-san, thus their attitude. It also exins why Rando-san has been sitting away from them.

    And here I thought they were good friends, seeing as how they always seemed to be in their little gal group in ss¡­. Yup, friendship really is a fragile thing in the harshness of the dungeon. As someone experienced in such matters, my advice would be to settle their differences and make up sooner rather thanter. Yeah right, like I¡¯m one to talk, eh Masaru?

    ¡°Soo, Momokawa.¡± Rando-san suddenly shot dialogue at me. ¡°What kind of trouble have you been up to?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re asking me about life in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Like, you don¡¯t look strong at all, dude.¡±

    I mean, if she looked at me and thought I was strong from only my appearance, I¡¯d have to doubt if her eyes were working.

    ¡°... Rando-san, you don¡¯t happen to have an appraisal skill do you? I mean like, can you see my mana or something?¡±

    In a world with callings and their respective skills, one would be foolish to judge a person''s strength by their appearance. Even a scrawny kid like me could be hiding unlimited potential for murder underneath. Case in point, Reina A. Ayase, the very definition of delicate little princess, is apparently a Spirit Master, an undeniably powerful calling.

    ¡°Uh, what? Yeah, sorry, I don¡¯t follow.¡±

    ¡°Wait, when you say I <i>look</i> weak, you just mean I look weak?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess?¡±

    It was at this point that I felt like aplete idiot.

    Here she was making a genuinely confused face like, <i>¡®what else could it be?¡¯</i> while my head was full of implications upon implications to her simple words.

    Wait, maybe Rando-san¡¯s the type that speaks exactly what¡¯s on her mind?

    ¡°Well, I guess, yeah I am.¡± I answered. ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly get a steller calling from the gods.¡±

    Sure there¡¯s the fact that I won that fight with Higuchi and so objectively speaking, Shaman clearly isn¡¯t the weakest of the callings, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can prance around glorifying it at <i>the best! Just the best!</i> I mean, sorry Ruinhilde-sama, but I¡¯m just not that good at lying.

    ¡°Wew,¡± she mused, ¡°must¡¯ve been a bitching this far.¡±

    ¡°Not entirely. I was with a trusty teammate along the way.¡±

    ¡°Ah~ yeah, makes sense. I¡¯m pretty much the same, so I totally get you~¡±

    <i>Totally know that feel,</i> Rando-san nodded to herself exaggeratedly. But was she really being sympathetic or internally sneering? I couldn¡¯t tell looking at her ¡®totally¡¯ chill face.

    ¡°Soo, howe your alone now? Got lost?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of a long story. Interested?¡±

    ¡°Totally interested~¡± She was unusually interested, making me suspect if she too was like me, collecting info. Well, it¡¯s no big deal whether I go now or after, since I¡¯ll have to tell them part of my circumstances sooner orter.

    ¡°Okay, where do I start, so my first teammate, and by that I mean a ssmate was¨D¨D¡±

    I had to think about what and what not to mention while rting my story. I mentioned the basics, like meeting Mei-chan and about how we joined up with Souma Sakura and her party of girls.

    ¡°Uh hum,¡± Rando-san hummed inquisitively, ¡°So you¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve been with the <i>Miss</i> Souma, ss Rep, Natsukawa, Kenzaki and even Tweety? Dayum Momokawa, that must¡¯ve been a sight for sore eyes every day for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit that they¡¯re pretty, but they were a massive pain to deal with, I swear.¡±

    Tweety must refer to Takanashi Kotori, with how she has ¡®small bird (Ð¡øB)¡¯ literally twice in her name. So that¡¯s what she¡¯s being called behind her back. It¡¯s certainly a lot less malicious than fat shaming Mei-chan with ¡®Butaba.¡¯

    ¡°I mean, like, they kinda feel like an all-star team right? I¡¯ll bet they were all pretty strong too.¡± Rando-san said rather discerningly. Even she could look at them and see that that group of girls were just brimming with talent.

    ¡°And you¡¯d be correct.¡± I validated her guess. ¡°All of them got great powers. Well, Takanashi-san couldn¡¯t fight, but she still made up for it with very useful support and production skills.¡±

    I¡¯m still mad jelly about her upgrade skill. With something like that, she can always equip the people in her party doing the actual fighting with top tier equipment.

    And I¡¯ll also add her ancient tongue skill to the jelly list. Not only is she able to use hidden functions in the fairy square fountains, she might also be able to find shortcuts through the dungeon like Higuchi¡¯s sacrifice stone. It¡¯s a skill with a ton of future potential.

    ¡°Kinda lost your meaning there, but neat.¡± Said Rando-san, in an expression of ¡®kind of sort of impressed¡¯. It appears that I can¡¯t use any geeky terms with her. I¡¯ll have to take my time and exin stuff in normal talk when I need to get her to understand.

    ¡°Okay, so how¡¯d you end up separated, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Kenzaki Asuna pushed me out of the transfer circle right when we were about to jump to the next ce, believe it or not. And all of a sudden, I¡¯mpletely alone, left behind.¡±

    ¡°<i>Pfft! Pff Hahahahaha!!</i>¡± Rando-san burst outughing, ¡°Holy crap, that¡¯s hrious!!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s seriously not funny.¡±

    Seeing her painfully holding her sides in uncontroble mirth felt weirdly fresh, in a way. Must be because I¡¯m safe now and can look back on it.

    ¡°Legit, how do you even get pushed off like that,¡± She spat, not much a question than a retort.

    ¡°It just happened way too fast.¡±

    How do you expect me to react to suddenly getting shoved from behind when I least expected it?

    ¡°Okay seriously though, pfft, why¡¯d she even do that?¡±

    I¡¯d <i>seriously</i> like her to quitughing right about now. Must¡¯ve really tickled her funny bone imagining me tumbling off the circle like a buffoon. Yeah, whatever. She doesn¡¯t seem to mean any harm. It¡¯s all that bitch Kenzaki Asuna¡¯s fault anyway.

    ¡°You could say Kenzaki-san doesn¡¯t exactly have a good impression of me.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what!?¡± Rando-san shot with sober disbelief ¡°Like, love is free and all but seriously, <i>that¡¯s</i> your type? Momokawa, you¡¯re a lot more daring than you look, huh.¡±

    ¡°Okay, can you please stop implying that I attacked her or something, because I didn¡¯t, alright!?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t even touch?¡±

    ¡°I said no!¡±

    What kind of animal does she think I am? Geez. Sure, Kenzaki Asuna technically falls within the busty babes category, butpared to the magnum opus of mammaries that is Mei-chan, she¡¯s nothing, nothing I say. My eyes wouldn¡¯t even wander to such negligible knockers.

    ¡°Well, what <i>did</i> you do then?¡±

    ¡°I uh¡­ can¡¯t say.¡±

    Yeah, no. I do NOT want to exin why I was in a corner masturbating to <i>yet another</i> girl. That¡¯d be some next-level masochism right there.

    ¡°Kay? But hey, she¡¯s one of those high pride, uppity bitches, so I can see her getting pissed at you for almost nothing, yeah?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so right! You hit the nail right on the head! And it¡¯s not just Kenzaki Asuna either. Souma Sakura, now she¡¯s got a talent for making you want to pull your hair out.¡±

    ¡°You said it! Bitch doesn¡¯t give one crap about anyone but her little circle of friends, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Wait, I see it, holy shit.¡±

    ¡°Not even kidding. Like, there was that one time,¡± and so the two of us began shitting on Souma Sakura in perfect sync.

    <i>What am I even doing?</i> I thought. And no, I don¡¯t mean that with a moral reason like talking behind someone¡¯s back is bad, but because I gotpletely derailed from my objective of collecting info on Tendo-kun and his party. I should fix that.

    Business aside, boy does it feel good letting out all those pent up frustrations. It¡¯s important to have someone to talk to about these things. Especially when that someone agrees with you, that¡¯s just the best.

    But what¡¯s more amazing his how easy to talk to Rando-san is. Today has to be the first time we had a conversation, and she definitely doesn¡¯t look the type that I¡¯d get along with, but here we were, hitting it off like we were old friends.

    Like, just imagine if I was one of those exhausted corporate warriors constantly facing unpaid overtime (a sryman basically) and I happen to aimlessly find myself at a random hostess bar where Rando-san appears to serve me. I¡¯d get literally addicted to it. I mean, seriously, with a hot, busty and talkative girl attending to me, I¡¯d blow my whole sry on the establishment¨D¨D wait, woah, could that be Rando-san¡¯s calling!?

    ¡°Kinda wanna change the subject, may I?¡±

    ¡°Sure, go right ahead.¡±

    After talking for a bit, I decided it¡¯s time to get back on track. I can go for daysining about Souma Sakura, but not right now.

    ¡°So how was it for you, Rando-san? I mean like fighting in the dungeon and using your calling, stuff like that.¡± I gave it to her straight. Now was just the right time to ask about these things without it seeming weird.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± she thought, ¡°Like, I was pretty much a tagalong really. My, uh, calling (?) isn¡¯t anything worth writing home about, I mean like, I can¡¯t even beat those boney creeps.¡±

    ¡°But weren¡¯t you by yourself at the beginning?¡±

    ¡°Not even. I basically met up with Julie and Marie right away.¡± She exined. ¡°All my luck must¡¯ve totally gone to meeting them before anything. Like legit, those two were so much stronger, they handled everything.¡±

    Rando-san smiled as she told the story. Maybe she was happy that her friends were strong, or maybe she was d that she had it so easy, I don¡¯t know. But I didn¡¯t feel like I could criticize an innocent smile like that, now that I¡¯ve gotten to know her a little.

    ¡°And uh, that ¡®Julie¡¯ and ¡®Marie¡¯ are the same girls who went out just now right?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this, Momokawa,¡± Rando-san said teasingly, ¡°you forgot their names, didn''t cha?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no good you know~ You gotta at least know the names of the girls in our ss. Who knows when you might get lucky, right?¡±

    Perhaps I can take it that she means that in terms of <i>¡®raising their gs¡¯</i>? If that¡¯s the case, then the only names I have to know are Futaba Meiko and Rando Kyoko. I mean, they¡¯re basically best girls in terms of bust size.

    ¡°Nonomiya Julia or Julie¡¯s the one with the short hair, and the other girl with the long hair is Yoshizaki Maria, Marie. I¡¯ll keep it between us that you forgot, kay?¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Actually, yeah, I do remember 2 girls having weird names like Julia (¼ƒÛ) and Maria (²©Û) with their truly DQN-esque pronunciation of the kanji. I just hadn¡¯t associated actual faces to the names¡­ but yeah, I can strangely see them having names like that.

    Julie and Marie, unlike their curvaceous friend Rando-san, had slim bodies like those of magazine models. I kind of recall Masaru actually mentioning something about them doing modelling, but I¡¯m not sure.

    I think he said something like ¡°Yeah man, those two would¡¯ve been turning heads just by existing if only they weren¡¯t in <i>this</i> ss.¡± Which is to say, it was totally believable if someone imed that they appeared in magazines lined in stores, but in our ss which had more than a handful of girls of Souma Sakura level hotness, they unfortunately ced only at <i>above average</i>.

    Even in terms of gal fashion, Rando-san had them knocked out of the park, what with herrge and voluptuous figure, her fancy makeup, her dyed hair, tanned skin, and let¡¯s not forget those titanic twins. How can they evenpete?

    ¡°What kind of callings did they get? Any rare ones?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, Julie¡¯s a Knight and Marie¡¯s a Warrior I think. What do you mean ¡®rare¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Rare as in Souma Yuuto happens to be a Hero and his sister¡¯s a Saintess.¡±

    ¡°Ohh, I get the picture. And wow,¡± <i>of course they¡¯d be rare huh,</i> Rando-san easily convinced herself, while on my end, I ssified Julia and Maria, let¡¯s call them the mourettes, as having normal callings and adequately leveled up. I can assume that they¡¯re adequately strong from that fact that they¡¯vee this deep into the dungeon while carrying Rando-san who didn¡¯t do any fighting apparently.

    ¡°And when did you guys meet up with Tendo-kun?¡±

    ¡°Donno, can¡¯t check the time cause our phones are out, but I guess, um, recently?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his calling?¡±

    ¡°No clue.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t want to say?¡±

    ¡°Maybe? I mean, Julie and Marie don¡¯t know either.¡±

    So Tendo-kun¡¯s been keeping his calling a secret. Who knows, it could be a super rare one like Demon King. Stuff like Berserker and Cannibalizer certainly don¡¯t make a good impression, and me telling others how I¡¯m a Shaman is just in embarrassing.

    Whatever it is, what I can¡¯t do is go up an ask him, or actually, I shouldn¡¯t even try to pry. He might have a good reason, or even no reason, to keep it a secret but smallfry like me poking my nose where it doesn¡¯t belong is sure to be annoying. And the moment he feels annoyed, I¡¯m dead. Like, dead dead.

    The weak should fear the strong, and so try to get on their good side. Exactly, I need to throw aside meaningless pride and raise up my ttery skill on the double. No no, that won¡¯t work. I try to talk to him, and he¡¯ll definitely get an impression like ¡°what¡¯s with that cheeky look?¡± or ¡°shrimp thinks he¡¯s a smartass eh?¡± easily ruining my position.

    ¡°Kay, my turn.¡± Rando-san said. ¡°Tell me yours too, what¡¯s your calling Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± I hesitated, ¡°...I¡¯m a shaman.¡±

    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that like, curses and voodoo and stuff?¡±

    ¡°I mean, sure, my skills are technically not magic, and called curses, so yeah.¡±

    ¡°Wooah, WTF, no kidding!? You can do like, curses¡­ ohh man, that¡¯s so scary, crap, I should¡¯ve been nicer to you, right? Sorry!¡±

    ¡°No no,e on Rando-san, why would I curse you? In fact, you can¡¯t believe how thankful I am that you picked me up back there. And really, my curses aren¡¯t as strong as you might be thinking.¡±

    ¡°Really really? Like, you won¡¯te out of the TV with your hair all crazy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not in my skill set, and probably won¡¯t be, ever.¡±

    ¡°You sure? Well if you say so.¡±

    I¡¯m not really sure what Rando-san considers scary, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get used to my stuff once she sees them a few times and sees how they¡¯re pretty weak.

    I mean,pared to Tendo-kun, my powers, and almost any calling might seem severely underpowered, but the way I see it, he, and probably the mourettes too, might also consider me useless inbat.

    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot, what¡¯s yours, Rando-san?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m a¨D¨D ¡±

    Here¡¯s where she tells me that her calling is that of a powerful enchantress of all men, the infamous Subus!

    ¡° ¨D¨D Geomancer, I guess.¡±

    ¡°... Oh, neat.¡±

    I was probably expecting too much. Sponsored by Nn N. There are 2 more.

 Chapter 92: Trade

    Chapter 92: Trade

    So while Ipletely lost myself talking to Rando-san, who was a surprisingly good conversationalist I should add, the other 3 members of the party, who¡¯d gone to do recon, had returned.

    ¡°Heya¡«,¡± Rando-san casually called to Tendo-kun, ¡°so how was the walk?¡±

    ¡°Nothing but smallfry.¡± Said our delinquent supreme, looking bored out of his mind as he took a seat at the edge of the fountain. ¡°This ce ain¡¯t that big, but getting to the boss might take a while.¡±

    Naturally, the mourettes took their positions on his left and right. Tendo-kun¡¯s expression was that of open annoyance but, probably because he¡¯s gotten tired of telling them to stop by now, he let the train ofplementse in one ear and out the other.

    This threesome acted as if I simply didn¡¯t exist in this space with them, basically, implying that they weren¡¯t interested in me whatsoever¡­ That won¡¯t do at all.

    Sure, to them I might be near the bottom of the barrel in terms of influence, they¡¯ve probably deemed me just as I am: a short, scrawny otaku who can barely pull his own weight let alone be abat asset.

    On the flipside, that doesn¡¯t mean I expect Tendo-kun to give me protection out of the kindness of his heart. Chances are, he doesn¡¯t give one shit what happens to me. Whether I live or die is of no concern to him.

    I¡¯m not saying I me him for that mind you. Tendo-kun, with all his OP strength, had more or less yed lone wolf throughout our ss-wide dungeon adventure. He wasn¡¯t like Higuchi or Yokomichi who only thought to advance by sacrificing others. He was neither friend nor foe, but neutral.

    My goal, in other words, is to make it so that he feels the need to protect me. It¡¯d be stupid to expect him to be like Mei-chan; I mean, she¡¯s the best teammate I could get. No, I just want to rank up from a ¡®who cares about him¡¯ neutral mob, to a ¡®ah whatever, guess I can spare the effort¡¯ friendly mob inside Tendo-kun¡¯s mind.

    Basically, I need to show him that I¡¯m worth the effort, and demonstrate my value for the party.

    And so, without further ado, I shall courageously take this chance to strike up a conversation!

    ¡°Hey uh, Momokawa?¡± Rando-san said with a face like a worried mother. ¡°You¡¯re kinda sweating bullets there, wanna lie down?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, A-OK.¡±

    Looks like I look more nervous than I want to. Yeah, whatever, to hell with ying it cool. Let¡¯s do it like how it¡¯s supposed to be when a spineless otaku goes up to a badass delinquent.

    So I ignored Rando-san¡¯s concern and did just that.

    ¡°Tendo-kun, I uh, wanted to talk.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The moment he looked at me, I felt like I was going to piss myself.

    <i>Ugh, what, the hell, is this?</i> I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not imagining this. It¡¯s like intimidating manga SFX were floating behind him with how scary it was. Like a sudden draft of terror had caught me in its cage, like it was squeezing my heart to the point of bursting. That¡¯s how it feels.

    This isn¡¯t normal. Okay, I know I¡¯m a massive pussy, but just getting looked at shouldn¡¯t have an effect this drastic.

    Maybe he has something like an Intimidate skill that puts hard psychological pressure on the target. If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t actually <i>need</i> to be scared. I should just state my business.

    ¡°Ah, uhh, um...¡±

    Shit. I know in my head that it¡¯s a skill, but my throat feels tight and words won¡¯te out. Now I¡¯m convinced that it¡¯s some external force acting on me, and not just in my head.

    ¡°Go on, I¡¯m listening.¡± But the moment Tendo-kun said that he was willing to listen, I felt all those adverse effects disappear instantly.

    ¡°You two,¡± Tendo-kun addressed his two groupies, ¡°give us some room.¡±

    ¡°Come on~¡±

    ¡°Seriously~¡±

    ¡°Scram.¡±

    In the time I took to get my breathing in order, Tendo-kun had the mourettes sitting around him leave us alone, which told me that he was at least willing to take me seriously.

    ¡°Tendo-kun, you probably have a lot of monster parts and cores, so I want to make a trade.¡±

    ¡°And what if I don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine too. I just need some monster corpses you can get anywhere. You can even kill some from hereter.¡±

    What I need most right now is to get my hands on the material I need to remake Rem. Granted, I sort of did manage to kill mobs like red dogs before, when I got separated, but that was only due to the fact that I had my 2 Rems as support familiars.

    ¡°What¡¯re you offering?¡± Tendo-kun said, understanding that I must have something adequately valuable to offer. I wouldn¡¯t be so uncharacteristicallying up to talk to a guy like him otherwise.

    In other circumstances I could imagine he simply blowing me off without even listening to what I had to say¡­ but now, in this dungeon survival, even he should have something he¡¯d want. Which would lead to the natural train of thought that, just maybe, I¡¯d happen to be able to provide him with that something. Thus, he decided to engage with me.

    Now I can only pray that the stuff I do have to offer fall within his needs.

    ¡°I¡¯m offering medicine.¡±

    ¡°Clovers?¡±

    ¡°No, I make mine without using any four-leafed clovers. I can use my powers to make things like healing ointment.¡±

    Tendo-kun snorted at that. It seems he¡¯s not very interested. Maybe he¡¯s thinking something along the line of, <i>¡±I¡¯m way too OP, who cares about some cheapass pain cream.¡±</i>

    No no, I¡¯m probably overexaggerating. Of course he wouldn¡¯t be that self-important. Let¡¯s push my case:

    ¡°They¡¯re actually better than the clovers. Of course, my ointments can¡¯t heal a wound instantly, but I guarantee that it works wonders with time. And you can even keep it as an insurance in case the clovers run out¡­ Oh wait, do you already have healing magic?¡±

    The mourettes, Julia and Maria, happen to be Warrior and Knight, and Rando-san is a Geomancer, earth mage. I don¡¯t know what Tendo-kun is, but I¡¯m pretty sure the ability to summon a massive sword doesn¡¯t fall under the parameters on a Cleric.

    In other words, they don¡¯t have a healer in their party.

    Four-leafed clovers are something of a rare find, and it¡¯s just as unwise to bank on finding a potion inside a treasure box. They¡¯re both powerful healing options that you wouldn¡¯t want to use unless in an emergency.

    And that¡¯s where my medse in. Ointment A is a decent enough option for recovering from injuries, and considering the possibility of minor injury, it¡¯s a viable and economic option.

    And all he¡¯d need to is get me some mobs that he could kill with one hand behind his back. All in all, it should be an offer he can¡¯t refuse¡­

    ¡°Show me.¡±

    So he wants to check the quality before buying, does he? He¡¯s more shrewd than I thought.

    That¡¯s fine. I, unlike those scammy <i>all-natural</i> skincare salesmen whoe to your door, can actually back up my talk with the effectiveness of my product. Seeing is believing, like they say.

    ¡°Okay, here it is.¡± I show him the gooey ointment A I keep in Takashima-kun¡¯s bento box. Tendo-kun didn¡¯t look at all disturbed by the blue paste, but stared at it intently for a moment.

    ¡°Bullshit.¡± His sharp eyes turned to me. I suddenly felt an urge to break down and beg for forgiveness, but this is a matter of pride, so I have to make a stand.

    How dare he call my Ointment A Bullshit. I¡¯ll have to demand that he take back such disparagement of my work.

    ¡°I guarantee you, it can actually heal injuries. If you doubt my words, I can even cut myself and show you the effects.¡±

    ¡°The medicine is real. But the part about you using your powers to make it is bullshit.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t getting his meaning.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you can mix fairy walnut leaf and, those white flowers from over there to make ointment. You got something else in there too¡­ got it, it¡¯s those pointy looking leaves that look like dandelions, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Wha-, how...¡±

    How the hell did he figure that out!? Wait, no way, he¡¯s got an appraisal skill!

    ¡°Anyone can make it as long as they use the same stuff. Thanks Momokawa, that was some useful info.¡±

    Shit shit shit! He can literally reverse engineer all my meds, it¡¯s so unfair! I even kept the recipe from Mei-chan, dammit¡­ I¡¯m screwed now. This is a million times worse than if he even stole all my ointments. What he basically did just now amounts to stripping all my value as a healer for the team.

    I feel like an inventor whose groundbreaking blueprints got stolen and patented from right under his nose.

    ¡°Anything else you got?¡± Tendo-kun spoke as if he felt not an ounce of guilt making my mind spiral into despair at having my secret recipe so easily deciphered. My handmade ointment has no value anymore. He could make as much as he wants now that he knows how. Heck, he can just sit back and get those groupies to do that tedious herb collection and mortar work.

    Goddammit, I¡¯m stumped. If I let this deal end here, he¡¯ll know that that¡¯s all I¡¯m good for, and won¡¯t even try to take me seriously after this. I¡¯m already working at a loss right now, and without even a skeleton¡¯s fingerbone to my name.

    This is awful, just in ridiculous. But I can¡¯t give up. ¡°I, I have¡­ something!¡±

    ¡°Let me guess, is it gonna be antidote?¡±

    ¡°Cigarettes.¡±

    ¡°... What?¡±

    ¡°I have, cigarettes.¡±

    Tendo-kun¡¯s eyes opened wide, the first positive reaction I¡¯ve had on this whole discourse.

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Seriously. Well, one box. But they¡¯re unopened, brand new.¡±

    ¡°What brand?¡±

    ¡°Wild Seven.¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡± Tendo-kun announced instantly. He raised his right arm and manifested a golden magic circle. It was the same as before, when he took out his red bastard sword.

    But what exited from this magical golden gate was not the de that could chop down the goliath like butter with a hot knife, but monster parts. Many many monster parts, way too many monster parts!?

    ¡°All yours for the box. You need any more?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than enough, thanks.¡± I made a point to maintain my business smile as I produced the box of cigarettes I¡¯d stored away in my bag.

    ¡°Momokawa, you smoke?¡±

    ¡°No, this was originally Takashima-kun¡¯s.¡±

    Right, I happen to not be into that activity. Never tried it, and don¡¯t want to. And so, the only reason a non-smoker like me would possess such an item can be ascribed to the fact that, in the forest where I first woke up in this isekai, I had found Takashima-kun dead. This pack of cigarettes is one of the items I scavenged from his bag.

    As for those items, his bento is easily the MPV as that was what allowed me to beat the armorbear. I¡¯d found Pocari Sweat and CalorieMate, which were useful too, but I never imagined that the cigarettes would alsoe in handy after all this time.

    Damn, Takashima-kun, you¡¯ve saved my life twice now, I can¡¯t thank you enough. I¡¯ll be praying for you to be happy in your next life.

    ¡°Huh, these are Takashima¡¯s¡­ is he, dead?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, when I found him, he was already.¡±

    At the time, my head was full with trying to get the fuck away from the armorbear, but I¡¯m positive that he was dead when I saw him. His eyes wide open, dried blooding out of his nostrils and tear ducts, and every other hole on his face. It looked pretty fucked up to be honest.

    Huh, now that I think about it, how do you even die like that? Most monster would at least leave an injury. But he didn¡¯t look half eaten and even had his bag right there beside him. Then, if I had to think up a reason¡­ maybe it was poison from an insect or snake. If someone told me that a poison that kills you like that exists in this world, I¡¯d believe it.

    ¡°Were you friends?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nah. Didn¡¯t even know he smoked. Wasn¡¯t he in the baseball club?¡± Tendo-kun spoke while casually tearing the stic on the box and taking out one of the cigarettes.

    He ced it in his mouth and with a <i>ching</i>, lit a small me on his finger. Putting the finger near the cigarette, he lit it up and began smoking.

    Woah woah, what was that, frickin¡¯ cool. Wait no, more importantly, that was definitely fire element he was using. He also used it with the goliath didn¡¯t he?

    But I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s not a Pyromancer. Fire must be a perk of his actual calling.

    Let¡¯s try and summarise.

    First of all, the fact that he can swing around such a massive sword with such ease means that he¡¯s likely not a general type like Swordsman or Warrior. In addition, he has maniption of fire to the degree that he can reduce a goliath to ashes while also having enough control to make a small me for lighting a cigarette.

    But what¡¯s even more impressive is not his OPbat potential¡­ but the high level appraisal skill that let him figure out my ointment at a nce and that golden magic circle (let¡¯s call it Inventory) that grants him an evidently massive amount of storage.

    It¡¯s like he has those convenient game-like features recreated in real life. Forget convenience, this stuff is downright priceless.

    Basically, Tendo-kun¡¯s true power might not even be his skill in battle, but rather support type skills like that inventory and appraisal. I first thought that his bastard sword was a rare drop he got from a treasure box, but it might just be something he made himself. This theory has the clear implication that his power to create and modify weaponry is leagues above anything Takanashi-san can make.

    Also, and I can¡¯t really back this up right now, but I have a feeling that he even has a skill-taking skill like Yokomichi, in addition to razor-sharp instincts like Higuchi.

    That pyromancy he disyed might not be a skill from his own calling but something he took from a red dog or cerberus, or some other type of fire breathing monster.

    As for his ¡®instincts,¡¯ from hisment from earlier that, <i>¡±This ce ain¡¯t that big, but getting to the boss might take a while.¡±</i> I can surmise that he has some grasp over theyout of his current zone, like a thief¡¯s mapping skill. I mean, how else could he tell how far off the next boss room is? Even the notebookpass only gives us a vague direction and literally no indication of distance.

    Now, if all these pet theories of mine really do turn out to be true¡­ yeah. This guy¡¯s a living cheat. GGWP.

    Let¡¯s not think about it too hard.

    In fact, don¡¯t I have something better to do? Tendo-kun just handed me this mountain of parts, who knows what I¡¯ll find inside.

    ¡°<i>Fufu, fufufu</i>... Yes, this is it. My next Rem will be glorious.¡±

    <i>Just you wait, Rem, I¡¯m gonna make you the best body ever!</i>

    I got to work, rummaging thru the horde of material right away, beyond excited. Sponsored by Nn N. (There''s a link below the donate button to seemission status [info])

 Chapter 93: Cherry-picking

    Chapter 93: Cherry-picking

    ¡°H-holy crap¡­ I¡¯ve hit the mother lode.¡±

    While Tendo-kun was having a delightful smoke in the background, I was knee deep into the massive pile of monster bits he had handed over to me. This is some good stuff.

    From skeletons to red dogs, to pawn ants to wild boars to those hopping monkeys. There¡¯s tons of mobs I¡¯ve seen and many that I haven¡¯t. And here¡¯s the really good part: scattered among the mob bits, I could see parts belonging to armorbears or knight mantises just sitting there like nobody¡¯s business. These mid-boss tier materials will obviously, and dramatically improve the quality of my Rem.

    ¡°Wait, No, freakin¡­ way, are those actual dragon scales!?¡±

    The chain of happy surprises climaxed with the discovery of red dragon scales. Why dragon? They¡¯re as big as my palms each, that¡¯s why.

    ¡°It requires exceptional skill and experience to concoct medicines out of scales from a smander. In return, the resulting product is extremely potent¡­ huh, it, it really is from a dragon then.¡±

    And just like that, Intuition Pharmacy casually proved that what I was holding were indeed scales belonging to a dragon. I¡¯m apparently not at a high enough skill level to use them in my meds, but just having them in my possession held a lot of potential value.

    I only found 3 of these Smander Scales no matter how finely I searched through the mountain of parts, but just these three are bound to yield tremendous effect. Heck, even if they don¡¯t, they¡¯d make for some rad essories.

    ¡°Yeah, Tendo-kun definitely has some kind of Skill Eater and Upgrade-like skills.¡±

    The presence of dragon scales among his horde implies that he¡¯s fought this smander and beat it too. There¡¯s no way he just randomly happened to pick these up.

    The red of these scales match up with the red bastard sword that Tendo-kun had previously brought out. There¡¯s a big chance that he constructed that sword using smander scales. A smander would obviously be able to breathe fire. And maybe not just breathe it but even create magic circles to rapidfire fireballs like a machine gun. There are fictions where dragons use fire like it¡¯s an extension of their body, and who knows, maybe the dragons in this world are like mages and have a variety of different ways to use their element.

    And having eaten such a fire breathing dragon, a smander, Tendo-kun is able to also wield the same dominance over fire.

    He leaves Yokomichi in the dust, practically. Thetter was so proud just having that paralysis tongue from a boss frog, but Tendo-kun has the powers of a fucking dragon.

    ¡°Man, what if Rem¡¯ll be able to use fire magic once I put these in¡­ No, I¡¯m getting my hopes up too much. I¡¯ll be happy with at least fire resistance...¡±

    ¡°Heeey Momokawa, whatcha up to¡«¡± Rando-san called out to me. She must¡¯ve gotten bored.

    ¡°I¡¯m choosing the parts I¡¯ll be using for a ritual.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been at it forever dude¡«¡±

    ¡°That long?¡±

    ¡°That long.¡±

    I guess I have been going at it for a while. The mountain of treasure in front of me was so enticing I¡¯dpletely forgotten about everything else.

    ¡°Need any help?¡±

    Huh, do I? I mean, it¡¯s not really something where more hands get it done faster and I do kind of want to examine every piece myself¡­

    ¡°Sure, Rando-san. Can you look through everything here and pick up the ones <i>you</i> think are good?¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to know what¡¯s good?¡±

    ¡°Well, I figured that you, as a geomancer, might notice hidden properties in some of these that I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re curious about my fashion sense?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure, let¡¯s go with that.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha. Trust me, I don¡¯t disappoint¡«¡±

    It might seem like I just made up a random reason and gave her some random thing to do, but I¡¯m somewhat serious about what I said. It was thanks to my Intuition Pharmacy that I could confirm that the red scales belonged to a smander. That being said, my ingredients based appraisal skill pales inparison to Tendo-kun¡¯s OP appraisal. And it¡¯s not even all that informative to be honest.

    I don¡¯t think Rando-san just conveniently happens to have an appraisal skill of her own, but being an elemental mage, she might be able to naturally sense the mana of things. And if not, it¡¯s always good to let another pair of eyes pass over everything lest I risk missing something.

    ¡°Hm, this color is good, but the design is ehh¡«¡± Rando-san seemed to be taking this task with surprising earnesty. She was on her knees, looking through half of the total number of parts scattered on the grass. Doing it so seriously that¨D¨D wait, won¡¯t I see her panties in that pose!?

    ¡°Yuck, this still had blood on it! Ew eww, Momokawa, get water¡«!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Sure, here.¡±

    Oh shit, oh shit, I should¡¯ve realized! The monster parts aren¡¯t arranged on a table but scattered all over the ground, so of course you¡¯d have to crouch or even just bend over then to have a good look. I have pants on so whatever, but the girl over there is wearing a skirt. And this isn¡¯t just any girl, this is Rando-san, who makes it a point to wear her skirt incredibly short, perhaps even the shortest in our whole ss.

    M-Mu¡­ Must. Not. Look.

    ¡°Ohh, this one!¡± Rando-san yelled. ¡°It¡¯s really nice¡« Momokawa, you like this one?¡±

    ¡°Could you please put the ones that catch your eye over there?¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, Boss¡«¡±

    Here I am talking to her calmly on the outside, but I¡¯m finding myselfpletely unable to avert my eyes from Rando-san¡¯s lower half. I bet she knows. I¡¯m only taking quick peeks, but she has to know. I heard that girls have a sort of intuition about dirty gazes.

    Which might just mean, she¡¯s testing me. Yes, Rando-san is testing me to see how much of a gentleman I can be in this sort of situation.

    Come on, I don¡¯t need this. Don¡¯t do this to me. I have literally zero resistance to girls, you know? You know that, don¡¯t you? I see now, Rando-san is a truly devilish temptress. I can practically see her spaded tail wriggling out from under her skirt.

    Ugh, not today¡­ I refuse to fall victim to your voluptuous charm! (rip in peace)

    ¡° ¨D¨D <i>Phew¡«</i> yup, that¡¯s everything. We¡¯re good, Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks Rando-san.¡±

    We¡¯d finished going through everything. It was a lot of work, but fun work. Plus, there was Rando-san to chat with, which did technically slow us down, but it made the experience much more enjoyable.

    The collection of parts I carefully singled out, in addition to the ones that Rando-san thought would look good, will be used in the ritual of Vile Mud Doll. I¡¯ll of course be set up my Hexagram Eye with appropriate sacrifices at each point. But before that,

    ¡°Bathroom break.¡± I said casually.

    Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. Did I see them? Yes, yes I did. Rando-san really needs some better defense. I saw them a few times actually.

    They were leopard print.

    ¡°¨D¨D Hey you¡¯re back.¡± Rando-san weed me back. ¡°You sure took your time.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    I really am. But if it¡¯s the number two, then it kind of does take a while, am I right? And even if I¡¯m doing it outside the fairy square, it takes some time to do the whole cleanup procedure.

    Okay. I was worried whether I¡¯d get to collect my <i>secret ingredient</i> this time, but that¡¯s well and taken care of. Plus, I feel refreshed and ready to put my back into making Rem.

    So I present below thevishly chosen list of materials:

    Greater Skeleton Bones

    These bones are harder, glossier, whiter and tighter than the stuff from even a skeleton trooper unit chief. I don¡¯t know what sort of high level skeleton these are from, but they¡¯re awesome.

    Bones of Different(?) Monsters

    A selection of bones that Rando-san picked out for me. They seem OK, but I don¡¯t sense anything special from them. Intuition Pharmacy doesn¡¯t react either. I¡¯m still using them, on the off chance that they do manifest an effect.

    Basilisk Bones

    Bones left over from the melted remains of the basilisk after the epic battle VS me and Rem. It¡¯s technically boss monster parts so I¡¯m using them.

    Charred Goliath Meat

    Sure, Tendo-kun beat this guy with one swing, but even Higuchi was afraid of it so I thought that it¡¯s flesh, even if it¡¯s <i>well done,</i> might hold some hidden potential. I swiped some in a cloth before we warped out of there.

    Scales of Smander

    This Smander is probably the most powerful monster I know about, and ordingly, its scales should be the most potent ingredient. I can¡¯t think of a reason <i>not</i> to use these. Fingers crossed for fire resistance!

    Armorbear¡¯s Armor

    Howe there¡¯s always an armorbear? I seriously don¡¯t need it to be my recurring worst enemy, but I¡¯ll admit that this shell will make for the best defense.

    Knight Mantis Scythe

    Rem used this very efficiently versus the Basilisk. Since I have one, might as well use it.

    Goar Skin

    Mei-chan beat some of these at one point, but skinning was a bit difficult so we had only collected their cores. Their skin isn¡¯t as tough as armorbear armor, but they¡¯ve got a decent defense rating. I know that they¡¯re at least tougher than pawn ant carapace.

    Bishop Bee¡¯s Stinger

    Another member of the [Chess Piece][Insect] family of monsters, one which I didn¡¯t encounter in the insect cave. It¡¯s probably going to be less effective than a mantis scythe, but it could make for an alright sub weapon.

    Rook Spider¡¯s Giant ws

    This thing was supposed to be the zone boss, I guess. Its parts are armorbear quality, especially this w from it¡¯s leg tip. I can¡¯t say if it¡¯ll be a weapon or defensive gear, but it¡¯s worth trying out.

    Great Boar¡¯s Hooves

    Really big and heavy these. If they go under Rem¡¯s feet they¡¯d make for devastating kicking attacks.

    White Velvety Fur

    Another Rando-san rmendation. She was describing them with jargon like Cashmere and what not, but basically, it¡¯s very good fur. It¡¯s smooth, soft and feels amazing on my hand. As for what monster it¡¯s from: no clue.

    Large Curved Horns

    Another one of Rando-san¡¯s top picks. A big and very shiny pair of horns that wouldn¡¯t look out of ce as niche room decor. Monster unknown.

    Pointy Fangs

    Sharp and pointy fangs from a variety of monsters.

    Sharp ws

    Same as above, sharp and pointy ws from a variety of monsters.

    Those are all the monster parts. I¡¯ll also be using my blood and semen, pieces of mandragora and finally, core fragments.

    Additionally, since Rando-san is a geomancer, I¡¯m having her create earth using magic and using that as a base. The idea is that magic earth will have more mana infused in it aspared to earth dug up from the ground.

    And with all that done, it¡¯s now, finally, time to get Rem back on the team.

    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s, something!¡± Said Rando-san, her choice of words leaving me wondering if she meant it positively, or if she¡¯s super creeped out. I¡¯ve got a lot of parts to use this time so my hexagram is ordinglyrge to amodate. And with how I¡¯m doing this smack-dab in the middle of the square, the mourettes sitting beside Tendo-kun have also been curiously ncing this way, though not going so far as to bother me.

    Tendo-kun himself was in the middle of some serious contemtion, trying to decide whether he should have another cigarette or not. He took one out of the box, only to put it back inside, and had been repeating the action with a grim expression.

    Alright, enough about the peanut gallery, let¡¯s make some curses.

    ¡°<i>Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth ¨D¨D Vile Mud Doll.</i>¡±

    Oof, it¡¯s really sucking the mana out of me. If I tried something like this a few weeks ago, I might¡¯ve instantly copsed from mana deficiency. I guess this is to be expected from so many high quality parts.

    Uhh, crap, I¡¯m feeling really faint¡­ but, so, close¡­

    ¡° ¨D¨D D-done, yes!¡±

    Once the hexagram waspletely submerged within the swirls of chaos, Rem emerged from within.

    ¡°Looks good¡­ phew, wee back to this side, Rem.¡±

    ¡°Ga! Gigi, Guge, Goooh!¡±

    ¡°Ooh, that¡¯s great Rem, you¡¯re saying something other that Ga¡¯s now.¡±

    Seeing Rem raising a battlecry while standing imposingly in the middle of the magic circle with the chaos now gone, I was impressed, despite myself.

    I even had a bit of sand in my eyes, but I made sure to fully inspect Rem¡¯s new glorious body.

    On top of the, as expected, ck skeleton base body, she has a set of tough shell-armor that looks more polished than ever before. Her face, that is, her skull is visible from the front with the head shielded with a helm, dark gray like armorbear armor, with those shiny curved horns decorating both sides, which made her look like amander-ss monster.

    The rest of her ck armor is just as impressive. It covers every inch of her base body with a mix of armorbear armor and goar skin. The full te armor also has the red dragon scales sticking out of its breastte, in addition to the white velvety fur circling the cor. It looks sleek, yet trendy. Gotta hand it to Rando-san.

    And let¡¯s not forget functionality. Rem¡¯s right arm is fitted with a mantis de, while the bishop bee¡¯s stinger is hidden in her left palm. And on her back, (they might just serve like extra arms,) there are those super sharp rook spider ws, two of them, sticking out like spears. Finally, she has spikesing out of her feet and tough hooves growing from under.

    Wow. It¡¯s like Rem got a ton of improvements all at once. I can¡¯t wait to see how she does in battle.

    ¡°Uhh, yeah, Momokawa?¡± called Rando-san with a neutral expression, aplete contrast from me who¡¯s been feeling way too much excitement than I knew what to do with, ¡°It¡¯s not very cute.¡±

    <i>I mean, she¡¯s technically a tool for battle so,</i> I wanted to say in defense, but I only said, ¡°Okay.¡± Sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 94: Sewer Zone

    Chapter 94: Sewer Zone

    I, along with the newly reborn Rem, worked up a little bit of courage again and went up to Tendo-kun who, as usual, had the mourettes stuck to him, and gave them the basic rundown on my powers. I exined that Rem is my familiar and not a monster, even though she looks a lot like one, and I also let them know about Pain Return which may hurt them if I happen to get hit by friendly fire.

    The three of them didn¡¯t really give a damn. In fact, I could say they were hardly even listening to me, but as long as they keep the gist of it in mind, I should be fine. I don¡¯t think I can or need to arrange it so that I fight alongside them as a team.

    With that awkward monologue over with, I passed the rest of the time chatting about random things with Rando-san and getting a nap. And now, it¡¯s time to head out of the square.

    ¡°Hey uh, is it just me, or does this ce smell nasty?¡±

    ¡°It really does. I mean, the whole ce reminds me of underground sewer tunnels.¡±

    <i>Bleh,</i> spat Rando-san, not at all fond of the scenery, which was an opinion I can only agree with. This zone has this constant stink of stagnating wastewater. It¡¯s not so bad that we can¡¯t breathe, so we¡¯ve been making progress at least.

    Like I said to Rando-san, this ce really is like awork of sewer tunnels. The passages are all stone, as usual, but the floor has channel upied by smelly sewage water with narrow walkways on both sides. I did <i>not</i> want to risk slipping into that gunk so I stuck of the wall as much as possible.

    We¡¯re all walking in a line, by the way. Going from the front, we have Tendo-kun, then Julie and Marie, followed by Rando-san, then me, and finally, Rem.

    Other than the asional, ¡°Bleh¡«¡± from Rando-san, all of us were marching quietly, the only sound to enter our ears being that of our many footfalls on the stone floor. It was a peaceful trek across the¨D¨D

    ¡°<i>G y o a a a!</i>¡± The ck sewage undted, followed by a shrieking something leaping out of it.

    ¡°Piss off.¡± That was Tendo-kun. Before I could even see what that sewage monster even looked like, he had chopped it in half, returning it to the water from whence it came. The dark sewage was slowly dyed maroon at one spot.

    And as if nothing major had happened, we resumed our march.

    I¡¯d normally make a fuss about it, but this same series of events had repeated many times since we headed out of the fairy square, and I frankly couldn¡¯t care anymore.

    The identity of these suddenly attacking somethings are a sort of fish-human creature, a sahuagin, if you will. They have a face like a fish and a frog had a baby, blue scales all over their bodies that change color to white at their chest. These humanoid monsters have 5 digit hands and feet that are joined by a membrane to aid in swimming. They also have a small fin on their back and no tail. I guess they¡¯re like gomas: fish edition.

    Their real name, ording to the notebook mail, seems to be Jira Goma, so they are technically ssified as a subspecies of goma.

    Anyway, these jiras apparently upy this sewer zone and have been sneaking up on us along the sewage channel for a while now. And by us, I really mean Tendo-kun, who¡¯s had no problem with them at all.

    ¡°<i>G y o a a a a a!</i>¡±

    ¡°<i>Tsk.</i>¡± Tendo-kun clicked in annoyance, as he delivered a powerful kick to the fish-faced attacker¡¯s white stomach. He probably found it a pain to pull out his sword so many times, but sent the jira crashing back into the water regardless. The ssh of sewage subsided, revealing the dead creature bent into and L shape, slowly flowing away downstream.

    Tendo-kun is so OP, I bet he could easily handle an army of these jiras no problem. If I was that strong, I might¡¯ve taken this dungeon survival as a fun, extended field trip. What I¡¯m trying to say is that I¡¯m mad jelly.

    For him, these fish-faces aren¡¯t even worth drawing his sword, while I¡¯d have to be on full guard just facing one of them.

    ¡°<i>G y o a!</i>¡±

    ¡°<i>G y g y o o o o!</i>¡±

    We¡¯de out into a slightly wide part of the tunnels, and there, we encountered multiple jiras. Up until now, we only had single attackers and Tendo-kun finished them off instantly so we hadn¡¯t been held up anywhere. However, now, they had, I guess gotten smart enough for basic strategy, as they came in a group, and from both directions.

    ¡°<i>Fufun,</i> how about you let two of us handle these?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me¡«¡±

    The jiras in front of us number 5, which the mourettes opted to take on.

    ¡°Do what you want.¡± Said Tendo-kun, moving aside with his arms crossed. Guess he decided to let them handle it. Umm, there are still some jiras behind me, by the way. Will you be ignoring them? Okay, nevermind.

    ¡°Woah, ew ew! Those faces, they¡¯re seriously giving me the creeps!?¡± <i>Nope nope nope,</i> Rando-san was panicking, but let¡¯s ignore that. I¡¯ll try my hand at these jiras too.

    I¡¯ve been wanting to test out the new and improved Rem¡¯s strength and this is as good an opportunity as any. It also helps that we only have two of them to deal with, and while I am taking this seriously, I¡¯d say our chances of winning are guaranteed.

    ¡°Rando-san,¡± I called behind me, ¡°you stay at the back. Let¡¯s go, Rem.¡±

    ¡°Gagagooh!!¡± <i>Ready for action, Master!</i> Rem seemed to say as she charged toward the jira duo. She was faster and deadlier-looking than any Rem before. I wouldn¡¯t expect less from so all thosevish parts I used.

    She reminded me of Mei-chan with the way she bolted fearlessly into the enemy, whipping out her mantis de attachment.

    ¡°<i>U g y o o!</i>¡± Wailed the jira as Rem mercilessly cut it down. The fish-face was also holding a weapon, a single edged sword like a scimitar, but the monster could neither use it to defend, nor could it dodge Rem¡¯s swift and urate sh. It was defeated easily without any chance or means of resistance.

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting away¨D¨D ckhair Bind.¡±

    As the closer one of the two was taken care of in a sh, the one behind it got cold feet and attempted to dive back into the sewage to make a quick getaway. I wasn¡¯t going to allow that, of course.

    ¡°<i>G y o g y o!?</i>¡± Fish B was shocked, its leg was suddenly caught in these ck tentacles. Next came Rem, swinging down her arm de down on its head. s, Fish B was now fish fillet.

    More jiras came, and Rem took full advantage of them by testing out all her new apparel. She plunged her palm stinger inside the next one¡¯s face, and she used her second set of arms, the rook spider¡¯s ws on her back, to open up some venttion holes inside the jira after that.

    I let my mad dog Rem have all the kills while I held down the guinea pigs, I mean jiras, with ckhair bind. Yep, this is exactly how a Shaman rolls. Don¡¯t go expecting any brute strength from me, cause you¡¯d only be disappointed.

    Anyway, Rem made very quick work of all the jiras that came from behind us.

    ¡°Holy! Momokawa, that was frickin¡¯ awesome!¡±

    <i>Aww shucks, appreciate thepliment, Rando-san.</i> But Rem¡¯s the one who did all the musclework. So please don¡¯t expect that sort of melee from me, kthx.

    ¡°Alright, good job Rem, now le¨D¨D <i>aAh!?</i>¡± Suddenly, Rando-san was hugging me from behind.

    ¡°<i>Ahaha,</i>¡± sheughed, ¡°if you¡¯re this strong, then I know I¡¯m in good hands back here¡«¡±

    Holy crap she smells so good, wait no, is this softness on top of my head what I think it is¨D¨D

    ¡°No, look, Rando-san, I really think you should learn to fight a little too, you know? ¡±

    ¡°<i>Ehh</i>¡«e on, I¡¯m really not a fighter at all¡« Just look at me.¡±

    Nope. I am <b>not</b> falling for that honeytrap! Thest thing I need is bing a bumbling white knight. Just now, I only managed to give her a sane response because she had ended the hug. If she¡¯d asked be again while burying my head within those bountiful breasts, I would¡¯ve lost every shred of resistance, even agree to dly give my life away for her. How truly fearsome. Such is the power of boobies.

    ¡°Well neither am I. But I still had to manage somehow. You can too.¡±

    ¡°No way¡«¡±

    ¡°Hey look, I think they¡¯re all done over there. Let¡¯s catch up.¡±

    ¡°Wait, that fast? No, hey, wait for meee¡«¡±

    Our fighters up front had finished dealing with their share of the jiras and were already on their way. The two of us are practically dead if by chance we get left behind in this stink zone, so while I grumbled to myself how they¡¯re kind of being dicks, I, along with Rando-san, quickly ran to catch up.

    I happened to catch a nce of their handiwork as I went after them. 5 jira¡¯sy dead on the floor, some of them with gaping wounds while others with their neck or heart, weak points, urately stabbed through. Looks like Julie and Marie are actually a decent Warrior and Knight.

    Jiras, though Ipared them to gomas, are actually a lot bigger than the kid-sized ck devils. They¡¯re as tall as an adult man and have toned, packed muscles under those blue scales, perhaps due to all their swimming. The fact that those mourettes, tall and slim girls who look like they belong in fashion magazines, could best these aquatic monsters with ease just goes to prove again that looks can be deceiving in this world.

    These battle oriented callings not only grant powerful skills, but greatly increases the growth rate of ¡®stats¡¯ such as strength or dexterity. It¡¯s something that gives them a big advantage over someone like me in terms of not only fighting, but continuing the long and harsh survival life. I think that, in the long run, increasing these basic stats are what gives you the edge.

    I can¡¯t check them, but I hope I¡¯m at least gaining on some stats useful to shamans, but if not¡­ you know what? This is too depressing so let¡¯s change topic.

    ¡°Hey, by the way, Rando-san?¡±

    ¡°Mm? What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any weapons?¡±

    ¡°Eh? No no, weapons are dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t is more dangerous not having one?¡± Seriously, we¡¯re in a dungeon for crying out loud. Plus, I¡¯m pretty sure she isn¡¯t an expert in hand-to-handbat either.

    ¡°I mean like, I couldn¡¯t even swing around a sword even if I had one.¡±

    ¡°I get what you mean, but look, I at least have this spear on me. It¡¯s better to carry at least a knife even if you have a mage ss. Just think of it as a good luck charm.¡±

    If I were to fight a single goma barehanded and without using mana, I¡¯d definitely get fucked. But if I at least had a knife, I might just pull off a win. Admittedly, us magic types, who pale inparison to fighter callings in terms of raw strength, can¡¯t actually win in a physical fight with most monsters even with weapons allowed, but having one is still better than not. Case in point, I¡¯ve had to use my spear quite a few times in order to get out of a hairy situation. I definitely didn¡¯t regret having it in that zombie rush.

    Oh right, here¡¯s a list of things Rem and I have equipped:

    Iron Spear

    I didn¡¯t get to use this at all versus Higuchi, but it¡¯s a spear dropped from a skeleton trooper unit. I have it equipped.

    Masaru¡¯s Longsword

    A sword originally belonging to Masaru. It¡¯s somewhat better than an average iron sword and I have Rem using it.

    Red Knife

    Magic weapon. Very important. I can still picture the feeling of finishing off Higuchi with this thing.

    Higuchi¡¯s Butterfly Knife

    A mechanical knife that Higuchi wanted me to pass on to Nagae-san. It looks cheap, but it¡¯s surprisingly useful. A lot sharper than your average knife. I suspect it might have some kind of enchantment, or perhaps, it could be possessed by Higuchi¡¯s dying grudges.

    Quality over quantity. I¡¯ve kept only these as they were the best we had. In other words, we shouldn¡¯t have to collect any weapon drops for a while. Though if I had the chance, I¡¯d want Rem to also have a spear. Oh wait, one of those jira had one. Damn I lost my chance to collect it with Tendo-kun being in so much of a hurry.

    ¡°Gugaga.¡± called Rem, as if to answer my prayer, for in her hands was¡­ that very same spear.

    ¡°Oh, you picked this up?¡±

    ¡°Ga.¡±

    ¡°Good girl.¡±

    Wait, does this mean Rem¡¯s intelligence has leveled up too? This sort of thing happened in the basilisk fight too, Rem started making decisions on her own without any input from me. So her thinking a weapon might be useful and picking it up, is a good sign.

    ¡°Really, I¡¯m always proud to see you grow.¡±

    ¡°Gagago.¡± Rem cked her jaw bones in a show of happiness from being praised. My little Rem¡¯s grown up so much, it¡¯s touching.

    ¡°Uh, Momokawa,¡± Rando-san asked doubtfully, ¡°do you like, understand what those <i>gah gahs</i> mean?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just ying along.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha¡«¡±

    It¡¯s the feeling that matters, Rando-san. Think of it like talking to your pet dog.

    Still, with her rate of growth, there just mighte a day when Rem actually starts talking. I¡¯m kind of worried she¡¯ll startining that I¡¯m working her too hard¡­

    Having a few not so positive premonitions, I marched along the dark sewage walkway. Sponsored by David R.

 Chapter 95: Julia and Maria

    Chapter 95: Julia and Maria

    Our day¡¯s journey through the sewer tunnels ended at a wide wends, not unlike that of the basilisk¡¯s home turf. This ce, however, didn¡¯t have that signature purple earth, and the water wasn¡¯t that turbid either, so it had the atmosphere of a normal swamp.

    The many pools of water must¡¯ve been nesting areas for the jira as a crowd of them leaped up from the swamp waters to face us. They were probably confident about their home ground advantage, as they showed no hesitation to charge at us, stomping their wet, webbed feet on the muddy earth.

    Had I still been solo, now would¡¯ve been the perfect time to bid adios and get my ass out of here, but Tendo-kun¡¯s here, so I can simply stand back and watch.

    With each swing of his dragon sword, Tendo-kun roasted scores of the fish-faces as they came, while the rest of us walked past the piles of jira corpses that gave off the smell of barbecued fish.

    ¡°We¡¯re stopping here for tonight.¡± Tendo-kun announced.

    Soon after, we¡¯de across a fairy square within the swamp area. This stone building that stood like a small temple in the middle of the chaos, seemed to be better built than the one I¡¯d made my base in before my fight with the basilisk.

    ¡°You lot stay here. I¡¯m gonna go check the area.¡± He said, to which the mourettes responded by happily volunteering to apany him but, ¡°That means you too. Make the food or something.¡±

    Having none of their pestering, Tendo-kun left us here to survey the outside alone.

    Who knows, maybe he got a new skill after beating the jiras and wanted to go test it out. I didn¡¯t see him eating one though¡­ well, whatever. I¡¯ve already determined that trying to needlessly pry into Tendo-kun¡¯s business is an instant death g. I wanted to have more info, but risking my life on it is putting the cart before the horse.

    ¡°<i>Hng¡¯aaa¡«</i>¡± yawned Rando-san, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted. I think I kind of stink too.¡±

    She made one of her usualzyints and plomped herself down on the clean, fairy square grass, sitting with her legs spread out. <i>Oof,</i> that angle is disastrous for my eyes.

    ¡°You think we should wipe down?¡±

    ¡°Tendo-kun isn¡¯t here right now, so yeah, sure.¡±

    And the mourettes seem to have the same opinion as Rando-san. We spent all day walking in foul smelling sewer tunnels, so of course our bodies reek. I wanted to take a bath as soon as I can.

    ¡°Rando-san, I¡¯ll be outside while you wash up. Just call me when you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Careful not to peek¡«¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san would literally snap my neck if I did. I don¡¯t want to die for pulling a prank, thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uhh, sorry¡­?¡± Rando-san didn¡¯t know how to react when I suddenly got all serious. Naturally, I would¡¯veughed it off with her were we still in Japan, but here, there is potential for literally deadly consequences.

    I absolutely refuse to let myself fall in the same kind of trap as when I was caught by Kenzaki Asuna. Granted, that was different, with her seeing me getting myself off, but if the situation was reversed and I were caught peeking while the girls were washing, she might¡¯ve killed me then and there.

    Such is the folly of the strong. They could kill for the measliest of idents. And I, being on the side of the weak, am also on the side that screws it up someday and gets killed for it.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll head out now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, um, sorry again, Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°Just try to be careful about this sort of thing, alright?¡± I said my parting words, trying to y it cool, but honestly¨D¨D what I wouldn¡¯t give to get a look! Who cares about the mourettes, I want to burn the picture of Rando-san¡¯s tantalizing nudity into these eyes of mine. That chocte tanned, deliciously plump body exudes a charm totally different from that of Mei-chan.

    <i>Come on, Rem, can¡¯t we do something like sight sharing and find a loophole in this thing?</i> I mentally schemed with all the brainpower I could muster. I mean, being alive is important and all, but I still have <i>needs</i>.

    In short, I opted to impatientlyplete the painful wait outside without incident.

    ¡°<i>Haah,</i>¡± I sighed, ¡°guess I¡¯ll pick some herbs.¡±

    Rather than thinking with my dick, I should spend the time productively and take a walk around the area, of course, not straying more than a few meters away from the fairy square.

    The outside had only low shrubbery and trees were also sparse, meaning that I would notice immediately if a band of jiras approached. Still, no harm in being too careful, so I had Rem act as my bodyguard while I sifted my way through the local bush flora.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s¨D¨D !?¡± I¡¯d made a big find. ¡°A snake!¡±

    In between the bushes, I came face to face with a snake, not a monster, but purely animalia. It hissed at me with its forked tongue out.

    A snake, something that Mei-chan had once beheaded, skinned and broiled into a delicious meal. That snake.

    ¡°ckhair bind!¡± Not one to let this chance go, I immediately captured it in tentacles. This is meat, one of the few actually edible meats in this dungeon. And it¡¯s not getting away from me!

    ¡°Rem!¡±

    ¡°Gagaa!¡±

    The snake struggled fiercely once it noticed that its whole body had been wrapped in ckhair bind. Though not for long, as Rem promptly used her mantis de and relieved it of its head.

    ¡°Nice, good job!¡± I praised. ¡°Think you can skin it for me too?¡±

    ¡°Gagaaa!!¡± <i>Done!</i> Rem seemed to say, grabbing the snake by its headless neck, and ripping off the skin with one smooth motion. Ahh Rem, you¡¯re so amazing. She did it just like Mei-chan had done once.

    ¡°We have meat! Meat!¡± I cheered.

    The snake was left hung on a nearby tree to drain the blood.

    ¡°All right, Rem, time for a snake hunt.¡±

    ¡°Gaga.¡±

    ¡°But keep your guard up. The smell of blood might attract jiras or other monsters.¡±

    ¡°Guga.¡±

    And so, until Rando-san, fresh after her bath with sexy wet hair, called me to return, I focused my entire being on getting more snake meat. Luckily, we didn¡¯t attract any unwanted monsters either.

    In summary, we hunted 4. Tonight, we feast.

    ¡°Urp¡­ no no no,¡± Rando-san reacted, ¡°like, seriously Momokawa, that¡¯s just, no.¡±

    ¡°Huh, Rando-san, I thought you could cook?¡±

    ¡°Well I can, but that¡¯s a snake, dude!¡±

    Such was the state of affairs when I proudly showed off the fruits of my hunt. It was a reaction simr to a cat bringing a mouse between its teeth to show its owner.

    ¡°Come on, I promise this tastes really good. You won¡¯t regret it.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, I mean like, I kinda do want some meat...¡±

    Right, now that I¡¯ve convinced Rando-san to challenge snake meat and left the cooking to her¡­ with Tendo-kun not here, I finally have a chance to talk to the mourettes.

    And if Rando-san gives up, I guess I can try my hand at it. I mean, we¡¯re just putting it over a fire, cutting up some meat couldn¡¯t be that hard, right?

    ¡°Erm, could I have a talk with you two?¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    ¡°Look Momokawa, we <i>don¡¯t</i> want to talk to you.¡±

    Harsh. The old me would¡¯ve been so hurt by such a cold refusal that I¡¯d cry in my bed for three days straight, but¡­ <i>heh</i>, so you think words can put a dent on my HP? Fat chance. I¡¯ll have you know, I¡¯m a guy who was seen fapping by a girl my age, and subsequently beaten up by her too. A response like this is but a gentle breeze byparison.

    ¡°I think,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯s better if we try to work together. I wanted to talk so we can help each other out better.¡±

    ¡°Uh, how about no?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even that strong, are you Momokawa? How¡¯re you gonna do anything?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯m not even strong enough to protect myself, but I can make medicine.¡±

    The two girls snorted, they didn¡¯t look all that interested. Which is why I have the upperhand. The reason being: if they¡¯d gotten some from Tendo-kun, they¡¯d say they already have medicine.

    ¡°Actually, Tendo-kun already found out how to get the ingredients and make one of my healing ointments. Didn¡¯t he give some to you two?¡±

    And after a silence, ¡°.... No. Marie?¡±

    ¡°Me neither.¡±

    Of course he hasn¡¯t. Tendo-kun neither looks not acts the type that would share his personally made medicine to his unwanted flockers from sheer goodness of heart.

    I¡¯ll be frank, Tendo-kun probably has as much interest in Nonomiya Julia and Yoshizaki Maria, as he does in me: None. And there¡¯s no point in using him about it either. For all I know, Tendo-kun might be in possession of one of the most powerful callings in our whole ss. He won¡¯t give one shit, and will do whatever he damn well pleases. Might always makes right in the dungeon.

    ¡°My medicine isn¡¯t as good as a potion, but it works better than the clovers, and I can make a lot of it. You two have to fight monsters in close quarters so wouldn¡¯t you rather have some on you if you could?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we might need some.¡±

    Hook, line and sinker. It¡¯d been an instant andplete defeat on my end when I had this conversation with Tendo-kun, but this, this is how my negotiation is supposed to go, with them understanding the true value of my healing meds.

    ¡°That being said, I do value my medicine very much, and making it isn¡¯t anything as simple as using magic either. I have to collect all the ingredients by hand, and there¡¯s a limited supply of that. What I¡¯m saying is, I can¡¯t just give it to anyone.¡±

    ¡°What, so you¡¯re not giving us any, is that it?¡±

    ¡°Be a douche somewhere else, Momokawa.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying,¡± I let them know clearly, ¡°that I¡¯ve never really talked to you Nonomiya-san, or you, Yoshizaki-san. I don¡¯t exactly know you two very well.¡±

    Are they friend of foe? That¡¯s the main question. So long as we have that indirect threat that only 3 of us will be allowed out of the dungeon, I can¡¯t trust anyone just because they were ssmates.

    ¡°Frankly, I¡¯ve had ssmates attack me before. But if you¡¯re truly willing to cooperate, as in fight with me and not against me, then I¡¯d dly hand over medicine when you need it and, it¡¯s not much, but I can also support you in battle using my curses.¡±

    ¡°I mean, <i>curses,</i> I don¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°Eh, I can risk it for the medicine.¡±

    Good, very good. They still have doubts, but I can tell that they want the meds.

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying let¡¯s be friends, but I want to at least have some degree ofmunication among fellow party members.¡±

    ¡°Dude, you gotta at least try to be friends.¡±

    ¡°See, this is why you don¡¯t get any girls, Momokawa.¡±

    Oof, that stung. So that¡¯s it huh. All the girls know that I¡¯m just a pansy! Okay yeah, I knew that already, but having it point out to me in my face is just cruel.

    Shit, not again, I thought I already lost the ability to feel the hurt from words, but the pain, it burns!

    ¡°Uh, okay then, let¡¯s start with being friends.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡«, with you¡­?¡±

    ¡°Like, you¡¯re not my type, sorry¡«¡±

    ¡°Wait, howe you¡¯re saying it like you just turned me down!?¡±

    I mean,e on, it took a lot of courage to say that, and this is what I get? Dammit, these girls they¡¯re¡­ they¡¯re just evil¡­

    ¡°Ahaha, you make some great reactions, Momokawa¡«.¡±

    ¡°So true¡«. Don¡¯t worry, some girls like that too.¡±

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t. I¡¯m not the type that likes being teased around, okay?¡±

    Still, these two breaking down my meager willpower andughing at my expense might have actually lowered some of the walls between us. Which is great for me. And it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to cry over some light teasing. In fact, I think we might just get along.

    ¡°Kay, so Momokawa, how¡¯re we supposed to do this co-op thing anyway?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I mean like, we¡¯re pretty much fine staying the way we are, right?¡±

    ¡°You mean, because Tendo-kun can beat anything?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯s so frickin¡¯ badass.¡±

    ¡°Totes. He¡¯s the best.¡±

    I¡¯d have to agree. I don¡¯t see Tendo-kun ever losing to any dungeon monster. Sure, the monsters get stronger the deeper we get, but by my estimate, he has the potential to grow strong enough to easily match that.

    And that very well may be the reason why we can¡¯t rely on him alone. But I can¡¯t say that to these two and expect them to understand.

    I¡¯m sure that they also had it rough before joining up with Tendo-kun. Not to mention they had to carry a dead weight like Rando-san. And then, suddenly they gained an ally who put them at ease from their frustrations with his unbelievable power. I can¡¯t go around making statements like I doubt Tendo-kun when they¡¯re so infatuated with him. That could break down negotiations instantly.

    ¡°I wanted to ask, how do you two really feel about Tendo-kun?¡±

    ¡°I like him, what else?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be crazy not to fall for him.¡±

    Both of them professed their attraction toward Tendo-kun without a shred of hesitation. I see. They must be pretty serious about it then. Fighting to survive every day in this harsh environment, they saw the appeal of a truly strong man, and went for it.

    ¡°I get that, but I don¡¯t really see him being interested in either of you, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°The fuck!?¡±

    ¡°Please hear me out. In no way am I saying that you two aren¡¯t attractive. I¡¯m saying that Tendo-kun seems to be like that with everyone, not just you two. And I¡¯m not saying he¡¯s arrogant or egocentric, but more, let¡¯s see¡­ He¡¯s the type that only sees value in people he approves of, or at least, that¡¯s how I see it.¡±

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯m an excellent judge of character. I¡¯m a shaman after all, not a fortune teller. I haven¡¯t met all the walks of people, nor do I boast of long and rich life experience.

    But even to me, Tendo-kun just feels like that sort of human being. In a way, you could say he¡¯s easy to understand.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡­ guess.¡±

    ¡°He does kind of give off that feel.¡±

    The two of them know this. They¡¯ve been trying every trick in the book to get him to look their way, but s, Tendo-kun still treats them like nameless NPCs.

    And as girls who are more in tune with the workings of the heart, they had to have noticed already. I¡¯m sure that his unyielding apathy toward them is what¡¯s been hurting them the most.

    ¡°To be honest,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m scared that one day Tendo-kun will just tell me to leave. He could say it¡¯s because I¡¯m holding him back, so I can¡¯te with him anymore. He could decide it just like that.¡± And I¡¯m likely at the top of the list when he does decide to do so. He already has what was supposed to be my trump card, my meds, so I hold very little value to him right now.

    ¡°Come on, even Tendo-kun wouldn¡¯t,¡±

    ¡°Do <i>that</i>, I think...¡±

    ¡°Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san, you¡¯re both clearly strong. But Tendo-kun is still leagues above you. If there¡¯s ever a time when you face a boss monster you can¡¯t measure up to, Tendo-kun will just fight it alone, without you.¡± Because why did he have to care about people who couldn¡¯t keep up? He would walk his own path regardless. At least, that¡¯s the feeling you get from looking at his broad back.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when Tendo-kun might just up and leave on his own.¡± I summarized. ¡°And that¡¯s why I can¡¯t rely on him for everything. If he does end up leaving, I want to be at least strong enough to defend myself.¡±

    The two look like they were deep in thought.

    Of course, it¡¯s not even a matter of thinking about it. They¡¯re obviously going to be concerned, more concerned than me even, on the idea that Tendo-kun might leave them one day.

    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s not be so pessimistic. I¡¯m just saying we should try to get along.¡±

    ¡°<i>Sigh,</i> yeah, I guess you''re right.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t really want any drama either, so yeah.¡±

    There we go. Now they¡¯ve agreed to cooperate. Now¡¯s the hard part¡­

    ¡°Great. Then first, I¡¯d like to ask you two a favor.¡±

    ¡°Go on?¡±

    ¡°And be reasonable.¡±

    They might refuse this one. But this is the starting line. We need to get past it before we¡¯re actually running.

    I screwed up my courage, and made my request:

    ¡°Please make up with Rando-san.¡± Sponsored by Nn N. (There are 9 more!)

 Chapter 96: The Power of a Geomancer ( 1 )

    Chapter 96: The Power of a Geomancer ( 1 )

    Tendo-kun returned as casually as he¡¯d gone, as if drawn in by the smell of sizzling meat.

    ¡°... What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Hey¡« you¡¯re back, Tendo-kun¡«¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re cooking meat, have some.¡±

    He was weed in by the mourettes, whose lines were so sickly-sweet, I could almost see ? marks at the end. That being said, now that they¡¯d be allies, I didn¡¯t so much cringe at the scene as look at it warmly.

    ¡°Meat from what?¡± Tendo-kun turned his sharp, somewhat suspicious eyes from me to the stick of slightlyrge lumps of medium rare meat in my hand alternatively. I didn¡¯t mind at all. He was born with those eyes, so him just looking normally makes him seem intimidating. Getting needlessly scared would be rude.

    ¡°Snake meat. I caught some from around here. I¡¯m sure you can see that they¡¯re fine to eat.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°We only had salt, but it¡¯s pretty good if you eat it hot.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll have some.¡±

    Tendo-kun rested hisurels in a gap between our circle around the fire.

    ¡°Tendo-kun, have this one!¡±

    ¡°This big one¡¯s just for you¡«¡±

    ¡°Ah, thanks.¡±

    Even Tendo-kun couldn¡¯t resist the allure of meat after so long as he dly took and bit down on the stick the mourettes had prepared for him.

    ¡°... It¡¯s great.¡± Hemented.

    ¡°d you like it.¡±

    Today is the first time the 5 of us all sat down together for a meal. Sure, we still had some kinks to work out, but if you saw a picture of us, you¡¯d surely see party members enjoying food together.

    So, now that I¡¯ve fished in Tendo-kun with the allure of meat, let¡¯s get down to business.

    ¡°Tendo-kun, I need to ask a favor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got no more monster parts.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need anymore either. No, this is about something else.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°I want to have Rando-san train her geomancer calling. It won¡¯t take too long, so I was hoping we make base here during that time.¡±

    After having observed Rando-san on our way here, I felt a great need to nurture her powers. She¡¯s all but given up on her calling, saying it¡¯s too weak, and even now, she¡¯s no stronger than she was when she came to this world. Even if her starter skills are shit-tier, any new skill she gains might be cheat-tier, who knows. There¡¯s no loss in trying, is what I¡¯m trying to say.

    There¡¯s always the risk that we might end up in a zone devoid of mobs like goma or skeletons and chock-full of high level monsters. So before they disappear on us, we ought to use them to level up and up.

    What¡¯s worse is that she¡¯s way behindpared to everyone else in the party, yes, even including me. She¡¯s probably not gained a single experience point, in other words, she¡¯s been at level 1 all this time. If she doesn¡¯t get more useful fast, and I mean ASAP, there mighte a time when protecting her would be the least of our worries. Once that happens, things like friendship or camaraderie, won¡¯t mean shit.

    I know this sounds cold, but this is so we can avoid a worst case scenario. That¡¯s right, like those girls who had voted not to use their resources to heal Mei-chan, and left her to die alone. That¡¯s something I don¡¯t want happening to Rando-san.

    ¡°... Can you do it?¡± Tendo-kun asked.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll make Rando-san stronger, count on it.¡±

    I speak from personal experience. Though barely, I did in fact manage to beat Higuchi in a straight match.

    What¡¯s more, Rando-san is a Geomancer, which is not a support ss like Takanashi-san the Sage, but abat ss like ss Rep the Cryomancer. Her powers should let her use her element to strike and kill enemies.

    Thus, even if her starter skills were a bad roll, she can definitely get better ones through training.

    ¡°Alright, fine. But I¡¯m not waiting more than a few days.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll work, thanks.¡±

    OK, that¡¯s the toughest hurdle cleared. Tendo-kun seems like a man-of-his-word type. It¡¯s like he has a sense of integrity, or more like, enough pride that he¡¯s true to himself.

    And that¡¯s all the groundwork done. The next part depends on how hard Rando-san is willing to work for it.

    ¡° ¨D¨D Ohkay Rando-san, are you ready to raise that level?¡±

    ¡°<i>Egh</i>, this blows....¡± There was Rando-san making an unpleasant face at the fairy square door.

    ¡°Heh, have fun in your remedial sses, Kyoko.¡± Smiled teasingly one of the mourettes, Nonomiya-san.

    So here¡¯s the lineup for our ¡°Rando-san special level-up course¡±, mini party: There¡¯s me, who made the proposal and am party leader, Rando-san, our star of the show, and Nonomiya-saning along as a guard. Rem too, of course.

    Which means that the fairy square will be upied by Tendo-kun and Yoshizaki-san only. I wish you good luck on your together alone-time, Yoshizaki-san.

    ¡°Tendo-kun said that there are only jiras and zombies on the wends around here.¡± I announced the objective. ¡°Our target will be zombies, since we can¡¯t handle jiras if they flock together.¡±

    ¡°Uhuh...¡±

    ¡°K.¡±

    Rando-san didn¡¯t seem motivated at all, while Nonomiya-san was in casual pic-mode. It feels useless getting worked up all by myself¡­ but I¡¯m sure Rando-san will get into it too once she has a handle on her powers.

    ¡°Alright, then before we leave, Rando-san, please show me your skills.¡±

    ¡°Ohe on¡«, didn¡¯t I tell you like, 5 minutes ago? Don¡¯t tell me you forgot already, Momokawa¡«¡±

    ¡°No I remember them. I just need to see what they¡¯ll look like before we¨D¨D hey, don¡¯t, stop that!!¡±

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten Rando-san so annoyed, but she started giving me a nuggie for no reason. I mean, it doesn¡¯t hurt, but I¡¯d very much rather have the softer kind of skinship if she¡¯s offering¡­. Okay, she needs to stop or else we can¡¯t get started.

    ¡°... Fine, here we go¡«¡± Rando-sanzily raised her arms in front of her to invoke a spell, ¡° ¨D¨D Tera Shield.¡±

    Right as she finished her chant, the ground in front of her let out a deep rumble, slightly shook, and then, out rose a rectangr block of earth like garage shutters that¡¯d been reversed toe out of the floor.

    Taking all of 10 seconds, Rando-san now had her Tera or stone shield measuring in at 2 meters tall, 1 meter long and with a thickness of 30 centimeters.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not stone!?¡± I retorted mboyantly, to which Rando-san gave an annoyed. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about that.¡±

    I mean, with a name like that, I feel scammed. Every way I look or touch it, this thing¡¯s all earth.

    ¡°But it¡¯s quite sturdy if you ask me. Isn¡¯t this good for blocking attacks?¡±

    ¡°I guess?¡± Rando-san shrugged indifferently. But it¡¯s strange. It looks like it¡¯d make good defense so why doesn¡¯t she use it?

    ¡°Think about it Momokawa, if I take that long to put up the wall, even a goma can just go around.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Good point.¡±

    Enemies don¡¯t wait around when you¡¯re trying to kill each other. Even gomas, one of the weakest monsters, move with the same agility as a normal human. So if the only thing blocking their path is a 2 meter wall rising at a rate of 20 centimeters per second, they can find any number of ways to go around.

    She¡¯d be toote to start casting once they¡¯re up close.

    ¡°Wait, hold on a minute, are all your spells like...¡±

    ¡° ¨D¨D Tera Kris Sagitta.¡±

    This time, it wasn¡¯t a scam and arge ¡®spear¡¯ made of actual stone is what Rando-san had created. I say ¡®spear¡¯, because it isn¡¯t at all like how you¡¯d imagine a spear, as in with a sharpened head and body that¡¯s easy to hold. It has the shape of a circr cone, sharp on top and having the girth of a human torso¡­ rising out of the ground at a painfully slow 20 centimeters per second.

    Half a minute passed, and we had ourselves a 3 meter stone cone reaching up toward heaven.

    ¡°Um,¡± I asked, ¡°does this one always point up?¡±

    ¡°I can do it at an angle if you want.¡± said Rando-san, to my great relief. It¡¯d be a pain to make use of what is essentially pointy pirs.

    ¡°I see what you mean now. The speed is a big issue.¡±

    Seeing is believing, and from what I saw, I can now believe why Rando-san is so reluctant about even trying. Heck, her starter skills might be more useless than my own¨D¨D no, I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. With Tera Shield and Tera Kris Sagitta, she might have difficulty attacking but she can definitely use tactics like blocking passages behind her, or even hole up in a fairy square by sealing off all the exits.

    ¡°Alright Rando-san, how¡¯s your mana holding up?¡±

    ¡°Holding my what?¡±

    ¡°Mana, it¡¯s like an energy source for using magic. Use too many spells and you¡¯ll feel really tired from expending too much mana. Worst case, you can pass out too.¡±

    ¡°Wait, seriously!? I didn¡¯t even know!¡±

    ¡°You just need to make sure not to cast more than you can handle, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    But maybe it¡¯s better for her to know the risk by first-hand experience at least once. It¡¯s best to know the limits of your abilities. That goes double for Rando-san who apparently didn¡¯t even know the concept of mana until I told her just now.

    ¡°So?¡± I inquired. ¡°Feeling tired or anything?¡±

    ¡°Mm, donno?¡±

    ¡°Then, have you ever tried seeing how many spells you can use?¡±

    ¡°Oh yea¡«, I did do a bit of practice at the beginning. But then, it like, just wouldn¡¯t get faster, so I stopped.¡±

    ¡°Oh I remember that,¡± Nonomiya-san chimed in, ¡°you went and made a ton of these walls, almost a hundred, maybe?¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I broke in, ¡°and you didn¡¯t get tired from that?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I was.¡±

    Could it be that Rando-san actually has a massive amount of mana? Or maybe it¡¯s that the earth (not stone) wall is just very cost effective because of thepromise.

    ¡°So, do I use the third one now?¡± Rando-san asked.

    ¡°Ah, of course.¡± I said. ¡°You can do it on these two.¡±

    ¡°Aye aye, here¡¯s nothing¨D¨D Eternity.¡±

    Simr to Soma Sakura¡¯s Holy Enchant, this magic made the earthen wall and stone spear glow white. A glow which then disappeared instantly, revealing that nothing had changed.

    In other words, Eternity had worked as expected.

    Objects made using magic have a tendency to disappear after a certain amount of time. This applies to ss Rep¡¯s cryomancy, and my own curses like ckhair bind. Being MAGIC, the physical manifestation of spells is constructed using mana, and once the spell haspleted its task, the mana disperses, meaning that nothing is making up the visual representation and so it¡¯s also gone. Well, that¡¯s the gist of it.

    Ines Eternity, a spell that can transform things created in mana into the real thing.

    That means, if we left these very solid looking wall an spear alone, soon enough, they would¡¯ve disappeared into nothing without leaving a trace. Casting Eternity on them, on the other hand, makes themst forever. That is, until someone intentionally destroys them or until they erode away in time. For these are now, a real wall made of hardened earth, and a real spear made with arge stone chiseled to a cone.

    The more I think about it, the more mysterious it seems. And, at least in my opinion, this is a very promising spell. Although, if I was asked whether we could use it in battle¡­

    ¡°Hmm, not gonna be very useful in a skirmish, but I can probably think up a lot of other uses.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t even get tired after spamming a hundred walls, so there¡¯s the option of having her take her time to make huge ones. Add in some tera kris sagittas and sprinkle some Eternity on top and she could make a stronghold anywhere she wants.

    Then again, due to the nature of the dungeon, it¡¯s pretty rare to have an enemye waltzing into your stronghold like that.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get going. Next, we¡¯re testing these in a real fight.¡±

    Soon, it¡¯ll be the moment of truth. Will Rando-san¡¯s geomancy prove useful or will it just reaffirm her negative convictions.

    We walked around the wends for barely 5 minutes before finding our first batch of targets.

    ¡°Look there,¡± pointed Nonomiya-san, ¡°Zombies.¡±

    ¡°Hey, can we please not?¡± Rando-san requested. ¡°Zombies really make me sick every time.¡±

    ¡°I know what you mean, they reek to. You¡¯ll get used to it.¡±

    ¡°Bleh¡«¡±

    Rando-san still acted like a high school girl, while Nonomiya-san, who¡¯s well into her role as a knight, gave her sage advice. Zombies used to creep my out too with their meat and organs in live disy all the time, but after my experience fighting more than enough of them, I got used to it too.

    ¡°There¡¯s 4 of them¡­ Nonomiya-san, do you sense any others?¡±

    ¡°Mm, nah, we¡¯re good.¡±

    She might not have the superior sensory prowess of a thief like Higuchi or Natsukawa-san, but as a knight, a fighter ss calling, she has the best presence sensing out of any of us here. We¡¯re also away from the pools and in a small wood, so there¡¯s little chance of jiras suddenly swarming us.

    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± asked Nonomiya-san. ¡°I can take 4 zombies easy.¡±

    ¡°We want Rando-san to kill them, right?¡±

    ¡°Right, no shit.¡±

    <i>Oi oi</i>, you alright there, Nonomiya-san? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve developed a personality where you feel an itch to hunt down any enemy you see, you don¡¯t right?

    ¡°Momokawa¡«¡± Rando-san called unenthusiastically, ¡°What am I doing again¡«?¡±

    I ignore her and observe how the zombies are moving and what¡¯s around them. And I calmly think.

    ¡°Okay, Rando-san, make spears diagonally from here to those trees over there.¡±

    ¡°Uh, where again?¡±

    ¡°From here, at this angle.¡± I used my own spear to show her precisely.

    ¡°Can you control the length of a spear?¡±

    ¡°No idea¡«¡±

    ¡°Try it, then. They need to be around a meter. Hmm, picture it like stopping your spell in the middle of doing it.¡±

    ¡°... Wow, I did it.¡± Rando-san sessfully grew a Tera Kris Sagitta as specified. From what I observed with ss Rep and Souma Sakura, the spell can be changed to a degree when the caster wills it into a different size or strength level. I mean, I do that sort of thing like breathing air.

    Which is why I figured Rando-san could do it too. It might be harder to make it bigger, but getting a smaller than average size should be easy.

    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t forget to do eternity on them.¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡±

    As each meter long spear rose from the ground, Rando-san used Eternity on them, causing brief glows of white.

    ¡°One here too.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°One of my curses, ckhair bind.¡±

    I tied up ckhair rope between the trees 30 centimeters up from the ground. I think something like Eternity should work on magic from other casters too.

    ¡°Well? Did it work?¡±

    ¡°It lit up, so I think it did.¡±

    Having confirmed so, we are now ready tomence the operation.

    ¡°Now, all we do is lure the zombies into the trap.¡±

    A very simple trap, I might add. We get the zombies to chase us to this point, at which point, the brainless idiots will definitely trip on the ckhair rope and fall. Theirnding point: riddled with Rando-san¡¯s stone spikes.

    ¡°Zombies are dumb. They¡¯ll only chase what¡¯s in front of them, so they¡¯re gonna fall for it, no doubt.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure about this? What if they don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°If not, either Nonomiya-san or Rem can finish them off.¡±

    Which is why they¡¯re here as guards. n doesn¡¯t work, no problem, we¡¯ll just solve it using brute force. This is how you make contingency ns.

    ¡°Nonomiya-san and I will go lure them in now. Rando-san, you stay here. I¡¯ll have Rem guard you just in case.¡±

    ¡°O-ok, be back quick, alright?¡± Rando-san¡¯s voice sounded shaky. Guess she¡¯s a bit scared.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    We ran in the direction of the zombies, spears in hand, mine made of iron while Nonomiya-san¡¯s, steel.

    We¡¯d ran 50 meters away from the trap and saw that the zombies had increased. What was 4 when I first checked had now be 6. Well fine, that¡¯s still within the error margin.

    ¡°Howdy there, dumbies,e get some shaman!¡±

    ¡°Over here!¡±

    We threw a few stones and yelled randomly to get their attention.

    ¡°<b>Ghrk, ooo...</b>¡±

    ¡°<b>Uoaaaaa!!</b>¡±

    Seeing live human prey, the pack of zombies made a break for us¨D¨D as in, they¡¯re getting here super fast!

    ¡°The hell, zombies aren¡¯t supposed to run that fast!¡± I yelled, kind of in a panic.

    ¡°Zombies here sure are full of life¡«¡± Nonomiya-san wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Momokawa, run faster, dude!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me behind, Nonomiya-san!¡±

    ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯re a handful.¡±

    Unlike you with your fighter ss body, I still have normal human stats!

    But I had no time toin.

    ¡°<b>Ugraaa!!</b>¡±

    ¡°<b>Uh! Huuhhh!!</b>¡±

    Their drool spraying everywhere, the zombies were gaining on me. 50 meters, so close but so far.

    ¡°Come on, Momokawa, they¡¯re almost behind you¡«¡± Nonomiya-san said, still casual.

    ¡°<i>Haah, hahh¡­ Argh,</i> fuck it! ckhair bind!¡±

    The leading zombie really had almost caught up to me, and I had to trip its legs.

    ¡°Aww, here I thought we¡¯re trying to use the trap¡«¡±

    ¡°Here I am, trying not to die!¡±

    I made the wrong call. Should''ve let Rem handle the running part. While regretting the retrospectively bad decision I somehow managed to clear the remaining distance. Coming up to the rope trap, I didn¡¯t do anything else stupid and went over it.

    ¡°Goal.¡± Nonomiya-san cheered in monotone, having broken not a sweat.

    ¡°<i>Hahh¡­ hahh¡­.</i>¡± I was exhausted and out of breath. But I can¡¯t tap out now. I have to see if the trap actually works. ¡°Fucking zombies! Come get some!¡±

    ¡°<b>Gugarrhh¨D¨D boogh</b>hhh!¡± Was the sound of them getting skewered. The spears werepletely out in the open, right in front of them. The ck rope also clearly stood out between the trees. And yet, zombies who only saw prey missed these details¨D¨D jumped into the stone cones all by themselves, just like how I pictured it.

    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Yelled Rando-san. ¡°Ew ew, no! What¡¯s with this gore, aaah!¡±

    ¡°Wow, they¡¯re just jumping in.¡±mented Nonomiya-san.

    The rotten bodies of the zombies lodged themselves into the spears of stone. The spears are somewhat thick, but running into them at full sprint easily opened gaping holes on the dumb zombies.

    Some of them that were following after another, fell into the same spear and became skewered together.

    And all this while, Rando-san, who got a front row seat, has been yelling ew ew ews.

    ¡°<b>ohh, guhhh...</b>¡±

    The spears were set up haphazardly, so not all the zombies were skewered through. They still had their shoulders or nks gouged into, but paying no mind to the damage, they still attempted to get to us.

    ¡°ckhair bind.¡± I pinned them to the ground. ¡°Rando-san, spears please.¡±

    ¡°W-wait, what¡­?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not moving, so it¡¯ll be fine even if your spell is slow.¡±

    ¡°Go for it, Kyoko!¡± Nonomiya-san chimed in.

    ¡°<i>Ugh,</i> I¡­ fine, Tera Kris Sagitta!¡±

    The stone spears grew out from under their bellies like bamboo shoots, and as they were bound down by me, the zombies had no means of resistance to getting pierced through and dying for good.

    Sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 97: The Power of a Geomancer ( 2 )

    Chapter 97: The Power of a Geomancer ( 2 )

    Rando-san was drained after her first zombie rush, so we¡¯re taking a short break.

    ¡°... Hey Momokawa?¡± said Rando-san, her face awfully serious.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Maybe she wants to talk to someone about the experience just now. Not many people can get used to blood and gore that quickly.

    ¡°I think I just got a new spell.¡±

    ¡°Huh, WHAA!?¡±

    She got a new spell after that easy-mode tutorial with dumb zombies? And here I had to do 1v1 a fucking armorbear at level 1 and the only thing I got out of it was ckhair Bind.

    No, well, ckhair Bind<i>is</i> pretty good and all. It¡¯s my all-purpose curse at this point.

    ¡°Nice, congrats, Kyoko.¡± said Nonomiya-san. ¡°So what¡¯s it called?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s uh, Tera Sagitta.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± I said finding it curious. ¡°Isn¡¯t that supposed to be the most basic one?¡±

    ss Rep has Ice Sagitta and Souma Sakura has Lux Sagitta and those were part of their starters so this Tera version has to be in the same ss.

    ¡°So? You gonna try it or what?¡± said Nonomiya-san.

    ¡°Do I have to?¡±ined Rando-san. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be another super slow magic anyway.¡±

    ¡°Come on¡« just do it, I¡¯m curious now¡«¡±

    ¡°Ah, fiiine.¡± And so, Rando-san was pushed into trying out her now spell. She put her arms in front of her, not exactly hyped about it. I was curious too, so I shut up and watched.

    ¡°Tera Sagitta.¡±

    There was a <i>vwoomp</i>, then a <i>thump</i>, then after a few <i>snaps</i> and <i>cracks,</i> there was a loud <i>crash.</i>

    One of the thin trees in front of us suddenly had a hole in the middle of its trunk. Its structurepromised, the tree fell. The series of events happened right in front of my eyes, and I could easily make as guess as to how, but I almost didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    ¡°Wow, that was some crazy firepower, Kyoko!¡± cheered Nonomiya-san.

    ¡°Huh, wait, <i>I</i> did that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you! That stone flew super fast!¡± Nonomiya-san, being a knight, has much better dynamic vision than me it seems. I couldn¡¯t even see a blur.

    ¡°Now you can finally fight with us too!¡±

    ¡°I can? Huh, I can¡­ I actually feel a little scared now...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine¡« Kill a few zombies, and you¡¯ll get used to it in no time!¡±

    ¡°Huh, maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe now, I can finally help you guys out a little.¡±

    It¡¯s a basic but effective attack spell. Our party didn¡¯t have a mage who could actually attack after all. I¡¯m sure Rando-san will be a bigger help than she thinks.

    ¡°Momokawa,¡± Rando-san said to me, ¡°thanks.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, congrats on getting a good spell, Rando-san.¡± I replied, having heard what was probably her genuine gratitude¡­ but it¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t this kind of, weird?

    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± started Nonomiya-san, ¡°now that Kyoko can shoot down monsters, aren¡¯t you gonna be the our weakest guy, Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°... I, guess so.¡± Right, of course I am.

    I¡¯m sorry Rando-san. When I heard that you didn¡¯t even get past your starters, I got big headed about it. Like, finally, there¡¯s someone weaker than me. Finally, someone that even I, a weakass Shaman, can teach the ropes.

    I¡¯d sort of gotten into a high, and I apologize.

    ¡°Alrighty!¡± I said chipperly. ¡°Let¡¯s go all out with training. Those zombies won¡¯t see what¡¯sing to them!¡±

    ¡°Uhh, Momokawa, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself.¡± said Rando-san in a worried face.

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s with those tears?¡±

    ¡°Sand in my eyes!!¡±

    Don¡¯t worry, Rando-san. I always knew you had potential. I¡¯m happy that your not dead weight to the party anymore.

    ¡°Come on, you two, onward!¡± Imenced my march, not interested in wasting training time.

    ¡°Geez, I get it I get it.¡± Rando-san followed after me, like she was dealing with a spoiled child.

    ¡°<i>Pfft</i>, real mature, Momokawa.¡± While Nonomiya-san held off an obvious chuckle behind us.

    Nope. I¡¯m not jealous at all!

    ¡°Hey¡« we¡¯re back¡«¡±

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back, how was it?¡±

    ¡°Kyoko totally killed it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding!?¡±

    The first round of the ¡°Rando-san special level-up course¡± ended with results far surpassing expectations, and we¡¯d returned to the fairy square. Nonomiya-san went straight to Yoshizaki-san, her fellow mourette who was holding down the fort, and was excitedly reporting on our day.

    ¡°Not joining them?¡± I said to Rando-san.

    ¡°Yeah, nah. I need sleep first. Lots of it.¡±

    ¡°Low on mana?¡±

    ¡°Not that, I¡¯m just feeling a bit out of it from all that fighting.¡±

    ¡°Ah, makes sense, it <i>was</i> your first time in livebat.¡±

    I¡¯d been periodically making sure all day, but Rando-san never even started to run out of mana no matter how much earth and stone she conjured up. So, understandably, the reason she¡¯s so tired has to do with the physical strain on her body from all that walking around in addition to the mental strain thates with experiencing a long first battle.

    ¡°You look fine.¡± She said to me.

    ¡°Yeah, just a little tired from walking, no big.¡±

    ¡°You were running around more than any of us, so it¡¯s surprising.¡±

    Including that first 50 meter zombie chase, we ran into trouble a few other times too. Things like jiras suddenly popping out of pools or the number of zombies being more than ounted for. Little things.

    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m used to it.¡±

    Though I did have a tendency to panic, I was well within a margin of safety for the whole adventure. It¡¯d be great if the difficulty stayed at this level. If possible, I¡¯d like to avoid life and death battles entirely. I seriously don¡¯t want another Higuchi battle.

    ¡°<i>Heh</i>...¡± Rando-san smiled, ¡°You really are strong.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re a lot stronger at this point.¡±

    Not even ttering, I mean it. The moment she got Tera Sagitta, her value as a mage multiplied instantly.

    After the proverbial level up using the trip wire and spikes trap, we had her keep firing shot after shot of Tera Sagitta. And as a result, simr to ss Rep¡¯s Ice Sagitta, Rando-san¡¯s stone arrow also became very good at doing its job. Actually, I think in terms of pure DPS, Tera Sagitta might be higher than it¡¯s ice based alternative.

    The ¡®arrow¡¯ created by this spell is simr to Tera Kris Sagitta, a conic stone, while much shorter and more slender too. It¡¯s really better described as a rifle shell than an arrow.

    So anyway, these arrows fly at tremendous (for people like me, who didn¡¯t get to have superhuman dynamic range) speeds. It¡¯s range and shell size is also mostly regr. It can¡¯t shoot like a machine gun, unfortunately. She can shoot once every 5 seconds. But once she gets good at it, I¡¯m sure that interval will be a lot shorter and her uracy will also improve with time. And best of all, the mana cost is almost nothing.

    It¡¯s sort of OP, if I¡¯m being honest. Rando-san just needs a few seconds to cock her gun, but otherwise she has practically unlimited bullets.

    Makes you wonder, why in the world did the god of geomancy not include this Tera Sagitta into her starter skillset? She obviously needed the bullet spell earlier than Tera Kris Sagitta, what is essentially a spell for growing bamboo shoots. Is this god actually dumb, or was it just a fuck up? Who knows, maybe tanned gals are just not his type?

    Anyway, that doesn¡¯t really matter anymore since she got Tera Sagitta and can now, finally get on her two feet as a mage.

    ¡°Momokawa,e here a bit.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Tendo-kun was sitting at the fountain, as usual, contemting whether he should have another smoke. The mourettes were happy for Rando-san and were engaged in talking about the events of the day. And at a corner little away from there, Rando-san and I sat down to talk.

    ¡°I wanted to say thanks.¡± Rando-san began.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already?¡±

    ¡°For the magic lessons yeah, but this one¡¯s¡­ for Julie and Marie.¡±

    Right. Of course she¡¯d notice.

    ¡°You talked to them about me, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I did. They weren¡¯t exactly hiding the fact that they were avoiding you.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if they¡¯d always been like this and I just didn¡¯t notice, but having been in the same party, I could see that something was off.

    Rando-san, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-san were always together in the ssroom, as friends sharing an interest in gal fashion. Souma Sakura and the harem girls aside, they were the most stand-out group of girls in our ss.

    And since the time I met them in the dungeon, the other two never once tried to strike up a conversation with Rando-san.

    ¡°This might sound harsh to you, Rando-san, but you were kind of like dead weight for them all this time. They had to have been frustrated having to do all the fighting, I mean.¡±

    I can sympathize with their plight, but staying like that wasn¡¯t good.

    I wanted to at least have everyone other than Tendo-kun be on friendly terms with each other. If we¡¯re not on the same wavelength, I can easily imagine no semnce of teamwork, resulting in disaster at some point down the line.

    Our targets are the powerful boss monsters that await us at the end of every zone. And aside from those, we also have to fight off swarms of monsters all throughout the journey.

    It¡¯s imperative that we can trust our backs to each other to ovee these arduous ordeals. And that trust isn¡¯t earned by shutting up and going with the flow, as I¡¯ve painfully understood first hand.

    Which is why, I mustered up the few morsels ofmunication skill I have and made an attempt to negotiate with the mourettes. Toy the groundwork.

    The rtionship between the three girls had suffered a wound. But leaving it to fester would only make it worse, up until it''s toote.

    So I, being a neutral 3rd party, took the chance to mediate. I basically begged them to get along again as a favor, but yeah.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about that. Well, it¡¯s also about that, but that¡¯s not the point.¡± She let out a mncholic sigh and said, ¡°It¡¯s cause they both like Tendo.¡±

    A bit hesitant, I asked, ¡°... Were you and him going out?¡±

    ¡°I just talked to him sometimes. But some girls get jealous of that too; most of them can¡¯t even talk to him normally.¡±

    That makes sense. Unlike Soma-kun, Tendo-kun clearly isn¡¯t the type to get along with anyone and everyone. If he doesn¡¯t care about you, you¡¯re practically invisible.

    ¡°So were Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san included among those girls?¡±

    ¡°No, they had boyfriends. Julie was dating a guy from 2-3 and Marie, I think she was with a college guy.¡±

    Not surprising considering their looks. It¡¯d be odd if they were single.

    ¡°No, just that they were saying how it¡¯d be crazy not to fall for Tendo-kun.¡±

    I don¡¯t know how serious they were about their old boyfriends, but so long as those bfs aren¡¯t part of our ss, they¡¯re now something of the far past. We¡¯re here now, in another world with magic and monsters, separated from Earth at a dimensional level.

    ¡°Personally, I¡¯m fine with either of them going out with Tendo. Maybe all three of them can be an item too, who knows. Point is, I¡¯m not after Tendo.¡±

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t it fine to just tell them to go for it, and that you¡¯re rooting for them?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but it got messy. Since, at the end of the day, I was relying on him too.¡±

    But isn¡¯t that fine? Sure, if Rando-san had tried hard and beat a bunch of mobs she could¡¯ve gotten that Tera Sagitta much earlier, but that¡¯s speaking from the known conclusion. You can¡¯t expect her to have figured out all that and somehow managed to beat monsters and survive with that shitty selection of starters. Not to even mention, she¡¯d be scared out of her wits with practically no way to defend herself, in addition to the anxiety from ending up in a strange and dangerous dungeon one morning.

    ¡°Me and Tendo did at least talk before; Julie and Marie, not at all. So I thought that Tendo would at least protect me too. But just because he did, it didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d suddenly start having feelings for him¡­ but I couldn¡¯t really leave his side either¡­ <i>Haha</i>, I must sound like a real bitch.¡±

    Rando-san could¡¯ve also fallen for Tendo-kun and the three of them would¡¯ve had to settle it like normal love rivals. But that wasn¡¯t the situation and if she tried to distance herself from Tendo-kun as a show of supporting her friends¡¯ love, she risked endangering herself.

    She¡¯d die if she left, so she maintained the status quo, which inevitably led to the silence between friends.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s your fault Rando-san. But I also think you three should¡¯ve at least talked to each other about it.¡±

    It¡¯s funny how easily they epted my request. I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t really want to hate Rando-san, but either side couldn¡¯t bring it up.

    ¡°Yeah, we messed up...¡±

    ¡°You did. Those two don¡¯t hate you, Rando-san. They¡¯ve been wanting to make up too, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get that¡­ but, I couldn¡¯t do anything by myself¡­ You know, when you joined us, I was secretly kind of d¡­ that there¡¯s someone else like me now. Someone that the others don¡¯t talk to.¡±

    ¡°<i>Haha,</i> I admit I was getting a bit worried about that.¡±

    After my death match with Higuchi, I was just done. Completely out of mana, no weapons, no Rem, just powerless. I must¡¯ve looked pretty pathetic to them.

    ¡°Sorry Momokawa. I¡¯m sorry I kept only thinking about myself, kept staying weak and not even trying to change¡­ I¡¯m sorry I thought we were the same. You¡¯re much better than that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up over it. I was honestly really happy when you called out to me back there.¡±

    ¡°Not just that, everything today, I couldn¡¯t have done any of that. Learning Tera Sagitta, making up with Julie and Marie¡­ It¡¯s all thanks to you.¡±

    That sort of open and sincere gratitude to the face is kind of, no, it¡¯s pretty darn embarrassing.

    ¡°I did it in part for myself¡­ but sure, you¡¯re very wee.¡±

    If Rando-san wants to be honest with me, I¡¯ll have to give back an honest response too. I¡¯m not trying to be some kind of <i>tsundere</i>, after all.

    ¡°<i>Fufufufu,</i> I really do appreciate it, you know? In fact, you¡¯re looking really charming to me right now.¡±

    ¡°If you really think that, could you please stop stroking my head?¡±

    Like, are you kidding me? Just when I thought I¡¯d raised a g with her, I¡¯m suddenly being treated like a kid. This is a whole other level of disappointment.

    ¡°<i>Ahaha,</i>e on, it¡¯s fine. Looking at you always reminds be of the little punks (my little brothers) back home.¡±

    Yeah yeah, drive the point home will you. Of course, she doesn¡¯t see me as the opposite sex. <i>Heheh,</i> it¡¯s no wonder. Real men are all looks. I can only begrudge my babyface and pathetic height.

    ¡°<i>Sigh...</i> whatever, I don¡¯t care anymore.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s turn that frown upside-down, heree the nails!¡±

    ¡°<i>Ngaahh, staahp!</i>¡±

    Half happy, and the other half clearly not getting lucky, Rando-san and I messed around for a while before turning in for the night.

    Sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 98: Lurking in the Deep

    Chapter 98: Lurking in the Deep

    Today, we¡¯re continuing Rando-san¡¯s basic training, this time with Yoshizaki-san as the guard.

    Having convinced Tendo-kun to wait, I was also having both Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san participate in their friend¡¯s training, but not for free. Using the circumstances, I had prepared adequatepensation for their cooperation, and that is, the chance to spend alone time with Tendo-kun, perhaps getting lucky enough to make him notice them a little.

    Both of them are serious about Tendo-kun. And if you like someone, you¡¯d of course want to spend some quality time with them. However, as it stands, they almost always have 3rd wheelers around; other party members such as me or Rando-san, and most importantly, their mutual greatest love rival. In conclusion, they saw the chance where they could be naturally left alone with Tendo-kun, and they pounced on it.

    In other words, I¡¯m quietly having Tendo-kun be the bait while making the mourettes take turns acting as bodyguards only as a pretext so that they can reap their individual rewards.

    And thus, yesterday we had Nonomiya-san as guard and today, it¡¯s Yoshizaki-san¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Oh wow, Kyoko, you¡¯re actually doing it!¡±

    ¡°<i>Heheh</i>, not some useless deadweight now, am I?¡±

    ¡°Nope, you¡¯ll be great help! I¡¯m so sorry I treated you like that!¡±

    ¡°Apology epted.¡±

    A quick demonstration of Rando-san¡¯s Tera Sagitta, rock bullets that boasted the power of rifle rounds, piercing zombie heads was enough to have Yoshizaki-san also acknowledge her newfound strength.

    Now finally, I suppose I can safely call the friendship between the mourettes and Rando-san, rekindled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try shooting some jiras today.¡± I said.

    ¡°Sure.¡± agreed Rando-san.

    ¡°I bet Kyoko¡¯s gonna have a field day with those fish-faces.¡±

    While I always lean on the side of caution, I can¡¯t help but agree with Yoshizaki-san¡¯s statement of confidence.

    We spotted jiraszing around at the edge of their pools and like an elite sniper, Rando-san Tera Sagitta¡¯d them efficiently, and without issue. Unlike the rotten, and consequently softer bodied zombies, jiras had their packed in tough muscles with an additional armor of scales, all of which didn¡¯t pose any trouble at all, as Rando-san¡¯s fast and powerful rounds devastated them regardless.

    ¡°Great. Now let¡¯s try to take on a pack of them.¡± Perhaps getting a little ahead of ourselves, I proposed trying to take on a group. We had found a school of 10 jiras, blissfully unaware of what will soon befall them.

    And before they snapped out of their stupor and began running toward us in retaliation, we had already culled their numbers by a fair amount¨D¨D by the time they arrived at thebination of walls and spikes set up as basic defensive measures, they¡¯d been reduced to a mere four.

    Considering that they had to deal with Nonomiya-san, who disyed no inadequacy in her Warrior capabilities, Rem, who was atst strong enough to be considered a decent match against someone possessing a calling, andstly, my adept usage of tentacles for dy tactics, the fish-faces¡¯ loss was all but guaranteed.

    ¡°Damn, Kyoko, I didn¡¯t think having you would make it this easy. You just need the time, and you could¡¯ve handled all of them.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m screwed if they get too close.¡±

    ¡°Oh rx¡« that¡¯s where wee in to the rescue.¡±

    To make sure that Rando-san didn¡¯tmit the sad mishap of friendly fire, we forbade her to shoot any Tera Sagitta while any melee fighters were in action. Nonomiya-san is strong enough to handle this level of danger without the need for support magic.

    Plus, Rando-san is still very much a noob when ites to livebat. Whether or not she can judge if the vanguard is in danger and act ordingly is up for debate. From what I¡¯ve been seeing, both Yoshizaki-san and Nonomiya-san can naturally perform the various subtleties ofbat such as feints or letting the enemy attack first to create an opening. Having the still green Rando-san hurriedly shoot spells when they¡¯re in the fray can be very dangerous.

    As such, while we take care of stragglers, Rando-san is in charge of having an eye behind us. Although, we haven¡¯t had jiras suddenly calling in reinforcements or attacking in tactical formations as of yet. Their brains must be as bad as those of their goma counterparts.

    ¡°Huh, I guess they drop cores more often than gomas at least.¡± I of course didn¡¯t neglect the gory job of collecting cores; I had Rem do that for me. Sure, I could <i>try</i> to do it myself, but I¡¯m very muchcking in skill when ites to musclework. In fact, I¡¯d be needlessly wearing out our knives. Having Rem do it is just more practical.

    Rem looked simr to Mei-chan with her precise cuts into the jira corpses and speedy collection of cores. She also made sure to pick up the better looking weapons and bring them to me for checking. Honestly, Rem¡¯s grown so much not only in herbat prowess, but even in the more subdued daily tasks of dungeon survival. It¡¯s a sight to behold.

    ¡°Oh, this spear is pretty nice.¡± Let¡¯s give this to Rando-san. I know it doesn¡¯t suit a mage, but she should still carry something. I¡¯ll have her keep it as good luck. I mean, I¡¯d rather have her carrying a proper mage staff, but it doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll be encountering any treasure boxes in this ce.

    Until either of us get appropriate staffs for our magical uses, Rando-san and I will have to equip a spear as a minimum of self-defense. And I was just about to do so when,

    ¡°Ah, Momokawa!¡±

    ¡°Huh, what, what happened?¡±

    Rando-san suddenly turned to me with a serious expression. Maybe she¡¯ll say something along the lines of not wanting to hold something so slimy and disgusting as a jira¡¯s spear.

    ¡°I just learned a new spell!¡±

    ¡°You did? Awesome!¡±

    Rando-san is getting stronger at zing speed, and though I¡¯m genuinely happy for her, I¡¯m also extremely jealous.

    We had Rando-san practice that new spell some and then returned to the fairy square before too long.

    ¡°Momokawa, did Rando really get stronger?¡± was the first thing I heard from Tendo-kun who had been patiently waiting for me to show results.

    ¡°Yep. Thanks for waiting for us. Now, Rando-san can do the job of a mage pretty well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­. Alright, we¡¯ll head out once you guys get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll let everyone know.¡±

    It¡¯d barely been a day, but it was a rich and productive day. Rando-san is now in possession of much more impressive firepower than I could even hope for, and her abilities as a geomancer easily surpassed all expectations.

    It¡¯s things like this that let me have a brighter outlook on our journey into the depths.

    ¡°Time to go.¡± signalled Tendo-kun.

    Using our 1 hour break, I got all of my things in order, and we were ready to leave the fairy square within the wends.

    Tendo-kun had already surveyed our route, and with him leading, we were headed on a straight path to our destination. The rest of us had also spent a day running around this area, so we knew they of thend to a decent degree. Which is how I know that we¡¯re on a direct course to the area proceeding this one.

    We passed through a small wood and got to the very center of this wends wherey itsrgest swamp. We had not one encounter along the way, and after arriving here I understood why.

    ¡°Crap, there¡¯s a whole army of them! Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re ambushing us!?¡±

    There were approximately 100 jira¡¯s waiting for us there. They all had some form of weaponry and looked poised to attack at any moment. If we were to keep marching as we are, we¡¯ll definitely provoke them into piling on us with those bloodshot, fatty fish eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, this looks pretty bad. Marie?¡±

    ¡°Same.¡±

    ¡°So, do I start shooting?¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t, stupid!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s crazy trying to take on that many with just us!¡±

    I didn¡¯t even have to intervene as the mourettes chastised their friend¡¯sck of danger awareness in innguage. I¡¯m d to see them getting along, honestly.

    But we still need to deal with the main issue. We need to pass through here in order to get to the next part of this zone. But letting Tendo-kun curbstomp so many of them will still take time. And if even half of their numbers get past him and attack us¡­

    ¡°Tendo-kun, let¡¯s withdraw for now ande back with a better ¨D¨D wait,e back!¡± Tendo-kun acted as if the necessity of my words werepletely null and void, walking forward alone like he always does.

    ¡°<i>G y o a ! !</i>¡±

    ¡°<i>G y o g y o e e !</i>¡±

    The jira army, of course recognizing Tendo-kun as a target of their hostility, wailed in rage. Great, now we have to fight!

    I determined myself to face whatever woulde, and that¡¯s when,

    ¡° ¨D¨D Outta my way.¡± I seemed to hear Tendo-kun mumble something in irritation, before I saw a huge brightness along with the explosion that caused it.

    A grand pir of water rose from the shallows of therge pool where most of the jiras were gathered. Then, there was an evenrger pir of red. A massive explosion. Just the scale of that thing ensured that any jira around had been met with disaster. As the humongous ssh of water rained back down, it carried with it severed arms and legs and other bits of body parts.

    ¡°Th-that¡¯s¡­ fire magic...¡± I muttered as I saw that floating on in front of Tendo-kun¡¯s hand was arge, roaring fireball. Its size wasrger than that of a basketball and when he made a slight motion of throwing, the mass of red flew off like a speeding arrow¨D¨D inevitably causing another massive explosion.

    Witnessing the sheer magnitude of the magic attack, rather than think it was simple pyromancy, I automatically pictured... dragon breath. This, this has to be the true power possessed by the legendary beast whose red scales Rem now wears at her chest.

    ¡°<i>G y o a a a !</i>¡±

    ¡°<i>A a a a !</i>¡±

    Two massive explosionster, the number of jiras didn¡¯t seem that much of a big deal anymore. Their strategy of flocking together had resulted in their downfall, now only a dozen or so of them remain.

    Even their goma-tier brains could take the hint that they were no match for the monstrous strength of Tendo-kun, and they dove back into the water to flee without any dy.

    ¡°You guys must be tired of fighting the same fish-fucks all the time. We don¡¯t have time for that.¡± Tendo-kun said with a quick nce back at us, before continuing on his way like nothing had happened.

    ¡°Damn, Tendo-kun looks so hot when he does that.¡±

    ¡°Preach it, girl.¡±

    The mourettes followed after him, all smiles like they¡¯d fallen in love even deeper.

    ¡°... Hey, Momokawa?¡±

    ¡°What is it, Rando-san?¡±

    ¡°Is my magic really going to be useful?¡±

    ¡°Sure it is.¡± I affirmed Rando-san, imagining that she might¡¯ve grown something resembling pride toward her new powers only to have them see no action in an actual fight.

    My advice for her is to stopparing herself to Tendo-kun, period.

    He¡¯s the guy who, back home, was in equal terms with Souma Yuuto, the Hero. The pair were sort of like hero figures for a lot of our ssmates too. Tendo-kun¡¯s calling is still a mystery to me, but it doesn¡¯t lose out to a Hero, that¡¯s for sure.

    After that, we went across more sewer tunnels and another small wends before the scenery changed¡­ gradually, the passages had be less sewer-like, and more akin to natural caves. Actually, as it is now, it just looks like a cave with a channel of water running through. The rough, untouched walls remind me of the not very swell time I had in the insect caves some time back.

    ¡°<i>Whew</i>, this is it.¡± Tendo-kun said blowing out a breath. ¡°Made us walk so damn long, this better be worth it.¡±

    The long tunnel ended into a huge underground space. And if we go by Tendo-kun¡¯s words, we¡¯ve made it to our destination, that is, the boss room.

    ¡°This looks like¡­ an undergroundke.¡± I muttered. It¡¯s simr to the rook spider¡¯s nest, a giant underground cavity, but this one¡¯s much bigger. And in the middle of this expansey a circrke, a body of water sorge, it¡¯s as if the loch ness monster mighte out of it.

    I can¡¯t say if it¡¯s manmade or naturally formed, but the eerie yet somehow sublime scene made all of us hold our breath in awe.

    ¡°That way. Let¡¯s go.¡± Except Tendo-kun that is. He didn¡¯t look at all wary of traps as he walked imposingly toward theke where our magicpasses were all pointing.

    ¡°Look Momokawa,¡± pointed Rando-san, ¡°there in the middle, that tiny ind. It sort of looks like a magic circle.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think you¡¯re right.¡±

    Like she just described, smack-dab in the middle of the greatke, there is a small, circr ind. We can¡¯t confirm it from here, but it¡¯s not hard to imagine that the whole thing is the tform for the zone transfer circle. Actually, didn¡¯t the giant frog boss room have a simr setup?

    ¡°And that looks like a lighthouse, kind of.¡±

    ¡°It does.¡±

    A small tower stood at the center of the ind. That has to be part of the dungeon ruins, any way I look at it.

    The magic circle might actually be inside that tower instead. Then again, I¡¯m probably worrying too much. Transfer circles are never actually hidden, so we¡¯ll find it once we get there.

    Large rocksy riddled around the perimeter of theke, and it took us more than 5 minutes to walk around them all and reach the water.

    There was a path to the ind. An aged stone bridge, but it could handle our weight just fine. So, while we had made it to the ind without incident¨D¨D

    ¡°There you are.¡± just as Tendo-kun said that, I heard a crash of water and saw a pir of it rise from behind the tower, ushering the arrival of a huge something.

    This creature that rose from the depths was a giant crocodile¡­ or so it seemed at a nce, but it was standing on two legs, giving off a vaguely humanoid resemnce, so maybe I should call it a lizardman?

    This crocodile based lizardman had a stout body with short limbs that were as thick as logs. Like the jiras, it also had webbed digits and was clearly an aquatic monster. Well duh, it came out of theke just now.

    ¡°Whoa, that things freaking huge!?¡±

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t think we can...¡±

    ¡°Nope, we¡¯re no match.¡±

    The reactions from Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san and Rando-san spoke volumes of the intimidating size of the croco-lizardman boss. It¡¯s more than twice the size of an armorbear, and that¡¯s saying something. The thing¡¯s a freaking kaiju alright.

    The scales covering its massive frame were also plus sized. The thick, indigo blue scales shone with a metallic sheen which, honestly, I don¡¯t think my Rotten Bog would have any effect against. I also doubt if Rando-san¡¯s Tera Sagittas can break through.

    ¡°You guys can¡¯t help with this one, so stay out of the way. I¡¯ll take this guy.¡±

    ¡°Roger, will do!¡± I gratefully assented to Tendo-kun counting us out of the fight. This is clearly not something we can handle, and we might even hold him back if we were to try. Worst case, we could get caught in the crossfire and just die.

    I mean, look at the fucking size of that thing. It could literally bite me in half with room to spare.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been itching for a good boss fight¡­ let¡¯s see if you have what it takes, Crokey.¡± He said while summoning his red bastard sword, upon which Tendo-kun practically burst toward the boss. He moved incredibly fast, so fast that I couldn¡¯t even follow him with my eyes when he was clearly moving in a straight line to the enemy.

    <b><i>Grhaaa a a a a a ! ! !</i></b>

    A deep, thundering, guttural roar escaped from the croc boss¡¯ jaws as it prepared to battle its much smaller foe.

    ¡°What the-!?¡± I let out.

    Another st urred right as Tendo-kun collided with the kaiju. Did he just use that super explosive fireball at point nk range? That¡¯s suicidal. No wait, maybe he has powers that nullifies fire damage entirely?

    I had to cover my face from the resulting hot wind, and when I looked back a momentter, both man and monster were out of sight.

    And just as how the croco-boss hade, what was left was a rising pir of water.

    ¡°No way, Tendo-kun fell in!?¡±

    ¡°Oh no no, this is bad, real bad!!¡±

    The mourettes were shocked. I felt the same; How is Tendo-kun supposed to win against that thing under the freaking water? Humans can¡¯t move as well in water as they can onnd, that¡¯s obvious. He might have a huge sword, but it sure as hell won¡¯t let him float.

    ¡°Tendo-kun!¡± And I was worried too. I kept staring at the ce he should¡¯ve went under¨D¨D

    ¡°So you can¡¯t go full power out of water, eh?¡±

    Tendo-kun was there, standing atop the water¡¯s surface.

    Am I actually seeing this? Am I to believe that there¡¯s a skill for water walking?

    ¡°Fine, show me what you¡¯re really made of!¡±

    Saying that, he kicked off theke surface and dove in. From here, I could only see a huge shadow under the water, no doubt it¡¯s the boss¡¯, twisting and turning its body with bizarre dexterity.

    ¡°Err, okay guys, let¡¯s let Tendo-kun do that then.¡±

    He¡¯d gone into the water of his own will, meaning to fight the beast on its home turf. With his range of abilities, underwater battle just might be viable. And I¡¯m sure he has some confidence to win since he¡¯s going that far.

    I can¡¯t believe I was actually worried. It¡¯s kind of ridiculous at this point.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that.¡± Rando-san agreed.

    ¡°Yep, I knew Tendo-kun would be fine!¡±

    ¡°Totally, Tendo-kun won¡¯t lose to some overgrown lizard!¡±

    And the other two made excuses.

    At present, Tendo-kun and the croco-boss must be having an epic underwater showdown. I could hear frequent <i>booms</i> happening from under theke which caused the surface to ripple in waves.

    Yeah, none of my business. We all agree that it¡¯s best to leave that part to Tendo-kun, and like he said, we should make ourselves small at a corner so as to not get in the way.

    And I wanted to do that. I really did.

    But then I heard <i>g y o o</i>, and <i>g y o !</i>, and even <i>g y o a a !</i> Very familiar noises. So familiar as ofte, that I¡¯m sick of them.

    ¡°Jiras!?¡±

    I didn¡¯t even need to look to know what had appeared. But looking anyway, the blue fishmen had started gathering at the far shores of theke. And they were everywhere, climbing over the obstructing rocks, they epassed the full circumference of theke. Their numbers were massive, far more than the army Tendo-kun sted away earlier. 200, 300, I couldn¡¯t even count.

    ¡°Shit, why now, howe there¡¯s still so many...¡±

    ¡°Mo-Momokawa, what do we do!? This is bad, we¡¯re so fucked!¡±

    Yes, that¡¯s right Rando-san. We¡¯re fucked.

    It might seem as if they appeared to help the boss, but the reason doesn¡¯t matter. They¡¯ve set their eyes on us now, and they¡¯re much too close forfort. Rather than despair, we need to think of a means to avoid dying pronto.

    ¡°Oh god, there¡¯s even more thanst time! This is crazy!¡±

    ¡°Momokawa, figure something out already!¡±

    You¡¯re asking me¡­ first of all, I don¡¯t have a clue as to how long Tendo-kun¡¯s going to take in there. He might instakill the kaiju ande save us right away or he might take his time enjoying the fight to the fullest. And from his parting words, the chances are weighed heavier on thetter.

    Plus, chances are that since he¡¯s underwater, he hasn¡¯t even noticed our dire situation on the surface, and I can¡¯t expect him to do so anytime soon either.

    Which basically means that we have to defend ourselves from waves of armed jiras, at least for a while.

    ¡°We need to get to that tower! We¡¯ll hole up in there best we can until Tendo-kunes back!¡±

    The jira horde had already began their descent upon us, and we ran at full tilt to the tower, our only hope of resistance.<hr>Next Sponsored by Nn N.

 Chapter 99: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower I

    Chapter 99: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower I

    We have yet to confirm the size of the army of Jiras, even though it was waiting for us along the banks of theke. The army kept popping out non-stop from the water around our only escape path, around the road and near the bridge. I guess breaking through by force will be impossible. Naturally, we don''t have enough manpower to hold back the advance of the Jira troops either. If we include Rem, there are only five of us and there¡¯s definitely not enough coverage in the banks of theke either.

    Naturally, our only choice was to run towards the tower and hold the fort there.

    ¡¸CLOSE THE ENTRANCE NOW!! ¡¹

    ¡¸IT DOESN¡¯T HAVE DOORS!? ¡¹

    Juri and Mari, who rushed in the tower ahead of me, were at a loss when they saw the opened gates of the tower.

    ¡¸UWAA, WE¡¯RE SCREWE~D!! W-WHAT SHALL WE DO, MOMOKAWA~?!¡¹

    Randou-san and I entered a bitter than them and also confirmed theck of anything resembling an entrance gate. The gates, or whatever was previously used as the shutter, were gone. Not even its broken joints could be found amongst the remnants.

    This ce was wide open without any shutter to seal the entrance.

    ¡¸Randou-san, use your mud wall here.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, THAT''S RIGHT! ¡¹

    Thebo of permanent shape and mud wall was what we needed the most at the moment.

    ¡¸Here and here, twoyers, please. Make it rise upwards but leave a small opening. We''re gonna kill anything that enters through there and decrease their numbers.¡¹

    ¡¸U-Uhm.¡¹

    ¡¸Nonomiya-san, Houzaki-san, please take a look inside the tower. Look for usable weapons or equipment, or a room to hide us. Also, please confirm the condition of the stairs that lead to the rooftop.¡¹

    ¡¸UNDERSTOOD! ¡¹

    ¡¸Let''s go! ¡¹

    They left immediately. It wouldn''t be a joke if the stairs crumbled. Still, we shouldn''t ignore the possibility of climbing to the rooftop, no matter how small a chance it was.

    ¡¸Momokawa, can you check the sturdiness? ¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm.¡¹

    The mudwall sealed the entrance just as the figures of Jiras ran in our direction.

    ¡¸SHOOT!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºTera Sagita¡»£¡ ¡¹

    The stone rifle bullets were fired, creating a loud "Dohyuun" sound. The bullets never missed their mark since the Jira were basically covering our whole line of sight.

    ¡¸GYOAAA! ¡¹

    The poor Jiras who got hit by the bullets died on the spot, their ce taken immediately by the Jiras behind them. Their number didn''t seem to decrease at all no matter how many of them were killed by Randou.

    ¡¸Keep shooting at the closest ones.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup! ¡¹

    I could hear the dying screams of the Jiras with every bullet fired by Randou. But we were simply outnumbered by them. Randou-san¡¯s ¡ºTera Sagita¡» needs 5 seconds to cast. Fortunately, Jiras are aquatic monsters, their speed onnd isn¡¯t that fast. Nevertheless, they were slower than me. It took them 10 seconds to cover a 50-meter distance.

    After who knows how many times we shot them down with Tera Sagita, the Jira horde finally reached the entrance of the tower.

    ¡¸NOW! ¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºTera st*¡»¡¹<b> [*TL : Stone Cannon]</b>

    The next moment, the sound of an explosion resounded around the tower. At the same time, the sound of countless pellets breaking the scales of Jiras was apanied by the sound of their ripped flesh.

    The next skill Randou-san learnt after ¡ºTera Sagita¡» was ¡ºTera st¡». It''s what you would call an AOE attack. This skill was the earth version of ss rep''s ¡ºEis st*¡». <b>[*TL : Freezing Radiation]</b>

    But still, unlike the ice counterpart which only releases cold air, this one fires physical matter called pellets. The size of the bullets is smaller than ¡ºTera Sagita¡» and they have shorter range, but the moment an overwhelming number of pellets is fired right from the front, the effect is simr to a giant shotgun.

    Long ranged attacks are better with the rifle-like ¡ºTera Sagita¡» which has greater firepower, a wider range and a stable trajectory, while the shotgun-like ¡ºTera st¡»which fires numerous small pellets is better at a short range. Thus, the firepower of Randou-san with these two firearm-type magic increased tremendously.

    It was something of a big haul since Jira troops were basically flooding the entrance of the tower. Almost none of the fired pellets missed as they gouged on the bodies of Jiras.

    But still, we couldn''t stop those things and their Unending Waves tactic even with the power of the¡ºTera st¡». We couldn''t rapid fire this spell like a machine gun. Its cooldown time was 8 seconds, longer than ¡ºTera Sagita¡» which was only 5 seconds.

    In the blink of an eye, the Jiras arrived at the opening of the mud wall by trampling upon the corpses of theirrades.

    Nice, now it''s my turn.

    ¡¸Decay within the corrupted red abyss ¨D¨D¡ºRotten Bog¡»!¡¹

    I stretched my hands from the opening of the mud wall as my blood dripped from the curse crest. The drop of blood that fell right in front of the mud wall formed a ¡ºRotten Bog¡» in the next moment.

    ¡¸GYOOO!? ¡¹

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    Thanks to their own momentum, those Jiras plunged into the dangerously colored swamp. As their bodies came into contact with the extremely acidic red swamp, they raised agonizing death screams.

    <i>Fools! You guys are too naive if you think those measly scales of yours can protect you from Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s toxic swamp!</i>

    ¡¸Waaa~h! What is that thing, Momokawa! ¡¹

    ¡¸My curse. You mustn''t touch it. It¡¯s extremely corrosive.¡¹

    I didn''t have the chance to introduce my skills to others so far, so this was the first time Randou-san saw mine. Nevertheless, she didn''t seem to be disturbed by the sight of my skill at all.

    ¡¸Use this chance while they''re falling over and st them! Do it NOW!¡¹

    ¡¸U-U~gh, I¡¯ve had enough of these things! ¡¹

    Randou-san, who started toin like that, fired her ¡ºTera st¡» towards the Jira who had already spilled over right in front of us from the opening of the mud wall.

    ¡¸Twine into hairs, O rotten red, be thread which vites flesh and bone ¨D¨D¡ºRedhair Twine¡»!¡¹

    Not wanting to let Randou-san take all the glory, I released ¡ºRedhair Twine¡» from the curse crest on both on my hands after expanding my ¡ºRotten Bog¡». Though it took some time to kill them, that was plenty enough for me. Otherwise, they were bound to die trampled by their ownrades as they advanced from behind.

    I threw a few of the tentacles towards the Jira that caught my eyes at the edge of my field of view, hoping that it would at least dy their advances through the opening of the mud wall.

    Thanks to my acid swamp and Randou-san¡¯s relentless short distance sts, we managed to ughter quite a number of Jira, but still¨D¨D My ¡ºRotten Bog¡», which was covered by Jira corpses almost reached its full capacity.

    But the Jiras kept advancing, mercilessly using theirrades corpses as scaffolding.

    ¡¸Retreat, Randou-san! ¡¹

    ¡¸''Ka~y! ¡¹

    This kind of hard-fought battle proved to be too much even for Randou-san. Despite her strange reply, it seems that my instruction had reached her.

    ¡¸Erect some spears at the opening in the mud wall. Quickly, we''re running out of time!¡¹

    With those Jira rushing in like this, the mud walls were bound to copse sooner orter. Even if we erected a magnificent stone spear, only the ones at the front would be stabbed and killed by it.

    ¡¸Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san, how''s your situation?! ¡¹

    I shouted as I looked up at the open ceiling of the tower. Their faces appeared from the edge of the spiral staircase built on the outer wall.

    ¡¸THE STAIRS TO THE ROOFTOP OF THE TOWER ARE STILL GOO~D! ¡¹

    ¡¸BUT THE ROOMS ARE EMPTY! WE CAN ONLY ADVANCE TO THE ROOFTOP! ¡¹

    I expected this situation when I saw that tower from the outside but still, there really was nothing until the rooftop. Was this used to trap invaders or to hide the transfer circle somewhere in this tower?

    ¡¸Those guys outside are rushing in. The second round of this battle will be on the stairways! ¡¹

    ¡¸What should I do~? ¡¹

    ¡¸Randou-san, you are more suited for defense. Keep in mind that those guys might use projectiles.¡¹

    ¡¸OKE~, LET''S DO OUR BEST, ANZU! ¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks a lot, Juri, Mari! ¡¹

    Randou-san''s earth magic was our lifeline in this defensive battle. We have no way to stop the enemies advance without the mud wall. Any slight mistake will be our doom, we¡¯d end in the stomach of those Jira.

    ¡¸Randou-san, retreat. Make a mud wall around the stairway.¡¹

    ¡¸What about you, Momokawa? ¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll be right behind you after I cast another curse on them.¡¹

    The biggest fault of Randou-san¡¯s earth magic was that it took a long time to activate, even just to form a wall. We probably wouldn''t make it in time if we didn''t start beforehand.

    Maybe thanks to her awareness of her own power and limitations, Randou-san went towards the stairs immediately.

    ¡¸Well then, guess it''s time to try my new curse! ¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA~!! ¡¹

    Sticking together by my side like a bodyguard, Rem also raised a warcry. She also wanted to do her best since this new curse was rted to her.

    ¡¸d in Flesh and Blood of Acid Venom, Raise From The Sea of Red¨D¨D¡¹

    I could hear the crunchy sound of Jiras tearing apart the mud wall. Thanks to those guys trampling the bodies of theirrades into the poisonous venom under their feet, the swamp filled up and they''ve built up a safe scaffolding.

    But, that didn''t change the fact that the water below their feet was an extremely deadly corrosive poison.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºVile Mud Doll¡»¡¹

    At that moment, I heard a loud sshing sound. The Jiras that were still clinging to the mud wall were blown away.

    Standing in front of the mud wall with dark red flesh was¡­. A y doll.

    That''s right, it''s a new curse which I created when I used Rem in tandem with ¡ºRotten Bog¡» in my first solo battle against Kamakiri.

    ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡»£º A y doll of acid and poison created in the depths of the Rotten Bog.

    Thanks to Ruinhilde-sama¡¯s recognition, that skill got it''s own name and exnation. This is my second original sorcery after the¡ºRedhair Twine¡». Or was it already a derivative skill?

    That aside, the¡ºRotten Bog¡», that was almost unusable due to the amount of corpses piling up in it, could now be recycled as another skill. Thus, the human shaped poison doll was raging on her battlefield, feeding many of her enemies with her potent acid.

    The reason why I only made one Rem instead of two until now wasn''t due to theck of materials. I left the second slot open to make this ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡» since a single Rem was enough as my bodyguard at that time.

    The ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡¯s¡» movement was linked to ¡ºVile y Doll¡¯s¡», the other Rem. That''s why I couldn''t make another ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡» when I used Rem the 2nd.

    I wanted to test it for a while now and yet¡­ I never expected to do it in realbat.

    ¡¸Yosh, let''s go Rem. No 2, Rage as much as you want.¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA! ¡¹

    Taking along Rem who nodded in understanding, I ran after Randou-san towards the stairways. I barely managed to slip into the gap between the almostpleted mud wall.

    ¡¸Momokawa! ¡¹

    ¡¸We still have some time left until those guys destroy the barricade. Calm down and use that little extra time to make an even more solid wall.¡¹

    Rather than Randou-san, those words were directed at me.

    Whether it''s mud wall or earth spear, both take too much time to cast. And I don''t even know whether we can hold for five minutes before the Jiras break the barricade. Making it poorly would ultimately end up with it being destroyed in a second.

    What should I do, what kind of barricade would work more efficiently to stop those things? I couldn''t think of a better n other than spamming mud walls. I did consider the option of making a nted wall to drop them down below or a pitfall with skewers, but¡­. I think making thick and strong mud walls one at a time is a better option than trying out wacky ns. I mean, Randou-san would be the one casting the magic afterall.

    ¡¸The wall is done! What should we do next!? ¡¹

    ¡¸Keep raising it up to this height and make another wall from here. A thicker wall will gain us more time.¡¹

    ¡¸UNDERSTOOD! ¡¹

    This tower was around four floors high, so the stairs weren¡¯t that long. The only way out of this situation was to construct lines of defense in several ces.

    The stairs were built on the wall of the tower, spiraling up from inside the tower to the rooftop. The center part of the tower was empty, without even a railing for safety.

    ¡¸Did Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san destroy the railings? ¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a minute¨D¨D UORAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸ORAAA! ¡¹

    Raising a cry unbefitting of girls, Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san destroyed the feeble metal railings one after another. Their splendid kicks made their mini skirt flutter around and¡­ Ah, I saw their panties¡­ ck and red, huh?

    ¡¸Let''s go, Momokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸It only takes one blow with an axe.¡¹

    ¡¸Take care of the railing over there! ¡¹

    The sound of "ORAORA" or "CLANKCLANK" resounded for a while and, in the blink of an eye, we took care of the railings as they served no function.

    Left unchecked, they would only help those Jiras. I wouldn''t let even a morsel of an undesired factor threaten our safety. Best case scenario, the railing would give out, unable to support the weight of the Jiras.

    ¡¸GUGAGOGAGA! ¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is the 2nd Rem about to reach her limit? ¡¹

    ¡¸GUGA~! ¡¹

    I could somehow sense that the ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡» was swallowed by the waves of Jira when I saw Rem¡¯s reaction.

    They came at the worst moment, huh?

    ¡¸GYOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The Jira were flowing endlessly inside the tower from the destroyed wall. And, just as I expected, those fools were idiots who got skewered by earth spears as soon as they surged out from the destroyed mudwall. The earthnce trap was rendered ineffective after a fair bit of the Jiras got skewered by it.

    We were looking at that situation from the top floor. The stairway was blocked with a mud wall.

    ¡¸Uwaa, they came¡­¡¹

    ¡¸We have no ce left to escape now. Do your best Randou-san¨D¨D GO!¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah¨D¨D¡ºTera Sagita¡»! ¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºRotten Bog¡»! ¡¹

    After breaking through the mud wall at the entrance, the Jira swarming around the stairs got sniped by Randou-san. I also made full use of my ¡ºRotten Bog¡» from the blood stains which I left in various ces around the stairways beforehand. And, once again, those Jira were ughtered by the stone bullets and acid mud.

    The stairway was wide enough for two people walking side by side. It was pretty wide for a stairway, but one couldn''t simply escape from the terrain restriction. Naturally, the Jira were also advancing through the stairs in pairs. Randou-san¡¯s sniping aimed for the front most group.

    ¡¸GYOAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸AAAAAAA¡­¡­¡­¡¹

    When she shot one down, the Jira right behind it tripped on itsrade¡¯s corpse. Despite the domino effect of their tumbling, those things¡¯ fighting spirit never wavered in the slightest. They continued to climb, no matter how many times they fell.

    But they wouldn''t be able to advance that easily since I''ve prepared several ¡ºRotten Bogs¡» to wee them.

    ¡¸ck Hair Bind¡­ Kuh, it''s hard to use it at this distance, huh¡­¡¹

    To make full use of my ¡ºRotten Bog¡», I used my ck Hair Bind to get rid of the piling corpses in the swamp and throw them below. Thanks to the Juri-Maribo destroying some of those rails I had an easier time removing those corpses.

    Nevertheless, the distance and speed of the Jiras plunging into the swamp made it impossible to keep up the pace.

    Damn it, even though we were supposed to have advantages in terms of terrain and abilities¡­. It was futile in the face of overwhelming numbers, huh.

    ¡¸Watch out, Momokawa! ¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaaa!? ¡¹

    A sharp metallic sound resounded right in front of my eyes with a "Gakin".

    I wasn¡¯t able to see it, but it seems that Nonomiya-san protected me with her spear from the weapon that was thrown by one of the Jira.

    ¡¸HEY! THAT WAS DANGEROUS! ¡¹

    ¡¸It''s fine, Anzu. Fire! Leave your defense to me! ¡¹

    Those Jira started to aim for me and Randou-san, who kept on shooting them down from above. They used their weapons as projectiles. Some of their projectiles reached our level and one came too close to hitting me. Depending by chance, huh.

    ¡¸JUST DROP DEAD ALREADY YOU F##KING FISH! ¡¹

    ¡¸WOAAH, QUITE A GOOD INSULT THERE! ¡¹

    Catching the thrown weapons in mid air, Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san threw them back to those Jiras. As expected of the ones withbat vocations. Their simple throw was packed with overwhelming power. Quite different from those Jiracking control of their weapon, the weapons thrown by the Juri-Maribo traveled like arrows, skewering their targets to death.

    ¡¸Rem, pick up the weapon for these two.¡¹

    ¡¸GA! ¡¹

    Our share of problems had increased thanks to the other party¡¯s usage of projectiles on us. The Juri-Maribo¡¯s full powered throw was strong enough to skewer two bodies at once as long as they used a pole-type weapon. The current Rem couldn''t exert such power yet, so she decided to support the Juri-Maribo and decrease their workload.

    The four of us fought back with our lives on the line. We had long since lost count of the number of Jiras we killed. Nevertheless, at this rate, we were fated to lose.

    ¡¸Tch, why the hell did these goddamn fish have to begin using their brains now¡­.¡¹

    They might have begun to understand the structure of the stairs and my ¡ºRotten Bog¡» tactics. Some of those Jira tried to get over the poisonous swamp by piggybacking on the other Jiras. Others threw ropes with something like a metal w at the end and began to climb. Though their methods were rather primitive, they managed to climb up after some trial and error.

    ¡¸AAAH, STOP COMING UP ALREADY!! ¡ºTera st¡»! ¡¹

    Those Jira finally arrived in front of ourst defensive wall created by piling up mud walls. Randou-san didn''t snipe the Jiras below us anymore. Instead, she sted away the Jiras who managed to arrive in front of the mud wall with ¡ºTera st¡» to reduce their numbers.

    I judged that I couldn''t afford to cast my curses at other ces and used ¡ºRedhair Twine¡» to harass them too.

    ¡¸GUGYOO! ¡¹

    ¡¸GYOAAA! ¡¹

    One after another, those Jira fell in front of the wall. Their corpses were just like money falling out of a quarter pusher in a casino. Just giving them a bit of a push was enough to make them fall from the stairs.

    And yet, their number didn''t seem to diminish at all.

    <b>[ED: don¡¯t do gambling kids! It¡¯s mathematically impossible to beat the house]</b>

    ¡¸AAAH¡­. WHY DID YOU START USING SHIELDS NOW, YOU DAMNED FISH?! ¡¹

    Even I snapped at their shrewdness.

    Those guys started using their ownrades¡¯ corpses to protect the ones demolishing the wall. Not only using them as shields, they quickly piled them right on the handrails position like sandbags.

    ¡¸Momokawa! My st can¡¯t get through it! ¡¹

    ¡¸Tch, my spear can''t pierce it either! ¡¹

    ¡¸None of our axes or knives can get through those piles of corpses! ¡¹

    The scales that covered the Jira¡¯s bodies were far tougher than human skin. It was just a makeshift meat wall and yet it was tough enough to seal the few offensive methods at our disposal.

    F#ck, if only we had firepower that could st them once and for all, like Tendou-kun¡¯s dragon breath. Those f#cking Jira would have already be hist-¡­¡­. Yeah, I guess asking for that kind of firepower is too much.

    ¡¸Let''s go to the rooftop, Randou-san. Please built a wall after enclosing the entrance with spears. That ce is ourst line of defense.¡¹

    ¡¸R-Right away! ¡¹

    Turning around, Randou-san went towards the rooftop of the tower. I could see her leopard patterned panty covering her plump butt. She didn''t even try to cover her mini skirt when she ran up the stairs¨D¨D Well, at least I''m lucky enough to be able to see that scenery in the midst of this predicament!

    ¡¸DIE, ORAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸DROP DEAD YOU FAKE FISH! ¡¹

    After that me, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-san reduced the number of Jira as much as possible until they were just about to break the mudwall. To be honest, I didn''t know whether we bought enough time for Randou-san.

    ¡¸Inheriting meaningless trial. And unfortunate fate. If you''re not chosen by fate, carve it with your own feet¨D¨D¡ºck Blood¡»¡¹

    In the end, after I made ast¡ºRotten Bog¡» with a drop of my blood in front of the stairway, I ran up to the rooftop.

    This was ourst line of defense.

 Chapter 100: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower II

    Chapter 100: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower II

    TL : Cnine

    ED/PF : Seshat / ImmortalZoDD

    ¡¸Is this good enough, Momokawa? ¡¹

    After I entered the rooftop and we sealed the entrance, stone spears appeared in a line around it. They would''ve worked better in a row, but they were arranged in a phnx formation, forming two boxes from different angles. Three meters behind them stood a majestic and robust earth wall.

    ¡¸Ooh, awesome! I didn''t know you could make it this sturdy.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I somehow finished it ahead of time. ¡¹

    So her proficiency in handling that skill had increased again¡­ Or maybe livebat served as better experience than training.

    ¡¸Do you have any way to climb the wall, Momokawa? ¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay. I can just do this¨D¨D¡¹

    That wall was made topletely seal the entrance. There was no way through, so it was up to my tentacles to do the job. [ED: <b>( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã) </b>]

    ¡¸¨D¨DURGH. It''s really hard.¡¹[ED: that¡¯s what she said]

    Somehow, I managed to climb the wall.

    It was my first time using the ck Hair Bind to climb a wall and just as I expected, it was quite difficult. I¡¯m d the wall was just three meters high. If it was higher, say, 5 meters, then I¡¯d be screwed. I should save some time for climbing training.

    ¡¸Hey¡­ Isn¡¯t that¡­ They¡¯reing!¡¹

    Those Jiras slowly chipped away the wall at the bottom of the stairs. They were so close I could hear their noisy cries already. Only one of two walls remained. Could the four of us defend that final line? For how many minutes could we stand our ground?

    ¡¸¡­. As you can see, we''re at a dead end. This is what they call a "Last Stand".¡¹

    Even if we couldn¡¯t hold our position for long, I had no regrets. I did everything I could. Most of all, Randou-san, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-kun also did their best. It was worlds apart from that time in the worst harem party of Souma Sakura.

    We came so far thanks to everyone doing their best. That¡¯s why I had no regrets.

    Then, finally, those guys appeared.

    ¡¸I don''t want to die or see everyone die in this ce. So, let¡¯s kick their asses. We¡¯ll fight until the end.¡¹

    ¡¸GYOAAA! ¡¹

    Everyone looked at where the Jiras wereing from. They broke through the mudwall and advanced toward us, their cold eyes ring at me with killing intent. They were drenched in mud but they still kept a tight grip on their spears.

    <i>Don''t underestimate us, you shitty fish. You¡¯re going down!</i>

    ¡¸EAT THIS, ¡ºTera Sagita¡»!! ¡¹

    Randou-san¡¯s fully powered earth magic pierced right through the face of the fuckers that screeched at us. The force of the spell shook the tower and created an almost deafening explosion.

    <i>DOGOOOOOOOOOON!</i>

    ¡¸UWAAAA!? ¡¹

    What the fuck? The whole tower shook with the sound of explosions like someone was trying to bring it down. I couldn¡¯t register what was happening as the noise resounded in my head.

    I could barely keep myself stable, but there was no point in bracing my feet on the mudwall. Doing so would only expose me to danger.

    Suddenly, I got a bad feeling.

    ¡¸Everyone, get down from the wall! ¡¹

    Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san jumped down with a roll. It looked amazing but, considering their vocation, jumping down 3 meters with ir wasn¡¯t really that impressive.

    I couldn¡¯t do that. With my vocation I¡¯m not that different from a person with normal physical capabilities.

    ¡¸Momokawa, wait! Wait a minute! It''s too high! I can''t jump from this height, you kno~w!? ¡¹

    Ah, I forgot that Randou-san was a Sorcerer. She¡¯s as physically inept as me.

    It would be fine if we just sprained our feet after the fall. But if wended head first, it would be a disaster. How can I make Randou-san and me descend safely?

    I knew a spell that could help.

    ¡¸Twine Around The Escapee Feet, Braid Into Hair¨D¨D¡ºck Hair Bind¡». Come here, Randou-san! ¡¹

    I worried about its durability, so I braided ck Hair Bind with a full aria. I should be able to at least do that much¡­

    ¡¸MOMOKAWAAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸MUOOOOO!? ¡¹

    Thank you for understanding my intentions, but¡­ Embracing me from the front like that¡­ I MEAN, your soft pair of jiggly tits cover my line of sight, you kno~w!!

    ¡¸Let''s go! ¡¹

    Due to our height difference, Randou-san hugged me from the front. Naturally, her humongous pair of tits bounced off my head. Speaking of tits, I had no idea if she was baiting me or doing it unconsciously, but the front of her blouse had a slightly too big opening.

    I could see the depths of her deeply tanned valley. Her giant pair of breasts boasted the greatest firepower in the ss (Mei-chan excluded) and were on disy right in front of me.

    ¡¸¨D¨DFUHAAA! Ha~Ha~H, Run¡­ Randou-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup! ¡¹

    The view distracted me so much that, before I noticed, we had alreadynded safely on the floor.

    Although I had just lived through an almost enlightening experience just now, the non-stop ringing of the rm behind us due to the killing intent was giving me a headache. If we didn¡¯t get away from the entrance immediately, we¡¯d be in trouble.

    Just as I thought about it, a scorching hot shockwave hit us from behind. It was enough to send us rolling around the stone floor of the rooftop. My ears rang from the thunderous sound.

    <i>ZUDOOOOOOOOON!</i>

    ¡¸O-Ouch¡­.¡¹

    When we turned around, a giant fire pir stood where we built ourst line of defense. The zing me and roaring explosion had surely pierced right through the lower floors of this tower.

    In short, those Jira inside the tower were history.

    ¡¸¨D¨DSup! Seems like you guys are safe and sound.¡¹

    ¡¸KYAAAAAA! TENDOU-KYU~N! ¡¹

    ¡¸We were almost done for¡­ Thank you for saving us, Tendou-kun!¡¹

    I went to the end of the rooftop and looked below. There was a huge scorch mark on the ground. In the area around the burned ground stood Tendou-kun, looking as magnificent as usual.

    ¡¸¡­ Thank you, Tendou-kun. We barely escaped the jaws of death.¡¹

    ¡¸Some devil''s luck you got there, huh, Momokawa.¡¹

    His sarcasm was also as sharp as usual. He had just dispatched the boss single-handedly, roasted an army of Jiras and said it was luck.

    All that while holding a cigarette between his fingers.

    ¡¸Thank you Tendou~. Please be careful next time, you almost burned my hair!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, my bad.¡¹

    That''s Randou-san for you. No one other than her could make such aint to Tendou. Interestingly enough, he¡¯d pay attention to it and be more careful next time he rushed in to save us.

    ¡¸That goes for you too, Momokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything special at all. You¡¯re the MVP this time, Randou-san.¡¹

    She created a barricade with her mudwall and dispatched enemies from afar with her stone bullets. Randou-san was the one who had contributed the most to the fight.

    ¡¸I just moved per your instructions. If it had been just me fighting, we might not have survived. Without you, Juri and Mari wouldn¡¯t have gone back to fetch me and I¡¯d probably have died first.¡¹

    Ahaha! Thankfully, she could still crack jokes even while in that kind of situation.

    ¡¸I''m the one who should be saying that. Everyone working together was what made us pass this trial. No one would have survived if even one of us had died.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, you''re right. Even so, I still think the one who contributed the most this time was you. And since I feel that way¡­¡¹

    Randou-san suddenly approached me. A nice aroma reached my nose and before I realized what was happening, our lips were touching.

    ¡¸UHN!?¡¹

    Eh? What just happened? A KISS? Me and¡­ Randou-san¡­ We just¡­ No, impossible. What the hell just¡­ It¡¯s soft, though¡­

    ¡¸¨D¨DHehehe, was that your first?¡¹

    Aah, that was what a subus would have said, wasn''t it? My brain cells instantly melted from Randou-san¡¯s deadly smile. The dream-like moment passed in an instant and I ended up blurting out the first thing that appeared in my mind.

    ¡¸W-W-WHY¡­¡­¡¹

    How shameful. I ended up speaking in the Kyoto dialect.

    Will ya calm down already, you stupid heart?!

    ¡¸Ah, sorry. Did you hate it? ¡¹

    ¡¸I-It was wonderful, but¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But what? Do you have a girlfriend? Could it be you love another girl? ¡¹

    ¡¸No, no, I don''t have a girlfriend. It''s not like I have someone I love, but still¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸It''s all good, then.¡¹

    What other option did I have when she smiled at me like that? I immediately agreed. Who in the world wouldin that Randou-san was the one who took their first kiss?

    Also, it wasn¡¯t like kissing equaled dating, anyway. It was presumptuous of me to even consider it. I believed Randou-san wouldn¡¯t even think about such an option. If she said that kiss was a token of gratitude for the help I gave her, I¡¯d ept it with gratitude.

    ¡­ Could it be that Randou-san fell in love with me? Nah, that¡¯s impossible. As if I¡¯d have such good luck. If it was Mei-chan, I might consider whether she truly fell for me, but in Randou-san¡¯s case¡­ With her personality¡­

    Wait. Why was I getting so flustered just from thinking about it?

    I forcefully stopped that train of thought.

    And that concluded another page of my wonderfully dreamy moment.

    Even after deciding to avoid thinking about it, I was still too embarrassed to even look at Randou-san¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Hey, Momokawa¡­ Actually, I¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸EH!?¡¹

    Randou-san suddenly interrupted me and, thinking that she was going to say something, I raised my head. But I couldn¡¯t see anything. Everywhere I looked, my vision was pure white.

    ¡­ Were those threads?

    ¡¸¨D¨DUMPF!? ¡¹

    Something caught me.

    The reason I noticed the pure white adhesive lump of spider thread so quickly was because of its simrity to my ¡ºck Hair Bind¡».

    The white thread covering my entire body locked my limbs perfectly. Suddenly, my feet left the floor, and I was struck by the sensation of flying. In truth, I knew that whatever had caught me was just dragging me closer.

    Fortunately, for me, my eyes were uncovered. I was able to see Randou-san¡¯s extremely flushed face for the first time just as I was being pulled away.

    ¡¸Momokawa!?¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨DGUUUH! ¡¹

    Two seconds. No, it was probably three seconds of weightlessness. I let out a pained scream when my body harshlynded on the floor. Thanks to the bundle of threads around me, the fall was somewhat cushioned.

    The moment I saw the predator, I knew I looked like a fish caught on a pole.

    ¡¸KISHISHI, KISHI, KISHIKISHIKISHI.¡¹

    Now that was what I considered an appropriate owner for the white threads.

    It was a splendid spider.

    Unlike the¡ºRook Spider¡», whose appearance resembled a giant tarant, it was as big as a fully grown human. Its silhouette had a greatly extended abdomen with eight long legs so thin they almost looked bizarre. It seemed rted to the yellow spider, as it had an ominous yellow and ck color.

    However, the upper body connected to the spider abdomen resembled a deformed human. The figure covered in ck tough skin faintly suggested it might be female.

    <b>[TL: Kumoko.]</b>

    Disturbingly enough, the waist was sort of thin and there was some sort of swelling on the chest area. But the headpletely convinced me that I was looking at a monster. It was covered in the same tough skin, with eight red eyes and a wide slit where a mouth should be, with sharp fangs protruding from it.

    Fuck. With the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a human, it was probably an Arachne. Still, I felt cheated. The human half wasn¡¯t like those beautiful onee-sans from so many otaku dreams at all!

    While I cursed in frustration inside my heart, the monsterpletely sealed my field of vision with a second spray of threads. I couldn¡¯t see or move my body. Neither Rem nor myrades were by my side when I was pulled away.

    Could I have reached the end? Was it game over for me?

    ¡¸¡­!!?¡¹

    Suddenly, a sharp pain followed by a stinging sensation ran through my whole body. It felt like I¡¯d been struck by lightning.

    ¡­ She bit me, huh.

    Despite the pain, my consciousness was already¡­

 Chapter 101: Pursuer

    Chapter 101: Pursuer

    TL : Cnine

    ED/PF : ImmortalZoDD & Kouka

    ¡¸Momokawa! MOMOKAWAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸Randou, stop! It''s already toote to save him.¡¹

    All party members were thrown into disarray when the spider-like monster kidnapped Momokawa Kotaro in the blink of an eye.

    Even the somewhat optimistic Randou Anzu was shaken, as shown by her crying out loudly in panic for the first time ever since the group had entered thebyrinth. Julia and Maria had tried to chase after the kidnapped Momokawa in a hurry but to no avail. The monster that kidnapped Momokawa was positioned too high up and close to the open hole in the ceiling. It was dozens of metres higher than the topmost floor of the tower. Just a nce at the terrain of the undergroundke was enough to convince anyone that chasing after the monster was impossible.

    Even Kotaro''s skeleton familiar, Rem, could only look around restlessly, unable to find a way to save her master. She couldn''t find a way to move towards her master¡¯s position.

    ¡¸DON''T JOKE AROUND, TENDOU! MOMOKAWA IS¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸You saw it right? That guy got killed by the monster.¡¹

    Ryuuichi confronted Anzu''s overwhelming anger with the bitter truth.

    ¡¸HE''S STILL ALIVE! HE''S NOT DEAD YET, MOMOKAWA IS DEFINITELY STILL ALIVE!¡¹

    ¡¸If we start catching up now, we might be able to save him!¡¹

    The spider had vanished into the hole in the ceiling, leaving them with no way to save Kotaro.

    Though they might be able to meet him againter due to the intricacies of the dungeon¡¯s structure, just how big was the possibility of them finding Momokawa?

    The thing that had taken him wasn''t someone asking for a ransom, it was simply a monster looking for its meal. Seeing that Momokawa was caught for food, there was no reason for the monster to keep him alive for a long time. It wouldn''t be strange if his head had already been bitten off right now.

    ¡¸Hear me out, Randou. We won''t make it in time even if we do find him.¡¹

    Tendou Ryuuichi was powerful. Though he had reached an unbelievably high level both in skill and physical ability from eating monsters, he wasn''t irvoyant, nor could he fly. It was clear for everyone that they couldn''t do anything in this situation.

    ¡¸Anzu¡­ Tendou-kun is right.¡¹

    ¡¸We can''t save Momokawa.¡¹

    Having epted the bitter reality of the situation, Julia and Maria pacified Anzu, who was losing her cool.

    ¡¸But, I mean¡­. I, Momokawa is¡­..¡¹

    She couldn''t just give up like this. Especially for someone as emotional as Anzu, there was no way she could bear the grief of losing someone.

    ¡¸It''ll be alright, Anzu.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s right, despite his appearance, Momokawa is quite the tough person, he might be able to do something about his situation.¡¹

    They had no other choice than to deceive her with impossible hope. As long as one stayed positive, they could go on with their struggles.

    ¡¸I see, so you won''t go¡­¡¹

    ¡¸GUGAGA!¡¹

    Finally, Anzu calmed down. Rem then resumed her task. It seemed like she had decided to go by a different route instead of through the hole in the ceiling.

    Rem couldn''t speak, but for some reason Ryuuichi seemed to be able to understand her.

    ¡¸Here''s a parting gift from me, take it.¡¹

    ¡¸GA?¡¹

    The thing that Ryuuichi took out from the golden magic square of ¡ºTreasure Warehouse¡» was a skull. Though it looked like the usual head of a skeleton you could find anywhere in this dungeon, it was no doubt a genuine human skull.

    Yes, it was the skull of the male ss rep of 2-7 who had met his end after he tried to kill Ryuuichi with the dragon he controlled thanks to his ¡ºSummoner¡» Vocation, Azuma Shinichi.

    Rem didn''t understand why Ryuuichi entrusted it to her. But she took the ominous skull of the ssmate, thinking that it would be neededter on.

    ¡¸Then, from me too.¡¹

    ¡¸You should also bring this with you.¡¹

    Julia and Maria gave their respective weapons to Rem who was going to chase after Momokawa. Both their spear and axe were made of the finest quality material. Rem¡¯s specs should be high enough to use both of them.

    ¡¸GUGA, GAGAGA?¡¹

    ¡¸We''ll be fine, we''ll be looking for our new weaponster anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t feel so reserved, use it to your heart¡¯s content!¡¹

    Though the gals didn''t understand what Rem was saying, they replied with what they thought was a proper reply. Despite her appearance and origin, Rem was theirrade who went through life and death struggles in the undergroundke along with them.

    ¡¸How about you, Anzu?¡¹

    ¡¸Just give anything you have on you.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh¡­ I¡­ don''t have anything useful to give though¡­.¡¹

    Sorcerer Anzu didn''t carry any armament since Kotaro had his knife for when push came to shove. Both Kotaro and Rem each had better weapons than Anzu, so it was meaningless to be armed.

    After searching through her bag, Anzu couldn''t find a better item to give than this,

    ¡¸Uhn, I choose you then!¡¹

    In less than a moment after she brought it out, she crammed the item into Rem¡¯s rucksack.

    ¡¸Eh, Anzu, what did you give her just now?¡¹

    ¡¸Tell us wha~t it is!¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ It''s a secret. I''ll kill you if you try to peek.¡¹

    Anzu had a blush to the tip of her ears, suggesting that something inappropriate was given to Rem.

    ¡¸GAGA, GUGAGA!¡¹

    Thus, Rem departed to look for her master with the farewell gifts.

    ¡¸BE CAREFU~L!¡¹

    [ED: It¡¯s her panties right? :>]

    ¡¸DO YOUR BE~ST!¡¹

    ¡¸PLEASE SAVE MOMOKAWA~! YOU DEFINITELY MUST SAVE HIM!¡¹

    Rem received a pat on her back as she departed towards a cave that was headed to who knows where.

    ¡¸Well, let''s get going too.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, Tendou, you''re surprisingly not a cold person.¡¹

    ¡¸I did what I had to do. Moreover, we''re fated to meet Momokawa againter as long as we advance onward.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that''s true, bu~t.¡¹

    The four who parted ways with Rem gathered around the magic square and began walking towards their intended direction.

    ¡¸Su~Ha~¡¹

    Everyone then heard a monster-like breathing sound.

    Momokawa was ambushed by a spider-like monster just a while ago. It wouldn''t be strange if another monster appeared.

    The four who had just won a battle for survival reacted immediately.

    The Juri-Maribo raised their vignce towards the direction of the sound as they raised weapons collected from the corpses of the Jiras. Anzu also raised her arms, ready to fire stone bullets at any given moment.

    Though Ryuuichi was the only one who still kept his hands in his pocket, he was more vignt than the rest of them.

    Under everyone¡¯s watchful gaze, the monster appeared.

    ¡¸KUNKAKUNKA, SU~HA~¡¹

    Just like a police dog chasing after a criminal, or more like a pig to be exact, sniffing for mushrooms on the ground, the monster walked on all fours while sniffing the ground.

    ¡¸KUNKAKUNKA¡­ THIS SMELL¡­ SSMMEELLLLL.¡¹

    The monster could also talk.

    It wasn''t a monster, it was a human.

    ¡¸N, AAAAA~H! THIS SSSSMMEEELLLL! This, sweet, SMELL. THIIIS SMMEEELLLS LIKE MYY HOONEY, DEFINITELY.¡¹

    From crawling with all four limbs, the man wearing the male uniform of Shiromine High stood up on his legs as he screamed bizzare things.

    He wasn''t that tall, his figure grew to the sides instead, and it was an ugly figure. The male student went towards the ind of the undergroundke, saying disgusting words every step of the way.

    ¡¸You are¡­. Yokomichi huh?¡¹

    ¡¸OOOH!? WHAATM, YOU ARE¨D¨D UGGHHEEARGH! TEENDOUUU!¡¹

    Tendou Ryuuichi was facing off against Yokomichi Hajime.

    As if the so called ss caste had reappeared in this world, Yokomichi clearly trembled when he faced Ryuuichi¡¯s cold gaze.

    But then again, this wasn''t that peaceful ssroom, this ce was a monster-filled dungeon of another world. Yokomichi''s experiences while travelling this world had changed him.

    Yes, his past reason for fearing Ryuuichi, the most badass delinquent, was gone.

    ¡¸He~, He¡­. UeHeHeHeHe! Tendou, you are, TENDOU RYUUICHIIIIII!¡¹

    ¡¸You seem to be quite lively huh. Did you really want to see me that much?¡¹

    ¡¸CAAN''T YOU SEEE!?! YOU WANT TO UNDEERSTANDD WHY I WAANT TO MEET A £Ä£Ñ£Î BASTAARD LIKE YOOUUU!?¡¹

    If it was back then in ss, it would be absolutely impossible for him to curse at Ryuuichi. The current Yokomichi could do that with ease, though Ryuuichi himself didn''t seem to care about it.

    The thing he paid attention to was Yokomichi''s clothes.

    ¡¸Hey, don''t ya think that Yokomichi has this dangerous feel to him?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that thing is bad news.¡¹

    The Juri-Maribo who had grown together in battles with their ¡ºKnight¡» and ¡ºWarrior¡» vocations felt something wrong with Yokomichi.

    ¡¸Yes, that thing has definitely never taken a bath even once for sure.¡¹

    On the other hand, Anzu, whose growth as a ¡ºGeomancer¡» had just begun, didn''t felt any kind of danger aside from being disgusted by his extremely foul smell due to Yokomichi extremely dirty appearance.

    ¡¸My bad though, I just defeated the boss of this ce. You must wait till the next onees out or try another route.¡¹

    ¡¸HAAAAAA~H!? There''s also a choice of taking me along right?? Oi oi oi, YOU REEAALLY HAVE NO INTEREST IN HELPING YOUR CLAASSMATE WHOO YOU HAVE JUST MET AFTER A LOOONG TIME!?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, you''re smelly after all.¡¹

    Ryuuichi frowned as if to emphasize his difort about the foul smell. Due to his sharpened five senses, he could already sniff the foul and offensive smell of Yokomichi''s dirty gakuran.

    ¡¸Te-Te-TENDOOOOOOOOOO! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT SOMEONE SMELLS WITH SUCH COOL FACE! IT HURTS YOU KNOOOW, IT REALLY HURTS MY FEEELINGS WHEN YOU SAY SUCH WORDS YOU KNOOOWW!¡¹

    Maybe because he identally stepped on andmine, Ryuuici seamed fed up with Yokomichi¡¯s smelly mouth and the smell that was spread around due to his fiery rebuttal.

    ¡¸Yeayeahyeah, just get out of my sight already. I''ll overlook you just this once.¡¹

    ¡¸TCh, StOp RiGhT ThErE! TrYinG To EnD ThE TaLK Huh! We''Re JuST AbOUt To BeGIN YoU KNOW! ¡¹

    ¡¸You girls, gather close to the transfer magic circle.¡¹

    ¡¸O-O-O~I! Wait A MinUtE!! WeRe YoU IgNOrINg Me! TrYInG To LeAve Me AloNe! You GuYS aRe BuLlIeS, yOu kNow, ReAlLy ReAllY Bad BuLLieS YoU KnoW! ? ¡¹

    Maybe because they really ignoring Yokomichi, did as Ryuuichi told them, gathered around the transfer magic circle as theypletely ignoring Yokomichi¡¯s meaningless rambling.

    Because just a look at his appearance and attitude was enough to convince that no one would even consider add Yokomichi into the party. Nor they wanted to get along with him in the first ce. It wasn''t the problem like Between cooperating due to emergency or abandoning for the sake of survival.

    They just silently distanced themself from a phsycologically disgusting person.

    Therefor, Yokomichi only need power to detain them, no question asked.

    ¡¸YoUUUuu BAStAaaAAARD, YOUr GAzE is JusT LikE ThOSe PeOPle WHeN THeY''Re LooKINg At Me IN TE CLAAASS! Don''T GeT CoCKy YoU ShiTtY BiTChES AnD F^CkInG £Ä£Ñ£Î¨D¨D GAAA! ¡¹

    Yokomichi vomitted something from his mouth as he said those words. Though it was something like ball of water fired with magic, the others felt for a moment that it either his filth or poison due to its urine-like color.

    Predation Skill

    ¡ºParalysis Venom¡» : Purified Venom that will cause moderate paralysis once touched. He developed poison nd to increase the secreted volume of the venom.

    Despite that sudden breath attack, its traveling speed wasn''t that fast. In the meantime, Juria and Maria who has sharp intuition and fierce legs power had long since left that ce.

    But still, it was impossible for the Sorcerer like Anzu to dodge that attack in time. But, there was another person who stood still in his ce like her, Ryuuichi.

    ¡¸Tch, TAKE A BATH WILL YA¡¹

    Wall of water appeared at the same time as he said so. The gushing water current that suddenly sprouted from the ground former into severals metres tall water wall surrounding the four side as if to protect Anzu who stood behind him.

    Yokomichi filty breath collided with the water wall. The undting water wall acted as if protect both of them by washing away the extremely amonia stink and paralysis venom hidden within the water ball.

    ¡¸HAAA! ? WhAt ThE F^CK WiTH ThAT WaTeR MagIC! ¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I can finally use it a while ago.¡¹

    The giant crocodile-like lizardman, the boss of this area wasn''t just using its raw power as its attack method, it could use water magic that was centered around the maniption of water current.

    Predation Skill

    ¡ºAqua Magia¡» £º Allowed the user to user every low ranking magic of water element.

    Naturally he gained the skill of water magic when he ate the boss.

    ¡¸He, But, WaTER MaGiC, HuUUUuH! FuHeHe, FuHiHiHI, ThAt TeNDoU of AlL PeOPle¡­¡­ BeCAME A ¡ºHydromancer¡»¡¹

    ¡¸Hah? ¡¹

    It seems that he mistook Ryuuichi vocation as ¡ºHydromancer¡» when he saw Ryuuichi water wall.

    Though he made a mistake due to such hasty judgement, Ryuuichi didn''t have any obligation to correct it either.

    ¡¸BuheHeHe, ArE YoU An IdIOT, ThE MoSt PoWeRFuL VoCATIOn InThiS OthErWorLD Had BeEn DeCIdeD. BuFUuH, HoW DaRe YOU AcTInG So CoCkY JuSt BEcAUSe A ShiTTy MoB VoCaTIon LiKe¡ºHydromancer¡», TeNDoOU! In ThE End, YoU £Ä£Ñ£Î WeRe AlL An IdIoTS! ¡¹

    Yokomichi raised an even louderughter.

    Ryuuichi who utterly fed up heaved a sigh with ¡¸Good grief¡¹, and said to him.

    ¡¸Oi, if you''re that cocky, then give me all you got.¡¹

    ¡¸OH£¿ OOOOH? SurE? ArE YoU SuRe? ThE ShiTtY TeNDOU-KuN wITh His ShiTtY HyDrOMaNCer VoCATIoN Is DArE To CHaLLaNge me? The maIN LeAD WiTH ThE MoST PoWerFUl CHeAT VoCAtION Of AbSOlUTeLY The BESt StaTUS CORREcTioN!!! ? ¡¹

    ¡¸You girls, fall back till the tower. It''s dangerous here, or should I say, too filthy for you girls.¡¹

    It was faint but Juria and Maria could felt something that couldnt be described with anything but fighting spirit were leaked out from Ryuuichi''s body.

    ¡¸Yeah, it''s just Yokomichi anyway, Tendou is stroooonk you know. Oh well, let''s retreat for now.¡¹

    But, the blockhead Anzu who has yet to felt the sign of impending battle was a real angel inside, therefore she told him so purely due to her worry.

    ¡¸Uwaa, are you stupid! ? ¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a minute Anzu, that''s! ¡¹

    JuriMari stopped her in hurry and forcefully dragged Anzu who has yet to notice her verbal slip toward the tower.

    And then, the matter that shouldn''t be noticed by the gentle Anzu was surely¨D¨D

    ¡¸H¡­. Ho¡­. HOW DARE YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME, YOU BIIITTCHH!!!¡¹

 Chapter 102: Tendou vs Yokomichi

    Chapter 102: Tendou vs Yokomichi

    TL : Cnine

    ED/PF : ImmortalZoDD & Kouka

    Part 1[1-2], Part 2[3-4]

    Yokomichi was enraged.

    ¡¸YOu f¡îckING bASTArds, sTILL bringING THE school caste INTO this PLace! Suit yoURSelf then, tEmPLAte £Ä£Ñ£Îmobs like YOU f¡îcking SHiTS were faTED to be trAMPLed upon BY ME! THE MC Of THIS WORLD! AND I WILL DO IT NOW, IT''S REVENGE TIMEEEEE!!! I¡¯LL START FROM YOU, RANDOOUUU, I''M GOING TO TEAR APART THOSE USELESS GIANT TITS OF YOURS!!!¡¹

    Yokomichi¡¯s arrow-like tongue stretched out as he screamed like a mad man. That THING wasn''t human. Like from a frog, the tongue stretched out fast and approached Anzu who was hiding behind the tower.

    The tip of the tongue erged to the size of a fist and numerous spikes grew from it. Then, slippery yellow liquid started being secreted but it was not Yokomichi¡¯s saliva, it was paralysis venom. It would instantly affect the target with just a touch.

    Maybe more than the effect of the venom itself, the figure of Yokomichi licking with his grotesque tongue would cause more psychological damage to humans.

    The frog-like monster tongue that dealt physical, mental, and poison damage shot for Randou¨D¨D

    ¡¸I''m your opponent, don''t forget that.¡¹

    Ryuichi¡¯s right hand seized the tip of the tongue which had traveled like a fired arrow.

    ¡¸N-GOGH! AAAAARGH!?¡¹

    Yokomichi barely managed to save his tongue which was almost crushed by Ryuichi thanks to the slimy liquid on its surface. In some ways, this event was just like a rey of when he was almost done in by Futaba Meiko.

    ¡¸You¡­ THAT F¡îCKING HURT YOU BASTARD! MY TONGUE IS RATHER DELICATE YOU KNO~W?¡¹

    ¡¸Tsk, now you¡¯ve dirtied my hand. I guess I can''t fight with my bare hands.¡¹

    Ryuichi waved his hand lightly to get rid of the liquid on the tip of his fingers. Before anyone knew, there was already something like a ck membrane covering his right hand.

    ¡¸HAAaah? WHat the f¡îck? That GAUntlet is cheATIng!¡¹

    ¡¸Who cares, this guy just came out a while ago, I guess this is also part of me.¡¹

    Inheritance Skill

    ¡ºKing''s Armor¡» £ºCreate armor suitable for the king.

    Ryuichi understood immediately that it was the armor version of his ¡ºKing''s Sword¡». If he had to point out a difference,pared to ¡ºKing''s Sword¡» which reflects its material, ¡ºKing''s Armor¡»took on the appearance of a ck metallic armor from the very beginning.

    In addition, unless he made sure to let this skill grow, it wouldn¡¯t grow to the point of covering his whole body. He had learnt this skill during the time when Kotarou taught Anzu the way to use her power. While having nothing to do and lying around in the middle of the za, he just suddenly acquired the skill.

    There is no particr trigger for gaining new Inheritance skills, but¡­ This armor was really powerful. And though he could only make it grow from his right hand to his right elbow right now, it was strong enough to the point where he could smash through the hard carapace of the giant alligator, the boss of this area.

    ¡¸Tch, DOn''T JUsT USe YoUr ArMOR You WIMPy BaSTARd! ¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, nice idea, I don''t want to dirty my hand by fighting you barehanded after all.¡¹

    This was the first time in his life that Ryuichi was pitted against an opponent with an extremely nauseating appearance. Though he wasn¡¯t a clean freak, it was like how no one would be willing to touch a toilet bowl after someone just finished shitting on it.

    The current Yokomichi was just that DISGUSTING to the point that even those dirty Goma were far cleaner than him.

    ¡¸HoW DaRE YOU, TREAtINg Me LikE FILTH¡­ ThiS Is DisCriMINAtION, ThiS IS Why YoU F¡îCKIN BuLLIeS ArE ReGArDEd As The TRaSH OF SOCIeTY DamN iT!¡¹

    Yokomichi berated others with seemingly reasonable words while forgetting what kind of trash he himself was, having been even more enraged by Ryuichi¡¯s provocation. Maybe because he was finally going for the kill, he grabbed hold of the hilt of the great sword strapped on his back.

    Bending forward with posture extremely close to that of a pig, Yokomichi then dashed forward with tremendous speed beyond prediction.

    It was true that his bby legs were short, but those bby legs suddenly swelled up even further and then a huge, genuine boar hoof appeared from the bottom of his soles. Though he seemed to be wearing indoor shoes, the rubber shoe soles were already long since lost.

    ¡¸BEHOLD, ThIS Is MY ReSIStAnCE AgAiNSt THaT RoTTeN SySTeM CaLLeD ThE SChOOl CaSTE! DiE, TEnDOoOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOU!¡¹

    Yokomichi rushed at tremendous speed along with loud exploding sounds as he stepped hard on the ground. The way his almost perfectly round body sped up was just like a cannonball.

    Ryuichi¡¯s eyes twitched upon seeing this human cannonball called Yokomichi.

    ¡¸HAHhA, So YoU ReAllY Don''T WAnT To HIT ME WheN I ApProACH!!¡¹

    Suddenly, Ryuichi¡¯s right hand that was covered by the jet-ck gauntlet set aze. Forming a fist-sized fireball on top of his right palm, he then threw it lightly as if throwing a stack of papers, but the fireball¡¯s speed was just like a fast ball thrown at 200 km/hr.

    ¡¸HaH, FiReEE!? WHy, WhY IS IT FirEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!¡¹

    Yokomichi met with the fireball and immediately started wailing..

    ¡¸HoT-It''S HOt DAMN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiT!¡¹

    ¡¸The heck, aren''t you a lively one.¡¹

    Even though one would normally die if their body was set aze like that, Yokomichi just rolled around on the ground and screamed, as if it was just part of a y.

    And then, when the fire waspletely extinguished, he looked just like charcoal.

    ¡¸It''S F¡îCkINg HoT YOu F¡îCkINg Idiot! I WoULD haVE DieD If Not For My FiRe ReSistANce!¡¹

    Yokomichi screamed as he threw away his gakuran that was already burnt ck. The already tattered gakuran finally ended its role due to the intense me, but what appeared underneath wasn''t Yokomichi¡¯s bby body, it was fur with gradation of yellow, orange, and red.

    ¡¸I never knew that you wore such splendid fur below your gakuran. Or not, it''s not clothing huh, it¡¯s part of your body isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Though the fur was simr to the fur of the red dog that could breathe fire, Yokomichi wasn''t just d in those fur, IT grew from his body.

    It''s neither magic nor a warrior skill. So if there was anything close to Yokomichi, it would be Kotarou''s y doll, Rem whose appearance reflects her materials.

    ¡¸BuFu, BuHeHeHEhE¡­. beHOLD, The StronGEST SkiLL GiVEN To ME, A PoWeR To SNATCH, The PoWeR of A DEMoN THAT was EATEn By ME, ¡ºSkill Eater¡»! ¡¹

    ¡¸Snatching the power of a demon eaten by you, urgh¡­ It feels like I¡¯ve heard of that power before.¡¹

    ¡¸F4CkINg YEAh, ThIS IS THe teMPLAte ExCluSIVE POweR of ProTAgONIsT, B-U-T! I am ThE ONly One IN THe WORld WHo GOt THis POWAAAAA! I, wILl BEcOMe A HaREm KinG wiTH thIS StrONgeST CHEAAaaaT!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah yeah,e at me already then, strongest harem king in the world-san.¡¹

    Their squabble hasn''t ended yet. Rather, the real fight was starting now.

    Yokomichi had shown that he could endure fire magic. It seems that there was no other way but to defeat him in closebat. Ryuichi didn¡¯t want to dirty himself if possible, but it felt like there was finally a chance for a good fight with that thing in front of him.

    ¡¸NoT YeT, TenDOU! BeHoLD, MY TrUE PoWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡¹

    Yokomichi stood and made a "Banzai" pose while shouting those words. A conspicuous sound came from the fur on his back, like something was breaking out from inside.

    Protruding from his back by tearing apart his fur and drawing a small amount of blood, were two arms.

    The right arm had steel-like carapace. It was the arm of Armor Bear with huge knife-like ws lining up together on its hand.

    The left arm was a thin arm, emerald in colour. But the section starting from the elbow was that of a scythe, it was the arm of Mantis Knight.

    If before he still resembled a human, Yokomichi, who had grown a Mantis Knight arm and an Armor Bear arm from his back that was covered in fur, was closer to a monster now.

    ¡¸Ooh, it surprisingly looks good on you. Isn''t this even betterpared to your appearance when you sleep in the ssroom?¡¹

    ¡¸NuWAAAAAAAAAAA! Don''T-BeLIttLe-My AloOFneSS, TENDOUUUUUUUUUU!¡¹

    Dissing Yokomichi¡¯s behaviour during ss apparently made him even more enraged. Both of his legs pumped up and he leaped towards Ryuichi with tremendous force.

    The current Yokomichi could just brute force through another fireball, thus Ryuichi didn¡¯t throw one like before.

    ¡¸DIeEEEEEE¨D¨D¡ºHigh sh¡»!!!! ¡¹

    After his extreme dash, Yokomichi did a high jump and the great sword which he held in both arms fired off his finishing move from an upper stance. Even if the sword he used was a blunt one, with his power and speed, the blow was enough to split a human right in half.

    ¡¸¨D¨DCome forth, ¡ºKing''s Sword¡»! ¡¹

    Against Yokomichi¡¯s finishing move, ¡ºHigh sh¡», Ryuichi took out a deep crimson great sword that shone with a gold colour from the void.

    The moment their swords collided, countless sparks scattered.

    Grasping the King''s Sword that had conquered the Firedrake Ryuichi did not move a step. Yokomichi who had performed a two-handed swing however flinched, in contrast to Ryuichi who had only swung his sword lightly with his right hand

    ¡¸You''re heavy, porky.¡¹

    ¡¸GuH, Don''T GeT F4CkING CoCKy JuSt BECAuSE YoU StOPPeD My ATTACK WItH One HAnd! ¡¹

    Naturally, Yokomichi was shaken upon seeing the skill that he had fired with his full power being neutralized with just one hand.

    But, the current Yokomichi wasn¡¯t a swordsman who relied on a single sword. Because now swordy and martial arts were just fractions of Yokomichi''s power. With the two additional arms on his back, Yokomichi had surpassed the limitations of the human body.

    Ryuichi did well in stopping the sword attack. But the Armor Bear w and Mantis Knight scythe came down next.

    ¡¸Woopsies, as expected of a four armed fatass, your power sure is something else.¡¹

    Grasping his King¡¯s Sword with both hands, Ryuichi skillfully parried or dodged thebined assault of Yokomichi''s four arms.

    The King¡¯s Sword had a wider, bigger and far heavier de than Yokomichi''s great sword, but Ryuichi could still wield such a massive weapon easily.

    ¡¸Tch, TAkE ThIS! ¡¹

    ¡¸If you just continue to only have four arms and your current speed, you can continue dreaming ofnding a hit on me.¡¹

    Ryuichi had easily parried the storm of attacks made by Yokomichi¡¯s greatsword, w and scythe.

    Yokomichi had also made the full use of his abilities. Whether Mantis arm or Bear arm, he could move those as freely as if they were his own arms. Even his swordy with the greatsword had quite the sharpness in its movements. Thebination of those powers could easily slice through Ryuichi¡¯s flesh and bones if Yokomichinded a hit, yet that did not happen once.

    ¡¸SH1ET, JuST GeT F4CkINg HiT AlREADy DaMN IT! ORAORAORAORAORA! ¡¹

    ¡¸Oioioi, your power will fall behind if you just focus on speed you know.¡¹

    Yokomichi''s power was a threat. But, it also wasn''t something to be feared.

    If one was to ask the reason, Yokomichi''s attacks were just too simple. In the end, they were just bold moves that raised one''s power with designated motions. Seeing through Yokomich''s attack pattern was just too easy for Ryuichi.

    When he was up against someone like this fatass, Ryuichi once again realized the depth of the strength of Souma Yuuto who had learnt proper swordsmanship.

    ¡¸HaaA?? Oi, I¡¯m goNna hIt yoU for sure tHis tIme!! ¡¹

    ¡¸Well, your attacks might not even be enough to cut my after image. ¡¹

    Yokomichi was attacking like a raging storm with his scythe, ws, and sword, but Ryuichi kept parrying the attacks with ease.

    Yokomichi''s terrifying power counterbnced with his inhuman look. But, he had zero skills. When he attacked, he neither did feints nor tricks to cover up his true intentions. Thus, there was no way Ryuichi could not dodge such simple attacks.

    ¡¸I see, this is all you got huh¨D¨D¡¹

    At that time, Ryuichi who had solely focused on dodging and defending against all attacks that came to him, finally swung his sword.

    He didn''t even use martial arts, it was just a simple horizontal sh.

    ¡¸HNAH? ¡¹

    And yet, that simple sh left a crimson trail as it sliced apart Yokomichi''s mantis and bear arms from the elbows.

    ¡¸AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! M-MY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARMS!?¡¹

    ¡¸No, those aren''t your arms.¡¹

    Though he didn''t know whether Yokomichi had nerves in the arms on his back and could feel pain, Ryuichi drove in a retort along with a kick to Yokomichi who was shocked from losing his arms in the blink of an eye.

    The light roundhouse kicknded on Yokomichi¡¯s nk.

    ¡¸HnGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    Unable to endure the kick, Yokomichi was blown away as he raised a wallowing scream that resounded throughout the underground cavern.

    ¡¸I might have overdone it just now. Is his body really that brittle? ¡¹

    ¡¸A-A-A-AAAARGh¡­. It F4CkINg HuRts¡­. DaMN IiiiT¡­ EvEN ThoUGh It FinAllY HEaLEd¡­..¡¹

    Unfortunately for Yokomichi, the ce that got hit was the one that was inflicted with Momokawa''s curse.

    ¡¸An old scar, my bad then.¡¹

    Ryuichi apologized with an uninterested tone to Yokomichi who was crying with a sorrowful voice.

    ¡¸Well, that was quite enjoyable though.¡¹

    As if signalling that the fight had ended, the King''s Sword vanished into particles of light.

    ¡¸Zee¡­.. HaAA¡­¡­ YoU F4CkINg Sh1Et¡­.. If Not FoR ThIS WouND, Y-YoU sH1Et WoLd¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸See ya, Yokomichi. You really should take a bath once in a while you know.¡¹

    Ryuichi had already lost interest in Yokomichi, and drove in onest kick. The beautiful roundhouse kick from his long leg mercilessly inflicted another critical hit on the scar on Yokomichi nk.

    ¡¸IGYAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    Yokomichi raised a scream as his round body was sted away. Despite Yokomichi''s obesity, at nearly 100 kg of mass, Ryuichi¡¯s roundhouse kick sent Yokomichi flying 5 metres up high into the air, before bouncing a few times as hended on the ground and¨D¨D DOBON!! Yokomichi fell right into the undergroundke with an explosive sound.

    ¡¸Done already, Tendou-ku~n?¡¹

    ¡¸Did you kill that porky? ¡¹

    Having guessed that the battle had ended, Juria and Maria left their hiding ce in the tower for a moment. Anzu who still kept her vignce, waited at the entrance of the tower.

    ¡¸Dunno, that gutsy pork might be still alive and kicking.¡¹

    The reason why Ryuichi didn''tnd a killing blow on Yokomichi was because the fight was only at the level of a simple quarrel, not a fight where they had to kill each other.

    At least, he felt that Yokomichi was less dangerous than Azuma Shinichi, that¡ºSummoner¡» and also the male ss rep who used the power of a dragon which forced Ryuichi to kill him for good. Also, since Azuma was the one who attacked first with the intention to kill, Ryuichi had no obligation to spare his opponent¡¯s life.

    If he died from those kinds of attack, then that was all Yokomichi amounted to. As for Ryuichi, he expected Yokomichi to use this test as nutrition to grow even stronger ande to challenge him again for a revenge match.

    ¡¸Let''s get going. Otherwise, those annoying hindrances wille one after another.¡¹

    They had met so many irregrities in this undergroundke: the area boss, getting surrounded byrge numbers of Jira, the spider-like demon that kidnapped Koutarou andstly, Yokomichi who had picked a quarrel with them. Even someone like Ryuichi would get tired meeting one irregr after another.

    And thus, Juria, Maria, and Anzu walked with tottering steps towards the teleportation magic circle.

    They were too tired after all that had happened to them. Especially Anzu, who should have been really tired after the gruesome battle against that army of Jira, however, she only felt, for the first time in her life, regret from losing herrades.

    ¡¸Sorry¡­ Momokawa¡­¡¹

    After Ryuichi took out the magic core, the magic circle was invoked and they vanished in a wall of light, only leaving behind Anzu¡¯s whisper.

    ¡¸¨D¨DBUAAAH! HAaAH, HaAAAH, T-ThaT WaS a CloSe One, I THoUGhT I WAs GoING To DIe, TeNDOU, YoU F4CkINg BAsTARd, HoW DArE YOu GuYS tO DO THIS to MEE! ¡¹

    After Ryuichi and the others had teleported, Yokomichi finally made his way out of the undergroundke.

    He was wet from head to toes, and the demon arms and fur had vanished, leaving behind the normal body of a human.

    But then, aside from his already non existence gakuran, both his trousers and shoes were thrown off when he was crawling his way out of theke and as a result, he was left buck naked. The only thing left on his body was a brief short that had already turned yellow.

    Despite his human appearance, Yokomichi had in fact already strayed from being a human.

    ¡¸OucH, YoU COkCy BasT4Rd! RunNinG AWAY AftER YoU Won A MATCH HUH! ¡¹

    No matter how loudly he vented his anger however, his shouts would never reach Ryuichi who had already left the area. And even Yokomichi wasn¡¯t an idiot that would vent his anger for nothing.

    ¡¸Tch, can''T bE HelPEd, I''LL OveRLoOK YoUr AcTiONs JusT ThIS OnCe. You BaRely EsCaPEd DEATH, TENDOU!!¡¹

    Yokomichi decided so, to his own convenience.

    ¡¸NeVerTHELESs, HoW DaRe YoU TriCK Me, YoU''Re Not A F4CkING ¡ºHydromancer¡»!!!¡¹

    At first Ryuichi was using magic to manipte water, before attacking with fire magic, thenstly, using a great sword to fight Yokomichi head on. Yokomichi had thought that his power and speed which resulted from him consuming vast amounts of a demon along with the inherited status from his original vocation ¡ºWarrior¡» was unrivaled, but Ryuichi had parried all of his attacks with ease.

    Thus, from the fact that Tendou could use fire and water magic along with the strength to use a greatsword, all of those powers were real.

    ¡¸Using both sword and magic¡­. I see now, so his real vocation is ¡ºMagic Swordsman¡»¡­¡¹

    It can''t be helped that Yokomichi arrived at that conclusion, seeing as Ryuichi had taken out a great sword from nowhere, which led Yokomichi to think of it as some sort of spatial magic.

    ¡¸TcH, So YoU Got ConVeNIEnt MaGic And ItEm InVEnTorY huh¡­.. UnFOrGiVEABlE, I Am ThE One WHO shoULd HAVE ThOSe CheATs! YOU f$ckIng £Ä£Ñ£Î WiLl OnLY SeRvES As MY ReveNGe TaRGET! ¡¹

    "I am the only one who should have cheats in this world." That kind of thought had long since passed being a mere wish, it was already something akin to faith to Yokomichi.

    ¡¸HehEhE¡­. Oh wHatEver. It MigHT Be A CHeAT, But I Am STILLThe One WiTH tHe StRonGEsT CHEAT, I''LL GrOW EvEN StRonGEr And BeAT A PoWerFUL £Ä£Ñ£Î LikE TEnDOU. IsN''T ThIS KinDa LiKE A "LoSInG EvENt"? ¡¹

    Yokomichi could make someone¡¯s powerful abilities his. For the¡ºCannibalizer¡» kin who ate other¡¯s abilities, the appearance of someone with powerful skills was akin to delicious prey, and great danger.

    ¡¸I DidN¡¯T EAt AnY DeLIcIOus ABiLItiEs ThESe DAys. JUst Wait fOr A WhiLe, I''Ll Eat ThaT TeN¡ª- F4CkIng HeLL, I''m Not GOnnA EaT A MAN! ? UWAa~, ArE YoU F4cKIng KiddING Me, A Man¡¯S MeaT Is A HugE Turn OFF ya know.¡¹

    Yokomichi continued on with his monologue about cannibalism for a while, then recalled his original goal ining to this ce.

    ¡¸oOPs,e To ThiNK Of IT, I ShouLd''Ve ChAsed The SmeLL of My KoUtarou-Kyun rAthEr Than wAStiNG My TiMe wiTh ThaT £Ä£Ñ£Î.¡¹

    Almost at the same time as he came up from the undergroundke while saying such disturbing lines with a cool face, Yokomichi went on all fours and sniffed the ground with his pig-like nose.

    ¡¸HoLY F4CkINg CoW, The SmeLL HaS ComPleTeLy VanISHed ThaNKS tO tHAT ShoWY BattLE¡­ Uhm, T-THis IS! ¡¹

    While still on all fours, Yokomichi followed the faint smell of Momokawa and ran toward a certain spear that was stabbed on the ground.

    ¡¸*sNIFFSNIFF*¡­. HA~~, THIs IS The REAl THinG.¡¹

    It was amon iron spear, but it seems to have been a spear used by Koutarou before, and maybe the same spear that stabbed Yokomichi¡¯s nk.

    After sniffing the spear from top to bottom¨D¨D *Slurp*, Yokomichi truly licked the spear.

    ¡¸FUHehEhE, ThIS SpeAR IS ReAlLY MomOKAwA''S! ¡¹

    His long and bizzare tongue wrapped around the grip that might have been used by Koutarou. Naturally, one can only taste the taste of iron and rust, but even the faintest remnants of Koutarou was enough to drive Yokomichi to the point of madness.

    Though it was soiled with dust and soil, Yokomichi wholeheartedly licked the shaft of the spear as the memories of the pleasure when he tasted Koutarou¡¯s blood at that time returned to him. While raising an iprehensible voice, Yokomichi kept slurping the shaft of the spear till it melted due to the powerful acid that he got after he ate Red Ant that could vomit acid. His bizarre actions continued on.

    ¡¸ZeE¡­ HAaaaAA¡­ A~h, DeLIcIOUS¡­.. I CaN''T GeT ENoUGh of The TAsTE of KoUTaRou-KYuuuN¡­¡¹

    Yokomichi threw away the spear after it waspletely melted away, and started walking slowly with a nk expression on his face, like a drugged person.

    ¡¸AAAh, I¡­.. Am¡­. HunGrY.¡¹

    Thus, the mad ¡ºCannibalizer¡»slowly made his way even further into thebyrinth.

 Chapter 103: Himeno Airi

    Chapter 103: Himeno Airi

    Act 9 ; Charm

    Himeno Airi was her name. She was apletely normal high-school girl¡­ Just a run of the mill girl, who was not a beauty, had no freckles, and wore unfashionable sses. She was a seedy person no matter how and where you looked at her. By appearance, she was simply a below average girl.

    She had neither a distinctive appearance nor history. Only her grades belonged to the better side, but she wasn''t a gifted one, and wasn¡¯t a hardworking or passionate girl either. She wasn''t blessed with special talents or a good pedigree.

    Thus, her situation could be said to be just normal. Because not everyone is born with a golden spoon in their mouth. Because no one stands above others amongst the 7 billion other humans on Earth. No one is special. She understood the yearning to be that impossible special one.

    Therefore, Himeno Airi didn¡¯t feel ashamed for being a normal girl. In fact, she didn''t even try to hide the fact that she was fine with just being a normal girl. Because that was all she could have anyway.

    By the time she graduated from her Junior Highschool at the age of 15 years old, Himeno Airi had fully understood that fact. However¡­

    ¡¸W-W-What in the world is this ss¡­¡¹

    Her anxiousness grew even further as she began her new life as a high school student. Well, she had passed a peaceful year as a freshman of Shiromine High without causing any trouble for the sake of not having needless anxietyter on.

    But, her troubles came all at once along with the change of the ss as a sophomore of Shiromine High.

    ¡¸Souma Sakura, Reina A Ayase, Kisaragi Ryouko, Kenzaki Asuna, Takanashi Kotori, Natsukawa Minami¡­¡¹

    Those names were on the list of the girls of 2-7 of Shiramine High, which was the ss Himeno Airi was assigned to, and also the names of famous beauties in her freshman year.

    ¡¸Y-You gotta be kidding me¡­ There''s the famous Juri-Maribo and Randou Kyouko, Kizaki-san and Kitaooji Rurika, and to make matters worse, there''s also Nagae Yukiko who has many hidden fans¡­¡¹

    The list of famous beauties in her freshman year (and unfortunately in the entire high school too) who went to the same ss as her was long.

    ¡¸Isn''t this ss way too high level for me!?¡¹

    Basically almost every beauty in her grade was gathered in the same ss as if it was intentional. There was Souma Sakura, a pretty and ideal beauty on the top of the list. And following right behind her was Randou Anzu whose beauty was also a cut above the rest.

    Arge number of beauties were gathered in ss 2-7, and was like arge-scale gathering of national idols. "What the hell is wrong with them, do they actually want to hold a concert in budokan. Damn you all, there''s no way those girls will be inferior to the national idol group if they stood on the same stage."[TL : Budokan, national stage]

    "The heck, it isn¡¯t even a joke since all of them are beauties." Yes, it wasn''t a joke for Himeno Airi.

    ¡¸Nai WA~~, These girls are just impossible for me to exist alongside with¡­¡¹

    Airi was literally troubled by their existence.

    ¡¸T-THE HECK IS WITH THE GIRLS¡¯ LINE UP!? I¡¯M BASICALLY THE UGLIEST GIRL IN THIS CLASS! ¡¹

    Properly speaking, she would be reigning in the 1st or 2nd ce in most ss caste with only three girls in the ss, that is. Her n was to create a three kingdom-like situation.

    However, 2-7 of Shiromine High was like the warring era of Japan. The ssroom in which so many famous beauties were crammed together was just like a jewel box.

    And then, what will be of the pebble that was picked up by the river and ced into the same box filled with well ordered beautiful jewels?

    That was the most correct expression to illustrate what would be of an ugly girl when she was mixed along with beauties that would make anyone turn around.

    ¡¸Holy moly, what should I do now, I don''t even have a friend here¡­..¡¹

    Although, she was lucky that amongst the neen girls of 2-7, not everyone was a beauty. It could be said that the situation was fifty-fifty, the famous beauties aside, the rest of the girls were those whose names were unknown and had a mediocre appearance like her.

    Thus, there will be no situation in which she would gather attention due to being the only ugly one in the ss.

    But still, her appearance didn¡¯t stand out and was so-so in this ss.

    ¡¸I-If I make a mistake and get isted in this ss¡­.¡¹

    There''s a great difference between istion and being a ¡®Loner¡¯.

    Istion is when someone is basically disliked by the entire ss, is the lowest of the lowest who disturbs the harmony in the ssroom, on the other hand, a loner has more of a meek personality and their own circle of friends. In fact, being a loner wasn''t all that bad if the ss was boring.

    But, if it was a ss where you can find so many beauties and handsome guys like that of a drama¡­ It is literally a hell-like ss for a loner. For a loner, the paradise of the normies was a serious threat, casting a brilliant light that meant istion hell.

    To endure such living hell, Airi kept telling herself to not get cocky and iprehensible.

    I¡¯m not supposed to chew more than I can eat, but in this ss of miracles called 2-7, forget about being a loner, I might as well as have fallen into a hell called ¡°Isted Loner¡± if I try to aim for anything with this ugly figure of mine. I will make sure to stay inside a dark and lonely forbidden forest in the corner of this brilliant paradise of beauties. Oi, wait a minute, isn¡¯t that like sealing my fate with a curse, (¨s¡ã¡õ¡ã£©¨s¦à ©ß©¥©ß!.

    ¡¸Nonononono, I absolutely mustn''t enter that forbidden forest. Wait a minute, can I even live in this ss in the first ce¡­.¡¹

    Airi frantically made a survival n while staring at the name list of her ss with bloodshot eyes.

    ¡¸Think, I know you can do this, Himeno Airi. Think carefully, if you start your second year of high school without any kind of n, you will be a loner in the truest sense.¡¹

    ¡¸Those normal looking fellows whose skills are to go with the flow are guys whose names are unknown to me too. Even if I happen to know them, I¡¯ve almost never interacted with them since they were in a different ssst year.¡¹

    Though her level of appearance was so-so, the matter of entering an already formed group of simrly normal girls as a neer was almost an impossible task for Airi whosemunication power was close to zero.

    ¡¸I-I have no choice but to make a gamble then!¡¹

    If she failed to enter the circle of normal girls, Airi could say goodbye to a peaceful second year of high school. Even if she somehow managed to snuggle herself into one of the normal groups, there would be fierce infighting in the group because of how abnormally high levelled ss 2-7 of Shiromine high was.

    The way to victory was a thorny one. "In the worst case, doesn¡¯t that Momokawa look even cuter than those normal looking girls?" Actually, this is a kind of hardship that I have to suffer, to even lose in terms of cuteness to a boy.

    Momokawa Kotarou was in the same ss as Airi during their freshman year. Thanks to his slightly childish face, short stature, and slightly longer hair, he looked cuter than your normal looking girl, and was the so called "Trap". Things like ¡®he looks like a cat¡¯, or ¡®his saucy attitudebined with his androgynus face¡¯ were hot topics amongst the other students but¡­ To be honest, Momokawa¡¯s charm surpassing even Airi despite being a boy hurt Airi¡¯s consciousness as a girl, which directly rted to the continuation of her peaceful second years life as a high school student. She might have epted her defeat in terms of cuteness if her opponent was a transcendently cute boy to the point of looking like a beauty like Reina, but against a "Trap" like Koutarou¡­

    ¡¸No, let''s make a gamble¡­ I, will make the necessary preparations!¡¹

    The level of the appearances of the girls in 2-7 Shiromine High was simply just too high. The levels of those beauties were simply over 9000, and to make matters worse, there was also an existence that drove normal looking girls like Airi even further into the abyss of despair, a trap who looked even cuter than them, Momokawa.

    Oh woe is me, why does my peaceful high school life look more like a distant dream now. Alright, let''s then aim for a slightly better position in the ss caste!

    ¡¸I-It should be okay¡­. D-Despite being a dyke, Kizaki-san is seriously a gentle girl, so it¡­ should be okay.¡¹

    The one Airi was aiming for, Kizaki Akane, was in the same ss as herst year and, at least amongst the people Airi was acquainted with. For Akane, her rtionship with Airi was nothing more than one of many friends whom she acquainted due to her rather bright personality. But, Airi came to the final conclusion that to have a peaceful life in 2-7 of Shiromine high, she had to enter Akane''s group.

    Because Kizaki Akane was definitely amongst the top rank in the ss caste during the first year. She was a charming girl blessed with curves, had a cute and gentle appearance along with drooping eyes and was quite tall for a girl of her age as well as the ace of the volleyball club. She was an extremely kind girl with little to worry about both in terms of personality and appearance. Even Airi was forced to approve thatpared to a girl with a strange personality like her, Kizaki Akane was truly a super nice girl.

    As long as I can enter the circle of Kizaki Akane¡¯s friends, even if it''s impossible for me to aim for the top caste of this ss, I''ll at least be guaranteed the middle position.

    ¡¸As long as I am careful with my way in dealing with Kitaooji Rurika, Kizaki-san is not a problem.¡¹

    Kizaki Akane was a dyke through and through, and her girlfriend was none other than her childhood friend, Kitaooji Rurika, and even though they think their rtionship is a secret, it is in fact an open secret. No one had confirmed the truth to those two, but¡­.. Anyone who saw their rtionship in the first year was convinced about the truth of the secret. They''re the very definition of Bakaple*. [TL : Baka Couple ¨C Stupid Couple, you can read "Uzaki-chan wa asobitai" to understand the true meaning of it] Thanks for the treat of your bakaple show by the way.

    That aside, Kizaki Akane was a wonderful person-As long as you made sure to not mess around with Kitaooji Rurika- And this was the conclusion of Airi¡¯s research about them.

    ¡¸A~h, and since I''m basically sticking around Akane whose level is at least twice of mine, I guess the other ugly ones are going to be tagging along with her too.¡¹

    Akane and Ruruki were basically sticking to each other 24/7 when they knew that they were in the same ss. In regards to appearance, Kitaooji Rurika was basically the cute loli type which is the exact opposite of Akane. Her power level is more than doubled when she is paired with different kinds of beauties. Even ugly pebble-like Airi was polished in terms of power level just by being around her.

    Even without those game-like effects, being the only friend to face the atmosphere between the two dykes was notfortable for Airi.

    ¡¸A~h, nai wa~, this is the worst, I have to at least bring in another person into this fluffy area~¡¹

    Airi waspletely immersed in her own world of worries as she looked at the namelist of her ssmates¡­. She was basically making a gamble. Suddenly, a savior delivered herself into the fluffy dyke world.

    ¡¸Ah, I am Futaba Meiko. Best regards, Himeno-san.¡¹

    Airi¡¯sst worries of being the only friend in the two fluffy dyke world was for nothing when Kitaooji Rurika came along bringing with her most favourite teddy bear plushie in one hand and her fellow member of the cooking club, Futaba Meiko, a girl who triumphed over other students in terms of weight, otherwise called Butaba behind her back by other students.

    Airi¡¯s dream of a fantasy world was crushed to smithereens in a mere three minutes after she left the stone room, by the demons known as Goma.

    ¡¸GEBRAAA! ZABAAA, UBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    After crying out at the top of her lungs, and vomiting the contents of her stomach, she reconsidered her situation again.

    In any case, Airi ended up meeting the Goma, and learnt the bitter reality of thebyrinth of this other world.

    A live encounter with the demons made them far scarier than normal. They were human-like creatures with cockroach-like glossy ck skins. Disgusting, they were just too disgusting. And upon the encounter, they rushed at Airi and raised their rusted weapons with saliva dripping from their mouth with bloodshot eyes.

    Like hell a normal high school girl could beat those demons. Even an armed police officer might not be able to do anything in this kind of situation.

    Even though Airi¡¯s ¡ºHealer¡» vocation had ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» as an entry level offensive magic, she ended up doing nothing but earnestly screaming at the top of her lungs without even trying to use her skills.

    Airi¡¯s encounter with the Goma was a bad luck that came right when she had yet to be fully prepared to fight demons. Thus, right after the first encounter, she ran away and fortunately managed to reach the fairy za.

    ¡¸Done, my life as a human is done for.¡¹

    After recovering from the shock of her first encounter, Airi checked on the magic circle while nibbling on fairy walnuts and drinking from the spring water. However, no matter what kind of n she came up with for the dungeon capture, nothing worked.

    ¡¸Now I know why all of those fes who were sent to another world got cheat skills.¡¹

    ¡¸Another cheat again, another double standard MC, seriously, I¡¯ve had enough of this kind of works.¡¹

    Sure, the adventure of a normal highschool girl who was suddenly summoned to another world of sword and magic as she built a reverse harem of hunks sounded exciting.

    But, like hell a normal high school girl who was born and raised in the modern era of peaceful Japan could survive in another world without any kind of cheat vocation or cheat skills on her own.

    Airi definitely couldn¡¯t defeat those kinds of monsters. Even without all of those monsters, looking for a way to get out of the seemingly endlessbyrinth was hard by itself. Even back on Earth, the matter of exploring a savagend, dense forest, mountain, or cave needed thorough preparation and all kinds of equipment including top notch survival skills.

    And here she was, thrown into a ce with dangerous monsters as soon as she was sent to another world and must survive it. In other words, aiming for the deepest part of thebyrinth is impossible! The action itself was absurd in the first ce.

    ¡¸Rather, like hell I can survive by myself.¡¹

    ¡ºLesser Heal¡»£ºHeals minor injuries, light healing magic.

    ¡ºLux Sagita¡»£ºLower rank attack magic of the light attribute.

    ¡ºsh¡»£ºReleases a sh of light to blind one''s enemies.

    Those were the initial skills granted for Airi''s ¡ºHealer¡» vocation.

    Airi¡¯s skills were rather bnced with healing magic as the core of her vocation. ¡ºLux Sagita¡» was the means to attack, and ¡ºsh¡» was to assist her retreat in case she faced too many opponents. In fact, when she tried using ¡ºLux Sagita¡», she knew that it had enough power to kill the disgusting Goma as long as the skill hit.

    But, even a splendid arsenal was like pearls before swine if the owner couldn''t use it properly. Himeno Airi thus ended up unable to use her magic to counterattack the Goma in her next encounter.

    ¡¸I mean, I am a girl after a~ll.¡¹

    Airi might sound like an annoying person, but this was the reality of her current situation. It was near impossible for an under average high school girl like her could do something like betting her life to defeat those demons.

    She did have the power, but not the strength to fight.

    Though there¡¯s a safe ce called the Fairy za, she couldn''t escape from the dungeon.

    ¡¸No no no, this is impossible, I mean, how in the world is a normal highschool girl like me supposed to survive with this kind of trash RPG-like initial stats¡­¡¹

    She couldn''t advance deeper into the dungeon nor could she escape from it. Airi didn''t want to die, she wanted to live.

    Then she understood the reality, a fact, that she couldn''t advance just by her own powers.

    Thus, Himeno Airi did what she would do in this kind of situation¡­ Or rather, what any below average girl would do in this kind of situation.

    ¡¸U~h, UUUUU¡­¡­.. UUUUH¡­¡­..¡¹

    An indecisive female high school girl could do nothing but cry, in despair.

    ¡¸UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The fate that awaited one who abandons all hope and stops fighting for survival in this dungeon was death¨D¨D Or so it should be.

    ¡¸Someone, there''s someone here! ¡¹

    ¡¸HAAH! ? ¡¹

    She heard a voice. The voice of a man. The moment she heard that voice, it was as if she was brought back from the other world to that peaceful ssroom in Japan, where she could hear the voices of her ssmates.

    ¡¸Ah¡­. Himeno¡ª San? ¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, Nakajime¡­. Kun? ¡¹

    The one who appeared was the average looking-bespectacle boy of her ss, Nakajima Haruma.

    ¡¸Uhm, that''s quite a loud cry you got there, are you alright? ¡¹

    ¡¸N-Nakajima-Ku~~~N! ¡¹

    ¡¸UWAAAA! ? W-WaAAA! ? ¡¹

    Without any hestitation, Airi embraced Nakajima. Despite crying like that, she wasn''t as messy as before with mucus and vomit all over the ce around her. Instead, she cried out loudly in order to produce the image of a frail girl.

    And as expected, their meeting was, fated. A gant boy called Nakajima Haruma appeared when Airi was swallowed by despair, he was a light of hope.

    YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I¡¯VE BAITED A BOY! NOW, VICTORY IS MINE! Well then, please do your best to protect this frail girl, Nakajima Haruma! [ED: damn, that¡¯s low]

 Chapter 104: Nakajima Haruma

    Chapter 104: Nakajima Haruma

    His name was Nakajima Haruma. A normal high school boy you could find anywhere¨D¨D a really normal face without anything worth mentioning, and even his hobbies, grades, and fashion sense were normal. Overall, he was just above average.

    His rtionships with others were favorable. He often interacted with girls. He didn¡¯t stand out in the ss, and was what ismonly known as a mob.

    And now, that exceedingly normal Nakajima Haruma kept asking himself¡­

    ¡¸How the hell did it turn out like this?¡¹

    First of all, about the event of the entire ss being summoned to another world to survive in a dungeon. When Nakajima Haruma was summoned, he was forced to ept the current situation and had to start thinking about what to do to survive. Though he really didn''t want to ept reality just then, he couldn''t just avert his eyes from whaty before him.

    After a while though, he had gotten used to fighting monsters inside thebyrinth.

    The vocation granted to him was¡ºMagic Swordsman¡».

    ¡ºsh¡» £ºA strengthened sh attack.

    ¡ºIgnis Sagita¡» £ºLower ranking attack magic of the fire attribute.

    ¡ºHi-Walk¡» £ºIncreases mobility.

    Martial arts for closebat, magic for long range attack, and a skill to increase his mobility. It was an extremely bnced initial skill set for the amateur high school student tobat demons. The only thing he had to do was to use them to fight.

    It doesn''t mean that Nakajima Haruma had the courage to stand up against his fears, nor was he a cruel person who could kill without batting his eyes. He just did what he needed to do, that was all there was to it. Scary things are still scary, but there was no need to excessively worry about them, there was always a greater danger hiding around. In short, it was the kind of mentality that only a normal boy like him could attain.

    To Nakajima Haruma, the act of him being suddenly thrown into the dungeon, defeating one enemy after another by making full use of his vocation was an extremely normal situation. He had easily adapted to his new environment. Nakajima Haruma employed every single bit of wisdom and courage that he could muster as he advanced even deeper into thebyrinth by himself.

    At least, until just recently.

    ¡¸Are you okay, Haruma-ku~n? Any injuries? ¡¹

    ¡¸I''m okay, at least Airi isn''t injured too.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~h, this is no good, there''s a scratch on your hand! I''ll patch it up in a jiffy, Haruma-kun¨D¨D¡ºLesser Heal¡»! ¡¹

    The one who approached him after he had defeated the skeletons was Himeno Airi, the girl he came upon by chance at the first fairy za. She came up to him saying such words with a sweet voice and applied healing on the little scratch on his hand.

    If even he, a man, was scared of the dungeon, there was no need to say what a girl like Himeno would feel in this situation. Haruma guessed the reason for her crying, and why she ceased crying after seeing him.

    There was no reason for him not to cooperate with ssmates that he met in the dungeon. Though only a whileter, he became aware of the devastating news that only three people could leave the dungeon. Since there were only him and Himeno in a party right now, there was no need to break up for the time being.

    Therefore, as if it was the most natural thing¡­ Nakajima Haruma ended up bing a knight who protected Himeno Airi.

    ¡¸A''right, its patched up now!¡¹

    ¡¸T-Thank you, Airi.¡¹

    She had unleashed thebo of having upturned moist eyes while sping her hands together. Even Haruma ended up feeling that she was a little too sly.

    Even if her act was no matchpared to the likes of Reina A Ayase or Takanashi Kotori, and her appearance deviation value was in fact below the average of the 40 other students, Haruma still found himself troubled by her act.

    "Heck, was Himeno Airi ever this kind of person?"

    Though he never really interacted with her, all of his ssmates including him thought of her as a simple and docile girl who didn¡¯t stand out in any way. She wasn''t the kind of person that would butter up a man in such an unnatural way like some sort of galge protagonist.

    But, Haruma felt that he had fought to protect Himeno Airi''s life to such a point that she fell for him and that feeling was¡­.. Not that bad.

    ¡¸Ha~¡­. ¡¹

    Naturally, his inclinations as a young man made him feel like that alone wasn''t enough. To be honest, Himeno Airi wasn''t even his type. If he was to be given a choice, he would choose a girl of his type rather than an ugly one.

    And most of all, Nakajima Haruma already had someone he liked.

    ¡¸I wonder how she''s doing right now¡­.. Nagae-san.¡¹

    Nagae Yukiko was the one he loved. He had fallen in love with her a year ago.

    Though she wasn''t conspicuous, or a simple and docile girl like Himeno Airi, Haruma waspletely captivated by the charm of that quiet and transient literature girl ever since he went to the same ss as her, the year before.

    Having wished for more interactions with her, even if just a little, he had held an unjustified resentment against Momokawa, the young man who joined the literature club with an unconcerned face. Haruma abandoned his decision of joining the literature club to follow Nagae at that time. He now however no longer had such resentment against Momokawa, because he knew that Momokawa was a geek who joined the literature club only because he really wanted to be a light novel writer and not for chasing after Nagae Yukiko.

    In the end, Haruma became a member of the bookmittee, and used that position to talk about books with Nagae-san from time to time, and that was already enough for him.

    Though many male students in the ss were captivated by the group of beauties with Souma Sakura at the top of the list, Haruma understood Nagae Yukiko''s charm. Since she was outside of the radar of many male students in the ss he wanted to confess his love to her, but¨D¨D Nakajima Haruma suddenly realized that it was Himeno Airi who was sleeping beside him right now.

    ¡¸¡­. Ha~h¡­¡¹

    Himeno Airi was sleeping right beside him in one corner of the Fairy za. They were just sleeping and doing nothing more.

    No matter how rxed one could feel in the safety area called Fairy za, Himeno Airi had be extremely frightened and said to Haruma,¡¸Please, sleep with me, Haruma-ku~n¡¹ . It was such a situation in which he couldn''t refuse her pleas.

    When Haruma looked down at Airi who was sleeping calmly, he realized that even her sleeping face was ugly. [ED: DAAAAAIUM! Our boy is SAVAGE]

    How many times now had he hoped that it was Nagae Yukiko who was the one sleeping next to him? If the one beside him was Yukiko instead of Airi, Haruma had the feeling that he would be able to go through any kind of danger.

    The one he truly loved was Nagae-san. Haruma didn''t really care about someone like Himeno Airi, and would definitely not fall for her whether or not she called his name with that sickening sweet voice or even if she called his given name with honorifics. Himeno Airi definitely wouldn''t be special to Nakajima Haruma.

    ¡¸U~uuh¡­¡¹

    Or so he thought, but this male instinct of his reacted differently.

    He was more or less sleeping right beside a defenseless female ssmate. Though, her attempt to ensnare him with such a tant trap wouldn''t work¡­

    ¡¸Gimme a break here, like hell I would fall for such an ugly girl. Like hell I''m gonna push her down¡­¡¹

    Haruma had already decided to give his virginity to the one he loved, but his manhood had raised a revolt after he was thrown into this hell called dungeon survival.

    There was a doubtful theory that Haruma hade across before. It was that a man who is constantly on the razor¡¯s edge, having close encounters with death, would act on his instincts to leave behind a child as soon as possible.

    That theory was definitely a hoax and yet, the third day after Haruma was sent into the dungeon, his body that had constantly gone into high gear without any spare time to release the pent up desires was currently in an extremely excited state.

    Moreover, that excited state kept growing the more he fought his demons. Haruma led a normal life, unlike those yankees with excess vigor.He did not he have something like a hidden destructive impulse or uncontroble killing intent like some sort of protagonist. But then again, any single man would always have this belligerent instinct sleeping within them.

    To protect his life and survive the dungeon, Haruma had to kill the demons with his own hands. It was pure violence brought to light with a justified reason.

    If there''s a woman sleeping right beside a man in this kind of condition¡­

    ¡¸Aah, it''s time to sleep¡­ We''re going deeper into the dungeon tomorrow. It''ll be bad If I don''t get a proper rest.¡¹

    In order to shake off his worldly desires, Haruma slept with his back facing towards Airi who had exposed her defenseless sleeping figure.

    Excitement aside, he was already dead tired, so he went to the dream world as soon as he shut his eyes.

    ¡¸¡­. You can do it you know, Haruma-kun.¡¹

    The whisper from behind didn''t even reach him as he fell into a deep slumber.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡¸Let''s take a break for today, Haruma-kun.¡¹

    Said Airi, with a worried look on her face upon seeing Haruma rise up from his sleep with a listless look on his face.

    ¡¸Eh, but if we don''t hurry up¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Even so, I''m more worried about your condition! ¡¹

    She was overly worried about his condition.

    But she was right, continuing a dungeon capture when he wasn¡¯t in a good condition was just like looking to die. Haruma guessed that he would have to prepare both equipment and other things so that they were absolutely ready once they continued on the dungeon capture.

    ¡¸Hey? Shall we rest for today? ¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right¡­. Let''s take a rest for today.¡¹

    He needed a proper rest, both physically and mentally.

    When he moved together with Airi, he was too absorbed with men''s sense of duty to protect women. Moreover, since she was a ¡ºHealer¡», a scratch shouldn''t be a problem for him.

    Nevertheless, in spite of having splendid offensive magic like ¡ºLux Sagita¡», Airi didn¡¯t even participate in battle. The best contribution she made in battle was only firing ¡ºsh¡» when they had to escape.

    When it came tobat, Haruma was heavily relied on. Thus, it was natural for him to be extremely weary. But, he just couldn''t me Airi for her uncooperative attitude since it can''t be helped that she didn¡¯t have much in regards tobat power.

    Haruma was extremely relieved that their opponents thus far had been weak demons, the likes of Red Dogs or Skeletons wouldn''t be enough to corner him.

    ¡¸Hey Haruma-kun, do you want to try ap pillow? ¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, N-Nah¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Come on, don''t force yourself, see, it''s ready~¡¹

    No, Haruma wasn¡¯t really happy about it at all. But, he still ended up doing it anyway under Airi¡¯s persuasion.

    ¡¸How do you feel? ¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm¡­. So-so, I guess.¡¹

    Unfortunately, the owner of thep was that ugly Himeno Airi. However, she was still a girl, and so it was hard to resist her soft and warm legs. Not to mention the fact that since Haruma had fallen asleep immediatelyst night, his little one was already standing proud once he awoke.

    It felt like it could easily pierce heaven right now.

    ¡¸Thank you for always protecting me, Haruma-kun.¡¹

    Haruma expected that he would be troubled to hear such sugar coated words from a girl that clearly was not in his radar, but somehow, he could easily ept Airi¡¯s gratitude.

    That day, Airi did not even try to separate herself from Haruma as sheunched her skinship attack, beginning with that pillowp. There weren¡¯t any outrageous actions, just things like holding his hands or embracing him. But, after all of her unnaturally clinging acts, Haruma didn¡¯t feel any difort around her anymore.

    He was slowly numbed by her actions, Haruma found himself sleeping together with her that night. They slept in the corner of the Fairy za, just like yesterday. They slept under the big fairy walnut tree which obstructed most of the light.

    ¡¸Are you still awake, Haruma-kun? ¡¹

    Airi whispered in a small voice as if taking into consideration his tiredness, her gentle breath teasing his ears.

    She whispered in a way that was as if she was waiting for the perfect timing tounch her attack after he had turned his back toward her, just to shake his worldly desire.

    Actually, it wasn''t just her breath.

    ¡¸A-AIRI! ? ¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry just, stay like this for a while¡­.¡¹

    Even without having to turn around, I knew that the warm feeling on my back wasing from our body contact. She came slowly, and gently as she embraced me from behind. It just a simple embrace, and yet, I couldn''t even refuse it once she asked me with her feeble voice.

    ¡¸No, well, do as you wish.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, you''re so kind you know, Haruma-kun.¡¹

    Wait a minute, she used too much power to embrace me. I gulped my saliva as I realized that any more than this would be dangerous in various ways for me.

    ¡¸I''m scared¡­.. I mean, we have to venture in the dungeon again tomorrow¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah, me too. But it''s not like we have another option.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, I''m scared of fighting and advancing through the dungeon but I¡­ Am more scared that you have to face those dangers! ¡¹

    "The hell you''re talking about when you made me fight alone!" was what Haruma supposed to say as soon as he heard Airi tell him that bullsh1t but, the moment she said that, Haruma couldn''t help but feel happy, despite realizing the fact that Airi just used him for her own sake as a convenient shield.

    Nevertheless, she not only worried about her own safety, she also felt indebted to Haruma who fought to protect him and realized that he should be rewarded properly for all he did to protect her till now.

    Naturally, it never urred to him that all she did untill now was merely acting.

    ¡¸I''m worried about you, what should I do if you''re hurt, what if your wounds are too bad to be healed by my skill¡­.¡¹

    No matter how much she said that she worried about him, it didn''t change the fact that she forced him to fight alone.

    ¡¸It''s okay, I''m fine, maybe¡­.. Well, you to heal my wound and we run when things getting dangerous after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, you''re right¡­ I''m sorry, Haruma-kun¡­. It would be a different story if I were more powerful, but my hands won''t stop trembling whenever I face the demons! ¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t mind it, it really can''t be helped in the end. You''re a wo-girl after all¡­¡­ It''s normal to get scared when you have to fight the demons.¡¹

    The n that she devised to make sure that Haruma didn''tin or notice her cunning n to avoid fighting was to create an environment in which she was always glued to him in order to cloud Haruma''s judgement.

    I struggled to rein in my lust from being embraced by a girl that wasn¡¯t even on my radar in the first ce. My rising heartbeats made me realize that she was still a girl .

    Though he should''ve kept his calm a little and focused more on Airi''s words, his mind was shaken by the warmth he felt on his back.

    Please end this quickly. The hell I''m talking about? I should just enjoy this moment.

    Normally, he would have sumbed to his drowsiness first, but¨D¨D

    ¡¸Thank you, Haruma-kun. I am useless in battle but¡­. I want to be more useful to you from now on.¡¹

    Her attack was relentless. No, this was just the beginning.

    ¡¸E-Eh, wait a minute, A-Airi.¡¹

    ¡¸Ehehehehe, Haruma-kyu~n.¡¹

    Like a snake entangling their prey, Airi slipped her hands towards my abdomen. As her hands passed by my abdomen, tickling my nks, they went even further down¨D¨D

    ¡¸No, w-wait a minute, EEEH¡­¡­¡¹

    I unintentionally let out a pathetic voice as soon as her hands touched that ce. My body stiffened as the feeling of pleasure and chills ran along that ce, Airi''s movements making it boil even hotter.

    ¡¸Hey, don''t you want me? ¡¹

    Airi''s hands were caressing my d1ck as if toying with it.

    ¡¸I''ll do anything for you, Haruma-kun.¡¹

    My brittle reason, weakened by the life of abstinence that I had to live in this ce, was slowly, but surely whittled down by her.

    ¡¸That''s why tell me Haruma-kun, tell me what you want me to do.¡¹

    At that point, Ipletely discarded my reason. Why the hell did I have to endure this life of abstinence? Things like love or lover should go to hell in this kind of ce. Like hell nothing would happen if a man and a woman were to sleep together in this shitty dungeon.

    To hell with morals. A man needs a woman and vice versa. If asking for s3x is wrong, then please send someone to save me from this situation¨D¨D I mean, it''s only me and Airi in this f4cking Fairy za.

    ¡¸A-Airi¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, Ye~s? ¡¹

    When I turned around, for some reason she looked much prettier than before.

    This isn''t love. But, something that I need.

    ¡¸Airi, AIRI! ¡¹

    ¡¸Ahn, Aaa~ahn¡¹

    The girl weed the boy who had no way to divert his libido.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡¸HAaa~h, men were such easy creature after all.¡¹

    That was her impression of her own first experience. Though she thought that she was too careless, for making such a move without thinking of the consequences, in the end it wasn''t an important matter to her.

    Although she used to detest those kinds of girls who fawned over men and regarded them as bitches or normies, she came to understand with this even that the creature called man was like a dog wagging its tail to this¡­¡­.. ¡ºUnimportant matter for the girl.¡».

    She was regretting her overly optimistic outlook and not taking a proactive approach towards men, of keeping them away instead of using her weapon as a woman to make them wag their tails around her like obedient dogs.

    ¡¸Fufufufu, really, how foolish you are.¡¹

    She referred to both her past self, and Nakajima Haruma, who desperately needed s3x to the point of asking her, an ugly girl, for it.

    Nevertheless, that¡¯s just how rtionships between men and women work. Airi understood very well the creature called human.

    ¡¸With this, Haruma-kun is mine. You''ll take the responsibility for what you did to me, right? ¡¹

    She let out a wicked grin as she brushed Haruma''s head who slept naked beside her.

    Everything went ording to her n. Now Haruma wouldn''t be able to let go of Airi even if, for example, they met another ssmate beyond this point. Even if Nagae Yukiko, the girl he loved appeared before them, he wouldn''t dare to approach her.

    That''s just how powerful the mental restriction called a rtionship between men and women was. That held true, especially for the Japanese students.

    If Haruma didn''t have a s3x with Airi no such mental restraints would have applied to him. For this very reason, Airi boldly seduced Haruma. She needed to get a hold of him before he would protect her till the end.

    ¡¸Now then Haruma-kun, let''s do our best in tomorrow¡¯s dungeon capture as well.¡¹

    Having achieved one of her goals, Airi then fell asleep right next to Haruma.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWant to love? ¡¹

    Airi heard the voice in her dream.

    ¡¸Do you want to be loved by men? Do you want to be waited upon by beautiful men? ¡¹

    It was an unnaturally high-pitched and cute voice like the voice of some sort of heroine in ate night anime. Normal girls would feel that voice was rather disturbing to their ears and mind.

    ¡¸As in, only use those men as my ythings till the end, right? ¡¹

    Her field of vision was hazy and vague, she could see a silhouette of a girl standing on the other side of the pink colored mist.

    ¡¸Uhm, good enough, I''ll grant upon you this power then! ¡¹

    A pair of bat-like wings and whip-like tail then grew from the girl whose silhouette was even smaller than Airi¡¯ss. The demon-like figure of the female then began to sway as if it were only a mirage.

    ¡¸Wee, my new kin, from now on you''re a¨D¨D¡ºSubus¡»! ¡¹

    Family ¡ºSubus¡»

    ¡ºDream''s Power¡» : Let me to suck your lustful energy. Sorry, can I take a sip?

    ¡ºOvepping Feeling¡» : Let''s feel good together. That''s why, let''s have a lot of s3x.

    ¡ºHoneyed Words¡» : Shall we start by being friends first? Make them fall head over heels with your sugar coated words!

    The heat flowing into her body should have been painful enough to make her scream, but, for some reason, she couldn''t understand what her body felt like anymore. Was it hot? Or painful? Or did her body actually feel really good? She had no idea what had just happened to her, but one thing she knew for sure.

    "Yes, this is how I should be!"

 Chapter 105: Den of Arachne

    Chapter 105: Den of Arachne

    ¡¸O-OUCH¡­.¡¹

    After being bitten, wrapped up with thread in a cocoon and kidnapped by the arachne I fainted from the pain and shock¡­. Some time seemed to have passed as I awakened to the feeling of my body being dragged on the ground.

    Fortunately I was wrapped in a cocoon-like thread which protected my body from the pain of being dragged along the ground of some sort of cave. I didn''t mean that my sense of pain was numbed when I said that it didn''t hurt, in fact my five senses were working just fine, I could move my limbs too. Except for the dull pain on my back where I was bitten by the arachne, I was safe.

    It seems that archne didn''t bite me to kill me, it was for the sake of injecting poison to paralyze my limbs.

    Even so, I waspletely safe thanks to my ¡ºVessel of Poison¡», the same passive skill that protected me from the Basilisk''s Acid Breath. It seems that my skill was good enough to also neutralise arachne poison.

    And fortunately this arachne didn''t know that I had a poison resistance skill, so I was sure that it had yet to realize that its poison didn''t work on me.

    Like some spiders from our world, the arachne seemed to use poison and its threads, not to kill its prey, but to incapacitate them and keep them fresh forter consumption.

    As if to confirm my suspicion, a whileter, I felt that my cocoon was hung upside-down like a moth¡¯s cocoon. Well, that arachne was walking leisurely, so it might have not been able to detect faint movement inside its cocoon.

    I moved my hands around inside the cocoon. My first priority was to grasp the surrounding area by making an opening for my eyes. On top of being sticky, these threads were also thick, making it really hard to make even a small opening. It would be nigh impossible to escape if this cocoon was connected to arachne..

    ¡¸Yup, this really is spiderweb after all.¡¹

    The scenery that I saw from the opening that I created for my eyes was just as I expected.

    Different from the pit-like cave of the Rock Spider, this arachne¡¯s den was something simr to the forest dome. Below me giant spiderwebs made up what seemed to be a floor, and directly opposite of that were the top of so many trees that it looked more like an emerald carpet. It seems that the arachne was nesting at quite a high elevation. It made its nest high in the trees, a little bit below the cannopie¡¯s ceiling. Was its nest made to catch prey?

    I guess not, since the arachne seemed to be using venom to catch its prey, this den was nothing more than a base for it. The reason for the nest¡¯s high elevation was solely to fend off foreign enemies.

    I think it was only natural for arachne to catch their prey like fishing with a, just like how it caught me. The reason it chose me amongst the other party members was simply because I was the weakest amongst them. And the arachne''s judgement was correct in that regard. If any other member were targeted, there was a high possibility that they''d have counterattacked the arachne before it could bite them.

    ¡¸Haa~¡­ I must be jinxed for this to happen again.¡¹

    Even though my teamwork with the yankee team finally started looking good.

    It was just like a normal party with the Juri-Maribo as vanguard and Randou-san as rear guard. On top of that, despite his moody attitude, the party even had its own walking hax code called Tendou-kun, who could even solo a boss like it was a walk in the park. It was highly possible that the currentbat potential of Tendou¡¯s yankee party was on par with Souma Yuuto''s hero party.

    It was really disheartening knowing that I was separated from such a powerful party.

    ¡¸Well regrouping with them might be close to impossible.¡¹

    I mean, even if I wanted to go back to them right now, I was powerless in this situation. I didn''t even know which path they took.

    And it''s not like they were going to wait for me in that undergroundke either, not after they defeated the undergroundke boss and annihted the army of Jiras.

    I was just a pitiful victim who got myself kidnapped by a monster, there''s no way they woulde to save me. Well, I was satisfied as long as they mourned for my death.

    <i>Now that I am back to square one, I guess it''s time to solo the dungeon again.</i>

    I wouldn''t be that lonely since I could resummon Rem, but it was a waste to do that since it would mean that she''d lose the precious materials used to create her before. Nevertheless, I couldn''t do anything but give up on those precious materials given by Tendou.

    What separated me from the yankee team was a monster living in the wild after all. I''ve experienced this kind of situation once before.

    Moreover, I had no resentment against wild beasts whose actions were based on their nature but, if a person would have separated me from the yankee team I definitely would have cursed him to death.

    ¡¸Let''s start with the prison break n for now.¡¹

    I widened the opening bit-by-bit as I made my cocoon turn around to get a better look of my surroundings and, yup, I couldn''t see that arachne at all. It could either be out to hunt for other prey, or camping above its nest in the blind spot of my field of vision.

    Either way, I couldn''t stay in this cocoon forever. It ended with just one bitest time, but it might really start eating its meal if it caught me this time. Even my OP poison resistance skill was useless if the arachne bit chunks out of my body. I was in dire need of a more powerful physical defense after all.

    Well, that would be asking too much of my dear patron god Ruinhilde though. I think the drug used to heal the bitten wound on my back was enough for my current situation.

    Fortunately that arachne wrapped me whole into a cocoon without stripping me of my gear and weapons. I still had my precious magic weapon, the red knife, various ointments, a broken core and bits and pieces of carefully selected materials. I was really lucky to have all of those with me right now.

    ¡¸Uuuh, GUH! I¡­. Can''t reach my back.¡¹

    After the easy yet suffocating work of applying the ointment on the bite wound on my back, I started my preparation for the prison break.

    ¡¸Fuck! Normal knives aren''t enough to cut this thread¡­¡¹

    Despite its viscosity, this spider''s thread was extremely flexible. Normal cutlery wouldn''t be enough to cut it.

    ¡¸I guess I have to risk my life and use the red knife.¡¹

    <i>Please don''t catch on fire!</i>

    I cut the cocoon really carefully with the red knive¡¯s fiery de while desperately praying. Well it wouldn''t spit mes as long as I didn''t swing it with all my strength. As long as I used it carefully it only heated the knife''s de and that was enough to cut the threads.

    I made a vertical cut which guaranteed my escape from this cocoon. Moreover, I once again surveyed my surroundings as soon as I was freed from the cocoon.

    ¡¸¡­ Yes.¡¹

    I didn''t see that Arachne. Instead, I saw a few simr cocoons hanging down around me. Looking at the ck limbs sticking out of those cocoons, it seems the arachne was normally preying on Goma. Well, those fools would be just the right prey for Arachne.

    <i>Oops, I have to escape from this ce ASAP, but jumping down from this ce is just¡­¡­¡­.</i>

    ¡¸Haa, never have I felt this grateful for having ¡ºck Hair Bind¡».¡¹

    That skill had long since be my lifeline. It helped me in various situations and it wasn''t an overstatement to say that the all-purpose curse, the ¡ºck Hair Bind, was the shaman¡¯s main weapon.

    See that! I could easily descend from that elevation with this skill!<ul><li></li></ul>

    ¡¸Haah¡­ S-So tired¡­.¡¹

    After a horror filled descent with the ck hair bind, I finally tasted the joy of stepping back on solid ground.

    No matter how excellent my control over the ck hair bind, it wasn''t as if I could descend like the special forces in movies. It was an extremely dangerous feat since I was only using one thick ck hair braid to climb down to the ground. I made it stuck to the ground to stabilize my body during the descent and¡­¡­

    <i>Bingo!</i>

    Inded, safe and sound, just before running out of fuel.

    <i>Haah, my training up till now didn''t go to waste.</i>

    I stabilized my breath first before escaping from that ce immediately. I would be killed for sure if that arachne captured me again.

    ¡¸I guess I have to understand my current position first.¡¹

    I followed the direction given by the magic circle. My current objective was to get as far away as possible from this ce. Summoning Rem again meant that I had to waste her previous rare materials. Her abilities would be just average if I didn¡¯t use any materials during her creation process.

    I had to reach the Fairy za for the time being, even if its location was far from my current location so that I could make some preparations.

    ¡¸KISHIKISHI.¡¹

    My heart almost stopped when I heard that sounde from the other side of the green thickets. Or rather, it was beating really loudly right now.

    That sound¡­ Don''t tell me it found out about my escape already! ?

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸!!!!! ? ¡¹

    Without even trying to hide its presence, it appeared from the other side of the thickets.

    It was¡­¡­ Not the arachne, it was another spider. Should I call it, Spider-like monster now?

    Though it was one size smaller than the arachne, it was still impossibly big for a bug. Even though it only stood as tall as my waist, its legs were around two metres long.

    In terms of appearances, it was simr to a huntsman spider, and had brown and green specks all over its body which might be the result of its adaptation to this dome forest.

    The eight eyes of this neer spider were looking at me.

    ¡¸¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»! ¡¹

    ¡¸SHAAAAAA! ¡¹

    I drew first blood in this battle.

    No time to worry about running or fighting. I threw a¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡», a made with ckhair bind. There was no way to escape or fight if I didn''t seal my opponent''s movements first.

    Even this spider took me as an easy prey. Yellow liquid was overflowing from its mouth as it fired its thich spider threat. But, fortunately, it missed its target because my ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡» was blocking its field of vision.

    The attack thatbined the spider¡¯s yellow liquid and its thick thread hit a thick branch instead of me, and sliced through it as if it were tofu, apanied by sizzling sounds. The yellow liquid was a powerful acid, it seemed. I would be reduced to bone if I got hit by that, no, I might actually be able to survive thanks to my¡ºVessel of Poison¡». But, like hell I''m gonna test that kind of suicidal idea in the middle ofbat.

    There¡¯s no way I could run without that guy shooting its acid treated thread from behind. I had to defeat this guy right there.

    ¡¸TAKE THIS! ¡¹

    Unsheating the Red Knive, I activated ck Hair Bind to tie the spider and jumped on its back. It was its first debut in a long while ever since my battle against Higuchi.

    ¡¸SHAO! ¡¹

    I plunged the red hot knive de into the face of Ashidaka[Spider]. It was a perfectly timed attack as I was using my tentacles to better control the knife. I noticed that the battle went somewhat smoothly for once. And, bam, Inded a critical hit!

    ¡¸SHAAAA! KISHAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The me inside the Red Knive burned the Ashidaka from the inside. The me seemed to have burned its brain as it started to convulse and then toppled with its long and thin legs still twitching for a while before itpletely stopped moving.

    ¡¸T-Thank god¡­. It ended in just one attack¡­.¡¹

    Thank god I rushed to attack the Ashidaka instead of running away. For some reason, it felt like mybat ability soared a little bit.

    <i>Nonono, this isn''t the time to feel happy about it.</i>

    I¡¯d be checkmated if there were two of these Ashidaka instead of one. Looking around I noticed ¨C fromrge rocks to the roots of giant trees, this area seems to have a lot of undtion, which meant that the spiders could run faster than me. Or better said, they''d be faster than me even on level ground, on this kind of unleveled ground I had no chance.

    Maybe I could improvise some kind of traps, but I don''t think hastily made traps could hinder those spiders.

    ¡¸Nonono, there¡¯s gotta be a better way¡­.. Yes this guy, let''s try it on this one.¡¹

    I suppress the impulse to leave this ce as soon as possible and went toward the corpse of the Ashidaka I just killed a while ago.

    ¡¸Yeah, it''s already dead.¡¹

    It''s body was charred from head to toe, it''s corpse alreadypletely stiff with its long legs rounded up.

    <i>Yes, if the corpse is that of an enemy, then I should be able to use it.</i>

    ¡¸I celebrate your death with a curse upon your shell. In ck Blood. Meat of mud. Head only empty . That shell contains a soul no more, but a false heart of dregs impure. Crawl,e out, resurrect¨D¨D¡ºCorpse Doll Of Resentment¡».¡¹

    ¡ºCorpse Doll of Resentment¡»£ºClosing the crevice of regret, moving only its body, a human form of love and hate.

    Yes, this is the new type of curse that was created after I used Rem to possess Masaru''s corpse. In a literal sense, it was the curse that manipted corpses.

    Rather, it was already beyond the realm of curse. This was basic Necromancy.

    ¡¸¡­ Yup, I win this bet.¡¹

    Simr to when I created the ydoll, the ckish shadow of chaos appeared. But, instead of sinking the corpse under the mud of chaos, the ck mud enveloped the corpse as if slowly encroaching on it until itpletely covered the whole body.

    A while after the ck mud enveloped the corpse, it started to fall as if washed by water and¡ª The corpse started to move again.

    ¡¸KISHIKISHIKISHI.¡¹

    The mutated Ashidaka¡¯s body color changed from forest camouge to dark city camouge and quickly turned its body right side up, raising a cry towards me. I knew the meaning of that cry. It wasn''t a threat but a pledge of allegiance.

    ¡¸Just in case, your inside is Rem, right? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI! ¡¹

    Its body shook up and down as if it said yes.

    I see now, it was just like with ydoll MK.2, the one in control was Rem.

    ¡¸So Rem, is your body still on the move? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI! ¡¹

    ¡¸Rem, Do you know my whereabouts? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI! ¡¹

    ¡¸You''re heading in my direction? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI! ¡¹

    ¡¸I see then, could it be that¡­. Randou-san and the others areing with you? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    She replied with a sad voice. No, well, I understood their reason but, she told me that the others weren¡¯ting with her.

    ¡¸I understand, well I guess the first thing to do is to meet with your real avatar. Where should I go? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI! ¡¹

    Ahidaka Rem turned around as if to say "Leave it to me". Could it be that you want me to get on your back?

    Well, your back might be wide enough for someone as small as me. Since she was such a big spider monster, threading the path with around 45 kilogram of weight on her back shouldn''t be a problem.

    ¡¸Alright then, Let''s¨D¨D GWUOAAAA! ? ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    As soon as I got on the back of Ashidaka Rem, she departed vigorously. Her eight thin and long legs were moving as they made rustling sounds, passing by the undtions in the forest at unbelievable speeds.

    ¡¸UWAAA, THIS IS A LITTL¨D¨D WUOOAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    I had no choice but to cling on to Ashidaka Rem''s back as if my life depended on it.

    <i>Rem, can you stop for a minute?</i>

    I felt¡­ Sick.

 Chapter 106: Thread Users Showdown I

    Chapter 106: Thread User''s Showdown I

    ¡¸Haa¡­. Haa¡­.¡¹

    After escaping from the forest that became the den of the Arachne, we finally entered a familiar stony passage. Ashidaka Rem had finally stopped after a long period of running at top speed.

    ¡¸Rem¡­ Please don''t run like that again¡­..¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI¡­¡¹

    Feeling that I was angry at her, she folded her legs andid her body on the ground as if slumping down. I also felt the shine of her eight red eyes dulled quite a bit.

    Come to think of it, this was the first time I rebuked Rem. Since Rem seemed to have her own soul, it was no wonder that she felt distraught after being scolded by her master who raised her.

    The fact that she felt that way about me made her even cuter in my eyes, even if her current form was that of a ghastly ck Ashidaka spider.

    ¡¸Basically, you just need to follow my instructions when I''m riding on your back. But, I''ll leave the decision to you if we''re attacked by Monsters. I trust you Rem, that''s why I can leave you to protect my back.¡¹

    But that was natural, she was a servant that I created after all. As long as my opponent wasn¡¯t a cheat with domination abilities who could enve everything on sight, Rem would never betray me.

    ¡¸KISHAA, SHAAAAA! ¡¹

    Regaining her motivation, Rem raised a lively warcry. Uhm, well it might look like I''m being threatened by a monster spider but, I guess she just raised a joyful cry.

    ¡¸Well then, let''s get going.¡¹

    ¡¸SHAA! ¡¹

    We continued our journey after I got on her back again, apanied by the rustling sounds of Rem''s long legs.

    Come to think of it¡­ This Rem avatar was surprisingly versatile.

    Even though so many things happened, one after another, I managed to advance into the dungeon until this point. There was a time when I went solo, there was a time when I was hugging Mei-chan''s thigh and there was a time when I was surrounded by the beauties of 2-7. From those experiences, I have to say that walking through the dungeon was awfully tiring. Finding out that there was no need for me to walk on my own feet made me feel that this skill of mine was another kind of cheat.

    ¡¸W-What an amazing¡­. cker skill.¡¹

    I bet this is the kind of emotion that people who tamed horses for the first time in history felt. I felt the true wonder of vehicles for the first time in my life as we advanced at moderate speed.

    ¡¸SHAA.¡¹

    After we left the rocky passage, Rem¡¯s legs stopped as soon as we entered the next forest dome.

    ¡¸What''s the matter? ¡¹

    ¡¸SHASHA.¡¹

    It seems we encountered another demon.

    I descended from Rem''s back at once and unsheathe my red knife. I didn¡¯t hear any sound, but somehow the rm in my head kept ringing.

    ¡¸BUGOOOOOO! ¡¹

    The demon that was sensed by Rem beforehand appeared in the next moment. It didn¡¯t have any intention to hide its presence when hunting its prey so it directly charged towards our direction while raising a boar-like roar. The ground trembled with each of its steps.

    ¡¸It''s a great boar! ¡¹

    At a nce, the assant was nothing more than a boar with arge and stout stature and a light brown fur. Its ck hoofs were simr to the material that was given to me by Tendou that I used to construct Rem''s legs.

    Despite its huge size, this Great Boar wasn¡¯t a boss monster. Its stature was a characteristic of its race. However, I couldn''t let my guard down since the boar¡¯s ordinary rush attack was enough to break my bones. And this great boar had not only two, but four tusks. A weak shaman like me would turn into mincemeat the moment I was hit by its charge.

    ¡¸We''re going to counter with threads. Rem, match my movements!

    ¡¸KISHAAAAA! ¡¹

    It was basically a sitting duck if it kept rushing in a straight line. Moreover, now I also had Ashidaka Rem who could use acid threads like my¡ºRedhair Twine¡». The two of us would be able to sto¨D¨D

    ¡¸BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ¡¹

    ¡¸!!!!! ? ¡¹

    Oh crap. Both my ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»and Rem''s yellow acid threads were barely working on the great boar. It charged through the waves of our thread attack without taking any particr damage due to the effect of its rush.

    ¡¸KISHAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaaa! ¡¹

    We were blown back senselessly by the great boar¡¯s charge.

    Or so I thought, but Rem realized the danger immediately and threw me outside the collision course to save my life.

    That was a close call. Even if the great boar was charging like an idiot, I shouldn''t forget the fact that my opponent wasn''t a program but a living being who lived in this alternate reality. Being thrown to the side sent me off the course of that rush.

    I wasn''t too sure about my ability to dodge such a charge unless I had power and mobility rivaling those of ¡ºKnights¡» or ¡ºWarriors¡».

    ¡¸BUGO, FUGOO! ¡¹

    Since both I and Rem managed to dodge that charge at the veryst second, the great boar stopped its charge after a while and then turned around to charge at me again.

    <i>Holy crap! I won¡¯t be able to dodge its next charging attack. I have to stop that boar no matter what.</i>

    But what the hell could I use to stop that pig? I was almost convinced that it could go through the¡ºRotten Bog¡» without any issue. And worst of all, it¡¯s solid ck hooves would most likely be tough enough to withstand the acid bog. No, I was wrong, If I used ¡ºVile Mud Doll¡»,¡­. Fuck, this n wais no good too¡­ I mean Rem''s body was made out of mud, she wasn''t that powerful.

    Ahh, FUCK, FUCK. Even though I was a little bit stronger than before, I realized that my power was nothingpared to the powerful.

    ¡¸BUGOOOOOO! ¡¹

    W-WAIT A FUCKING MINUTEEE, I''VE YET TO DECIDE MY PLAN!

    Well it wasn¡¯t like this monster was going to stop its attack no matter how loud I screamed in my heart.

    ¡¸KISHAAAAA! ¡¹

    Rem raised a war cry as she jumped in front of me to protect me by bing my meat shield. However, she most likely would be mincemeat due to the weight difference between her and the great boar. That would mean I had to sacrifice her in vain.

    ¡¸AAAH GODDAMNIT¡­ I GUESS I REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO USE THAT FUCKING SKILL!¡¹

    I had no choice but to use every curse at my disposal even if that might end up in failure.

    ¡¸Spread, ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    I threw a pebble which had my blood on its surface and the pebble expanded a few meters in front of me. That pebble was only a makeshift mark for my curse but, it was better than nothing.

    Even when it saw the eerily boiling bog in front of it, the great boar didn''t even try to slow down. Well, it was natural for the great boar to be so confident about its pration power. [ED: ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)]

    Well then, from here on out was the real deal. I had to rely on thebat experiences I umted untill now.

    ¡¸Curse thy body, it shall fell into endless fever¨D¨D¡ºRed Fever¡»¡¹

    I''ve chanted its full aria since this guy had been neglected by me for a long time. My current priority was to shift that great boar¡¯s trajectory.

    Unfortunately, I had yet to find out the effect of the Red Fever.

    Anyway, this strike would decide everything. One misstep and I could kiss my life goodbye.

    ¡¸HIYAAAAH£¡ ¡¹

    I threw my Red Knive that was tied with ck hair bind like a pitcher in baseball manga. My aim was the great boar¡¯s left foot.

    ¡¸BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ¡¹

    HELL YEAH, IT''S A STRIKE!

    Instead of its left foot, I hit its left shoulder with my red knife, who¡¯s mes burned furiously roasting it. However, the great boar kept charging forward ignoring its roasted shoulder as if to show its pride, leaving only around ten meters between us.

    I needed another push to stop that boar.

    ¡¸GOOOO! ¡ºReverse Dance Butterfly¡»£¡ ¡¹

    I held plenty of the oinment A that I kept as an emergency stock. I used it all as the catalyst for this curse. The shining butterflies that were flying in packs were rushing towards the charging great boar.

    ¡¸PUGIIIIIIIIIII! ? ¡¹

    As soon as they touched the wound made by my red knife, the excruciating pain stopped the charge of the great boar. I jumped as far as possible to my left as I heard the great boar¡¯s anguished cry.

    Unable to endure the pain inflicted by the¡ºReverse Dance Butterfly] effect, the great boar fell on its left side as its momentum carried it forward. And since its charging trajectory shifted a bit, I managed to dodge the great boar¡¯s body in time.

    ¡¸¨D¨D YEAH, WE DID IT! ¡¹

    I leaped in joy after confirming the fall of the great boar. I mean I really had to dodge or that guy¡¯s body was still gonna crash on me.

    But man, the effect of [Reverse Dance Butterfly is ruthless, not only inflicting pain upon hit but also amplifying the damage dealt to the wound. It left the great boar copsed and desperately tried to stand on its ttering feet.

    Like hell I was going to miss this big of a chance when that guy was standing still like a sitting duck.

    ¡¸LET''S DO IT, REM! ¡ºck Hair Bind¡»! ¡¹

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The moment I held down the great boar that was trying to stand up again with my ck Hair Bind, Rem sprung in its direction.

    Ashidaka Rem spat her acid thread, coiling it around the great boar''s body and proceeded to bite the great boar¡¯s head with her sharp teeth.

    After that, the great boar was furiously rampaging in its dying breath as if in pain due to the thread coiling around its body¡­ Nevertheless, both me and Rem had no intention to let go of our prey.

    ¡¸¡­Haaah, Haah¡­. Did it¡­Finally die?¡¹

    I''ve lost count of how long I''ve sealed the great boar¡¯s movements. After writhing in pain for a while, it had finally breathed itsst breath.

    ¡¸KISHAA! ¡¹

    Rem climbed on top of the corpse of the great boar and raised a war cry despite her mouth being filled with our enemies¡¯ blood.

    ¡¸That was really a close call¡­ Yeah, going solo is too dangerous for me after all.¡¹

    If my memories served me right, this great boar was just a small fry who could be defeated by Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san when they got too bored. Nevertheless, like hell I could make an excuse like "The affinity between me and my opponent is the worst" in this dungeon.

    It would be a walk in the park for me to kill such a great boar if I were strong enough. I knew that asking for power which could rival an area boss was just too much, thus I would be satisfied with power that was strong enough to rival these normal monsters.

    The current me was quite powerfulpared to the earlier stages of this dungeon but¡­ Yup, a solo yer shaman was in fact like facing against a mid-boss of an RPG in nightmare mode at level 1.

    ¡¸Oh god, anyone is fine, please just let me find somerades to form a party with as soon as possible.¡¹

    Yes, anyone but Yokomichi. That shitty, homicidal maniac is a no go, that guy isn''t even human anymore, he was closer to a Gomast time I saw him.

    ¡¸Rem, Let''s hurry up to the next area.¡¹

    Guess I''ve no choice but to give up on the core of this great boar. I don''t know what kind of monsters woulde after us if we stayed in this ce that was reeking of blood.

    ¡¸SHAAAA! ¡¹

    Rem''s cry wasn''t a reply to me¡­. Oh man, why the hell do those demons keeping at me one after another! ?

    ¡¸Rem, enemy position! ¡¹

    My old dull sixth sense once again let me down. This ce was looking like nothing more than a calm forest and yet¡­

    ¡¸KISHAAA! ¡¹

    Rem fired her thread instead of replying. Naturally she wasn''t aiming for me, her acid thread shower was shooting upward, spread in all directions.

    ¡¸!!!!! ? ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»! ¡¹

    Because something came again right when I let down my guard, I reflexively fired web-type ck hair bind in the direction Rem pointed at and¨D¨D It coiled against the pure white thread.

    ¡¸W-WAAAAAAAAAAH! ¡¹

    Panicked, I ran to hide below the shades of the tree as fast as possible. The spiderweb was falling slowly as it struck the white thread. The lump of that white thread fell on the ground in front of me, along with the appearance of the ambusher.

    ¡¸KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The one who raised a hysterical roar was a being with the lower-half of a spider and the upper-half of human.

    ¡¸Arachne¡­ So it was chasing after me.¡¹

    Though I couldn''t recognize the differences between arachne faces, I didn''t think they were simr to Goma, which you could easily find loitering all over the ce. It somehow found out about my escape.

    ¡¸KISHISHI, KISHI, KISHIKISHIKISHI.¡¹

    Even though its ambush had failed, this guy still chose toe from the front since it was quite confident of its own strength. Alternatively, it simply didn¡¯t want to let go of any prey that they caught once before.

    ¡¸Guess I have no choice but to defeat you.¡¹

    It easily caught up with us even though Ashidaka Rem ran at its top speed. The Arachne''s mobility was terrifying. In addition, it was also proficient in tracking down an escaped prey.

    Well since I already escaped from the Arachne but it still managed to find me, I guess my only option was to defeat it.

    ¡¸Bring it on you bastard! I''ll make you regret your decision of chasing after me! ¡¹

    Since I had nowhere to run, I loudly challenged the arachne to attack me.

 Chapter 107: Thread Users Showdown II

    Chapter 107: Thread User''s Showdown II

    We were moving at almost the same time. The thing we were shooting out was thread.

    The Thread was the Arachne, Rem and my main weapon after all. Thus, our fight was a thread''s battle. Thus our fight was a battle that hung from a thread.

    Our current formation was me in the front, Rem in the back while the Arachne was situated in the middle. We made full use of our advantage of outnumbering the Arachne, two against one, as we simultaneously attacked. I fired ¡ºSpiderweb''s Twine¡» meanwhile Rem released her acid spray.

    ¡¸Shit! As expected of an expert thread user.¡¹

    Even with us ganging up on the Arachne from both the back and front, it still easily defended itself against our attacks.Moreover, it was able to still counterattack on top of defending itself.

    The Arachne didn¡¯t just fire thread from its butt, it could even shoot out its thread from both its mouth and each of its hands. While Rem''s thread was entangled with the bundle of thread that it had shot out from its bottom, my¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»was warded off with both of its hands, it then attacked me by shooting its sticky thread from its mouth.

    . As soon as I fired my spiderweb twine, I ran in the opposite direction and took shelter behind a looming tree. When the Arachne fired thread from its mouth, the thread hit the tree instead, enveloping a majority of the trunk and part of my hand

    At that moment, I used my Red Knife to untangle my sealed hands. Fortunately, the bundle of thread wasn¡¯t too big, otherwise, my body would¡¯ve beenpletely enveloped by the released lump of thread too.

    However, the Red Knife was the only reason I could easily cut the thread, or rather, it melted it, a normal knife would¡¯ve simply stuck due to the thread¡¯s viscosity. What a close call! I mean, depending on the equipment, the Arachne might¡¯ve insta-killed me if I wasn¡¯t using the Red Knife.

    ¡¸KISHAAA, SHAAAA¡ª! ¡¹

    While I was busy trying to escape from the Arachne''s thread, Rem was distracting the enemy from me. She kept firing her thread while quickly weaving through the forest¡¯s foliage.. Rather than aiming to attack the Arachne, it seemed more like Rem was solely focused on attracting its attention away from me.

    As expected of my Rem, she really understood her role. Even if the both of them have different bodies, their shared soul showed its advantage during times like these since their knowledge and experiences were also shared.

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    However, the Arachne saw through Rem''s n and didn''t move an inch from its ce. Instead, it fired a long, albine thread with the elegance of a thread master.

    It fired a lump of thread from its butt which was aimed at Rem, who was currently moving around. When the Arachne stuck out its hands, the thread fired from its fingers entwined between the trees and then formed a huge, it acted as a makeshift shield. On ount of this, none of Rem''s acid threads managed to reach the Arachne.

    Maybe because it was only for emergency, but the Arachne had ceased to shoot thread from its mouth.

    Upon seeing that the thread in its mouth was for emergency use, I could tell that rather than a mere wild demon, the Arachne''sbat style was closer to humans. Though imperfect, its deformed upper-half that resembled a human¡¯s figure might have influenced itsbat style.

    Rem would be in grave danger if I didn''t assist her soon.

    ¡¸Entwine its escape, with weaving hair ¨D¡ºck Hair Bind¡»¡¹

    Now that the Arachne¡¯s focus was on Rem, this was my chance to use ¡ºck Hair Bind¡» in a frontal attack. Bundles of ck hair that I casted with a mystic chant rose from the ground in front of the Arachne.

    Though there was a problem with its durability, it was better to use the maximum output to entangle the Arachne''s feet, preventing it from moving it too much

    ¡¸KISHI, KYOAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    The Arachne raised a startling cry when the hair that suddenly grew from the ground wrapped around its feet. My actions brought the brunt of the Arachne¡¯s focus back on me. It then turned around to face me while raising both of its hands.

    ¡¸REM, NOW! BITE IT! ¡¹

    After saying this, I wielded the Red Knife in my right hand and a normal knife in my left hand. I charged towards Arachne. However, since the Arachne''s mouth and hands were still free, I threw my knives which I was originally using for defense, towards it.

    It couldn''t cope with Rem, who was charging to attack from behind. Since I had sealed both its feet and abdomen with the ck Hair Bind, the Arachne''s thread on its bottom was sealed. Thankfully, Rem wasn¡¯t stupid, she was just going to crash if she kept blindly charging forward like that.

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    Rem dashed on the ground and then leaped while baring her fangs towards Arachne''s defenseless back. By the time the Arachne realized that it couldn¡¯t use the thread that came from its bottom, both of its hands were upied with catching my throwing knives. The knives which were stuck in the weaved in between the Arachne''s fingertips wouldn''t easilye out. Also, I hadalready made sure that my ck hair bind couldn''t be undone that easily.

    This was enough. No matter how I looked at it, the Arachne didn''t strike me as the type that excelled in closebat. It should have a hard time shaking Rem who was about to bite its back. As long as Rem managed to cling on to the Arachne, I would be able to use ck Hair Bind to seal its movements even further.

    Let''s do this¨Dor so I thought¡­ My n failed the very next moment.

    ¡¸KI-SHAAAAAAAAA¡¹

    Rem¡¯s body was suddenly torn in half, as easily as a piece of damp paper. The diagonal cut across her body made it appear as if she was in by an expert martial artist.

    Rem''s body was struck the moment the tip of her toes had touched the Arachne''s back.

    The bluish-purple stream that suddenly spurted out from her cross-section arced through the air before making an awful pool of blood on the forest floor.The drop of purplish blood suddenly fell from where it was suspended in mid-air.

    It fell on a line so thin that it was almost invisible to the naked eye, which was connected to the Arachne''s bottom.

    This single thin line had the durability and sharpness of a steel wire. Despite its appearance, It was strong enough to slice another demon in half.

    ¡¸Goddamm*t¡­ It lured us in so that it could make a pincer attack right from the very beginning¡­¡¹

    This was the reason that the Arachne didn''t budge at all huh¡­

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    The Arachne was nowughing at our failure. It then fired another wire simr to the one that had split Rem''s body in two, from both of its hands. The wires entwined around my ck Hair Bind which grew from its shadow on the ground. A whileter, the snapping sounds of my ck Hair Bind resounded in the vicinity.

    ¡¸Oh crap, I''m royally screwed now¡­¡¹

    The Arachne''s mastery over its thread clearly surpassed my mastery of ¡ºck Hair Bind¡». Whether it was quality, quantity, or ease of use, the only factor that allowed my ck Hair Bind to surpassed it was the fact that my ability coulde out the opponent¡¯s shadow.

    The only way for me to have an actual chance at victory was to fight the monster head on and finish the battle as soon as possible.

    ¡¸DAMM*T, ¡ºROTTEN BOG¡»! ¡¹

    I won¡¯t give up.

    In desperation, I tried to activate ¡ºRotten Bog¡» as a distraction to release my ¡ºReverse Dance Butterfly¡». This was the tactic that I had devised, but just when I was about to throw the stone which was smeared with my blood to create the rotten bog, it was seized by a thread. The stone swayed in the air as it swung in arc towards the Arachne.

    ¡¸KISHISHIKISHIKISHI¡¹

    It made a triumphantugh after it managed to recollect its escaped prey. The thread started to wind around my body again, while itughed in the same way as when it had captured me before.

    ¡¸DAMM*T, DAMM*T ALL! ¡¹

    It went as far as tangling its thread around my arms and body alternately, making sure that I couldn''t move even an inch. Even if both my legs could move, they were just wildly pping right now. I was pulled along the ground towards the monster as I made an unsightly, desperate struggle for my life.

    Finally, I arrived under the Arachne.

    ¡¸KISHI, SHAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡¹

    ¡¸HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! ¡¹

    The Arachne opened its mouth that was filled with rows of sharp-jagged teeth slightly above my head. I could smell the hot, rank breath panted on my face..

    I was positive that it was going to kill me instead of paralyzing me likest time, probably because of my escapade antics.

    I might be able to take this monster along with me to the grave by using the¡ºPain Return¡» technique as long as I''m killed in one hit, but¡­ LIKE HELL I''M GONNA DIE WITH THIS F*CKING SPIDER!

    Nevertheless, this was the end for me, I didn''t have any tricks left to ¨D

    ¡¸KISHI, GIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Suddenly, a sharp de protruded from the Arachne''s chest.

    Someone had stabbed it from behind.

    Who was it? No¡­ I could already tell who my savior was just by a brief nce the make of the de.The de that pierced through the Arachne''s chest was simr to the Knight Mantis¡¯ scythe.

    ¡¸REM!¡¹

    ¡¸GUGOGO, GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Screeching a frightening warcry, Rem continuously stabbed the ArachneIn a fell swoop, she brought the de down over the Arachne¡¯s head, decapitating it. After receiving such a fatal wound, the monster¡¯s lifeless body stumbled back and forth briefly before staggering to the ground.. Huh, it seemed its blood was also red.

    ¡¸Ha~¡­ Thanks a lot, Rem, you really saved me there¡­..¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA.¡¹

    Appearing from behind the Arachne''s corpse was Rem Mk I, human type. Even though her kamakiri de was stored, it didn¡¯t lessen her appeal-I still thought that she was so cool.

    ¡¸Nice job finding me¡­ No, I bet you found my location from Ashidaka Rem, right?¡¹

    It seemed that Rem had increased her pace as soon as she noticed that Ashidaka Rem was defeated, this was how she managed to arrive just in the nick of time.

    ¡¸Anyway¡­ I guess we¡¯re safe for the time being.¡¹

    Not only have I defeated the Arachne who was chasing after me, I also reunited with Rem Mk I, my greatestbat asset. With this change of events, I guess I¡¯ve fulfilled the minimum requirement to solo this dungeon.

    ¡¸Well, the next thing to do is¡­¡¹

    I would¡¯ve left this ce immediately, but I still had something to do before leaving.

    Just look! The Arachne''s corpse is still here, right? I should recycle it. I''m an eco-friendly person after all.

    ¡¸Ooo¡­. I actually pulled it off so easily.¡¹

    My fear ultimately ended up as needless anxiety as I easily recycled Arachne''s corpse into one of my weapons,¡ºCorpse Doll Resentment¡».

    Sections of its wasp-like ck and yellow stripes had turned purple like the bloated and bruised skin of the undead. Otherwise, there was no notable change in the state of the Arachne¡¯s corpse. It was as if it was kept in a gruesome stasis, it remained as it was. The main difference between the Corpse Doll and the ydoll was the fact that the corpse doll used the corpse of a living being as the main material for its construction. In the final step of the process, only the outer color differed between the two.

    In short, the corpse¡¯s ability and appearance was simr in both cases..

    ¡¸KISHAAA! ¡¹

    As if answering my feelings, Arachne Rem showed off the numerous spider thread skills that the Arachne had exhibited in thest battle. She could spew thread from her mouth, knit the thread that was fired from her fingers into aplex in the blink of an eye, and of course, use the sharp steel wire that yed Ashidaka Rem previously.

    ¡¸Upon observing it more closely, I have to admit- it¡¯s an amazing skill. Could I¡­ replicate that skill?¡¹

    It began with me braiding ¡ºckhair Bind¡». I followed that feat up by inventing ¡ºRedhair Twine¡»and after that, I created the skill called ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡». ¡ºckhair Bind¡» was usually my first choice of attack. Until now, it had never let me down. In that case, I might be able to unleash tentacles of steel wires or adhesive thread, depending on my training.

    In my opinion the most significant factor that influenced learning a new skill was the avability of a first hand demonstration. As long as I had a strong idea of how the magic appeared, it was the foundation to turn the magic into reality.

    Luckily, I had the best sample to study- Arachne Rem. Watching her use all of the spider thread skills would greatly aid my special training. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until I arrived in the next fairy za. After all, I couldn¡¯t train in this kind of ce.

    I needed to depart immediately but a pressing matter emerged in my mind. There was something I needed to confirm.

    ¡¸Tell me Rem, could it be those are¡­.¡¹

    Two weapons were partially visible from their position on Rem¡¯s back. When I expressed my curiosity, Rem readily unsheathed the weapons and showed them to me.

    ¡¸As I thought, it actually is Nonomiya-san''s spear. And this¡­Yoshizaki-san''s axe.¡¹

    There was no way I could forget these weapons. They had saved me from the brink of death countless times. Despite only fighting together for a short while, we had gone through a lot together. Memories of helping Randou-san level up and fighting side by side, trying our utmost to survive the undergroundke siege shed through my mind. Indeed, these weapons belonging to myrades were almost as familiar as my own.

    ¡¸Was this the farewell gift they left for me?¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA.¡¹

    Rem nodded solemnly. Currently, she couldn¡¯t talk and exin the situation at length but, the gravity behind her gestures conveyed all I needed to know.

    In that situation, their decision to consider me dead and not pursue me was the best choice at the time. Although I did feel bad about it, the rational part of me knew I couldn¡¯t me them. Their logic was clear and faultless.

    I wasforted by the fact that everyone tried to help Rem in any way possible when she chose to chase after me. I mean, both Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san went so far as to give their favourite weapon to Rem. It was a big deal and I could clearly sense their attachment to me.

    ¡¸GA, GOGO.¡¹

    Rem caught my attention after speaking up. She took a round package out from the bag, its covering was coarse cloth.

    ¡¸There¡¯s more?¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA.¡¹

    ¡¸Is this package from Randou-san?¡¹

    ¡¸GA¡¹

    What? No? That would mean¡­this gift is from Tendou-kun. I looked at the package quizzically. What in the world would he give me?

    ¡¸Uwaaa! ? ¡¹

    I slowly unwrapped the cloth, peeling backyers of wrappings to eventually reveal a human skull. I fumbled around like a failing juggler as I nearly dropped it due to my utter shock.

    ¡¸T-That surprised me, why did he give me this sku¨D¨D¡¹

    The description was suddenly illuminated, zing in the air in a bright text. The timing was surprising, as if someone had read my mind.

    ¡ºSummoner''s Skull¡»£ºThe skull of someone who was gifted with the ¡ºSummoner¡» vocation.

    ¡¸<i>Gasp!</i> ? N-No way, this is¡­.¡¹

    I realized at once that wasn''t a skeleton''s head when I checked it with Pharmacy Intuition. In fact, it was apletely different skull. ording to the information from my Pharmacy Intuition, this skull might belong to¡­one of my ssmates.

    Since it had stated ¡°Gifted with a summoner vocation¡±, there wasn¡¯t a shadow of doubt in my mind. Tendou-kun had killed one of our ssmates. That was the only way he could have gotten his hands on such an object.

    Tendou-kun wouldn¡¯t have sent the skull if it was the only reminder of a fallenrade. He definitely would have kept it instead. The skull was likely one of his many loots, it was a perfect gift considering the eerie nature of my vocation- Shaman.

    ¡¸But¡­how in the world do I use this thing?¡¹

    Somehow, I felt that using it as some of Rem¡¯s construction materials was a waste. There was a better, more effective use for the skull. ording to my Pharmacy Intuition, the skull could be used for another curse, which I had yet to learn. My skill level was still too low. I grit my teeth in frustration as my nails dug angry crescent shaped indents into the flesh of my palm.

    I would reach there eventually, but for now, the human skull was nothing more than a creepy item stocked in my inventory. Although.. Tendou might have had a different idea when he gave the skull to Rem.

    Well, seeing that Tendou-kun wasn¡¯t here, it wasn¡¯t as if I could guess his intentions. Doing all I could for now, I kept the skull of my ssmate who had be a summoner.

    ¡¸And, what about Randou-san''s?¡¹

    ¡¸GAG, GO, GUGAGA!¡¹

    It seemed that Rem had saved the best forst. I would be a little disappointed- no, I¡¯d be really sad if she didn¡¯t give me any farewell gift, I admitted to myself. Naturally I¡¯d feel this way since I felt the closest with her amongst the members of the entire party. I didn¡¯t care what exactly the gift was-only the thought behind the act of giving it. I would be happy receiving the most trivial of trinkets, like a ballpoint pen or an eraser as long as it came from Randou-san. All that mattered were the feelings behind an action.

    ¡¸GOGAGAAA!¡¹

    She made a noise simr to Dora£ªemon as she took the object out from inside her bag. Only to reveal¡­a cloth?

    I received the cloth from Rem, expecting it to be a handkerchief. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I unfurled it to reveal a bold leopard pattern that impressed a wild charm. Moreover, the cloth wasn¡¯t exactly the square handkerchief I had expected¡­ it had more of a triangle shape. What the heck am I going on about ? It¡¯s basically looks like P¨D¨D

    ¡¸<i>UWAAH</i>, C-Could it be A-A-A-A <i>PANTIES</i>!! Moreover¡­ <i>WHAT OP PANTIES</i>!¡¹

    No matter which angle I observed them from, I was certain. I was 120% sure that it was a <i>PANTY</i>.

    Your support is too overwhelming, Randou-san.

    Seriously, thank you so much. I¡¯m ecstatic due to this gift. Truly¡­ I had not expected such a wonderful present, I¡¯m overjoyed.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Randou-san¡­I''ll definitely survive with this.¡¹

    Randou-san might have realized that I was always eagerly watching her, expecting a panty-shot from under her miniskirt, or maybe she simply thought of me as a man who would feel extremely delighted upon receiving a panty. The thought that she might be goingmando right now popped into my head until I stubbornly shook it off. Let¡¯s set that aside forter.

    Receiving these panties filled me with an overwhelming vigour. Compared to my sluggish attitude before, now I would surely solo this dungeon with ease.

    Thank you very much, Randou-san. Thanks for understanding this male instinct of mine.

    I was only a tad depressed since this pair of panties wasn''t one that was freshly worn.

 Chapter 108: Pot

    Chapter 108: Pot

    Receiving the heartwarming gifts from everyone, I began my solo mission again with courage and vigor. They were not only thoughtful gifts but also pragmatic; useful for survival in the dungeon. Rem the first held Yoshizaki-san¡¯s axe in her hand while Arachne Rem wielded Nonomiya-san¡¯s spear. As for me, I held on tightly to Randou-san¡¯s panties¡­<i>cough</i>, I meant the heavenly treasure hidden in the depths of my bag.

    ¡¸Huh, riding Ashidaka Rem feels better than Arachne Rem.¡¹

    ¡¸KISHI, KYOAAA¡­¡¹

    Although I was overjoyed at the thought of giving my weary feet a rest while riding, I couldn¡¯t exactly getfortable. Since Arachne Rem¡¯s abdomen was rounder than Ashidaka Rem¡¯s, it caused my legs to be syed in a very unfamiliar and ufortable manner. As we passed every bump, my energy seemed to fall a notch. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t have the option to crawl upon Arachne Rem¡¯s abdomen but its spiky and hairy surface put me off the idea immediately.

    ¡¸Well, you don''t need to feel sorry about that, Rem. Anyway, let''s gooo..¡¹

    ¡¸KISHAAA!¡¹

    Thus, Arachne Rem began to stir and advance slowly. As for the Rem the 1st, she was currently leaping around from one tree to another as she cleared the path ahead with her own body which was far sturdier than my own.

    The battle against Arachne might have been myst if not for Rem¡¯s superior mobility. She truly was my saving grace. Thank god that I used the rare materials gifted by Tendou-kun to increase her performance even more.

    Anyway, the journey ahead was a piece of cake now that both Rems had superb mobility.

    ¡¸BUGO, BUGO! BOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    A great boar suddenly charged toward us from behind the thickets.

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸GAGAOOOOOO!¡¹

    Arachne Rem snapped to attention, releasing an extremely adhesive thread that wrapped around the Great Boar¡¯s form and stopped it in tracks, abruptly halting its charge. Motionless, it seems about as harmful as a trussed up chicken. As soon as the boar¡¯s body hit the damp forest floor with a resounding thump, Rem the 1st mercilessly swung down Yoshizaki-san¡¯s great axe to kill it in one blow.

    ¡¸Ooh, thebination of both of the Rems was strong enough to defeat the great boar in one fell sweep.¡¹

    A sense of pride filled every inch of my being as I witnessed Ashidaka Rem and Arachne Rem take down the Great Boar so easily. In the past, it would have taken all of Ashidaka Rem and mybined strength to defeat such a ferocious beast. The coarse haired, meaty flesh parted under Rem¡¯s groping motions. Rem¡¯s hand moved around in the cavity, an obscene squelching noise filling the air, amplified by the forest¡¯s utter silence. Rem triumphantly raised her bloodsoaked hand in victory, fist wrapped tight. Her crimson stained fingers unfurled to reveal the core which rested in her palm, bathed in blood. Oh, Rem. I¡¯m ecstatic that not only has yourbat prowess improved but so have your core extraction skills¡­you really have improved in every area by leaps and bounds.

    ¡¸Even if I''m the only human, the day wille when I''ll a full team of Rems.¡¹

    Thebination of the two Rems, or rather, the two bodies of Rem was truly a match made in heaven. They disposed of these insignificant monsters that had remained a source of trouble all this time, as easily as swatting a fruit fly.

    From the very beginning, thebyrinth was home to hoards of Goma and Red Dog. The forest, enclosed within its giant dome, was also host to a plethora of other monsters such as hopping monkey-like monsters who were ready to tear you to shreds at a moment¡¯s notice. One wrong move and those sharp ws would leave your corpse looking like a torn shirt. Sunshine colored frogs which were anything other than friendly despite their colorful, sunny appearance. They were known to spit paralysing poison at anything that got too close. Of course, you couldn¡¯t forget the small, basilisk-like small lizards who could produce powerful acid. But, those guys were no match for Rem the first and Arachne Rem. I helped them out from the sidelines using various curses like ¡ºckhair Bind¡» to provide supplementary support .

    ¡¸We collected a whole lot of materials huh?¡¹

    Naturally, I stripped as many useful materials as I could from the corpses of those monsters aside from their core. I obtained a number of useful items, from the cadaver of a Goma, I collected usable weapons, and misceneous things such as poison nds, tusks or ws from the other monsters. As for the Great Boar, since my Pharmacy Intuition told me that it was edible and delicious to boot, I cleaned it¡¯s corpse and brought it along. My mouth already began to water as I dreamed of the rich, woody scent of barbeque.

    I bundled the useful materials into a cocoon made by Arachne Rem¡¯s finely spun thread and ced it on her back. Repeating the process on the corpse of the Great Boar, it soon became tightly preserved within the luminescent, white cocoon. Mimicking the manner in which Arachne caught its prey and dragged it along, Arachne Rem let a single thread tether the cocoon to her butt where the thread stemmed from. Although the cocoon appeared to be as fragile as a thin leaf, it was surprisingly durable. The cocoon reminded me of a beautiful, kind girl who suddenly revealed herself to be good at fighting.

    Nevertheless, walking while burdened with such heavy luggage was a hindrance. Even if I wasn¡¯t the one carting such a heavy load, motivated me to reach the nearest fairy za as soon as possible. If the za ended up being very far away, I would ditch the additional items without hesitation. Abandoning such items was a low costpared topromising our speed and stamina.

    ¡¸GA¡¹

    Rem the first, acted as the initial line of defense and went to scout ahead for intel on the enemy¡¯s movements. She quickly doubled back to report the proximity of the enemy forces. I jumped down to the damp forest floor from Arachne Rem¡¯s abdomen. I turned my gaze in the direction that Rem the first was frantically pointing at.

    ¡¸Uwaah! This ce is seriously overflowing with them.¡¹

    I peeked between the gaps in the thicket to glimpse the Goma vige. Situated idyllically beside a river that meandered along a gentle slope, the Goma troops were rxing at the riverside. Lying in the shade near the cool water, some of them were taking a rest. I leaned closer, trying to peer at the rest of the scene withoutpromising my position. The shadows caused by the looming trees partially obscured my line of vision. A group of them was blood-letting to remove any poison that might have been absorbed into the bloodstream and the others were butchering their catches. From the distance, only the silhouette of the prey was visible. From the shape of the prey in the distance, they appeared to be Red Dog, a Monkey-like monster, and a Deer-like monster.

    ¡¸What the bloody hell¡­..<i>.is that?</i>¡¹

    Generally the Goma were short statured, their height about the same as mine. This particr Goma towered over the rest, he was particrly conspicuous, sticking out like a sore thumb among his brethren. That one must be the leader judging by its behavior- the tall Goma lounged around leisurely like a king while barking out orders to its subordinates once in a while.

    ¡¸Aha! Could it be that this tall Goma is the one who turned into a zombie?¡¹

    Though this was the first time I had seen that variant, it seemed strangely familiar somehow. I was sure that I had in fact, seen it around somewhere before I fought a creature of the same variant which was turned into a zombie. That zombie resembled a Goma quite closely, and inspired my hypothesis that a species of tall Goma might exist. Seeing the real deal right in front of my eyes, I couldn¡¯t refute the truth. My suspicion was confirmed to be correct.

    Upon observing more intently, this particr specimen seemed far bulkier than the one who became a zombie. It was probably the leader of the Goma hunting party.

    Anyway, it was clear as day that the Macho Goma was far more powerful and thus, dangerous than the average Goma. I¡¯ll have to keep an eye out for this guy. If possible, I wanted to avoid a confrontation with an enemy that I hadn¡¯t observed before. There was a greater chance of victory or at the very least, survival if you had studied an opponent¡¯s fighting patterns and tactics. Then you knew how to prevent their advantage, mitigate any damage and hunt for their weakness. Since I had to face the Macho Goma either way, it was better to make the best of this situation and keep my head low. I had the element of surprise on my side, since they were currently oblivious to my presence. I intended to keep it that way- they would never see meing. However, the most important thing was to gather fighting experience against such kinds of monsters. After all, who knew if these monsters would appear regrly beyond this point? It was of utmost importance that I be prepared for any situation that I might find myself stuck in. It might be the difference between life and death.

    ¡¸Let''s do this.¡¹

    I gestured for Arachne Rem to make the first move. Out of the three of us, she was most suited for covert action since due to her Arachne form, she was a natural hunter. She would stalk her prey slowly and then enclose it by shooting adhesive thread from a long range so they couldn¡¯t sense her before it was toote.

    There was no way in hell I would go charging into arge open field filled with my enemies and no way out. I would be easy pickings. It was basically an unusable suicide tactic, unless of course, someone is as OP as Tendou-kun.Not me for sure, I thought to myself as I shuddered. That would lead me to death like an innocentmb headed to the ughterhouse. While it didn¡¯t seem to be impossible for Rem the first after her updates, I wanted to y it safe and avoid any unnecessary risks. There were just too many unknowns at this point- I still hadn¡¯t managed to gauge the strength of the Macho Goma properly.

    I¡¯ll leave that beast forter, when I¡¯vepleted all my preparations essential to obtaining victory.

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, the preparation was finallyplete.¡¹

    I ultimately decided to perch on top of the special adhesiveless spiderwebs made by Arachne Rem. The webs created an intricatework that spanned the treetops. I looked at them from above, hidden by the dense foliage of the forest. I mean, why did I need to appear in front of my enemies? It was much smarter to hide in the canopy of the forest and support both of the Rems from behind. This kind of tactic would have infuriated any of my ssmates if I was in their party, none of whom would have hesitated to call me a coward. However, since both Ashidaka Rem and Arachne Rem were my loyal servants, they went along with my n without a murmur of disagreement. In fact, they encouraged me to protect myself as their master.

    ¡¸¨D¨D Spread ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    The battle began, corpses already beginning to litter the forest floor, they appeared like ants from this height. I threw small pebbles smeared scarlet with my blood from the top of the tree. Although my actions seemed deceptively simple, these rocks were dangerous. Though it looked like a mere handful of gravel, the ¡ºRotten Bog¡» spread over arge radius, scattering everywhere until they reached the river banks and the boundary of the forest. Unaware of my actions, those Gomas hadn¡¯t yet noticed the poisonous bog I had formed, since they were too busy fighting the enemy they could see. I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t anticipate another foe, especially one attacking from above!

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Arachne Rem sent a spool of thread shooting from her butt, capturing one of the Gomas working by the river banks. With a sharp twist of her lower half, she used her momentum to throw the Goma directly into the ¡ºRotten Bog¡». The rest of the Goma immediately flew into a panicked frenzy, rmed by the ambush.

    The Goma currently struggling to keep adrift in the acid pool releashed a high-pitched screech which reminded hisrades of its pathetic plight. A swarm of suchrades rushed to help the poor Goma, letting out a bellowing warcry once they spotted Arachne Rem and Rem the first standing along the banks of the Acid pool. Even the Macho Goma grew enraged by the ambush and charged. It wildly swung its sword around in fury, demonstrating to its subordinates that Arachne Rem was the chosen target of their attack.

    ¡¸KISHAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºRedhair Twine¡»¡¹

    Arachne Rem taunted the Gomas who were directly charging towards her by pulling out a thread that she had kept submerged inside the acid pool while I was knitting ¡ºRedhair Twine¡» in the innermost depths of the swamp. She took the acid drenched thread and began using it to whip the Gomas.

    ¡¸NBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸OGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡¹

    The ¡ºRedhair Twine¡» burned the skin of its victims at the slightest of a touch. It caused them to scream in agony and instinctively jerk their afflicted limb back, only for the rope to grow tighter around their appendage. Angry, weeping burns covered an opponent- it wasn¡¯t deadly enough to kill them immediately but it was enough to deprive them of their strength and abilities inbat. It wasn¡¯t a merciful death when it ended, it was a long, drawn-out sensation leading in a pitiable demise.

    Although a group of 5 or 6 Gomas were rendered incapacitated by this strategy, this wasn¡¯t enough to stop the onught of their attack. The acid pool was simply not enough to destroy them all. Rem the first and Arachne Rem quickly realized on their own that the current n wasn¡¯t as effective anymore and thus, retreated to the forest.

    ¡¸ZOBURA, GEBU, BOAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Although I couldn¡¯t understand the crudenguage of the Gomas, I got a feeling that the Macho Goma was yelling something along the lines of ¡¸THOSE BASTARD ARE ESCAPING INTO THE FOREST, CHASE THEM!¡¹ . The Macho Goma headed out the back of the formation while screaming more of the iprehensible Gomanguage savagely.

    Wonderful! It seemed as if they entered the area we had prepared in the forest with spiderweb traps created by Arachne. I was such a gracious host, raised on values of hospitality. Since they were entering our territory now, it would be rude to not give our visitors a WARM AND BLOODY WELCOME right?

    ¡¸MUGO! UGAAAAA!¡¹

    The desperate screeches indicated that one of the foolish Gomas had fallen into a trap that we had set. Following the first scream was the 2nd, and then the 3rd, then a 4th scream resounded- the screams followed after one another as if a tone-deaf choir of desperation was singing. The woods were alight with their cries.

    The Gomas who were attempting to nk both Rem the first and Arachne Rem. Due to my experience fighting alongside both of the Rems, it was obvious to me that they were not running as fast as they were actually capable of. The Gomas in pursuit of the Rems, were fully focused on their targets and were caught by the spiderwebs in front of them. It was their mistake to have such tunnel vision, now they were stuck. It wasn¡¯t a simple matter to escape the multyered, knitted spiderwebs created by Arachne Rem, I would know.

    ¡¸¨D¨D Spread ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    I activated the second rotten bog which was deeper and wider than the first since I had made it using a hexagram that I had prepared beforehand instead of pebbles smeared with my blood. Arachne Rem circled around the rotten bog protectively. Both the sides and the area behind the bog were blocked with a thickyer of spiderwebs which criss-crossed over each other, adding to the barrier¡¯s strength. Finally, Rem the first who was invulnerable to the acid since she was basically made of y, was submerged in the middle of the acid pool. She served as the opposite of a lifeguard, ast measure to make sure not one creature survived. The battle had finished, I thought triumphantly. A smug grin settled itself onto my face.

    ¡¸BAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡¹

    And then, Arachne''s thread pulled its prey into the acid pool while I was busy with manipting ¡ºRedhair Twine¡» to reduce those Gomas¡¯bat prowess.

    Naturally, I wasn¡¯t naive enough to assume that this n was enough to annihte all of the Gomas. There were still so many left. An army of Gomas was still outside both Arachne and my line of fire. I would have to tread a bit more carefully this time. The Gomas gripped their weapons so tightly that their knuckles turned a ghostly white, charging ahead towards before they stopped before the acid pool. The green acid bubbled ferociously, as if it was hungry, yearning for more. Little spittles of acid flew high in the air like res and popped threateningly. The Gomas were clearly hesitant to plunge themselves into the acid pool, however it was the only way to get to us, who had killed so many of its brethren. The Goma were faced with only two possible options- cross the acid pool to reach us, or die. Indecision warred on their faces, broadcasted by every single movement like the shuffling of their feet as they paced along the length of the verdant pool.

    ¡¸GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The Gomas who were caught in their dilemma, quickly became victims of Rem the first. Her axe glinted cruelly as it shed through one Goma after another in rapid, ruthless session. She raised a screeching war cry as she weaved back and forth through the makeshift battlefield. She was practically chaos incarnate, her fighting style disorganized and random as she dived in the acid pool and crawled back out in irregr intervals, making the fullest use of her convenient advantage of remaining unaffected while swimming in the acid pool.

    ¡¸GUORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Gomas were dropping like flies between ourbined assaults. There was a resounding, bellowing, enraged warcry as the Macho Goma finally snapped. Seeing the miserable plight of its subordinates, the Macho Goma ultimately stepped in, ready to end the fight. He came charging from the back of the formation as the other Gomas ahead of him got out of the track of his raging warpath, scurrying like little mice, trying not to get underfoot. Alright. I braced myself. The boss ising.

    ¡¸SHAAAA!¡¹

    Arachne Rem fired an extra thick bundle of adhesive thread towards the Macho Goma.

    ¡¸UOGAAA!¡¹

    The bundle of sticky thread shot through the air towards the Macho Goma. He wildly waved his axe as it inched closer every second. The bundle of adhesive thread couldn''t be cut properly by the honed de of his axe. To think that he was able to cut through some of Arachne¡¯s thread, his de was that shar¡­no, I couldn¡¯t be sure. There was always the possibility that he used ¡ºMartial Art¡» just now. From the looks of it, I guess it used the¡ºsh¡» attack which was often used by Kenzaki or Natsukawa-san back in the old days, when I used to party with the ss rep.

    <i>Tch. </i>Even though it was just a Goma, it had the potential to learn martial art. The Goma seemed doubly dangerous, not only due to its towering frame but also because it had the ability to wield the martial arts.

    ¡¸What a nuisance¡­¡¹

    Oh well, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t have any n to counter his attack. You could study battle tactics, all you wanted but, it couldn¡¯tpare to getting bloodied on the battlefield. Real life experience was the best teacher, those lessons really stuck with you, you know? One nugget of information that I learned in battle was to always prepare a back n.

    ¡¸KISHAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºckhair Bind¡»¡¹

    Arachne and I worked in unison,municating our strategy wordlessly. Arachne began to spit her gooey thread from all 3 of her orifices at the same time. Spindly white thread shot out of her mouth, butt and both of her hands, streaking through the air in a sh of white as I began to activate my skill of ¡ºckhair Bind¡»simultaneously.

    Though the Macho Goma once again tried to use ¡ºsh¡», he was only able to cut through the length of thread that Arachne Rem wasunching from her butt. The Macho Goma got caught in our trap as it failed to defend itself from the thread that was emitted from Arachne Rem¡¯s mouth which caught it by surprise as it came from another direction. All throughout, while the Macho Goma was distracted, my use of the ¡ºckhair Bind¡» technique created these writhing, ck shadowy tentacles which entangled Macho Goma''s feet.

    ¡¸MUGAGAGA, NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    While Arachne Rem¡¯s thread disabled the Macho Goma¡¯s ability to use his arms, mine wrapped around both its calves and thighs, binding its legs altogether. Like a trussed chicken.

    ¡¸GUGAAAAAA!¡¹

    Rem the first didn¡¯t miss that opening. Her keen eyes didn¡¯t miss a single detail

    ¡¸GAGA!¡¹

    However, Rem the first¡¯s attack was far from over. She traced along Macho Goma¡¯s previous wound and aimed her axe directly between the open wound, which was gushing rivers of blood. Her aim rang true and she ended up slicing his body in two on the second strike of her axe. However, just like me, Rem the first was not the kind of person to take any chances. She swung hard, swerving her whole body and using all of her momentum before finally decapitating Macho Goma on her third and final attack. She lightly kicked the corpse of the once ferocious beast, scoffed and stalked in another direction.

    ¡¸GAGAAA£¡£¿¡¹

    ¡¸BUGEAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Upon witnessing their leader¡¯s death, it seemed that the reality of the situation was starting to settle in. The quick, effortless defeat of their boss seemed to cast a gloom cloud and destroy their motivation. They quickly dropped their weapons and escaped at breakneck speed, whizzing past my eyes as if they were running and the speed of light.

    ¡¸Pfft, seems like those guys aren¡¯t a big deal after all. Thank you, girls.¡¹

    Around 30 minutes after we defeated that Macho Goma and its army, we finally arrived at the Fairy za.

    ¡¸Haah¡­finally, a resting ce.¡¹

    The Fairy za was like a safe haven, its value doubled for soloers such as me since we came to it utterly exhausted, drained by fighting alone.

    I sprawled across a length of lush, verdantwn as soon as I threw the various pieces of luggage from Arachne Rem¡¯s back. Relieved, I felt boneless as Iy down, the fatigue slowly draining out of my body, I instantly felt a nket of sleep begin to cover me before my eyes closed and I was lost to the world.

    I woke up with a start, it felt like only a few minutes had passed but the sky was already shaded into a gradient of deep, majestic blues and light purples.

    ¡¸¡­. Uhn?¡¹

    I slowly emerged from the sea of dreams to be greeted by the crackling and popping sound of the camp bonfire. Blearily, I tried to open my eyes. My head felt funny, as if it was loaded with cotton. The golden glow cast by the dancing mes didn¡¯t hurt my eyes as they finally got ustomed to the light. Upon taking a closer look, I discovered it really was a bonfire.

    ¡¸GAGA!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, morning.¡¹

    I snapped my head in direction of noise before realising it was only Rem. She moved until she stood in front of me. The beginnings of a yful grin were surfacing on her face before she gave an extremely exaggerated greeting by bowing her head. I couldn¡¯t help but bark out augh at her antics before catching up on the events that had taken ce while I had been lost in thend of sleep. It seems that Rem had made a bonfire for me after I had passed out cold. Beside the bonfire, rested a b of rose colored meat with faint streaks of white running through it ced on top of a huge leaf. My stomach rumbled rebelliously in hunger.

    ¡¸Could it be that is the Great Boar''s meat?¡¹

    ¡¸GUGA.¡¹

    Rem nodded in agreement, as if saying yes.

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    There I saw Arachne Rem holding on to the water-filled PET bottle and fairy nuts.

    ¡¸Thank you, you guys are lifesavers, I seriously needed this meal.¡¹

    A wave of emotion flowed through me as I looked upon the Rems. They had grown so much, in terms of skill and emotional intelligence. I had never imagined there would be a day that Rem would prepare a meal for me, especially without me having to request it. They were so thoughtful and took such good care of me.

    Although I had just woken up, I was eager to dig in. If my memory serves correct, thest time I had gotten to eat meat was when I ate those broiled snakes with Randou-san and the rest of thepany at the fairy za in marsnd. My already starving stomach raised a revolt as I tried to wait for Rem to finish grilling the meat. Her technique of grilling the meat seemed to resemble Mei-chan¡¯s somewhat roughly, although she didn¡¯t have the same amount of experience and skill. Well, it was fine, she didn¡¯t have that much time to learn from Mei-chan anyway.

    ¡¸¨D¨DUm, it still retained a bit of its originally gamey smell, but it wasn¡¯t anything unbearable. This much was fine by me.¡¹

    Yup, as I thought, the taste and texture was pretty close to pork. It was a definite possibility that the gamey smell would disappear from the meat if the meat was prepared a bit better, in a correct manner. If Mei-chan was here, she might have been able to turn this Great Boar into a splendid ingredient, the likes that would upon beingbined with her natural talent for cooking would end up being an amazing, vorful meal. My mouth was dripping with saliva just upon the thought of it.

    I resolved to meet up with her as soon as I could so that I could make my dreamse true and share this boar meat.

    ¡¸Thanks for the meal.¡¹

    Well then, after a peaceful, refreshing sleep and partaking in a hearty meal, I guess it was time to think about my next move. There was a high probability that I would be exploring the dungeon by myself , at least for the time being. For now, it seems as if the route I had chosen, which passed through the iing inner part of the dome forest was my best bet. That was the direction pointed by the dungeonpass anyway, so I should trust in that path.

    ¡¸I want to go to the next checkpoint as soon as possible but¡­.¡¹

    Although Rem the first and Arachne Rem were extremely reliablerades, I couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly anxious. I didn¡¯t have any other allies besides the two Rems right now. Both of the Rems had improved immensely but somehow, I couldn¡¯t picture our current line up winning against something like the boss of undergroundke, the alligator-like lizard man.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no point needlessly and obsessively worrying about it. Well, the best I can do is make the adequate preparations beforehand so I wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard if the situation really did arise.¡¹

    Whether it was Mei-chan or Randou-san and herpany, I wanted to meet up with them as soon as possible. It felt like forever since I met them. I felt a nagging feeling rise up within my mind- caution. That was right, I guess nothing good ever happens if you try to rush through it. Finally, I made up my mind. It sounds like a great n- let¡¯s take time to prepare as much as we can.

    ¡¸Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t had the chance to test this out yet¡­.¡¹

    ¡ºWitch Kettle¡»£ºLiterally what it sounds like- a witch¡¯s kettle. It was most definitely not something asmonce as a mere cooking tool. It was actually a tool of chaos, used to create poison, curses and other forms of magic.

    Yes, Ruinhilde-sama gave me ¡°Vessel¡±¡¯s series, namely ¡ºVessel of Poison¡» along with ¡ºVessel of Chaos¡».

    I had obtained this curse much earlier. She had given it to me when I had defeated that terrifying basilisk. I was in possession of this curse ever since but so much had happened that I never found myself with a chance to test this "Creation" curse''s series. My reunion with Higuchi then a fight to the death against him, being picked up by Randou-san¡­this string of rapidly changingrades kept me too busy.

    ¡¸I''ve got just the right materials to create poison too¡­..¡¹

    Even though it has been quite a while since I received my official designation as a Shaman, I guess the time was finally ripe for me to make my debut as a poison master. I couldn¡¯t help but smirk in anticipation. Brace yourselves, it¡¯s going to be a wild ride.Even though it has been quite a while since I received my official designation as a Shaman, I guess the time was finally ripe for me to make my debut as a poison master. I couldn¡¯t help but smirk in anticipation. Brace yourselves, it¡¯s going to be a wild ride.

 Chapter 109: Live Cooking Show of a Certain Hot Pot

    Chapter 109: Live Cooking Show of a Certain Hot Pot

    ¡¸Yoosh, Let''s do this!!¡¹

    To begin with, let¡¯s start with creating the overall structure and foundation of¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» with y. I don¡¯t think that I would encounter any problems during this stage. After all, thanks to ¡ºVile''s ydoll¡», I¡¯ve be something of an expert when sculpting with y. y was an easy enough material to work with, it was amodating and an forgivable medium, the only thing you had to look out for was the structural integrity of the piece and controlling your strength. With my high skill level, making a pot should be child¡¯s y. I slowly wetted the y in order to give it more flexibility so I could mold it into the shape I desired. The cool material moved underneath my deft hands, molded into the basic form of a pot. After I had finished that step, I continued the process, lightly engraving the bottom of the pot with the forme I required. I was careful to not damage the shape I had molded since the material was still very pliant.

    ¡¸Yup¡­this is it.¡¹

    I drew the magic forme with a branch from a fairy walnut tree. The magic forme was drawn exactly as the one that appeared in my mind.

    The letters thatprised the magic forme were what you would call archaic. The letters didn¡¯t bear a resemnce to any othernguage I knew- the ancientnguage didn¡¯t look like chinese characters, alphabets or even hieroglyphs. Rather, I concluded that it was more like a collection of pictorial symbols than alphanumeric letters.

    The appearance of the magic circle waspletely different to that of the curse mark that was branded onto the palm of my hands. It felt like drawing the yin-yang symbol over and over again. [TL : Taiji symbol?]

    After I drew the magic formpletely, I chanted the spell in a deep, steady voice.

    ¡¸Open, ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡».¡¹

    Immediately after, a swirling, obsidian ck mist began to creep around the ground, gradually enveloping the bottom of the pot. The tendrils of mist writhed through the air in a chaotic fashion when I had invoked ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡» . The slightly misshapen pot took on the form of a dark pewter cauldron in the blink of an eye.

    I circled the object one, giving it a through inspection. I marveled at the mysterious material that it was made of. When I touched it, it felt peculiar, it had a strange and unique texture that I couldn¡¯t exactly put my finger on. It didn¡¯t feel like either metal or porcin and it¡¯s surface was neither hot nor cold. It certainly piqued my interest.

    Although I didn¡¯t make it with y, the lid was made of the same material. I cautiously opened the lid, my curiosity was nearly unbearable at this point, warring with my instincts of self-preservation.

    Removing the lid revealed the bottom part of the pot, covered by swirling chaos. It felt like a flickering illusion- one moment you could see the bottom and in the next, it was once again obscured. Was it actually an optical illusion?

    ¡¸I wonder what exactly is it that this pot can do¡­¡¹

    It came out kind of mediocre. It was alright but, it didn¡¯t give out any particr reaction. The experience was definitely anti-climatic since it appeared as if it was the kind of curse that materialized and stayed put in one ce. It didn¡¯t budge even a bit.

    ¡¸Anyway, I guess I should begin with most familiar one.¡¹

    ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡»Now that I was familiar with it and recognized its form, it was time to decode its function. Let¡¯s start experimenting with this. I nned to make ointment with the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», which would be an efficient method to see how exactly it worked.

    ¡¸Fakelion''s leaves.¡¹

    I found them scattered all around the floor of the dome forest as I made my way to the Fairy za. I had gathered them into bushels and stored them in my inventory. I rummaged within my bag for a bundle of the leaves and threw them into the pot.

    ¡¸Fairy walnut''s leaves.¡¹

    ¡¸GA!¡¹

    Now, these leaves were extremelymon. Luckily, they could be found anywhere in the Fairy za, so I had requested Rem the first to begin procuring these leaves. As usual, she worked fast and efficiently. The ingredient was ready in a jiffy.

    ¡¸The bloom of the White Flower.¡¹

    ¡¸KISHA!¡¹

    While I had asked Rem the first to collect the Fairy Walnut leaves , I had delegated the task of acquiring branches which had the White Flower sprouting with them to Arachne Rem. It wasn¡¯t a very difficult task since these too could be found sporadically throughout the Fairy za. I nced over the gathered branches and immediately started plucking off the blooms of the flowers. The actual flower was the only thing I needed in this recipe toplete it.¡¸Mix those ingredients together and¨D¨D¡¹

    The cauldron bubbled and boiled after I had tossed all the prepared ingredients into the pot. I began to stir the mixture using one of the left over branches from the fairy walnut tree. It was easier to use that rather than a pestle due to the depth of the cauldron. As I continued to gaze at the contents of the pot, it almost looked like the swirling chaos at the bottom of the pot was churning faster and faster with every second that passed. Also, it seemed like the volume of the mixture of ingredients had drastically reduced. How strange!

    ¡¸UWAA, t-this is!?¡¹

    A dew

    ¡¸Could it be that it''ll automaticallyplete the process!¡¹

    Amazing! This skill is just wonderful, it¡¯s so efficient and practical. I almost started daydreaming about all the situations it could be used in and what processes it could help speed up. Yes, this curse will definitely make my life so much easier! With this, I had finally reached Takanashi Kotori¡¯s¡ºAlchemy¡» skill which could automatically finish the process.

    ¡¸¡­.I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ve got it now, Ruinhilde-sama.¡¹

    ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡»£ºLiterally, it was just a witch''s kettle, definitely not a cooking tool- a tool of chaos to create poison, curse, or magic. At nce, it look like a normal pitch ck kettle but¡­ This was in fact an all-purpose cooking device in one. At first nce, it looked liked a normal pitch ck kettle however¡­this was in fact an all-purpose cooking device in one vessel.

    The process was mind blowingly easy. You just needed to throw in all of the ingredients and vo! The ointment waspleted by using this skill, taking only the short duration of three seconds. Now, let¡¯s look at the finished result, it looks quite syrupy doesn¡¯t it? The difference was extremely visible whenpared with the hand made version. The viscosity of this ointment was much higher, it almost resembled a jelly that you could easily smear onto your wounds. Additionally, with this tool, you could finally kiss goodbye to the relentlessly annoying task of performing the manualbor to make these products. The muscle ache from making itst time had made my body throb in pain for a whole week, it was so vivid that I could almost imagine it now. This tool also packed yet another punch- even the difficult to deal with, hard and unyielding shell of the fairy walnut seemed to be taken care of just as easily as it handled all the other ingredients. For this cauldron, using such a difficult ingredient was a piece of cake! Let¡¯s throw some of these fairy walnuts along with their shells and let the pot do its job¡­just like that, those irritating shells got crushed to smithereens in a matter of seconds!

    The best part was that its functions aren¡¯t limited to just acting as a mixer. Now, let¡¯s pour the icy cold water drawn from the fountain nearby into the waiting pot. We¡¯ll wait for a while and¡­done! The water had boiled in the blink of an eye. Whoops, I guess it''s still too early to be surprised, after all, there were still many functions to explore. Now let¡¯s experiment once again, if we wait for three seconds¡­vo! The boiling water has frozen! I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes- this pot had frozen boiling water at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Yes, rapid heating and freezing was possible as long as you had purchased this magical pot. Moreover, you could also use this pot to make dried provisions or fill the pot with different kinds of wood chips to create a huge variety of smoke. That would turn it into an instant smoker! Wow, could you imagine the vor of the meat using that technique?

    Grind, dry, smoke, cooler, heater, stew, broil¡­every single cooking method could be made in just a few moments with very little consumption of mana, all avable in just this one magical pot! This ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡»was truly a revolutionary cooking tool, your best cooking partner. Moreover, if you ce one order of this pot right now, you''ll¨D¨D

    Oops, my mistake! Although I definitely got sidetracked midway through the process, now I fully understand the magnitude of the skill of this pot. Its performance was absolutely spectacr.

    ¡¸No, that''s understatement, this pot is truly a marvelous item¡­¡¹

    I mean, this pot was so amazing to the extent that I was confident that this item alone was enough to help me cook for myself throughout my entire lifetime. There was no doubt in my mind that it wouldst that long, after all,this pot was a piece of cookware fueled with mana.

    ¡¸This is basically the same kind of cheat like ¡ºAlchemy¡».¡¹

    Reproducing various cookery effects using mana was an extremely tedious and challenging task, even with the most current technologies to help out. However, lo and behold- I¡¯ve received a power simr to the creating power and ability of¡ºSage¡» which could create something with only a mere magic circle and a spell. Yes, exactly like how Takanashi Kotori could create ¡ºRed Knive¡» as long as she has the foundational weapons and monster materials.

    However, even I couldn''t make the enchanted weapon using my ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡». This pot was only a way to avoid the mixing by hand phase in the process of frug creation that I was doing. Even if I had all the necessary ingredients for making my frug, one small mistake could cost me everything. It was a very vtile process, even a tiny misstep during the mixing phase could result in failure.

    Things were different now that I had such a smart tool in my hands- suchplicated mixing processes could be ignored and the result wouldn¡¯t suffer even a bit. The output would be as good as before¡­yes, this skill must be regarded as a mandatory skill for my vocation as a shaman particrly.

    ¡¸Well, whatever¡­Imean, this pot is made with an automatic ydoll forming function, so¡­I''m sure that I can create both poisons and drugs as long as I have knowledge of the recipes.¡¹

    Nevertheless, it took me a few minutes to cheer myself up and regain my mood which had fallen from my sky high expectations. Somehow, I was expecting super convenient alchemical abilities from my pot. I was certainly a bit disappointed but there was no way I¡¯d let my bad mood drag me down and loom over me forebodingly like a dark thundercloud.

    ¡¸Oooh, such a nice aroma!¡¹

    Steam rose enticingly from the pot in dancing tendrils as soon as I took off the lid. Inside the pot bubbled a light brown creamy soup, the oily aroma of the soup was tickling my nose.

    It turned out great.

    I scooped out some of the content of the pot with a makeshiftdle made bybining the branch with Goma¡¯s wooden bowl like thing.

    ¡¸¨D¨DUhm, so good. This is even more delicious than grilling it.¡¹

    That was the impression of my first ever great boar''s botan nabe, a Kyoto nabe which used the wild boar as the main ingredient.

    Today, I¡¯ve tried cooking with this almighty piece of cookware which was called the¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡». I''ve tried looking around the dome forest for the other ingredients for this botan nabe. The result was edible wild grass and giant shimeji mushroom-like mushrooms.

    Thus, I¡¯vepleted the first ever ¡°dungeon botan hot pot¡± with grasses, mushrooms and great boar as the main ingredients.

    The result was just mediocre since hot pot was the kind of dish that even someone who was as unskilled as me could make as long as they had the ingredients and the knowledge. Rather, if it was Mei-chan making this instead¡­I think she wouldn¡¯t even need the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» to be able to make botan nabe leagues more delicious than the simple one I had attempted to make.

    ¡¸This is truly a convenient tool since I can just freeze the leftovers to enjoyter.¡¹

    Although I didn¡¯t go overboard with the amount I made, there was still a decent amount of leftovers remaining after I finished my meal. I was a small eater, so over half the hot pot was remaining, I froze the rest as I maintained its temperature at 0 degrees. Since I didn¡¯t have a thermometer, I adjusted the temperature exactly the moment before the water solidified into a block of ice.

    While it''s true that both freezing and heating consume mana, but the amount is miniscule. Moreover, the vessel could maintain constant temperature without any need for me to keep focusing on it as long as I continuously poured a small stream of mana. That¡¯s why I just need to pour a tiny fraction of my mana reserves into the pot to maintain its current temperature.

    ¡¸Yosh¡­ I guess it''s the time to create poison.¡¹

    Three days had passed since my arrival in this Fairy za. I spent those three days testing various things with my ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡». Now I continue to make the preparations to continue my journey into the deeper part of the dungeon.

    That¡¯s why I was exploring the huge dome of the forest that was surrounding the za, foraging for herbs or poisonous nts. Though no amount of time was enough if I worked at it all by myself, I believed that I made considerable progress with both hunting and foraging thanks to the aid provided by Rem the first and Arachne Rem.

    Especially, Arachne Rem¡¯s thread was a great asset, it was an extremely versatile thread since it could capture a demon alive.

    ¡¸KISHISHI.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, wee back.¡¹

    Speaking of Arachne Rem, she just got back from hunting. Everything went well on her side. She was dragging along three cocoon of today captured prey. I saw Goma=like ck feet proturded from inside one of those cocoon.

    ¡¸Yup, today harvest is also satisfying.¡¹

    ¡¸SHAAAA!¡¹

    When I brushed the this nice girl, Arachne Rem let out an indistinguished groan between happiness and anger. By the way, the ce I''m brushing was her boobs-like part on her chest, but since it was covered with hard shell, it''s more like brushing metal than caressing boobs. I assure you that this isn''t me sexually harassing Arachne Rem, this is just an act to satisfy my intellectual curiousity.

    ¡¸Wee to the hiddenboratory of shaman, Goma-kun¡­.¡¹

    I said so with mad-scientist like tone to the Goma who desperately trying to break free from inside the adhesive cocoon.

    I''vepleted the prototype of the poison in the first day I arrived in this za. The result was salve poison that could easily mixed with others though.

    I''ve prepared three kind of prototype poison for today test.

    ¡ºArachne''s Poison¡»£ºPoison secreted from Arachne''s fangs. Though it was useless against me, it could paralize the other hunting target of Arachne.

    ¡ºYellow Frog''s Poison¡»£ºMaybe simr with the paralysis poison used by Yokomichi Hajime. It was simr with the poison secreted from that yellow frog''s outstretched barbed-tongue.

    ¡ºSpirog''s Poison¡»£ºPoison made from thebination of Arachne''s and yellow frog''s poison.

    Let''s test the effect of these three poison on that Goma. It might be better to lower the dose till non-lethat, or else I can mixing it and double the dose bit-by-bit to increase the effect of the poison. Though there''s so many things that I wanted to test such as the effect of the poison in cool temperature or hot temperature, or whenbined with others ingredients, I''ve to test these three prototype first.

    ¡¸Nevertheless, it feels like human experimentation¡­.¡¹

    I asked Arachne Rem to make a giant spiderwebs wall in between the trees outside of the za and ced my guinea pig on it.

    Before I began my experiment on Goma-kun, I crucify the poor guy in "´ó"-like shape. Despite it''s attempt to resist while shouting "Mugamuga" or whatever it is, it couldn''t break free from Arachne''s binding.

    I feel a little bit sorry for the poor Goma but¡­ Well I guess the same could be said to you guys who attacked as soon as you find me, these guys had eaten one of my ssmate too so I guess power is justice. My bad but, we human won''t be able to live in peace with you filthy Goma ever.

    Even now, I won''t hestitate to turn this Goma into my guinea pig. Thus, I calmly started my human experimentation-like activity with testing the effect of paralysis poison.

    The process is easy. I just need to put a little bit of that poison on the tip of my knive and made a small incision on Goma-kun skin with that particr tip. Now I need to observe the effectiveness of this paralysis poison. Then I''ll improve the one which show its effect immediately.

    Please, worke out. Goma''s arms made a crunching sound as I prayed in silent.

    ¡¸Mugu, gumumu, GUMOAAA¨D¨D¡¹

    Three days had passed since the first test of the poison.

    ¡¸¡­ Yup, I guess I''vepleted it for the time being.¡¹

    I finished the refining of paralysis poison which show instant effect and suitable for livebat. Well despite talking big like that, the poison already strong to begin with, all I did was making a slight adjustment.

    ¡ºSpirog''s Paralysis Poison¡»£ºPoison from Spirog''s poison as its base mixed with mbeau''s oil, powdered mandragora, basilisk''s powdered bone, and a little bit of my blood. A drop of It was lethat enough to knock out a goma.

    Though it takes sometimes to manufacture it and gathering the ingredients, the result was a potent paralysis poison.

    One small wound from a knive that coated with this poison was enough to instantly incapacitate the small fry like Goma and Red dog. Rather than convulsed like when afflicted with normal paralysis poison, the victim of my paralysis poison instantly fainted with their eyes wide open, stunned till they couldn''t as much as moving their muscle.

    I mean, that Spirog''s poison was strong enough to paralyze a charging Great Boar. Thus, I can expect it to work on the Basilisk''s ss boss.

    Nevertheless, my blood, mandragora, and sometimes ydoll were were surprisingly versatile. Well maybe because the basic of all curses was the blood of its user. And no need to say about the famous mandragora. Picking it up was the right choice.

    ¡¸I guess it''s about the time to continue my journey.¡¹

    Before I realized it, I''ve been staying in this za for one week. I ended up getting too absorbed with my experiments or doing things like foraging the ingredients in the forest to refine poison, or making small articles.

    I think I didn''t waste this one week since I managed to create such splendid poison.

    ¡¸My ckhair Bind is also strengthened thanks to Arachne Rem''s cooperation.¡¹

    I stretched out my hand toward the twitching gomaw who got paralyzed and crucified at the spiderwebs for the sake of bing my guinea pig..

    ¡¸Slice it¨D¨D¡ºSilverhair Severing¡»¡¹

    A sh of light sliced through the air for a moment, a beautiful single thread coiling around the Goma''s neck and¨D¨D Decapitated it.

    The steel wire-like thread that fired from my hand was ¡ºSilverhair Severing¡». It was a new branch skill of ¡ºckhair Bind¡» which I created by mimicking Arachne''s finishing move, the steel wire.

    Its power is as you can see. Just that single wire was enough to decapitate the Goma''s head. Moreover, by injecting more mana in it¡­ It''ll be strong enough to decapitate the head of that Macho Goma.

    Its quality was far apart from the feeble tentacles I created till now. Though it took a long time to cast and huge amount of mana. But that''s only matter of my mastery over this new skill.

    As a result, I''ve mastered the ¡ºSpider Thread Bind¡», the adhesive-type thread. The mana consumption for this skill is more than ckhair Bind, but less than Redhair Twine. It''s really versatile skill since it''s instant cast type. It could be used in livebat bybining it with ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡».

    The secret that enabled me to create the derivate skill of ¡ºckhair Bind¡»id in ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡». Frankly speaking, it have something to do with me tinkering the inside of the kettle. Or should I say that it''s like the kettle itself speeding up the mutation of the ckhair.

    As I was expected, the change of ckhair''s form and nature would be easier with magic, in science term, you might say that magic has changed the molecrs arrangements of ckhair. I have no way to proof my theory but, I know that I could adjust the change easily and quickly by using the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡».

    In a sense, what I did was remodeling old curse to make a new and more powerful curse. It seems ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» was far more versatile than I expected.

    ¡¸Well I guess I finished doing all I can do in this ce.¡¹

    Curse, equipment, poison, then drug. I''ve nothing left to do in this ce. It''s about the time to leave this ce¨D¨D

    ¡¸But let''s have a good long bath in the bathtub and sleep before leaving this za.¡¹

    Recovering one''s spirit is important too.

    In fact I''ve noticed this fact in the second night after I arrived in this za that I could take a good ol bath in bathtub with hot water with this ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡». The bathing itself only took miniscule amount of mana but, using ydoll to make a jacuzzi-like pot was another matter.

    The water is naturally drawn from the fountain. Fortunately, since the water was gushing out from higher ce, from the foot of fairy statue, I can make use of siphon principle to draw water by cing the jacuzzi-pot on lower position than the statue.

    Eh, from where did I get the hose you ask? the current me could easily use ¡ºckhair Bind¡» as makeshift hose. I left exhausted after experimenting for two hours.

    ¡¸A~h, I''m rebo~rn¡¹

    After immersing my body in the hot water-filled ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», I felt like I''m enjoying the paradise in this hellish dungeon. Yup, any Japanese will turn useless against a good ol hot bath.

    ¡¸A~h, it''ll be a true paradise if I can enjoy the bathtub along with Mei-chan and Randou-san.¡¹

    Fortunately the two of them aren''t here to hear me saying my worldly desire. Being alone like this let me to be myself.

    As a side note, my masteries over ¡ºSpider Thread Bind¡»''s nature allowed me to create a makeshift hammock. In some way, a good soft bed is more important that bath.

    I mean, I always yearning to at least get some hammock for my bedding. And, as soon as I created it in ordance to my imagination! Psst- The matter about me rolling on top of it was the secret between me and Rem.

    ANyway, thanks to ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», I could enjoy living like a human again inside of this dungeon but¡­. Please spare me from spending my entire life in this kind of ce.

    Well, let''s do my best starting from tomorrow, onward to another life threatening dungeon diving.

 Chapter 110: Bananaimo

    Chapter 110: Bananaimo

    I cast a backward nce at the fairy za. I finally departed from the ce that had be my base of operations for the past week, travelling without any rest until I had finally left the Dome Forest area.

    ¡¸Ooh, it has actually been a while since I''ve seen that fake-sun.¡¹

    The verdant canopy stretched above my head for as far as I could see, little rays of sunlight peeking through, casting beautiful patterns on the dark forest floor. As soon as I left the shade of the green foliage behind, the rich azure sky greeted me weingly, despite the unusual beauty of the forest, it was a sight I beckoned with open arms. The sun that hung high in the sky shone like a blinding golden disc, focusing all its heat onto me- the midsummer sun made this area quite humid. I grimaced as I wiped the sweat which had pooled across my neck and forehead, the cloth handkerchiefing backpletely soaked, damp and slightly smelly.

    Although I had never felt that the dungeon was an ufortable ce, save for the absence of the warm and golden sunlight which I cherished so much. Theck of light made the dungeon seem much more depressing than it actually was. The dungeon only seemed damp and oppressive because of the dark. I was suddenly attacked by a sense of liberation after catching a glimpse of the sun and feeling it¡¯s warmth upon my skin. The wave of relief that washed over me as I gazed upon the thoroughly saturated and extremely blue sky for the first time in what felt like eons, was immense, as if it was a giant wave from a fierce tsunami.

    When I nced back down to the small metallic object grasped in my palm, my brows furrowed and a frown took a hold over my face unconsciously. Checking mypass a couple more times, the arrow still wasn¡¯t pointing at the direction from where I came from but rather,onward, as if it was telling me to go on. To go forth and continue. I shook my head quizzically. How strange.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not taking a wrong turn, am I? No, it can¡¯t be. In the first ce, I¡¯m following the directions almost exactly.¡¹

    As I tried to puzzle this mystery out, I was reminded of the insect cave that I had visited before. After all, this ce was quite simr, I mused as I surveyed my surroundings. I peered at everything in my vicinity closely,paring everything to that godforsaken insect cave. I guess I¡¯d have to dive into the dungeon again after crossing this ce. Well, since I had note across any sort of danger gs or anything else that could potentially prove harmful, there would be no harm in continuing to carry on. In fact, I actually couldn¡¯t think of a better path to follow- this was actually my only option.

    ¡¸Huhm, the vegetation is quite unusual too.¡¹

    While the interior of the dome inside the Dome Forest area seemed like a forest full of trees that had broad leaves, this ce was different. It was filled with trees that exhibited jagged edged types of leafs that were simr to those found within the rainforests. I felt just like an adventurer entering and exploring the lucious and foliage filled Amazon rainforest as I bore witness to the many trees that were bent in unusual patterns.

    ¡¸And yet, I met these same guys once again.¡¹

    Here in all ces in the world! I mean seriously, we¡¯re in a jungle aren¡¯t we?! The demon wasing out as excitedly as if it intended to celebrate my visit as if I was a long lost friend returning after decades apart. That demon was Sharp wed Step Monkey. From my experience, these guys were weak in nature, actually they might be around as weak ass creatures to fall within the same category as Gomas.

    Despite their capability to climb to annoyingly high heights and move three dimensionally thanks to the support of the trees, as they swung between any branches they could reach, in the end, despite all of their evasive maneuvers, they were still just unarmed monkey nuisances. Against Rem the First and Arachne Rem, these minor demons didn¡¯t stand a chance, they were merely small fry.

    Though I had yet to meet a new species of monster, I had met various normal animals and insects along the way. I mean, I saw this <i>HUGE</i> mosquito-like-moth buzzing around, or what about the time that I saw a huge snake-like-centipede crossing the road in front of us with its numerous legs. It seemed as if this tropical dome was an insect infested area simr to that insect cave.

    Although these critters were aesthetically repulsing and slightly creepy, they were just mere insects which were neither hostile nor poisonous. They didn¡¯t pose any real threat so there was nothing to really hate about these adorable, harmless and peaceful insects. However, I kept my vignce, as a good adventurer should, since there might be dangerous demons at any bend of a journey, even hidden amongst this horde of vermin.

    I mean, from experience, there was no clear line separating animals from monsters in this dungeon. Just like the instance we came across a snake, about the size of an anaconda, which passed before us. We had instantly stopped in our tracks, Arachne Rem ncing back at me and the snake repeatedly as if questioning what she should do, asking ¡¸What to do now? Catch it? Or eat it?¡¹, however the snake just nonchntly passed by,pletely ignoring us. Yup, not even I was brave enough to go after it and hunt it down. My desire to eat that giant snake kabayaki wasn¡¯t that intense.

    Well, setting aside the harmless insects and animals, what mattered most to right now, at this moment, was finding a new type of poisonous or medicinal nt that would undoubtedly be in this tropical forest.

    The result was something along the lines of ¡¸HERE IT IS!!¡¹, spoken in a delicate and yet still violent tone.

    ¡¸Well, it might''ve had some sort of effect if I tried to mixing it with something or other¨D¨D¡¹

    Oi, don''t kid with me ¡ºIntuition Pharmacy¡», don''t you think that you have be too rxed nowadays?! What the hell with this continuous disy of irresponsible information.

    ¡¸Either one of them doesn''t seems to have some sort of effect¡­¡¹

    Or, perhaps¡­both the flowerbed in the fairy za and the fakelion which had clear effects were actually on the rare side? I mean, be it another world of magic or any other world even, it was illogical if everything had a clear and defined effect. I might be asking too much- after all, I had just entered this new area of vegetation. It would be foolhardy to get my hopes up too much.

    ¡¸Huhm, I can only harvest this guy for now huh?¡¹

    By chance, I had found a mandragora that had slipped itself amongst the weeds. Since ¡ºIntuition Pharmacy¡» told me that it was mandragora, and it screamed when I yanked it out of the plush and damp soil, I was a 100% sure that it was a mandragora but¡­was it because I caught this one in a different area? It¡¯s pose was different from what I generally observed on the norm.Typically, a normal mandragora would show a standing upright pose when uprooted but, this guy''s stance made it seem like it was running for its life. Well whatever, they could show whatever bearing they liked, it didn¡¯t matter to me- all was well as long as they became the ingredients for my curse.

    ¡¸Uhm, is that¡­it can¡¯t be¡­a banana?¡¹

    Though I couldn''t see it as anything but a bunch of ripe yellow colored fruit that were drooping from the branches of the banana tree, it was undoubtedly a real one. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief before checking once again. Yes, indeed. It was a banana.

    Unlike the banana tree that I saw in the botanical garden I visited with the rest of my ss during my time at elementary school, this one was different. This particr tree was the size of a giant, and I had no doubt whatsoever that the yellow part of the fruit was edible. My intuition pharmacy skill told me that it wasn''t a poisonous nt, instead it was rich in nutrients.

    It was practically useless for a shaman but it was something equivalent to instant noodle discovery. it doesn''t mean that I''m sick of that I already have enough of walnut, or that deliciously easy great boar with mushroom and herb pot. Thus, you can say that I''m onlycking the luxury of sweet fruit. While it was practically useless in rtion to my upation as a Shaman, it was still something interesting, almost equivalent to the discovery of mouth watering, delicious instant noodles.

    ¡¸Okay, let''s harvest these pieces of delicious fruit.¡¹

    My ¡ºckhair Bind¡» shows its full potential at times like this. I released a strand of ckhair to coil around a fruit, everything began with a sample after all.

    When I caught on the skill-harvested banana, I murmured "Uhm, isn''t this guy size bigger than your average joe banana?" Yup, it was a thick banana.

    However, this milky white color of its contents, its gently curved form and skin with a texture simr to leather¡­.it had all the defining characteristics of a banana. Turning it over in my palms, I carefully inspected each corner of the supposed fruit. Hmm¡­it certainly seemed like the epitome of a banana. My curiosity kept building up until it was uncontainable, like water overflowing from a dam. Anyway, let me take a bite so that I could confirm my suspicions.

    ¡¸¡­Uhm?¡¹

    Surprisingly, the banana was rather¡­tasteless. I struggled to find the proper word to describe it, racking through my brain for the adequate vocabry. While its soft and creamy texture was most definitely reminiscent of a banana, there was something different, something odd about it. Its taste, vour and aroma were unexpectedly barely there. It was almost a paper thinyer of vour, just barely coating your tongue, hardly present. It wasn¡¯t sweet at all, to be quite honest. This particr fruit, although simr to a banana, was simplycking the natural sweetness found in most tropical fruits. In fact, rather than a banana, it reminded me more of taro tuber root.

    ¡¸Rather than banana, this guy is more like taro[imo]*.¡¹ [TL* : Tuber]

    What a revtion! Let¡¯s call this thing something cool and fitting¡­what about Bananaimo?

    I plucked a bunch of these Bananaimo fruits from the trees and then safely stored them in my inventory. I had a feeling it woulde in handy, it seemed like a good source of carbohydrates. Perhaps, if I steamed it using the Witch''s Kettle, I could rely on it in a pinch, especially if I had no other food. To be honest, I was rather disappointed with itsck of sweetness however, there was nothing wrong with harvesting it. If there was one thing I learned during my tenure as a Shaman, it was that it was always best to be prepared for any situation.

    By the way, the harvest waspleted rather easily and was a wonderfully efficient process, with me plucking the Bananaimo and Arachne Rem spreading her spiderweb below to catch it, we had lots of the fruit collected in a matter of minutes.

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Before I could once again get going on my way, I heard some shrill screams from afar. It felt like they were saying "We¡¯ll see you againter." directly in my ears. I was rather familiar with this kind of scream. I had most definitely heard it before. A smirk slowly grew on my face, one corner of my mouth lifting up mockingly.

    ¡¸What''s the matter, you shitty monkeys, are you guys angry coz I stole yer bananaimo?¡¹

    Those angry monkeys were gathering around, surrounding me from all possible directions from above, in the trees as they continued their screams and barged towards me. Their angry and frustrated screeches and the bearing of their teeth as they rushed in my direction told me that I had pissed them off. Well, it was possible that this Bananaimo''s tree might be on their turf.

    Nevertheless, it was their turf against other monkeys. Why would humans be subject to what monkeys think? Did they really believe that we, the great human race, the superior species would give even one iota of concern for territory disputes between monkeys?! Monkey rule was nonexistent in our eyes, we have the whole world in our grasp, everything is ours for the taking.

    ¡¸Hehehe, try and take this back then. This Bananaimo is mine.¡¹

    Yup, I¡¯ll eat one Bananaimo to properly rile them up.

    These shitty monkeys were a constant threat in this area, and were really very annoying, despite them being such small fry, and mere pests. small fry.

    In fact, the reason they were all bark and no bite was mainly because they had already seen theirrades defeated in front of their own eyes. Yes, these shitty monkeys were no match at all for Rem the 1st and Arachne Rem.

    Fufufu~ being fully prepared was truly wonderful, wasn''t it.

    I had beenpletely reassured that I could trust Rem the first and Arachne to protect my back. Over the course of recent events, they had proved themselves more than capable enough to guard and protect me sufficiently. That fact alone allowed me the strength I needed so that I could ignore those pesky creatures, knowing the level of their strength had practically lifted me into seventh heaven.

    ¡¸UGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The air shook with the force of the sound. It was a loud roar, different from those pesky monkeys. That ferocious creature appeared upon expelling that terrifying roar and rushed forward with heavy stomps which pummeled the ground, sounding like a hammer striking a surface embedded with a nail.

    ¡¸What the heck is that, the boss of all of these monkeys!?¡¹

    Despite the general expectation and image of monkeys, the boss monkey was not cute at all, not from any angle. It was huge, looming over me, casting a great, dark shadow behind it. The various flora and fauna resting on the floor of the forest met their fate as they were crushed under the beast¡¯s giant foot. In fact, since it was a being of such gargantuan size, I actually doubted that it was a monkey to begin with. It boasted such a stature that could rival even Goliath which I had also fought before. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard, after all this guy was more like a gori than a monkey. Surely, it would be more aggressive but also less intelligent than its counterpart.

    ¡¸UGOGO! GA, MUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    It was reminiscent of the film ¡®King Kong¡¯, where the gori drums its chest while screaming at the top of its lungs, wrecking destruction all around it.

    ¡¸KIYAKYA! KYAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸UGIYAAAAAAAA~!¡¹

    Upon hearing the cacophony of noise emerging from the treetops, I looked up, only to be greeted with the sight of some of those shitty monkeys doing something like cheering, hooting in synchronisation, screaming that Gori- this very Gori was the boss.

    Seeing that gori lead those monkeys, this guy preened and fawned arrogantly as if he was the sublime ruler, the king of the mountain around these parts. Aren''t you ashamed by having such stupid subordinates like those ones? Come on you fool, where has your pride as the chieftain of the forest gone?

    ¡¸UGO, UGO, NGAA!¡¹

    The hulky boss gori, who was clearly and painfully oblivious of the stream of insults directed towards it that were running through my head, ordered it¡¯s shitty monkeymanded in a series of deep, guttural grunts which somehow made sense to me.

    Huh, how did I understand what they said? That''s simple, I mean, it was clear as day upon seeing in which manner those monkeys reacted to their boss''s voice.

    One after another, the monkeys descended from the trees and then surrounded me. Those who were waiting upon their Gori boss were especially quick and eager, amongst all their troops, they arrived first. I hated to say this but the rest were lining up perfectly. Soon enough it felt like they hadpleted their battle formation.

    Sorry to break this news to you guys, but you weren¡¯t the only ones who showed up prepared. I was strapped from head to toe with weapons, I would loathe to journey unprepared. Like hell I¡¯d just stand by idly and do nothing while facing a huge hoard of enemies.

    ¡¸Rem, you take on that Gori. Arachne, I¡¯ll leave those monkeys to you¨D¨D Spread¡ºRotten Bog¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸NGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    That deafening roar became the opening call of the vicious battle.

    Overflowing with fighting spirit, those pesky monkeys were rushing toward me from all directions¨D¨D But, the ¡ºRotten Bog¡» that surrounded me from all directions became the biggest obstacle for those apes to attack me.

    Though those monkeys hurriedly took a detour as soon as they saw that obviously dangerous monkey, they''re toote. The moment they stopped, they were sitting ducks.

    ¡¸¡ºckhair Bind¡»¡¹

    ¡¸SHAAAA!¡¹

    Both Arachne Rem and I used our threads to attack those monkeys from the shortest distance possible. Our aim was urate, or should I say that we''re hardly having any difficulties in catching those monkeys since we could move at will.

    It was basically game over for them even though we only caught their feet to drag them into the ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¨D¨D Though their battle cry changed to pained scream upon dragged into the bog, their regret came toote.

    ¡¸UGOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    While both of us were keeping the small fries at bay, I left our most formidable enemy, the boss Gori, to Rem the 1st.

    That gori seemed to have a tenacious frame, its thick hairs and skin seemed quite bristly too. Unhesitatingly, it stepped into the ¡ºRotten Bog¡» and calmly crossed over the acid pond as if the acidic fumes wafting from it weren¡¯t strong enough to bother it.

    So, anyone could cross the ¡ºRotten Bog¡» as long as their endurance was high enough to negate the damage, thus encircling myself in the middle of the acid pond might be a bad idea. That''s why we had no choice but to use brute force to prevail in this situation.

    ¡¸GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Rem the 1st was facing against the charging Gori from the front. With Yoshizaki''s axe in her right hand, and victory sword in her left, she swung her weapons toward the advancing ape.

    ¡¸UGOOO!¡¹

    As one would expect, the gori who realized the danger if it got hit by Rem''s sword and axe, cleverly dodged the weapons with an unbelievable speed that betrayed itsrge frame.

    Yup, keeping this guy who could charge toward me at bay was enough for now. Rem''s job was to prevent that gori from approaching me, not defeating it.

    That said, Rem only needed to keep that gori busy for a while Arachne Rem and I cleaned up the rest of the monkeys.

    ¡¸Their numbers are nothingpared to those Jiras in undergroundke.¡¹

    I mean, the overall number of the monkeys on the shore might be only around a hundred. That number wasn''t even enough for them to use theirrade''s corpses as a bridge to crossing over the ¡ºRotten Bog¡».

    ¡¸UKIKIKIIIIII!¡¹

    The stupid monkeys suddenly realized they couldn''t attack from the ground. They then climbed the trees, walked towards the end of its branch thinking they could use it to approach me. Soon after, pouncing off the branches while brandishing their sharp ws overheard, the apesunched a collective attack that could tear my poor body to pieces.

    ¡¸¨D¨DUGIIIII!?¡¹

    <i>But, the one to die is you guys.</i>

    I swiftly spread ¡ºSilverhair Severing¡» around me. After all, those apes weren¡¯t the only one who could take advantage of the dense forest. Although this tactic could prove useless in a in type dungeon room with no scope for cover, as long as there''s fulcrum called trees around me, I could use these steel threads to form a barrier to protect myself from aerial assault.

    Within the confines of the forest, Arachne''s finishing move could be used as an extremely deadly booby trap. Those monkeys needed to be at least as big and as powerful as that gori to attack from the front.

    Those monkeys that leapt vigorously like Ashidaka Rem some time ago were torn apart tragically because of their own kic energy. One by one, wailing in pain, the monkeys copsed.

    I watched with satisfaction as blood dripped from the silver steel hanging in the air.

    ¡¸KIIIIIIIIIII!¡¹

    ¡¸UGIIIIIIIIIII!¡¹

    MUDAMUDA*, ye idiotic monkey! No matter how much you try jumping at me from all four directions, I''m not an idiot who would leave such a gap.

    [TL* : Reference to Dio Brando from Jojo''s Bizzare Adventure]

    Maybe they¡¯d finally realized that I didn''t leave any gap for them to attack after they saw the tragic end of theirrades. They should''ve realized that they couldn''t take the direct attack route against me.

    ¡¸Great, that trap imed half of their number. Now then¡­¡¹

    Arachne Rem alone should be enough to take care of the rest of those monkeys that were clearly helpless before my steel threads barrier and acid bog.

    When I looked at the scene unfolding in front of me, I caught sight of Rem the 1st and Gori who were in the midst of fierce fighting. As of now, they seemed to be evenly matched. However, if I stepped in between, the dynamics could change.¡¸It''s this guy''s turn.¡¹

    The knife I took out wasn¡¯t the Red Knife, it was your average iron short sword which I had plundered from those Gomas. The de was chipped, but it was soaked in THAT.

    ¡¸Well savor the power of this paralysis poison with your own body.¡¹

    Now is your time to shine, ¡ºSpirog''s Poison¡».

    I headed toward the battlefield of Rem the 1st against the Gori with paralysis poison smeared on the knife gripped by ckhair tentacle.

    In short, I could interrupt their battle without any need to worry about friendly fire.

    Most of all, thanks to that gori''s big frame, I could stab my poisoned knife into that guy feeling relieved since this ckhair tentacles moved ording to my will and shed the poisoned knife.

    My aim was its burly and hairy back.

    ¡¸UGOOOO!¡¹

    I have to say, as expected of the Boss Monkey, it sensed the knife that was aiming for its back and then swung its burly arm to flick it off. Unfortunately,  the knife flew and lodged itself into the trunk of a tree.

    Oh shit, it won''te off!

    ¡¸GO, OGOOOO!?¡¹

    That fucking knife wouldn''te off, and the gori who sensed something amiss, let out a loud warcry, seemingly even more flustered than me.

    ¡¸Its movement slowed¡­ Wow, even though my knife had just grazed its arm.¡¹

    It wasn''t visible at nce. But, I''d seen numerous battles up to this point. Thus, my dynamic vision could follow the fast pace movements during the battle without a glitch.

    For the above reason, I could see that the gori''s movement was slowing down.

    And the most obvious ce was its right arm, the arm used to flick my poisoned knife. That sledge hammer-like arm must be extremely heavy right now, I mean, it''s already hanging loosely.

    And its half right movement started to dull too.

    A phenomenon of static-like yellow color appeared on the body of the stiffened monster. Just like the scene in the game that I yed before didn''t happen, its body just stiffened a little. But ¡­ Something as small as that could decide the oue of a battle against an opponent of the same caliber.

    ¡¸GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Rem didn''t miss that opening, she shed at the gori during its numbing moment.

    The paralyzed gori that couldn''t use its right arm anymore fell under an unfavorable situation right away. On top of that, the effect started to affect its right half of the body, greatly reducing its agility and evasion.

    I guess this was the end for that gori.

    The winner had been decided.

    ¡¸KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Though the winner had been decided, Arachne Rem who had just annihted the horde of monkeys entered the fray from the gori''s blindspot.

    What happened after this was a one-sided ughter.

    The moment its movements was sealed with Arachne Rem''s thread, Rem the 1st shed from the front with her sword and axe, Arachne Rem stabbed from behind with Nonomiya-san''snce.

    The gori finally ceased its movements, and was soon reduced into a lump of dark red meat.

    Someone tell me, how did it turn into that lump of meat?

    ¡¸Oh whatever, good job, Rem!¡¹

    Anyway, we who proved the effect of my paralysis poison and won against a yakuza-like monkey raised our weapons to celebrate our victory.

    Today was a harvest.

    ¡ºBoss Monkey''s Meat¡» £ºughtered corpse that has been stabbed repeatedly. The hard meat was stuck to the point that you''ll lose your hunger upon just smelling, it was an extremely useful material in repairing Rem''s wound bybining it with ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡».

    ¡ºBananaimo¡» : A fruit whose color and shape resemble a banana, but has tuber[imo]-like vor. I think it serves better as a staple food than fairy walnut.

 Chapter 111: Two Pieces of Scale

    Chapter 111: Two Pieces of Scale

    That guy, who defeated those Yakuza-like monkeys and their boss like he were some sort of a madman, suddenly appeared before us.

    ¡¸Uwaa, this guy is bad news ¡­¡¹

    It was absolutely obvious at a nce that we''re no match for this guy.

    It would have passed off as a rhinoceros but the problemy in its SIZE. Most of its features bore resemnce to the big animal but with a height and width a dozen times the I once saw in the zoo. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s a dozen times bigger than that delicious Great Boar.

    I might be able to offer some sort of resistance if I were using a variety of my curses ¡­ But I couldn¡¯t imagine myself winning against this guy, it was simply gargantuan, and we''re unfortunately weak in the face of such a powerful opponent like this.

    ¡¸BURURU!¡¹

    This giant Rhino seemed to be the same type as that Great Boar. It gave off this appearance of the guy who would charge toward us on sight. Or should I say that this guy had been prepared to charge at us, I mean look, he¡¯s already scraping the ground with one of the forelimbs!

    ¡¸GUGAGA.¡¹

    ¡¸We can''t, Rem. Let''s focus on dodging that charge.¡¹

    I felt like thanking Rem for her show of loyalty by standing in front of me to shield me from that Rhino but s, there was nothing to gain here even if Rem shielded me from the iing assault. In the end, she would end up as a useless sacrifice.

    The most we could do right now was change the trajectory of the rushing great boar. And, bear in mind, this Rhino''s was double the size of that great boar.

    Having said that, dodging to both sides was almost impossible, running away and showing our back against a charging enemy was even more idiotic than the first idea. Since we couldn''t escape to the side or retreat ¡­ Our choice was to escape from above.

    Fortunately, there was a splendid, towering tree above us lending us its thick, overgrown, verdant branches as a shelter. Thus, we escaped above with my ckhair and Arachne Rem''s thread, carrying Rem the 1st along with us. I reckoned this giant tree should be strong enough to withstand one charge of that Rhino.

    After that¨D¨D Welp, let''s think about that after we''re out of the first danger!

    ¡¸Come at us!¡¹

    ¡¸BURU, BUGOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Thus, the giant Rhino rushed at us with an intensity that rivaled a dump truck. Yup, it was terrifying indeed, moreover, it''s fast. This giant rhino was basically rushing toward us at top speed.

    Oh crap, I might not make it in time. That huge horn might pierce my body in mid-air.

    ¡¸UWAAAA, GO! BLACKHAIR BIIIIND!¡¹

    I, who got a goosebump imagining the worst possible future, threw ckhair''s rope with all my might.

    GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    My body was swaying like leaves in the midst of a storm, at the same time that roar felt like it ripped my eardrums apart.

    Ah, is this the end of me. Or maybe, I''ve already died?

    ¡¸UWAAAA! What the¨D¨D Ouch!?¡¹

    My entire body was attacked by a powerful shock after I experienced a brief floating moment. The dull pain was running through my entire body ¡­ but I was still alive for now.

    Should I say that I didn''t even suffer from major injuries? I, who was feeling grateful for my luck, then propped up my body with an unsteady gait.

    In hindsight, I surmised that I couldn¡¯t only receive such minor damage if I were to be really struck by that giant rhino¡¯s charge from the front.

    But my doubt was resolved immediately.

    ¡¸Wha-Wha-What the¡­¡­. Hell is that?¡¹

    THAT thing was huge. It was even bigger than that dump truck-like Rhino. It was of a different ss. As a demon, no, it was of apletely different levelpared to the demon.

    I was deeply moved to the point of forgetting my own fear in seeing THAT thing¡¯s grandioseness and the overwhelming burly and powerful air around it. The reason being, THAT was the very embodiment of ¡ºStrongest¡» being in my imagination.

    ¡¸¡­ Dragon¡¹

    Ominous crimson scales, a long and flexible tail, a pair of long horns that growing from either side of its head, andstly me spark that spewed from its mouth every now and then.

    Fire Drake?Smander.

    There was no other name befitting its appearance both in games and anime, it had the figure of fire breathing dragon with a pair of wings.

    ¡¸W-WOOOOOOOOOW¡­.¡¹

    Its figure bore too much resemnce to smander but this another world just showed me a genuine wild existence through and through right in front of me.

    It seemed like that Smander nose-dived and captured that rhino when it was in the middle of rushing toward me. And I, a frail and insignificant human being, was sted away by the aftermath of the collision of the two titans.

    Though I couldn''t see the moment when it caught its prey; its prey was currently dangling lifelessly in the vice grip of the Smander''s rear legs.

    In spite of its giant frame, that Smander sprung from mid-air at ultrasonic velocity to the point that rhino failed to notice its existence. I was almost convinced that one kick from the Smander''s leg was enough to rupture the rhino¡¯s internal organs. On top of that, the rhino also suffered from the stabbing wound as Smander''s ws dug into its body.

    That rhino, twisting its body, let out a pained cry. The Smander bit the rhinos''s neck with its fire breathing mouth¨D¨D me sparks spewed out from the rhino''s orifices for a moment and then, its movement ceased.

    That Smander''s me could have baked the rhino''s head from inside. What a terrifying finishing move!

    The Smander who howled as if celebrating its victory pped its giant pair of red wings and flew into the skies again, bringing along its prey with it, or it was what I thought happened in between the moment I heard the roar till it fell on the ground.

    Suddenly, that Smander looked in my direction.

    ¡¸AH!?¡¹

    It noticed me! Did it only notice me now, after all this time!?

    I felt like a frog being stared at by a snake. Nay, the difference between me and that dragon was more than that. I mean, this guy could easily hunt down the rhino who was one step away from killing me, it''s definitely the apex predator of this area.

    ¡¸Nay, that''s not it¡­.¡¹

    Maybe because of the smander''s raison d''etre along the lines of "A lion won''t hold back even if it''s just hunting a rabbit.", I saw it opened its mouth to fire a scorching red fireball.

    No matter how I looked at it, it was definitely a preliminary movement before it fired its fire breath.

    Fuck, isn''t that an overkill against small fry like me?! I resolved myself to die in this ce as the dragon fired its fire breath toward a small fry like me who would die with just a graze of its ws.

    Maybe, nay, I will definitely turn into charcoal if I get burned by this fire breath.

    Give it up, please reconsider your action, I mean you''re going to get yourself killed too by my ¡ºPain Return¡» if you fired your fire breath at me. No matter how strong a smander¡¯s resistance against fire, you''re bound to die by fire if you use that breath on me. Iughed in the face of death for meeting this unfair enemy. In this ce, a small fry like me wasn¡¯t even regarded as a worthy opponent¨D¨D Nor could I negotiate on equal terms with a wild dragon.

    Hyuuuu¨D¨D Booo!

    Thus, the raging crimson me fired.

    ¡¸UWAAA!¡¹

    My body, moving on its own ord, approached the raging crimson fireball. That crimson fireball was travelling at an incredible velocity, but perhaps because I was about to die, I strangely could see it clearly in slow motion.

    I''d never fought other fire breathing demons aside from Orthos, but I knew that guy¡¯s attack was just a child y. The one I was facing against right now was a genuine dragon breath. I found that this attack was the same as the one used by Tendou-kun to exterminate those army of Jiras ¡­ nay, this one¡¯s firepower was even greater than Tendou''s.

    The Smander''s giant fireball which was even bigger than mine was packed with ICBM-like explosive power. There might not even be specks left of me if I got hit by that ICBM-like fireball.

    Moreover, I, who shouldn''t have anything to use against that overpowered breath attack was ¨D¨D

    ¡¸It''s HOOOT!¡¹

    Inadvertently I screamed aloud as the fireball exploded close to me.

    My ears rang due to the proximity of the explosion, my body which was exposed to the heat waves rolled on the ground and finally stopped after hitting a tree.<i>That hurts!</i>

    ¡¸I-m¡­ Alive!¡¹

    I slowly stood up, despite all the pain and shook my head. I was puzzled.

    Why did I survive that attack? Did that smander intentionally miss its target? Nay, like hell that dragon would lose control of its own fire.

    When I looked carefully now, I saw that the fireball had flown several metres above my head, and then exploded in the thicket behind me.

    In short, that Smander wasn¡¯t aiming at me from the very beginning, instead it was aiming at the other monster behind me!

    When I turned around to see what kind of monster it was¨D¨D I found out that it was a giant monster dozens of times my height.

    ¡¸You must be kidding me, is it T-Rex!?¡¹

    The image I had seen countless times inside a picture book on dinosaurs during my childhood appeared before me.

    The giant frame that rivaled the Smander was supported by two strong and big hind legs. Its hands-like fore limbs, horizontal body, huge head, and long tail was definitely that of a carnivorous dinosaur like Goa.

    However, unlike the human sized Goa, the power of this ancient giant carnivorous dinosaur was simply off the chart. I mean, I never expected to see a giant sized one like this guy.

    Its color was ck from the tip of its nose till the tip of its tail. Upon seeing its shiny-metallic ck scales that covered its body, I was convinced of its ability to withstand the Smander''s breath. And it really endured that breath attack.

    GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    As if returning the wee gift, the T-Rex''s huge jaw opened wide¨D¨D What the hell is that sparks-like thing in its mouth. Don''t tell me thunder breath!?

    With crackling sounds, a bright purple electric discharge appeared on the surface of the T-Rex¡¯s ck scales. This electric discharge radiated even brighter from the area around it''s back all the way to its tail, it''s as if it was gathering the electrical power in its entire body.

    [TL : Godzi''s breath?]

    The next instant, dazzling lightning fired from the T-Rex¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Thus, the giant monster''s breath attack exploded in my vicinity for the second time today. My back went flying and hit a tree when the shockwave reached me.

    ¡¸T-That''s hurt, ah, UWAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    I who tried to stand up was once again pulled back and crawled on the ground instead.

    The T-Rex that had just fired its breath attack was rushing toward the Smander with a loud roar. They said that the T-Rex¡¯s maximum running speed was 50 km/hrs, but that thing''s velocity was clearly more than 100 km/hrs.

    The moment I thought that I was going to be trampled to death, it was suddenly jumped high above me. Itnded right at the ce where the Smander had ughtered the poor Rhino, causing a small scale earthquake.

    The roars of the dragon and the dinosaur ovepped.

    Upon a closer look, the Smander retreated to dodge the T-Rex''s lightning breath, leaving behind the Rhino''s corpse. The T-Rex used that chance to snatch the Rhino''s corpse.

    Smander''s wrathful roar erupted seeing the T-Rex snatch its prey.

    ¡¸UWAAA! STOP, STOOOOP!¡¹

    My insignificant cry couldn''t reach the two giant monsters who were fighting a deadly battle to im the Rhino''s corpse.

    I couldn''t do anything but crouch in my hiding ce and wait for the storm to pass.

    I simply didn''t care about what happenedter. All I could feel was the tremor, and the thunderous war cry of the two giant monsters.

    A whileter, I noticed that the thunderous sound caused by the kaijuu-level battle was getting farther and farther.

    [TL : Kaijuu ; giant monster like godzi]

    ¡¸Ha, Hahaha ¡­. I''m ¡­ Still alive!!!¡¹

    I had stopped counting by now and once again rejoiced in the fact that I¡¯d survived.

    Almost all the trees in my surrounding had been mowed down due to the kaijuu battle. The fact that I saw that battle up close and survived felt like a miracle.

    Upon a closer look, I saw a huge trail toward one direction as if telling me the direction that those two kaijuu went in. When I strained my ears, I could hear a dragon roar-like sound being carried away by wind.

    ¡¸Rem, Arachne, thank god both of you are safe.¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA!¡¹

    ¡¸KISHA!¡¹

    When I raised my face, I saw both Rem and Arachne above me as if protecting me from the debris. Their show of loyalty really touched my heart. <i>Thanks, Rems. You girls bravely stood your ground to protect me despite facing against that nonsensical level battle.</i>

    Thus, all of us miraculously survived that storm.

    Nevertheless, having witnessed a non-standard monsters battle ¡­ I once again revised my evaluation about the other world monster. As expected, the likes of Gomas, Dogs and Monkeys were no more than small fries, there were far more terrifying monsters.

    ¡¸Oh God, please do not make those kaijuu the boss of this area¡­¡¹

    I started to get extremely worried.

    However, a good thing did happen to me.

    ¡¸O-OOOH, The-These are the¡­ Smander''s and T-Rex''s scales!!!¡¹

    Because both of them were of the same rank, it was natural that their tough scales peeled off during the battle. I wondered how many crimson and jet ck scales I could find in the vicinity. Though you couldn¡¯t say that the splintered scales were beautiful, they were still precious materials for me.

    ¡ºFiredrake''s Scale¡»£ºSplinter of Firedrake''s scale. Despite being a young individual at the beginning of its adult age, these scales were tough and fireproof.

    ¡ºGiant Earth Dragon''s Scale¡»£ºSplinter of Giant Earth Dragon''s ck Scale. Despite being a young individual at the beginning of its adult age, these scales were tough and lightning resistant.

    This was what my ¡ºIntuition Pharmacy¡» told me when Ipared the two scales.

    ¡¸Those monsters were ¡­ Young ones?¡¹

    Thus, I trembled in fear imagining the future growth of those two young kaijuu.

 Chapter 112.1 - Forests Old Tower

    Chapter 112.1 - Forest''s Old Tower

    I, who unluckily got involved in a fight between the smander and ck T-Rex, was currently walking briskly in the forest after once again being reminded of the dangers of other world''s dungeons.

    ¡¸¡­ For some reason, the number of Gomas has been increasingtely.¡¹

    I said so, looking at the third Goma''s troop that was annihted by me. The one who came to attack first was them, thus I felt relieved for a while now. Yes, I felt relieved since they''re the enemy that I was familiar with.

    Anyhow, though I''ve been walking in the densely grown simial forest, I lost the sight of those idiotic monkeys upon entering this forest, only to be reced by numerous Gomas instead. In addition, the Goma who positioned itself in the middle of the formation, the one with a height to simr a human, made me recall that Macho Goma''s hunting team that I¡¯d obliterated before.

    I¡¯d fought them three times in total, but to be honest, that was an inevitable encounter after smoothly avoiding the many other hunting teams that I discovered beforehand. From that fact, I understood that this forest was their territory.

    ¡¸No, they might ¡­ Build their living ce nearby.¡¹

    The chances of that happening weren¡¯t nil. Goma, the human-shaped monster was a cave dweller, simr to goblins, they weren''t supposed to buildmunities like a vige, or so I assumed. Though their ecology was still surrounded by many mysteries, Goma, who has a lower IQ than a human but more than a monkey, would definitely think about building a den-like ce of dwelling somewhere in this forest.

    The mysterious skeleton that was left behind in that ancient magic facility in this dungeon was definitely Goma''s skeleton. That''s why I more than convinced that they''re not monsters that popped out of nowhere like in the game, they must have some sort ofmunity, or vige to raise their children.

    That''s why I had no doubt that the rising encounter rate with Goma''s troop was definitely because I was about to arrive at their vige.

    ¡¸Honestly, I don''t want to go any further than this though.¡¹

    I think this much was still within my safety margin. In the worst case, I won''t be easily defeated by a small Goma''s hunting party.

    And yet, several battalions with a Goma-like macho in each, on top of that, a fortress-like base surrounded by fences to prevent any intruder ¡­ Was not the kind of structure that could be breached just by me and Rems.

    I didn¡¯t have the slightest idea about their maximum number of troops, but looking back at the army of Jiras in the undergroundke, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to breed until they reached those numbers.

    ¡¸Even so, mypass is pointing straight ahead¡­..¡¹

    I was in deep trouble since the magicpass''s arrow which served as my one and only guide was pointing ahead and not telling me to go back or take a detour. It was as if it were saying: "Go forth, Youth, believe in the future.¡±

    <i>Damn it! I refuse to believe in you, damnedpass! I mean I see nothing but a bleak future in the direction you''re pointing .</i>

    ¡¸But still, I really have no choice but to go forward.¡¹

    I mean, thepass has no function of pointing the road. In short, I''ll be a stray child in this forest if I were to ignore the direction it pointed. In that case, I could kiss a good-bye to the chance of escaping from thisbyrinth.

    Eventually, I had no choice but push forward.

    ¡¸¡­. GAGA!¡¹

    When we were walking in the dense forest in spite of being troubled by that tower, Rem who acted as our scout discovered enemies ahead.

    ¡¸Another Goma?¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA, GE, GOGA¡¹

    Normally, she would nod at me, but it seemed like the situation ahead was different from the normal. It was impossible for me to dechiper Rem''s words, even so I guessed she may have said, ¡¸I''ve found some Goma, but both their number and the situation ahead is different from the usual, Master¡¹.

    By the way, I just needed to confirm Rem''s report and make decision immediately. I, who advanced slowly, holding my own breath and killing my footsteps was looking at the Goma party''s situation from the shade of the trees.

    ¡¸Uwaa, there''s an ancient ruin in this kind of ce huh.¡¹

    The one who stood out the most was the huge tower. The shape of the tower resembled the one I saw before in the undergroundke. Butpared to that, the one in front of me had a bigger diameter while the one in the undergroundke felt more like a lighthouse.

    This huge man-made structure should be quite conspicuous, but the reason why I failed to notice it was thanks to this overgrown forest. The area around the forest was a leveled ground void of any trees, thus I could easily spot the Gomas gathered around the tower.

    ¡¸The heck, someone has been fighting them before me.¡¹

    It seemed the first visitors were noting to this tower in the jungle for sightseeing. Just what kind of people fought those Gomas for the battle to be this intense.

    Or so I wanted to ask myself but ¡­. Those people were none other than my ssmates.

    ¡¸GOD DAMMIT!¡¹

    ¡¸WAAH, THERE''RE TOO MANY OF THESE GUYS!?¡¹

    ¡¸THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!¡¹

    Even if their numbers were less than a hundred, the idiots who fought against a number dozens of times of them in the leveled ground were three young men. It seemedlike they''re in pinch. Their miserable-piercing screams was carried along by the wind until they reached my ears.

    ¡¸It''s just the UpperMiddleLower trio[Totempole trio] huh. They''re still together even in this kind of ce huh, they really are good friends.¡¹

    It was the trio of Ueda, Nakai, and Shimokawa, otherwise known as the Totem Pole Trio. It seemed like they were being surrounded by the Gomas.

    If I''m not wrong, yeah, they''re the very reason for Souma Yuuto''s harem party temporary separation. Because Shimokawa used his water magic to kidnap Takanashi Kotori just before the teleportation, Souma Yuuto, who leaped to save her, was left behind as a result ¡­ His actions and courage to save the damsel in distress even at the risk of being left behind was something too amazing for someone as petty as me to do.

    I was more surprised knowing those three were still safe and sound even after such a hostile act against THAT Souma Yuuto. The majority of the reason might be attributed to Souma Yuuto''s hatred for killing a fellow human. And the rest to the fact that despite the difference between their individual power, the three of them were strong enough to not run away from a fight against Souma Yuuto- the proof was right in front of me- the Totem Pole trio could drive those Gomas who has far superior number this far with their abilities.

    Anyway, I''ve been told that Shimokawa''s vocation was ¡ºHydromancer¡». Upon a closer look at their do-or-die formation, I assumeed that Ueda''s vocation was ¡ºSwordsman¡» and Nakai''s ¡ºWarrior¡».

    ¡¸YE BASTARD! SHOW ME MORE OF YER GUTS WILL YA!¡¹

    I heard a man yell loudly when the Totem Pole trio was about to be defeated by the Gomas.

    ¡¸He''s, let me see ¡­ Yamada-kun, right?¡¹

    His shaved head, bumpkin-like face, and catcher-like build was the temte of baseball yers. In fact, he really was the catcher of our school baseball team.

    But it doesn''t mean that Yamada-kun had a good rtionship with Takashima-kun who I found dead in the beginning, they didn¡¯t seem to be batterybi of pitcher-catcher either.

    Well, it wasn''t that rare for ssmates who went to the same club to not having any sort of contact. I mean, I was the same as them, only talking to Nagae-san who was also in literary club in business-like manner. There''s a slight rtionship gap between the male and female member of our literature club.

    That matter aside, Yamada-kun went to distract the Gomas by himself while riling up the Totem Pole trio.

    It felt like that he has the same ¡ºWarrior¡» Vocation as Mei-chan when I saw his axe-wielding stance but ¡­ It seemed there''s a power gap when Ipared him with Nakai who had the same ¡ºWarrior¡» vocation as him. Or should I say that their fighting style and footwork werepletely different?

    His style waspletely different from Yoshizaki-san who also had ¡ºWarrior¡» vocation. What is this, someone please tell me why his fighting style was so different from the others ¡­

    ¡¸Ah, that''s right, attack me with all you got.¡¹

    Warrior was a vocation that excelled in power, thus they could use heavyweight weapons such as an axe with ease. One of Yamada-san''s swing struck the Goma right in its crown, and continue downward, splitting its body in two. But such a show of brute power will definitely cause an injury as long as a warrior wields an edged tool. So that''s the reason for those Gomas to dodge his attack, huh, I mean it''s a one-hit-kill type attack after all.

    But, Yamada-kun who threw away his gakuran and was only wearing a slightly dirtied tanktop-like shirt could stop the attack of the Goma with his bare skins as if he wore some sort of invisible armor.

    Gomas¡¯ rusty knives and spears couldn''t pierce his defense at all. He didn''t budge even after receiving an attack from a blunt weapon. And forget about arrows, those are already repelled by his iron-like skins.

    ¡¸It gives a simr feeling to Souma Sakura''s ¡ºOracle Field¡», nay, this is more like a reinforced muscle.¡¹

 Chapter 112.2 - Forests Old Tower

    Chapter 112.2 - Forest''s Old Tower

    Or whatever it is, it enabled Yamada-san to have a powerful defense that could repel the Goma''s attack. And since he was impervious to Goma''s attack, there was no need to dodge it. He had no fear of the Goma''s attack since they couldn''t even tickle him.

    He rampaged in the midst of the Gomas''s crowd, caused even more damagepared to the Totem Pole Trio.

    ¡¸ORA!URYAA! KILL, KILL, KILL!¡¹

    Yamada-kun¡¯s strong point might have been his defense, but his offensive power was just about average for a ¡ºWarrior¡». Though the Goma couldn''t hurt him, the seemingly never-ending waves of the Gomas pushed him back bit-by-bit.

    Even the spirits of the Totem Pole Trio dampened seeing the never-ending waves of the Gomas, add to that was the fact that they couldn''t rely on Yamada. It''s not like his defense couldst forever. It could be limited up to certain amount of damage or time and when that moment arrived, Yamada was as good as dead.

    ¡¸Oioi, this is seriously impossible!¡¹

    ¡¸DIEDIEDIEEE!¡¹

    ¡¸RETREAT, IT''S TIME TO RETREA~T!¡¹

    ¡¸YOU FOOL! AS IF WE CAN ESCAPE FROM THIS PLACE!¡¹

    The battle between the Gomas and my four ssmates went back and forth between offense and defense. They might be overwhelmed by Gomas''s sheer number, but the four of them were the owners ofbat vocation, the likes of Gomas couldn''t kill them that easily. But if things kept going on like this, one of the Totem Pole Trio could be a victim of the situation. After all, they''re barely hanging in there.

    ¡¸What should I do¡­.¡¹

    I, who wasn¡¯t jumping immediately to save them, am really the worst. If there really was someone who had shouted those words at me, then it would be safe for me to say that the guy was like a passerby taking a video of the ident instead of helping the victim.

    It was natural to be extremely vignt when one met one¡¯s ssmates in this dungeon. The reason being we had no idea who our enemy or ally was amongst the students of ss 2-7. I''m not like Tendou-kun or Souma Yuuto who could force their way out with brute power. If the situation turned into a Higuchi-like case, another battle to the death between me and ssmates[humans] might be unavoidable.

    ¡¸Honestly, I didn''t want to get involved with those guys but¨D¨D¡¹

    These Totem Pole Trio, the £Ä,£Ñ,£Î, who always hung around Higuchi were the people I wanted to avoid at all costs. They had criminal record namely the kidnapping attempt of Takanashi Kotori.

    Nor can I say that Yamada-kun, a member of the baseball team, held a good reputation in ss. They were in the same baseball club, but even I, who wasn¡¯t particrly close to him, was aware that he was obviously envious of the normal-looking yet tall Takashima-kun.

    However, I¡¯m absolutely sure that I definitely can''t get along with him.

    ¡¸¨D¨DBut, I guess this is the perfect timing to save them.¡¹

    Because my meeting with them in this hugebyrinth wasn''t a mere coincidence as they''re also guided by theirpass to this ce. In short, we''re going to take the same route after this under the assumption that they''re not trying to use another route.

    The strategy of helping them by appearing from the rear like a superhero seemed like a nice and good idea but ¡­ In the worst-case scenario, they could be hostile toward me. Moreover, though I''d no intention to kill or steal their prey, I didn''t know whether I could assist them while maintaining a neutral distance.

    So, I¡¯d better do my best to appeal to them with my kindness in this situation and make them feel grateful to me rather than hostile.

    I don''t think they''re useful but, theirbat type vocation was truly a huge help in this situation. I concluded that it was better for me to work along with them rather than soloing this round.

    Moreover, seeing that they¡¯d already formed a four-man team, I guess there''s no reason for me to worry about the "Three person per party" rule. Also, five people meant that they¡¯d have to abandon two people in case we managed to finish thisbyrinth, but getting rid of two people was even harder than getting rid of one person. Naturally, those two people would be working together to resist with everything they got.

    ¡¸Yosh, let''s go, Rems.¡¹

    After finishing my n, I sprung into action.

    Speed was essential. They''re slowly getting used to fighting Gomas. Though this n of mine might only take a bit of their much more superior number, my action would create a disturbance in those Gomas''s formation since my attack came from behind when they''re focusing on those four. In short, I would be safe as long as there''re no variables like super-powerful-boss goma or another batch of reinforcement on the battlefield.

    ¡¸ Spread ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    First, I made ¡ºRotten Bog¡» behind the crowds of those Gomas. The bog I made was even bigger than the usual one thanks to the even ground.

    All of those idiotic Gomas were single-mindedly focused on the quartet who resisted until the bitter end and failed to notice the poisonous bog right behind them. Well, it''s not like the bog made any sound or smell when created. The invocation of Curses was eerily silent and quiet.

    ¡¸Let''s start from the closest one¨D¨D¡ºckhair Bind¡»¡¹

    ¡¸SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Mine and Rem''s thread dragged the Goma''s feet in the rear-most position, dragged them into the acid bog.

    ¡¸BUGEE!? GYOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The Goma cried like a banshee as its whole body dissolved inside the acid bog, but itsrades were too busy with the Totem Pole trio and Yamada-kun to notice the poor Goma''s wails.

    The other Gomas finally noticed the abnormality after the victims of Rotten Bog increased to five.

    ¡¸HAHAHHA, TOO LATE¨D¨D¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»¡¹

    I had been knitting together an adhesive thread to form webs with ¡ºSpiderweb''s Twine¡» to capture arge number of enemies. Arachne Rem fired her real spiderweb, captured the Gomas who were running toward us.

    ¡¸GUGAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    And then, Rem the 1st bravely crossed over the acid bog. She acted swiftly and precisely killing or fatally wounded the Gomas who fell into the acid bog or got entangled in the spiderweb.

    Arachne Rem and I used our threads in tandem while Rem the 1st attacked from the front. It seemed like those Gomas attributed Rem the 1st with the highest priority since they attacked her first.

    But, we could easily dispose of those small fry Gomas despite their superior numbers since they had no way to attack Rem the 1st who was sliding around in the middle of the acid bog like it were a piece of cake while, at the same time, being supported by Arachne Rem and me.

    If they made the best use of their superior numbers, they might be able to force their way through the acid bog and spider''s thread but ¡­ I was not their only opponent.

    ¡¸Ooh, what''s happened, it seems like their numbers are less than before?¡¹

    ¡¸Oi look, someone attacking them from behind!¡¹

    ¡¸This is our chance?!¡¹

    ¡¸YOU LOT, LET''S USE THIS CHANCE AND CRUSH THEM!¡¹

    Apparently, my ambush from the rear served as a nice pincer attack.

    As a result, the confusion caused by my ambush affecting those Gomas¡¯s momentum considerably weakened their force. I mean look, their mid-rank was obviously torn between attacking their ambusher or helping their vanguard.

    Or it might simply be because theirmander, the macho Goma, had been KIA. Their force that was attacking with their sheer number was disorderly and visibly weakened ¡­

    Waiting for their turn to get ughtered.

    ¡¸NGIIII! VEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    When it came to the point that they''re almost annihted, the small number of survivors scattered around while raising a loud cry.

    ¡¸Oo, we won.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha~h, I thought we''re done for at that time!¡¹

    ¡¸S-So, tired ¡­ My mana is wasted too.¡¹

    ¡¸WE WOOOOOOOOOOOOON! THOSE SHITTY GOMAS WERE REALLY SMALL FRY AFTER ALL!¡¹

    Yamada''s loud victory cry aside, this was the real battlefield for me.

    Now, let¡¯s see whether I could use this chance to negotiate with them¡­

 Chapter 113.1 - Familiars

    Chapter 113.1 - Familiars

    ¡¸So it was you huh, Momokawa!¡¹

    Perhaps it was because of our victory that Yamada-kun was genially pping my back whileughing heartily. It hurt though.

    ¡¸Oi Momokawa, those monster are~¡¹

    ¡¸They''re something like my familiar.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that your vocation is something like monster user?¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaa look, it really is Arachne. Aren''t you a quite powerful one to be able to tame this fe?¡¹

    Well, I guess I¡¯d cleared the first hurdle of making a favorable impression on this mighty quartet by saving them from Gomas. At least they''re not using me of kill-steal.

    ¡¸Anyway, I''m really d that everyone is safe and sound.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, you really saved our asses out there. To be honest, we''re about to be overwhelmed by the ¡­ Come to think of it, are you, by yourself?¡¹

    The Totem Pole Trio was keeping some distance from me due to Rem the 1st and Arachne Rem, heck they were even merrying amongst themself right now. As for Yamada-kun, it seemed like he¡¯d turned into a representative to talk to me.

    ¡¸Well, I slipped and then got separated from myrades. Currently, I''m soloing this dungeon.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, thene with us. There are so many Gomas around this area, and not only that they were led by Govu too. That¡¯s why advancing from this area is really hard¡¹

    Govu-what? Oh whatever, I''ll confirm that matterter.

    Things would¡¯ve been simpler had I been honest with them. Now he question was how to convince them that my vocation a weak-ass type called ¡ºShaman¡» but ¡­ I guess I had no need to convince them since they saw how I¡¯d saved them firsthand.

    That reminded me that I was steadily bing stronger too. Well, most of mybat potential was in the form of Rems though. Thus, if I''d to be honest, I myself was only getting a little bit strongerpared to before.

    ¡¸Yamada-kun, are you aiming to capture the dungeon with everyone?¡¹

    ¡¸But of course, it''s not like we have to kill our ssmates! Moreover, now is ¡­ Oh whatever, what are you going to do now, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, sorry. Please let me join your group. Honestly, doing this alone is hard, that''s why I feel it''ll be faster if I''m working together with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Yosh, it''s decided!¡¹

    That was a surprise, I mean he epted me just like that.

    ¡¸Oh, well done Momokawa, now you''re ourrade.¡¹

    ¡¸We can expect great things from a monster user, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Now we can finally capture this Goma''s fortress!!¡¹

    The Totem Pole Trio also readily epted me.

    <i>If only the others could easily ept me like this foursome</i>¡­ I was pondering over this matter while shaking my hands with the Totem Pole Trio plus one.

    ¡¸KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Suddenly, a girl''s scream resounded out of nowhere. It as soon got me to thinking:"What now!" while looking towards the source of the sound.

    I ended up being the one who screamed instead.

    ¡¸W-WHAT THE¨D¨D¡¹

    I¡¯d spotted a petite girl who made almost any man want to protect her. The fear-stricken being was a blonde-haired green-eyed be whose beauty bore a great resemnce to an antique doll.

    Yes, the one who screamed as soon as she saw me was Reina Adelheid Ayase.

    ¡¸NOOOOOOOOOOO! MONSTER, MONSTEEEER! SAVE ME, EN-CHAN!¡¹

    ¡¸GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    This was the second time I heard that roar but the first time I saw its appearance.

    It emerged from the huge magic circle that was floating in the air, facing towards me as if aiming for my life. Though the magic circle I saw so far shone for but a brief moment, be it the letters or lines that made the formation, everything was drawn with streaks of raging me. In actuality, the magic circle was burning instead of shining.

    This is the magic circle that was only avable to Reina, a ¡ºSpiritualist¡», to call the sacred beast of fire.

    Right then, a fire lion called ¡ºEn-chan¡» leapt out from the other side of the burning magic circle, just like a lion jumping over the me ring.

    ¡¸UOOOO!?¡¹

    The ones who shouted was me and the Totem Pole Trio plus one. And yet, it seemed that I was the only one who was about to lose my life.

    ¡¸Wa-Wa-WAIT A MINUTE!?¡¹

    Though Reina''s appearance was out of my calction, the reason she screamed and called that shitty En-chan might be contributed to Rems monster-like appearance.

    This stupid girl should''ve realized at nce from our conversation that they''re not enemies! I, who had no leeway to cursing at her right now, shouted so to stop her.

    I instantly regretted my decision.

    ¡¸GUOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    With a deafening roar, the sacred beat of fire En-chan pounced towards Arachne Rem.

    ¡¸SHAO!¡¹

    Arachne Rem barely dodged that sudden attack. However, she focused solely on dodging, she didn''t use her prided thread skill.

    It wasn''t that her enemy was moving at super speed nor because she barely reacted to that attack. Arachne Rem''s skill had reached the realm where she could counterattack while dodging but¨D¨D The opponent wasn''t a wild monster but a sacred beast summoned by that stupid ssmate. Thus, Arachne, or should I say Rems couldn''t decide what to do about this situation when my ssmate suddenly went ballistic.

    In short, they''re worried about my status rather than their own safety.

    FUCK, Ipletely forget to tell them about what to do in such a situation since their intelligent evolved at a rapid pace.

    Nay, that''s also a wrong assumption.

    I should''ve noticed it as soon as I saw that hysteric bitch. Acting or not aside, this bitch was the second bitch who shoved me out of transfer magic circle to save her own pussy without any regard to me, her ssmate¡¯s, safety.

    That''s why I shouldn''t have wasted my time trying to stop her before.

    Only because to Reina, I was a nobody. Just a ssmate who she hadn''t any interest in whatsoever. Maybe I was like a pebble on the roadside in her eyes.

    In short, I made a mistake. The first thing I should¡¯ve done as soon as I saw her was bind that bitch with ck hair.

    ¡¸Rem! Cover for Arachne¨D¨D¡¹

    I shouted instructuons as soon as I realized my mistake, s, I was toote.

    ¡¸GUGAAAAA!¡¹

    Despite having the size of a lion, En-chan nimbly dodged the attack with cat-like agility and then pranced toward Arachne Rem.

    ¡¸SHAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    That charge pried Arachne''s right arm since she couldn''t react fast enough. Such was the power. Though Arachne was supposed to be an insect type monster with hard carapace, En-chan''s attack could easily pry her arm.

    We absolutely had no chance of winning by shing from the front in a situation in which one light attack from En=chan could easily kill any of us.

    ¡¸Stop, Reina! Yamada-kun, everyone, please stop that girl right now! My familiar isn''t enemy!¡¹

    Everyone snapped out from their initial astonishment as soon as they heard my scream and shouted ¡¸Reina-chan¡¹but¨D¨D

    ¡¸KYAAAAAAAAA! THEY''RE SCARYYY! HELP ME, RAM-KUN!¡¹

    They should be herrade, and yet, a thunder screen suddenly appeared as if to prevent them from approaching.

    And then, the second sacred beast made its appearance.

    ¡¸KYUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The one who came out from the dazzling lightning''s magic circle was a huge purple falcon. It''s purple feathers were d in purple lightning.

    No matter how one looked at it, this shitty falcon called Ram-kun was definitely a sacred beast of lightning.

    ¡¸Damn it, Rems! Both of you, RUN!¡¹

    Our chance of winning against En-chan was already zero, to begin with. And now there''s Ram whose power should be able to rival En-chan. Our chance of losing basically increased from 100% to 200%.

    The only chance for both Rems to survive this hopeless situation was- Escape!

    Perhaps she had been guessing my intention, because Arachne fired bramble spider thread from her butt and mouth while evacuating from this ce. Rem the 1st did the same, she did a tactical retreat while throwing away her sword and knife.

    ¡¸KILL THEM, EN-CHAN! RAM-KUN!¡¹

 Chapter 113.2 - Familiars

    Chapter 113.2 - Familiars

    But then, the me lion and lightning eagle seemed even more fired up, emanating an even more intense terrifying killing intent as soon as they heard that fu**ing bitch''s voice.

    Oh crap, they''re going for the kill now! Just like when Souma Yuuto used his light sword attack or when Tendou Ryuuichi sted the Jizas in the undergroundke''s tower, I could feel the sharp rise in their mana.

    ¡¸REM!¡¹

    An extremely powerful magic that I could only describe as thunder breath and whirling me fired from both En-chan and Ram-kun''s mouths.

    Rems who was running toward the closest thicket was swallowed awhole by thebination of giant me and thunder¡ª vanishing without a trace.

    ¡¸A-A-AA ¡­ Rem ¡­ My ¡­ Rem is ¡­¡¹

    They were the best Rem ever ¡­ Made from the loot given by Tendou-kun ¡­ I knew very well that it was impossible for me to gather a simr item ever again.

    And Arachne was a monster that was killed by Rem''s surprise attack just in the nick of time. It was practically impossible for me to defeat it by myself.

    Both of them were the best war potential for my shaman vocation up till now. I mean, it was also thanks to them that I had managed to reach this ce safe and sound despite soloing this dungeon.

    And I lost both of them ¡­ Just because of that shitty hysterical bitch¡¯s misunderstanding!

    ¡¸Fu~h, good job, En-chan, Ram-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸GURURU¡¹

    ¡¸KYOA¡¹

    Reina happily patted her two servant beasts while praising them with her sickly sweet tone. En-chan and Rem, the two powerful beasts who could fire such powerful breath were apparently enjoying Reina¡¯s patting session.

    ¡¸God, damn it ¡­ Reinaaa!!!¡¹

    The winner wouldn''t understand the feeling of the loser. I knew that better than anyone, but this experience renewed my understanding of it all.

    Unlike the malice from Higuchi, nor because she felt no shred of guilt for what she did to me, I was really angry at Reina for her irrational treatment toward me. And then, the despair I felt the moment I lost my greatest war potential.

    Currently, I was teeming with anger and frustration to the point of shedding bitter tears.

    ¡¸Uhm? Ah, Momokawa-kun! Hey, what''s the matter? What are you doing here?¡¹

    I desperately held back the raging wrath in my heart when Reina said those words with her sickening voice.

    I got this feeling since before, but could it be that his bitch really hadn''t realized that I was right there all along up until a few seconds ago?

    And because she didn''t notice me until just a while ago, was it her sickening innocence trait that deemed Rems as monsters and sted them away?

    ¡¸Dont joke with me! REINA, YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!!¡¹

    I finally snapped and charged straight toward Reina A Ayase in a fit of rage.

    ¡¸KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡¹

    ¡¸GAUUUU!¡¹

    But naturally, I was pinned down by her summon beast right before I was even able to grab her cor. This was the second time this bastard pinned me like this.

    Damn it, it''s hurt ¡­ It''s hurt, and yet there''s no haemorrhage! En- chan didn''t seem to be affected by my pained return either. Could it be that the returning pain was invalidated coz my opponent was a spirit beast?

    ¡¸AAh, fuck, LET GO OF ME!¡¹

    ¡¸NOO! WHAT''S WITH YOU, IT''S SCARYYY! EN-CHAN!¡¹

    Even with my body pinned down, that Reina bitch screamed even harder seeing that I couldn''t funnel my anger. And the sacred beast who reacted to their cute master''s voice applied even more pressure onto me.

    ¡¸GUH, GA, AAAH¡­¡­..¡¹

    Oh fuck, I finally calmed down after the pain reached a certain threshold.

    I was such an idiot, I regretted the fact that I tried to attack frail girl like Reina in a fit of anger, forgetting the fact that I was just a weakling. I mean a shaman like me had another way to channeling my rage without the need to use my fist.

    I mean I can use the botan nabe to curry her favor or slip in the poisonous redshroom to kill her, otherwise, I had no other way to kill Reina who was protected by such a powerful bodyguard.

    But I lost myself to my fury. It seems I was still far from bing a proper adult since I had yet to be able to control my temper.

    Nevertheless, being pinned down like this was simply too much of a punishment. Ahh, fuck, this shitty lion''s ws started to dig into my back too.

    ¡¸Please stop this, Ayase-san! Any more than this, Momokawa-kun will die for sure!¡¹

    The voice that suddenly interrupted this situation wasn¡¯t from the Totem Pole Trio or Yamada-kun''s voice but another person. Seriously, another person!

    ¡¸NO, NO! HE''S SO SCAWRYY!¡¹

    Reina was screaming in tears. You bitch, why are you crying when you''re the one who attacked me.

    ¡¸Calm down, Ayase-san. You can identally kill someone easily with your power. Look, Souma-kun will be sad if he were to know that you''re killing your ssmate.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, Yuu-kun¡­. I-I see now¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. That''s why please release Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah ¡­ Return, En-chan.¡¹

    With those words, the pain from sharp ws and the heavyweight pressing against my back disappeared.

    ¡¸Yamada-kun, everyone, please escort Ayase-san to the previous za. Please calm her down since she seems to be rather shocked.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-Yes, leave it to me! Let''s go, Reina-chan!¡¹

    And then, like a knight worrying about his princess, nay, it''s even more than that mon. Anyway, Yamada-kun and Totem Pole Trio escorted Reina in leaving the tower area while saying sickeningly sweets words to her.

    ¡¸How''s your condition, Momokawa-kun? Wait a second, I''m gonna patch you up¨D¨D¡ºLesser Heal¡»¡¹

    Ah, the warmth on my back was reallyfortable. Yeah, this is definitely the sensation when someone applied healing magic on you.

    After that bitch Reina and the pain in my back were gone, I could finally take a good look at the fifth man who just saved my life.

    ¡¸T-Thanks a lot, you really saved my life just now, Yamajun.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it''s partially my fault too, if only I had stopped her faster, such a thing wouldn''t ¡­ Sorry, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    The man who was apologizing to me from the bottom of his heart was Yamakawa Junichiro-kun. People would normally just call him "Yamajun", he was a man with a mysterious charm, one might say that he was ss 2-7''s nice guy.

 Chapter 114.1 - Crusher Reina

    Chapter 114.1 - Crusher Reina

    ¡¸Thanks, I feel a lot better.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Just tell me if it''s still hurting or something. I can heal your wound thanks to my ¡ºHealer¡» vocation after all.¡¹

    Thanks to Yamajun, my mind regained its rity.

    This Yamajun, YamaYmakawa Junichiro was neither your average joe nor was he your super cool guy. This medium build, bespectacled with rimless sses, fluffy, frizzy hair was the kind of guy that never stood out amongst the rest of the ss ¨C the sort who blended with the surrounding amongst the unique line up in ss 2-7.

    But his gentle smile and kind words made him into a Bodhisattva-like student.

    And this amazing man could basicallymunicate fairly at ease with someone from the top caste like Souma Yuuto right up to the bottom caste Yokomichi Hajime. This matter was as clear as the day with how I called him ¡¸Yamajun¡¹ like it was a normal thing to do.

    I mean look, he wasn''t nervous when facing Souma''s riajuu¡¯s group, not cowering when he spoke to Higuchi or Tendou-kun, moreover, he was being sincere and speaking with a bright smile to otaku''s group like me or Shou who had a rtively low standing in the ss. I mean, even that Yokomichi was willing to hear him.

    And, his amazingmunication prowess was also reaching toward the female students. Though unlike the boy¡¯s case he could speak normally with someone like a ss rep or Souma Sakura who stood at the peak of the ss caste in the female students¡¯ group.

    And yet, Yamajun had built a personal virtue to the point that he wasn''t red at by the other boy in the ss like Kousaka-kun, Souma-kun''s buddy.

    To be honest, it was a mystery to everyone why Yamajun wasn¡¯t the one to be the ss rep instead of Hugashi-kun. Well, in fact, when we chose the male ss rep, everyone rmended both Higashi-kun and Yamajun. However, thetter then willingly stepped back for the former with a smile on his face, end of the story.

    Anyhow, that''s the reason why I could let my guard down around Yamajun. The matter of him bing a ¡ºHealer¡» who healed wound was absolutely no coincidence. You might say that our god''s patron could discern the true inner attainment of everyone.

    Changing ce, we''re currently inside one of the avable rooms in the tower. Though it was a vacant room with several skulls, there''s a fallen pir that had just the right size to be a chair. I was sitting in there while receiving treatment from Yamajun.

    The quartet of men and Reina went to the fairy za located at the top of this tower. This was all the ssmates who gathered in this area. There were no otherrades. That''s why it''s just me and Yamajun here. He kept the other ssmates away, but his main reason might be to let me cool my head.

    ¡¸Thank you ¡­ You''re covering for me, right?¡¹

    The wound on my back wasn¡¯t that big. It was at the level that ointment A was all I needed to patch it up. That''s why I was really grateful for Yamajun to separate me from the rest of our ssmates.

    Yamajun¡¯s face first looked surprised and then changed into a reassuring smile.

    ¡¸Ahaha, busted huh! Normally, I just distract with vague talk.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I understand with just that brief exchange ¡­ Reina A Ayase, that bitch is the most powerful one and the most uncooperative one amongst us, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You beat me there, Momokawa-kun. To think that you''ve guessed that far¡­¡¹

    He then exined the present situation of the party with a sigh.

    ¡¸At first, I was always moving along with Yamato-kun.¡¹

    Needless to exin that even Yamato-kun, the catcher of the baseball club who wasn¡¯t that popr in our ss, was quite close to Yamajun. That''s why their journey was a rather smooth one.

    ¡¸A whileter, we met with Ueda-kun and co. That''s why Ayase-san joined up just recently.¡¹

    See, because she moved along with Higuchi till then, maybe she''s buttering up to Yamajun and Co. after she pushed me out of that transfer magic circle.

    ¡¸How should I say, it''s Ayase-san, it''s because she''s an extremely charming girl¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸You treated her like a spoiled princess?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, That''s right. Especially Yamato-kun, he has a thing for Ayase-san since a long time ago.¡¹

    Yamato-kun must be a hardcore lolicon. He was a lolicon despite having that kind of appearance, well it might be close to impossible for him to marry his ideal woman.

    ¡¸Haa ¡­ It''s the worst.¡¹

    I couldn''t help but feel disheartened by this situation.

    In short, this six-man party never even considered about their own well being. I might not be able to see it, but I was sure that the atmosphere in this party was simr to a fan club in which almost everyone was trying to have themself ced higher than others for that bitch whose brain was filled with flower field. Winning the attention of that bitch might be more important to them than clearing thebyrinth.

    ¡¸It''s the worst, I did everything I could to change the situation but ¡­ Sorry, Momokawa-kun. Honestly, I think it''s only matter of time before this team breaks apart.¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaa, to think that even you, Yamajun, are helpless against this situation.¡¹

    Though I absolutely wouldn''t believe the lie that smell like stereotyped ¡¸Rtionship Lubricant¡¹ of job-hunting university students, and those two words applied perfectly on Yamajun. He who could treat everyone equally was the perfect person to mediate any situation.

    It was to the point that when we became sophomores, the incident in which Masaru called out to Yokomichi who at that point had been ostracized by the rest of the ss only to have thetter snapped back at him with ¡¸This is why I hate filthy casual!¡¹. Naturally, even Saitou was angry at suddenly being treated like that and the situation quickly turned into a quarrel. The incident which made the other ssmates look for Yokomichi anime otaku was quickly resolved thanks to Yamajun¡¯s immediate mediation before the teachers who heard themotion arrived at our ss.

    Naturally, though both Masaru and Yokomichi never talked to each other again after that, if Yamajun hadn''t mediated, their bickering might''ve turned into a brawl, ording to the ssmates who had witnessed the situation.

    And now that very same impable mediator went as far as whining about the situation in the team, could it be that ¡­ It''s better for me to continue being a solo?

    ¡¸Can I hear a more detailed situation? Treat me as your ally for the time being.¡¹

    Yup, following a momentary pause after I said those words with bitter smile on my face, Yamajun started telling me his story.

    ¡¸First, regarding Ayase-san.¡¹

    Yup, she''s our greatest source of trouble for the time being. Our conversation couldn''t start unless I understood more about that bitch situation.

    ¡¸This is nothing more than my own spection but ¡­ In short, Reina has no ill will.¡¹

    ¡¸As I thought, do you have a basis for that conclusion?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Take the previous incident, for example, Reina-san only screamed that you''re scary when you suddenly leaped at her.¡¹

    Even so, I absolutely had no intention to forgive that bitch.

    ¡¸I understand your feeling, Momokawa-kun. I won''t say something like "Please forgive Ayase-san", but allow me to give you a warning before you act recklessly, despite her problematic behavior, she''s the strongest one amongst us.¡¹

    True enough, she wasn''t a big deal if she was a mere frail, cute, and innocent highschool girl like before she received her vocation.

    On top of that, if Reina''s vocation was as weak as my ¡ºShaman¡», orposed of a useless and haphazard set of skills like Randou-san¡¯s, she might¡¯ve ended up as the monster''s food or Higuchi''s ve.

    ¡¸What do you know about Reina''s abilities, Yamajun?¡¹

    ¡¸That''s a rather troubling question since the person herself doesn''t seems to understand the vocation system of this world when I tried to ask her before.¡¹

    Even the bitch herself had no clear grasp about her own power ¡­ In short, even if the current her was very strong, there might be a chance that she might awaken some sort of ridiculous power once she was driven into the corner.

    ¡¸As far as I know, Ayase-san''s vocation is ¡ºSpiritualist¡» with three kinds of ability. Momokawa-san just saw two of the three. They''re known as ¡ºSacred Beast¡».¡¹

    It seems the ming red lion was ¡ºme Lion Engard¡», and the thunder falcon was ¡ºThunder Falcon Ramudein¡». It seemed that the bitch always called them by their pet name instead of their proper name.

    ¡¸The 3rd one appeared in the form of a woman who uses water attribute magic, ¡ºWater Spirit Seyram¡». This Seyram is as powerful as the other two.¡¹

    It seemed that Reina mostly used Engard, and added Ramudein when she felt anxious. It also seemed that Ramudein only got its turn when she was being surrounded by many enemies since Engard alone was enough to take care of the enemies if they''re in small number.

    Since the forest around this tower was Goma''s living ce, it seemed there had been a few assions in which she¡¯d summoned Ramudein when while being surrounded by many enemies.

    It seemed that there''s barely any condition that would trigger Reina to call Seyram. There was only one-time Yamajun saw her called Seyram when they''re crossing over a big river in the jungle and suddenly got ambushed by a giant crocodile-like monster.

    ¡¸Seyram might only be able to show its full power near the water source. I mean, it killed that giant crocodile-like monster in one strike.¡¹

    Sure enough, there''s no way its power was inferior to the other two sacred beast if it could round up an aquatic monster with water attribute magic.

    ¡¸Do those sacred beasts need some sort of incantation to be summoned?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, they can appear on their own without being summoned when Ayase-san is in danger.¡¹

    There''re a few times when the sacred beast called Engard appeared on its own to protect that bitch when Gomas shot their arrows, or should I say that it was a stray arrow that was flying toward that bitch from her blindspot. From his story, I concluded that there''s almost no timeg for the summoning.

 Chapter 114.2 - Crusher Reina

    Chapter 114.2 - Crusher Reina

    ¡¸¡­ That makes her almost invincible, doesn''t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, her power is really amazing. It''s to the point that I think she can clear this dungeon just by walking.¡¹

    No matter what kind of monster she met, ambush or traps, I can''t imagine all of it would work against her three sacred beasts. And she was by no means slow as long as she rode on Engard''s back.

    In short, the bitch called Reina A Ayase got spoiled not only by our nerdy boys. She who got spoiled by the sacred beasts was the epitome of a human blessed by luck. Even after we got summoned to another world and were forced to clear this dungeon, it didn''t change the fact that there''s practically an endless amount of things that wouldn''t just abandon her ¡­ Might be because Reina herself possessed some sort of ¡ºCharm¡» skill.

    ¡¸But, maybe due to her spoiled nature she ¡­ can¡¯t fight, and you can''t rely on someone like her in the battle.¡¹

    ¡¸I see now, the person herself didn''t want to approach the battlefield despite having such a powerful bodyguard.¡¹

    ¡¸Our fight will get easier even with just the help of one of her sacred beasts.¡¹

    I had expected this situation beforehand but it didn''t mean that I wasn¡¯t having a headache after hearing about it from Yamajun.

    That bitch had the worst personality.

    That bitch made Souma Sakura look like a splendid person since she could fight for herself with her bow and arrow. With the exception of Takanashi Kotori, I mean she realized that she herself was useless in battle.

    And yet, despite having such tremendous power to finish the battle without even the need for the person herself to enter the battle, not even once did she contribute to the battle of survival. That Reina bitch was simply a baggage while I who had finally managed to gather enoughbat potential to get rid of the small fries after numerous hardship and lucky encounter in the form of Rem the 1st and Arachne Rem ¡­. was wasted in front of her power just because they''re ¡¸Scary¡¹¡­

    ¡¸An-Anyway, there''s no problem for the time being. Yamada-kun and Co. were trying to look good in front of her, so there''s no need for us to borrow her power for the time being. Moreover, Ayase-san should''ve started to help us now.¡¹

    I was more pissed off than I thought, huh.

    I mean, Yamajun even tried to smoothen things up between me and the rest of the party with flustered voice but ¡­ Honestly, I didn''t feel like getting along with that selfish bitch and the unpopr nerds who tried to woo her.

    To Advance beyond this, the power of the Totem Pole Trio+Yamada-kun alone wasn''t enough. In fact, they''re almost certain to get annihted if not for my sudden intrusion in the previous battle.

    And even if they¡¯d sacrificed themself in the battle¨D¨D I don''t think that would¡¯ve been enough to move that bitch¡¯s heart.

    Because that bitch didn''t evene to help Higuchi when he was in peril.

    Thinking back, what would¡¯ve be of me if she¡¯d suddenly stopped me, who had barely won against Higuchi, from dealing the finishing blow to Higuchi. Because that bitch only made her move after I killed Higuchi and about to step into the transfer circle.

    In short, after Higuchi died, and I was aware of her presence, was the moment she made her move.

    And now, I think I was starting to understand Reina''s feelings at that time. My battle to the death against Higuchi was only at the level of quarrel for her. And the figure of me desperately trying to kill Higuchi invoked a sense of terror in that spoiled shitty bitch.

    And then, seeing me, who came out as the winner, Reina who was so convinced that she was going to be silenced too for the sake of erasing any future anxiety decided to use that chance to escape. That could be why that bitch had finally managed to muster the bit of her courage to summon that sacred beast called Engard to escape from me.

    Though that event led me to meet Tendou-kun and his gals'' party and gain a friendship with Randou-san, Juri, and Mari, THAT was THAT, THIS was THIS.

    ¡¸I understand, I''ll make an exception this time due to her war potential ¡­. So, any other problems aside from that?¡¹

    Although unwilling, I had no choice but to give in for the greater cause, or wait a minute, though it''s true that I was forced to take a hundred steps back with this case if I excluded that bitch from war potential due to her spoiled personality, this party was quite a bnced five-man party with three vanguard, one rearguard, and a healer. Though their individual power couldn''t bepared to a party with Mei-chan or Souma''s party, their party should be able to deal with the Gomas army as long as their vocation went through level up.

    ¡¸And then, a charming girl appeared In the midst of those guys. Rather, I think it was strange that nothing happened so far.¡¹

    ¡¸A~h.¡¹

    I forgot about that fact since I waspletely blinded by my grudge towards Reina.

    ¡¸Seriously? That circle crusher didn''t cause any problem?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I think she''s been like that since a long time ago.¡¹

    Ahaha, for some reason, Yama-jun¡¯s wry smile seemed to have lifted the heavy mood that was hovering around us.

    Sure enough, the problem regarding love rtionships had always existed in humankind since our ancestors. And that problem was known as circle-crusher in the modern era.

    [TL: A problem that breaks friendship]

    Circle crusher was referring to a phenomenon when a girl entered a groupposing of male-only, disturbing the harmony of the group which would result in a battle royale amongst those friends to win the affection of the girl, one event after another would finally lead to a catastrophe resulting in the male of that said group to go as far as unwilling to see each other eyes again.

    In short, this current circle wasn''t club activities but it¡¯s still the gathering of male youth. Though you might say that age had nothing to do with love, we''re at the age where we''re extremely sensitive when it came to the romance of others.

    Now let''s say that a girl suddenly intruded inside that circle of boys in the middle of their puberty, it was only natural for them to be more aware of the girl''s existence. Even if that said girl was a fugly and unpopr girl, the boys would still be aware of her existence.

    To say nothing if the said girl was ¡­ A transcendence beauty like that bitch Reina A Ayase.

    ¡¸Now that Yamada-kun and Totem Pole Trio are going all out to get Reina attention, do you know how long it''ll be till the situation reaches the critical point?¡¹

    ¡¸As of now, Yamada-kun is in the lead, and I think the other three are envying his current position.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s ¡­ Are they following the pecking order from the strongest?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that''s the only point worth of evaluation in this dungeon.¡¹

    Yeah, I agreed with him. In short, the one with most merit had the honor of leading Adelheid''s Knight Order.

    I mean it''s clear from the previous battle that Yamada-kun with his powerful defense was clearly far more powerful than the Totem Pole Trio. He might be able to defeat the trio at once by relying on his powerful defense.

    ¡¸Unfortunately, no matter how much effort they put to win her attention, there''s only Souma-kun in her eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri~ght.¡¹

    In the end, it was those four who used their battle contribution to decide the value as a male amongst themselves. It''s not like that bitch watched those four battle nor could she decide who was the strongest amongst the four.

    ¡¸Ayase-san basically didn''t even care about us. Yamada-kun, who doesn''t realize that is doing everything to catch her attention which worsened the party''s atmosphere.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, sorry to ask this but Yama-jun¡­ Do you like Reina?¡¹

    ¡¸ I have a man I''m interested in. Whoops, not in gay sense.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ve been waiting for those words.¡¹

    If his reply was something along "Ayase-san is aiming for me", or "You''re just over worrying about this matter, Momokawa-kun", or "I''ll kill you (+Dark Smile)" I swore to myself to escape from this ce as soon as possible.

    ¡¸If I too fall for Ayase-san in this kind of situation, then this party is done for!¡¹

    The problem was the other four. No matter how bad their rtionship turned out in the future, it wouldn''t change the fact that Reina was the safest one even without the four¡¯s protection thanks to her sacred beasts¡¯ protection.

    ¡¸I see, so that means you, Yama-jun, are the one who is desperately holding the reins to prevent the circle crush from happening.¡¹

    Well, that bitch went and killed both my beloved Rems, no question asked.

    That bitch wasn''t just destroying friendship, she was also ready to destroy you physically at any time.

    ¡¸To be honest, I''m really d to know that you''re the one who came, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, for what reason?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, you''re one of the few who absolutely won''t fall in love with Ayase-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you so sure about that?¡¹

    ¡¸I mean, you like ''em big right?¡¹

    Please stop iterating my embarrassing secret with such a refreshing smile on your face. <i>Rather, where did you get that kind of information? Tell me the name of the bastard who sold me.</i> I was really shocked at hearing Yama-jun know of my fetish.

    ¡¸Just to make sure, no one knows about this, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Hahaha, don''t worry. If I really spilled all the secrets that I know, ss 2-7 would basically be history even before our summoning to this world.¡¹

    <i>Eh, what hell, that''s just too scary man.</i>

    <i>Could it be that¡­ Yama-jun was the real ss 2-7''s crusher?</i>

    ¡¸Okee, Yamajun. Please take care of me then.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, let''s do our best to capture this dungeon with everyone, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

 Chapter 115.1 - Cajolery

    Chapter 115.1 - Cajolery

    ¡¸Please take care of him after this too.¡¹

    Both Yamajun and I had be even more depressed after discussing the party''s current situation. We returned to the fairy za located on top of the tower.

    By the way, Reina who was previously weeping non-stop after her unreasonable violence toward me had calmed down right now and was sleeping soundly in the fairy za. The me lion Engard was lying down by her side, ring at us as if to protect the sleeping beauty.

    But, the one thing that made me curious was the ce Reina was sleeping at ¡­ <i>The heck is that?</i><i>A makeshift bed?</i> It seemed to be a crudely made wooden bed look-alike, just barely resembling a bed even with beautiful clothid atop it.

    Just a glimpse of their way of spoiling Reina already sapped what little left of my SAN.

    ¡¸Uhm, I do want to know the current situation, but you guys have seen Goma''s fortress like this one, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we did saw it¨D¨D¡¹

    The one I talked to was Yamada-kun with Yamajun by my side. The Totem Pole Trio was currently disposing the Goma''s corpse at the tower''s entrance. Considering how Yamada-kun remained in fairy za while pushing the troublesome, dirty, and smelly job to the others, I was convinced that a caste had formed inside of this party.

    ¡¸Though there''s a transfer magic circle close to the second tower, the tower itself has be Goma''s fortress, their stronghold. Our only choice is to kick their asses.¡¹

    ¡¸What about their war potential?¡¹

    ¡¸In the beginning, we just followed thepass and arrived at that tower. Those Gomas had formed amunity around that tower and just one nce was enough to convince us that breaking through from the front was impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we might be able to beakthrough from the front if Gomas were our only opponent, but things got more difficult even for me when we saw those flocks of Govu wearing solid armors.¡¹

    ¡¸That Govu ¡­ are you referring to thosemander-like macho Gomas whose size is bigger than the normal Goma?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. They''re called ¡ºGoma?Govu¡», some sort of warrior ss amongst the Goma.¡¹

    As I thought.

    ¡¸You seem to know those Goma very well, Yamajun?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I mean, I received so many emails in my personal magic circle terminal. I managed to understand various things thanks to those emails.¡¹

    I see, so that meant the information received from that magic circle terminal differed from person to person. Was this the effect of vocatio- ¡­ Nay, that''s impossible, I mean Souma Sakura who gained ¡ºSaint¡» as her vocation didn¡¯t seem to have that much information at her disposal.

    ¡¸A Govu''s strength is far above a normal Goma. Normally, there''s only one of themmanding an entire Goma toon, but the one in that tower is basically a toonposed with nothing but Govus.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, in short, their elite troops were protecting the tower.¡¹

    Yup, as I thought, attacking from the front was akin to suicide.

    ¡¸In addition, some of the emails mentioned that there''s sub-species amongst Goves that can use magic. So far, we¡¯ve only been observing those Gove''s toon, but I''m afraid that an even more powerful type of Goma''s species, a¡ºGogma¡», a boss-like being is lying in wait for us inside of that tower.¡¹

    <i>Gogma, an even more powerful form of Gpma''s species huh.</i>

    You can basically find Gomas almost everywhere in this dungeon, but only now do I know the reason behind their prosperities, it''s because some amongst them had evolved into higher species.

    But this information was basically something akin to a death sentence to the current us.

    ¡¸Hey, we''re practically screwed, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We''re basically in a stalemate situation since attacking from the front is impossible, in other words we''re trapped in this ce forever!¡¹

    Yamada-kun seemed irritated as he realized we''re basically trapped between a rock and a hard ce. I was informed before that it had been a week since they¡¯d started living in this ce.

    ¡¸We are basically trapped right now, as we''ve to fight them just to know the situation in their tower or fight them when those Gomas send their troops to our tower. We''ve no other way to break the stalemate.¡¹

    Oh crap, it seems the situation was even more severe than my expectation. Well, it''s no wonder, I mean, they''re already cornered due to the previous Goma-raid.

    ¡¸¡­. Is it possible to breakthrough from the front if we''ve Ayase-san''s cooperation?¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t be stupid, Momokawa! Like hell, I''m going to go through that kind of danger!!¡¹

    Yamada-kun shouted those words with an extremely threatening look on his face. <i>Wow, this idea is rejected huh ¡­</i>

    ¡¸But, Ayase-san''s sacred beast is like super strong, right? It''s not like she has to stand on the battlefield herself, we just need to borrow her sacred beast while she hides in safe ¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸That''s not the problem damn it! Listen to me, Momokawa! You''re a man right! Since you''re a man, it''s your duty to protect girl, dammit!¡¹

    My bad then, that macho theory of yours cannot be applied to me, I¡¯ve always been protected by Mei-chan before we got separated after all. This was the world in which even a woman could be far more powerful than man, sorry to plop your bubble but, you better scrap that feminist theory of yours before it gets toote. It seemed like Yamada-kun was the type simr to Kenzaki Asuna who had to taste Mei-chan''s brute power before he could change his mind.

    Aah, I wanted to meet Mei-chan as soon as possible, and her massive tits that shake a lot during the battle.

    ¡¸Oi, can you hear me, Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yeah, okay, I understand.¡¹

    Scrap that spiritualist, Reina¡¯s actual vocation was ¡ºNEET¡».

    Anyway, I guess the n to persuade Reina to help us had to be shelved for the time being since I just got the recognition of Yamada-kun, the strongest one in this group.

    I might as well give up this n since Yamada-kun became that emotional for Reina ¡­ I mean, he was currently the lead in the race to gain Reina''s attention by protecting her in the middle of the battle, a ce that he wouldn''t give to anyone else.

    I guess this was the stubbornness of unpopr guys.

    ¡¸That means we''re going to capture the Goma''s tower with just the male members, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Hell yeah!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we''ve no other choice ¡­¡¹

    Yamajun could only smile wryly upon seeing yamada-kun''s eagerness, well I guess I was wearing the same smile as him.

    ¡¸In that case, the next thing I need is the information about demons in this area and also Yamada-kun and Co''s abilities.¡¹

    ¡¸R-Roger ¡­ Well, my vocation is¨D¨D¡¹

    <i>Ah, Yamada-kun is an idiot huh.</i>

    He got pushed back by my momentum and was telling me about his abilities. If all of this was an act, then I can say that he was one hell of an actor.

    When Yamada-kun started talking about this party member''s abilities without particrly hiding anything. Yamajun supplemented the missed details in no less than perfect timing. Afterbining their information, I made a summary of their power.

    ===

    Yamada Genki?Vocation¡ºHeavy Warrior¡»

    ¡ºParry¡»£ºRepelling enemy''s attack with protector or weapon.

    ¡ºParry Return¡»£ºSending back the parried enemy''s attack with an even heavier, faster and more powerful strike.

    ¡ºIron Skin¡»£ºSkin as hard as iron.

    ¡ºSteel Body¡»£ºMuscle as tough as steel.

    ¡ºSmash¡»£ºStrengthening strike type attack.

    ¡ºBreak¡»£ºCreating shockwave from a powerful blow.

    ===

    Yamakawa Junichiro?Vocation¡ºHealer¡»

    ¡ºLesse Heal¡»£ºHealing magic of light element, can heal small injury

    ¡ºLux Sagitta¡»£ºLower rank attack magic of light attribute.

    ¡ºLux Shield¡»£ºLight attribute''s low rank defense magic.

    ¡ºSummon¡»£ºSummon low rank Lux Elemental.

    ¡ºsh¡»£ºReleasing strong sh of light within a moment to blind the enemy.

    ¡ºHeal¡»£ºHealing magic of light element, can heal small injury.

    ¡ºAncient Language Decoding?Beginner¡»£ºEnable the reading of ancientnguage. Up to 3rd ss.

    ===

    Ueda Youhei?Vocation¡ºSwordsman¡»

    ¡ºsh¡»£ºStrengthening shing type attack

    ¡ºThrust¡»£ºStrengthening attack of thrust-type.

    ¡ºAbandonment¡»£ºCan react to enemy''s attack.

    ¡ºHi-Walk¡»£ºIncrease Movement speed.

    ¡ºRush¡»£ºConsecutives shing attack.

    ===

    Nakai Shouta?Vocation¡ºWarrior¡»

    ¡ºSmash¡»£ºStrengthening strike type attack.

    ¡ºParry¡»£ºRepelling enemy''s attack with protector or weapon.

    ¡ºIron Skin¡»£ºMade the skin''s surface as hard as iron.

    ¡ºThrowing¡»£ºIncreasing throwing''s power.

    ¡ºRage¡»£ºConsecutives strikes attack.

    ===

    Shimokawa Junnosuke?Vocation¡ºHydromancer¡»

    ¡ºAqua Sagitta¡»£ºLow rank attack magic of water attribute

    ¡ºAqua Shield¡»£ºLow rank defense magic of water attribute.

    ¡ºAqua Mist¡»£ºLow rank concealment magic that obstructing the field of vision by creating mist.

    ¡ºAqua st¡»£ºLow rank AOE magic of water attribute.

    ¡ºAqua Bind¡»£ºLow rank binding type magic that restraint the opponent movement by creating water''s whip.

    ===

    Thanks to the two kind exnations, I managed to create such a detailed draft of everyone''s abilities and vocation.

    In addition, when Ibined the draft with the result of my observation during their battle against the Goma troops, I drew a conclusion that there''s nothing special about their vocation.

    As long as the Totem Pole Trio didn''t hide some sort of a trump card, that was, but since Shimokawa told the other about his ¡ºAqua Whip¡», I think they''re not hiding their abilities at all.

    I mean they could lie to me by hiding ¡ºAqua Bind¡» since Shimokawa didn''t use it in the previous battle. In that case, I could easily discover their lie since I knew from the ss rep''s story about Shimokawa using ¡ºAqua Bind¡» to kidnap Takanashi Kotori.

    On the other hand, their side had no idea that I knew about this magic. That''s why they''d do everything to hide ¡ºAqua Bind¡» if they really wanted to trick me.

    How I wish that hypocrite saint learnt to tell the truth like these delinquent but honest guys. I mean look at them, they''re still honest to each other even though they''re supposed to being Reina Fanclub members, rivals to each others.

    Nevertheless, I felt it was strange for them to advance this far with so little abilities like that. I mean, I won against everyone here if it''s limited to abilities I gained so far but when I was reassessing their abilities ¡­ I found out that their abilities were simple yet powerful and extreme, in short, versatile and powerfulbat-oriented abilities.

    Take Ueda-kun for example, his ¡ºsh¡», ¡ºAbandonment¡», and ¡ºHi-Walk¡» alone were the basic abilities for hit and run tactic, he could defeat Goma as long as he had a sword.

    In short, a hundred trash skill couldn''t beat an extremely powerful and versatile skill. The important point wasn''t how much skill was in your possession but its effect.

    In addition, seeing the quartet battle against the Goma''s troops andparing them to JuriMaribi''s battle, thetter seemed to be weaker than the former despite their simrbat oriented vocation. I mean, JuriMari didn''t give the impression of having cheat skills despite supposed to have the same skillsposition as the four.

    So, there''s still a great difference in mastery despite having the same skillposition. Which meant that the battle sense and individual talent might y a great role in creating such difference between two people with the same abilities and vocation.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, that''s a really useful information.¡¹

    ¡¸So, what about you, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸I''m also rather curious about your vocation, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

 Chapter 115.2 - Cajolery

    Chapter 115.2 - Cajolery

    So I had to tell them about my ¡ºShaman¡» vocation too. Well, I intended to keep it for myself if they didn¡¯t ask though.

    Anyhow, the things that I emphasized to them to a T for the case of friendly fire was ¡ºPain Return¡», and Rem, or ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡»to be exact.

    ¡¸In short, the powerful-looking monster we saw before is actually a powerful version of a y doll.¡¹

    Yes, with gifted materials.

    Now, plebeians, offer yer small fries monster materials to this Great Shaman.

    ¡¸So those guys with you are y dolls ¡­ But, why did they have a monster-like appearance?¡¹

    ¡¸Using the monster corpse as its base material will transform the y doll into a corpse doll.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, then we might not be able to use it.¡¹

    ¡¸Pardon!?¡¹

    Oi Yamada, the hell you''re talking about, LOLICON bastard!?

    ¡¸I mean, Reina got scared by their monster-like appearance, right?¡¹

    Whoops, I almost forgot about that. It seems I misjudged you a tiny little bit, Yamada-kun.

    I misjudged you, pervert bastard ¡­ To think that you''re even more a hardcore lolicon.

    ¡¸I''m sorry for saying this, Momokawa-kun, but I agree with Yamada-kun in this matter. Your monster-like familiar will end up being killed again by sacred beast if Reina saw them again. If you make them again, make sure you keep them away from Reina, or smaller size one that couldn''t be seen by her.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Uhm, you got a point here.¡¹

    Such amazing insight, Yamajun. His assist came at the right moment,pletely destroying my hostilities toward Yamada-kun, and even offering a viable solution.

    I was certainly a shaman, hex user. I could curse everyone I''d a grudge with but it didn''t mean that my boiling point was so low that I''d wantonly cast a curse on everyone that annoyed me. Except for those who tried to disturb my cute Rems'' revival, AKA Yamada-kun and that Reina bitch.

    Rem was my lifeline, the trusted partner who was going through several deadly battles with me. That''s why it was natural for me to wish for her revival ASAP but ¡­ What Yamajun had said made sense.

    Maybe, no, it''s almost certain at this point that Reina bitch would only destroy Rem again as soon as the former met thetter. In the worst case, that idiotic bitch might even go as far as trying to kill me with sacred bitch for using monster-like familiar.

    I mean, Rem almost never left my side up until now.

    ¡¸I understand, I''ll make sure that they''re hidden from Reina''s eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s also rejected. Reina-chan will leave the tower once in a while for a short walk.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously? Are you fucking seriously telling me to not use preciousbat potential, Rem, just for that silly reason?¡¹

    Da hell ya talking about! What are ya going to do when those monster-like familiar of yours make Reina-chan cry again!¡¹

    FUCK, this guy is an incurable lolicon. Why was he left alone until reaching this critical condition?

    My feelings after hearing Yamada[Lolicon]-kun''s unreasonable excuse went beyond anger. It felt like I was talking to an alien. I mean, even those Gomas were more realiable than this Lolicon-kun.

    <i>Cough</i>, okay, my desperate escapism aside, seeing Yamada-kun acting this way, I got the feeling that he''d prioritize Reina''s mood more than the battle with our life on the line.

    That''s why Yamada-kun dismissed the option of reviving Rem due to the previous incident.

    This Lolicon''s arguments were simply too unreasonable. And this Lolicon bastard was satisfied with his attempt to protect her from the scary experience ¡­ <i>Tch</i>, even though we''re clearlycking inbat potential, we had gotten another trouble from unpopr Lolicon.

    Ha~ha, can''t be helped then. I guess I''ve to make a little adjustment to my ns.

    ¡¸Your duty, is it? ¡­ Then, maybe there''s no problem if you stop them at that time. I mean, something like a manly hug to pacify the crying girl.¡¹

    ¡¸WHA!?¡¹

    The color on Lolicon-kun''s face changed rapidly. He might even be imagining the scene of him hugging Reina. <i>What an easy fellow!</i>

    If he hadn¡¯t given such a reaction, I might¡¯ve treated my statement as a tease, but it was hook, line, and sinker for this one. Well, problem solved I guess.

    ¡¸In my opinion, Ayase-san is anxious. That''s why she''s getting scared of a simple matter. Of course, the duty to protect her will fall upon the strongest amongst us, in other words ¡­ you, Yamada-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸I-Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I mean, Ayase-san is just way too timid, I think she''ll understand once you exin the matter about Rem to her. That''s why if by some chance Ayase-san sees Rem and is on the verge of tears ¡­ I''ll leave the duty of hugging and pacifying her to you, Yamada-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Do-Do-Don''t speak such nonsense, Momokawa, Li-Like ¡­ Like hell I can do something like hugging Reina-chan¡­ ¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t be so shy! You know that there''s no one else but you, Yamada-kun to be entrusted with this job right? It''s your duty as the party leader and the strongest amongst us to pacify Ayase-san, the sole female member of our party. ¡¹

    ¡¸B-But, if I did that, it''ll be ¡­ Sexual harassment, right¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t worry about it, both Yamajun and I will back you up to exin the situation to Ayase-san. I mean, things will turn pretty bad when she''s crying in fear, right? Considering the situation, this is our best option. That definitely does not fall under the category of sexual harassment.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see ¡­ You''re absolutely right! I guess it really can''t be helped, Momokawa, leave the job to pacify Reina-chan to me!¡¹

    Easy, you''re way too easy, Yamada.

    This buffy guy should be smart enough since he managed to enter an extremely prestigious prep high school, Shiramine Academy, and yet he had been easily baited by me- someone who wasn''t blessed with a glib tongue.

    Well, the test wasn''t the absolute parameter to know whether someone was smart or not, there''s a saying that love is blind, having this kind of mistaken perception to his own convenience like this might be normal for an unpopr virgin dude like him. I mean, I myself would jump head first if there''s a chance for lucky pervert event with Randou-san or Mei-chan, regardless of the consequence.

    ¡¸Our first checkpoint is to rebuild Rem, she''s definitely a great boost to ourbat potential.¡¹

    The truth was, we can enter the battle as it is but here we''re facing against our next problem, the proper capture method of Goma''s tower.

    ¡¸How close is that fortress from our base?¡¹

    ¡¸I''ve no idea how many kilos distance it is from this base, but it¡¯s about half-day walking distance from here. We''ll see their fortress before the night if we depart in the morning from this ce.¡¹

    So that meant straight ahead from this ce since ourpass pointed straight ahead toward that tower, but it''s still quite far from here. No, that kind of distance might be trivial since it''d only take half-day by traveling inside the uneven path in the jungle.

    ¡¸Did Ayase-san go with you when you measured the distance?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we''re nning to advance as it is after defeating the boss in this ce after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Since Ayase-san would be riding on Engard''s back at that time, we would a hard time to follow her pace.¡¹

    I see. In short, the distance between our tower and them was around 20 kilometers.

    The distance that a normal human can cover in half day is about 30 kilometers, while infantry can cover around 50 kilometres. They might be normal highschool students before, but now they''re superhumans enhanced by the power of their vocation. Their newfound power allowed them to walk through the uneven jungle path with ease and cover 20 kilometers in less than half day.

    ¡¸So that''s mean we can arrive at their tower in a single day.¡¹

    I mean, that kind of speed despite living in the jungle.

    ¡¸Then, could it be that the battle in front of this tower from before was their first invasion to this ce!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, seems to be the first time.¡¹

    ¡¸After continous failure, we have up the n to capture Goma''s tower for a while and decided to use this tower as our base, our current priority is defeating as many monsters and raising our power as much as possible. That must be the reason why the Goma''s side also made their move¡­¡¹

    ¡¸OH F4CK¡¹

    Let alone capturing Goma''s tower, it''s our tower that was in danger of being captured by them instead!

    In the first ce, this wasn''t a game. We''re not gonna meet a small fry monster based on random encounter, they''de at us whether we like it or not. No matter how stupid those Gomas were, with their vige-likemunities around their tower, there''s no way they wouldn''t notice that parts of their army kept missing everyday. That''s why it''s only a matter of time before theyunched an all out attack on us.

    ¡¸Well, they''re not a big deal anyway as if the likes of Gomas can defeat us.¡¹

    ¡¸The one who attacked you back then might¡¯ve just been a scouting group, not their main army. Their elite troops thatprise of only Govus doesn''t even make their appearance.¡¹

    They might be Goma''s tower final line of defence, thus couldn''t move as they pleased though.

    ¡¸This tower is dangerous. We should evacuate to the closest fairy za as soon as possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I think that leaving this ce right away is our best option but ¡­¡¹

    ¡¸We were transferred right in this tower, so we''ve no idea about the location of the other fairy za.¡¹

    Whoopsie, as useless as ever huh, this muscle brain. But, at least they knew that they could only walk around without a destination in this jungle if they chose to leave this base.

    ¡¸Nay, it''ll be all right, I had been walking until I arrived at this tower from previous fairy za after all!¡¹

    Yes, I noticed that we could save ourselves from the army in goma''s tower as long as we could evacuate until we arrived in the previous fairy za where I enjoyed the hot bath, wild boar nabe, and poison experiment on the Goma, ¨D¨D

    ¡¸But, do you remember the way to go back to that fairy za, Momokawa? I mean, ourpass will only point toward the next destination, it''ll never point the previous destination¡­¡¹

    Though I understood that Yamajun didn''t fully agree with the retreat idea, it took me ten seconds to fully understand what he said

    Maic needle always points north. That''s why we can normally use that as the starting point when looking for direction.

    But then, our magicpass only pointed toward the closest transfer point. That was far from enough to understand the general direction in thisbyrinth. Moreover, at times, it suddenly changed direction midway.

    Just walking toward the opposite direction of thepass wasn''t enough to go back to the previous fairy za.

    ¡¸C-Crap!¡¹

    It seems we had no choice but to stay in this tower and make a solid n to capture the Goma''s tower.

 Chapter 116.1 - Jungles Materials Gathering

    Chapter 116.1 - Jungle''s Materials Gathering

    ¡¸Wha-Wha-What shall we do¡ª¡¹

    For some reason, I ended up as the only one who worried to no end.

    ¡¸Hey, this sword looks nice, doesn''t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Wuoo, it¡¯s almost got no rust on its surface at all!¡¹

    ¡¸Fuuudgee, there''s really no magic cane at aaaaall.¡¹

    ¡¸T-The hell are ya doi¨CWooo, the heck, this is a good ol'' sword.¡¹

    ¡¸Geh, Yamada!¡¹

    ¡¸Just right when I need one, the one I''ve before almost wasted after the previous battle after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait a fudging minutes, I''m the one who found this sword first, rather, my weapon is already useless!¡¹

    Currently, behind me, the Totem Pole Trio and Lolicon-kun [Yamada] were making a ruckus regarding the ownership of the sword they found from amongst the defeated Goma''s troops.

    ¡¸Haa ¡­ I''ve enough of this walnut.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we''ve no choice but to eat it anyway, I mean that''s our only source of energy to keep moving.¡¹

    ¡¸U~h.¡¹

    ¡¸Do your best, Ayase-san, think of it as medicine that¡¯s good for your body.¡¹

    On the other side, we got Yamajun who was busy with babysitting that bitch Reina A Ayase who was sulking.

    It''s not even an hour since I had officially be the party member, but my heart was already tired and wanted to retire. Fine guys, have it your way, I don''t even care if this group got annihted by Goma.

    ¡¸Nonono, don''t run away from reality, me, face it and solve it¡­¡¹

    No matter how horrible this group was, it''s still too early for me to escape from the reality of the situation. Yes, it''s still too early to give up on them.

    I mean it''s basically impossible for me to capture the Goma''s tower by myself, no matter how meticulous my preparation. Our only choice was to breakthrough from the front.

    ¡¸What should I do now ¡­ Strengthening this tower''s defense first or ¡­ Reviving Rems first.¡¹

    We''ve to prepare ourselves for counterattack before we can raid their tower. Honestly speaking, our best choice to strengthen this tower defense was by raising our level and transforming this tower into a fortress. These two ns were our most viable solution.

    ¡¸For our tower defense, we have a swordsman, a warrior, a heavy warrior, a healer, hydromancer, and a fucking NEET ¡­ FUDGEEE, all of them are useless in anything aside frombat.¡¹

    I wouldn''t go as far as making this tower into something like a fortress, but we can at least built a barricade if we''ve someone with production type vocation, like the ¡ºcksmith¡» in MMORPG. Well, we''d nothing butbatant type here, even if by chance someone from ss 2-7 had that kind of production-type vocation, he/she wasn''t amongst our group right now, so we''d no choice but to do our best with what we had got.

    ¡¸Ha~, I miss Randou-san¡­.¡¹

    I unintentionally grumbled to myself.

    Our defense would be perfect as long as we had Randou-san, a ¡ºGeomancer¡». I mean, her worth in defense had been proven in undergroundke''s battle, a battle in which her ¡ºMud Wall¡» yed the biggest role in our survival.

    I mean, with her, we just needed a single day toplete our defense preparation with thebo of ¡ºTerra Shield¡»+¡ºTerra Kris Sagita¡»+ ¡ºEternity¡», in addition, when the Gomasunched their siege, she could act as our main artillery with her powerful, long-ranged ¡ºTerra Sagita¡» to snipe the Goma, or ¡ºTerra st¡» to clear the encirclement.

    When ites to a defensive battle, no one could rival Randou-san''s skill.

    But she''s not in this group. How I missed her powerful Geomancer''s skill, her tanned, giant pair of tits whose size was second only to Mei-chan''s.

    ¡¸We may have no magic to create a wall, but at least we know how to build a barricade.¡¹

    We''re just normal high school students without our vocation''s power. We could cut down the trees around this tower and make a simple fortress to strengthen our defense and ¡­ I think we didn''t need a really good one since there''s a chance that the Gomas would nevere to raid our base.

    If we''d no way to procure a rtively good defensive gear, then we could only increase our level by defeating more enemies. I mean, we could increase the number of our soldiers as long as I could use Rem and Rem the 2nd.

    Moreover, even if she was easily defeated, I could save myself as long as I''d Rem. I guess reviving Rems was my greatest priority to guarantee the chance of my survival.

    ¡¸All right then next is depending on Rem''s ability.¡¹

    The choices would be heavily dependent on how much the new Rem the 1st could retain her previous power, or the new monster for her base, like Arachne. I became more and more excited just by imagining the new possibilities of Rem.

    ¡¸Well, the first thing I have to do is negotiation ¡­ Ha~h, I don''t want to do this.¡¹

    To be honest, the shittybination of personnel in this group would only set the negotiation circling around in the same ce. Well, it''s far easier when I was offered a deal with Tendou-kun.

    While here, we''d that Lolicon-kun who would suddenly interrupt the conversation.

    ¡¸Hey, Yamajun, I have something to talk with you.¡¹

    Preparation was important before we entered the discussion stage. Let''s go with the basics by making an ally who has the same opinion as me before entering the discussion. An ally like Yamajun, whose opinion was heard by everyone, was an irreceable existence for me.

    This was definitely not a cunning n. With many swinging voters amongst our group, I could easily reach my goals as long as I''d their votes by making Yamajun my spokesperson. On the contrary, people who¡¯d always disagreed with the majority¡¯s opinion, despitecking any reason to do so, was simply a pain in the ass.

    ¡¸¨D¨DSo in short, Momokawa-kun, you want to enlist me as your cooperator. Well, in fact it won''t take a long time for us to hunt a demon. And I personally wee the addition to our war potential.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s right, let''s do this, Yamajun!¡¹

    Yamada-kun readily offered himself when the matter about embracing Reina to pacify her came forth. Lolicon-kun''s nostrils basically red at that time

    ¡¸So you''re going to make that familiar of yours, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it''s not a problem, right?¡¹

    ¡¸We''ll be stronger if we have the assistant of monster like Arachne.¡¹

    The heck, it was surprisingly easy to convince the Totem Pole Trio.

    Now I just need to collect the materials for new Rems ¡­ but it''s far easier than I thought. Well, I guess it''s better this way, now I just had to do my best.

    ¡¸Wee back, Rem.¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA!¡¹

    The first Rem I revived with ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡» was the most basic one which gave me a sense of nostalgia, Rem, ck Skeleton version.

    There were no skeleton-type monsters in this area but we''d a lot of Goma corpses. Though it''s not like they''repletely useless, the Goma''s materials were basically left alone unused. Their consideration was almost natural since Goma''s materials were basically as useless as skeleton''s materials.

    However, without the skeleton monster around, Goma''s materials were the most useful recement to create the early version of Rem.

    The material I chose to use right now was the corpse of Goma''s elite called Govu. Different from their short counterparts, Govu, who was blessed with the height of an adult human and more muscle mass, was a better material than the ordinary Goma.

    Next was adding the lively Posing Mandragora which I¡¯d picked in this jungle and a drop of my blood. Using my semen would cause various kinds of trouble in this situation so I substituted it with my blood.

    Anyhow, her skeleton frame aside, she was currently as tall as the previous Rem the 1st who has been killed by that bitch. The reason why her basic form wasn''t that short might have something to do with her base materials, or Rem was in fact leveled up.

    ¡¸OO~Oh¡¹

    ¡¸WOAAAH¡¹

    ¡¸It''s summoning magi~c.¡¹

    The Totem Pole Trio gave their honest impression upon seeing Rem rise from the ck chaotic''s swamp.

    The one who helped me hunt the demons for the materials and raising their level was none other than the Totem Pole Trio.

    Yamajun and Lolicon-kun''s were taking care of that shitty princess. Basically, one never left Reina alone with the other. The reason being ¡­ it''s better that way, that bitch had no intention to do anything at all.

    Perhaps that bitch would move only when we''re heading to the next area, or else when our base was upied by Goma.

    Well, it''s better that way. That bitch would only bring more headaches if she loitered around anyway. Even though she could easily win against small fries, she most likely would fall into the enemies¡¯ trap if her opponent was a cunning-type monster like Arachne. Nay, even her sacred beast might backstab her someday.

    As such, we had departed to the big hunt.

    ¡¸¨D¨DOi, I see some Goma over there, what are you going to do?¡¹

    The one with the highest perception amongst us, Ueda the ¡ºSwordsman¡» quickly found enemies in our path.

    This seemed like it''s the most natural thing to do, but this is the first time I''d moved together with the Totem Pole Trio who used to hangout around Higuchi back in Japan. And maybe the first time I¡¯d talked to them.

    That''s why I didn''t even know who was the Upper, the Middle, and the Lower of this trio.

    And so, to avoid creating any future problems because I mistook their names, I asked Yamajun to tell me which one was which and their face beforehand.

    As a result, I knew that swordsman Ueda was the one with long hair. In terms of looks, he was the most good looking among the three, but since he was always hanging around Higuchi, who was practically more handsome than Ueda, he ended up as futsumen [normal looking one]/ikemen [handsome one] borderline.

    ¡¸Goma has no core, the material stripped from their corpses, from head to toes ispletely useless.¡¹

    ¡¸Riight. It''s your turn, Shimokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸Here we go~.¡¹

    Shimokawa, the ¡ºHydromancer¡» was clearly delighted since it''s finally the time for his magic to shine.

    Shimokawa was the only four-eyed* character amongst the three. He had a pointed-sea urchin-like hairstyle, but I suspect the reason why his hair still pointed up like that in this dungeon was that he was carrying hair wax with him.[TL*: Wearing sses]

    Since he had the weakest physical abilities amongst the three, I was really not surprised seeing him take the sorcery type vocation.

    And by the way, he wasn''t a Hokkaido native despite speaking like one.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºAqua Mist¡»¡¹

    In case they encountered a powerful foe, Shimoka, the ¡ºHydromancer¡» used his ¡ºAqua Mist¡» to block their opponent field of vision and used that chance to escape.

    In addition, the effect was simr to Nagae-san, the ¡ºCyromancer¡»''s ¡ºIce Mist¡». ording to Yokomichi, it also gave a concealment effect by erasing the presence around its user. To be honest, I wanted this kind of skill.

    Since the mist blocked the vision of anyone other than its user, we''d to rely on Shimokawa to get out of this mist and avoid the Goma''s troop.

    I mean, it looked like nothing but magic, the mist just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, throwing the Goma''s troops into confusion. I was sure now that those stupid Gomas thought that there''s no one else but their troops inside of that mist. I think I''d end up in the same situation without Shimokawa, that''s why I stuck a note in the corner of my head to be careful when encountering sorcerers with a mist close to them.

    We carefully threaded into the mist since one wrong move might lead to our enemy noticing our presence, but I guess that was needless worries against the likes of Gomas.

    ¡¸You know, I wonder what the other monsters we can hunt aside from Goma?¡¹

    ¡¸There''s the monkey.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, those guys who jump a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, let''s ignore those monkeys, they''re useless.¡¹

    And as I expected, the area around the tower was Goma''s turf, we couldn''t see any other monster in there.

    ¡¸Sorry, but maybe we''ve to camp tonight since our destination is rather far.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously, Momokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸Camping as in sleeping in the middle of this jungle?¡¹

    ¡¸Impossible~¡¹

    ¡¸I''m also not too keen to do this, but it really is meaningless to go out this far yet have no harvest at all.¡¹

    What should I do now, the Totem Pole Trio seemed to be about to be an annoyance right now.

 Chapter 116.2 - Jungles Materials Gathering

    Chapter 116.2 - Jungle''s Materials Gathering

    ¡¸How about we go to the river? It¡¯s less dangerous over there.¡¹

    The one who suggested that constructive opinion was Nakai, the ¡ºWarrior¡».

    Nakai was the tallest and had the best physique amongst the trio. The only factor that Higuchi lost to him was height and muscle mass. I mean, he had those six-packs abs.

    As for his other noticeable feature, it''s his headband. It might be nothing more than simple fashion back in Japan, but it was a godsent item in the battle since it prevented his hair from covering his field of view. Well, the person himself might''ve yet to realize that though.

    Anyhow, now, after I was told about each of the trio''s particr features, I guess I wouldn''t have any difficulties in differentiating them as long as I memorized each of their unique features.

    ¡¸Could it be that you''re referring to the river where Ayase-san''s sacred beast of water insta-killed that crocodile-like monster?¡¹

    ¡¸Yea right, I thought we''re screwed for sure that time~¡¹

    ¡¸We''re basically done for if not for Reina-chan''s summon.¡¹

    Hahaha, look at them, to be able to wear such a carefree smile. My life in this damned dungeon wouldn''t have been this miserable if only I could be as optimistic as them.

    ¡¸Is that crocodile powerful?¡¹

    ¡¸At least more powerful than Goma.¡¹

    ¡¸Its skin is protected with tough scales. It is agile in spite of its looks.¡¹

    ¡¸We can defeat it if there''s only one of them, but there''s no way we can win against dozens of them at once.¡¹

    I saw they''re ssified as small fry monster of Gore''s level. I guess I could use them.

    And speaking of crocodile, it reminded me of Tendou-kun''s solo fight against the boss of Undergroundke area which was the only and biggest crocodile I¡¯d ever see.

    ¡¸Yup, let''s hunt those crocodiles. We just need to kill one of them anyway.¡¹

    Thus, we were heading toward the river where we could meet those crocodiles.

    We encountered two Goma''s troops along the way which we avoided by using mist and soon, we arrived safely in our destination.

    It was a fairly big river in the middle of thickets with rather muddy water and huge curves like the river Amazon. The water was too murky to the point that we couldn''t see what kind of creature was waiting for us inside.

    ¡¸There''s no piranha in it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Who knows, It''s supposed to be safe, right?¡¹

    Ueda¡¯s baseless guarantee was something that I definitely couldn''t trust.

    ¡¸Since there might be another dangerous monster simr to piranha in this river, let''s avoid entering this river in case there''s a bleeding wound in our body.¡¹

    It was said that living beings in this kind of muddy water had evolved their senses to track the smell of blood in ce of their limited vision.

    Though entering this dirty looking river with an open wound was exposed it to infection.

    ¡¸Crocodi~le, where are yo~u?¡¹

    ¡¸This is doesn''t seem like their gathering ce, right?¡¹

    Though we tried to located the said crocodile along the riverside, we couldn''t see any signs of something big moving under the muddy-brown river water.

    ¡¸Then I guess we''ve to keep looking for a proper ce to find those crocodiles.¡¹

    It might sound like a half-hearted suggestion, but we really had no choice. Thus, we went upstream with a light mood.

    It seemed that we''d find a bridge made by those Goma if we kept heading downstream from our current position. But we''re currently trying our best to avoid any encounter with those guys.

    Even though it''d been a while since we''re walking upstream while foraging for edible nts along the way, we''d yet to see any shadow of crocodile. All we saw so far was either the scene where a bird dove from the air and caught a fish or a fish leaping on the surface of water. It''d make for an amazing sight if we''re currently in the middle of school trip in the Amazon rainforest but unfortunately, we''re not.

    <i>Listen up you fucking crocodile, you¡¯d better appear now! But please don''t appear all at once.</i>

    When I was in the middle of having fun with praying for those crocodiles to appear ¡­

    ¡¸¨D¨D!? CRAAAP, something isiiiing!¡¹

    Right after the swordsman, Ueda, warned us¨D¨D

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    A monster raised up a war cry. It''s noting from the river but the forest.

    ¡¸DAMMIT!¡¹

    Though it was supposed to be a surprise attack since it decided to attack us when our attention was focused on the river, its biggest mistake was looking down on the people blessed with vocation.

    Despite being surprised for a moment, Ueda had already drawn his sword in the next moment and then ambushed the monster that thought it had managed to surprise us.

    ¡¸It''s the raptor!!¡¹

    ¡¸Look out in case it came in group!!¡¹

    The one that appeared was a dinosaur type monster. It was a small, bipedal, Gore-like dinosaur, or rather, its appearance was basically the carbon copy of the one from dinosaur''s picture book. If the Gore appearance was prominent due to its huge head and protruding horn, this guy had a sleeker and neater appearance.

    The color of its scale was dark green which might''ve something to do with the fact that it lived in this jungle. There''s also dark-red strips mixed in some of of those scales, overall, their scales resembled camouge suit. And though this one was equipped with sharp tusk and ws, its defense seemed to be weakerpared to Gore whose whole body was covered with bulky-thick scales.

    Yamajun described the ¡ºRaptor¡» as a small-sizednd dragon who might suddenly appeared from behind the thickets.

    ¡¸ORAA!¡¹

    ¡¸DEYAAAH!¡¹

    Maybe because they''re used to this kind of opponent, the vanguard Ueda and Nakaiunched a counterattack almost at the same time. Though their des easily tore through the green scales, the wound was too light.

    ¡¸¡ºckhair Bind¡», ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»¡¹

    Just like the Gore, the raptor was also hunting in group. When one of them appeared, the second, third, and so on appeared in session. Seeing that their number was superior, we''re basically done for if they managed to surround us.

    That''s why I invoked my curse, aiming to hit any of them was good enough.

    ¡¸GIYAAOOOOO!¡¹

    Despite its shriek, the raptor''s legs were forced to a stop.

    Great, both my ¡ºckhair Bind¡» and ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡» managed to halt the raptor''s leg. Without enough power to tear all of the restrain at once, the bundles of ck hair and sticky spiderwebs were proven to be an extremely annoying skill.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºAqua Shield¡»£¡¡¹

    It seems Shimokawa was also reaching the same conclusion as me, he used defensive magic to disturb the movement of our opponent whose number was superior than us.

    ¡¸GJ, NOW IT''S MY TURN¨D¨D¡ºSLASH¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸DON''T FORGET ABOUT ME BABE¨D¨D¡ºSMASH¡»!¡¹

    Our party''s warrior and swordsmannded a critical hit with their skill instantly killing two raptors whose movement got sealed.

    The rest of the raptors couldn''t charge to attack our two vanguards since their path was blocked by Shimokawa''s barrier. But, as soon as they tried to circling around the barrier¨D¨D

    ¡¸GAGA!¡¹

    Their movement was blocked by Rem who wielded her sharp spear.

    ¡¸ Spread ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    Meanwhile, I made ¡ºRotten Bog¡» and using ck hair bind''s tentacle to catch the raptor''s legs, dragged it toward the acid bog.

    ¡¸KYOAAA! KUE-KUEEE!¡¹

    And there, another warcry with a different rhythm resounded from inside of the forest.

    Soon after, the rest of raptors turned around and ran back into the jungle.

    It might be an order to withdraw from the leader of the packs seeing that they''re at a disadvantage. They executed the order immediately and darted to their pack.

    ¡¸Tch, they got away huh.¡¹

    ¡¸And here I was just getting started. Now, I lost the chance to test this awesome axe.¡¹

    Our vanguard duo loosened their vignce since the battle had ended for now.

    The axe that was currently being used by Nakai-san was originally a gift from Yoshizaki-san to Rem the 1st who got done in by that shitty bitch summoned beast''s breath attack. But Rem threw away both of her axe and spear given by JuriMari so as to not damage it.

    Since Rem had returned to her base, the skeleton''s form did not have enough power to utilize the axe for warrior. I decided to lend the axe to Nakai. Rem herself was currently using Nonomiya-san''s spear.

    ¡¸That was rather unexpected but, it''s also unexpected gift for us.¡¹

    Though those raptors had retreated right away, here, we''d two raptors insta-killed by our vanguard''s skill.

    ¡¸What about the crocodile?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, let''s make use these raptors first.¡¹

    They might not be powerful, but the raptors just showed me that they had incredible mobility despite moving in this jungle. Since it was originally simr to carnivorous dinosaurs equipped with sharp ws and fangs, there''s no doubt about its offensive ability. For all you know, it could be even more useful than crocodile in this jungle.

    In short, I decided to use raptor as Arachne''s recement.

    Great, now I could use this guy for the return journey. I mean, humans won''t be able to forget afort once they experienced it themself.

 Chapter 117.1 - Camping

    Chapter 117.1 - Camping

    ¡¸Aah ¡­ Sorry, let''s take a break for a while ¡ª ¡¹

    ¡¸Out of mana huh, Momokawa. Well, not a bad idea anyway~!¡¹

    The one who understood my feeling seeing me out of breath was my fellow from sorcerer vocation Shimowa.

    Yes, I was currently out of mana.

    The reason why I ended up in this kind of a situation was because I used one of the raptor''s corpse to recreate my ¡ºCorpse Doll of Resentment¡», Rem, and another for her reinforcing materials. Honestly, doing that at the same time emptied my mana tank.

    ¡¸This makes You more like a Monster user, or Necromancer¡¹

    ¡¸It''s cool that you can resurrect it as it is. But then, I think it''s more like a zombie with its ckish color.¡¹

    Those were Ueda and Nakai¡¯s, our vanguards, impression upon seeing the raptor''s corpse being transformed into ¡ºCorpse Doll of Resentment¡».

    Her appearance still that of a raptor, but her color was changed to ck and grey from its original dark green with stripes. I thought her current color was more badass than before.

    ¡¸KURURU¡¹

    It was such an adorable purr. The way she rubbed the tip of her nose on me reminded me of a pet.

    Well, the inside was still Rem after all.

    ¡¸The skeleton also changed considerably.¡¹

    Shimokawa voiced his admiration to the Skeleton Rem who just reinforced with Raptor materials.

    Green scaled armor formed around her limbs, torso, and waist, her defense was still a far cry from the previous Rem, but it was far better than the skeleton-only form.

    Just like Mantis Knights equipped with mantis de on their arms, Raptor Rem was also equipped with Raptor''s deadliest weapon, giant sharp w, on her limbs.

    A nce was enough to convince me that she was fully resurrected in her Raptor form with all its advantages but ¡­ What surprised me even more than that was her tail.

    Though her tail was smaller than the normal raptor¡¯s, it grew from Rem''s butt, her pelvis, and continued on with her long but flexible and slender tail.

    <i>Could it be that she underwent something simr to level up?</i> Well, it''s not like I could confirm it since whose current grade was lower than the one killed by that bitch Reina couldn''t speak ¡¸Ga¡¹ anymore. The future, where I could engage in a conversation with her, mighte someday.

    I was looking forward for such a future but at the same time, I was getting scared of knowing her evaluation about me, her master ¡­ Well, I could put that matter aside for now.

    ¡¸Our war potential has increased for the time being.¡¹

    ¡¸But still, the one who got killed by Reina-chan''s sacred beast before was stronger than this one, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed. She¡¯s made of high quality materials after all.¡¹

    Nevertheless, I was back in the first step again right now.

    When I was collecting Jurimari''s spear and axe that was thrown by Rem before she got destroyed by breath attack, I found something sparkling on the ground. That thing was that smander''s ¡­ bright red scale.

    I had to say that it was as expected of dragon scale that could resist extremely hot temperature, that scale had survived the breath attack that annihted Rem. Thus, I took it back with me, and used it to strengthen the current Rem.

    In addition, I also collected the other splinter of Smander and Thunder T-Rex''s scales from the ce that became their battlefield.

    As a result, a dark red, small, circr shield was formed on Rem''s left hand. It might be durable, but its size was simply too small. Nevertheless, the current Rem should be able to make full use of its toughness in realbat after some practice.

    ¡¸Oi, the sun is about to set.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously, it''s already thatte huh.¡¹

    Come to think of it, we had walked quite far from our base. I assure you that it''s not because we took a prolonged rest along the way.

    ¡¸We''ll be arriving at night if we choose to go back to our base now.¡¹

    ¡¸I guess we''ve no choice but to camp outside.¡¹

    When I said those words, the expression on the Totempole Trio''s face told me that they''re not too keen on the idea of camping outside. But it''s not like their disagreement could stop the sun from setting into the western sky.

    [TL : This actually have its own sky and sun]

    ¡¸Tch, can''t be helped then, let''s do it with guts.¡¹

    ¡¸OOOH!¡¹

    ¡¸So that means we''re sleeping outside huh, we did not even bring a tent with us.¡¹

    ¡¸I think we should sleep in the jungle, huddling together to keep our warmth from getting sapped away by the wind.¡¹

    ¡¸No waaaay ¡­. The hell is this! Punishment game!?¡¹

    Well, despite living a primitive life, we''re actually still quite spoiled thanks to the existence of the safe zone called fairy za.

    Well this was also the first time for me camping outside of the fairy za like this. I wished that all of us could safely pass this night without any kind of ident whatsoever.

    ===

    ¡¸Everyone~, the bath is ready~¡¹

    ¡¸HYAHHAAAA! BAAATH!¡¹

    Three naked youths happily jumped into the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» filled with hot water ¡­ hot enough that one could see the steam rising from it.

    ¡¸Ha~h ¡­ so damn good¡ª ¡¹

    ¡¸O~oh, here it is, I can feel i~t¡ª ¡¹

    ¡¸This is it, bathtub is the Japanese soul indeed.¡¹

    That moment, the Totem Pole Trio showed a blissful expression as if they''re melting in the hot water bath. It seemed like my first customers were quite satisfied with Momokawa Bath House.

    Regarding our camping zone, we decided on using the area around the river. It''s hard to find a more suitable campsite when the sun was slowly sinking in the western horizon after all.

    Well, we might be an amateur who didn''t know left from right of the camping, but I noticed that we could literally spend a wonderful night camping outside with my current abilities.

    The first proof was the bath being enjoyed by the trio right now.

    I, who had found out during my crazy experiment of the fact that I could use ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» as makeshift bathtub by adjusting the heat, made a huge pot in which few people could enter at once. We could take the water directly from the river. Well, though it''s true that filling the huge kettle with the water from the river took quite a lot of manpower, I could just leave that job to Rem and the trio.

    Where''s the bucket you ask? No problem, everyone was using their own trousers.

    We found out that it could hold quite a lot of water after tying the end of their trouser into a knot.

    As for the water that was already inside the pot, it''s naturally muddy colored such that we couldn''t see the bottom of the pot. Naturally, there''s no way anyone wanted to immerse themselves into this muddy water, even if it''s hot, but this is where the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡» showed its magic.

    Yes, it had a water filter function too.

    By using its filtering function to the fullest, it''ll keep filtering, filtering, and filtering till there''s no mud left in the water. I knew the filter structures since I went to the sewage filtration nt for field study back in my elementary grade. I''d no idea whether this vague knowledge of mine was useful, but seeing the crystal clear water, I guess it worked out somehow.

    ¡¸Ah ¡­ Shouldn''t we be able to fill the water at once by using my water magic?¡¹

    A while after the filling process, our water magician, Shimokawa suddenly muttered those words. I offered a silent prayer to Shimokawa who got beaten by Ueda and Nakaibined in the background. <i>Sorry, Shimokawa, Ipletely forgot about your magic.</i>

    Anyway, as long as we could fill the giant kettle with water, the aftermath was as easy as flipping one switch. There you go, the hot bath was done.

    I continued on to make our dinner while the trio enjoyed the crystallization of their useless hard work, namely the hot bath. I threw in my wet trousers into the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡»and put it into dehydrate mode. While at it, I adjusted its heat and pressure to achieve an ironing-like effect. So, please forgive me if it turned into disaster.

    Now I just needed to cook the only dish I could cook- hot pot. Just like when I made wild boar''s hot pot with ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», I diced the meat and threw it into the pot.

    Naturally, it''s not like we met a wild boar along the way, this was leftover meat from the great boar that I killed before. As expected of a monster called the great boar, it had a lot of meat. It was too much for me to finish it by myself. Even though it was a week since I killed it, I who had a small appetite couldn''t eat all of the great boar meat.

    Naturally, leaving the meat as it is would spoil the meat, but I had the almighty cookware at my disposal- the ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», this almighty cookware could produce tons of dried meat with just a flip of switch. I couldn''tpletely eliminate the gamey smell of the great bear since the only seasoning I used was salt. Uhm, it seemed desalinating was far from enough.

    Anyhow, I had brought with me arge chunk of great boar meat as a precious source of protein. <i>Now let''s have a st with a lot of this meat.</i>

    In addition, I added the pig-faced-frog that was loitering around the riverside to the menu. My ¡ºPharmacy Intuition¡» said it was edible after all ¡­

    <i>Let¡¯s get cooking the pig-frog.</i>

 Chapter 117.2 - Camping

    Chapter 117.2 - Camping

    Rem had been strengthened with raptor''s material too, so I reckoned I might be able to leave that pig-frog to her. But, to be honest, I was rather worried about this, could she really fight the two of them? I think that pig-frog was just the right opponent for her.

    ¡¸Silverhair Severing.¡¹

    I''d no intention of using a normal knife to do this. I used a steel thread-like ¡ºSilverhair Severing¡» to slice and dice the ingredients, while at the same time improving my curse proficiency.

    ¡¸Yup, I guess it''s not as easy as it looks.¡¹

    The result of me trying to use Silverhair Severing to cut the frog from limb to limb was a mess. I guess I had to aim to get used to this first like Mei-chan.

    My aim was a mess when I tried to fire the Silverhair Severing but the cross-section was neat thanks to its sharpness.

    ¡¸Meal is ready~¡¹

    The thing I''d to watch out for was the parasite that could be living in the meat and be sure to cook it to medium-rare. As such, I cooked it like a hot pot until well cooked. I also included a banana tuber, and several seemingly edible wild nts that we''d foraged along the way into this hot pot. The seasonings I used were only the rock salt that we looted from the Goma, and herb that we found today for secret vor.

    The red nut''s powder just like its appearance had some spiciness. Though it''s not as spicy as chilli pepper, it had no peculiar smell.

    Thus, my original Momokawa-style hot pot (Medium-spicy) wasplete.

    ¡¸Ooh, it looks delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously, it feels like forever since thest time I ate meat.¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa, you''re so damn amazing!¡¹

    Even this modest banquet of meat seemed like the most sumptuous meal for them who had only survived on walnut this far. A normal modern Japanese would''ve some reservations when it came to eating frogs or slightly gamey boar meat, but the trio devoured the hot pot with gusto without even questioning the origin of that meat.

    Even though I was sure that they tried to grill one or two seemingly edible monsters so far, I reckon they prioritized safety over satiety by eating the surely safe walnut.

    ¡¸Well, I''ll prepare our bed.¡¹

    After the dinner which won me the stomachs of the Totem Pole Trio, I continued to make the bed for us while the trio was still excited over the hot pot.

    ¡¸Spider Thread Bind¡¹

    My bad, I want to be spared from sleeping on the jungle''s slightly wet ground with only leaves as my bedding, thus I made a hammock using spider thread.

    It''s absolutelyfortable.

    Without its stickiness, it actually had a good springy texture. In fact, I could use this thread to make clothes. No one had tried to use spider webs for clothes back on the earth since it''s really hard to farm spider thanks to their cannibalistic nature.

    ¡¸There there, it feels really good.¡¹

    I had lost count of the number of trees that were sacrificed for creating this hammock bed. I rolled up the spider thread of various viscosity around the trunk of the trees and choose the most suitable one amongst it. That''s why the hammock was perfect both in term of springiness and the knits.

    ¡¸OOO~H, this is aweso~me.¡¹

    I unintentionally let out such a voice as I felt my body sink into the wonderful softness of my makeshift bed. As expected, no one could go back to sleeping on the Fairy za''s hardwn after they¡¯d experienced thisfort.

    It''s quite durable since it could survive an entire night just fine. It could be forever usable if I were to apply Randou-san''s ¡ºEternity¡», but my tentacles would disappear without the support from my mana.

    Even so, the current me could load a few hammocks with a whole lot of mana so that it could maintain this springiness for some time. Thus, I set my current goal to be able to maintain ¡ºckhair Bind¡» for a few hours non-stop. It seemed that I could maintain this form for hours once I was more skilled at using this skill.

    ¡¸Uhm, I guess I need to make it a bit thicker since there''s cold wind too.¡¹

    Maybe I still had some time before we hit the bed. The hammock itself was well done, but I couldn''t help worrying about the wind. I really wanted to have a wall and roof too, but that would be difficult without Randou-san''s construction magic.

    Thus, I weaved Spider thread in a way simr to a hammock and spread it over arge area as a makeshift tent. This jungle must''ve biting insects, that''s why I spread the spider webs with normal stickiness as a makeshift trap for the insects.

    ¡¸Uhm, it really looks like a spiderweb but ¡­ Whatever.¡¹

    I ended up creating white spiderwebs around our tent as I recalled my experience when I was caught by the Arachne. By the looks of it, it definitely resembled a spider-type monster''s nest.

    Well, this could be enough to keep us safe, themonly found monster around this area was Goma anyway.

    ¡¸Well then, G''ni~te.¡¹

    ¡¸Uoooh¡­ Softly amazi~ng¡­¡¹

    ¡¸I ¡­ how I missed sleeping on a hammock.¡¹

    ¡¸There''s no way I can sleep on the hardwn anymo~re¡ª ¡¹

    The Totem Pole Trio fell asleep as soon as theyy on the soft yet springy spider thread hammock.

    There''s nothing that can beat a good old hot water bath, a hearty meal, and a night offortable sleep after a day of hard work. This was the kind of outdoor camping that made one doubt the definition of survival.

    Come to think of it, I could distinguish ingredients with ¡ºIntuition Pharmacy¡», cook and prepare hot water bath with ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡», and make a bed with ¡ºSpider Thread Bind¡». No matter how one looked at it, Shaman was such an incredible vocation that made it possible to livefortably in any kind of environment. Despite its ominous name, it''s more like a vocation that offering a blessing rather than a curse.

    ¡¸Well then ¡­ Now, that they''ve better impression of me. I guess they''ll at least hear me out starting from tomorrow.¡¹

    This was a gamble, I expected the trio to at least hear me out after they knew of my expertise in this unexpected area of providing afortable living environment.

    They still regarded me as someone who had unexpectedly joined their group due to the turn of events. That''s why, up until now, I''d no idea whether they would really hear me out or not.

    But then, I guess they''re going to hear me out after they knew what I had for them. Something equivalent to barter, no, I wanted something more than that if possible. I mean it would be much better if they at least wanted to hear me out and do what I asked them to.

    Because who else could prepare a satisfying meal, hot water bath, and afortable bed other than me? And who would want to go back to sleeping on a hardwn, bathing with cold water, and eating only that tasteless walnut after experiencing suchfort?

    ¡¸It''ll be good if we can get along.¡¹

    Now I had to sleep, leaving the future problem for the future.

    I guess it''s safe to leave the look-out job to Rem.

    Haha, I guess I really had to thank Ruinhilde-sama for granting me the power that allowed me to experience minimum hygiene and afortable living environment in the jungle. Thank you very much, Ruinhilde-sama. I''ll offer you a proper prayer from now on.

 Chapter 118.1 - Live in Luxury

    Chapter 118.1 - Live in Luxury

    ¡¸Ooh, it''s fast, but a torture to my a^s!¡¹

    That was the impression of riding a raptor.

    Since insides of Rem were running while paying full attention to me an amateur horse rider, or should I say dinosaur rider. Nevertheless, as long as one''s riding it still shook once or twice every once in a while.

    Even if this was piece of cake for the equestrian tribe, it wasn''t a simple matter to me, a modern Japanese born who wasn''t that used to animals. It''s like riding a roller coaster without a safety belt, and most of all, the feeling when her hard scales hit on my butt was an absolute nightmare.

    But, that was the weakness of me, her rider, Raptor Rem herself was a superb mount.

    It was clear from their body shape that they''re a great runner. They''re rather simr to ostrich be it in height or the fact that they''re bipedal. Perhaps I should say that the ostrich was the one that resembled a dinosaur ¡­ Anyway, Raptor Rem, with a running speed of 50 km/h, was a great addition to our war potential.

    Because for the original inhabitant of this jungle being able to run freely, passing every obstacle in the forest with bad scaffolding was far more important than simple pure speed. Though both Ahidaka and Arachne''s were also a great runner in the forest, they''re still no match for a Raptor that basically few within the forest with terrifying uracy.

    Unfortunately, the one who was using that wonderful cavalry was none other than a weakling amateur like me. Or rather, I think it''d be better to make Rem the 1st as Raptor Rem''s rider if we''re speaking about making a proper cavalry.

    My impression about the raptor aside, I was currently on my way back toward the tour base along with Totem Pole Trio.

    We met no trouble on the way back. We did encounter a few groups of Gomas along the way, but our basic policy was avoiding a confrontation with them.

    For this reason, we basically didn''t fight at all on the way back to the tower. It¡¯d be better if it were always thisfortable though.

    ¡¸We''re back, Yamajun. I want to ask you about something.¡¹

    ¡¸Wee back, Momokawa-kun. Uhm, is something the matter?¡¹

    The first thing I did uponing back was talking to Yamajun. Honestly, it seemed that he was more worried about Raptor Rem and Rem the 1st who stood at her side, but I''ll postpone the exnation for the two untilter.

    ¡¸This is about Ayase-san, is she near here?¡¹

    ¡¸Eeh, Ayase-san!?¡¹

    He was really surprised. Well, Yamajun had long since been aware that I held no interest in that b*tch. Because that b*tch was nothing more than a jinx to me, even deadlier than my own curse.

    Nevertheless, this was something that I''d to tell him. We''re running out of time with each passing second.

    ¡¸I, want to make Ayase-san participate in the capture operation of Goma''s tower.¡¹

    ¡¸I see ¡­ It''s almost impossible though.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s fine if she refuses but let''s try to ask her first.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    Both me and Yamajun headed toward the fairy za.

    Upon entering the za, Yamajun called out to lolico-oops, I mean Yamada-kun, said a word or two to him and made him leave the za for the time being.

    ¡¸Thanks.¡¹

    ¡¸Great, this way will make it easier to talk to her.¡¹

    Even though I was not requesting this, he cleared out the people to make things easier for me. As expected of Yamajun, I could never be someone like him.

    Now it''s my turn.

    ¡¸May I have a minute, Ayase-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhn, what''s matte~r?¡¹

    Reina, who was seemingly taking a nap in the za when I was in the middle of talking to Yamajun, replied with anguid voice. The fire lion, Engard was right by her side, seemingly giving a makeshift cushion. It seems she really enjoyed his fluffy fur.

    ¡¸We''re going to capture Goma''s tower but ¡­ I wished Ayase-san to lend a hand with your ¡ºSpiritualist¡» power.¡¹

    I''d no intention of talking in a roundabout manner with this b*tch. So I straight up asked her a question, regardless of her answer.

    ¡¸Eh ¡­ T-That''s impossible, I ¡­ I''m ¡­ Scared of fighting¡ª ¡¹

    Reina was indeed a frail-looking girl.

    <i>Then what in the hell is the monster you are using as a sofa,</i> was what I wanted to say but held back for now.

    ¡¸It''s not like you need to fight in the front line, I mean, look at that Engard and the other sacred beast, they can fight for you right? You can ask them to help us while staying safe and sound in this ce.¡¹

    ¡¸NO! WHY ARE YOU ASKING SUCH A CRUEL THING AS MAKING EVERYONE LEAVE ME!¡¹

    Engard was ring at me as if responding to this b*tch¡¯s irritation.

    I see, well it''s impossible to talk with this b*tch after all.

    I''d kinda expected this reaction, or should I say that I knew this would happen all along but ¡­ it seemed like I ended up pissing off the sacred beast too.

    ¡¸C-Calm down, Ayase-san. It''s not like Momokawa-kun wants to force you to fight. We¡¯re only asking you to lend your powerful sacred beast to help us.¡¹

    <i>Nice timing, thank you very much Yamajun.</i><i>Thanks to you I didn''t end up instigating Engard even more with this b*tch¡¯s disgusting weeping-act.</i>

    ¡¸Yeah, I just want to confirm. Can I take it that you, Ayase-san, don¡¯t want to lend your sacred beast to us at all?¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll always be with everyone¡ª¡¹

    <i>The hell with that double meaning sentence, you two-faced b*tch.</i> Inviting this b*tch was like inviting a thug who you could speak logic with. No, her double meaning sentence which seemed like she was willing to help with some negotiation was troubling after all.

    ¡¸I understand, I won''t ask you to help us again. But, if you feel like helping, we''re more than willing to ept your help. I mean, we''ll still be no match for you even if we''re grouping together to attack you after all. That¡¯s just how strong your power as ¡ºSpiritualist¡»is. And by my estimation, you can actually capture Goma''s tower by yourself.¡¹

    That b*tch didn''t show any reaction to my words. As if to say that she didn''t want to hear this talk anymore.

    For Reina, I might be just an annoying guy who always scared her, so she didn''t want to interact with me as much as possible. But for me, she only judged people whether they''re an annoyance or not, an extremely selfish b*tch.

    <i>Fine then, since you don''t want to hear annoying things from me, then I''ll give you what you want-fort.</i>

    ¡¸My bad then, since I¡¯ve displeased you, I guess my only choice is to NOT interact with you at all then, Ayase-san.¡¹

    Negotiation met a failure, so I turned around and walked away from that unpleasant b*tch.

    Yamajun who seemed to be surprised at seeing me back off so easily chased me in hurry.

    ¡¸Uhm, Momokawa-kun, are you really okay with this?¡¹

    Yamajun asked me as soon as we left the za. Well, you couldn''t even call the previous negotiation as "Negotiation", because to me, it felt like talking to a wall- no bargain whatsoever at all.

    ¡¸Yeah, though I¡¯d expected this result, I wanted to at least try asking nicely.¡¹

    ¡¸But still¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸Rather than that, Yamajun, do you want to have dinner? Or a bath? Or¡­¡¹

    [TL: Momokawa, the hell you''re asking him]

    I said the phrase that I heard somewhere before with a wicked smile stered on my face.

    ===

    ¡¸Momokawa!! This is the great boar you''re talking about, right!?¡¹

    That night, the brave Totem Pole Trio''s shout resounded inside our base. I came in hurry as soon as they called out my name and see, their catch was the great boar indeed. The trio and Rem, each carrying one of its leg, despite their tired face. I could see proud smile on their faces. That was the face of a splendid hunter upon bringing back a game.

    It seemed like they had seeded in hunting the targetted prey.

    I mean, I would''ve expected them to bring back PigFrog or snake and yet, they brought back the best game I had never hoped for.

    ¡¸Thank you. With this, we need not worry over the meat provisions for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸HELL YEAAAAH!¡¹

    Meanwhile, the three who became the first victims of my witch nabe raised a joyful roar. Fumu, they''re brimming with anticipation.

    ¡¸Now help me drain its blood, we can start the dismantling process after that.¡¹

    ¡¸Uoo, leave it to me, I''ll do anything to eat that delicious meat.¡¹

    I thought they''re going to raise a protest after tiring themself in the hunt, but it seemed my worries are unnecessary. I mean there''s nothing to lose with more help.

    Thus, we and some background charas were making a merry as we prepared the great boar.

    ¡¸You guys, what are you being noisy about?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, so you really gonna do that n huh¡­ Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    Yamada and Yamajun who I invited to the great boar feast showed their face as they leave the tower. In fact, I''d told Yamajun before that I''d the necessary skills to distinguish edible stuffs from non-edible stuff which included the skill to cook them, and I tried it on the Totem Pole Trio during our outdoor campingst night.

    Since I found it troublesome to exin it again and again, I entrusted Yamajun with the job of exining things to Yamada-kun.

    ¡¸Seriosly dude, you mean those monsters are edible¡ª¡¹

    Welp, what''s with that fastidious reaction which felt out of ce for someone like Yamada-kun. Anyhow, he just needed a taste to know that I was telling the truth. I mean, there''s no way that anyone who only ate that monk-like menu, namely tasteless walnut, could resist the temptation of meat after so long.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWell, here you go, it''s done.¡¹

    Thus, boar hot pot,plete. With bananatoes on the top of the list, I''ve also added mushroom and the herbs that I found growing around the tower.

    ¡¸Uhm!? S-So GOOOD!!¡¹

    Yamada¡¯s reaction was already within my prediction. I mean, the Totem Pole Trio whose stomach was already enved by the wonderfulness of my witch kettle was already devouring the hot pot in silence.

    ¡¸Amazing, this is so damn delicious.¡¹

    ¡¸It still has a slightly gamey smell but aside from that, it''s really delicious.¡¹

    Though I''d no idea which of the wild grasses could lessen the gamey smell, it''s still a huge sess. One of those grasses might be herb. The area around this tower was surprisingly full of those useful herbs.

    ¡¸Then, though it''s rather forced, shall we add more of those herbs.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it''s better to stop since there''s some inedible stuff too.¡¹

 Chapter 118.2 - Live in Luxury

    Chapter 118.2 - Live in Luxury

    As expected, even Yamajun made a slip in front of such a delicious meal that he missed so dearly.

    In fact, this jungle''s flora and fauna far surpassed all the areas that I visited beforebined. That''s why I was sure that we could find a typical nature like this outside of this dungeon.

    The dungeon menu created by Mei-chan consisted of ebicaterpir and snake, but the jungle was literally suffused with food as long as we''re looking for it. It''s like a treasure trove of foodstuffs ¡­ With some poisonous stuff mixed in. And that was excluding the dangerous things with parasites or fungi.

    I should mention, to anyone, unlike me who possessed a high recognition skill, the chances of running into dangerous stuff was extremely high. And that danger soared even higher when it came to mushrooms and nts type food. I mean, that red mushroom poison was strong enough to knock out the armored bear.

    ¡¸Anyhow, with my ¡ºIntuition Pharmacy¡», we no longer have to worry about finding the right foodstuff. It''s an irreceable hunting skill.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks a lot, Momokawa-kun. To be honest, I''m tired of walnut already ¡­ Ayase-san is also delighted with this finding.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I''m d that you like it.¡¹

    Even I could tell that my reply was a big fat lie.

    I shot a sidelong nce toward that bi¨C I mean Reina A Ayase who was nibbling on the great boar hot pot from her bowl like a small animal.

    She got a free meal without even doing anything, she was really enjoying her NEET-like lifestyle. <i>Was the meal you ate for free really that delicious?</i>

    ¡¸Huffhuff, shoo good.¡¹

    You''re whining over eating the walnut. Now look, it''s as if you can''t get enough of the taste of fresh, oily meat.

    If I were a chef, I would surely be fired up right now after seeing that b*tch smile, but instead of warming my heart, it gradually went toward absolute zero.

    Naturally, I was really delighted since she liked my great boar hot pot, besides, everything went ording to my n. Honestly, the most troublesome part of my ns was whether she¡¯d like this hot pot or not.

    ¡¸Eat as much as you want Reina-chan, there''s still a lot of it left after all.¡¹

    ¡¸This is the most delicious part, do you want to try it?¡¹

    Before I noticed, they¡¯d already formed a ring around Reina with Yamada at the helm. As expected of a princess, she really was throwing her weight, huh.

    The Totem Pole Trio, save for Shimokawa who was aiming for Takanashi Kotori didn''t give the air of lol!con like Yamada-kun. But, Reina had this kind of charm that lured the opposite sex into pampering her, regardless of their preference.

    I mean, I would basically leave her to her own devices if she didn''t mess with me. I swear upon Ruinhilde-sama''s name to not harbour any kind of dirty passion as a man towards that blonde lol!- I mean, her type waspletely out of my range, thus I was protected. But I was also scared since deep inside something was whispering to me to join the quartet.

    After I snapped out of my trance and got away as far as possible, I prepared a nice hot bath for them.

    ¡¸¨D¨DThe big one is for males, the small one is for females.¡¹

    They were all lying around on thewn with bulging stomachs after the dinner, however, I choose the right time to interrupt their rest.

    ¡¸F-Female bath ¡­ gulp¡¹

    <i>Oi, Yamada, what''s with that pause just now? Your reaction was definitely that of a lo¨C ah, forget it!</i>

    ¡¸Well, I guess everyone has to leave when it''s Ayase-san''s turn to take a bath.¡¹

    I mean, we''ll be grilled by that scary lion if we didn''t leave when she took a bath. Or rather, that guy had already shot a menacing look at us.

    Anyhow, I guess it''s ready seeing how the steam rising from the bathtub was thick enough. Naturally, Shimokawa yed a big role as the aquamancer in filling the bathtub to the brim.

    ¡¸Waah, it''s a bathtub, a bathtub! YAAAY!¡¹

    Since Reina was merrily looking at the prepared hot bathtub, it was unterally decided that she''d take the first turn. Oi, who was the bastard who said, ¡¸Let''s decide on turns to take a bath with rock paper scissor¡¹? I mean, it''s natural for men to want to enter the bathtub first.

    And yet, look at them, folding in in front of that shitty b*tch''s smile ¡­ All of us then left the Fairy za in silence after Engard threatened us with his menacing groan.

    ¡¸Well then, next up is making bed huh ¡­¡¹

    I proceeded with thest preparation- making the spider thread''s hammock like the one fromst night. I reckoned Reina might have some apprehension since it looked extremely simr to a giant spiderweb but ¡­

    ¡¸Waah, amazing!! A hammock, kyaah!¡¹

    It ended up as needless anxiety when I saw Reina, who just finishing her bath, frolicking like an elementary grade kid as soon as she glimpsed the hammock.

    ¡¸Let''s sleep together in this ce, En-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Yeah, it''s big enough for Engard too.¡¹

    I pumped myself with the best services I could muster to fulfill Reina''s ballooning wilfulness and made a bigger hammock while at it. The Arachne''s spiderwebs itself was really durable since it''s loaded with a lot of mana. Even a big lion like Engard could lie down on it just fine as long as it didn''t move wildly in its sleep, or rather, I unconsciously created an arachne-sized nest hammock, I guess it could hold on.

    ¡¸Yaay, g''ni~te¡¹

    The sh*tty princess who was snuggling up on the hammock in ce of Engard''s fluffy furs had already begun her journey towards the dreand. That selfish princess didn''t even say ¡¸Thank you¡¹ to me, the one who prepared all of this till the very end and just slept ¡­ being her selfish self per usual.

    Well, it didn''t matter anyway. The reason I¡¯d prepared the food, bed, and bath was to level our ying ground anyway. I didn''t need her gratitude, it was enough as long as that sh!tty b!tch realized my value.

    Now, all that left was to bring her to the negotiation table.

    ¡¸Oi, Momokawa.¡¹

    After Reina fell asleep, Yamada called out to me just before we were about to leave the Fairy za. <i>What now? I should''ve prepared a hammock for you too ¡­</i>

    ¡¸Well, I just want to say thank you for the meal and bath and ¡­ You can get closer to Reina-chan with this.¡¹

    Haha, this is why I hate boys who fall in love. Let''s terminate this ugly jealousy of this boy!

    Even though I was already fed up with this kind of misdirected jealousy, I countered Yamajun''s with a smile.

    ¡¸Yamada-kun, the truth is, I''m in love with Futaba-san.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ EH!?¡¹

    Yamada was clearly surprised by my unexpected remark.

    ¡¸You''re into that chubby kind of a girl huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, ah ¡­ Yes.¡¹

    Thank you Mei-chan. You protected me even when you''re not in this ce¨D¨D So allow me to borrow your name here for my own convenience. I mean, I was really gunning for you even when you''re still as round as before.

    ¡¸In addition, we''re a team now, right? That''s why I think that I''ve to at least make this much contribution to the team due to myck ofbat prowess. That''s why I''ll do to the best of my abilities to restore everyone''s spirit before the battle.¡¹

    ¡¸O-O~h.¡¹

    After diverting the bombshell, I was back to convince Yamada-kun with sound reasoning. He who had no power left to make a quarrel with me obediently epted my reasoning.

    <i>That reasoning aside, Yamada-kun, you''re way too easy to cheat you know?</i>

    ¡¸Then, let''s sleep in preparation for tomorrow. G''nite.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, G''nite.¡¹

    After I managed to divert Yamada-kun''s jealousy and left the Fairy za, I saw Yamajun smiling wryly as if to say ¡¸It seems my intermediation is unnecessary.¡¹.

    ¡¸¡­ Fuuh.¡¹

    Even if it''s not a fairy za, everyone should be able to at least calm down in their own room. Maybe because of the change in habit, everyone came to the conclusion that it''s safer to sleep in the fairy za. Still, I rather sleep in a different room.

    Different from the tower in the undergroundke, this tower had several empty rooms. I chose the small andpact one amongst them all as my personal room. Rem the 1st was standing by outside of my room, while Raptor Rem was by the entrance of the tower as our watch out. Thank you for your hard work today.

    ¡¸¡­ Fuuh.¡¹

    Nevertheless, there''s nothing that can beat your own room. I could do almost anything in my own room without having to worry about outsider''s eyes.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, Randou-san.¡¹

    Thus, I began my journey to the dreand after I had stowed away those wonderful leopard panties back in their safe box.

    Yup, tomorrow was finally the time to propose Goma''s tower capture strategy to everyone. I couldn''t help but feel worried though I felt that my current preparation was enough.

    <i>Let''s just do my best with my shaman vocation! </i>

 Chapter 119.1 - Equivalent Exchange

    Chapter 119.1 - Equivalent Exchange

    ¡¸There''s something I want to say before we have breakfast.¡¹

    I said so to everyone before I thawed the leftover great boar hot pot fromst night which I sh-froze with Witch''s Kettle.

    Yes, by everyone, I mean all the ssmates gathered in this tower. They just couldn''t wait for me to thaw the hot pot and get a serving of THAT.

    Good grief, did they really think that I, who am nothing more than your average stingy otaku, would give them a free meal like their mothers? I''m not some sort of samaritan you know.

    ¡¸Oh, what''s the matter, Momokawa? Can that wait till after breakfast?¡¹

    Perhaps his hunger forced Yamada to voice hisin.

    ¡¸It''s important.¡¹

    ¡¸Eeeh.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, Momokawa-kun seems to be rather serious about this matter, let''s hear him first.¡¹

    <i>Nice assist, Yamajun!</i> Now Yamada had no choice but to listen obediently like a good child. I mean, it''s not like breakfast was gonna escape anyway.

    ¡¸I think everyone¡¯s noticed that the Gomas were aiming for our tower.¡¹

    It was clear to me that everyone was underestimating this situation. But, I guess they''re unwilling to ept this situation to prevent Reina from throwing a tantrum.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just as you say but, sooner orter, the Goma Fortress is gonna send arge force to capture this tower.¡¹

    ¡¸Why in the heck are you saying something like that? At least show us some proof.¡¹

    ¡¸Have you noticed that there''s always Goma toon stationed close to this tower for the sake of observation?¡¹

    Yesterday, on the way back after obtaining Raptor Rem, the reason we never fought that toon was because they avoided us.

    They might understand the difference between the two sides of power¡­ But, it couldn''t exin the reason behind them trying to avoid us since the Gomas I knew so far have always been charging straight at us as soon as they spotted us.

    Thus, I concluded that they''re ordered by a much stronger superior to not attack any group of humans. Gomas were stupid, that''s why they''re basically really obedient ves of Govus, their higher evolution. In short, their boss in Gomas¡¯ fortress ordered them to just ¡¸Observe¡¹, thus they went as far as holding themself back even in front of us, their prey.

    ¡¸Really? Oi, are you guys noticing that too?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, no, it''s ¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But still, we were not attacked at all when we camped out yesterday.¡¹

    ¡¸Come to think of it, I saw them running with their back to us.¡¹

    As I thought, the Totem Pole Trio still had clear memories about yesterday¡¯s event. And best of all, they''re really used to fighting against the monster called Goma to the point that they found the others¡¯ action yesterday rather weird.

    ¡¸That''s right, we weren''t attacked at all during yesterday¡¯s exploration. It feels like they¡¯re intentionally avoiding us.¡¹

    ¡¸In short, the reason they avoided fighting us is because they''re observing us right now.¡¹

    That muscle-brain quartet finally nodded their heads after Yamajun summarized the situation.

    ¡¸The reason why they''re observing us is because they have yet to give up.¡¹

    At the time when I first arrived in this tower, the defensive battle against those Goma troops might be just their leader testing the waters.

    Thus, they became extremely wary of us after we turned the table on them ¡­ that or, it might be the tactic of Goma''s boss who stayed in their fortress.

    ¡¸Aren''t they just gettin'' cold feet after those chaps see out powa?¡¹

    ¡¸Can you give a reasonable exnation for your im, Yamada-kun?¡¹

    ¡¸N-Nay, but¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But you think the same goes for Momokawa''s story, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-Yeah, I mean, you can''t give a reasonable exnation for your story too!¡¹

    Yamada was riding on Shimokawa''s retort.

    Huhm, aren''t you rather perceptive, Shimokawa, could it be that your specialty lies in quarrelling?

    ¡¸You''re right, it''s just my theory based on what I heard from you guys about the Goma''s boss¡­ but, there''s nothing wrong with preparing such possibilities, right? I mean there''s no problem If my guess is wrong and Yamada-kun is right, those Gomas will only look at us in fear from afar. We can use those days for preparing ourselves to capture the fortress in this tower.¡¹

    ¡¸But if Momokawa''s guess is spot on¡­ it really is game over for us the next time those Gomase to raid this tower.¡¹

    I heard the sound of someone swallowing his saliva.

    It just was like the first day I met them. But this time, they finally realized the gravity of the situation.

    ¡¸Then what shall we do now! At this rate, it''s only a matter of time before this tower falls into their hand!¡¹

    <i>Why in the heck are you barking at me now, Yamada?!</i>

    They had a great number of disposable Goma troops which they could use to exhaust us, and the elite Govu''s troops to protect their fortress, and here we are, not even a little bit of preparation to strengthen our defense in this tower.

    It''s meaningless to speak such logic to thepletely emotional fes.

    ¡¸I''ve a strategy to get out of this dangerous situation but,¡¹

    It''s a tactic that will allow us to triumph against Goma''s overwhelming numbers and capture the fortress.

    ¡¸Oi, just tell us about that tactic already.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s simple. we just need to attack their fortress when they dispatch arge number of Goma army to capture our tower.¡¹

    The strength of the army protecting their fortress decreased in proportion to the army they sent to capture our tower. Since the tower capture battle was also an important operation for them, I''m sure that they''ll at least send more than just Gomas.

    And then, when their biggest advantage, namely superior numbers left their fortress¡­

    ¡¸I see, sure enough, we''ve bigger chance of winning the battle in that situation.¡¹

    Everyone raised a voice of admiration.

    ¡¸But then, doesn''t that mean there''s no going back anymore once those Gomas raid this ce?¡¹

    ¡¸And forget about raiding their base, we won''t be able to leave the tower once they¡¯ve entered via entrance of our tower.¡¹

    ¡¸Exactly, that''s why we''ll station Raptor Rem who has superior enemy sensing to prevent that. In the worst case, we''ve to prepare emergency escape mechanism somewhere in this tower, like fitting window panel on the rooftop.¡¹

    ¡¸But then, they''re going to run after us once they know we''re escaping from this ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun, now it''s your turn to exin to them.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Ah, ¡ºAqua Mist¡» huh!¡¹

    I''d confirmed the effect of this magic yesterday. It had a high-speed invocation and was really suitable for small groups like us to escape from the army of Gomas.

    It doesn''t really matter even if for example we were found out by look out toon around the tower that separated from the army, they didn''t have wireless equipment afterall. The most they could do was scream on the top of their lungs. By then, it was already toote for the whole army to chase after us.

    ¡¸We''llplete our preparation while also baiting those Gomas to keep their eyes out on the tower.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t tell me that you want someone to stay behind in the tower?¡¹

    ¡¸I-I refuse that role!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!!¡¹

    ¡¸Y-You can''t leave me behind since I''m the only one who can use ¡ºAqua Mist¡».¡¹

    <i>These guys didn''t want to be the sacrificial pawn, huh.</i>

    ¡¸It''s okay, the one who will stay behind is Rem.¡¹

    ¡¸Oooh, so it''s your familiar!¡¹

    ¡¸I see now.¡¹

    Though that was her proper original role which I could think of ever since I gained ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡», she could fulfill her role as sacrificial pawn which was normally impossible for us, the humans, since she could resurrect as many times as I want, without feeling pain or fear.

    ¡¸As long as she is doing her best, Rem should be able to buy us enough time to escape from this ce, at most dying the return of the army. For that reason, I want to fortify the defense in this tower too.¡¹

    But there''s so little we could do with our limited construction rted knowledge. But still, it was far better than doing nothing while waiting for the iing enemies. I already had an idea about how to do this.

    ¡¸I see, that''s amazing Momokawa-kun. It seems we might be able to do something about our current situation.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, in fact the escape from our tower is the safest part¡­ the problem is the defense in our enemy''s fortress.¡¹

    I mean, I had to make a n based on their report about Goma''s fortress since we didn''t have a leeway to send a scout.

    ¡¸It''ll be for the best if they left the fortress wide open, unprotected, but they should''ve left behind a minimal amount of defense force behind in their fortress. That''s why we can''t avoid a battle against them.¡¹

    In addition, we should do something to dy the return of their main force.

    Both of our side were moving around by foot. I know that even if Rem did her best, there''s so little things she could aplish by herself to gain us even a little bit more time.

    ¡¸In short, this is blitzkrieg operation to capture the fortress, defeating the boss, and using transfer function to go to the next area.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, how can you be so sure that there''ll be a boss waiting for us in there?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, since the Gomas are living in there, let''s say that there''s a Boss¡¯s room.¡¹

    ¡¸To be honest, this is just my guess. I mean, we can''t teleport unless we''ve the core to activate the teleportation circle.¡¹

    Assuming that our magicpass only has a function to show the direction of the teleportation circle without the function to detect the boss¡¯s room, another possibility was that the Gomas used the tower that lost its function as the boss¡¯s room with the teleportation circle as their living ce.

    If it was thetter, thening to that tower was enough to make ourpass point to another direction, I hope it''s not thetter though.

    ¡¸But still, it''s safe, right? I mean, Yamajun''s mail database showed us that there''s Goma''s boss called Gogma waiting in there.¡¹

    Govus were warriors that ranked higher than Gomas, the one to outrank Govu was a boss monster who had the core we needed to activate the teleportation circle.

    ¡¸Well, it doesn''t matter. We originally nned to capture that fortress in the future anyway. Now ain''t the time to get scared, you know.¡¹

    Thanks to reasonable deduction, Yamada agreed with my opinion.

    Even when both Euda and Nakai showed their anxiety regarding the unknown boss, they could¡¯ve had no intention of giving up on the fortress capture from the very beginning. Thus, they also agreed with me.

    ¡¸Well, we might have extremely limited information about the boss, but I believe that matching our capture operation with theirs is our best option for the time being.¡¹

    It was an extremely crude tactic bordering on suicide no matter how you looked at it. But still, I really couldn''t find a better n than this. Worse of all, there''s no other input for this n since everyone here was muscle brain.

    But, that was not a problem anymore since everyone had agreed to it. I''d to put my life on the line for the next step.

    ¡¸This isst confirmation, no one is opposing this n, right?¡¹

    No one raised their hand.

    ¡¸Anyone has a better n than mine?¡¹

    Again, no one raised their hand.

    ¡¸Then, please raise your hand if you agree with my n.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m with you, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    Yamajun raised his hand, showing clear approval on his side.

 Chapter 119.2 - Equivalent Exchange

    Chapter 119.2 - Equivalent Exchange

    <i>Thanks a lot, Yamajun.</i><i>You raised your hand first since you know that Japanese, especially students, were rather troublesome in this regard. </i>When an influential person like Yamajun raised his hand, the others would also follow suit.

    ¡¸Yosh, everyone is in this n!¡¹

    Yamada raised his hand, yelling vigorously when he saw that everyone has the same opinion.

    ¡¸Yeah, let me in too, Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t forget about this aquamancer, the key to your n¡¹

    The Totem Pole Trio raised their hands too, agreeing to my n.

    Well then, now that I got everyone''s approval, I''d no choice but to get the n going ¡­ Right? But wait a minute, there''s another party member, right? That sole female member ¡­

    ¡¸What about you, Ayase-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    <i>What''s with that "Eh?"</i> Reina whose facepletely puzzled when I suddenly asked her raised an adorable voice- L0l1con limited- and looked at me with a dumbfounded face.

    ¡¸Did you hear what I said just now, Ayase-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, yes?¡¹

    ¡¸Is there something you do not understand, any question, or idea?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, nope?¡¹

    ¡¸Then, do you understand what we are going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, do your best, everyone!¡¹

    Reina was cheering for everyone. Yup, it seems this sh1tty b1tch still didn''t get the current situation.

    <i>Well, suit yourself, Reina A Ayase. That''ll save me from a lot of trouble, and I have no intention to pamper a sh1tty b1tch like you.</i> I''dpleted all the preparation to make this ¡ºSpiritualist¡» fought a splendid battle as our vanguard in this kind of case.

    ¡¸When ites to the tough boss fight during Goma''s fortress capture operation, I think we''re severelycking in manpower, or rather, we would most likely be annihted¨D¨D But, the chances of our victory would shot up if we''d Ayase-san''s ¡ºSpiritualist¡» power to assist us.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, wait a minute, Momokawa! Are you trying to make Reina-chan join the battle!?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I''m such a cruel man? It''s a dangerous battle in which we might die after all. Ayase-san is a girl, after all, I''ll be ashamed as a man if I force her to fight.¡¹

    Yeah, as long as I grasped her weakness, making her join the battle regardless of her consent was an extremely simple matter. And I was not referring to brainwashing magic or such.

    ¡¸It''s up to her to decide whether she joins the battle or not.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I''m no good with the battle!¡¹

    Meanwhile, that b1tch was already showing a tearful face.

    <i>I see you hate battle that much huh.</i>

    ¡¸Uhm, I understand. Then I take that Ayase-san is okay with no meal, bath, and hammock bedding, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll only use my power for those who join the battle, not for those who don¡¯t.¡¹

    <i>Now choose, Reina A.Ayase.</i>

    <i>Can you, a sh1tty ne3t, go back to living on walnuts, bathing in cold water, and sleeping on thewn again?</i>

    <i>Or else, you''ll lend your fairly useful bodyguard in exchange for afortable hammock, hot bath service, and sumptuous meal from me.</i>

    ¡¸E-E~h, why~?¡¹

    ¡¸We were fighting, betting our lives on the frontline. And you basically do nothing. Anyone can see there''s a huge difference between the two, right?¡¹

    ¡¸B-But, I-I''m not good at battle!¡¹

    ¡¸I don''t really care whether you can fight or not, you know? Because you don''t even need to do anything.¡¹

    <i>Have you finally realized how irresponsible you''re up until now? Thebination of your cute crying voice and tears aren''t gonna work on me, I''m invincible against l*li..</i>

    <i>Fuhahaha, you need a super cu*vy bodies like Mei-chan''s if you want to take me down.</i>

    ¡¸U~U~UH!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, this is also an important decision rted to our life, Ayase-san. Take your time to think about it¨D¨D Okay, thank you for the waiting, let''s have breakfast, everyone.¡¹

    I started the thawing process ofst night¡¯s leftover great boar hot pot with a saintly smile of a sister who gives food to the poor people.

    Everyone was looking at the hot pot that started to release an appetizing aroma as it got heated and a crying Reina with a bewildered look on their face.

    ¡¸Is something the matter, no one is eating? It''s to die for you know.¡¹

    There''s no way they could forget the delicacy of the pieces of meat that were floating on the pot along with its irresistible aroma from thest night. Someone had already gulped their saliva, and couldn''t wait any longer to pounce on the pot.

    ¡¸C''mon, it''s ready you know.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ R-Reina-chan! You can eat my portion!¡¹

    Lo*licon-kun shouted with the expression of someone prepared tomit sui*cide.

    Well, I''ve prepared a countermeasure against a bad child like this too.

    ¡¸Ah, my bad then Yamada-kun, it''s against the rule.¡¹

    ¡¸WUUUUUUUUT!¡¹

    ¡¸Anyone who shares their meal with Ayase-san won''t get a meal from me, that''s the rule.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-YOU LITTLE! DON''T BOSS US AROUND!!¡¹

    ¡¸Even if you say that I''m bossing you around, this stew is made with my shaman''s skill you know. The same goes for both bath and the bedding. From the very beginning, everything has been MINE. It''s up to me to use it as I please.¡¹

    I sh froze the stew, the simmering hot stew became a block of ice in the next moment.

    ¡¸It''s up to you if you want to eat walnut with Ayase-san .. Or enjoy this delicious hot stew if you abide by my rule. And Yamada-kun, I really hope you y by the rule, you''re our greatest manpower after all.¡¹

    ¡¸D*mmit ¡­ Momokawa ¡­ Guys, you better not eat too!¡¹

    Good grief, this here might be the Japanese proverb, ¡®when one suffering, everyone feels the same way¡¯. Reason? Because it''ll ease the suffering if everyone feels the same way!<i> I also think it might be better if you guys share the same suffering.</i>

    ¡¸Eh, no, I mean¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I pity Reina-chan for sure, but still¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But we''re going to lose our power unless we eat¡­.¡¹

    As expected, no one was stupid enough to obey Yamada¡¯s absurd order. No one could bear the temptation of delicious food when it was right in front of their very eyes. It was the worst torture for them.

    ¡¸C''mon guys, have some shame as a man!¡¹

    ¡¸Ueda-kun, Nakai-kun, Shimokawa-kun, your power is necessary to capture Goma''s fortress you know. It''s okay if you want to eat, you don''t need to hold back you know?¡¹

    I spoke to those three while mimicking Mei-chan''s gentle smile.

    Honestly, I don''t hate the Totem Pole Trio''s guts. They did have a criminal record of trying to kidnap Takanashi Kotori before, but it didn''t really matter to me considering the situation.

    At the very least, those three would cooperate with me in this capture n. I mean, they did the job I assigned to them properly after all.

    That''s why I didn''t want them to be a victim of a sh*tty girl like Reina.

    ¡¸D-D*mn it all! Don''t give me that sh*t Momokawa, you don''t have the right for that!¡¹

    ¡¸Then what will you do? Are you going to kill me? If you do that, you''ll lose all previous luxury forever and go back to your survival-like living. And don''t forget, by the time you kill me, my ¡ºPain Return¡» will kill you too.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-YOU LITTLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!¡¹

    ¡¸Calm down, Yamada-kun.¡¹

    Naturally, the one who called out to the enraged Yamada-kun who was almost flipping over the stew was none other than Yamajun.

    ¡¸What''s the matter!? Don''t try to stop me, Yamajun!¡¹

    ¡¸I understand your anger for Ayase-san, and personally, I pity the cruel treatment for her too.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re f*cking right!¡¹

    ¡¸But still, it doesn''t change the fact that we still have to risk our lives in the uing battle. I admit that you''re powerful, Yamada-kun, but even that is still not enough to guarantee that you won''t die in this battle.¡¹

    ¡¸I f*cking know that too!¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, what I mean to say is¡­ we also have no leeway to protect Ayase-san.¡¹

    I almost couldn''t hold back myughter. I mean, despite the serious discussion, the way Yamajun talked was like a parent telling their naughty kid.

    ¡¸W-What''re ya talking ''bout! We will protect Reina-chan, otherwise, who will protect her!!¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, Yamada-kun. You don''t need to force yourself anymore¡­ leave Ayase-san''s matter to Souma-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸WA!?¡¹

    <i>Pfft¨CPoor Yamada-kun¨D¨D Nonono, hold your horse, me, I absolutely mustn''tugh at him¡­</i>

    ¡¸Souma-kun is alive you know. He even gained a powerful vocation called ¡ºHero¡», there''s Kenzaki-san, ss rep, and Sakura-san in his party, their goal is to save everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha~h¡­ W-W-What''s with that¡­¡¹

    <i>Yamada~, do you really think that Reina would someday notice your existence if you kept protecting her?</i><i>Dream on dude, as if she could forget someone like that Souma-kun¡­ Ha~h, what a pitiful unpopr man you are! As if reality would work per your wish.</i>

    I understood that sorrow. I really did, but sorry, it''s too hrious you know.

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun met Souma-kun and Co. before he met us you know.¡¹

    And got betrayed by that Kenzaki Asuna, which caused me to be separated from them, XP.

    ¡¸Souma-kun''s party is far stronger than our current party. That''s why they must be waiting for the arrival of the other ssmates beyond this point.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what, am I¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Yamada-kun, you already did everything you can to protect Ayase-san, it''s time to give up.¡¹

    Yamajun patted Yamada-kun''s trembling shoulder as he told the cruel truth to his friend with a sad face.

    ¡¸I, I am¡­ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Thus, the sorrowful wail of a broken-hearted man resounded in the fairy za.

    <i>Hey, can Iugh already? I mean, this is too hrious.</i>

 Chapter 120.1 - False United Front

    Chapter 120.1 - False United Front

    ¡¸Thanks Yamajun. Things settled down in peace for now.¡¹

    I spoke to Yamajun in the further part of the za while those greedy members waited eagerly for their breakfast.

    ¡¸Uhm, back at you, Momokawa-kun¡­ you''re simply too awesome.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s not true. I mean, the one who made Ayase-san willing to consider her action and Yamada-kun act like a good child is your skillful persuasion, Yamajun.¡¹

    Blending in with the Totem Pole Trio that was greedily devouring the stew as they kept saying "IT''S SO D*AMN GOOD!" and Yamada-kun who took a bite on to the stew as if he ate an at*omic b*omb after experiencing a broken heart was Reina who ate with a delightful smile on her face.

    She was allowed to eat the stew after negotiation of course.

    ¡¸You did a really nice job there when you cut in with Souma-kun''s story.¡¹

    The one who stopped that loser l*olicon, Yamada-kun who seemed like he was about to punch me, was none other than Yamajun who interrupted at the right time by bringing up Souma Yuuto''s heroic deed.

    Yamajun managed to pacify the broken-hearted Yamada-kun who had lost the will to do anything to me after he heard the harsh reality straight from Yamajun about Reina being in love with Souma-kun. If he were a girl, Yamajun''s gant interruption would undoubtedly have made me fell in love immediately.

    He was also the one who persuaded Reina to join the battle while pacifying the broken hearted Yamada-kun.

    The summary of his long persuasion was something along the lines of ¡¸Let''s do our best together, Souma-kun is waiting for us beyond this point after all¡¹. Reina was an easy prey as long as we could abuse the name of her most beloved childhood friend.

    That''s why Yamajun was making the full use of the Hero, Souma to make Reina willingly working along with us. But still, persuading her in this way had the highest chance of failure since she could dismiss Yamajun with a "Humph, so what.". In short, we''d be in greater danger if Yamajun failed to persuade Reina.

    In addition, I didn''t have Yamajun''s level ofmunication power. I mean, all I could do were presenting simple pros and cons, making a deal, or threat.

    I gave a shock theraphy to Reina by excluding her from breakfast. In short, I whipped her. And then, Yamajun enter the stage, convinced Reina with SOuma-kun''s story.

    We''re literally baiting her with her avarice, namely a guarantee offortable sleep, delicious meal, hot bath, and a chance to meet Souma-kun again. We whipped this f*ucking NEET to do her job for the above reasons.

    Even though his action was adlib, Yamajun had fulfilled, no surpassed my expectation.

    ¡¸At least, please tell me if you anticipate this kind of development.¡¹

    As if, even I couldn''t predict this kind of development. Only prophet or that guy who trapped in two-week loops* could do that.

    [TL* : Maybe referring to "Mother of Learning" or "Suzumiya Haruhi, Summer Holiday Loop"]

    It was basically telling my entire journey up until this point, about who I met, who I killed, who became myrade¡­ to other ssmates who I¡¯d only just met in the dungeon.

    I mean, I didn''t even tell them that I killed Higuchi, I deliberately kept it a secret to avoid any friction with the Totem Pole Trio the deceased''s friends.

    That''s why, I ced my bet and decided to trust Yamajun, telling him in private about some of the darker side of my story. Souma-kun''s story was amongst the ones I told him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m also kinda surprised seeing how easily she took the bait, I mean, it''s kinda hit or miss gamble after all.¡¹

    Rather, I noticed that he won the gamble when I was still busy thinking about needless things.

    ¡¸Nevertheless, it''s thanks to Momokawa-kun that everyone is starting to look like a real party. Honestly, I don''t think I could¡¯ve changed the situation if I was by myself.¡¹

    Well, being able to make Reina fight on her own ord was already a brilliant achievement.

    ¡¸But using my method will only quicken the process towards the breaking up of this party. Now that everyone''s heart is united, we can start the capture operation of Goma''s fortress but¡­ this false united front is extremely fragile as it doesn''t give a damn about trust.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re trying to cheer me up huh, Momokawa-kun. It''s okay, I''ll do my job properly.¡¹

    Yamajun was truly reliable after all. He was the only one who understood my train of thought far more than Mei-chan or anyone I met so far.

    My method was devoid of any emotional sentiment but¡­ that''s the best way to unite our force for the time being. Rather, our chance toe out alive in this battle was equal to zero unless everyone''s heart was united.

    I was being considerate about everyone''s feeling and definitely didn''t wish to die a dog¡¯s death with them. Even if I was making an enemy of everyone with my method, I''d do my best to survive and win along with everyone.

    ¡¸Thanks. If we managed to capture the fortress and reunite with Souma-kun and Co. someday, I''ll be relying on you to exin the situation to everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahahaha, yeah, I''ll protect you when such dayes, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    Well then, I should do my best in order for that day toe even a second faster.

    ===

    Well then, now that everyone''s heart is united, let''s march toward the fortress! Or so the positive minded bunch would do.

    ¡¸That''s why, Ayase-san''s job is eliminating the Gomas around this tower.¡¹

    ¡¸E~h.¡¹

    Reina let out a cute shrill as she puffed her cheeks making my hand itch to punch her on the face.

    <i>Calm down! This isn''t the time to open a boxing match yet.</i>

    Currently, I was assigning Reina with job to exterminate the Gomas around the tower who came to observe our situation.

    Reina was powerful, or should I say that her sacred beasts were powerful. Defeating the likes of Gomas wouldn''t be enough to raise my current level to the next level.

    But, Reina''s fighting experience was equal to zero. So far, she could only rely on her sacred beasts to protect her when she chanced upon a danger. She never ordered her sacred beasts to attack her enemy, she just screamed in fear. Naturally, she never ordered them to "attack like this", or "aim for that ce" like I did with Rem.

    Battles weren''t supposed to be left to the others.

    I wouldn''t go as far as asking for resolution or responsibility from her. I mean, I might not have those two factors myself.

    Anyway, I would let Reina have a fighting experience even if it''s just a little bit. In short, it''s training time. She wouldn''t be that scared as long as she grew used to a fight so that she could make snap decisions when push came to shove.

    Well, in the worst case, I would be back stabbed by Reina who was used to battle but¡­ the current urgency was to make Reina used to battle.

    ¡¸You''re going to participate in this operation right, Ayase-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    Reina replied with indifferent voice.

    No, in fact this indifferent reply from the get-go was an expression of her irritation as if she wanted to beat me up to pulp. <i>Be strong, the mission hasn''t even progressed to 1%.</i>

    ¡¸I don''t mind even if you don''t want to fight. I won''t force you either since you''re scared of a battle.¡¹

    It''s not like I was her superior, nor had I employed her. That''s why I didn''t think I''d the right to yell at her a ¡¸JUST DO IT ALREADY, S*OW!¡¹- like the spartan trainer.

    Well, I didn''t have the right, but I did have my trump card.

    ¡¸But then, you can say goodbye to sumptuous lunch and go back to walnut. In addition, I''m obligated to tell the truth to Souma-kun when we meet again, about the fact that you''re the kind of woman who breaks her promise.¡¹

 Chapter 120.2 - False United Front

    Chapter 120.2 - False United Front

    ¡¸Mu~h, I''ll do it! Let''s go, En-chan, Ram-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸Take care, make sure you return before dinner.¡¹

    I see Reina, a tired look on my face, pout. <i>Good grief, getting a NEET to do their job is hard!</i>

    ¡¸Will Reina-chan be ¡­ all right by herself¡­?¡¹

    Honestly, I had no qualification to call out to Yamada-kun who was staring at Reina''s retreating back wearing a worried look on his face.

    <i>Good grief, this party is filled with troublesome bunches!</i>

    ¡¸Seeing that she called Engard and Ramudein from the very beginning, I think Ayase-san will be okay even if she went into the jungle by herself.¡¹

    Now let''s forget about that Reina and start with our part.

    ¡¸I sincerely beg you Yamada-kun, you must not look for Reina-san in the jungle just to satisfy your worry.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I know that¡­ Why should someone like me go there, to Reina-chan''s side, anyway¡­¡¹

    A glum Yamada departed towards the jungle to gather firewood.

    I was around 50% joking when I said "gathering firewood". I was serious about the rest, we did need a lot of firewood to make a big me. The more we had, the better it was. Most of all, I needed lumber to make a gate for this tower.

    ¡¸UOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, ¡ºSMASH¡»!¡¹

    The sharp-piercing sound of weapon impact and copsed trees wasbined together with a woeful roar. Ha~h, nothing can beat the sorrowful wail of a broken-hearted man.

    Yamada is just a mere member of the baseball club, he wasn''t an experienced lumberjack nor had he prior experience in this kind of work. But all the problem was resolved by the power and ability of his vocation, the ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡». I didn''t even have to worry if he was somehow unlucky and found himself squashed by the fallen tree since his body toughness was raised by his ¡ºIron Skin¡»£¦¡ºSteel Body¡».

    ¡¸What should we do, Momokawa~¡¹

    ¡¸I''m a ¡ºWarrior¡», shall I cut down the trees too?¡¹

    ¡¸I''m a Hydromancer, physicalbor might be a little too much for me~¡¹

    As precious manpower, I had a n to let the Totem Pole Trio transport the lumber that was cut down by Yamada and help me with making the gate.

    ¡¸I want you guys to gather useful items from the ¡ºWarehouse¡».¡¹

    The ¡ºWarehouse¡» was the name of the room in which we stored the loot from the Gomas troop that we defeated. It seems Yamada couldn''t betray his Japanese habit of not being wasteful, so he instructed the other guys to gather the equipment from the Gomas that they defeated while taking care of their corpses too. Nevertheless, it didn''t mean that all of those loots were useful. Much of that loot was equivalent to trash.

    ¡¸But of course, nothing useful in the~re.¡¹

    ¡¸Just gather the weapons that look like they¡¯re still useful then.¡¹

    There was bound to be a disagreement if I were to use a weapon that was still of good quality. But, the item I wanted the most right now wasn''t a beautiful weapon.

    ¡¸Here, I made a list of the item I need. Just ask me if there''s some item that you don''t know since I''ll do my part of the assignment after this.¡¹

    I handed them a memo, and they gathered around to read it together.

    ¡¸This bow and arrow, how do you n to use those? we don''t have an ¡ºArcher¡».¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that this torch oil is referring to the dirt in their leather bag?¡¹

    ¡¸What in the h*ll is this white powder?¡¹

    Despite seemingly puzzled by my memo, the trio obediently went towards the warehouse.

    ¡¸You really are a talented leader huh, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I just told them what they need to do.¡¹

    Yamajun called out to me with a bright smile on his face after I had assigned everyone their job.

    It''s not like I wanted to be a leader if I have another choice. I mean, I was not the kind of person who wants to lead everyone or wants to bask under the limelight, or someone lusting after dominance. I mean, given a chance, I wanted to dump this responsibility to anyone who¡¯s willing to take it andze around.

    But then, my survival instinct had forced me to act out of character. No, I¡¯m not joking, I was more than willing to dump this d*mned job to anyone who¡¯s willing to take it.

    ¡¸And yet, you be more and more like a prominent leader.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes¡­ I''m sure that you''ve experienced a fair share of hardship along the way, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    I mean, the pipsqueak otaku who always stayed in the corner of the ss was now the one who ordered that Reina A Ayase, the delinquent Totem Pole Trio, and Yamada from the baseball club. This kind of situation would never happen back in Japan.

    ¡¸Even so, it''s the same for everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed. That''s why doing the best with everyone ispletely different from Momokawa-kun who¡¯s forced to survive alone.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, thank you for the praise.¡¹

    Yamajun, who could say something like that as if nothing had happened, was more awesome than I. Normally, everyone else would have had a hard time saying such praise, it might be because I was opening up to him.

    He didn''t put any pretense at all when he was with me.

    ¡¸Well then, I''ve to do my tomb raiding work too.¡¹

    ¡¸Need my help?¡¹

    ¡¸You''ll do the cooking, Yamajun.¡¹

    Cooking was my job as someone who could use witch pot, but there was a lot of prep work for the ingredients.

    Fortunately, we''d a lot of left over meat from the great boar that the Totem Pole Trio had hunted yesterday. But, it doesn''t mean that our daily meal would only consist of great boar meat.

    I made a lot of dried meat and bacon from the leftover meat since it''d serve as preserved food during this dungeon capture. Since we''re currently in the jungle, we could find foodstuff like great boar, snake and frog but I had no idea whether we could secure meat if the next area was something like an underground ruin.

    Though we had a lot of preserved food right now, I wanted to secure as much food as possible while we''re still in the jungle. I mean it just takes a moment for me to finish fermentation and air drying with ¡ºWitch''s Kettle¡».

    ¡¸By yourself? that''s a dirty job right? You''re not going to do that by yourself right, Momokawa-kun?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, Rem ising with me after all. In addition, I''m using my tentacles so it''s not like I''ll touch them directly with my hands.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand, I guess I can focus on my job now.¡¹

    After Yamajun gave his consent, arge knife in hand, he headed towards an almost untouched, giant lump of boar meat that I froze yesterday.

    Even though I called it simple cooking, it''ll take a lot of time to prepare the ingredients. I couldn''t do that alone no matter how much time I have in my hand. Not to mention that I was just an amateur cook.

    By the way, Yamajun had a little cooking experience, naturally not as masterful as Mei-chan. I mean, none of my ssmates had the skill to cook andpletely dismantle a wild boar like Mei-chan.

    ¡¸Well then, time to get started with my part.¡¹

    I assigned different jobs to everyone, and I assigned myself the job that no one else but I could aplish.

    I went around and right behind the tower. That was the ce we had buried the corpses of Gomas troop, or rather, their morgue.

    There must be nice, usable things in there.

 Chapter 121.1 - Jungle Towers Defense Plan

    Chapter 121.1 - Jungle Tower''s Defense n

    Just as I had told everyone before, my fortress capture strategy was to wait until their side came to attack our Jungle Tower, leaving the tower empty when they came to attack, andmencing a blitzkrieg to capture their fortress as fast as possible.

    It''s not wrong to say that our real fight started after we arrived at the fortress, but I wanted to pull the other side¡¯s war potential towards the tower as much as possible too. The degree of difficulties in capturing the fortress depended on how long we could keep their main force busy with trying to capture the tower.

    In short, we have to make the best preparation for both Jungle Tower defense and Fortress Capture in order to maximize the result.

    And it started with the tower.

    And as I said before, Rem would stay in the tower as a diversion. I actually wanted to leave the towerpletely empty, but no matter how idiotic those Gomas were, they''re not stupid enough to attack an abandoned tower.

    But as long there''s someone left in the tower-even if that person was alone- those guys wouldn''t think twice to do their best to kill that person.

    ¡¸But still, leaving the defense to Rem alone is a bit too much, what if there were a mishap along the way or she got shot down with a hit?¡¹

    In the case something unexpected happened, I think it''s better to increase the number of defense personnel as much as possible.

    ¡¸Well then, now let¡¯s see how much is my limit ¡­ in creating the y doll.¡¹

    Since I could make two, making three or four Rems should be possible for me. The only problem was how much ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡» I could handle with my mana.

    ¡¸Corpse, check! Magic circle, check! Offering, check!¡¹

    I lined up my carefully selected Goma''s corpses which dumped behind the tower. After I ced bones and monster meat in my magic circle''s ¡ºCenter of Hexagram¡», in addition, I added Murasa mushroom and jungle''s mandragora.

    I used a Goma''s corpse as the mold. After that, I added plenty of THAT MURKY WHITE LIQUID and my own blood.

    I prioritize quantity over quality right now. It''s good enough as long as she had a human shape and could wield a weapon.

    ¡¸Great, nowe forth, Rem the Third!¡¹

    I mass-produced Rems in a grandiose manner. Naturally, the result was¡­

    ¡¸¨D¨DMomokawa-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸HAH!?¡¹

    Yamajun''s worried face up close was the first thing I saw when I woke up.<i> Too close, you''re too close, Yamajun!</i>

    ¡¸Are you okay, Momokawa-kun!? It seems you''re fainted from mana exhaustion.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah.¡¹

    <i>I did it again huh.</i> I noticed again that I always fainted whenever I challenged ¡ºVile''s y Doll¡» new power. I¡¯d always passed out whenever I felt that I could still perservere.

    ¡¸¡­ Rem!¡¹

    ¡¸GA!¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA!!¡¹

    ¡¸GAGAGA!!!¡¹

    When I turned around, I saw three Rems reply cheerfully.

    The first one was the one who used Raptor as her base mold, the other two were normal ck skeleton model. It seemed my eyes didn''t y a trick on me.

    ¡¸Thank God, I barely made a fourth.¡¹

    ¡¸GA, GAGA¡¹

    As if congratting their master, Rems were pping with their skeletal hands.

    Now then, the bait for tower defense had increased from one to four. Now you girls could bide us more time.

    ¡¸Ah, keep lying down, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t worry. I won''t use any big sorcery again today.¡¹

    It''s not like I passed out due to anemia after all. Maybe it was thanks to my vocation, shaman, that my mana recovered even faster than my stamina. That''s why mana had recovered enough to allow me to walk at my own pace.

    I had no idea when those guys woulde to raid this tower. That''s why our sleeping time was a luxury.

    I reassured Yamajun and went toward the warehouse, the working site of Totem Pole Trio.

    ¡¸Heya, how''s the situation on your side?¡¹

    ¡¸Dirty coz we''re looking for any usable lo~ot.¡¹

    ¡¸We''re taking the first turn to dip into a hot bath today.¡¹

    ¡¸And don''t forget about food.¡¹

    Despiteining about their jobs, I knew that they did their job seriously from the mountains of items next to the warehouse.

    ¡¸I see, thank you for the good work.¡¹

    I did a brief inspection of the gathered materials while throwing apathetic words of gratitude.

    Great, it seems we got quite a haul from those loots. They even found torch oil and few arrows. Oh look, this Goma''s drug was also in good condition. My n didn¡¯t consist of the use of this drug, but I guess there''s nothing wrong with giving this drug to our vanguard as our ace in the hole.

    ¡¸Rem, take all the bows and arrows.¡¹

    ¡¸GA¡¹

    ¡¸Third and Fourth, you''ll go with First to practice archery on the outside.¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA!!¡¹

    The trio of Rems moved at once while carrying bows and bundle of arrows with them.

    ¡¸Hey, is Momokawa''s familiar just increased in number?¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed, they¡¯ve increased just a while ago.¡¹

    I gave Ueda a half-hearted reply. My aim wasn''t solely to increase our number, it was also for Rem to gain more proficiency in archery.

    A long-range weapon was a better choice when besieged by enemy from all sides. My original n was to block all passage to enter the tower-including the entrance- and then shoot those Gomas down with a hail of arrows from the top of the tower. Since the number of our enemies was most likely far superior, there was no need for skilled archers, even randomly fired arrow would kill one or two unlucky Gomas.

    In addition, since we had a lot of ragged cloths, we could make fire arrows by soaking them into the torch-oil. Since we can''t make this outside of the tower to prevent a leak in the information, we could only make it with everyone at night in the tower today.

    But of course, there''s afternoon work before we get to that point.

    ¡¸After lunch, we''ll start carrying the felled trees and shut the entrance once we¡¯re done making the front gate.¡¹

    ¡¸O~u.¡¹

    ¡¸A lot of work to finish~¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, an aquamancer like me ain''t suited for manualbor.¡¹

    The trio was as listless as ever, but the n would continue regardless of their choice.

    Since we ate stew in the morning, the menu for our lunch was¡­ well despite trying to sound cool, it''s just baked meat. Since I''d turned the plump part into preserved food, we ate another part right now. In short, our menu was the innards¡­ or should I say, liver?

    Part of it was thinly sliced and then grilled. I used the mixer function of Witch''s Kettle for the other half of the liver.

    ¡¸SHO GOOOD¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, nothing can beat fresh meat.¡¹

    ¡¸This mysterious herb gives a nice kick to it.¡¹

    ¡¸I hate thi~s.¡¹

    The great boar''s liver was liked by all of us, save for a certain f*cking b*tch. She ate it nheless.

    And left as soon as she finished her lunch.

    <i>Well, it doesn''t matter, just make sure you thwart those Gomas¡¯ surveince properly. I''m gonna straighten that shitty attitude of hers. Teaching her to fix her manners huh, sounds like a pain in the a*ss job. C''mon Souma-kun, juste and pick up that useless b*itch already!</i>

    ¡¸Okay then, since Yamada-kun has cut a lot of trees for us, let''s start the construction work.¡¹

    The ones who¡¯re working on the construction of the blockade in the front gate were all male. It was extremely heavybor since we''d to move in the felled trees.

    ¡¸One, two, THREE!¡¹

    We were moving in the trees with an unbelievable sense of rhythm. Yamada, Totem Pole Trio, Yamajun, and me. The Rems¡¯ squad joined in too and we managed to carry the huge tree.

    Gathered in front of the tower was so much lumber being cut down by the power of the broken-hearted youth, so much that it formed a mountain.

    ¡¸Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Great, next, let''s this take this lum-¡¹

    ¡¸M-Momokawa-kun, don''t you think that it''s about the time to take a rest? The sun is about to set and everyone is also tired from doing their jobs.¡¹

    When I noticed, the sun did set.

    ¡¸I''m ho~me, is the dinner ready~?¡¹

    When the entire male team was lying down, exhausted from their heavy manualbor, Reina made a grand entrance riding on the back of Engard.

    Every second that passed was extremely precious for us now, but I guess we already had reached the limit for today.

    ¡¸Ayase-san will enter the bathst.¡¹

    ¡¸EEEEEEEEEEEH!¡¹

    While I boiled everyone''s hot bath under the hateful gaze of Reina, Yamajun readied the ingredients that had been prepared in the noon over the fire.

    The offer for a hot bath and meal was my trump card to tame these guys.

    ¡¸Are you not going to hit the bed yet, Momokawa-kun?¡¹

    Yamajun''s face peeked out from the door of my room when I was in the middle of doing some prep works.

    Thank God, if he came thirty minutester, or he would¡¯ve witnessed the scene of me unwrapping Randou-san''s pant*y on the hammock.

    ¡¸Back at you, Yamajun, is something the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸I''d a short afternoon nap. Also, please don''t overwork your body, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, I have no intention to do that, to begin with.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s great but¡­ What are you doing right now?¡¹

    ¡¸I''m making saddle and stirrup.¡¹

    Even though I was trying to make it sounds cooler than it was supposed to be, the materials were taken from Goma''s bag or clothes, in short, it looked a lot like a rag.

    Nheless, it''s better than nothing. I mean, I''ve horse-like Raptor Rem, so it''s natural to make the proper preparation to ride her.

    ¡¸I mean, riding raptor as it is would literally kill your a*ss, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I can imagine that. Riding a horse alone is already hard, not to mention when you did it without a saddle.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be that you''ve prior experience in horse riding, Yamajun?¡¹

    ¡¸Sometimes, during a summer vacation trip.¡¹

    ¡¸Oooh, you''re like a celebrity, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸C''mon, that''s not true.¡¹

    During such seemingly idle chatters, I tried to ask something that I''d been worrying over. Or rather, I wish he would answer this question for me.

    ¡¸Say, Yamajun, Do you happen to have ¡ºAncient Language Decoding?Beginner¡» skill?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I''ve no idea why I have this skill, I mean, I almost never used it up until now after all.¡¹

    It seems that''s his beginning skill set. He said that he got that skill at the beginning of this dungeon capture, at the same time when he and Yamada-kun arrived at their first fairy za.

    ¡¸Can you read this ancientnguage?¡¹

    ¡¸Only some small part of it. It doesn''t mean that I can read it easily, some sentences might''ve to be read from underwater, some parts might''ve been lost and cannot be read.¡¹

    I see, we need a higher version of the skill to decipher higher priority words and sentences huh.

    ¡¸Are you interested in ancientnguage too, Momokawa-kun?

    ===

    Note : In case You haven''t heard this, I caught fever and have to take a rest next week, I''ve got enough of my wife mixing sleeping drug in my tea.

 Chapter 121.2 - Jungle Towers Defense Plan

    Chapter 121.2 - Jungle Tower''s Defense n

    ¡¸Yeah, because I know from experience that we might be able to get easter eggs from this dungeon if we could read the ancientnguage. For example, the water fountain of fairy za can be a magic circle for alchemy to upgrade our weapon.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh is that so!?¡¹

    ¡¸But then, it''s meaningless for anyone without that particr skill to read ancientnguage.¡¹

    But something like Higuchi''s sacrifice altar might be a good thing.

    ¡¸Then, well¡­ can I teach you about that ancientnguage when I understand it?¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, by all means.¡¹

    Like that, I began taking ancientnguage lessons from Yamajun-sensei.

    At first, I thought that a non-skills holder wouldn''t be able to read the ancientnguage, but it seemed my worries were unfounded.

    Ancientnguage turned out to be a propernguage and anyone could decipher it as long as they could read it. It seems the abilities of ¡ºAncient Language Decoding?Beginner¡» was enabling its owner to read short pieces of a sentence and telling the meaning of particr words.

    That''s why, as long as Yamajun taught me the parts and the letters which he could read¡­ Heck, I could even get theplete pseudo skill of ancientnguage decoding and read the entire sentence by relying on manual transcribe in my notes!

    ¡¸Somehow, it seems like I just discovered an extremely amazing secret, but are you really okay with this, Yamajun?¡¹

    ¡¸Doesn''t matter, I''ve no intention to keep it for myself anyway. I mean, it can''t be helped since I''m the only one who can read it amongst us. Moreover, I''m d to be able to help you with something, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, thanks.¡¹

    Truly, thanks a lot for your goodwill and honesty, Yamajun.

    But we''d exhausted our stamina after heavy manualbor today. In short, we''re really sleepy right now. I felt bad for Yamajun, but I don''t think that I''d have the willpower left to learn about ancientnguage tonight.

    ¡¸Fufu, let''s leave the lesson for tomorrow, shall we?¡¹

    ¡¸Agreed, sorry about that. Please teach me more about the ancientnguageter.¡¹

    ¡¸Ready when you are. Well, I''ve to prepare a note and write down the words that I can read.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks a lot, Yamajun. There''s nothing I can do but thank you.¡¹

    After he said ¡¸G''nite¡¹ to me, who was about to copse from sleepiness, Yamajun returned to the fairy za.

    The matter of him visiting me could be to rx my tension a little bit. I mean, I did enjoy our idle chatter just now and realized that it helped me to loosen some of my tension.

    There''d be a huge harvest waiting for us as long as I learn the ancientnguage.

    ¡¸Haah, somehow, I get the feeling that he''s the one who helped me out.¡¹

    If this operation was a failure, I''d be the butt of harsh criticism for sure. Or everyone might end up dead should we failed.

    ¡¸That''s why, in order to save my life during that dangerous moment¡­ hahaha, I really am the worst.¡¹

    Moreover, my top priority for preparing the saddle and stirrup was to allow me to make full use of Raptor Rem''s mobility to escape when push came to shove.

    I won''t ask for the other party members¡¯ forgiveness. I''ve no intention to die along with those guys, to begin with.

    ¡¸That''s why I''ve to prepare for every single possibility.¡¹

    All my effort would pay off as long as this operation was sessful. It¡¯s enough as long as everyone is happy¨D¨D I couldn''t believe this but I started to hate myself for my underhanded preparation to save my own a*ss.

    ===

    Five days had passed since then. Perhaps it''s thanks to Reina''s effort in crushing those observers, or because those Gomas were simply too stupid to notice, but nothing happened in thesest five days.

    ¡¸Haa¡­ these kinds of things happen sometimes.¡¹

    Wepleted the best front gate and blockade in thest five days. Though we were just normal high school students, aplete amateur in carpentry, without proper tools, andcking aesthetic beauty, we still managed to erect a robust and thick front gate.

    That''s why, one thing wepleted was piling up the logs that were longer than the gate, making it impossible to pass through it. In short, this entrance was a perfect barricade that allowed no one to pass through whether they''re trying to pull or push the logs from the entrance.

    But then, that also meant sealing our escape via the entrance and passage towards the entrance. Our only way to enter the tower was by climbing the ropedder braided with my ck hair bind.

    Reina had been whining something along the¡¸I can''t go down like thi~s¡¹ lines with her usual annoying tone. But now she seemed like she was fully enjoying the feeling of gliding down the tower''s window by grabbing on Ramdein''s feet.

    Today as well, after Reina departed to do her extermination job, we began the prep work for various things aside from the alreadypleted gate.

    First, we began from the area in front of the entrance. We drew a set of ¡ºHexagram¡» and the offering around the tower. It was for the preparation to invoke ¡ºRotten Bog¡» for our first stage of the operation, escape from the tower. If those idiots wereing with arge army of gomas, they would be plunged into ¡ºRotten Bog¡» for sure since there''s barely any room for them to maneuver around. To put it simply, this bog would narrow their attack range even further and chip down their force.

    In addition, we were also piling uprge amounts of dry grass and dry wood until they formed a small hill. We set this both inside and outside of the tower.

    Naturally, they''re meant to be ignited.

    Anyhow, I meant to sacrifice Rem the 1st, 3rd, and 4th in the tower defense. Though these preparations turned the area around the tower into a sea of mes, I hoped this strategy would bring down arge number of their army. But of course, I had no idea whether those idiotic gomas were brave enough to cross the sea of mes or not.

    ¡¸Rem, how''s the condition?¡¹

    ¡¸GAGA!!¡¹

    The area behind the tower was transformed into Rem¡¯s archery range. When I peeked to see the situation, Rem was in the middle of cheerfully drawing the goma''s bow tie to the limit¨D¨D followed by a sharp and thick sound a momentter.

    The arrow struck right in the middle of the target dummy.

    ¡¸That''s an amazing improvement.¡¹

    I patted her hard skull to praise her for her effort.

    To be honest, I was quite surprised upon seeing Rem''s archery skill had improved by leaps and bounds. She wouldn''t justnd a lucky shot if she sniped her enemy with her bow. The same went for 3rd and 4th, their arrows also hit the bull''s eye.

    Come to think of it, Rem''s spearmanship had also increasedpared to when she wielded the spear for the first time. The same went for the other skills such as peeling the snake''s skin, retrieving the monster core, and kindling fire. Rem¡¯s proficiency in those areas had definitely improved even though I never specially ordered her to master those skills even further.

    That''s why I thought that her proficiency would increase if I ordered her to practice archery but once again, she had surpassed my expectation. Perhaps Rem was blessed with archery skills like the elves.

    Or maybe, she was simply following my order to practice archery without a moment of rest after I gave her the order to train her archery skill. I mean, Rem was a semi-permanent doll who ran on a battery called magical power. She could move forever as long as there''s a source of mana, she didn''t need something like food or sleep either. That''s why I was sure that she was fully devoted to her training without resting. It was the kind of Sparta training that was impossible for a normal human.

    In thest five days, the only time Rem stopped her training was when I tried to improve the power of her bow.

    Because the already fragile ¡®Made in Goma''s fortress'' bowstring would snap if kept under non-stop usage. Since the entire bow string would snap if she continued this kind of Sparta training, the only way for her to continue her training efficiently was by recing the bowstring with a ck hair bind.

    It turned out to be a huge sess.

    Since normal ck hair had the same feeling and texture like that of hair, it was definitely ill-suited for the bowstring. The one I needed was a tough yet stic string. As a result, I who had mastered spider thread after learning it from Arachne Rem could reproduce such texture as much as I wanted. Well, after a long trial and error though.

    I asked Rem to try the bow and made improvements after hearing her impression(?). Naturally, Rem couldn''t speak. We''remunicating with simple signnguage.

    I told her to make a circle with the finger of her hands for "Yes" or "OK". X for "NO" or "NG". Triangle in case she had no idea which impression she had to tell me.

    Well, I could understand her to some extent since I was always together with her until now but thanks to teaching her a clear hand signal, the precision of mymunication with Rem had taken another giant leap. It was thanks to her input that I could create a durable yet flexible ck hair bowstring.

    ¡¸Defense preparation is almostpleted. Rem has be more skilled in using her bow. What''s left is just icing on the cake¡­¡¹

    We''re lucky since the Goma''s Army had yet to arrive during our preparation. There''s almost nothing left to do to strengthen our defense after all.

    Though there''s some anxiety in several parts, let''s say that all was well for the time being.

    ¡¸Well then, ready when you are, Goma.¡¹

 Chapter 122.1 - Exposure Convention

    Chapter 122.1 - Exposure Convention

    Night of that day, somehow, I ended up having an idle chat instead of sleeping. The quintetprised the Totem Pole Trio, Yamajun, and I.

    The child (Reina) went asleep right after she took a bath and ate her dinner. Yamada-kun was also sticking to his routine as a baseball team member, sleeping early and not staying up untilte at night.

    Since the fairy za was used as amunal sleeping ce, we were moving our meeting ce to my room. Even though leaving Reina and Yamada alone might look like a dangerous situation at nce, there was no need to worry since Reina was protected by her sacred beast.

    ¡¸If only we could have some beer at a time like this~.¡¹

    ¡¸''ight.¡¹

    ¡¸We have snacks though~¡¹

    I see, from their conversation, I presumed that the Totem Pole Trio had tasted liquor despite still being a minor. Not that I want to preach though. I mean, high-school students like us were at an age where we wanted to challenge ourselves with liquor like beer. Naturally, my interest wasn''t in that category, so I never drank one before.

    However, seeing the situation in which we were having idle chat while munching on dried meat and walnut would make anyone think we''re having a drinking party. But too bad, currently, our only beverage was the fairy fountain''s delicious, pure, and mineral-rich water.

    ¡¸Have you had the experience of drinking liquor before, Yamajun?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I''ve got a bit of experience in that.¡¹

    <i>What''s with this new employee-like safe reply? Maybe Yamajun has mastered the way of drinking liquor.</i>

    ¡¸So, I''m the only one who has never had liquor, huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Say what!? So you¡¯ve never drunk any liquor before, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸You''re wasting your youth you kno~w.¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa the liquor virgin.¡¹

    Hahaha, Iughed along with the trio. I mean, it''s okay, the threesome had nothing to boast about except for their experience in drinking liquor while being a minor.

    ¡¸Speaking of being a virgin, all of us were virgins you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, Momokawa, why did you bring that topic now of all time?¡¹

    ¡¸Even though there''s no liquor, you still want to have a go?¡¹

    ¡¸Yaaay! It''s ero talk time~!!¡¹

    The trio was looking at me with an enigmatic look on their faces as they replied to my remark. <i>The heck, what is this situation? Don''t tell me, these bastards were already¨D¨D</i>

    ¡¸No way, you guys have¡­ experience?¡¹

    ¡¸You already know the answer to that question ri~ght?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, we have!¡¹

    ¡¸When we''re freshman, hehehe~¡¹

    ¡¸W-WHAT?¡¹

    ¡¸Yea~h.¡¹

    ¡¸Exactly as we sai~d.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s fairly easy~¡¹

    ¡¸We can teach you our knowledge you kno~w.¡¹

    Dammit, I wanted to ask but I know that this trio would bother me to no end if I ask them. But, I felt rather uneasy here.

    I mean, how in the world could a high school student lose their "V" card?

    ¡¸But of course, it''s thanks to Kyouya ¨D¨D¡¹

    Their memory of losing their "V" card, no matter how glossed, was far from the sweet kind of experience that I imagined to be.

    To put it simply, Higuchi just introduced them to call g*irl. ording to them, it''s ten thousand yen for one hour.

    ¡¸But, that''s kinda scary experience.¡¹

    ¡¸We got cold feet back then, right?¡¹

    ¡¸You bet! The other party was someone our age after all.¡¹

    ¡¸In fact, we didn''t get infected by any disease in the end..¡¹

    <i>The heck, it''s not only venereal disease that scared the hell out of me. I mean, you guys should''ve been more scared of Higuchi''s bad influence on you guys. I mean, he might¡¯ve gotten your weakness. Or the girl introduced to you guys might be just a leftover from Higuchi.</i>

    ¡¸But well, we were a little bit nervous for our first time.¡¹

    ¡¸Kyouya had already lost his "V" card since the first year. Didn''t he say that he lost it around middle-school?¡¹

    ¡¸Damn right, his caliber has far surpassed small fries like us.¡¹

    Even when the person himself was not with us, the fact that his gang gave such high evaluation meant that Higuchi¡¯s delinquency was on another level.

    ¡¸Come to think of it, the three of you were rather normal when you just entered as a freshman.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi Yamajun, stop dragging us with our past~.¡¹

    Since I was in the same ss as Totempole Trio, after I be a sophomore, I had no idea what they looked like during our freshman year. I might''ve met them at some point, but I really had no memories of them.

    It seemed they''re the type that made their high-school debut. They''re hanging around the real delinquent like Higuchi soon after the entrance ceremony and turned into DQN characters too.

    ¡¸He~, it was that serious huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Kyouya might be scary, but he sure is awesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Woman included, we received a lot of help from him in other matters too.¡¹

    ¡¸Different from Souma and Tendou, Kyouya is the only one who won against Kuro high like it was nothing.¡¹

    The trio spoke so highly of Higuchi.

    It seemed like I was never telling them the fact that I killed Higuchi was a correct choice. At least, I wanted to have a favorable rtionship with the trio for the time being.

    Though I was not sure if the guilt of killing Higuchi would eat me from the inside if I didn''t use such reason to maintain my sanity.

    ¡¸You''re, different from us, you''re a good guy¡­ that''s why don''t be like us. You''ll always be haunted by regret for murder¡ª¡¹

    To Higuchi who begged for his life, I had said, ¡¸Regret my a*s!¡¹. I didn''t regret my action at all, nor did I feel guilty, I was not even troubled by it.

    Supposing Higuchi was the Totem Pole Trio''s best friend¡­ that would make them my enemy candidate.

    ¡¸Welp, what''s the matter, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, me?¡¹

    ¡¸Hehe, I heard it from Yamada.¡¹

    ¡¸You, are actually going out with Futaba-san, right?¡¹

    ¡¸EEEEEEEEEEEH!?¡¹

    The one who let out the surprised voice was, Yamajun.

    ¡¸Eh, aren''t you overreacting here, Yamajun?¡¹

    Me too! Though I was quite eloquent when I was questioning Yamada back then, I never expected him to arrive at that answer on his own.

    ¡¸Ah, no, sorry¡­ it''s just¡­ really tips me off.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri~ght? I never expected Momokawa to have a crush on her.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the other party is Futaba-san you know, it''s like a match of the century.¡¹

    ¡¸Nahaha! She''s gonna crush you to death you know, Momokawa?¡¹

    Dear me, crushed to death by Mei-chan was literally my long-cherished ambition you see. I mean, it''s clearly far better than dying a miserable death in thisbyrinth.

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun, are you really going out with Futaba-san? Is it really not just making up a lie you''re telling Yamada-kun when you told him something about Ayase-san?¡¹

    As expected of Yamajun, his sharp intuition led him to the correct answer. But still, it was an even greater shock to me hearing that he didn''t believe the matter of me going out with Mei-chan from the very beginning. In short, he didn''t see Mei-chan and me as a well-matched couple.

    ¡¸Eh, it''s a lie?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, the fact that even Yamajun doesn''t know about that matter is unnatural.¡¹

    ¡¸Not so fast! I saw it, I saw Momokawa-kun give the magic circle he drew to Futaba-san before we were transported to the dungeon. They might be in a secret rtionship.¡¹

    Shimokawa has sharp observation, huh. So he witnessed the scene where I gave my note to Mei-chan.

    But, it''ll create an unnecessary ripple if my lie were exposed so easily.

    ¡¸It''s not a lie. I really am going out with Futab¨C with Mei-chan.¡¹

    I decided to put on an air and sticking up to my lie.

    ¡¸Ooo~h, you''re already on the first-name basis huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though you''re just cheeky Momokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸Gimme a girlfriend too~!¡¹

    <i>Fufufu, tremble before me, you unpopr guy. Yeah, this happiness would¡¯ve been even sweeter if I were truly going out with Mei-chan.</i>

    I mean, glory gained from sugarcoated lie was a vain glory after all.

    ¡¸I-I-I see now¡­ so, you really are going out with Futaba-san huh¡­, but I think you''re the best match for Futaba-san.¡¹

    <i>Are you referring to her giant twin mountains? Right? Must be that one right? As expected of Yamajun who knew my fetish so well.</i>

    ¡¸Why does Yamajun look like the one receiving the greatest shock from this news?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, could it be¡­?¡¹

    ¡¸Yamajun, could it be that you''re in love with Futaba-san!?¡¹

    ¡¸EEEH! SERIOUSLY!? MY BAD YAMAJUN, MEI-CHAN IS MINE!¡¹

    ¡¸N-No, You''re gravely mistaken here.¡¹

    <i>Ahaha, your wry smile betrayed your words you kno~w.</i>

    Damn it, even though I made fun of the reverse harem scandals around Reina, I unknowingly got myself involved in the bog of a love triangle myself. This was indeed a tug of war because I was really serious about my feelings for Mei-chan. I absolutely wouldn''t let go of those giant pair of perky ti*ts and sexy a*s that heralded the greatest destructive power amongst mankind, and berserker power! Thest one was rted to my own safety after all.

    ¡¸Fu*uuuck, talking about the woman really flipped my switch.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, they''re kind of building up in thest few da~ys.¡¹

    ¡¸We should use Reina-chan for this ri~ght?¡¹

    <i>You guys are too awesome to be able to endure your pent-up libi*do huh. Should I say the trio¡¯s reasoning is awesome, or Reina''s charm that is awesome.</i>

    ¡¸Please don''t go and assault the other girls when you meet them, okay?¡¹

    ¡¸Haah?¡¹

    ¡¸Like he*ll we''re going to assault them.¡¹

    ¡¸We ain''t that kind of scums.¡¹

    ¡¸You already have a criminal record, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸GEFUH!?¡¹

    The trio''splexion paled upon hearing my remark.

    When Souma''s party was about to be teleported, Shimokawa tried to kidnap Takanashi Kotori with ¡ºAqua Whip¡», it was a rape attempt.

    <i>Humph, at least they''re reflecting on that matter.</i>

    ¡¸Momokawa, how did you know that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, how did you know that.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see, you''ve met with Souma before!¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, correct.¡¹

    To be exact, it was the ss-rep who told me about that particr event.

    ¡¸Hahaha~, the-there''s such coincidence¡­ right?¡¹

    ¡¸Ho-how should I say it, our mental state was really on the verge of exploding you see.¡¹

 Chapter 122.2 - Exposure Convention

    Chapter 122.2 - Exposure Convention

    TN : Sorry for the dy, it''s NICE BOAT!

    ===

    ¡¸I mean, look, when the three of us are betting our lives to survive in this dungeon, that b*stard Souma had formed a harem of his own! Like he*ll we''re going to forgive that!¡¹

    ¡¸So da*mn right, I understand your feeling.¡¹

    I also felt quite envious upon hearing that Souma-kun''s dungeon diving was more like a walk in the park. And the factor that empowered my envy was the fact that he formed a harem upon doing that. Naturally, I''d be more than willing to hand over that hysteric woman AKA his own little sister on the top of the list. Even more so if Reina was joining in.

    ¡¸As for me, I''m more surprised knowing that you guys can get away from Souma-kun alive.¡¹

    ¡¸That''srgely thanks to my ¡ºAqua Mist¡».¡¹

    It seems these guys were barely fleeing with their lives thanks to vision obstruction skill. I have to praise Shimokawa for his quick wit at that dangerous moment.

    But, I guess scattering mist alone wouldn''t be enough against someone like Souma-kun. I guess he still hesitated to kill his ssmates.

    <i>He''s a vi*rgin huh.</i>

    Well, I guess the three of them would really be killed by Souma-kun if Takanashi Kotori was really kidnapped and then raped by them. I guess he didn''t cross the line since that incident had only ended up as an attempt.

    ¡¸Hey Momokawa, do you have something to say about that Souma?¡¹

    ¡¸About whether he forgive us or not.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, he said that he absolutely won''t forgive you guys.¡¹

    <i>Welp¡­ their morale dropped immediately. Seriously dudes, resenting Souma-kun is literally a matter of life and death you know.</i>

    As a matter of fact, it was a lie. I never formed a party with Souma-kun, rather, we didn''t even speak to each other back then. If there''s someone I couldn''t forgive, it would be that Kenzaki F*cking Asuna, the culprit who separated Mei-chan and I.

    <i>Moreover, thinking about Souma-kun''s personality, I think he wouldn''t take the matter to his heart and would eventually forgive you guys. See, you should''ve differentiated between those guys.</i>

    ¡¸Don''t worry. I''ll be the mediator in the case we met with Souma-kun''s party.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I hope you will, Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸Very please!¡¹

    ¡¸You absolutely must do that dude!¡¹

    The trio was desperately clinging to their chance for survival.

    But that''s only if our fortress''s capture n proceeded in our favor, after that, we just needed to capture the next area which would eventually lead us to meet Souma-kun''s party again. Otherwise, I would be the one who would be in deep shit since I absolutely had to reunite with Mei-chan.

    Anyhow, seeing that there might be too many frictions and destinies jumbled together at that moment, I would try my best to ask for Souma-kun''s forgiveness. As for me, the most urgent matter was how to reunite with Souma-kun''s party as soon as possible.

    I think that I would have a bigger chance for an open transaction with Souma-kun by using Asuna''s case. Moreover, we had the most OP arbiter on our side, Yamajun. <i>You did a good job ss Rep, now you wouldn''t be the only one to be suffering from trying to arbitrate your ssmates.</i>

    ===

    We dispersed after chatting idly for a while after that. The trio was returning to the za together.

    ¡¸Sorry for troubling you thiste at night, Yamajun.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t mind it, it''s still too early for me to sleep after all.¡¹

    Yamajun was staying behind to teach me the ancientnguage.

    ¡¸And yet, what the heck is with this moon rune!¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, I can understand your feeling, the letters aren''t as simple as the alphabet after all.¡¹

    The first thing to do when you want to decipher an unknown alphabet is to write it again and again until you know its meaning. Anyhow, the alphabetprised only 26 characters. The meaning of the word became clear once all of itsposition assembled.

    But ancient letters were far more simr to kanji in this regard. There¡¯re many letters that could be considered as the most basic letters, but those letters were more like hiragana or alphabet.

    ¡¸Indeed, we have yet to find its pattern.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, maybe we have to mix and match it like Japanese hiragana, katakana, and kanji to form a proper word or words.¡¹

    In that case, the difficulties in deciphering the ancientnguage would jump to a whole new level. It was obvious that rifying a full sentence of the ancientnguage with just ¡ºAncient Language Decoding?Beginner¡» was far from enough.

    ¡¸Anyhow, let''s start with memorizing the words first.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we''ve to return to the basic in this situation.¡¹

    And then, as our study session continued on, Yamajun suddenly broke the silence.

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun, I wonder if there''s an ability outside of your vocation.¡¹

    It was when I received an exnation regarding the ancient letter which read as ¡ºVocation¡».

    <i>An ability outside of your vocation, is it something like ESP or the power of the mind?</i> Nope, clearly not those two. That kind of cr*p only appeared in manga or anime, Yamajun might be referring to ability in this world.

    ¡¸They exist you know.¡¹

    Yamajun brought up this topic when it was just the two of us. I had no idea about the value of this information, I could even y dumb and lie to him, but I got this feeling that I should listen to him right now.

    ¡¸How did yo¡ª Nay, first, this should be the first time you hear about this matter from me, right?¡¹

    Even though he disyed a slightly perplexed behaviour, Yamajun eventually started revealing things to me.

    ¡¸The truth is, we were with Himeno-san.¡¹

    When I was about to say "Who''s that?", I stopped as I finally recalled her as Mei-chan''s friend. I''d heard about her before from Mei-chan when she was expressing her worry for her three friends, namely Kizaki-san, Kitaooji-san and Himeno-san.

    ¡¸Could it be, she has died?¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ I don''t know. We were separated in the jungle when heading towards this tower.¡¹

    When I heard the rough situation from Yamajun, I concluded that she was actually running away.

    The result of the meeting between Himeno-san-who at that time became the princess whose sole purpose was to satisfy the male party member''s libido- and Reina- who¡¯d juste out of teleportation portal after she knocked me out of teleportation circle- was she being thrown out like a second hand, busted se*x doll by the male party member who rejoiced in theing of a blonde lo*li?

    ¡¸It seems, Himeno-san wasn''t just using her body in exchange for the boys to protect her. It''s more like she has something else¡­ some kind of ability to seduce the boys.¡¹

    ¡¸Her vocation wasn''t ¡ºHarlot¡», right?¡¹

    ¡¸There''s also that possibility. But maybe it''s different with vocation, my- no, basically her healing art is different from mine.¡¹

    <i>I see he knew it by intuition huh.</i> This case might be regarded as an extremely simple possibility if we''re in Japan, but for the magic in this world, we had to rely on this intuition.

    So I was sure that a ¡ºHealer¡» vocation had been equipped with some sort of intuition-like skill in their hidden status.

    ¡¸I''ve met Yokomichi you see.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, that Yokomichi Hajime? Er, was he all right?¡¹

    ¡¸We managed to drive him off somehow. That guy killed Nagae-san¡­ and ate her.¡¹

    Yamajun waspletely at loss for words when he heard me say "ate".

    ¡¸Is that in¡­ sexual meaning?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, in literal meaning. Yokomichi ate Nagae-san''s corpse. Well, he might''ve left her skeleton somewhere since I didn''t see the scene firsthand.¡¹

    But the fact that he ate Nagae Yukiko''s corpse was the undeniable truth. That truth was revealed by the ¡ºSage¡», Takanashi Kotori, and the culprit himself.

    And most of all, he had tried to eat all of us too.

    ¡¸Su-su-such things¡­¡¹

    ¡¸I understand your feeling, Yamajun. I''m absolutely sure that Yokomichi has gained power outside of his vocation.¡¹

    I was sure that Takanashi Kotori shouted ¡ºMan Eating Demon(Cannibalizer)¡» at that time. Come to think of it, she might not have been shouting at him at that time, but just read the name of Yokomichi''s power aloud with her ¡ºSage¡»''s power.

    That''s why the name that he called ¡ºSkill Eater¡» might actually have a different name. In short, he became the most disgusting person through and through as he gained a skill that allowed him to gain the skills of the others by eating their corpse.

    ¡¸Though the degree of their danger level is different, both Himeno-san and Yokomichi have gained power outside of their vocation. Perhaps ites from something like an evil god or devil.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I see now¨D¨D so this ¡ºDependents¡» thing is real huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Dependents?¡¹

    Yamajun used the word I had never heard before with a face as if he understood something. <i>Just, what in the world did he discover in those ancient letters?</i>

    ¡¸I don''t understand too much about this matter either. But in the room in which I awakened, I discovered an ancient letter which read as ¡ºDependents¡» which feels like it was paired with ¡ºVocation¡».¡¹

    I finally understand the meaning behind the letter dependents that was written in Yamajun''s note. It was written with ¡º¾ì(Regard Affectionately)¡».

    The meaning of dependents are either rtives, family, or else things like social status such as someone''s subordinate. In this case, it means God''s Envoy.

    ¡¸I see now, in short, Himeno-san is something like ¡ºSubus¡»''s dependents huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It can''t be helped if someone is getting carried away like Yamada-kun for example, since the power granted by vocation is powerful. But the dependents'' power is far more terrifying to the point that it¡­ twisted the owner¡¯s personality.¡¹

    It seemed that Himeno-san who was fooling around with Yamada-kun and the trio could still be considered as a docile one. But for someone like Yokomichi who would kill you and then eat your corpse, it was almost impossible to say whether he was still a human or not.

    ¡¸That''s why, even though we can''t tell how to differentiate them for now¡­ Momokawa-kun, the next time you met our ssmate, make sure to see through their list of skills carefully to see whether it''s vocation or dependents.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, you''re right, thanks.¡¹

    Though I''d a faint suspicion in this regard after my encounter with Yokomichi, it was thanks to Yamajun telling me the existence of ¡ºDependents¡» in the ancientnguage that I fully realized their threat.

    The information regarding that matter wasn''t that clear yet as long as I''d yet to master the ancientnguage. This was an extremely important piece of information.

    ¡¸Sorry for suddenly mentioning something strange like that. But I get this feeling that I''ve to convey this information to you as soon as possible.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it''s quite the opposite, it''s an extremely important piece of information. Thanks a lot for telling me about this.¡¹

    And then, maybe due to the mental fatigue of the serious discussion with Yamajun, my body was suddenly assailed by listlessness. I was no longer in the condition to continue our study session.

    <i>I guess it''s time to end this study session.</i>

    ¡¸Ah,e to think of it, Yamajun, I want to ask onest thing.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is something the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you really not having a thing for Mei-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Ahaha, don''t worry about it Momokawa-kun, I''ve no feelings for her.¡¹

    I could finally feel at ease as I saw Yamajun was smiling wryly from the bottom of his heart. Now, I could finally sleep in peace.

 Chapter 123.1 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battleï¼‘

    Chapter 123.1 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle£±

    Well then, ready when you are, Goma.

    As if to answer my calling the time had arrived.

    For today¡¯s lunch, after a long time, we''re back to the modest diet consisting of the mixed walnut.

    ¡¸KYO, KYO, KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    That loud, resounding cry came from Raptor Rem.

    Aside from Reina, I also ordered Raptor Rem to scout the vicinities of the tower. And since she came back while letting out such loud cry¨D¨D

    ¡¸They came huh. Get ready everyone, it''s time to abandon this tower.¡¹

    We departed after confirming the iing Goma''s raid force. Thanks to the drill training that we did beforehand, we could leave the tower with ease, bringing only the most important luggage in hand.

    ¡¸???? ?????? ?????¨D¨D¡ºAqua Mist¡»!¡¹

    Shimokawa invoked his aqua mist with full aria. In the blink of an eye, our surrounding was enveloped by a seemingly never-ending white mist. I''d noticed for quite a while now that the Gomas on the other side of the white mist were talking with their non-sensical voices. It seems the battle against Yokomichi had left quite a deep trauma in my mind.

    ¡¸Yup, let''s go. Remember, just advance slowly and steadily.¡¹

    Through this mist that blocked our vision, we were led by its user, Shimokawa who could see through it forming a line as we walked into the forest. Since it wouldl be a disaster if even one of us strayed off the course, our bodies were tied with my ck hair like the mountain-climbers ascending the steep mountain.

    ¡¸UOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    ¡¸NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Shortly after that, a loud, piercing cry resounded from behind.

    ¡¸It seems the battle has begun.¡¹

    Yamajun who was walking in front of me spoke with a nervous voice.

    The one who detected the iing Gomas raid troop was Ramudein whohad scouted the area from the sky and my Raptor Rem. Though no one amongst us literally saw the forces, we knew for sure that it would be toote to leave the tower if we were to wait until we could see them. In this situation, the others had no choice but to trust me.

    As a result, we could only get the real feeling of the iing Gomas raid troop when we heard their warcrying from behind. As for me, I felt extremely relieved upon hearing their loud warcry.

    ¡¸I wonder how''s the situation over there.¡¹

    Yamajun whispered with a slightly anxious voice.

    ¡¸Who knows, the battle might have just begun.¡¹

    Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing the situation over there since I couldn''t share my vision with Rem. All I knew was whether Rem the 1st, 3rd, or 4th were okay or not. As their master, I could somehow feel that something tied to my curse was cut off when they''re destroyed.

    ¡¸Now, it''s time to rush up.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re right.¡¹

    We, who lost our paath of retreat had no choice but to continue onwards. Everyone vaguely understood that situation. We were walking forward in silence under the protection of the white mist.

    Time passed by, it had been a whole day since the start of the nerve-wracking march. Though we''re dead tired, not even that shi*ty bitchined, or rather, like hell, she wouldin when all she did was ride on thefortable back of Engard. But of course, I was also in the same situation,fortably riding on the Rem Raptor''s back which had been equipped with a make-shift stirrup and saddle.

    Anyhow, thanks to everyone¡¯s understanding to proceeded carefully, we¨D¨D managed to reach our destination without a hitch.

    ¡¸That''s the Goma''s Fortress huh.¡¹

    Currently, we''re in a higher position, looking down on the Goma''s tower without anything to obstruct our view.

    With the tower as its centre, the forest around had already been felled in circr shape. The stone tower in the center of the circle was of the same height and shape as our tower base. The only difference was an altar resembling it was connected to the first floor of the tower in a circr shape.

    Considering the trend I had encountered so far, the teleportation formation''s location was either at the top of the tower or its basement.

    The part we called the tower literally stood at the center of the formation. Though its construction was crude, they also made a wooden wall circling around the perimeter of the main tower [Gomas¡¯ Fortress] with four watchtowers made from logs situated on the edge of that huge circle formation. Each tower was manned by Goma- nay, from their stature, it should be Govus armed with bow and arrow, and there''s even two of those Govus in each watchtower.

    In addition, muscr Govus stood in front of the only gate to enter this fortress, armed with axe and spear. They also had these guys who kept loitering around, weapon in hand like some sort of sentry.

    As expected, they weren''t neglecting the defense of their own fortress even after they¡¯d sent their main force to our tower.

    ¡¸Theirmunity is more like a vige rather than a fortress huh.¡¹

    Inside the wall were rows of tents made from something that looked like they¡¯re made from piles of pelts, or dirty clothes. It seemed the Goma''s architecture had yet to advance to the point in which they could create wooden houses but their tents were simple andpact as they used a single, vertical log as its fulcrum.

    Upon a closer look, I could see the Gomas were going in and out of those tents in hurry. Though the ones I saw so far always had a weapon in hand, seeing them wandering around with earthenwares or bag full of ingredients, the dishes that were lined up around the kitchen that was set all over the ce gave the actual feeling of them being an intelligent native of this world. Upon a closer look, there were small Gomas- clearly the Goma''s children, and Gomas that looked very much like a female Goma.

    It seemed that the female Gomas¡¯ chest weren''t the inted ones, it was their belly. They had a barrel-like belly which made them look like a pregnant woman. Or else, all of them were actually pregnant right now. In addition, the color of their skins wasn¡¯t ck, it was dark reddish-brown. Their color was simr to the disgusting cockroach.

    ¡¸What shall we do, Momokawa-kun? The situation doesn''t seem to be that differentpared to our previous visit.¡¹

    ¡¸Let''s take a rest first. Everyone must be tired after walking non-stop.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸The sun is about to set. Since those Gomas aren''t nocturnal creatures either, we can expect that their main force shouldn''t be back until tomorrow.¡¹

    We should have a bit of leeway in postponing our operation. Sorry, but I want to be spared of fighting with an exhausted body.

    In addition, I''d changed my mind after overlooking the entire fortress as a whole¡­ our capture strategy needed to be revised.

    I made a rough sketch of the fortress and its surrounding, in short, a rough map before the sun has set.

    ¡¸Let''s finish our dinner ASAP. You may take a nap if you feel like it. We''ll start our operation at midnight.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand, I''ll tell everyone about the change in our n.¡¹

    Well, what should we do from now on? Even though I was acting like a boss and dragging everyone along to follow my n until this point¡­ I almost gave up on the n after seeing how tightly guarded that fortress was.

    The reaction from Rem the 1st, 3rd, and 4th who I left in the jungle tower as bait had vanished. I think their reactions were still there until we''re halfway toward the Goma''s fortress, they fought until the bitter end and bought a lot of time for us.

    When I think about how they did their best defending the jungle tower, I would like to let them rest for a while but,

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºVile''s y Doll¡»¡¹

    I remade Rem by using the surplus of Raptor''s materials and basic materials that I prepared beforehand to resummon Rem.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, you''re doing your best to defend the tower until the bitter end. But, sorry, please help me again to capture the fortress.¡¹

    ¡¸GA, GAGA!¡¹

    Rem replied to me with her usual cheerful "Leave it to me!" pose. I gave her Nonomiya-san''s spear and short sword as her main weapon, bow and arrow as her sub-weapon so that she would be ready anytime. I was really envious of Rem''s cheerful nature.

    I didn''t create the 3rd and 4th. Or should I say I didn''t have the leeway to recreate them? The risk of magical power aside, even if I, for example, managed to recreate them, they would be in their basic form without any notable addition to ourbat power.

    Now let''s confirm our side war potential again.

    The first was me, a ¡ºShaman¡». There was a corpse doll''s raptor as my stead and Rem that was remade with the surplus from raptor''s materials.

    In the vanguard, we''d Yamada, the ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡», Ueda, the ¡ºSwordsman¡», and Nakai, the ¡ºWarrior¡». In the rear guard, Shimokawa, the ¡ºAquamancer¡», and Yamajun, the ¡ºHealer¡».

    Andstly, a freeter that didn''t fit in any position-cough- I mean, Reina, the ¡ºSpiritualist¡» who would lead our raid.

    As I had expected, the key for this operation was in how to make full use of Reina''s sacred beast. To be honest, I felt that we actually didn''t have to use this roundabout strategy if she was going all out but¡­ she most probably would choose to run if she had too much responsibility.

    No, it could be the opposite, it might be okay to keep her away from the teleportation circle before she escaped. That''s it, she should be fine even if we leave her by herself in this area.

    ¡¸Yamajun, please gather everyone. I''ll tell them my strategy.¡¹

    Yamajun then gathered everyone who was in the middle of taking a short break. Gathering personnel, even if it seemed like a trivial matter, there was a great difference between someone who could do and someone who couldn''t. It would be more efficient to ask Yamajun to do this job rather than me.

 Chapter 123.2 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battleï¼‘

    Chapter 123.2 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle£±

    ¡¸So, is something the matter, Momokawa? Are we going to start immediately?¡¹

    <i>Well, not so fast, Yamada. Let me to exin first.</i>

    ¡¸First, I think there''s teleportation circle inside that tower. That''s why we''ll set that as our primary goal.¡¹

    Since the day was about to change to night, I sketched a rough map of the fortress and its surrounding that we glimpsed from the hill in hurry.

    ¡¸But they¡¯ve shut their gate, there''s also gatekeeper, and the lumber''s fence.¡¹

    Ueda spoke first, mentioning the facts that we had confirmed at nce. Though their defense set up was simple, breaking through it wasn''t an easy matter.

    ¡¸Basically, we''re going to use ¡ºAqua Mist¡» to hide our figures, and climb the fence with my ¡ºckhair Bind¡». Even if they¡¯ve shut the gate of the tower, they¡¯ve left its windows wide open so we can enter from there.¡¹

    And when I said the windows, I was sure that everyone had realized the fortress structure was simr to our tower, ss aside, they hadn''t even installed window frames. I didn''t even see them set an emergency measure such as cing a wooden board to close it.

    If everything went ording to n, we should be able to slip into the tower shrouded by the mist without having to fight the mobs along the way.

    ¡¸The problem is, how high is the possibility of us entering their tower unnoticed? I mean, no matter how stupid those Gomas are, they''ll realize that something is amiss with our mist, right?¡¹

    Well, there''s a high chance that they''ll realize that.

    I mean, the scenery of the vige around that tower was literally unobstructed. That''s why we''re bound to get noticed by their sentries in the tower unless we hid our figures with mist.

    In addition, the Govus stationed atop of the watchtower would realize that there''s something wrong with the strange mist that moving closer to the tower. That''s why they might ring the bell or hit the drum to warn the others about the iing crisis.

    ¡¸Yeah, that''s why we''re going to use a diversion tactic.¡¹

    ¡¸Diver¡­sion? by that you mean, assigning someone to divert the enemy attention, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we''re going to set those Gomas'' tents aze.¡¹

    In spite of their extremely small scale, it wasn''t wrong to say that this Gomamunity resembled a castle and its castle town. From the fact that both were surrounded by solid wood fence it could be said the watchtower was solely to protect the tower in the middle of it. Spreading around that tower until the fence was the tent that lined up without any kind of defensive measure ced on it.

    For this reason, getting closer to them cloaked in the darkness of the night and setting their tent on fire was a simple matter. I mean, that''s the chance to use my spare torch oil, right?

    ¡¸E-EEEEH!¡¹

    It was a wonderful strategy but, setting a fire to those tents which was clearly like a normal citizen tent sounded like an inhuman act, even if the other party was Gomas. Everyone was reacting too poorly in this regard.

    ¡¸No need to worry. The one living in there, whether they''re women or children, all of them wille to attack us as soon as they see us. In short, they''re just a monster.¡¹

    They might be human-shaped monsters who build a livingmunity like the humans do. But hesitation would only cost your life. I mean, our ancestor, Neanderthal was wiped out by Homo sapiens, right?

    ¡¸The problem is the person for this diversion tactic but¨C I''ll leave this part to you, Ayase-san.¡¹

    ¡¸EEEEH!?¡¹

    Her reaction was as annoying as ever. My hope for this shi*ty bi*ch to aplish my order in silence was as expected, just a fleeting wish. I mean, it wasn''t just limited to Reina, no one wanted to take on this role.

    ¡¸It''s a dangerous role, that''s why no one else but you can do this, Ayase-san. Just rampage as much as you want and burn everything around with Engard while we use that chance to sneak into the tower, you can retreat with Ramudein.¡¹

    Engard¡¯s sea of mes could set numerous tents aze in just a moment, its raw strength could scatter the Gomas who tried to surround it, andstly, it had mobility that allowed it to go back and forth until teleportation circle''s tower.

    No one but Reina, the spiritualist whomanded the power of the sacred beast, could pull such a feat.

    ¡¸We can''t capture the tower if Ayase-san can''t do that.¡¹

    It was decided that we''ll raid the tower with six of us. But we''ll simply annihte due to the difference in number if we were to attack them from the front.

    But if we turned the Goma''s settlement into a sea of me, we could sneak into the tower during the melee. As long as Reina rampaged non-stop, more and more of their soldiers would gather in her direction.

    The more Goma soldiers came for her, the more chance we''d to capture the tower with just the six of us.

    ¡¸I-I''ll go with you, Reina-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸You can''t, Yamada-kun. You''re going with us to capture the tower aside, I don''t think that Ramudein will allow you to ride on its back.¡¹

    In short, we''d no choice but to abandon the other members who persistently chose to go with Reina. To put it bluntly, that said person would be the role model of useless sacrifice.

    But of course, there''s no way I could tell Yamada-kun that the diversion role was literally a sacrifice. <i>Eh!? Why did you make a face as if you want to cry!?</i>

    ¡¸Sorry for asking you to do such a dangerous job Ayase-san, but please believe in Momokawa-kun in this regard¡­ this is the only n that will allow all of us to survive from this situation.¡¹

    A-as expected of Yamajun, he had the best timing to interject his persuasion mode.

    ¡¸Y-yes, b-but¡­ I¡­ am scared.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, you won''t lose to Gomas as long as you have Engard and Ramudein.¡¹

    Nope, it was definitely not an exaggeration. I mean, I would volunteer myself to participate in the diversion role if I''d those two by my side. That¡¯s just how OP those sacred beasts are.

    ¡¸Please Ayase-san, everyone will survive as long as you do your best.¡¹

    After that, with bated breaths we watched Yamajun''s negotiation, and just when I was starting to lose my patience seeing Reina keep acting like a wimp¡­

    ¡¸¡­ I understand, can''t be helpe~d.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks, Ayase-san!¡¹

    The negotiation had been safely concluded with Yamajun''s overwhelming victory. The climaxpletely exceeded my imagination.

    Rather, I''d to say that we''re literally (and practically) screwed without Yamajun''s negotiation skill. I mean, I wouldn''t be able to persevere that long if I were in charge.

    ¡¸Yosh, it''s decided. Ayase-san set the tent on fire and act as bait for us. We''ll sneak into their tower with ¡ºAqua Mist¡» during thatmotion. And capture the tower in one go.¡¹

    We should be able to buy more time if we shut the entrance of the tower to prevent reinforcement from the outside. We should be able to secure the teleportation circle after we kill all Gomas in the tower.

    ¡¸The only problem is whether there''s a boss-like existence who holds the core to activate the teleportation circle or not inside that tower. There might be a ¡ºGogma¡», the giant Goma waiting for us inside, but we might have to fight a boss monster in the enclosed space.¡¹

    Both the core that we need to initiate the teleportation circle and the aftermath was a gamble. In the worst case scenario, if it turned out that there was no Gogma inside the tower¡­ ourpass could be persistently pointing to this tower, forcing us with no other option.

    ¡¸We''llmence the operation without rehearsal, our path of retreat is blocked and we''ve no choice but to strive forward. Prepare yourselves, we''re going to take down the fortress.¡¹

 Chapter 124.1 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battle 2

    Chapter 124.1 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle 2

    2 a.m.

    The Gomas whose life cycle resembled that of humans, everyone save for the soldiers in charge of the night watch, had already entered the dreand.

    Therefore, even if the bow-equipped Govu stationed in the watchtower saw the glittering me from afar, it was already toote. Because THAT had already leaped from the jungle, running towards the tents faster than Raptor in a straight line.

    The moment Govu asked itsrade "What''s that?" as it strained its eyes to see the identity of THAT, GOU! It saw THAT spewing zing mes.

    ¡¸NBA, GUONGAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The scream that notified the others about the night raid echoed in the surrounding. The soldiers stationed in the fortress were jolted awake and ran towards the intruder at once. But¡­ the night raid was akin to cmity, it was already spewing scorching red hot mes, turning the settlement into hellish scenery.

    ¡¸GOOO, EN-CHAN!¡¹

    Riding on top of Engard, Reina pointed her finger forward, sending forth the me tornado in the direction she pointed at. Engard''s mouth spewed a never-ending zing tornado.

    ¡¸VEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Rather than burning the tent made of filthy clothes, the fiery breath was blowing it away, sending the lives inside that tent straight to oblivion. The Gomas who found out this, their supposed calm night already flipped upside-down into a scorching hell, were screaming in panic. However¡­ their screamssted but for a few seconds before their body was engulfed by the zing hot me.

    Engard''s breath had sent them straight to oblivion before they could even feel pain.

    The miserable ones were the Gomas that got rolled up in the burning tent, baked alive, suffering painful, long, and agonizing death instead of a quick and painless one from Engard''s breath.

    The vige had suddenly awakened from its slumber. It was in the middle of the night and yet, the zing me was bright enough to illuminate the surrounding. In addition to the illumination, the smell of scorched flesh assailed our noses too.

    In short, all hell broke loose. Even if they''reid on top of another, every Goma in the tent was family. The father screamed to tell his family to escape from the burning tent, the mother was running while holding on to her child.

    ¡¸BURN, BURN! BUUUUUUUUUURN!¡¹

    The zing me that spreading around along with the night wind had be even stronger than before, roasting even those who had evacuated to safety a while before. The demonic hands of the me kept reaching towards those that had evacuated as if to not let even a single one alive.

    ¡¸GUVEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸NBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The scream of the victims resounded from all directions along with the scattering me. Regardless of whether they''re male or female, adult or child, the entire family had been roasted alive by the inferno. And because it wasn''t the me from Engard''s breath but the me that spread naturally along with the wind, they''re baked alive and died in agony.

    ¡¸NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOO, I''VE ENOUGH OF THIS! BURN, BURN EVERYTHING, EN-CHAN!¡¹

    In contrast to the situation, Reina''s cute voice resounded amidst the agonizing, zing hell. And that became the signal for the me to spread even further.

    With Reina on its back, Engard had already sprinted towards the area that had yet to be a sea of me, and then, it fired a scorching fireball toward it. Its superb aim had turned the safe area into another sea of me within the next moment.

    Those fireballs were heading towards the flocks of Gomas trying to running away. The warrior-like male was wielding its weapon while the female was hugging on to the round, baby-like Goma. The younglings were carrying their old parents on their back. Every single one of them was cruelly, and equally sted away by the fireballs, and died. Reina continued her massacre after she saw her previous target had already reduced cinder.

    ¡¸Uh~m, it is bing a little bit too ho~t, wate~r.¡¹

    Reina who patting Engard on the base of its neck to stop it from its rampage then took out her canteen from her bag, unscrewed its lid, and used it as a cup to drink the water.

    ¡¸GEBA, BUBERA!¡¹

    ¡¸GEBAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Maybe because they saw Engard had stopped moving, that moment, the Gomas raised a valiant roar from the other side of the scorching hell and fired countless arrows toward Reina.

    Even if their arrows were that of low qualities with a low hit rate, it shouldn''t be a problem if so many of them were fired at once. The other party was onlyposed of a human and an animal. The Goma warriors fired their arrow like there was no tomorrow.

    ¡¸A~h, the water, has already turned a bit wa~rm,¡¹

    In the face of the countless arrows that rained down incessantly towards her, Reina could still mutter those words with a carefree voice¨D¨D however, not even one of those arrows touched her.

    Those arrows were blown away by the me tornado. Or rather, it was blocked by incandescence defense magic. The dome-shaped me barrier that formed with Engard at its center was thin like a film, to the point that Reina''s figure could be seen from outside of the barrier, it burned everything it touched to ashes. The crude arrows made from branches and stones would never be able to prate this barrier.

    Reina''s gesture looked like she was sneering at the Gomas, or not, she might¡¯ve not even put them in her eyes and just taking her time on Engard''s back while drinking water from her canteen.

    ¡¸Ah, there''s more of them now, kill them all, En-chan!¡¹

    Giant fireballs plunged into the throngs of Goma archers amid Engard''s bestial roar. That one strike had annihted the entire squad. It was a merciless ughter.

    ¡¸Hey, can we go back now?¡¹

    Reina raised such a question after she hadpleted her task, turning the settlement into a sea of me. The one who replied to her wasn''t Engard, but sharp cries from the sky.

    Ramudein swooped down from the sky above Reina along with a sh of purple lightning that split the dark night.

    ¡¸Eh, something strong hase out?¡¹

    Despite their high intelligence, sacred beasts couldn''t speak in humannguage. But as the spiritualist, Reina may be able to understand what they said in theirnguage. She might have some sort of telepathy that allowed her to know that the sacred beast, which should be akin to monster bymon sense, wasn¡¯t hostile to Reina.

    ¡¸I see, then we''ll leave after taking care of that gu~y.¡¹

    Reina replied with a sulking face to Ramudein who asked with cries.

    ¡¸I mean, Momokawa-kun is always so mean towards me.¡¹

    Seeing its master dissatisfaction, Ramudein didn''t say anything.

    ¡¸A~ah, I want to meet Yuu-kun¡­ I''ve enough of this already.¡¹

    Seeing that, both Ramudein and Engard were raising adorable cries tofort their master.

    To these faithful servants of Reina, the only thing that mattered was her wellbeing, they didn''t care about anything outside of her.

    ===

    ¡¸¨D¨DGreat, let''s go everyone, it''s our turn!¡¹

    I confirmed that the fire was already big enough for it to be visible from far away. I gave a "LET''S GO!" sign. As expected of Engard''s terrifying firepower, it turned the settlement into a zing sea of fire in an instant. Things would get far easier if only I''d those sacred beasts, we had no need for this roundabout method and just strike right through the tower. This n to turn the settlement into a sea of fire was far too easy for Engard.

    ¡¸''Kay, ¡ºAqua Mist¡»!¡¹

    Shimokawa was fired up seeing such good omen, and as the trigger to start our operation went all out with his spell. Thus, we went towards the fortress, all fired up than ever. Since the tower was surrounded by the settlements, we wouldn''t be able to enter it without passing by the settlement first.

    Reina had already turned a third of the settlement into a sea of fire. At this pace, it wouldn''t take long for her to burn the entire settlement. Meanwhile, we''re going to make full use of the uproar to subjugate their boss. I could still hear the scream of those little ugly Gomas despite being at quite the distance from that location.

    It felt like seeing a purification me in the middle of purging an evil being. Though their number was so more like catching a big haul of filth when cleaning with disinfectant almost made me scream, I ended up imagining ourselves in their position. We entered from the side that had yet to be set aze.

    Inside of the dark night, Yamajun used his ¡ºLux Elemental¡» as makeshift illumination for us, it was kinda like walking during the dawn.

    ¡¸ORAA, GET OUT OF MY WAY!¡¹

    Yamada sent forth a strike apanied by a bold voice filled with anger toward the Goma who suddenly appeared inside the mist.

    We were right in the middle of crossing Goma''s settlement which had yet to be a sea of me. But of course, the information about the other side of the settlement was rife in this settlement too. Despite the numerous Gomas moving around with luggage in their hands, none of them noticed us inside this mist.

    Even though some of them entered ¡ºAqua Mist¡»''s range, the extreme panic caused by Reina had only intensified by the mysterious mist that robbed them of their vision. Even though we''re right before them, the Gomas who entered the mist weren''t a part of the fighting power, just a normal Goma without any kind of weapon in their hands.

    Both Yamada and Ueda were walking side-by-side with Shimokawa, beating the Goma who blocked our way as we advanced even further inside. Some poor Gomas came from the sides every once in a while, but they''re being taken care of by Rem. Basically, I''d nothing to do right now. At most, I just let Raptor Rem kick away the baby Goma who rolled in the middle of the road.

    ¡¸Momokawa! We''ve arrived on the wall!¡¹

    Finally, we had arrived at the wooden fortress surrounding the tower. Upon a closer look, it was a really tall building. A swordsman or warrior could be able to jump over the fortress with their enhanced physical abilities but such a feat was impossible for a normal human.

    ¡¸Yosh, ckhair Bind!¡¹

    As we¡¯d nned before, I created adder with ck hair rope. After I learnt ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡», I could fire the knitted form of ck hair right off the bat. At my current level of mastery, I could fire 5m long knitted ck hair without any problem.

    ¡¸Great, it''s ready! Yamada-kun, take the lead!¡¹

    ¡¸OOH!¡¹

    Vanguard was the most dangerous role, but it was safe to entrust that role to a heavy warrior whose strong point was its defence. His resilience would at least guarantee anding point for us.

    ¡¸Landing point is clear!¡¹

    Yamada-kun shouted at us after he crushed one, or maybe two Gomas. Ueda, Shimokawa, Nakai, and Yamajun followed next. This phase ended up fairly quick since everyone was ustomed to it thanks to our drill back in the jungle tower. That drill ended up saving a lot of our time, huh.

    ¡¸Okay everyone, I''m gonna pull thedder.¡¹

    I, who climbedst, then started the preparation of pulling up Raptor Rem. I mean, additional manpower was better than nothing. Or should I say that she possessed precious war potential with her sharp ws and fangs? Since her height was just a little bit bigger than a human, there was no problem even if she entered the tower.

    ¡¸One, two, THREE!¡¹

    Along with my countdown, everyone was pulling the ck hair rope that I had entwined around Raptor Rem''s body. On the other hand, I was just watching from the side. Hey, I''m working hard in controlling my ck hair you know?

    ¡¸KYOAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    With the power of five men+Rem the 1st, even if Raptor Rem with her mini T-rex form weighing over a hundred kilos, pulling her up was a simple matter. On the other hand, Raptor Rem was wing with her hind limbs as if doing a vertical run on the wall¨D¨D <i>Safe travels, Rem.</i>

    After climbing over the wall, Raptor Rem jumped down to the other side of the wall as it was. Her tough hind legs prevented any damage even if she fell from this height. And then, I descended with ck hair rope on Raptor Rem''s back.

    ¡¸Shimokawa-kun, which is the direction to the tower?¡¹

    ¡¸This way! it seems our distraction n is a sess, at this rate, we can easily sneak into the tower!¡¹

    Great, now let''s rush into the tower at onc¨D¨D we were stopped by a thunderous roar.

    ¡¸~~~~~!??¡¹

    I knew it was a roar, but it still made my ears ring despiteing from far away.

    ¡¸Kuh¡­ What the hell is that roar¡­ Mist!¡¹

    Our field of vision that should''ve covered with white mist was cleared in that instant. I could see just fine since the settlement had already be a zing hell. That was the first scene we saw upon entering the fortress.

    And then, we knew what was to happen the next moment.

    ¡¸I see, that guy is ¡ºGogma¡» huh.¡¹

 Chapter 124.2 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battle 2

    Chapter 124.2 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle 2

    It was a huge Goma standing tall in the opened tower gate. That guy was even more muscr and taller than Govu, the elite of Gomas. Its height was around three metres. And yet, it had a muscr, yokozuna-like* body. [*TL: Greatest sumo wrestler of the era.]

    It had a twisted horn growing from its forehead and a rugged, carnivore-like rather than fish-like face that had be the unique characteristic of Goma, but it was as if they came from different mold instead of being from the same race. However, it was all clear from its cockroach-like skin color and his cocky attitude that the fact that it led the Govus it was the general.

    This guy wouldn''t be such pain in the a*s, if it was muscle brain type like that monkey king but¡­ I had this feeling that despite its muscr appearance, this dude might be able to use magic.

    Its right hand was gripping a super, ultra-huge cuss-like curved sword, its left hand was holding a cane with a red ball attached at its tip.

    The cane became so thin and small when that huge Gogma gripped on it, the ruby-like orb that was a perfect fit in the eagle talons-like ornament at the tip of the cane might be the demon core that we''re looking for. I knew that cane was a real deal since I saw a real wind magic''s cane before. Or should I say that the wind magic¡¯s core that I extracted from Nishiyama-san''s cane had already be one of the treasures in my pouch?

    Well, even if I never saw a magic cane before, it was easy to guess its effect just by looking at the flickerings red demon core and the fire sparks that sometimes fell on the ground. The defeaning explosion that sted away the covering effect of ¡ºAqua Mist¡» was obviously that guy''s me magic.

    Well, it''s okay, this way, we didn''t need to look for the core.

    ¡¸THAT BIG ONE IS THE BOSS! DEFEAT IT AT ALL COST AND TAKE ITS CORE!¡¹

    ¡¸DAVA, GOVU, DAHHA, ZUUDUBARUBAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The big guy¡¯s defeaning scream came at the same time as my scream. Thus, both sides started moving at the same time.

    ¡¸UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!¡¹

    The one who led the charge from our side was, of course, the ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡», Yamada. He was our safest bet due to his impregnable iron wall defense. Although the others had the abilities, they couldn''t move when pushes to shove.

    ¡¸GO, YAMADA!¡¹

    ¡¸KICK THAT BOSS GUY''S A*SS!¡¹

    In contrast to Yamada who was rushing straight toward the Gogma, its subordinate, the Govus who tried to stop him were obstructed by Nakai and Ueda. <i>Nicebination you got there, guys.</i> Though their cooperation was imperfect, since they were only fighting together until they arrived in the jungle tower, it wasn''t that bad.

    ¡¸¡ºLux Sagitta¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºAqua st¡»!!!¡¹

    ¡¸Let''s go, Rem¨D¨D¡ºckhair Bind¡»¡¹

    We, the rear guard, were also starting to move, covering for Yamada. This was the first time I saw Yamajun''s offensive magic. It seemed he had learned the same ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» as her, but seeing the volume of Yamajun''s light arrows, his seemed to be an inferior version of that woman¡¯s.

    As I expected, the ¡ºSaint¡» vocation might have given her an upper hand in terms of magical power, or it was a simply hidden status that enhanced her light element''s power. Or else, it was simply the difference of their weapon''s performance. Sakura''s bow was an exclusive weapon called ¡ºSaint''s Harmonic Bow¡» whose power was enhanced by Kotori.

    Even if his healing power was less than Sakura, having a healer in the battle did make the difference. I mean, the uninjured side held the advantage in the battle, right?

    Anyhow, Yamajun''s ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» managed to hold back Govu''s movement, and even though Shimokawa''s ¡ºAqua st¡» was less powerful, it was plenty enough to stop the Govus on their track.

    ¡ºAqua st¡» was simr to the water that flowing from a hose, it was a magic that fired water-jet. Even those macho Govus couldn''t help being pushed to the side by the powerful water st.

    The Govus couldn''t stop Yamada from approaching the boss thanks to the covering fire from us, the rear guard. Everyone went all out from the very beginning. <i>Land the first blow with martial arts to their boss!</i>

    ¡¸¡ºSMASH¡»HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡¹

    ¡¸UGOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Yamada did a batter-like full-swing to unleash ¡ºSmash¡» which collided with the weapon in Gogma''s right hand.

    Since Govu could use ¡ºsh¡» martial arts with their weapon. Their boss, Gogma should be able to use martial arts too.

    In their sh, the Gogma turned out to be a bit more powerful than Yamada.

    ¡¸KUH, OOOOOOOOOOO!?¡¹

    Yamada''s body, which was considered as the top-ss amongst the top-ss, was pushed back. But, it was still within the margin of my calction.

    Despite his top-ss defensive power, Yamada''s offensive power was that of the average warrior. In short, both Ueda and Nakai could join the fight against Gogma.

    Though Gogma power was so overwhelming that we need the three of them¡­ the difference between our powers was within the safety margin.

    ¡¸UGO, NGO, BUNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    And then, Gogma''s magic exploded.

    The Gogma didn''t waste any time to push its free left hand towards Yamada who was pushed back by Gogma''s martial art, or rather, I should''ve prepared for this since that cane was nothing but an ornamental club.

    The second strike that didn''t allow dodging or defending struck Yamada.

    The bright red exploding me along with deafening explosion had sent Yamada''s body flying to the side.

    It was something like explosion magic that activated along with impact. <i>Wasn¡¯t the caster wounded by the st? Did the Gogma remain calm because of its solid and muscr body, or because the explosion didn''t affect the caster.</i> Anyhow, it looked like it didn''t have any problem in using it normally.

    The reason why I could give a calm analysis about our enemy''s magic was, the one who got hit was Yamada. It was unrted to whether I like or hate Yamada, it was simply from the fact that such a small explosion was nothing for ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡»''s defense.

    ¡¸Yamada-kun!¡¹

    Only Yamajun called out to Yamada with a worried look on his face. <i>It''s okay, Yamajun, it is still too early for your healing magic.</i>

    ¡¸Da*mmit, that guy is¡­ strong.¡¹

    Yamada rolled on the ground, then rose as he said those words. Look, he was as healthy as ever right.

    ¡¸Oi, what shall we do now, that guy¡¯s strength is no joke you know.¡¹

    ¡¸We''re basically screwed if we receive one of his attacks.¡¹

    Before the Gogma''s giant frame and its impactful explosion magic strike, two of our vanguard swordsman, Ueda and warrior Nakai, had cold feet. Anyone would get cold feet if they knew that they''d to fight this kind of monster.

    But, the curtain of boss battle had been lifted. This wasn''t the time to get cold feet.

    ¡¸Yamada-kun, Ueda-kun, I''ll leave the boss to you two! Leave the Govus to the rest of us!¡¹

    ¡¸UBRAAA, BUDAAAAAA, GOWAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    I yed the safe card for the time being. Fortunately, everyone had already understood their own role by heart and moved immediately.

    We couldn''t afford to let our guard down even if it''s just one second. Gogma ordered the Govus one beatter after me.

    It seemed like the scene where the Gogma was blown away and the enemy warrior charged in the frontmost, otherwise known as Yamada, had raised the morale of Goma''s side. Even the Govus wereing to us after their boss said something along ¡ºThey''re weak!¡».

    ¡¸¨D¨DSpread, ¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    I had to somehow restrained those lively Govus before they overwhelmed us. Yup, ¡ºRotten Bog¡» which could spread far and wide was really useful for this kind of situation.

    I scattered my blood to the side after drawing a curse mark on my hand and then spread my arms to the side. Poisonous bog that spread on the ground was far too dangerous for the Govus who couldn''t take a flight with wings like Knight Mantis unless they''re prepared for some degree of wound that would impede their overallbat strength.

    ¡¸NOW, CRUSH EM!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºLux Sagittta¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºAqua Sagitta¡»!¡¹

    Arrows of water and light were raining down on the Govus who had stumbled in front of corrosive water.

    Some normal arrow with iron arrowhead was also mixed in between the magic arrow. This was Rem''s backup.

    I gave another order for Rem, different from the order to Yamada and Co. My aim was the closest watchtower from our position.

    I expected that some Govus were still in there, ready to snipe us from above the watchtower once the battle began. That''s why since it was too dangerous to leave them to their own devices, I installed a ropedder made with ck hair bind, ordered Rem to sneak into the tower and secretly take it over.

    That''s why even though there were arrows being fired from the watchtower, its target was the Govus instead of us. It seemed Rem had obtained total control over the watchtower. Moreover, I might be the only one who understood the vital role of the watchtower in the middle of thismotion. Those idiotic Govus along with Yamada and Co., didn''t seem to realize this fact, neglecting the watchtower as a result.

    Now, I could finally feel relieved knowing that I had Rem to watch my back in the watchtower.

    Nevertheless, since Icked long-range attack, all I could do was harass those Govus from outside of their attack range with corrosive ¡ºRedhair Twine¡».

    Those muscr and lively Govus wouldn''t go down that easily with mere¡ºRedhair Twine¡». But, inflicting a wound on them was enough for this kind of situation.

    Because our vanguard would be the one to deliver the impended Govus and finish them off.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, ¡ºRAGE[Random Barrage¡»!¡¹

    Warrior Nakai had a role to stop the Govus from destroying our formation. He had to do anything to stop those Govus.

    Nakai''s greatest martial art, ¡ºRage¡» was consecutive as its name implied. It was a martial art that was designed to inflict fatal wound towards monster with high defense by hitting the vital spot with a consecutive attack, but one hit was enough to finish off a Govu who had already suffered a variety og wounds from either my acid bog, magic barrages, or Rem''s arrows.

    The Govus who forced their ways toward us, ignoring our magic barrages and acid bog, died by Nakai''s ¡ºRage¡». Nakai chopped those brave (but injured Govus) like Chinese cabbage with Yoshizaki''s axe.

    And then, Yamada-Uedabi made the full use of gap that was opened to run towards the boss, but¨D¨D

    ¡¸UGO, BRUA, DAVAA!¡¹

    For some reason, it was as if the Gogma didn''t pay attention to our two vanguards who wereing to reap its life. Its bloodshot eyes were looking¨D¨D at me.

    ¡¸Oh¡­ cr*p¡¹

    My survival instinct told me that guy was aiming for my life.

 Chapter 125.1 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battle 3

    Chapter 125.1 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle 3

    ¡¸BURUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Raising a warcry, the Gogma charged towards me.

    ¡¸UOOOOOO!?¡¹

    ¡¸DA*N IT, THAT''S DANGEROUS!¡¹

    The Gogma swung its cane and cuss towards Ueda and Yamada who were about to attack. Its rage-filled eyes were locked on me as if I was the enemy of its parent.

    ¡¸Wha-What the heck!¡¹

    Even though it had only let out a nonsense roar before, it knew right away that I was themander as soon as I issued an order to my party and most of all¡­ I was left alone on top of Raptor Rem.

    Though I had no idea just how much the Gogma understood humannguage, it was by no means an idiot since it knew right away that the guy who rode on a vehicle (namely: ME) while givingmand to the others was the leader.

    In short, I made a huge blunder by making myself stand out from the others.

    ¡¸RAPTOR, RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!¡¹

    I left all regret and reflection forter and chose to escape from this situation first. I sped tightly on the rein, desperately hugging on Raptor Rem''s body as she made a rapid turn.

    ¡¸M-MOMOKAWA-KUN!¡¹

    ¡¸OI, GIVE THE NEXT ORDER!¡¹

    ¡¸TAKE CARE OF THOSE GOVUS WHILE THE BOSS IS CHASING AFTER ME!¡¹

    I had no intention of bing bait to lure this guy, but I had no other choice since it had already locked on to me.

    Naturally, I also had no idea whether everybody could understood the sudden change of our tactic. Raptor Rem had already gotten away from the main gate, leaving everyone behind. I ordered her to run around the fortress surrounding the tower since I couldn''t get out of this ce. Right now, I felt like a jockey riding atop race horse running on the track.

    ¡¸DAGOAAA! UGO, NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The Gogma was still chasing after me from behind while raising a furious roar. Even though it had a pro sumo wrestler-like body, it was fast enough to the point that Raptor Rem who specialized in speed couldn''t outpace it. It might''ve some sort of martial arts that enhance its speed, like ¡ºFast Drive¡».

    The Gogma, whose speed betraying its huge body, then fired its magic towards my back. I saw the red jewel on its cane flickering with bright red color as a fireball as big as volleyball formed in front of it.

    ¡¸INCOMING! 3, 2, 1¨D¨DNOW!¡¹

    ¡¸KYOAAAA!¡¹

    I looked at the Gogma''s cane as if clinging to my life to convey the firing timing to Raptor Rem. Since Rem was a smart girl, all I needed to do was tell her the timing and she would use the physical ability of the raptor to dodge Gogma''s fireball.

    I, who left the matter of dodging entirely to Raptor Rem and only conveying the timing to her, saw Gogma''s fireball left behind a crimson trail, and then exploded close to our position.

    ¡¸¨D¨DDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡¹

    It seemed we were about to be blown off by the shockwave of the explosion just now. But I yelled to the top of my lungs, and barely avoided the fate of being blown off by the shockwave of the explosion.

    We, who were passing through the ck smoke were covered in soot in various parts of our bodies, could at least still move.

    Yup, it was confirmed that we could barely dodge that Gogma''s fireball. It was a single firing spell packed with reasonable firepower. It had neither tracking ability nor rapid-firing. In short, it was a slightly more powerful fireball.

    ¡¸But of course, I''m going to be screwed if that guy can fire that magic so many times.¡¹

    Because I might fail to dodge the next fireball. Even if I managed to dodge the direct hit, I might fall from Raptor Rem''s back, which would spell my doom.

    That''s why I mustn''t let this kind of one-sided onught go on. I had to fight that guy one way or another to prevent him from firing that dangerous fireball.

    ¡¸¡ºRotten Bog¡»£¡¡¹

    First, toss the biggest ¡ºRotten Bog¡» I could conjure with my back facing towards it. The Gogma who was in hot pursuit right behind me shouldn''t be able to react to the acid bog that suddenly blocked its way but¨D¨D

    ¡¸NUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    That Gogma just charged straight into the acid bog as its legs kicked up a white smoke. Even though the acid bog was working, its damage was negligible. It would definitely kill me unless I could make it give up. Naturally, the current me wascking in terms of power to hold it down. I did have the countermeasure strategy for this kind of situation that I had prepared for a fight against Basilisk a long time ago.

    ¡¸EEI, ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡»!¡¹

    Next, I fired the toughest ¡ºSpiderweb Twine¡» I could make. I expected for that Gogma to be like a fish captured in a fishing with this but¡­

    ¡¸OGAAA!¡¹

    My prided was tragically sliced by its cuss.

    All I could do was cast my, it couldn''t even entwine itself on my target. Even if, for example, my sessfully wound around the Gogma, I got this feeling that it could tear off my with brute force.

    ¡¸HOW ABOUT THIS!¡¹

    I gripped my red knife in my right hand, iron knife in my left, and five other knives with my ck hair bind.

    It was the turn of my knife skill which rarely got its shining moment. If I went all out, it wouldn''t just end with dual wield, I could increase the number of my wield with my ckhair feeler. Though this fighting style took a toll on my mind, seeing that Raptor Rem was focusing on getting away from the Gogma''s hot pursuit, it was literally a mano o mano situation.

    ¡¸GABURA, BUGAHAHAHA!¡¹

    But that Gogma ignored the iing knives and kept charging towards me without even trying to dodge or protect itself. Despite my knives hitting its chest, shoulder, abdomen or head again and again¨D¨D It felt like I was attacking a rolling, giant boulder.

    ¡¸DAM*IT, JUST HOW HARD IS THIS FU*KING GUY''S SKIN! ARE YOU TRYING TO BECOME A ¡ºHEAVY WARRIOR¡»!?¡¹

    With its tire-like ck skin, this guy¡¯s defense was clearly far more superior than human¡¯s. But since it received the full brunt of my projectile knives without even leaving a scratch on its skin, it might have ¡ºSteel Body¡» or ¡ºIron Skin¡» like Yamada, or worse, both of those.

    ¡¸TAKE THIS, ¡ºREVERSE DANCE BUTTERFLY¡»!¡¹

    Even if it was seemingly uninjured at nce, there''s no way that it wouldn''t feel any pain from all those scratches. <i>Oops, please work.</i>

    ¡¸BUHAHAHAHA-!¡¹

    ¡¸Tch, it isn''t even enough to stop that guy!¡¹

    As expected, that Gogma broke through the throngs of butterflies made of light without even stopping for a second. As I had thought, abo of ointment A and ¡ºReverse Dance Butterfly¡» wouldn''t work unless I gave a noticeable wound.

    But still, I hoped it was at least stop for a second before charging through the crowd of butterflies of light. Its overbearing attitude was worrying but well, that might be just how much it had confidence in its toughness.

    Anyhow, we''re back into a state of equilibrium.

    This case reminded me again and again as if it was punching on my guts that I was weak against this kind of power type!

    It was vexing but there was no denying that this Gogma fe was truly powerful. It literally maxed its power, speed, defense, and heck, it could even use magic. It was definitely a cut above the rest of the boss monster I faced so far. In short, it was an extremely bnced boss monster.

    Nevertheless, I had no intention to die in this ce either. I mean, I still had an unused trump card left¡­

    ¡¸Let''s focus on wounding it first.¡¹

    In the first ce, I never had any intention to escape from battle. To be honest, it would be for the best if the Gogma was injured by one of Ueda''s or Yamada''s attack, but I guess I was asking for too much with our current situation. Mei-chan might be able to stop Gogma''s charge with her brute force but, the same couldn''t be said for my current party, the Gogma would send them flying with its rush.

    That''s why the first thing I had to do was break its steel-like skin on my own but¡­ neither red knife nor my prided ¡ºRotten Bog¡» worked on it.

    If only I had a more powerful offensive ski-

    ¡¸THAT''S IT, I STILL HAVE THAT!¡¹

    I rummaged into my pocket and took out a certain butterfly knife. After unfolding the knife with great difficulty, I looked at its beautiful de despiteit being a cheap article.

    Yes, this was Higuchi''s beloved butterfly knife. Though I took it from his corpse as my booty, I ended up never using it since it always brought back unpleasant memories.

    ¡¸This little guy''s sharpness should be enough!¡¹

    Strangely¡­ I was convinced that this knife could do it.

    I changed to grip the butterfly knife in my left hand. I only had one chance because that fe was going to raise his vignce once he realized that I had a weapon that could prate his defense. If the feeler that gripped on this knife cut off, I would lost this weapon forever.

    That''s why I carefully took my aim. I had to wait until the best moment and cut open the biggest possible wound.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWOAAAAAAAAH!?¡¹

    Another fireball iing. Despite the furious acrobatic movement, I somehow retained my grip on the saddle.

    As I thought, there''s no way I could survive another one of this attack, now was the time to end this!

 Chapter 125.2 - Gomas Fortress-Capture Battle 3

    Chapter 125.2 - Goma''s Fortress-Capture Battle 3

    ¡¸GOOO¨D¨D¡ºckhair Bind¡»!¡¹

    I used flying knives to attack just like before. I was so sure that it would just charge through the raining knives just like before. <i>You''ll charge through this one like before for me, right?</i>

    ¡¸BUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    A scratch was all I needed, and this attack looked like myst, desperate attempt after being cornered by that fireball. I had no idea about how to differentiate Goma''s expression but, thest roar might be a victorious roar, convinced of their victories.

    <i>Humph, fool. You might''ve a stronger and bigger body.</i><i>But, the inside is still that idiot Goma.</i> I was saved thanks to the Gogma''s idiotic brain.

    ¡¸TAKE THIS!¡¹

    I used an extremely precise control of my feeler for this attack. Giving it an excellent precision, speed, calmness simr to a thief¡¯s sneak attack.

    <i>Ah, I see now.</i><i>So this is what you feel when you stab someone with this skill huh, Higuchi.</i>

    I stabbed the back of the Gogma with Higuchi''s butterfly knife while recalling a strange sense of sympathy.

    ¡¸NGAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡¹

    It then let out an agonizing roar as soon as it felt something piercing its solid skin.

    <i>Yosh, I did it!</i>

    I used seven knives for this attack. The red knife was aiming for its head to create a smokescreen. The other five knives were also used as a diversion.

    That fe hadpletely ignored my attack due to its confidence in its defense. That''s why it was ignoring the butterfly knife that was stabbing towards its back.

    And this was the result of its own negligience.

    ¡¸YEAAAH!¡¹

    ¡¸BUGO, MUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Despite the blood that was spraying from its back, the Gogma raised an even more furious roar as it ran towards me.

    Despite therge cut on its back, it was by no means a fatal wound. Though it seemed to feel pain from the wound on its back, it wasn''t enough to stop it. That small wound wouldn''t affect the flow of the battle at all.

    But, that small wound was all I needed.

    ¡¸You lost the moment you''re wounded by me¨D¨D Rem, FIRE!¡¹

    A flying arrow pierced into it along with the sound of it piercing through the air.

    ¡¸NGA!? Go, GUAAAAAAA¡­¡¹

    Its speed was slowing down considerably with just one arrow.

    ¡¸UOOOO, WHAT THE!?¡¹

    ¡¸NO WAY, YOU DID IT MOMOKAWA!¡¹

    By the way, it seems we''d been running a fullp around the fortress ever since the beginning of the ying tag with the Gogma. Yamada and Co., who were still in the middle of fighting Govus in front of the tower entrance, were really surprised upon seeing Gogma fall on its knees.

    ¡¸I''ve killed the boss! now we can enter the tower!¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously, that''s awesome Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸This must be dream¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But, now we can escape!¡¹

    That Gogma had yet to die though. But of course, it wasn''t that far from dying. Everyone regained their vigor upon hearing my deration of triumph and dispatched one Govu after another.

    The Govus'' side on the other hand couldn''t hide their shock upon seeing the fall of their leader. This defeat instantly changed the tide of the battle.

    ¡¸Haa¡­ nevertheless, I''m d that everything went ording to our n.¡¹

    Though it felt like everything went far too smooth for us, we safelypleted the most dangerous part of our strategy. In short, we were lucky.

    The arrow that killed the Gogma was naturally fired by Rem who was stationed on top of the watchtower. She could have an undisturbed view of me racing against the Gogma from above.

    Thanks to her archery training in the jungle tower, the current Rem could hit anything within her bow range as long as she had a clear view and there was no obstacle. Thus, I left the important job of dealing the finishing blow to Rem.

    I stered the arrow bud with ¡ºSpirog''s Poison¡».

    Though it was prized, the first poison series that should be celebrated after numerous trials and errors on Gomas to make sure it was ready for the livebat, I had no choice but to use it due to its scarcity. I only needed an extremely small dose to kill small fries.

    But then, a drop of that poison on the skin was enough topletely paralyze a Goma.

    It was an extremely lethal poison. Thus, it was only natural for me to use it against a boss.

    In the case of this boss fight, I''d intended to use this poison from the very beginning. As long as we sealed its movement with the paralysis poison, the rest was a piece of cake.

    And the first boss who fell victim to this poison was none other than Gogma. My research had proven that Spirog''s poison was extremely effective against the Goma race. Honestly, our victory was already in the bag as soon as we saw that there was only Gogma, the Goma race¡¯s superior species who appeared as the boss of this area.

    Well, the fact that it waspletely focusing on me was rather unexpected though.

    Anyhow, we won as long as we paralyzed the boss. The reason why I was desperately trying to open a wound on it was for the purpose of using the paralysis poison. I mean, I was almost sure that the effects of poison would be nullified just by applying it on its toughyers of skin.

    That''s why I needed to open a wound to inject the poison into its body, weakening it from the inside, as big as possible to make it easier for the poisoned arrow to hit it.

    Moreover, just in case, I used ¡ºReverse Dance Butterfly¡» using the poison antidote as catalyst to increase the effectiveness of the paralysis poison dealing continuous damage with Ointment A''s butterfly to hide the effect of the antidote. But well, all of those feints and backup ns ended up getting scrapped seeing that the Gogma had already fallen under the effect of the poisoned arrow.

    Nay, to be honest, I was really d that everything (save for the fact that I was being chased around by Gogma) went well ording to the n. Without Higuchi''s knives, I wouldn''t have been able to wound the Gogma skin, thus preventing Rem''s poisoned arrow from achieving its purpose.

    ¡¸Though it feels awkward for me to say this, thanks for your knife, Higuchi. Your knife is really sharp!¡¹

    With Higuchi''s butterfly knife in my hand, I approached the boss whose face had already nted on the ground and stabbed the butterfly knife into its nk. From there, I drew a straight line with the butterfly knife.

    The sharpness of this knife was truly outstanding, I mean, regardless of myck of strength, the sensation of cutting through the boss was no different from cutting a normal Goma. This butterfly knife was truly amazing as if it had received some sort of enchantment.

    <i>Could it be that the sharpness of this knife was fueled by Higuchi''s grudge?</i>

    I focused on my current job to forget that scary thought. It wasn''t just killing the boss, I was currently picking up its core.

    ¡¸Is it around this area?¡¹

    ¡¸KYOAAA!¡¹

    Raptor Rem thrust her head into the wound that I opened on the Gogma''s nk. After she had erged the wound even further with her ws, bit off its internal organs¨D¨D she finally took out the blood-stained core.

    ¡¸Yosh, we get the core! now let''s enter the tower!¡¹

    We, who left the Gogma we just gutted alive, were unclear whether it''s still alive or already dead from the shock as it was heading towards the entrance of the tower at full speed.

    Now we could finally say goodbye to this jungle tower!

 Chapter 126.1 - Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma

    Chapter 126.1 - Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma

    TN : The event in this chapter happened before Momokawa joined their team.

    ===

    Nakajima Haruma, who had already graduated from being a virgin, was having a hard time fulfilling his responsibility as a man, clearing the dungeon.

    Though he usually avoided as many fights as possible, the current he just beat everything that stood in his path as if desperately seeking a new power. Though he still opted to escape if he was outnumbered by the enemies, Haruma''sbat prowess was slowly but surely polished.

    And today, it was a fight against the area''s boss. His opponent''s size was the biggest he had met so far, a giant frog-like monster.

    Though its ranged attack by using its tonguecquered with paralysis poison was rather troublesome, it wasn''t a big deal as long as he kept a safe distance outside of the frog''s attack range while releasing a barrage of ¡ºIgnis Sagitta¡» after the frog''s movement was starting to slowing down. He finished it off with his sword, a safe and easy victory.

    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work, Haruma-ku~n!¡¹

    Naturally, what was left after he arrived at Fairy za was a reward(s*x) with Himeno Airi.

    Honestly speaking, he still thought that Himeno was an ugly girl, even now, the reason he couldn''t fall in love with her was due to his lingering affection for Nagae Yukiko.

    But his instinct as a man had always sought for the body of the girl before him. Thus, he weed such an offer for now since there really was no other way to vent his pent-up libido.

    Even though Haruma himself was well aware of this distorted rtionship, he simply couldn''t stop his instinct of wanting Himeno''s body as they dove even deeper into the dungeon.

    But he soon reached the limit of what he could do by himself.

    ¡¸Watch out, Haruma-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸¨CKuh!?¡¹

    Haruma dodged the giant lump of iron that fell from above his head by a hairbreadth.

    A chill ran through his spin upon seeing how easily that lump of iron crushed the stone pavement beneath his feet. He was convinced that one hit from that would be enough to send him to the afterlife. He quickly opened the distance between him and his opponent with ¡ºHi-Walk¡».

    ¡¸Str-strong¡­¡¹

    And now, the one who stood in his path was a giant, twice as big as the previous giant frog-like monster. Though its outer appearance seemed to be no different from the other skeletons, its size was almost double the normal skeleton. In addition, it was also equipped with a giant metal hammer that was normally impossible for a normal human to lift. And yet, the giant skeleton swung it with ease.

    Even a long-range attack with ¡ºIgnis Sagitta¡» didn''t work against his opponent. Since the arena was an open field almost as big as a gymnasium, it was literally impossible for Haruma to use his run and gun tactic.

    His physical attack arts, ¡ºsh¡», would allow him tond a critical hit, breaking the giant skeleton''s tough bones. But he couldn''t find an opening to do so.

    He would need to wager his life to enter the ideal range to use his physical attack skill. However, Haruma wasn''t prepared to lose his life yet.

    ¡¸Please, that''s enough Haruma-kun! Let''s retreat!¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Yeah, you''re right.¡¹

    Fortunately, the structure of the current boss¡¯s room wasn''t the one that prevented any intruder from escaping until they beat the boss, or they died.

    This marked the third time they escaped from the boss skeleton.

    ¡¸¨D¨DHa~, maybe Haruma-kun has reached the limit of what he can do by himself~.¡¹

    After turning tail in front of the boss again, Airi muttered while overlooking the sleeping Haruma with a cold and calcted look on her face.

    There was no doubt that Haruma became more motivated to protect Airi after he had s*x with her, but it was, in the end, just a give and take rtionship. Naturally, it had nothing to do with battle. Feeling lonely wasn''t enough to make a breakthrough, there was no doubt that they''recking in manpower.

    Because the most important thing for Airi wasn''t the process, it was the result- defeating the boss. The dungeon capture would continue even if they retreated.

    Today, after the third time they¡¯d escaped from the boss, the evaluation of Haruma, who couldn''t find the breakthrough of their current situation, took a nosedive.

    ¡¸Ha~h, even though it is just a slightly bigger skeleton¡­ Well, Souma-kun or Tendou-kun might be able to dispatch it with ease~ .¡¹

    Despite spouting such words, it was nothing more than a wild delusion of a piece of good-for-nothing baggage. Airi herself realized that the situation she was hoping for wouldn''te about, as such, she had no choice but to stick by Haruma''s side.

    In the worst case, if Haruma was really unable to find a breakthrough, she was prepared to assist him with her ¡ºLux Sagitta¡».

    ¡¸Ha~h, no wa~y, fighting is just impossible~.¡¹

    Her brain was working on full throttle pondering whether Haruma''s power alone was enough to defeat the boss, or¡­ She would have to help in the battle too.

    ¡¸Ooh look, someone has arrived first!¡¹

    ¡¸O~h, if it''s Nakajima and Himeno?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s been a while since we met our ssmate.¡¹

    Just when she thought that their fourth attempt would also end up in failure, another group of ssmates arrived in the fairy za too.

    It was a group of three.

    ¡¸Eh, how did you¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~h! Ueda-kun, Nakajima-kun, Shimokawa-kun!? Thank God you''re safe~!¡¹

    In fact, Haruma was more bewildered rather than delighted upon finding the figure of the trio with whom he rarely spoke with in ss, the Totempole Trio. But Airi went towards them cheerfully as if rejoicing in their safety.

    Upon seeing them, Airi was reacting as if she had confirmed the safety of her bosom friends but as far as Haruma knew, Airia never had any interaction with the trio back in ss. Thus, making them nothing more than ssmates.

    ¡¸O-ou, it''s good to see you safe too, Himeno.¡¹

    ¡¸Or rather, are you really this kind of character, Himeno?¡¹

    ¡¸Now, now, I''m just happy to see my ssmate safe you kno~w.¡¹

    The trio was troubled since their female ssmate, who couldn''t be said to be beautiful by any kind of standard, suddenly acted like this. But the creatures called men were the kind who couldn''t help but feel ted when a girl acted like so, even if that said girl was ugly.

    The three of them just yed along to get closer to her, a woman.

    ¡¸I''ve always worried about my ssmates, you know. That''s why I''m really happy to see that the three of you are safe and sound!¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we went through quite a bit of trouble to reach this far.¡¹

    ¡¸We''ve our vocation''s power too.¡¹

    ¡¸But there''s nothing we can''t do as long as we''re together.¡¹

    ¡¸E~h, could it be that the three of you are really strong!? That''s so~ ama~zing! I on the other hand am no good at all.¡¹

    Before long, Airi and the trio''s conversation became more heated, and the poor Haruma waspletely left out of the loop.

    That day, Haruma fell asleep while suppressing his libido. Airi, who waspletely preupied with the conversation with the trio, had long since forgotten about Haruma''s existence.

    Haruma was somewhat vexed by it.

    He had no choice but to suppress his scream along with his instinct as a man and forcibly shut his eyes.

    ¡¸Then, let''s aim to defeat the boss today, it''s a really tough nut to crack!¡¹

    Airi''s unnaturally high-spirited voice resounded in the fairy za.

    The talks had already been finalized by the time Haruma opened his eyes.

    ¡¸Look Haruma-kun. We have three additional powerful supports to beat the boss! Now we can defeat the boss with ease!¡¹

    Reflexively, Haruma wanted to ¡¸Reject¡¹ the notion of working together with the trio but had no choice but to cooperate seeing that defeating that boss all by himself was pretty much impossible.

    But Haruma felt a sense of difort since the talk about them working together was finalized without his opinion while he was asleep. Thus, he was wondering why Airi did that.

    Even though he felt regretful and vexed towards Airi, he realized that the cause for this was his own inability to blend and chat with the quartet.

    ¡¸Yeah, you''re right¡­ We should be able to defeat the boss with the three of them.¡¹

    And yet, for some reason, he prayed that their power wouldn''t be enough to defeat the boss.

    And then, in case the threebined power was weaker than him, a strength-based rtionship would be created with him as the Strongest, and yet¡ª

    ¡¸ORAA!¡ºSLASH¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸URAAA! ¡ºSMASH¡»!¡¹

    Two of the trio, Nakai the ¡ºWarrior¡» and Ueda the ¡ºSwordsman¡» went all out to attack the giant skeleton boss without even flinching at its giant figure. Their relentless attacks somehow resembled that of an action game''s character who could keep delivering damage without faltering from the enemy''s attack.

    But the way they fought wasn''t just because the ted feeling of receiving a superpower called vocation.

    ¡¸Oi, move out from the~re! ¡ºAqua Bind¡»!¡¹

    Though getting hit by the giant skeleton metal hammer would instakill them, as soon as the boss raised the metal hammer when Ueda and Nakai rushed into closebat¨D¨D Shimokawa, the ¡ºHydromancer¡» sealed its movement with his ¡ºAqua Bind¡».

    Though the serpent-like aqua whip was torn no sooner than it coiled around the giant skeleton, Ueda and Nakai made full use of that moment to escape the giant skeleton''s attack range.

    ¡¸Hehehe, too slow!¡¹

    ¡¸This slowpoke is only known to do big attack!¡¹

    ¡¸You can dodge it with ease because of my support!¡¹

    And as expected, as soon as the boss skeleton''s attack missed its target, Ueda and Nakai closed in right away. Thus, they divided their roles with Ueda and Nakai for attack, and Shimokawa for support with his water magic.

    It was a rather unbelievable scene for anyone who knew that the trio was normally noisy in ss 2-7. But seeing this would convince anyone that their self-confidence in fighting against the boss didn''te from their negligence but their wealth of experience.

    Though their overall skills weren''t that shy, they had a weapon called ¡ºTeamwork¡». Their friendship that was cultivated in school had bloomed in this another world dungeon.

    ¡¸HELL YEAH!¡¹

    ¡¸We crushed the boss!¡¹

    ¡¸Hu~f, it''s no big deal.¡¹

    The boss skeleton was felled quite easily with the trio''sbination attacks. Its knee-joint finally crushed after receiving so many warriors and swordsman''s powerful martial arts skills. Since their enemy was a bipedal type, destroying its kneecap was enough to make it fall.

    And once it fell, its weakness, namely skull, waspletely exposed. The boss skeleton could only receive the beating that came after since the trio wouldn''t allow a counterattack.

    After defeating the boss, the trio then took out a red colored big core from its broken cranium, the proof of subjugating a boss while raising a loud cry.

    ¡¸KYAAAA! AMAZIIING! YOU DEFEATED THE BOSS!¡¹

    That moment, Himeno Airi came to join the trio while raising a cheerful cry, praising the trio. Even though she only spectated from afar, she acted like she¡¯d joined the battle to assist them. Yes, just like the female students who assisted the baseball team of their school to reach koshien only by crying with them¡­ But a person felt vexed upon seeing that joyful scene.

    ¡¸Amazing, the three of you could beat that guy so easily! I mean, I almost gave up myself¡­ but then, you three came to save the day¡­ u~h!¡¹

    ¡¸Hahaha, it''s not really that amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, that might be just how much Himeno-chan was being cornered by the boss.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t worry, you can rely on us from now on.¡¹

    ===

    TN : Is the bi*tch going to ate the trio too, find out next week in your usual shota shaman!

 Chapter 126.2 - Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma

    Chapter 126.2 - Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma

    TN : The event in this chapter happened before Momokawa joined Totempole Trio''s Team+Yamada& Yamajun.

    ===

    The trio was pacifying Airi who was crying loudly. It seemed they¡¯d forgotten that the one who was crying hadn''t contributed anything during the battle. The creature called men were sullen who were easily swayed by women¡¯s tears.

    ¡¸Thank you, thank you so much!¡¹

    Haruma couldn''t help gazing silently at the scene of Airi embracing the trio with tears of gratitude in her eyes.

    +

    Airi''s dungeon exploration party continued in a good direction after dispatching the boss skeleton. Thebination of Totem Pole Trio''s power could easily defeat any monster swarm normally avoided by Haruma. They''re advancing at a rapid pace since the number of detours and retreats from battle had decreased considerablypared to when it''s just Haruma and Airi.

    ¡¸Shaa! My sword is sharper than usual today!¡¹

    ¡¸Dammi~t, I can defeat more Gomas if not for them running away from u~s.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though it''s an easy victory as long as I have offensive magic¡­ ha~h, I really hope to get new magic soon.¡¹

    The trio easily dispatched the Goma-crowd they encountered in the forest dome. Though Haruma also participated in the battle, his achievement as a single horseman was nothingpared to the trio whose cooperation was wless.

    Swordsman Ueda, who slew more than ten Gomas, proudly boasted his achievement as the best in the group. The reason they did that wasn''t for self-satisfaction. Because he, to be exact, would receive a reward for his effort.

    ¡¸Well then, today¡¯s MVP is Ueda-kun''!¡¹

    ¡¸HELL YEAH! When I woke up this morning, I felt like I can do anything. Is this the sign of my growth as a swordsman?¡¹

    Airi replied appropriately with a smile upon hearing Ueda''s remark.

    And then, the other members dispersed, leaving Ueda and Airi by themselves on the shore of the fairy fountain.

    ¡¸Airi¡­¡¹

    Haruma who suddenly turned around right before leaving caught sight of something on the other side of the fountain¨D¨D the scene where Ueda and Airi embraced each other as they kissed.

    ¡¸Oi, what are you waiting for, Nakajima, let''s get out of here immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸Hehe, peeping is a bad hobby you know.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I''m not peeping¡­ I''ll be right there.¡¹

    Haruma obediently followed Nakai and Shimokawa who were smirking at him.

    Despite wanting to know since when had this happened¨D¨D he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

    Because he knew that the answer to his question was "Right after they defeated the boss skeleton", Airi had stuck closely to the Totem Pole Trio who was more reliable in the battle than Haruma.

    And then, as they arrived at the next fairy za the next day, Haruma witnessed Airi''s figure going to sleep with Ueda. He saw her sleep with Nakajima on the day after that. And then with Shimokawa¨D¨D On top of that, there was an established rule that anyone with the best achievement of the day got the chance to sleep with Airi.

    It had be an unspoken rule among them. In short, Haruma couldn''t say anything about that either.

    ¡¸Airi is my woman!¡¹

    But he could never say those words even if he steeled himself to face the trio.

    Haruma had no intention to go out with Airi. But he somehow epted her action since this was a clear cut from her.

    This was for the best. And they could continue their dungeon exploration favorably at this pace.

    But as expected, it was hard to say whether he truly epted the loss of such pleasure deep inside.

    ¡¸Dammit, I''ll definitely win tomorrow.¡¹

    ¡¸No way, her next partner is me.¡¹

    The two walking in the front had epted the ¡ºRule¡» as something natural. The reason they could be so carefree despite being ordered around by a woman was the nature of their rtionship, it was a purely physical rtionship without whatsoever feeling involved¨D¨D That included Airi''s rtionship with Haruma.

    ¡¸Come to think of it, Nakajima, you have yet to do it with Airi after wee, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Haruma couldn''t hide his surprise when Nakai suddenly spoke to him.

    ¡¸Yeah, you don''t need to hide it you know. I''ve pretty much guessed that you two did it like rabbits in heat when it just the two of you.¡¹

    Shimokawa said with a wide grin on his face as he pat Nakajima''s shoulder.

    ¡¸Fortunately, you guys aren''t going out. I mean, she will surely feel guilty about this matter right?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, she has! But, it''s not like she can endure it, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, you''re right¡­¡¹

    Haruma didn''t even understand what they''re talking about. He just replied ordingly every now and then.

    ¡¸Well, it really can''t be helped, I mean, that''s only natural for this kind of situation, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t worry Nakajima, you''ll get your turn properly.¡¹

    ¡¸No, it''s not like I''m¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸Fufufu, no need to hide it, you''re already familiar with Airi''s body, right!?¡¹

    ¡¸Holding it back won''t do any good for your body, Nakajima. We understand your feelings very well after we meet Airi-chan.¡¹

    Even though he wanted to refute them, he couldn''t say anything since everything they said was true to a dot.

    ¡¸You might have some resistance to do that with the woman that slept with us, but bear with it just like us.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we also have no choice but to take turn to bang her after all.¡¹

    Though it was vexing, what they said was correct. At least, that was an extremely rational choice under this kind of situation. This way, there would be no uglypetition amongst the fellowmen over a woman-an ugly one at that-, it was a win-win solution.

    ¡¸Yeah, you''re right.¡¹

    He understood very well that they were right.

    And he knew that Airi waspletely relying on stronger men.

    This situation was no one¡¯s fault. Nor would they curse this kind of situation.

    This was only the sound conclusion in this kind of situation¡­ Or so it was supposed to be since the current Haruma couldn''t stand this situation anymore.

    It was unrted whether he loved Airi or not. Or vice versa. What did he want to do? How did he want it to be? Or whether he only wanted to get a stab?

    He didn''t even know what he wanted anymore. But¡­ He knew that he wouldn''t find any solution as long as he still saw Airi having s*x with other men.

    By the next day, Nakajima Haruma''s figure couldn''t be found in the fairy za anymore.

    Neither Airi nor the trio were trying to chase or worry about Haruma who had suddenly disappeared. They just continued with dungeon diving like usual.

    ¡¸Haa~h, Haruma-kun has left huh. What a letdown but¡­ that just proves his cowardly nature and small heart. Well, let''s make him intorade again if hees back after getting stronger.¡¹

    The ¡ºSubus¡» who had not even a shred of attachment toward the weak man just sneered at Haruma''s cowardly act.

    ===

    TN : HARUMAAAAAAA!!!

 Chapter 127.1 - Yamakawa Junichiro and Himeno Airi

    Chapter 127.1 - Yamakawa Junichiro and Himeno Airi

    ¡¸Aah, thank goodness, we meet other surviving ssmates!¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, it''s been a while since thest time I saw a woman.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank goodness you''re safe, Yamada-kun, Yamakawa-kun! It must be hard for you guys to arrive in this ce. Anyway, let''s take a break for today.¡¹

    The group we met next was the duo consisting of Yamakawa Junichiro, otherwise known as Yamajun, and Yamada Genki of the baseball club. <i>Tch</i>, even though it would be for the best if it was a pair from the same club, the futsumen amongst futsumen, Takashima-kun.

    Even so, we would wee any additional war potential in this kind of situation.

    After Haruma-kun left, we had advanced a bit into one dome forest after another. We''d a hard time finding a breakthrough from this forest. Good grief, the Totem Pole Trio was such a musclehead.

    Majority of the monsters in this area were small fry, but our main problem was the dinosaur-like monster called ¡ºGore¡». Its tough and solid body gave the sword user a hard time dealing damage.

    In addition, they were ferocious in nature and would attack us on the spot with their fangs and ws. Worst of all, they came in groups.

    Honestly, we had no choice but to escape since we could barely protect ourselves when the five of them came to us at once. In short, we were simplycking manpower to kick their asses.

    But then, we met another pair just when we needed more manpower.

    Moreover, that''s where this divine protection of subus''s goddess-sama was truly useful, wasn''t it? Fufufu, I mean, I would''ve to do my best to reward them from now on.

    ¡¸It''s good to see you safe and sound, Ueda-kun, Nakai-kun, Shimokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Same goes for you, Yamajun.¡¹

    ¡¸Please tell me if you''ve injury. I mean, my vocation is ¡ºHealer¡», so I''ll be able to do something about your wound.¡¹

    ¡¸Ooh, so Yamajun is a ¡ºHealer¡» too. Well, there''s none so far since Airi''s vocation is the same as you.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I see now. Then, I''ll help you with covering fire from behind with my ¡ºLux Sagitta¡». My apologizes beforehand but please don''t expect too much on its destructive power.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously Yamajun, you can use offensive magic! Man, we finally have another magic user who can use attack magic.¡¹

    As expected of the true center of ss 2-7. He could talk normally with the Totem Pole Trio.

    Well, he originally already had a wide array of connections with so many people regardless of their gender. Even the gloomy virgin me back then had shared some conversation with Yamajun too.

    His amazingmunication skill was something I wanted at all cost. Yamajun, who had a good rtionship with women, was also the one with more immunitypared to the other men but¡­ that was only for high school level. I could easily make him submit with my ¡ºSubus¡»'' s power.

    ¡¸Oi, have you been searching around this area?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, we already did what we could.¡¹

    +++

    ¡¸What about the boss room?¡¹

    ¡¸Not yet.¡¹

    ¡¸The hell you guys are doing, don''t tell me you can''t even take on those small fries? That''sme.¡¹

    ¡¸Those Gores are tough and powerful. You should''ve known if you fight them, Yamada.¡¹

    The one who spoke with a condescending attitude to us was, of course, Yamada Genki. Even though he was nothing more than futsumen with a potato-like face, he spoke to the trio with such a condescending attitude. I mean, the only hunk who could speak in such a condescending manner. Oh well, this kind of man who had no idea about their position was dime a dozen.

    But in return, this kind of guy was easy prey. There''s a saying that even a pig could climb a tree if you praise them, right? Yamada was more like a gori than a pig though.

    ¡¸Well, well, I think the dungeon capture will be easier with more people joining in.¡¹

    ¡¸Absolutely~! That''s why, everyone should get along, right?¡¹

    <i>Indeed, everyone should get along, as my servant. Now men, work your asses off for the sake of getting a reward from me!</i>

    ===

    ¡¸¨D¨D HEYAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Regarding Yamada''s strength.

    I''d heard from Yamajun before, but Yamada apparently had a rare vocation called ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡», it was fairly more powerful than a normal vocation. And the most amazing thing about his vocation was the fact that he could take on those Gores'' fangs and ws like they were nothing. I heard that his unreasonably tough defense was the work of his two ovepping passive skills.

    Full build defense waspletely useless in game but¡­ this was reality, meaning that Yamada could tank the damage just fine.

    Thanks to Yamada''s cheat-like defense, now we could take on those Gores with ease. I mean, he could stop their fangs and ws with his defense. In contrast to his amazing defense, ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡»''s offensive skills were falling behind, his offensive martial art was¡­ normal.

    Yup, Yamada was tough but his attack was normal.

    ¡¸You''re so amazing today, Yamada-ku~n!¡¹

    ¡¸O-Ou, this much is nothing for me.¡¹

    <i>I love strong men you know?</i>

    His face was definitely not my type, or should I say that though he was ugly his strength was so irresistible. He alone wasparable to the Totem Pole Triobined together.

    Fufufu, since it was thanks to him that we could safely cross the dome forest area¡­ I would give him a lot of service tonight.

    ===

    I had this bad premonition as soon as I met their group.

    Yes, I knew what kind of rtionship they had the moment we met the group of Shimokawa-kun, Nakai-kun, Ueda-kun, and¡­ Himeno-san. And I knew that my suspicion turned out to hit the bull''s eyes on the third day after we moved together.

    A single girl amongst several men. Moreover, in the middle of dungeon survival where the rules of modern Japan were of no use.

    But their rtionship was wholesome in a sense. Himeno-san had an almost impartial bodily rtionship with the trio. In addition, the trio could ept that kind of rtionship too. So rather than making Himeno-san their girlfriend, it was a rtionship close to water business service.

    The trio was trulyrade-in-arms in every sense, they were working together to capture the dungeon instead of trying to trip each other, that''s why Himeno-san, who detected theirck of enmity towards one other, made the full use of the trio¡¯s camaraderie to led them by the nose.

    Nevertheless, I wouldn''t say that this party was absolutely safe either. The subtleties of the rtionship between men and women were too delicate, extremely strong yet fragile at the same time. Especially in this kind of situation, the bnce would crumble as soon as someone who wanted to monopolize the girl appeared amongst them.

    Himeno-san should''ve nned to get along with the trio for a long time. This delicate bnce shouldn''t crumble as long as no one triggered it but then¡­ that happened.

    Yes, the two of us, Yamada and I met with their group.

    Yamada was one of my friends who often talked to me in ss. He might be slightly sarcastic and self-centered at times, but he was by no means a bad guy. I had a fairly good rtionship with my friends. In short, I was just looking for a slightly better than the average person for my friend. That''s why my evaluation of anyone who was not my friend was rather harsh.

    In fact, there was no problem with our dungeon capture so far. Though Yamada-kun fought in the frontline as the vanguard of our group since he was a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡», never once did hein about me who could only use recovery magic and rear guard support. In fact, he had always protected me all this time. His action was the only proof I needed to know that he acknowledged me as his friend. Anyone who got along with him would know that he was the kind of man who always shouldered the hardship by himself.

    That kind of character was what made Yamada-kun a good person but¡­ that kind of character was what backfired in this kind of situation.

    ¡¸Good grief, get a grip already, you three, make yourself more useful next time. Don''t just scream if you feel that you''re not strong enough, go with guts.¡¹

    For better or worse, Yamada-kun''s sportsmanship spirit was often mistaken by others as arrogance.

    In addition, the factor that decided a man standing in this dungeon¡¯s survival was none other than their own power. The power of the trio was clearly falling behind Yamada-kun, at least, things wouldn''t be an issue if everyone was equal but, for better or worse, Yamada was too powerful.

    Thus, a pecking order was created. Yamada would throw his weight around without even bothering to hear the trio''s opinion.

    Even so, since the trio couldn''t avoid defeat if they fought the current Yamada, they wouldn''t oppose him that much. The reason being they knew that they''re weaker than him.

    ¡¸Well, ording to today¡¯s performance, Airi will be mine too for today.¡¹

    And above all else, Yamada-kun started monopolizing Himeno-san for himself.

    Appearance-wise, I absolutely couldn''t say that Yamada-kun was a handsome man, but it was also a fact that he didn''t have a girlfriend. In short, he was a youthful baseball yer brimming with libido and zero resistance against women on top of that.

    It was as clear as day that he waspletely engrossed with Himeno-san''s body.

    +++

    And worse of all, Himeno-san just simply epted that as a matter of fact.

    Maybe, that was the survival path she chose in this dungeon, hugging the thigh of a strongman.

    I had no intention to judge her as something along the "fucking b!tch" or the likes. I mean, she just used her weapon as a woman to survive in this kind of situation.

    Based on my interaction with Himeno-san back when we''re still in Japan, she shouldn''t be the type of girl who could sell her body without batting her eyelids, but for some reason, her gestures indicated that she was a veteran in the water business.

    Or maybe, this was simply the real Himeno Airi without putting on a mask of a quiet girl. Honestly, I wanted to know the reason behind her drastic change, but my intuition and experience of interacting with numerous people along with sense as ¡ºHealer¡» had sent a warning¨D¨D she was bad news.

    This was my guess so far but, Himeno-san might be a¡ª

    ¡¸Good evening, Yamakawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, good evening Himeno-san. By chance, are you by yourself tonight?¡¹

    In regard to the rtionship between Himeno-san and the other guys, she always spent time alone with the MVP upon arriving in fairy za. They would spend around two hours. By the way, since those two hours had passed, we''re prepared to hit the bed.

    When it came to sleeping, everyone literally chose their own favourite spot and slept there. My favourite spot was right under the fairy walnut tree on the corner of the fairy za.

    And then, on this extremely rare asion, Himeno-san came to visit me, who always slept alone under the fairy walnut''s tree.

    When I was looking around, I saw that Yamada-kun, who was Himeno-san''s partner for today, too had already fallen asleep. The same went for the other three, they¡¯re already asleep on thewn.

    In short, she only had one reason to visit me today.

    ¡¸Yeah, I want to chat for a bit with you, Yamakawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure, even though I''m sure that both of us are already tired from today¡¯s exploration, the night is still young.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahaha, already in serious mode huh.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re mistaken, I¡¯m simply showing my true self.¡¹

    Because no one wanted to approach a serious person. In case of students, the sure way was to crack a joke or two and do slightly stupid things.

    ¡¸E~h, is that so? It doesn''t look that way to me~¡¹

    ¡¸Ahaha, I mean¨D¨D no one talks to me whenever I show this side of mine. I feel lonely you know.¡¹

    Oh, how I missed the good ol¡¯ peaceful days in Japan! Even though I was at my wits end inside, desperately telling myself to calm down and not get caught in the other party''s pace.

    ¡¸Fufufu, I want to know more about you, Yamakawa-kun.¡¹

    Even though she spoke lightly, my brain was working at full speed, wondering what in the world she was thinking right now? Did she want to go back to Japan? Did she really want to return to her usual in girl, unnoticed in the corner of the ssroom?

    ===

    TN : YAMAJUN HANG IN THEREEEEEEEEEEEE!

 Chapter 127.2 - Yamakawa Junichiro and Himeno Airi

    Chapter 127.2 - Yamakawa Junichiro and Himeno Airi

    ¡¸Well, I don''t think I''m such interesting person but¨D¨D¡¹

    I decided to talk to Himeno-san to confirm my suspicion.

    I mean, I''ve already suspected it from the very beginning, but now I''m even more convinced than before.

    Personality-wise, the Himeno-san that I used to know had already transformed into a whole different person.

    Considering the current environment, I wouldn''t say that such transformation was bad. But it was rather problematic. On top of that, I wanted to confirm the change that might affect our personalities due to the influence of supernatural phenomena such as magic¡­ and vocation.

    ¡¸¨D¨DUfufufu, as expected of Yamakawa-kun, you have arge circle of friends. You can even get along with anyone regardless of their personality.¡¹

    Himeno-san praised my social skill while looking at me with an upturned gaze.

    She seemed to really enjoy talking, bit by bit, with me about our school back in Japan. Yes, her acting was so skillful to the point that it was hard to distinguish her true emotions.

    Yup, she really had a talent for this. With this kind of talent, it was only natural for Yamada-kun to fall into her trap.

    ¡¸Because everyone is a good person. They''ll understand once you try to talk with them properly.¡¹

    This wasn''t sarcasm, it was the truth.

    Because normal humans can understand each other as long as they sat down together and talked properly. It¡¯s the same for us Japanese who were raised with that sense of value. The same went for themon topics we shared amongst the people of the same generation. That''s whymunication opens all kinds of possibilities.

    But of course, there is always an exception to this rule, the kind of human who you can''t talk with, the existence of an abnormal human. Take my parent for example.

    ¡¸But still, the fact that you can talk with all kinds of people is what makes you so amazing, Yamakawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks. Well, I guess mymunication prowess is my only redeeming feature.¡¹

    ¡¸And that alone has already made you a winner. I mean, it''s as if you can guess, or understand what the other people want¡­ as if you have mind-reading skill.¡¹

    I would be happy if I could do that. Or rather, I would''ve easier life since guessing someone¡¯s emotion was useless against an apathetic or dull person.

    ¡¸Well, it''ll be exaggeration if you call it mind-reading.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, can you guess what I am thinking about right now?¡¹

    She slowly inched closer as our conversation went on.<i> It¡¯s a textbook example of how to seduce a man, but I''ll give you 80 points for your acting. </i>Himeno-san''s hand indirectly piled up on top of my hands.

    ¡¸Yeah. I''ve guessed pretty much all of it by the time you came to talk with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry for making you wait until I talked with the other boys, Yamakawa-kun. I mean, I want to get along with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I feel the same way.¡¹

    +++

    ¡¸But still¡­ I want to know Yamakawa-kun''s appeal properly. That''s why no need to worry since I just do what I like.¡¹

    Himeno-san whispered a convenient excuse that would work for a majority of men with a sweet, enchanting voice. Moreover, her arms had already wrapped around my body, and her lips were literally inches away from mine.

    This was the first time something like this happened to me, but as I thought, the creature called woman was simply terrific. Now I understood why everyone else was drowned in the pleasure of flesh by her.

    Havinge into contact with woman skin had made me realize that their body was filled with charm that would awaken every man''s instinct.

    ¡¸Thanks, I''m happy to receive such praise from you, Himeno-san but¡­ don''t worry, I don''t need it.¡¹

    I gently pushed back her body.

    This might be the first time she¡¯d received this kind of rejection just when she thought that I was about to fall into her trap. Himeno-san seemed to be extremely surprised for a moment¨D¨D but then, she glossed it over with a smile.

    ¡¸You really shouldn''t endure it you know, Yamakawa-kun? Or else, are you being thoughtful of everyone?¡¹

    ¡¸Uuhm no, you''re mistaken.¡¹

    ¡¸Or else¡­ am I not charming enough?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, that''s also wrong. Personally, I think that you''re an extremely charming woman, but I refuse your invitation for another reason. If I''ve to say, my sexual disposition is warped.¡¹

    ¡¸U~hm, are you trying to say that you''re into men?¡¹

    She asked with a sour voice, but I thought this was the right joke in order to probe her intention.

    <i>Into men, is it?</i> She was close but her guess was wrong, I would say that it was slightly different from that.

    ¡¸Yeah, it''s something like that, I think this is the most convenient conclusion for both Himeno-san and me.¡¹

    ¡¸I don''t know what you me~an.¡¹

    ¡¸Himeno-san, I won''t be your hindrance. Rather, I will cooperate with you.¡¹

    ¡¸E~h?¡¹

    ¡¸Even if I can only do trivial things. I''ll act just like before, mindful of my ce, and mediate the conflict arising as long as it''s still within my abilities.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, well that''s fine. I think four men is quite splendid too, I''ll pay more attention to the~m.¡¹

    It seems Himeno-san finally decided to treat me-who was immune to her charm- as a cooperative partner. She obviously didn''t try to invite me anymore.

    ¡¸Juste to me if you need some advice. In addition, I will be happy if you''re willing to hear my advice.¡¹

    ¡¸Advice? What could it be, care to tell me?¡¹

    ¡¸I think you should stop sleeping only with Yamada-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Why should I do so? Yamada-kun is strong. He alone can defeat the trio.¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed, for now, that''s it. But don''t forget, your vocation bes more powerful the more you fight. You know what''s going to happen if the trio get a powerful offensive skill that can tear Yamada-kun''s defense right?¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~h, I see~¡¹

    ¡¸If you want everyone to get along, I hope that you treat them a bit more equally since this will affect you when the power rtionship changes. Naturally, Yamada-kun will be dissatisfied once you spend less time with him, but allow me to do something about that.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s amazing, Yamakawa-ku~n.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m not that amazing you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you so mu~ch. How about one shot inside me to repay this gratitude?¡¹

    ¡¸Ahaha, your feeling of gratitude alone is enough. I mean, I''m sure that you''re pretty tired too.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahaha, the same goes for you right, Yamakawa-kun?¡¹

    ¡¸In my case, I''m simply used to it.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, you''re ri~ght. But still, just tell me when you need to rx, I''ll give you a service. You can at least ept the service with my mouth or hands ri~ght?¡¹

    ¡¸Justing over to talk to me every once in a while is enough you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Holding it back isn''t good for your health, you know. I mean, it''s not even an act of cheating since we''re basically not having sex.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s not like I''m having a rtionship with someone though.¡¹

    ¡¸But still, there''s someone you like, right?¡¹

    My body stunned for a moment upon hearing her words.

    Himeno-san, who had mastered the way to read a man''s expression, wouldn''t miss that moment.

    ¡¸¡­ Haa, I see.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that¡­ woman¡¯s instinct?¡¹

    It seems that she was also trying to probe me.

    In the end, that night ended only with that kind of conversation with Himeno-san. Yes, we only talked¡­ it seems that I was safe since Himeno-san didn''t see me as a man, but again, she didn''t seem to possess mind-type skills.

    But despite her abnormal behaviour, I assume it was still within the safety range since Himeno-san was someone you could talk with.

    ===

    TN :YAMAJUN GOGOGO!!!

 Chapter 128.1 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    Chapter 128.1 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    A few days had passed since the conversation between Yamajun and Airi. For now, Airi had followed his advice to spend more time with the trio which she neglected until now.

    Though Yamada was clearly dissatisfied with Airi''s decision, he seemed to have learned more self-control after his friend, Yamajun talked with him.

    <i>You should do that faster.</i> In fact, Yamajun might felt that the party had started to regain its bnce.

    Himeno Airi, a lone woman amid a pack of wolves(men), someone who should be the most troubled by that kind of situation had the power to lead these wolves by the nose with her glib tongue and body. In spite of that, she was still willing to lend her ears to Yamajun''s opinion. She turned the disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one with her wits.

    Naturally, not just any girl could pull out such a feat. The men were lured by the women who protect their chastity. The said woman couldn''t avoid the jealousy of the other men in the case she gave her body to the others. In Airi''s case, she managed to avoid such a situation despite fooling around with four men.

    At least in Yamajun''s knowledge, there was no girl in 2-7 who behaved like the current Airi. The reason might be that her hidden talent had blossomed and she had gained some sort of mysterious ability that allowed her to act like a subus, miraculously manipting the men by the nose.

    ¡¸Or else, it''s some sort of will from the God of this world¡­¡¹

    Yamajun could only make such spections since there''s no way to prove his theory.

    But, if the fate of the students of 2-7 who were summoned to another world was sped in the hand of God, the way they¡¯d reunite should be up to God too.

    And such a thing happened when they''re in the middle of resting in the fairy za.

    Even though they only met their ssmates by chance up until now, this was the first time they saw someone teleported into the fairy za.

    In front of the water fountain, in the center of the za, a magic circle suddenly appeared along with dazzling light. The party who had the experience with transfer magic could tell from the pattern of the magic circle that it was a transfer magic circle.

    That magic circle danced on thewn as it kept flickering with white light. Everyone in the za shut their eyes due to the dazzling light¨D¨D and then, by the time they opened their eyes, the figure of a certain girl had already stood right where the magic circle was.

    ¡¸Fu~h, thanks a lot En-chan, you did a good job!¡¹

    Her bright smile was definitely not an optical illusion. The little girl who appeared from the magic circle had tinum blonde hair done in twin tails and skin as white as pristine snow. To top it, she also had blue cat-like eyes.

    Only one girl in 2-7 had tinum blonde hair. Her figure was simply too dazzling to be forgotten.

    Reina Adelheid Ayase.

    Even amid the gathering of beauties in 2-7, her beauty was enough to ce her in the first or second position, and Yamajun''s group met that very girl in that fairy za.

    ===

    ¡¸W-what¡­ What''s happening¡­¡¹

    Himeno Airi felt like she had returned to being a in-gloomy girl before she was sent to another world.

    There, a blonde beauty, Reina sat on the side of the fairy za''s fountain. Around her was the figure of the men waiting upon her.

    ¡¸Uuh¡­ I''m so scared¡­ I want to meet you, Yuu-kun.¡¹

    The figure of frail girl crying could kindle anyone''s desire to protect her. And her voice, for better or worse incited the bravery of the men around her who used to battle to protect her.

    ¡¸Don''t worry Reina-chan, I''ll protect you for sure!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, don''t worry, we''re going to protect you.¡¹

    ¡¸We who''re used to battle have be much stronger.¡¹

    ¡¸You just need to follow us, Reina-chan.¡¹

    Almost to the point of ignoring Airi, the men were coaxing Reina with extremely sweet words.

    Even though not even five minutes had passed since Reina appeared in the fairy za.

    And yet, the men were already dazed by Reina,pletely forgetting about Airi''s existence. In fact, as a fellow girl, Airi should be the one who talked to Reina as soon as she appeared in the fairy za, but the men were blinded by their enthusiasm, not giving her a gap.

    As a result, Airi was the only one left out in that ce, the position that normally called loner back in Japan. She wasn''t simply left out, her situation was closer to a queen who fell from the grace.

    As soon as Reina sat on the edge of the water fountain, the men surrounded her, and Airi was left out of the ring. Seeing that made her realize the caste system in the party.

    ¡¸Well, let''s calm down first, everyone. Ayase-san seems to have been in great trouble just now so let her take a rest to calm herself.¡¹

    Though Yamajun was the onlyposed one amongst the men, Airi who fell from the grace in mere five minutes after Reina has appeared couldn''t calm down that easily.

    She couldn''t ept the fact that Reina was added to the party.

    Airi was afraid. Just by staying close to Reina A Ayase, her position that symbolized her efforts and charm crumbled as easily as a sandcastle.

    ¡¸C-calm down, Airi. T-this isn''t the time to panic¡­¡¹

    Though I almost flipped out just by looking at Reina''s tragic heroine-like cries, Airi realized that she still had the chance to turn the table.

    I admitted that Reina A Ayase was an adorable girl. The difference between their face value was like heaven and earth. That was already obvious even back in Japan.

    ¡¸But, fufufu¡­ your head that is filled with a field of flower shouldn''t have any idea about one thing. Men are just a lump of sex drive.¡¹

    Yes, I still have my body to turn the table against Reina.

    Adorable appearance alone couldn''t satisfy the men''s sex drive. Their lust could only be satisfied with a touch from a woman¡¯s body.

    ¡¸It''s not like you can see the other men either since your head is filled with Souma Yuuto.¡¹

    But it was possible for me. The real battle had only begun after this.

    <i>I am fully aware that my appearance was far below Reina¡¯s. That''s why I''ll use my body to curry the favor from the strong men.</i> That was Airi''s sure kill survival strategy that she had learnt in this dungeon.

    <i>Yes, only I, the </i><i>¡º</i><i>Subus</i><i>¡»</i><i> could satisfy the desire of the men which you couldn''t.</i>

    ¡¸Humph, enjoy your victory for now¡­ I won''t lose to a fucking selfish and airhead woman like you who doesn''t even put the others in your eyes, soon, you''ll only be useless baggage in this party. Just stay right there as the cute pet of this party.¡¹

    Airi knew well her value as a woman since she knew that the creature called men couldn''t be separated from their sex drive. Anyhow, it had already been decided that the men would choose the closest woman once they saw a flower on top of the hill.

    Airi who had already slept with them numerous times knew that she was right.

    ¡¸¨D¨DNo, I''ll abstain for today.¡¹

    But that night, Yamada refused Airi''s invitation.

    ¡¸Eh¡­ is something the matter, Yamada-kun? Are you, not feeling well tonight?¡¹

    That was the first thing that came to my mind upon hearing Yamada''s rejection. But, I noticed it.

    The usual Yamada would be jumping in without hesitation like a stray dog in heat but tonight¡­ Airi couldn''t feel Yamada''s usual passion in his eyes.

    Impossible, I couldn''t help but recognize a terrifying fact.

    The men¡¯s sex drives werepletely surpressed.

    ¡¸Oi, since Reina-chan has already joined us, I think you should stop doing that kind of thing.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you talking about, Yamada-kun? Enduring it isn''t good for your body you know. I mean, we just need to tone down our voice while that girl is sleeping a¨D¨D¡¹

    Though I entwined my arms on Yamada''s body, he shook my arms with an indifferent look on his face.

    ¡¸Shut up, I¡¯m not in the mood to do it tonight. I just want to sleep today.¡¹

    The decision for abstinence was a big deal, Yamada shut his eyes and turned his back on Airi as if to show his determination.

    ¡¸L-lie¡­ you must be¡­ lying.¡¹

    Yamada rejected me. A normal healthy man had actually refused Airi, the ¡ºSubus¡»''s invitation.

    This kind of reaction was new, and it happened only after Reina arrived. Well, they should reach the limit on the third day. The men''s sex drive was absolute¨D¨D

    ¡¸Uhm no, I''m not in the mood.¡¹

    ¡¸No~pe, Reina-chan might see us.¡¹

    ¡¸You should refrain from doing this kind of thing.¡¹

    The next day Ueda rejected my invitation, then Nakai, andstly Shimokawa. Moreover, I invited Yamada again after three days had passed, the day he should''ve reached his limit but¡­

    ¡¸I won''t do that with you anymore¡­ I mean, I don''t want Reina-chan to see such a degenerate side of mine.¡¹

    Seeing those determined eyes that firmly rejected Airi, she finally flipped out.

    ¡¸D-DOn''t joke around you piece of shit! Like hell I''m gonna believe the words of the man who has always been jumping in to my invitation until now! Reina-chan''s heart, HAH! Stop your hypocrisy, you fucking ugly lolicon! What do you like about your Reina-chan(lol) anyway? Your monkey love? Let me to tell you, THAT''S IMPOSSIBLE, SHALL I LEND YOU MY MIRROR SO THAT YOU CAN SEE YOUR OWN FUCKING UGLY FACE? LET ME TELL YOU, STOP YEARNING FOR THAT SHITTY LOLI WHOSE HEAD IS FILLED WITH SOUMA YUUTO, YOU''LL JUST EXHAUST YOURSELF! AND HERE YOU ARE, RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR NOTHING, I DOUBT THAT FUCKING LOLI WILL EVEN THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT! STOP REACHING FOR THE SHITTY FLOWER ON THE HILL, SOMEONE LIKE YOU JUST NEEDS TO PROTECT ME! LOOKSWISE, YOU''VE NO RIGHT TO LOVE HER! THAT''S WHY KEEP YOUR DREAM FOR WHEN YOU''RE ASLEEP, LOOK AT ME! BE MINE! ALL OF YOU STUPID MEN SHOULD BECOME MY LOYAL SLAVEEEES!¡¹

    I flipped out and screamed at him to the top of my lung and only stopped when my throat hurt from yelling at him.

    Airi knew very well of her position. She who borrowed the power of the men was ultimatelypletely dependent on those said men. Venting her anger at those men was something that she had to avoid at all cost.

    She only existed tofort the men. Their rtionship was a give and take rather than brainwash, she couldn''t order the men.

    Thus, Himeno Airi, the ¡ºSubus¡» who has lost her charm as a woman¡­ returned to being a powerless girl like when she just arrived.

    ===

    The dungeon capture continued on with Reina A Ayase¡¯s addition to their team.

    ¡¸Let''s get going!¡¹

    ¡¸OOH!¡¹

    ¡¸Let me show you power!¡¹

    ¡¸Hehehe, I''ll show my power to Reina-chan.¡¹

    The men were charging towards the battle in high spirit, gantly defeating one monster after another like a brave hero.

    And yet, it wasn''t even clear whether the most active guy of the day would be rewarded by Reina. She didn''t even cheer at them. All she did was look at them.

    She did nothing at all¡­ cheering for them, assisting from behind, or rewarding the tired men.

    And yet, the men were still risking their lives for her.

    It was as if¨D¨D they had gotten charmed by Reina.

    The men would devote themselves to her without expecting anything in return. And the men exhausted themself just to be seen by her.

    And yet, the men were content with such treatment. They literally gained nothing even after risking their lives in battle.

    But I wonder what the other woman thinks upon seeing that kind of woman emitting such devilish charm.

    ¡¸DAMMIT, DAMMIT¡­ DAMMITDAMMITDAMMITDAMMITDAMMIT¡­¡¹

    Airi almost went mad upon seeing that situation.

    As a fellow woman, Himeno Airi, an actual ¡ºSubus¡» with proper charm skill didn''t even reach the feet of Reina who used her weapon without even realizing it, and beat Airi until she couldn''t ept it anymore.

    Airi had finally gotten along with the men by using her body and yet, the neer Reina who only wept as soon as she arrived instantly got the attention of the men.

    As a fellow woman, it was nothing but humiliation for Airi, aplete humiliation.

    As a woman, I understood that there was an unsurpassable wall between our appearance. Though men also often beingpared for their appearance, it was less savage than that of women.

    Airi understood that. And yet¡­ she had never hated such difference as much as now.

    And then, the one to whom she pointed that jealousy which already resembled hatred was none other than a certain girl.

    ¡¸DAMMIT, DAMMIT¡­ Reina, I''m gonna kill you.¡¹

    ¡¸W-Wait a minute, calm down, Himeno-san.¡¹

    The one thing that stopped me from sniping Reina-who was currently being pampered like usual- to death with maximum ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» was Yamajun''s brave effort.

    ¡¸L-L-Like hell I can calm myself in this kind of situation!¡¹

    ¡¸I-It''ll be bad if you keep shouting like that you know.¡¹

    Airi ended up grinding her teeth in frustration. She knew that Yamajun was right, she should lower her voice.

    Anyhow, I''m not afraid of Reina. I mean, that shitty girl would cry at basically anything with a loud sound. Thus, the one who made such a loud voice would be themon enemy of the men who were already enved by Reina.

    ¡¸I understand your frustration, Himeno-san. I know that it''s not my ce to say this but, I really understand your frustration.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-Yes¡­ I¡­ I can''t stand this kind of treatment!¡¹

    Yamajun kindly patting Airi''s back as she cried out her frustration. And just like that, he kept hugging Airi like a lover to calm her down.

    All the other party members were already asleep around this time.

    ¡¸Though I understand your frustration, you''ve no choice but to bear with it for now, Himeno-san. This is an extremely delicate situation since there''s only you and Ayase-san.¡¹

    ¡¸No, impossible¡­ it''s seriously impossible already¡­¡¹

    ===

    TN : Though I would like to say "Serve You Right!", knowing what Reina didter¡­

 Chapter 128.2 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    Chapter 128.2 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    Airi was extremely frustrated to the point that she couldmit suicide right now. And as her only ally in this situation, Yamajun kept embracing her without even grumbling or being frustrated at her selfishness.

    ¡¸Seeing that we meet one ssmate after another in a short period of time, I think it won''t take that long for us to meet another ssmate in a while.¡¹

    ¡¸B-but, we still have no idea when that will happen.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m sure it won''t take that long, I mean, even normal students like us can advance deeper into this dangerous ce because of the power of our vocation. That''s why let''s believe that the other ssmates are also doing the same. Someday, I''m sure that all of us are going to gather again.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Really?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Just take it easy and don''t think too deeply over this matter, Himeno-san. That''s why let''s do our best together until then.¡¹

    It was just as Yamajun had said, Airi must persevere.

    Airi should do her best to ignore Reina''s matter and not be distracted by her. But, whenever she recalled those men who were attracted to Airi''s body until just a while ago showered praises to woo Reina, she felt an indescribable hatred boiling up inside her, the hatred towards Reina and the hatred towards her own ugly, charmless face.

    But she had to bear with this kind of treatment. Because Yamajun encouraged her and slept while embracing her, whispering words of encouragement to Airi.

    Even though her ¡ºSubus¡»'' instinct almost went out of control andpelled her to eat Yamajun in sexual means, her reasoning as the human called Airi stopped her instinct and just epted Yamajun''s embrace, which was as gentle and kind as a mother.

    Though Airi could barely bear the men''s unreasonable attitude while barely holding onto her pride as a woman as our group went deeper into the dungeon¨D¨D She finally snapped due to a certain incident.

    That incident happened on that day when she had reached the limit of her patience.

    ¡¸KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Reina was screaming at the top of her lungs. Though her scream was as loud as ever, I had no reason to care about her in this kind of situation.

    ¡¸KYOAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸BAW!BAWBAW!¡¹

    The monster that rushed in was raptor and gore. <i>Were we actually leaving the dungeon and arriving in the nearby jungle?</i>

    I was really surprised since they came right after we forced our way into a vast jungle that spread as far as the horizon.

    The battle started with the flock of raptors that came from the front. To be honest, the four men were powerful enough to beat them. But then, the flock of gore came from behind as if aiming to snatch the raptors'' prey.

    ¡¸UOOOO! ARE YOU OKAY, REINA-CHAN!¡¹

    The one who came to save Reina first was Yamada. Though he left the raptors to the other trio, stealing a head start to act like a hero who saved a damsel in distress called Reina for himself, the only one who could fight the gores from the front was a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡» like him.

    But of course, Yamada alone wasn''t enough to stop all of those gores.

    ¡¸BAW! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!¡¹

    ¡¸NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!¡¹

    Airi screamed to the top of her lungs upon seeing the gore''s jaw in front of her. Since the four men werepletely focused on protecting Reina, Airi was pushed back into a position in which she easily became the target of the monster.

    ¡¸NOOOO! SAVE ME, I''M GONNA DIE! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!¡¹

    Airi was scrambling towards the safety zone in an unsightly manner as she cried.

    The area around Yamada was dangerous. The area around the Totem Pole Trio who could barely fight back against the flock of raptor was equally dangerous. Though Yamajun fought back against the approaching gore with his light arrow, it was only a matter of time before he pulled the aggro from the gores.

    Naturally, the safest ce was right beside Reina who was positioned right at the center. The main reason for that was the powerful sacred beast called ¡ºEngard¡» which she summoned with the power of ¡ºSpiritualist¡», her vocation.

    I mean, even if, for example, some of the raptors were slipping through the guard, I''ll be safe as long as Engard the lion used its extremely powerful me. I mean, Reina''s safety was guaranteed since she has a more reliable bodyguard than Yamada, the ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡».

    Airi, who fully understood Reina''s power while traveling with her, headed toward Reina''s direction at full speed.

    ¡¸GAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸HYAAAAAAAAA!?¡¹

    But, Engard, who mistook Airi''s intention, was baring its teeth towards her. Even though a human wasn''t supposed to understand spiritnguage, Engard''s intention was clear- "Don''t get any closer!".

    ¡¸W-wait a minute, what''s this, save me too! I''m in pinch too!¡¹

    ¡¸No~, it''s scary~! Save me, Yuu-kun!¡¹

    Despite my desperate plea, Reina who should be in the safest location was bawling like a kid which mademunication with her was practically impossible.

    If Airi forced her way through, Engard might really bite her to death. I mean, Reina''s order was necessary to make Engard epted Airi as its target of protection too.

    But that Reina didn''t give a shit at all.

    ¡¸BAWBAW!¡¹

    ¡¸UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ¡ºLUX SAGITTA¡»!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡¹

    Humans would do anything when they''re cornered. Right at this very moment, Airi fired her magic for the first time since her arrival in the dungeon towards the monster. This was her very first real battle.

    ¡¸Haa~h, haa~h¡­¡¹

    By the time I snapped back, the battle had ended. It seems both the raptors and the gores fled as soon as they realized that they couldn''t beat us.

    Airi was dumbfounded, she had no recollection of the battle at all. She only remembered that she kept firing her magic towards the approaching gore.

    But she knew that the battle was real due to the sense of exhaustion that arose after she had used up her mana. Moreover, the terror of the death still lingered in Airi''s memories.

    ¡¸Are you okay, Reina-chan!?¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, you ended up seeing such a scary scene.¡¹

    I recalled the moment I heard the men''s voices.

    <i>Yes, it''s Reina, that bitch¡­.</i>

    ¡¸Eh, is something the matter, Himeno-san?¡¹

    Airi approached Reina in silence. But then, Yamada and Ueda stood before her like castle guards as if to protect her.

    Engard had already returned right after the battle had ended. Without a bodyguard, this attack would hit for sure.

    With a <i>Pan!</i>, silent returned to the forest.

    It was a splendid p.

    Himeno Airi''s wholehearted p struck right across Reina''s cheek.

    ¡¸Fuuh, eh¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸YOU FUCKING WOMAN! HOW DARE YOU TO LET M¨D¨D¡¹

    The moment Reina¡¯s cries echoed, Airi was prepared to p her again.

    It became the signal of the falling out between women. But Yamada and the trio moved fast as soon as they saw Airi had pped Reina.

    ¡¸Oi, what''re you doing!¡¹

    ¡¸Stop it!¡¹

    Yamada and Ueda suddenly appeared and caught Airi''s hand before shended another p on Reina''s face.

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAH! DAMMIT ALL, REINA, YOU FUCKING BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH !¡¹

    Airi was rampaging with an ogre-like face while abusing Reina with extremely foulnguage. She was about to mess up the other''s hair but was being pinned down by the two men whose power was enhanced by their vocation.

    ¡¸FUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! IT''S HU~RT!¡¹

    ¡¸There, there, Ayase-san! Let me take a look at your wound and heal it¨D ¨D¡ºLesser Heal¡»¡¹

    Though using healing magic to treat such minor wounds was rather exaggerated, Yamajun had his own reason.

    If Reina kept on crying like this, her loyal servant, the sacred beast would appear to appease her. And when that happened, Himeno Airi''s life would be in jeopardy. In the worst case, she would be everyone''smon enemy for making Reina cries.

    Though Yamajun knew that the sacred beasts had far higher intelligence than your run-of-the-mill monster since they listened to Reina''s words, he decided that it was impossible to talk to them since they originally couldn''t understand humannguage. In the worst scenario, they would be forced to fight the sacred beast without even given a chance to resolve the misunderstanding.

    Even without that, Yamajun, who could see Reina''s mana flow, had concluded that Engard might rush in at any given moment.

    Therefore, he prioritized the treatment of Reina''s wound with his healing magic but¨D¨D that action broke Airi''s heart.

    ¡¸No way¡­ Yamakawa-kun is also¡­ on Reina''s side.¡¹

    Despite her rage, there was still a ray of hope in Airi''s heart. She had almost no way out in this situation after pping Reina for almost leaving her for dead. The only one who would protect Airi in that situation was Yamajun.

    But seeing Yamajun''s figure heading first and foremost to Reina who was bawling non-stop to use healing magic on her, had shattered Airi''s (selfish) hope. <i>Why didn¡¯t Yamajune to Airi''s side? Why didn''t he say that Reina was in the wrong? Why? Why? Why?</i>

    That despair finally took away Airi''s power to resist.

    ¡¸Fu-fufufu¡­ Yes, why do I¡­ for something like this¡­ fufufufufufufufuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu¡­¡¹

    Yamada and Ueda unintentionally rxed their grip on Airi when they saw that she suddenly stopped resisting and was instead weeping.

    Airi who was released from restraint, then sat down in her ce, covering her face with her hands as she cried.

    But neither Yamada nor Ueda was paying attention to her. They werepletely focused on Reina.

    ¡¸Are you okay, Reina-chan? are you still hurt?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s amazing that your cheek hasn¡¯t swollen by such a loud p.¡¹

    ¡¸And done, it shouldn''t hurt anymore after I used healing magic on you.¡¹

    ===

    TN : Karma¡­.

 Chapter 128.3 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    Chapter 128.3 - Reina A Ayase and The Men

    ¡¸But, this is too much.¡¹

    ¡¸Poor Reina-chan.¡¹

    The men once again surrounded Reina. That scene was blurred due to Airi''s tears.

    She was despaired and lonely. She had no ally in this ce.

    But, that sorrow was only the beginning.

    ¡¸Oi Airi, apologize to Reina-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸Apologize for suddenly pping her like that!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, apologize!¡¹

    ¡¸No matter how you look at it, you''re in the wrong Himeno.¡¹

    Those words pierced deep into Airi''s heart, it was as if they were delivering judgement to a sinner. Those cold judgement sent a shiver down her spine and continued to her entire body as if she got electrocuted by lightning.

    ¡¸W¡­ What?¡¹

    Airi had no idea why they med her. Yes, she really had no idea of their logic leap.

    She almost died in the previous battle. Even now, she could still see the shadow of gore with its jaw wide open, trying to bite her. She thought that she really was going to die back then.

    That''s why she asked for help.

    And yet, Reina single-mindedly rejected her plea. She abandoned her even though she had the power to protect her. No, seeing the situation at that time, it was more like indirect murder rather than rejection.

    ¡¸I-I-I¡­ am¡­ rong¡­¡¹

    <i>I''m wrong? Screw that, Reina was in the wrong since she didn''t save me!</i>

    But, I couldn''t say so. My chest hurt, breathing became so painful for me that I couldn''t even speak properly.

    ¡¸APOLOGIZE!¡¹

    ¡¸APOLOGIZE!¡¹

    ¡¸YOU''RE AT FAULT FOR SLAPPING REINA-CHAN!¡¹

    ¡¸JUST APOLOGIZE AND GET OVER WITH IT ALREADY!¡¹

    Every single one of their judgement pierced Airi''s heart like a sharp de.

    WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY¨D¨D I WASN''T IN THE WRONG!!

    ¡¸Please wait a minute, everyone, calm down! Himeno-san¡¯s mind is still unstable after the battle from befo¨D¨D¡¹

    Airi didn''t want to hear anything anymore.

    Reina kept weeping since a while ago without even reflecting on her action. Even Yamada and the Totem Pole Trio were only ming Airi for what she did to Reina instead of asking for the reason. Airi turned a deaf ear to Yamajun''s attempt to calm everyone. His attempt was only the most rational choice he chose in this kind of situation, yet none of them, be it Reina, Yamada, the trio, or even Airi herself wanted to hear what he said.

    This was the limit of Airi''s patience. <i>Moreover, you are the one in wrong, so why should I apologizing to y¨D¨D</i>

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    Thus, Airi raised a mad cry as she ran from that ce. No, she escaped from them. She escaped from the cruel reality that had been haunting her.

    She escaped from the bad situation.

    ¡¸Eh, wait, stop, Himeno-san!¡¹

    Yamajun was extremely surprised upon seeing Airi run off since everything happened way too fast. By the time he was trying to go after her, her shadow had already vanished in the dark forest.

    ¡¸Wait, pleasee back, Himeno-san!¡¹

    It went without saying what would happen to her if she wandered alone by herself in the dungeon. But the current Airi hadpletely forgotten about that, the only thing she wanted to do right now was get away from Reina as far as possible.

    That''s why she couldn''t help but run as if she was in desperation. She didn''t even care about looking back, she just escaped in despair and rage¨D¨D and yet, her survival instinct still wriggled, she refused to die.

    ¡¸KYOAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸HIIIIIIIII!?¡¹

    Airi finally regained herposure once she heard the cries of raptor approaching her.

    But it was already toote.

    ¡¸Hii¡­ no¡­ someone¡­ someone.¡¹

    When she was looking around, she realized that she was alone in this jungle. No one could hear her voice, no one would save her.

    It was the monsters who came for her instead. She heard the cries of raptors from her surrounding.

    ¡¸A, aaaaah¡­ noooooooooooo, impossible, this is impossible!¡¹

    Once she reached this stage, Airi finally saw the reality.

    She could only me herself for running away due to the unbearable mental anguish, which resulted in her cing herself in this dangerous situation.

    Thebat skill that Airi retained after she changed job from ¡ºHealer¡» to ¡ºSubus¡» was only ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» which she rarely used. Therefore, she simply couldn''t survive by herself. That''s why she was currying favor with powerful men by using her body.

    And yet, even those said men ended up abandoning her.

    ¡¸KYOAKYOA.¡¹

    ¡¸KYOOO, AAA¡¹

    Maybe the monster already knew that Airi was easy prey. These could be the survivors of the crowd of monsters that attacked Airi''s party a while ago.

    The raptors were starting to appear in front of Airi from the green thickets.

    ¡¸H-HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!?¡¹

    She was being surrounded from all sides. Well even if she wasn''t, she had no way to win against the monster.

    Facing the true crisis of absolute death right in front of her, Airi''s mind went nk. She felt as if she was deprived of her everything to the point that she didn''t even have the willpower left to curse Reina.

    <i>Ah, so this is the end.</i> Surprisingly, she had calmed down as soon as she realized that she would die.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºIgnis Sagitta¡»!¡¹

    That moment, a raging crimson me spread out in front of her. The vivid, red me swallowed the raptors seemingly about to jump at Airi at any moment.

    ¡¸KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAH¨D¨D¡ºzer¡»!¡¹

    In the blink of the eye, consecutive sword strikes sounded from the other side of the zing me. The raptors raised loud cries upon seeing the arrival of a new opponent. The de danced ughtering one raptor after another, swift and precise as if the user was dancing in the middle of rain of blood.

    +++

    ¡¸KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The raptors who felt that the intruder was far too dangerous for them wasted no time and escape at once. After all of the monsters fled, the me that was burning the thickets weakened, and died out.

    ¡¸Ah¡­¡¹

    And then, Airi saw a lone figure standing on the other side of the me wall, like a mirage.

    ¡¸Ah, uhm¡­ are you okay, Airi?¡¹

    The one who gave that slightly awkward, and idiotic greeting was a certain sses boy.

    ¡¸Ha-Ha-Haruma-ku~n!¡¹

    Thus, the ¡ºSubus¡» Himeno Airi returned to her original party with the ¡ºMagic Swordsman¡» Nakajima Haruma.

    ===

    TN : Cursed by Karma and Back to Original party¡­ there''s no more soap drama next week!

 Chapter 129.1 - Jungles Historic Ruins

    Chapter 129.1 - Jungle''s Historic Ruins

    Pce area''s boss, it was a three metres tall living armor with tough defense and top notch skill but¡­ it was tragically defeated facing us who were fully prepared.

    ¡¸How should I say, number is power huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, to be honest, the trio that we encountered before feels stronger than this.¡¹

    I couldn''t help but agree with ss Rep''s disappointed remark.

    Even though it had a bigger physique, the boss fought by itself. On the contrary, all of us were focusing our attack on the boss. Though the boss was the strongest one we had encountered thus far, its offensive ability waspletely sealed off by the barrage of our attack.

    ¡¸Sorry for putting such heavy burden on you, Futaba-san.¡¹

    ¡¸No problem, I''m the only one with a shield after all. Rather, I think it''s easier to take it down thanks to your light''s sword, Souma-kun.¡¹

    Futaba-san replied with a smile on her face.

    True enough, the one who finished off the boss was my ¡ºCross Calibur(Light''s Holy Sword)¡» and ¡ºNero Lightning(Instant sh)¡». But it was only because the boss was being held back by Futaba-san that I couldnd a critical hit.

    I was more or less starting to master it but still, my mana still gushed out like a raging stream whenever I unleashed ¡ºCross Calibur¡». I also felt that my strength was slowly getting stronger the deeper we dove into the dungeon and yet, it felt like ¡ºCross Caliber¡»''s power was also growing along with me.

    Yes, it was only getting stronger, I has yet to perfectly master this skill. Maybe I need more training like swordsmanship¡­ or something else, something that waspletely unrted with effort.

    For that reason, I needed the assistance of myrades to attack with the maximum power of that skill. And Futaba-san was the only one suited for this role.

    This wasn''t the time to bask in the glory of this victory. There were so many points of reflection.

    ¡¸Guys, let''s postpone our review meeting and use the transfer magic circle first.¡¹

    ss rep could still keep her cool like usual, she pped her hands few times to break the festive air around us. Thus, we left the pce area as soon as we collected the magic core from the boss.

    ¡¸¨D¨DJungle area, huh.¡¹

    The next area we were teleported to couldn''t be described as anything but jungle.

    ¡¸It''s good that we''re teleported to outdoor but¡­ it''s a little bit warmer in this area huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, since we''re teleported outside, doesn''t that mean we''re already leaving the dungeon?¡¹

    ¡¸I''m not sure about that. Even though this area is seeminglypletely different from all the areas we came to so far, we can only know the answer after we reach the end of this area.¡¹

    ¡¸But of course, we still have to follow this magicpass.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I think Kotori is right about thispass. The same goes for ss Rep!¡¹

    I mean, this was the first time we saw the blue sky and the sun after we came to this world, it was only natural for us to have various spections in mind. Natsukawa-san''s doubt was right too but¡­ For me, the fact that I could see the green jungle and blue sky was enough to calm my heart.

    ¡¸Anyway, even though the ¡ºHeavenly Escape Gate¡» is failing, I think we can escape by foot from this jungle.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I mean an even crueler environment such as scorching hot dessert, or intensely cold snowy mountain might be waiting for us right after this jungle.¡¹

    ss Rep was also agreeing with me, we could traverse this jungle as if we did survival training.

    Though I heard that there was a human country called Astria in this world, I literally had no idea where that kingdom was located. In fact, there was a possibility that we could only enjoy the clean air, water, andfortable atmosphere in this very dungeon, the outside of this dungeon might be as well a ruined alien world with monsters running rampant on its surface¡­ Just kidding, it seems I read too much SF story to the point that it was starting to affect my train of thought.

    ¡¸Yeah, at least we can hope that we''re already outsi¨D¨D¡¹

    At that moment, piercing cries resounded around us. Those cries carried along an overwhelming presence, to the point that it struck deep into my heart.

    And when I was wondering what in the world were those cries, we saw a huge figure flying right above us.

    ¡¸Is that¡­ a dragon?¡¹

    I saw it, it was only for a moment but, I couldn''t see that figure as anything but a dragon. It had a long and slim neck, streamlined lizard-like head with pair of horns growing from both sides of its head. And then, its pair of giant wings were spread out on both sides of its body.

    Its vivid red scales glittered as it bathed under the sunlight. Though its name might be something along the lines of a red dragon or fire drake, it was definitely the embodiment of a fantasy creature dubbed as a dragon.

    ¡¸If so many of those guys are flying all over the skies, then I guess the outside of the dungeon really is a dangerous ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, let''s assume that we''re still inside the dungeon.¡¹

    I spoke that seemingly cowardly conclusion with the ss Rep.

    ¡¸Dragon meat¡­ I want to try it.¡¹

    Somehow, amongst all of us, Futaba-san was the only one who considered that dragon as nothing more than a food ingredient.

    ===

    Since the giant dragon was flying in the air, we decided to explore the jungle which seemed to be the safest choice.

    ¡¸KIKIIIIII!¡¹

    The monsters rushing at us while raising such a loud shriek were the monkey-like monster with sharp ws. Their number was superior, and as they hopped from one top of the tree to another, they came at us all at once¡­ but we''re already familiar with this kind of tactic.

    Asuna, Natsukawa-san, and I cut down all the monkeys that dared toe to us. Futaba-san easily sent them flying with her shield. The poor monkey who received her shield bash ended up in an even more tragic state, it was as if they were overrun by a dump truck.

    As for the ones that chose to stay on top of the tree watching the situation, became the victims of Sakura''s light arrow, and fell as their eyes were dazzled by the blinding light.

    Maybe because they finally realized that they were no match for us after we annihted half of theirrades in the blink of an eye, the monkeys finally retreated.

    ¡¸This monkey-san is a monster on the same level as Goma, they have no demon core at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Then let''s forget about dismantling their corpse and continue our journey.¡¹

    Currently, Kotori-san''s ¡ºMagical Power Analysis¡» had already advanced enough to the point that she could see through the magic or monster itself, she could even see the existence of a demon core in the monster body. While it''s true that the reason behind the monster''s strength was their powerful body, magical power has also yed a huge part in it. That''s why the monster with magical power was more powerful.

    Even we knew by instinct that a certain monster brimming with magical power was too dangerous for us to fight by instinct.

    ¡¸Hey, that tree over there should be a banana tree, right?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe but, I think it''s better if we aren''t eating that, Futaba-san. It might be poisonous after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though we''ll know whether we can eat that or not if Kotaro-kun is with us¡­¡¹

    Futaba-san, whose focus had alreadypletely stolen by the banana-like fruit on top of the tree, didn''t even take a nce at the mountain of monkey corpses. The banana was really big, a mega-size banana, and though I think it was fine to eat that, I guess it was better to follow ss Rep''s advice of not eating that.

    ¡¸We cannot take the risk of eating something strange since we have no idea whether healing magic would work if we get a stomach ache from eating it¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Uh~n, banana¡­¡¹

    I felt bad for Futaba-san who was looking at the banana-like fruit with an extremely regretful look on her face but, we really shouldn''t risk our lives over unfamiliar food in this ce.

    After that, we encountered almost nothing but monsters of the same level as the monkeys from before, maybe even stronger. Green dog-like monsters that were obviously the variant of red dog. Dinosaur-type monsters such as raptors or gores. We also encountered insect type, ashidaka-like monster every once in a while. Basically, we always turned the tables against them since there was almost no special individual who could use magic amongst the crowd. We kept advancing into the forest, only dismantled the monster who ording to Kotori-san''s¡ºMagical Power Analysis¡» had demon core in their body and then, the scenery that was filled with greenery¨D¨D had started to change.

    ¡¸I see now, it seems this jungle is also part of the ruin in this dungeon.¡¹

    The ce we arrived was filled with many ruins. One could see the passage of time upon seeing how much the ntations had encroached the crumbled stone building.

    ¡¸Somehow, it looks like the ruins in Cambodia.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you mean that Ankor Wat?¡¹

    ¡¸Cambodia has so many historic ruins, Ankor Wat is just one of them. This scenery of the historic ruin in the middle of the jungle is just like the scenery around that ce.¡¹

    ¡¸He~¡¹

    I harked back to our school life upon seeing Natsukawa-san give a half-hearted reply to ss Rep''s exnation. It seems that our heart was slowly getting used to this situation as we became stronger.

    ¡¸It seems we''re entering ruin area beyond this point. Is something the matter, kotori?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, I can feel the faint amount of mana flow from the activation of the magic tool, in addition, it seems we''re still inside the dungeon.¡¹

    Upon hearing Asuna''s question, Kotori-san replied while closing her eyes as if she was sending a telepathic message.

    All we could see in this ce was ruin and then ruin, we''re literally surrounded by ruins. The three-story building was especially conspicuous, but nothing special aside from that one. The non-existence of trap and treasures aside, we also didn''t find a trace of another human visiting this ce before. Maybe Momokawa or the other ssmates never passed this part of the jungle either.

    ¡¸I found a ce that looks like a fairy za.¡¹

    ¡¸The ruin in this area might be simply just abandoned ruin.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuhm, there''s no way that''s true, Ryoko-chan! My thief instinct is ringing, there must be something around this area!¡¹

    The ce that Natsukawa-san''s finger pointed at was a box-shaped building, surely, it was different from the other building since it had a cylindrical tower built on top of it.

    And then, a giant monster appeared right from behind that tower.

    ¡¸¡­ Sure enough, there''s something in it.¡¹

    ¡¸Awawa, that monster looks so strong.¡¹

    It was a huge, hairy rhinoceros-like monster with a single horn growing out from its head. Naturally, furry rhinoceros should''ve been extinct animals back in our world. They were the representative of the ice age along with mammoth but¡­ No matter how you looked at this guy, it was definitely a violent monster who was ready to rampage anytime soon.

    ¡¸BRRRRRRRRR!¡¹

    From the rough breathing of that rhino-like monster, I guess it was ready to rush towards us anytime soon. I guess it might be a violent monster by nature, or else, it was only protecting its nest during the breeding season but whichever was the truth amongst those two possibilities, we had no way to settle this peacefully.

    ¡¸Asuna, dodge to the side in case that guy is rushing toward us and cut its leg.¡¹

    ¡¸Understood, leave it to me. Kotori and Co. should retreat further.¡¹

    ¡¸Let me stop its rush then.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    When both Asuna and I stepped forward, Futaba-san stepped forward in front of us along with her mega shield.

    ¡¸Futaba-san, trying to stop that monster charging attack from the front is way too re¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The rhino-like monster had already rushed towards us before I managed to finish my sentence. Upon a closer look, it was even bigger than my original estimation, and yet, it was quite fast too. Now it really looked like a dump truck rushing at us at full throttle.

    No matter how powerful Futaba-san''s ¡ºBerserker¡» power, the difference between their mass was too overwhelming.

    ¡¸HUMPH!¡¹

    And yet, she stopped it.

    The loud crashing sound resounded along with the impact between two parties. Her ¡ºDark Tower Shield¡» was standing tall as it stopped the rushing giant monster.

    ¡¸Fuu, Haaa¡­¡¹

    ===

    TN : Will Futaba be the MC which made the hero''s heart goes "Kyun"? find out next week!

 Chapter 129.2 - Jungles Historic Ruins

    Chapter 129.2 - Jungle''s Historic Ruins

    In contrast to the giant rhino-like monster who was stopped in its tracks, Futaba-san slowly approached it with her jet-ck halberd in her right hand. Despite walking lightly, I could see a terrifying amount of power concentrated in her right arm.

    By now, I was already familiar with this action. It wasn''t some sort of magic, just a skill that enhanced her already abnormal strength. In short, a martial art.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºShock Strike¡»£¡¡¹

    Her ck iron halberd was swung down with tremendous power. And then, due to its sheer speed, it was as if Futaba-san''s halberd transformed into jet-ck light and struck the side of the giant rhino''s head.

    Her martial art ended in a sh, which apanied by an unpleasant sound of cracked bone.

    ¡¸BRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA¡­¡¹

    At that moment, the giant rhino suddenly whined. The reason being the inside of its head, in other words, its brain had already turned into paste due to the ultra-strong shock it received from Futaba-san''s martial art.

    ¡ºShock Strike¡»£ºThe de fired an extremely powerful shock to destroy the enemy from the inside.

    Futaba-san had learned this martial art after the boss battle against the Living Dead.

    Though I could hardly understand its effect, just from the martial art''s vor text or when she tested it, ording to Kotori''s analytical eyes, it seemed to be a martial art that increased the user''s firepower and delivered an extremely powerful tremor toward the target''s body from the user''s de.

    That''s why when we tried that skill on a fairlyrge rock, it turned into smithereens as soon as it received Futaba-san''s strike. And that giant rhino was by no means unscathed after receiving that kind of attack right on its head.

    ¡¸Oops, it died already??¡¹

    Futaba-san let out a disappointed voice as she saw the giant rhinos fall on its side, twitching for a second, and die.

    ¡¸Huhm, thank goodness. It turned out this big monster is not even that powerful.¡¹

    <i>Seriously?</i> That giant wasn''t actually that powerful? Or else, the ¡ºBerserker¡»''s power was more powerful than my expectation¡­

    ¡¸Yeah, thanks for defeating it quickly, Futaba-san.¡¹

    I decided to y along with Futaba-san who was smiling a girlish smile.

    I lost to her. It seems I need to be stronger¡­

    ===

    After Futaba-san insta-killed the giant rhinos, Natsukawa-san started the exploration of the tower immediately.

    The inside of the tower resembled that of a lighthouse, the few rooms that we found inside resembled that of a temple. Yup, there was nothing at all, the tower had long since been emptied. To be exact, there was a room on the top floor with something that looked like a small transfer magic circle engraved on a stone pedestal.

    But it didn''t show any reaction when we touched, struck, or got on top of it.

    ¡¸Do you know what this is, Kotori-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, this is¡­¡¹

    Anyway, it seemed that only Kotori-san, the ¡ºSage¡» knew what kind of magic circle it was. If she saw it and still didn''t know what it was, then this pedestal was nothing more than an object d''art but¡­

    ¡¸Ah, this one huh, well I can somehow understand these parts around this ce!¡¹

    Despite what she said, none of us understood what she meant.

    It seemed that the only one who would react to her statement was the one who could perceive the secret hidden within the magic circle.

    Surely, the magic circle on the pedestal let out a pale light when Kotori-san touched its surface as if she was operating it. I mean, it didn''t show this kind of reaction when I and the other member of our group touched it before.

    ¡¸What''s the result, Kotori?¡¹

    ¡¸U~hm, let''s see¡­ it seems there was a huge castle straight ahead of this ce? Or perhaps, a temple? There''s something like transfer magic circle¡­ over there.¡¹

    ¡¸Wow, you can even locate the position of the transfer magic circle.¡¹

    ¡¸This pedestal seems to have better performance than ourpass note.¡¹

    I see, it''s just as ss Rep had said, this pedestal seemed like a high-performance GPS with a map that was obviously far better than ourpass. Perhaps simr kinds of pedestals were built all over this dungeon.

    ¡¸Do you understand anything else aside from that, Kotori?¡¹

    ¡¸U~hm¡­ WAAAH, t-there¡­ there seems to be a lot of gomas living around the castle.¡¹

    The information we gained from the pedestal with the mapping function was a lot more than my expectation.

    Another thing that I concluded upon hearing her previous remark was the fact that this pedestal not only conveyed a bird¡¯s eye view like a certain Goo*gle map, it could also ry live footage directly to its user.

    And then, as a result of seeing the situation, the user could get a rough grasp of the terrain around the location.

    In addition, the user could also understand the type of monsters that were living around the area. Though keeping a tab on an individual monster was close to impossible, it was surprisingly possible to keep a tab on an extremely powerful monster, or monster that lives in a crowd.

    For example, Kotori could see the dragon that we saw flying above us when we just arrived in this area and the crowds of monkey-like monsters that had attacked us before.

    And then, the castle where the transfer magic circle was located seemed to be the gomas¡¯ stronghold.

    The scale of their army seemed to have far surpassed the monkeys we saw before. Though she had no idea about their exact number, it was at least around a hundred or two.

    To be honest, I didn''t want to get close to gomas¡¯ stronghold due to the difference between our numbers but¡­ we had no choice but to move forward. Because even if for example we''re looking for another way, we should at least see the situation over there first.

    Thus, we departed from the ruin, entering the jungle again¨D¨D

    ¡¸BUGERA! GUBA, GADOOBA!¡¹

    And just as I thought, we met gomas¡¯ corps along the way.

    Though the current us could easily deal with them, I was forced to re-evaluate my evaluation of them after I realized that the corps we met was only the smallest part of gomas living in that castle, their numbers were far beyond us.

    ¡¸Their equipment is rather nice for a mere goma.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m sure that they get this equipment from those ruins.¡¹

    We found some treasure chests after we spent some time searching the ruin. Almost all the content was things such as iron sword, spear, axe, sturdy bow, and arrows, weapons that were literally useless for the current us. But, it definitely looked like a grandiose weapon for gomas whose civilization was close to that of primitive humans during the end of the stone age.

    ¡¸DOWBA! GURU, ZEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    In addition, the third group of gomas we met wasposed of the tall and muscr, warrior ss gomas, the ¡ºGovu¡», in short, elite of the elites.

    Their weapons¡¯ quality far surpassed the weaponry of the gomas we met so far, some of them were even equipped with magic items.

    ¡¸Guh, ¡ºIce Sagitta¡» isn''t working on them.¡¹

    They wore essories that increased defense, ¡ºGuard Ring¡» just like us. It seems that every single govu of this group was equipped with that ring which invalidates low-rank magic and Natsukawa-san''s knife throwing.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAA¨D¨D¡ºRupture¡»!¡¹

    And yet, it was proven insufficient against Futaba-san''s power.

    ¡ºRupture¡»£ºThe de severs and smashes the enemy that encounters it.

    That was the second martial art she learnt after she defeated the living armor boss. ording to Kotori-san''s analysis when Futaba-san was testing her new martial art, it seemed this ¡ºRupture¡» was rather simr to mine and Asuna''s ¡ºsh¡», it only raised her shing strike.

    Strike type attack with ¡ºShock Strike¡» and sh type attack with ¡ºRupture¡».

    For Futaba-san who was equipped with those two martial arts, the elite govus were nothing more than a target to test her new skill and raise its mastery.

    Three govus with magic item were bisected in two at once when she used ¡ºRupture¡», another three blown back quite far away with one strike of her ¡ºShock Strike¡», and a normal, single swing of her halberd slew another three.

    ¡¸Even if you call them warrior, they''re just a bit more powerful than gomas.¡¹

    Maybe, Futaba-san could take down the gomas¡¯ castle by herself. I felt miserable thinking of such a cruel n.

    <i>Get a grip, me, I''ve to protect Futaba-san!</i>

    Though I barely got a chance to fight¡­ I have to do my best during the boss battle.

 Chapter 130.1 - Gomas Castle

    Chapter 130.1 - Goma''s Castle

    Three days had psed since we traversed this jungle. Despite the ruins spread across one part of the dungeon, we hadn''t found any fairy za so far. That''s why on the first and second day, we had no choice but to sleep inside one of those avable ruins while taking turns for the night watch. Fortunately, Natsukawa-san found a fairy za in the copsed building on the third day, that is today.

    As expected, by the third day everyone hade to realize just how great, and important the sense of security provided by the fairy za was. The reason being no one got enough sleep during the first two nights since we''d lookout rotation. Though I''ve been used to this kind of experience thanks to my experience in sleeping outdoor in the middle of mountains, I was forced to admit that my mental strength was about to reach its limit.

    Fortunately, we did not encounter powerful monsters in the first two nights. But, we didn''t let our guard down in case that giant dragon flying in the sky above us suddenly attacked us on a whim. In the end, we didn''t see that dragon again except for the first day when we encountered it. The first encounter might be just a coincidence, or else, the dragon could really be flying around, but only once every few days over its territory. Since we''d yet to receive the information about the dragon in our email, we still had no idea just how powerful that dragon was.

    As a result, we were advancing through the jungle without a hitch while beating the jungle¡¯s native monsters who dared to attack us. And our encounter with gomas¡¯ troop surged the closer we were to their stronghold. On the other hand, we barely encountered any monster the closer we were from the gomas¡¯ fortress. Maybe it was better to think that we''re already right on their turf.

    Though I was getting tired of fighting the gomas and govus, there was surprisingly a nice loot from them.

    And that was the discovery of ¡ºMagic Stone¡».

    Magic stone was slightly different from the core, it was the crystalization of mana. Basically, it was separated by elements such as fire, water, or wind. Applying an impact, or draining the elemental mana sealed inside would give some sort of reaction from the magic stone. For example, fire woulde out when you struck fire elemental magic stone.

    The majority of govus, the gomas¡¯ elite warrior, were using a simple enchanted weapon that had this magic stone in it. It was mainly used as an arrowhead to turn it into a fire arrow or a thunder arrow. Some of them used it for their spearhead.

    We knew from the mail magic circle that telling us that magic core wasn''t core, but it was literally a godsend for us due to its utility value.

    ¡¸I can use it for a lot of things with only this much!¡¹

    Kotori-san was fired up as she saw mountains of magic stones of various colors shining like gems.

    It seems she was going to use these magic stones with alchemy to create an enchanted weapon.

    It seems that she used the material from the monster with magic stone in its body to create an enchanted weapon. Since the manufacturing process was the same even with magic stones, it seems we could strengthen our existing weapons in that way.

    ¡¸¡­ My bad, I failed.¡¹

    But it didn''t go as smoothly as we expected. Even thoughbining an iron sword with fire elemental magic stone should''ve resulted in a ming sword, and yet the result was a sword with a warm de, good enough for a butter knife or warming you up in the freezing night.

    It seems the effect wasn¡¯t that significant with just one or two magic stones. This enchanted weapon couldn''t be put into practice unless we used a bigger magic stone or a magic stone with higher purity.

    On the other hand, the result was the same even after she bundled together a lot of magic stones. Maybe Kotori''s mastery wasn''t high enough.

    I guess she''ll be more and more dextrous from now on¡­ her half-failed product opened another possibility.

    ¡¸Uhm, IT''S DONE!¡¹

    She finally seeded after numerous failed experiments.

    ¡¸You mean alchemist with magic stone only.¡¹

    ¡¸This looks like a red ring.¡¹

    The first sessful prototype was a red ring made from fire elemental magic stone. It was simply the fire elemental magic stone whose color resembled that of ruby, shaped into a small ring.

    ¡¸Yes, it''s possible to produce fire when you wear this!¡¹

    Kotori-san inserted the ring into her finger immediately.

    ¡¸¡­ FIREEEEE!¡¹

    A small fire formed in front of Kotori''s small fist along with her shout. Its size was that of candlelight, small enough to disappear just from your own breathing.

    It¡­ far surpassed my expectation, in a bad way.

    ¡¸I call it, ¡ºIgnition Ring¡»! Fufufu, how''s that? Kotori is awesome, right?¡¹

    I was at a loss upon hearing such a confident remark from Kotori. Sakura didn''t say anything about this, but she kept ncing in my direction. Hey, don''t rely on your big brother at this kind of moment.

    ¡¸Uhm, that''s,¡¹

    ¡¸The heck, it turned out to be just a simple device. If that''s all you got, a lighter is still better for us.¡¹

    Asuna who saw the result of the experiment stated her unrestrained opinion as Kotori''s bosom friend.

    ¡¸Mu~, ASUNA-CHAN YOU DUMMY!¡¹

    Despite her pout, maybe because of this small achievement, or because her ¡ºIgnition Ring¡» had the powerparable to that of lighter, Kotori learned new magic.

    ¡ºMagic Alchemy Formation¡»£ºCarve the basics of alchemy formation with your own magical power. Now is the time to start the endless journey of magic research.

    Thanks to this ¡ºMagic Alchemy Formation¡», the result of alchemy which was almost equivalent to losing gacha up until now could be adjusted to a certain extent in ordance with Kotori''s will. But, since Kotori-san''s proficiency wasn''t high enough, we couldn''t expect a great result for a while. It''d take a while before we could strengthen our weapon with alchemy.

    But to my surprise, Kotori-san found a creative way to make full use of ¡ºMagic Alchemy Formation¡»''s potential.

    ¡¸Fufufufu, no~w, guess what is this?¡¹

    Kotori-san showed her next creation with the same triumphant look on her face.

    ¡¸Uhm, it looks like nothing but a normal smartphone though.¡¹

    I replied to her. I mean, the item she held in her hand was really a smartphone. The smartphone with a minor mascot character as its wallpaper should be Kotori''s smartphone.

    ¡¸Corect, Souma-kun! This is a smartphone!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, Kotori-san, the battery of your smartphone should hav¨D¨D NO WAY!!!¡¹

    And then, after showing an even prideful expression on her face, Kotori eximed.

    ¡¸After I''m done tinkling around with thunder magic stone, NOW WE CAN RECHARGE OUR SMARTPHONE!!!¡¹

    ¡¸OOOOH!¡¹

    That was great indeed. Just like me, the other party members were also looking at Kotori-san''stest invention with great interest.

    I''d turned off my smartphone ever since we had arrived in this dungeon which was simplycking a power outlet to recharge our smartphone to save its power but then, now we could recharge our smartphone.

    ¡¸We can recharge straight to full charge with only this small piece of magic stone!¡¹

    Sure enough, the battery icon of the smartphone was filled to the brim.

    We took a lot of thunder magic stones from govus. Our stocks were more than enough to let every single one of our party member''s smartphones be fully charged.

    ¡¸NOW WE CAN USE OUR PHONE AS MUCH AS WE WANT TO DO PHONE CALLS!¡¹

    ¡¸No, Kotori-san, a phone call is impossible you know.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Though Kotori-san expression of opening her eyes wide in wonder was so adorable, to be honest, it made the hair on my back stand knowing her thinking that smartphone being ON again was equal to being able to make a phone call again.

    ¡¸I mean, a phone call is¨D¨D¡¹

    PIRURURU! That loud ringtone had interrupted my train of thought.

    ¡¸Is that your phone, nii-san?¡¹

    ¡¸EH!?¡¹

    She was staring in wonder at me.

    Even after the electricity had been cut off, I kept it in my uniform pocket out of the habit. But it wasn''t until I was reminded by Sakura I realized that my normally silent smartphone was ringing. It kept trembling inside of my pocket.

    ¡¸N-No way, it got connected!¡¹

    After I took out the phone in hurry and opened the lock carefully, the screen disyed the name of the one who called me, Takanashi Kotori.

    ¡¸¡­ Hello.¡¹

    ¡¸Hello, Souma-kun! It''s Kotori~!¡¹

    Yeah, I know. I mean, you''re the only one who talked with your phone right in front of me while showing such an innocent look on your face.

    Though I could hear her voice from here, there was no mistake that her voice was alsoing from over the phone.

    It was connected. Now, I couldn''t help but agree with her that Kotori-san''s phone and mine were connected.

    ¡¸Just¡­ how in the world!¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe, Kotori might''ve changed the smartphone into a magic tool.¡¹

    My question received a direct answer from the ss rep.

 Chapter 130.2 - Gomas Castle

    Chapter 130.2 - Goma''s Castle

    ¡¸But still, how can it connect just like that?¡¹

    ¡¸Yuuto-kun, could it be that you''re referring that there might be electromaic waves inside this dungeon?¡¹

    But of course, when we''re speaking aboutmunication via mail or phone with a mobile phone, it wouldn''t be connected unless both phones were connected to the terminal via electromaic waves. For example, even if I were calling a person who stood right in front of me, my phone would''ve to connect to the closest terminal with electro-maic waves first, and only after doing that would my phone call be connected to the other party''s phone. Distance had nothing to do with it.

    So making a phone call was basically an indirect connection via the terminal, the one that directly connected with my phone was the transceiver in the terminal.

    ¡¸Well, let''s just call it Sage''s magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it''s just as Kotori says, let''s not treat it like how the phone in our world operates. Otherwise, it won''t look like magic anymore.¡¹

    Anyway, we agreed to not dig any further.

    ¡¸This is so amazing, Kotori-san! Now everyone can get in touch with each other! Let''s quickly charge everyone''s smartphone as well.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, leave it to this ¡ºSage¡», Takanashi Kotori!¡¹

    Thus, we obtained smartphone magic.

    Kotori-san then proceeded to charge everyone¡¯s smartphone with ¡ºMagic Alchemy Formation¡». Maybe, it was the person herself who wished to be able to make a call once the smartphone has fully charged. And that strong feeling, bordering on a wish, was the main reason she turned the smartphone into a magic tool.

    Maybe because we really could use our phones, even though most of us were still half in doubt, almost all of us were checking the mail, SNS, and phone calls to find out that it was functioning normally.

    ¡¸But still, we can''t make a phone call to the others unless we''re connected to the inte.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, this is another world, after all, we''repletely detached from our world. But still, we''ll be able to contact the nearby people as soon as the electromaic waves connect to their phones.¡¹

    ¡¸I see now! You''re right!¡¹

    Kotoripletely misunderstood the exnation about the transceiver from the ss rep. Sadly enough, her understanding ofmunication technology was even lower than a junior high school student but still, we might''ve to thank such a low level of understanding for allowing us to use our phone in thisbyrinth.

    For example, assuming that Kotori-san understood the meaning of transceiver, meaning that we''re limited to short-distancemunication, that''s why her act of erasing the need for a transceiver in the phonemunication had enabled us to contact someone from a faraway ce. Thebination of her vocation, ¡ºSage¡», and her magic formation were the factors behind the creation of the smartphone''s magic.

    In fact, everyone was really happy about this. Except for Futaba-san who grasped tightly on her smartphone.

    ¡¸It''ll be even better¡­ if I can exchange my email address with Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    She was looking down as she murmured to herself.

    ===

    After Kotori-san developed her ¡ºIgnition Ring¡» and smartphone magic, she kept on developing essories-type magic items with a small magic stone. The effect of those essories was negligible but that was mainly because of Kotori''s low-level mastery. The quality of her magic tools would continue to improve along with her mastery.

    We continued to advance towards the gomas castle where the next transfer magic circle was located as Takanashi-san continued her experiment.

    ¡¸¨D¨DUWAA, I FOUND IT! IT REALLY IS GOMA''S NEST!!¡¹

    Natsukawa-san who always scouting ahead due to her ¡ºThief¡»''s vocation had finally discovered the gomas¡¯ den. Thus, we were following her and then, found the said goma''s den ahead of us.

    Maybe a hamlet was a closer description for that ce rather than a den, and it didn''t seem like the castle we''re looking for.

    Gomas weren''t the kind of monsters that sprung up from the dungeons like skeletons. It seems they built their ownmunity somewhere, and the gomas¡¯ hamlet in front of us was the first goma''smunity I¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡¸It''s more like a hamlet rather than a nest.¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed. At least, they seem to be smart enough to have construction technology.¡¹

    The trees growing in the vige had been cut down to make an open space for the vige. Their houses were simr to a tent, made from coarse and slightly dirty clothes, and densely packed.

    In addition, even though the construction was rather clumsy, they did make a wall around the hamlet by stabbing wooden stakes on the ground and tying them together with ivy-like rope.

    ¡¸What are we going to do, Nii-san?¡¹

    ¡¸They have yet to discover our presence, surprise attack works better in this kind of situation.¡¹

    Gomas weren''t strong monsters by all means, but they''re troublesome existence since they fought in a group using their number as their advantage to exhaust their opponent. And the ss rep was right, the current us could wipe them out with blitzkrieg.

    But still, no matter how much of a monster they were, when I saw them live their life with their children in their vige like normal humans¡­

    ¡¸No, let''s pass on this one.¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed, no need to fight needlessly.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. They don¡¯t seem like a threat even if we leave them alone.¡¹

    Maybe I was only ying safe to avoid feeling guilty over this matter. Anyhow, with Sakura and ss Rep supporting my opinion, we left that ce quietly to avoid being noticed by them.

    This hamlet wouldn''t be a problem even if we ignored it.

    The one who stood in our way was only that castle with a transfer circle. Once we arrived there, it seemed impossible to avoid a huge battle.

    ¡¸That''s¡­ gomas¡¯ castle huh.¡¹

    And then, we¡¯d finally arrived at our destination after walking in the jungle for almost one week.

    The thing that was towering like a mountain in the middle of the jungle was a giant pyramid. It closely resembled the Mayan Civilization''s ruin.

    No matter how much I thought about it, this ancient, giant stone structure was clearly beyond gomas¡¯ ability. The top of this pyramid was the ce pointed by ourpass¨D¨D and then, it was guarded by numerous gomas.

    With the pyramid as its center, its base was surrounded by numerous tent-like structures simr to the one we saw on the way to this ce.

    ¡¸¡­ What are we going to do, Nii-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Capturing that pyramid with frontal attack seems to be impossible even with our current strength.¡¹

    As expected, even Sakura and ss Rep''s face became gloomy upon seeing the sheer size of gomas¡¯ city, or rather gomas¡¯ metropolis. The scale waspletely different from the encounter battle we¡¯d experienced up until this point. The scale has increased from battle to war.

    ¡¸But we''ve no choice but to keep going on. Since this ce is located outside of the jungle, we can''t expect to look for a detour.¡¹

    ¡¸Right! The transfer circle that I saw from the pedestal of that tower can''t be in anywhere but this ce.¡¹

    Takanashi-san dered so.

    Though it didn''t mean that I¡¯d never considered such possibilities, at least we''re not getting too caught up with the map function of that pedestal since we couldn''t find another transfer circle towards the next area around this area.

    Or else, the location might just happen to be outside of the map. And there was no guarantee that we could find the next transfer magic circle.

    ¡¸But that ce is a bit, you know¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, they''vepletely outnumbered us.¡¹

    Both Natsukawa and Asuna didn''t seem to be too eager to fight an opponent whopletely outnumbered us.

    ¡¸Uhm, aren''t just small fry?¡¹

    But Futaba-san was the only one who muttered those words with a usual calm voice.

    ¡¸Futaba-san, such rash judgement is¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸I mean it''s just the same as before, it''ll be okay as long as we use the transfer magic circle as soon as we defeat the boss, right? There''s no need to defeat all of the gomas, we just need to defeat their boss as fast as possible and escape from this area with transfer magic circle, right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s easier¡­.¡¹

    Sakura stopped halfway after she realized that Futaba-san was right.

    ¡¸In the end, we''ve no other way than to do that. We''ve to infiltrate the castle in secret, defeat the boss as fast as possible, and then extract its core. After that, we only need to escape.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re right¡­ that''s the best option for us, let''s do that.¡¹

    Though I was not too keen on doing that, everything was decided very quickly after we agreed to use the most reasonable strategy. Everybody might be still anxious about this matter, but they raised their weapon to hide their anxiety.

    Nevertheless, we''re not going to infiltrate the castle so boldly. We had to make as much preparation as possible.

 Chapter 131.1 - Battle in Gomas Castle

    Chapter 131.1 - Battle in Goma''s Castle

    ¡¸If we''re going to sneak in secretly, the most reasonable choice is my ¡ºThief¡» vocation!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, we''ve no choice but to let Minami sneak in. But, you mustn''t overexert yourself. You must return immediately even if you don''t find anything.¡¹

    We entrusted the preliminary investigation of gomas¡¯ castle to Natsukawa-san. The first objective was searching for the most optimal route.

    Fortunately, there was a fairy za nearby the gomas¡¯ castle which could be used as a hiding ce. Though it was located right next to a historic ruin, it was obvious for all to see that gomas and monsters were avoiding fairy za. Those monsters wouldn''te to ambush us as long as they had no idea where we came from.

    There were few things we could do in the za as we were mainly waiting for Natsukawa-san to return with information. The best I could do in this situation was sharpening my mind so that I was fully prepared to leap out as soon as I saw Natsukawa-san in danger. If something happened to her, she would notify us with her smartphone. The fact that we could know her situation with a phone call was a great help on our side.

    And then, the time to take action finally came two days after Natsukawa-san started gathering information about gomas¡¯ castle.

    ¡¸Since the night watch is only stationed around the castle during the night, we can overlook those tents.¡¹

    Those tents were actually the ce where normal gomas lived their lives, but ording to Natsukawa-san, it was easy to pass through that ce since everyone in that area was asleep at night.

    Just to be sure, we''d to wear tattered rags instead of a mantle to prevent suspicion when passing through that area. Naturally, the one who stole those tattered rags from the gomas was Natsukawa-san. As expected of a thief.

    We were walking through the gomas'' residential area while holding our breaths to minimize our presence. Since the gomas were living a primitive life like that of stone age humans, there was no light in the house after sunset. The only one with lighting in the night was only the pyramid castle in the center, and the watchtowers.

    It might be thanks to my vocation that I didn''t have any trouble seeing in the darkness with moonlight as the sole source of light. Though it was natural for Natsukawa-san''s¡ºThief¡» vocation to show its full prowess in the night, it turned out Asuna, Futaba-san and I could also see just fine in the darkness. On the other hand, sorcerer-like professions such as ss Rep and Sakura could barely see in the dark. And Takanashi-san was literally reduced to a normal human in this situation.

    Takanashi-san, who was walking while pulling ss Rep''s hand, had already stumbled a few times upon trash or scattered tools around the tents and yet¡­ it seemed that none of those slumbering gomas awakened.

    ¡¸Everyone, we''re about to arrive! After we infiltrate the castle, it''s a race against time battle, go all out at once!¡¹

    Natsukawa-san reminded us again after we left the perimeter of the tent area, right in the vicinity of the castle. Around the castle was a circr wall made from timber with several watchtowers standing tall in fixed intervals.

    Every single one of the watchtowers was entrusted to govus, gomas¡¯ elite warriors. As if that was not enough, three govus were stationed in every single watchtower to watch over the surrounding. Those govus could find us immediately if we snuck into the tent area with ¡ºLux Elemental¡» as source of light.

    But thanks to the clever selection of route by Natsukawa-san who somehow understood the scope of those govus'' observation areas, we made it safely into the fortress.

    ¡¸I''ll leave the fence to you after I fell the warrior above the tower, Asuna-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, leave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, we''re going to rush in at 30 seconds count.¡¹

    Saying so, Natsukawa-san climbed the vertical watchtower at breakneck speed. Exactly thirty secondster, she had already subdued the two govus stationed in that watchtower.

    That moment, Asuna had already closed in on the wooden fence and sliced apart some of it to open the path for the rest of us.

    By the way, Asuna and I had decided on the role of making that opening with a rock-paper-scissors game. I conceded that role to Asuna as the loser of that game.

    ¡¸¨D¨D Fast!¡¹

    It wasn''t a martial art, just a simple sh that she practiced over and over again back in Japan. Asuna''s ¡ºPurification Sword¡» cut the log as if it was tofu and made a perfect opening for someone to pass through it.

    ¡¸That''s splendid, Asuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Humph, I can even cut iron with my current power. Cutting this log isn''t a big deal.¡¹

    Despite what she said, she let out a light smile. I know right, I mean I would do the same if I were in her position.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWoops, let''s get inside immediately!¡¹

    Natsukawa-san, who descended from above the watchtower like some sort of ninja, sprinted right into the hole.

    ¡¸Everyone, let''s go!¡¹

    The watchtower aside, we were yet to be found out by the guard since we didn''t infiltrate from the gate.

    Though we wouldn''t be able to hide our figures upon passing through the ce with a bonfire, at this rate we might be able to slip into the castle without being found out. We ran as fast as possible while doing our best to minimize the sound of our footsteps as much as possible ¨D¨D

    ¡¸KYAA!?¡¹

    Maybe because she was too nervous, Takanashi-san ended up tripping on her feet. Her pained scream when her head hit the ground and the sound of her fall resounded in the silent night.

    ¡¸BUGERA, UGOO, VEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    At that moment, the gomas raised piercing cries. There was no need for spection, we had been found out.

    ¡¸DAMMIT, EVERYONE HURRY UP!¡¹

    ¡¸AH, UUH¡­ S-SOWWIE¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Save your apology forter, hurry up Kotori!¡¹

    Asuna picked up Kotori who was about to cry and dashed towards the entrance of the castle. The rest of us were also running in a hurry regardless of our footsteps being heard by the gomas or not.

    ¡¸GEBAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸UOGAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Though the gomas and govus arrived just a few secondster, all of us had already entered the castle right at thest moment.

    ¡¸CLASS REP, DO IT!¡¹

    ¡¸Great, everyone is already inside right, then ¨D¨D¡ºIce Wall Defense¡»¡¹

    ss Rep sealed the entrance to the tower with defensive type ice magic. Soon after, the entrance was sealed by a double or maybe tripleyer of the ice wall.

    Great, that should be enough to stop them for a while.

    ¡¸The boss goma should be in the room ahead, but I can''t say that for sure since this is also the first time I have infiltrated the castle this far. D-Don''t let your guard down, everyone!¡¹

    As expected, not even a skilled scout-like Natsukawa-san dared to infiltrate the castle by herself. Nevertheless, the path was simple enough, just a stairway that went straight to the top floor.

    We continued treading the path that seemingly went to the top of the pyramid, killing any guard that we met along the way.

    And finally, we arrived at an open space.

    ¡¸GUBUBU, BOHAHAHA!¡¹

    And then, waiting for us on the top floor was the boss of the gomas¡­ the ¡ºGogma¡». It was big by the way.

    It looked like a three metres tall wrestler with a long-twisted horn growing from its head and looked even more ferocious than govus.

    Its hands, as big as logs, were grasping a weapon that matched its huge frame. Its weapon was an oversized double-edged greatsword with an emerald green-like gem embedded on its hilt, it could be an enchanted weapon of wind element.

    But the biggest problem about this gogma, the one who should be the boss monster of this tower, was the bitter fact that¡­ There were four of them in this room.

    ¡¸ABURU, ZEBA, BURUOAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    No, the true boss was the one in the innermost part of this room.

    I mean, it had a far bigger and taller frame than the other four gogmas. Moreover, it wasn''t just bigger, it also only had one eye and a pair of twisted horns growing from its head. It looked like thebination of cyclops and minotaurs but had an even more conspicuous feature. It had four arms instead of two.

    Every single one of its arms grasped a different weapon, sword, axe, hammer, and then a magic wand.

    ¡¸Leave that four-armed one to me. Everyone, please take care of the rest during that time.¡¹

    Our retreat had already been sealed by ss Rep''s ice wall. We had no choice but to walk forward no matter what kind of enemy was waiting for us.

    ¡¸Understood, Nii-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Not like we''ve any other choice.¡¹

    The four-armed gogma and the other four gogmas looked like four heavenly kings. Even though this was the first time everyone fought against a powerful monster who came in a group, they still raised their weapon resolutely.

    ¡¸YOSH, LET''S GO!¡¹

    <i>I won''t hold back. Take this full power of mine!</i>

    Thus, the decisive battle of goma castle had begun.

    ¡¸¡ºCROSS¨D¨D CALIBUUUUR¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸BURUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The shining de of light got parried due to thebination of four-armed gogma''s wind elemental great sword, hammer''s impact, scorching axe, and its terrifying full swing''s power.

    The overwhelming mass between us had already given me a disadvantage in terms of power, and now I had to worry about those four arms too. In a normal situation, I would''ve been easily squashed by its four powerful arms and yet, I fought on par against it with a single sword of light.

    Yes, I was currently borrowing the power of ¡ºCross Caliber¡», only by doing so could I fight on par against the four-armed gogma. Rather than crossing blows with it, I was on defense.

    The four-armed gogma''s overwhelming weight and height aside, it had mastered each one of its weapons to an incredibly high level. Though it wasn''t on the level of master of martial arts, its attack was the perfectbination of physical attack and magic.

    On the other hand, I had no choice but to rely on ¡ºCross Calibur¡» which I had yet to master. In short, I was barely hanging in there.

    <i>No, I mustn''t fight it head-on.</i>

    ¡¸BURA?DAGURA?DIGORA¨D¨DJIGURAZUDO!¡¹

    A sh of lightning suddenly fired from the magic wand in one of its four hands. I had no idea what it said in goma''snguage just now, but from the tune of its voice, it was clear that it just spelled some sort of aria. The four-armed gogma wasn''t just relying on its enchanted weapon, it was also learning magic. This was the first time I had seen a goma-type opponent using magic.

    I tried to step out of the four-armed gogma''s range, only to have this lightning chasing after me. Despite my attempt to protect myself against the numerous crackling thunders that came out from the violet magic stone affixed on the four-armed gogma magic wand¡­ I didn''t know how long I could hold it back.

    ¡¸Guh¡­ strong¡­¡¹

    Its strength might rival the living armor that guarded the pce area. And yet, I was already pushed back just with a little addition of wit to my opponent.

    This was my limit huh¨D¨D I know that haste would bring impatience, impatience would bring disaster but this much wouldn''t be enough to shake my heart.

    <i>I''ve to persist, for the time being, prolonging our fight. Yes, I''m not alone. I''ll trust myrade and keep this guy at bay.</i>

    ¡¸I, no, WE WON''T LOSE!!!¡¹

    ¡¸MUGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    I steeled my resolution as I chose to put my trust in myrade and kept swinging my sword of light.

    ===

    The center of the room where the sword of light shed against the weapon of the four-armed gogma had turned into a deadly zone no one could disturb. That''s why there were no worries about involving the others in a battle even if the four-armed gogma rampage continued. The size of the room itself was about as big as a baseball dome.

    A fierce battle unfolded in various locations of that ce.

    ¡¸¨D¨D!/ A big one ising! Be careful!¡¹

    Sakura and Ryouko prepared their defensive magic as soon as Kotori sent such a warning.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºIce Alma Shield¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºLux Wall Defense¡»¡¹

    The moment after the ice barrier and light curtain appeared¨D¨D it was followed by a tempestuous ming tornado. The zing hot me tornado was slowly eating away the barrier erected by the two spellcasters as if licking ice cream.

 Chapter 131.2 - Battle in Gomas Castle

    Chapter 131.2 - Battle in Goma''s Castle

    ¡¸That was so close.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you okay, Kotori?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡­I''m okay!¡¹

    Though the defensive wall was mostly destroyed, it barely managed to protect them from the me tornado. The hot wind wasn''t the only reason the three girls were sweating profusely.

    Since Sakura and Ryouko were your orthodox spellcaster type, this was their first experience in closebat. Even though a fire-breathing monster wasn''t that rare in this dungeon, a monster that used a magic wand, and magic was actually a rare case.

    And the one who fought that rare monster, the me magician type gogma, were that duo or trio since Kotori was included.

    The magician-type gogma who swung around its magic wand which looked like a bishop''s staff as it fired one fireball after another had already surpassed Cerberus'' heat radiation in terms of heat alone.

    Even though their side had two spellcasters, one hit from gogma''s fire arrow was enough to incapacitate them. On the other hand, in spite of being a magician type with a big frame, the gogma''s toughness far surpassed their expectation. In spite of scalding and bleeding from all over the ce after receiving so many ¡ºLux Sagitta¡» and ¡ºIce Sagitta¡», it was unperturbed, as if all of their attacks was only on the level of a scratch.

    On the other hand, the pair of girls raised defensive magic as soon as Kotori sensed that the gogma was about to fire a spell more powerful than an intermediate spell. The gogma''s timing in invoking its spell was that of an experiencedbatant.

    Both Sakura and Ryouko were forced into a defensive battle by gogma''s firepower. Though it wasn''t that strange if they lost to their far more superior opponent long time ago, they barely survived thanks to ¡ºSage¡» Kotori''s assistance in reading their opponent''s move with ¡ºMagical Power Analysis¡».

    Kotori let herrades know the timing for attack and defense, moreover, she was also the one who did covering fire for herrades when they were about to be attacked by gogma as soon as they showed an opening, and was also assisting Yuuto in one way or another.

    ¡¸A deadlock huh¡­¡¹

    ¡¸But, we''re in a better situation thanks to Sakura¡¯s healing magic.¡¹

    Their sole advantage over the gogmas was the fact that they had Sakura, a healer.

    Though Sakura was an amateur when it came to closebat as a magician, she mastered a little bit of swordsmanship since she always saw the spar between Asuna and Yuuto, their vanguard. Thanks to that experience, she could use ¡ºHealing Light¡» on Yuuto who fought a fierce battle against four-armed gogma when he needed it.

    ¡¸But now, we''re also on the side that needs reinforcement.¡¹

    ¡¸The best we can do right now is keep this guy at bay. We''ve no choice but to wait for Asuna and Minami to make a breakthrough in this situation.¡¹

    It was vexing but the three couldn''t do anything since they simplycked the firepower to defeat their opponent and assist their ally.

    ¡¸We''ve no choice¡­ but to believe in them.¡¹

    Despite her vexation, Sakura couldn''t help but ept the fact that shecked firepower and needed herrade''s assistance while sending ¡ºHealing Light¡» to Asuna and Minami who fought a fierce battle beside them.

    ¡¸O-Ou~¡­ eh, it''s not hurting anymore!?¡¹

    ¡¸Sakura''s healing magic huh. That was close, Natsukawa.¡¹

    ¡¸Shank you~u, Sakura-cha~n!¡¹

    Though Natsukawa Minami seemed to be as cheerful as usual, it was in fact a facade to prevent her heart from breaking under this situation. She was really grateful for Sakura''s ¡ºHealing Light¡» which came in time but, she barely hanging in there with just a light graze from gogma''s attack.

    ¡¸FUOGAA! MUGOO, UOGAAAA!¡¹

    The gogma who fought against Minami and Asuna was a swordsman type with a wind elemental magic sword like the one used by the four-armed gogma. That gogma wasn''t just big, it was really fast on top of that. The enchanted sword fired ¡ºAir Sagitta¡» whichbined with exquisite swordy had cornered Minami and Asuna.

    ¡¸Nevertheless, this is a tough one huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Uuh, still long way to go~.¡¹

    In this situation, where the two vanguards fought against one opponent, they were lucky that the battle urred in wide space.

    The swordsman gogma was powerful but the duo received assistance from Sakura in the form of healing magic and Kotori''s warning when their opponent was about to use the ability of the wind sword. Thus, the two could fight calmly while raising their vignce on their opponent''s special attack.

    Minami stabbed on the gogma''s back with her ¡ºWild Van Dead Knife¡», and then released electric shock, the ¡ºShock Bolt¡», and added poison stocked in ¡ºSea Demon''s Water Current Whip¡».

    Asuna made an even deeper cut with ¡ºPurification Sword¡» and forced massive bleeding with ¡ºme Red Saber¡».

    The swordsman gogma who received relentless attacks of the two had its movement impeded due to the poison in its flesh, there were countless cutting wounds on its skin, moreover, there were scalding wounds all over its body. But, the way it acted¡­ as if those wounds were trivial.

    ¡¸BUGA, BUGO, VUNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Its war cry hadn''t weakened at all. Rather, it seemed to be more fired up the more blood it shed.

    And yet, it still managed to block the attack aimed at its vital spots such as the head, just like a mad warrior who maintained its sanity in berserk mode.

    ¡¸We just need tond a critical hit to end this fight as soon as possible and yet¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Geez, this guy is so~ persistent! Just drop dead already!¡¹

    The two of them had no other choice but to keep inflicting wound after wound to the swordsman gogma while keeping in mind the fact that they''re racing against time.

    Namely, the fact that they couldn''t go to help Yuuto, and theirrades unless they defeated their opponent as fast as possible¨D¨D Yes, everyone''s thoughts in that ce were united. Everyone did their best, fighting a desperate battle that they never experienced before.

    Sakura, Ryoko, Asuna, Minami, including Yuuto, everyone waspletely focused on the opponent before them. Thus, they failed to realize.

    The giant four-armed gogma vs Yuuto. Magician gogma vs Sakura, Ryoko, and Kotori. The swordsman gogma vs Asuna and Minami.

    They forgot the fact that there were still two gogmas left in that ce.

    The hammer wielder gogma and the axe wielder gogma. Even with the best partyposition, they fought one gogma at most. They failed to realize that it was a fight in which one single enemy was enough to overturn the stalemate.

    But every single one of the party was too upied with the enemy before them.

    Thus bringing a question, where had those axe wielder gogmas and hammer wielder gogmas disappeared to?

    Or rather, why they didn''t help the other gogmas. The answer was¡­ because they''re too upied with the enemy in front of them.

    A fierce battle to death unfolded in one corner of that extremely spacious room, the ¡ºBerserker¡», Futaba Meiko fought against those two gogmas by herself.

    ===

    ¡¸Haah¡­ Haah¡­¡¹

    As expected, it depleted her stamina at a rapid pace.

    They were blessed with sessive victories as ofte, including powerful enemies like living armor, but thanks to their powerful line-up, they never experienced hardship during the battle.

    But now, in a situation in which she couldn''t hope for the other''s party members'' assistance, she was pitted against two gogmas at the same time, defeating both of them might be as hard as defeating the four-armed gogma.

    She didn''t even receive healing magic from Sakura. No matter how powerful her base stats had be after receiving¡ºBerserker¡» vocation, it didn''t mean that she didn''t have a hard time fighting against two gogmas at the same time without any assistance at all.

    ¡¸I''ve never experienced this kind of situation aside from the battle against the armored bear.¡¹

    She recalled that thest time she fought with her life on the line was when she fought the armored bear right before they met Souma Sakura and Co.

    ¡¸Haa¡­ I wonder what is Kotaro-kun doing right now¡­¡¹

    The only moment she could rx her mind was when she recalled about him. Her chest was overflowing with love whenever she thought about him, and that joy would turn into dread and anxiety that was enough to make her cry in the next moment.

    In short, she was showing signs of emotional instability. Ironically, the person herself was aware of that.

    And yet, Meiko kept swinging her weapon, burying one enemy after another, her face was as docile as a sheep despite facing storms of weapons that were brandished with killing intent to kill her as if the battle itself was a trivial matter to her.

    ¡¸UOGA!¡¹

    Sure enough, the zing axe-wielding gogma started to increase the power behind its attack.

    But due to how skillful Meiko used her ck shield, adjusting the angle of her shield right before the moment of impact, the attack ended up sliding down instead of striking down the shield. The zing edge of the edge ended up striking the stone floor in vain instead of striking its real target.

    ¡¸MUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The other gogma used that chance to swing its hammer which could pulverize everything with its powerful impact towards Meiko.

    ¡¸Uhm, whoopsie!¡¹

    Meiko used her jet-ck halberd. Though the de that was attached to its spear length handle was too big for humans, it was still too smallpared to the hammer that was forged to match the gogma''s huge stature.

    Meiko skillfully manipted that halberd with one hand, crossing blows right from the front with the hammer that was swung with gogma''s both hands, repelling it.

    Every single one of her swings was not only empowered with her berserker strength but also added her martial art, ¡ºShock¡» too.

    ¡¸Fu-haa¡­¡¹

    ¡¸BGRRRRRRRRRR¡­¡¹

    ¡¸MGGGRRRR¡­¡¹

    Strong, both Meiko and the two gogmas felt the same. Their battle might look like an unfair battle of two against one but, in fact, it was a deadlock for both sides.

    As a ¡ºBerserker¡», Meiko had the highest physical damage amongst the member of Yuuto''s team. It wasn''t self-conceited, but a fact, even Meiko realized that fact.

    And her power was enough to kill a gogma who was far higher and heavier than her in a single hit in a one-on-one battle.

    But from the gogma''s perspective, Meiko with her superhuman strength that rivaled them despite being a human was their greatest threat. Their instinct had told them that they would lose against her in a one-on-one battle.

    They actually felt relieved that the two of them were the ones who dealt with this terrifyingly powerful woman allowing the battle to enter a state of deadlock. Since their side was starting to gain an upper hand in the other battle, all they needed to do was hold this woman in this ce until theirrades finished off the woman''srades. By then, they could use their superior number to defeat the woman, a despicable but just act.

    Strangely, the line of thought of the gomas was no different from Yuuto and Co, the humans.

    ¡¸If it''s going to be like that time, I guess I''ve no choice but to use that¨D¨D¡¹

    Knowing that her side was the one that was slowly being cornered, Meiko reached the conclusion that she needed a temporary power-up to break the deadlock.

    Meiko made that decision as she parried her opponent''s onught. She wasn''t scared. Instead, she felt some sort of joy within.

    The reason being the trump card that she was going to use was the one given by Kotaro.

    ¡¸Lend me your power¨D¨D Kotaro-kun!¡¹

    She took out a small leather bag from her pouch in the gap between the two gogmas'' attacks. The content of that leather bag was a white powder.

    This was the second time she used it after the battle against the armored bear.

    Yes, the thing she took out was gomas'' infamous doping, the ¡ºReagent £Ø¡» which was given to her by Koutaro as the trump card in case Meiko was overwhelmed by her opponent.

 Chapter 132.1 - Resounded Voice

    Chapter 132.1 - Resounded Voice

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!¡¹

    The howling of a berserk beast shook the entire hall. All the fighting stopped right at that exact moment, looking at the source of the bestial roar.

    And then, they saw it.

    The figure of Futaba Meiko enveloped in zing, dark crimson aura¨D¨D yes, that was the true, unsealed power of ¡ºBerserker¡».

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    She started to move at an extremely terrifying speed, leaving her aura trailing behind her. The axe-wielding gogma could barely react to the iing attack from the crimson raging beast in front of it.

    ¡¸VUUUUUU, NUGAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡¹

    It was just a single attack from a female human who was even smaller than it. And yet, the moment it received that female woman''s attack, its stance broke. To be exact, the gogma was blown away.

    Even though their strength was supposed to be on a par up until now, even when it was lowering its stance to gain more stability, it was far from enough to withstand the female woman''s extremely heavy attack with her halberd that was wrapped in a dark crimson aura.

    ¡¸BUGUUUUUUUU!¡¹

    The giant me axe that was used to receive the halberd''s strike flipped from the gogma hands, and fell behind it.

    Naturally, the female berserker wouldn''t let go of such an opening but, the other gogma wouldn''t let the berserker finish off itsrade.

    ¡¸BUNGAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    It swung its super shock hammer toward Meiko who was about to finish off itsrade.

    If Meiko kept going on, the result would be her killing the axe-wielding gogma and then being crushed to death by the hammer-wielding gogma. But, maybe because the drug was a modified version, she could still maintain herposure even in a berserk state, or maybe for the sake of efficiency, she turned around to face the iing hammer.

    ¡¸GUH, GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Against the hammer that came from above with a power that enough to crush any human into nothing more than bloody spots on the floor, Meiko simply received such attack with her ¡ºDark Tower Shield¡». Even though the sh between the hammer and shield resulted in a loud metallic sound, the shield of the living armor received that terrifying attack without even a single scratch on its surface.

    ¡¸U-UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    Even though the floor below her feet was crushed due to the force behind that attack, Meiko''s stance didn''t even flinch. The toughness of her body no longer that of flesh, currently, her body was as tough as tempered steel.

    And then, sheunched her counter.

    The hammer-wielding gogma who went all out with the previous attack couldn''t react in time since its powerful attack from before stunned it. And that opening was fatal in this kind of battle.

    ¡¸BUGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The halberd that swung by Meiko was loaded with her martial art, ¡ºShock¡», and it came from below the stunned gogma.

    The attack that came from below like scooping up struck gogma''s crotch, mercilessly pulverizing its horse-like genital into nothing more than bloody mist.

    The pain caused by the total annihtion of manhood was simply beyond imagination but¨D¨D that gogma was fortunate enough not to have the chance to feel that pain.

    The ¡ºShock¡»attack came from below, and the moment it touched the gogma''sher region, whether it''s fat, bulky muscle, or innards, basically everything beneath the skin got pulverized by ultra-high-frequency shockwaves. And then, its abdomen exploded as if there was dynamite in it.

    The gogma that lost its entire lower-half silenced right in that instant. The light in its eyes faded as it drowned in its own sea of blood.

    ¡¸GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Without even looking at the upper half of the hammer-wielding gogma that fell on the floor, Meiko had already leapt to reap the life of the axe-wielding gogma that tried to stand back on its feet.

    If its hammer fellow could stop Meiko for another second, it might be able to rebuild its stance. But, it was in apletely defenseless state when trying to stand on its feet, by then, the berserker had already raised her halberd high into the air.

    The gogma shouldn''t be able to perform defensive martial arts either.

    As a result, Meiko''s downward swing which was empowered by ¡ºRupture¡» easily decapitated the gogma''s log-like neck.

    With a shower of fresh blood from the beheaded gogma serving as the background, Meiko kicked the head of the gogma that was rolling on the floor.

    It wasn''t that she resented her opponent, nor did she want to desecrate the dead.

    That head just happened to be the easiest throwing tool avable to reap the life of her next prey.

    Due to the amount of force put in her kick, the skull of gogma''s freshly severed head dented, and it flew toward Meiko''s next target with force rivaling rock shot with a catapult.

    ¡¸MUGAAAAA!¡¹

    The gogma that wielded wind magic sword warded off the head of itsrade who flew from its side.

    The swordsman gogma turned its back toward its two opponents whileining to the one who disturbed its battle.

    The gogma who fought on par against thebination of Asuna and Minami has no leeway for even a second distraction.

    That''s why, the moment it turned its back toward its two opponents, its fate had already been sealed.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The thing that came right after the severed head bullet was a fatal strike from the female berserker.

    Facing against a mass of killing intent wrapped in the dark crimson aura, not even a gogma could let its guard down.

    Putting it prudently, Asuna and Minami should''ve used that chance to inflict a critical wound toward the gogma. But, the two of them were just standing still in their ce. Rather, they couldn''t move at all.

    Minami''s feet cowered in front of an overwhelming show of Meiko''s power. As for Asuna, she was trembling from head to toes like a newborn foal. Forget about attacking, she couldn''t even move due to her trauma.

    As a result, it turned into a one-on-one battle between the berserker and swordsman.

    The two whose bodies were engulfed in killing intent shed. And the battle decided right in the next moment.

    ¡¸GIIIIIGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    A single sh drew a dark crimson trail.

    First, cut its ankle to stop it from moving around.

    Then cut its right hand to remove its weapon.

    By the time its body fell on the stone paving, the de of halberd had already struck into the crown of the head of the swordsman gogma.

    ¡¸BARA BARADA¨D¨D BURADOVA!¡¹

    That moment, the sorcerer-type gogma chanted an aria. As expected, it prioritized the opponent who ughtered its threerades in less than a minute.

    Toward the trio of Sakura, Ryoko, and Kotori who became its opponent, the sorcerer gogma erected a firewall to hinder their movements while focusing its firepower to annihte the iing berserker.

    Thereupon, me tornado surging forth, its heat was enough to reduce anything it touched to a cinder.

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    But, the other party unexpectedly chose to break through from the front.

    Meiko set her ¡ºDark Tower Shield¡» in front of her as she charged into a fire tornado. Meiko had arge build for a girl but the living armor''s shield could cover her entire body.

    Since she barely had the time to pick up her halberd, that de buried in the skull of the swordsman gogma, Meiko solely relied on her shield as she charged toward the sorcerer gogma.

    ¡¸UGA, UGIAAAA!¡¹

    Meiko who was charging through the zing fire tornado then mmed her shield toward sorcerer gogma. A dull sound resounded as her tower shield struck the gogma''s body.

    ¡¸BUU, GA, OGAA¨D¨D¡¹

    Gogma was also divided by its own ss such as swordsman and warrior, and what Meiko did was suppress those two sses with her brute force. Even though sorcerer gogma was a gogma too, its physical strength was far lowerpared to itsrades¡¯.

    The sorcerer gogma who received such a powerful body blow fell with a thud¨D¨D That moment, the berserker pulled back her fist.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    And punched through the gogma''s face with her ¡ºPile Bunker¡» fist of dark swirling aura, reaping the gogma'' life.

    With this, all four gogmas had died. The only one left was the giant four-armed gogma engaged in fiercebat against the hero.

    ¡¸F-Futaba-san, the enemy is already¡­¡¹

    That''s enough, no need to fight alone anymore. The victor was already decided. All that was left was cooperating with everyone to subjugate the four-armed gogma.

    But Yuuto swallowed back the words that he was about to say.

    ¡¸Fu~h, fu~h¡­¡¹

    Meiko unsheathed her sub-weapon, ¡ºAssassination Kitchen Knife¡» as her breathing getting disordered. Not even Yuuto or four-armed gogma dared to see Meiko''s eyes that emitted crimson aura.

    She couldn''t be stopped with words anymore.

    And most of all, everyone had finally realized that no one could stop the berserker who had lost its mind, not even Yuuto.

    ¡¸UOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸OOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    It wasn''t clear anymore which one was the monster. The berserker and the four-armed gogma shed as they raised a deafening war cry.

    As soon as both of them closed into each other, the sword, the axe, and the hammer attacked Meiko all at once. Regarding Meiko''s weapon,pared to her halberd, her kitchen knife was really small in terms of size. Moreover, her weapons were also lost in terms of size.

    Naturally, her kitchen knife wasn''t just a kitchen knife, it was ¡ºAssassination Kitchen Knife¡». Its bloodthirsty de was shing against the four-armed gogma''s weapons.

    ¡¸FU, GU, NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!¡¹

    ¡¸GUHAHA, UOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    But of course, she was pushed back since her opponent''s arms were double of hers. Even though she could unlock her dormant power with Kotaro''s reagent X, defeating the powerful four-armed gogma whose arms surpassed her wasn''t a simple matter.

    ¡¸BURA?DAGURA?DIGORA¨D¨DJIGURAZUDO!¡¹

    That moment, the magic wand sped in the four-armed gogma''s fourth arm fired lightning. The surging lightning was fired at Meiko who was fighting a closebat battle against the four-armed gogma.

    At the same time, the other three arms of the four-armed gogma were also sweeping down at Meiko, locking her in ce.

    ¡¸¨D¨DRepel, ¡ºReflector¡»!¡¹

    At that moment, the hero''s sword cut in.

    The lightning strike that was about to attack Meiko was deflected with Yuuto''s sh.

    ¡¸Sorry for the dy, Futaba-san. Let me to fi¨C no, I''ll cover your opening.¡¹

    Meiko didn''t even say thank you. All she did was send a sidelong nce but that was enough for Yuuto.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸UOOOOOOOOO¨D¨D¡ºSLASH¡»!¡¹

    The situation had reversed, now it''s 2 vs 1. Originally, the four-armed gogma could fight toe to toe against Yuuto. So when Meiko joined in, it was clear that the four-armed gogma would lose.

    ¡¸MUGAAA, BUGU, NUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Even if the four-armed gogma attacked, as long as it fought against the berserker and the hero, its power was reduced to that of normal gogma. In addition, both of its opponents were as powerful as the four-armed gogma itself.

    ¡¸GAAAAAAAAAAAAA¨D¨DHUMPH!¡¹

    ¡¸TAKE THIS¨D¨D¡ºTRI-SLASH¡»!¡¹

    The ¡ºAssassination Kitchen Knife¡» d in dark crimson aura shed four-armed gogma''s right arm. The three high-speed shes from the shining sword shed the four-armed gogma''s left arm.

 Chapter 132.2 - Resounded Voice

    Chapter 132.2 - Resounded Voice

    Thus, the four-armed gogma lost both of its sword and hammer-wielding hands, reducing itsbat prowess by half. The table has turned against the four-armed gogma.

    NUGUGUGU GOBURUZENJIBURAFUGA

    WA-WATCH OUT, SOUMA-KUN! THE BOSS IS ABOUT TO DO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK!

    Yuuto''s leg stopped as soon as he heard Takanashi Kotori''s warning.

    The boss might have realized that the winner was already decided. Their side had lost this battle. Since that was the case, it might as well drag some of its formidable opponents along to hell. Despite being a monster, it had the pride of a king who led his people and the pride of a warrior who fought till the bitter end.

    That pride was something that Yuuto, its enemy, recognized but Yuuto had no intention to die along with it. Therefore, he stepped back.

    UWOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    But the word "Retreat" never existed in a berserker''s wisdom.

    As the lightning cane, shining even brighter as if it was ready to explode at any given moment, the boss brandished its axe, the only remaining weapon to stall for enough time toplete its suicide bombing casting time.

    FUTABA-SAN! DAMMIT

    The boss had yet to die. Even the current Meiko wouldn''t be able to kill the boss within the several seconds before the suicide bombing magic activated. On the other hand, if Yuuto tried to stop Meiko now, both of them wouldn''t be able to escape from the explosion.

    NII-SAN, RUN!

    At that moment, Yuuto felt really ashamed of himself for almost escaping due to Sakura''s voice.

    <i> Should I escape?</i> In this situation, he could only escape by himself.

    Should he escape despite the vow he made to protect Futaba Meiko? Should he escape when this was exactly the time when he had to fulfill his vow?

    When he decided to protect Meiko, he felt some sort of power bursting forth from inside. The shine of his sword increased even further.

    Nero Lightning!

    Brilliant white light surging forth along with Yuuto''s sh. The giant shining sword sted the hand of the boss that sped the thunder magic cane.

    One would wonder if that pinpoint super-killing move was only a coincidence or a newly awakened power born inside the hero to protect hisrade.

    GUGA, BUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Yuuto and Co. could only guess whether the four-armed gogma''s scream was that of the agony upon losing its third arm, or a wail of the loser who failed to activate its suicide bomb magic in thest second.

    But such a scream wouldn''t stop the berserker from finishing off the four-armed gogma for good.

    At this moment, not a single voice entered Meiko''s ears.

    Not a single one, whether it was Kotori''s warning for Yuuto, Sakura''s warning to Yuuto, Yuuto''s war cry when he decided to protect Meiko or the death throes of the enemy before her.

    She didn''t consider that as herself running out of control because of the drug because inside Meiko''s head was as serene as the surface of the water in the well. The same went for her mind.

    The reason was that she heard a voice.

    KILL

    It was someone''s voice, filled to the brim with killing intent.

    SLASH

    It wasn''t her voice nor herrade''s.

    CUT, SLASH, KILL

    It was an enigmatic, seemingly genderless voice. But that voice definitely resounded in Meiko''s ears.

    No, it resounded in her mind, just like God''s voice.

    SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

    That killing intent-filled voice was received by Meiko with a calm heart, not even causing a ripple in her mind.

    Uhm, fine.

    She replied calmly to that voice like a mother trying to pacify her child''s selfishness.

    SLASH. KILL. I, THIS HAND

    Sparing nopassion or whim, Meiko understood that. That they''re taking the best advantage of each other.

    Yeah, let me help you, Assassination Kitchen Knife.

    And then, Meiko who received the power from her cursed weapon, the Assassination Kitchen Knife, reached out and pulled it out.

    One Who Hears The Voice The ability to hear the unreachable voice. Neither refusing nor going mad because of that voice, just epting it with a calm mind.

    It was the third skill she gained upon changing her vocation to Berserker. Just as its vor text had said, Meiko who heard the curse''s voice got a new power without rejecting it or went mad because of it.

    Therefore, she felt some sort of power surging forth from the hand gripping on the Assassination Kitchen Knife.

    ck aura surging forth from the knife''s de, smoke rose from it as if it was burned.

    Her dark crimson aura that had already been released, and the jet-ck aura which personified curse were mixing together, giving even more sinister darkness to the crimson color, which then surged forth from the knife''s de.

    That power was ready to be fired at any moment.

    Or rather, there was no need to hold it back anymore. The reason being there was a perfect target for that power standing right in front of her.

    ck Calm[TL: Kuro Nagi; ck Calm]

    That strike decapitated the four-armed gogma''s head.

    Sending the one-eyed-twin-horned head flying high in the air. That one-killing strike beautifully ripped the life of her opponent, cementing Meiko''s victory.

    But that was far from enough to calm the power that exploded at once.

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

    She pierced the headless body with a returning de. The de sank without any resistance at all. The four-armed gogma''s hard skin, bulky muscle, and armor, all of that were cut apart from above to below. The Assassination Kitchen Knife easily sliced all of those parts as if opening a zipper of tunic from the top.

    The four gogma''s entrails and blood were gushing out from the part that was cut open by Meiko.

    Seeing that, Meiko shed her knife again.

    UUUUUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    CUT, CUT, KILL. CUT AND TEAR IT FROM LIMB TO LIMB.

    No one could stop Meiko''s madness.

    As if dancing she kept on cutting and slicing the four-armed gogma''s flesh apart in the midst of a rain of blood, not even Yuuto''s voice could reach her ears.

    Fuu, haa haa I''m hungry.

    Just when everyone was wondering for how long that gruesome dismantling show would go on, it suddenly ended with Meiko''s muttering.

    At the same time, her body suddenly crumbled down like a doll whose strings got cut off.

    Futaba-san!

    When that happened, Yuuto was the first one to rush toward Meiko.

    Following her was Ryouko who just snapped out of that gory show.

    HANG IN THERE, FUTABA-SAN!

    Calm down Yuuto-kun, she''s fine. I saw simr symptoms like this one before. Maybe she just exhausted her stamina after she used Momokawa-kun''s drug. Shes just sleeping right now.

    Ryouko recalled that the same thing had happened when she first came upon Kotaro-Meiko''sbi in the dungeon after the former abandoned the heavily injured Meiko a few days prior since there was no way to treat Meiko''s injury. That time, she heard from Kotaro that Meiko was only sleeping from exhaustion due to the after-effects of goma''s narcotic.

    Thus, she guessed the reason for Meiko''s current condition in ordance with that experience.

    Dr-Drug you say, that''s a dangerous thing right! No matter how you look at it, that drug caused more than Futaba-san''s madness.

    Momokawa-kun is a Shaman. There''s a risk in using it but, it''s not strange even if he can make a simr, but an enhanced version of that drug.

    I''ve said about it before, right? She was okay thest time I saw her using that drug, but let''s just observe her for now.

    It seems there''s no problem with her breathing and pulse. Most of all, all her injuries healed right away thanks to her Berserker''s toughness. That matter aside, let''s take out the core to escape from this ce as soon as possible.

    Yuuto couldn''t help but agree with Ryoko''s calm judgment.

    They had no time to worry about the hidden danger of Momokawa Kotaro''s drug that was given to Meiko. Though they managed to beat the boss, Meiko ended up fainting from exhaustion, everyone was exhausted too.

    Maybe because they didn''t wish to interrupt the battle of the four-armed gogma and Co. against Yuuto and Co., the gomas had yet to step inside the hall. But it might be just a matter of time before they''re rushing into the hall.

    Minami was moving in ordance with Ryoko''s instruction, she retrieved the core from the four-armed gogma and the other four heavenly king''s gogma. They also picked up the weapon, but since the size was simply oversized, they nned to give up.

    Well then, let''s go! the room with teleportation device should be right beyond that stairs!

    Yuuto and Co. followed Minami''s lead, leaving behind the spacious hall in which a deadly battle had ensued just a while ago.

    Dammit in the end, I''m relying on her power again.

    Yuuto, who was carrying unconscious Meiko on his back, didn''t feel a shred of happiness from oveing this deadly battle at all. For the current him, Meiko''s body which he carried on his back felt as light as a feather, yes, nothing more than the body of a normal everyday girl.

    That fact made himment his powerlessness even more than before.

    He failed to notice that he was falling into a depression. Moreover, the weapon that Meiko used to kill the four-armed gogma, Assassination Kitchen Knife started to show a change.

    Its de which wrapped in ck aura had evolved, it became longer, bulkier, and more sinister than before.

    Dismemberment Demonic Butcher''s KnifeWhether it''s human or monster, all shall be butchered equally.

 Chapter 133.1 - Strong Man

    Chapter 133.1 - Strong Man

    When I opened my eyes after the dazzling light of the teleportation circle settled down, the ghastly expression of the gomas army was no more, it was reced by the serene scenery of the fairy za.

    It seems everyone has transferred properly.

    <i>Tch</i>, that shi*tty Reina returned right before we''re going to transfer.

    Even though this shi*tty girl could return immediately, she deliberately dyed her return so that she wouldn''t get involved in a boss battle.

    <i>You think saying "I barely finished my jo~b" along with your childish acting could trick me, huh.</i>

    Thank God you''re safe, Reina-chan Thank Go~d!

    But since Yamada-kun celebrated that b*tch''s safe return like a grandpa celebrating the safety of his granddaughter, the atmosphere ended up preventing me from scolding her.

    Whatever, I''ll overlook her fault just this once. Let''s me all of it on the timing of the appearance of our opponent. I mean, I didn''t wish to create too much friction like Kenzaki Asuna and Souma Sakura''s case.

    Anyhow, that''s it for today, everyone. Let''s rest our tired bodies for now.

    <i>Don''t ask for food and a bath please, I''m really tired right now. I mean, who fights at midnight, after all.</i>

    Thank you for your effort too, Momokawa-kun. The fact that you defeated the boss by yourself is awesome too And yet, none of us could be of any help to you at all.

    It''s okay, everyone did their best in their own way after all. I just happen to have an effective way to kill the boss, that''s all.

    In fact, I used up the stock of my Spirog''s Poison in that battle. Now I wouldn''t be able to use it again unless I replenished my stock.

    But still, you''re amazing back then, Momokawa-kun. I don''t think we could achieve this result if it''s just us.

    <i>Well, you almost got it right. I mean, like hell you could beat that guy with that kind of a mess party.</i>

    Fuwaa

    Ah, sorry, it seems everyone is already dead tired. You may sleep Momokawa-kun, I''ll do the watch-out job.

    A~h, sorry, I''ll leave the watch out to you.

    My mana consumption aside, it was only natural for anyone to wish for a long andfortable sleep after running for their lives like me. Aah, I didn''t want to do anything anymo~re.

    That''s why I epted Yamajun''s offer, and bid a good ni~.

    ===

    Long time no see.

    When I opened my eyes, I was already inside the space-time of a ck god. Thest time I came to this ce was when I received Witch''s Kettle and Vessel of Poison for subjugating basilisk on my own.

    Our follower, Momokawa Kotaro.

    Yes, it''s an honor to meet you after a long time, Ruinhilde-sama.

    The one who appeared along with the usual was the god of curse with a jet-ck skull, Ruinhilde-sama. Since I could see her clearly in this space, I was not scared of her terrifying, death god-like face, and managed to show a proper manner towards my god''s patron.

    Uhm, good job on aplishing what you should aplish.

    Thank you very much.

    Maybe because it was apliment, it sounds like she was more lively than usual.

    To be honest, it felt like a dream that I managed to lead that mess of a party to ovee the gomas fortress. Well, gaining her recognition was enough to make me happy.

    You managed to build your position in that ce.

    Yes!

    Maybe now was the moment, but was there some sort of taboo or creed about worshipping Ruinhilde-sama?

    I have imposed that upon myself, thus that covenant has be the source of my power. Whether it''s king or god, they have no choice but to abide.

    Uuhm, she turned out to be a personage who respects an individual''s freedom. Maybe it''s something like giving a handicap since you''re too OP.

    I shall grant thee a new curse.

    <i>It finally came huh,</i> my body stiffened once Ruinhilde-sama''s hands tapped my shoulders.

    Eh, this Somehow, I had a bad feeling about thiBZZTTT!

    E

    Before I noticed, I was staring at myself. My figure got split into two. Yes, my body was divided right into a half.

    <i>Wa-wait a minute, you must be kidding me right? I mean this pungent ta</i>

    UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

    ===

    HAH!?

    The first thing I realized when I opened my eyes was the fact that I was wrapping my arms around my body.

    Th-this experience was too shocking for me I mean, the pain that came after the world-shaking shock of seeing myself split into a perfect half, yes, perfect which means my p*nis too. To be honest, I wanted Ruinhilde to stop with that gruesome ceremony whenever she wanted to grant me a new skill. But knowing her pattern up until now, I guess that was impossible.

    I, who was experiencing a dilemma of wanting a brand new OP curse but wanted to be spared from the gruesome skill granting ceremony, really couldn''t do anything as long as I fight in this world.

    And now, the new skill that I got after experiencing that gruesome experience was

    Uhm?

    I heard someone speak.

    <i>U~hm, what made them speak in such a loud voice?</i> I set aside my curiosity about the new curse that I wanted to try and looked at the source of that loud voice.

    uhm?

    There, I saw an unfamiliar figure. <i>What, who''s that?</i>

    The moment I saw that other figure, all my sleepiness was blown away that very moment. Since unknown guys suddenly appeared out of nowhere when I was sleeping like a log, it was only natural that my tension rose to MAX.

    Wait, the one whoes first is

    HAH?

    Ah, have you woken up, Momokawa-kun. Fufufu, good morning, sleepyhead.

    There''re two of them. Both were men. As my sleepiness had already blown away, I looked at the situation, fully alert.

    One man had a shaved head and rusty knife-like eyes. Though his grim air made him look very much like some sort of biker gang member from a long time ago, unlike Tendou-kun or Higuchi, he was a true sportsman.

    He was a member of the karate club, Ooyama Daisuke.

    The other man standing beside Ooyama-who, despite his name actually was of average height- a tall man, the tallest in ss 2-7. Despite his soft Mohican hairdo, the eyes behind his round sses that seemed to be always smiling gave him the exact opposite air from Ooyama-kun. But his smile always gave some sort of psychological pressure due to his height and bear-like physique.

    He was a member of the judo club, Sugino Takashi.

    Why are you two in this ce?

    Haah, are you still half-asleep or what? It''s you guys who suddenly upied this ce when we just got back.

    Frowning, Ooyama bit back upon hearing my question.

    Uhm, it seems you guys were transferred to this ce while we''re out to explore the area, thats what happened right?

    Sugino, on the other hand, was replying with a vain smile on his face while looking down at me. It couldn''t be helped, he really was taller than me after all.

    Ah, I see. So you guys arrived at this ce first huh.

    I ignored their severe nces. My brain was working at the fastest speed to probe their situation while I feigned my ignorance.

    I guess they didn''t need to lie just to im this ce. In short, Ooyama-Sugino and Co. had arrived before us in this ce and were in the middle of exploring this area when we happened to arrive at this ce and iming to be the first.

    <i>Let''s calm down first, as long as I''m looking around the fairy za.</i>.. There were indeed traces of people living in this ce before us.

    Dammit, because of the sudden sense of security after that deadly battle, I ended up sleeping like a log instead of properly inspecting the ce. If only I had inspected this ce beforehand, we would at least know and be fully prepared for the ssmates who might return to this ce but <i>Okay, let''s calm down first, the negotiation has just begun</i>. I was just caught off guard, that''s all.

    Keh, you look like you''re still half-asleep there. Are you still sleeping, Momokawa?

    Uhm, if it is negotiation, let''s leave it to Yamajun. Don''t mind us Momokawa, get some more sleep, you look like a dead tired sryman.

    I had no idea whether they actually cared about me or were looking down on me. I mean, Ooyama looked like he was always angry and Sugino was always full of smiles. It was really hard to gauge their true feelings.

    I''m happy with your consideration, but I''m not the only one who should be involved in this negotiation. Our leader is Momokawa-kun, after all.

    As I expected, the one who spoke to the two was none other than Yamajun. The Totem Pole Trio was watching with a curious look on their faces from behind him, and Yamada-kun was watching from behind the trio.

    And sure enough, Reina was hiding behind Yamada with a scared look on her face, using Yamada as her shield only in this kind of moment. <i>What a b*tch! Oi, shi*ty NEET b*tch over there, this ain''t the time for hiding,e out and greet your fe.</i>

    Hee, Momokawa huh? Oioi, ain''t yeh guys feeling ashamed for relying on that pipsqueak?

    Huhm, so that''s mean he''s blessed with a strong vocation.

    From his tone, I knew that Ooyama was trying to dismiss me as a nobody, but I heard that he was overly fixated on Manliness. Judging from that it was normal for him to hate someone like me whose gender could be mistaken, including my age.

    Well, the misanthrope or mental trauma patient aside, dissing someone else like this right from the get-go was no different from looking for trouble.

    On the other hand, though not as much as Yamajun, Sugino was quite sociable thanks to his mild personality which was the exact opposite of his face.

    But he was also one of the people who survived the trial of this dungeon up until now. He had obviously raised his guard towards me.

    Uhm, no need to raise your vignce, how about we start with introducing our vocation? Mine is Shaman, yes, definitely not abat-oriented vocation. Even if you say that I''m the leader, it is just the situation that forced me to take that role.

    I''m a Healer. There is no mistaking it, Momokawa-kun''sbat power is weak, but he is really proficient with the know-how to survive in this dungeon. We only managed to reach this ce thanks to his wits, thus he''s the leader of our party both in name and reality.

    <i>Heheh whoopsie, this isn''t the time to get flustered.</i> As expected of Yamajun, he gave a splendid follow-up to my suspicious introduction. After Yamajun exined to those two, they seemed to realize that I had be a leader due to my wits.

    Hee, I see.

    I see, mumumu, Momokawa''s unexpected talent blossomed in this ce, huh. Then, I guess we''ve to introduce our vocations too.

    I saw it now. It seems the conversation waspletely stirred by Sugino. This was clear from the fact that Ooyama didn''t pass any sarcastic remarks after Yamajun and I introduced our vocations.

    In short, Ooyama was troubled whether he had to introduce his vocation or not.

    As if to follow that, Sugino calmly rode on my suggestion.

    Sugino was definitely far from being an idiot, despite his idiotically huge frame. It was easier to find his grade if you''re looking from above rather than below, and most of all, he had this poker-face smile which made it pretty much impossible to read his expression.

    No doubt about it, he was rather simr to Higuchi, a ck-bellied person.

    ===

    TN: I''ll Take vacation next week 16th-22nd August. More details in foxaholic discord server.

 Chapter 133.2 - Strong Man

    Chapter 133.2 - Strong Man

    Definitely not someone who I wanted as an enemy. If possible, no, let''s try to recruit them as our allies.

    My vocation is Pyromancer

    I''m a Heavy Warrior.

    I expected at least that much if we went by their stature alone.

    Maybe because he left his gakuran in who knows where Ooyama was only wearing a bright red tank top on his upper half right now. Though it couldn''t be seen when he wore his uniform, he did have a fit body befitting a karate club member, or not, his body was clearly far beyond the level of a normal member of the karate club, it was a body that undergoes strict training. The chest part of his tank top was almost bursting out due to his incredible pectoral muscle, even his arms that weren''t covered at all had splendid muscles. His overall physique was taut,pressed which gave him a slender frame and sharp aura befitting the protagonist of a kung-fu movie.

    Ooyama, who was really proud of his body, didn''t carry a single weapon with him. Since he only wore the school trousers and tank top, I knew that he didn''t have any kind of hidden weapon with him. If he used a hidden weapon, he had to wear extra clothes, such as gakuran.

    Assuming that he didn''t summon his weapon from another space like Tendou-kun, Ooyama was definitely the type whose fighting style was relying on his own limbs. Assuming that it was a weaponless vocation, there was a high possibility that his ss really was a sorcerer. Well, assuming that he wasn''t lying of course.

    And then, moving on to Ooyama''s partner, Sugino, but his appearance Honestly, I wanted to crack a joke upon seeing his appearance.

    He was literally half-naked. Even though he wore his trousers, he was literally naked from the waist up.

    The very thing that blew my sleepiness right away due to the impending crisis was none other than Suginos topless fashion.

    The talk went uninterrupted until this point but I was really d that I didn''t interrupt the conversation midway. Their appearance was the very proof of that.

    Sugino''s vocation was the same as Yamada, Heavy Warrior. I mean, it was only natural for him to have a skill that increased his defense by twice with such physique. Since his body itself was as tough as steel, it was only natural for him to abandon armor or clothes.

    <i>But still, you could at least wear a shirt pleaseee!</i><i>I can understand that your shirt might be torn beyond repair even with a mimic silkworm after a fierce battle but, BUT, you can at least put on some goma''s clothes RIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT?</i>

    In contrast to Ooyama, Sugino''s muscles expanded fully, his muscles wereparable to a judo Olympic athlete.

    As if such a mass of sickening muscle(for me) wasn''t enough, he equipped himself with a huge mace. Its handle was connected to a long, metal chain that coiled around his body Yup, I don''t even know where to look.

    The trio in turn from above were Swordsman, Warrior, and Aquamancer.

    Yamajun introduced everyone''s vocation on my behalf. Meanwhile, I was thinking about our next move.

    Ha~h, well, that''s fit them I guess.

    And then, Yamada is also a Heavy Warrior.

    Hee, that''s the first time I met someone with the same vocation as mine.

    Lately, Ayase-san is a Spiritualist.

    What, there''s still another person? Come on, don''t hide yourse~lf.

    Ri~ght, stop hiding yourse~lf, shi*ty neet.

    +++

    Well, it''s natural for her to get scared as the only girl, yeah.

    <i>Wait a minute, stop pampering that fu*king neet. Doing that will make her get ahead of herself.</i>

    Well, I think we should work together to escape from this dungeon. If possible, I want you two, Ooyama-kun and Sugino-kun, to join us but

    In the end, I decided to cut to the chase and ask them without beating around the bush.

    If possible, I wanted to have these two in our party. I mean, the fact that the two of them alone managed to arrive so far had already be the testimony of their strength. Even without that, I felt that Ooyama and Sugino, in addition to our team, would create a bnce in our team. They would be able to counter Yamada and the Totem Pole Trio.

    Yamada and the trio might have lost if the two sides fought. And if Reina didn''t join the fight, they wouldn''t have the chance to win against the two.

    Now then, let''s see what they''re going to do when they meet their match. Are they going to fight, or escape? Since we could talk to them, it gave us another choice.

    Everything would end up peacefully as long as they could reason like Souma Sakura by using friendship, peace, and justice, working together to get out of this dungeon. Their addition would help us a lot in traversing this dangerous dungeon.

    In addition, from my perspective, Sugino was a leader whose leadership power surpassed mine. To be honest, I was tired of this position, it was slowly chipping away my mental strength. I managed to get away so far by snatching everyone''s initiative with my craft and glib of tongue, but I was afraid that it was only a matter of time before they would back-stab me due to my weak power. I doubt everyone in this party would always follow me of their own will.

    But if the leader was Sugino whose power surpassed mine, he could at least rein in the party members from going overboard with his power. It was a primitive yet simple ruling ss.

    Well, my expectations aside, I wondered how these two would answer my suggestion.

    Haah, it seems you really are still half-asleep, Momokawa.

    Yup, cooperating with you guys sounds wonderful indeed but unfortunately, we''re not interested in working with you guys.

    We think it''s pointless to form a party of more than five members.

    Now then, what are you going to say next?

    The reason we refuse isn''t that we''re afraid of you guys are going to back-stab us, you know.

    If that''s the ca I see, your refusal is rted to the condition to escape from this dungeon huh.

    Correct. As expected of Momokawa-kun, it seems you''re not the leader of this party for nothing.

    Sugino''s mouth formed a wide grin. Almost at the same time, I felt a chill running down my spine. He looked like a carnivorous beast finding its prey, or rather, like a beast finding a rival in his territory.

    It seems it was my fault for rushing in without beating around the bush, I should''ve prolonged the conversation, exining our situation. Thanks to that, Sugino raised his guard against me.

    In short, these two were unwilling to negotiate with us from the very beginning. The reason being only three people were allowed to leave the dungeon. Sugino and Ooyama were most likely nning to leave this dungeon with just the two of them from the very beginning.

    If that was the ca I see now So the rumor about these two being a gay couple was right after all.

    Understood, we will not bother you more than this then. We''re going to leave this fairy za immediately. Otherwise, do you guys want to go ahead?

    So that''s mean you want to avoid pointless struggle, huh?

    You should feel the same way/

    I wonder about that.

    My vocation is Shaman. Anyone who kills me will die in return.

    Whoops, worry not Momokawa-kun. We''ve no intention of killing our ssmates, you know.

    Sugino maintained his poker face smile. Dammit, even though finding amon ground is just the norm, why in the hell have these two refused to do so? Sugino, did he actually n to fight us, or did he want to kill us?

    <i>Just what in the hell is this fu</i>

    OI! DON''T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO TALK TO THEM, MOMOKAWA! THESE FU*KERS WANT US TO HAND OVER ALL THE CORES THAT WE''VE BEEN GATHERED SO FAR!

    <i>I see, things have already reached this far huh.</i> Short-tempered OOyama answered for me before I reached a conclusion.

    Well, that''s the case. What do you think, Momokawa-kun, are you going to hand over all the cores that you''ve been gathered?

    Even though we''re just focusing purely on defeating the boss or capturing the dungeon, we somehow had gathered arge number of cores. If they only thought about escaping from this ce, then it was only natural for them to focus only on gathering as many cores as possible.

    Well, our side was also gathering cores for that purpose. In my case, it was for the sake of strengthening Rem. Even though I nned to escape with everyone, there was no way I would just hand over the cores that everyone gathered together painstakingly.

    Half of it.

    Fufufu, being too greedy isn''t good for your health, you know, Momokawa-kun. I wanted to end this as peacefully as possible but

    Sugino''s figure blurred for a moment, and by the next moment, he was already moving outside my field of view.

    <i>F-FAST!? How can he move so fast with such a figure?</i> I tried to follow Sugino''s movement with my eyes.

    UWAA!

    UOOOO!?

    Sugino moved so fast, and by the time my eyes caught his figure, he had already sent Ueda and Nakai, the peanut gallery, flying with a pinpoint tackle. Perhaps because he had no intention to attack, the two were only blown back without notable injury.

    If that was the case, his aim must be

    UWAA! OI< WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR BRAIN!?

    By the time I noticed that Yamada had already been caught by Sugino. Yamada had this painful expression on his face as Sugino''s arms went around his neck, locking it with a move that resembled a choke sleeper. [TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_naked_choke#%22Sleeper_hold%22_in_professional_wrestling]

    Now then, Momokawa-kun. Handover all your cores.

    O-Oii, STOp, It''s hur. U-UGH

    Yamada, who was strangled to the limit, fainted before he finished his sentence.

    +++

    Fufu, looking at your group, Yamada-kun must be the strongest in your group, right? The toughness of heavy warrior is something that I''m extremely familiar with.

    Sure enough, a pure martial artist could win so easily against an amateur. I mean, the fact that he incapacitated Yamada in just a moment.

    Well, that''s why I also know his weakness. Even if his body is as tough as steel, the inside is still flesh and blood. All I need is putting him into chokehold till he incapacitated.

    The moment Sugino released his chokehold, Yamada''s body fell to the ground.

    Okay, you win, I''ll give you all the cores.

    Thanks for your wise judgement, Momokawa-kun. With this, we can get the cores without having to rob our ssmates.

    Seeing Yamada down so quickly, we had no choice but to give them the cores. Because none of our party members had the strength or mental power to beat Sugino. At such a time, having someone stubborn like Souma Sakura would only result in even more discord like when I made a deal with Yokomichi.

    That aside, having to hand over the cores obediently like this was really humiliating.

    <i>DAMN, DAMMIT</i> Even though I managed to get my revenge on Higuchi, I ended up experiencing the same humiliation at the hands of another person

    Humph, it''s lesser than my expectation, but, well, that must be how weak you are.

    Oi, are you still hiding some cores on you?

    That''s all of it. Try to check by yourself if you don''t believe me.

    What''s with that cheeky tone, Momokawaaa

    Hohoho, you better fess up the rest before things get more violent you know.

    Sugino tapped Ooyama''s shoulder, preventing thetter from using violence at me with his usual expressionless smile on his face. It was just a casual gesture but the way Sugino caressed Ooyama''s shoulder was purely disgusting. <i>Ah, did he just caress Ooyamas vicle just now?</i> That''s scary in so many ways, you know.

    Tch, guess I''ll let you off for now.

    I feel the same but, if possible, I don''t want to fight or kill my ssmate. That''s why be a good boy and hand over all your core.

    I know. Its not like I want those cores back.

    I mean, they might kill us for real if we tried to regain our cores. I didn''t want to die, but I would happily kill them once I got a chance. Contrary to his meek appearance, Sugino did look like someone who would do that.

    Well, we''re leaving then. I really wish from the bottom of my heart for you guys to be able to leave this dungeon too, you know.

    Whether it was sarcasm or their real thought, they left the fairy za leaving behind those words.

    ===

    TN: As All of you have realized, the previous tl jumped the chapter which caused a huge gap between chapter 98-133. And since I''ve already filled the gap, I''ll reupload the old chapter since having so much nk space feels wrong in my perspective.

 Chapter 134: Cloud Zone

    Chapter 134: Cloud Zone

    Ahem, so I know we had the cores stolen, and really easily at that, but I believe its time we move on and proceed to exploring this new zone

    I had on a dead, zed look as I dered in a dead, monotone expression.

    The cores, which could be called our lifeline, were all taken, but no party member had been injured. Thinking practically, we should start moving again so as to not fall behind.

    The goma fortress battle had us running around a tonne trying to somehow escape, so we hadnt gotten any good weapons or parts from there.

    Id personally very much like to have more parts to add to Rem. Since, depending on those, she might be strong enough to fight off Sugino and Ooyama. Rem was, in my belief, the most reliable ally I had, and the stronger she could get, the more at ease I could be.

    Cmon guys, its not the end of the world, give me a response

    It feels worse dude

    Right, I felt the same, my motivation was at an all time low. Like wed gotten super rare gear after finishing off a raid boss only to have said gear stolen by small-fry punks.

    I know you feel down, we all do, but weve had enough brake time. We should get moving, staying here will only keep us depressed

    Haah Hes got a point

    Ahh, this day fucking sucks

    Ueda and Nakai stood to leave, despite their irritation. Shimokawa followed, and the usual trio was all convinced.

    Yamada-kun, you alright? If youre still not feeling up to it, we can stay a while longer

    Im fine

    He was insta-KOed by Sugino, so the shock of it mustve been getting to him. He had a dark look on his face. It was probably the first time in a while that he felt pain since his Heavy Fighter Job granted him a lot of immunity to it.

    Now the question was whether Yamada will be scared and useless for our battles toe, or whether hell use this experience to grow I wanted to hope positively, but, shit man, itll be a problem if our tank cant tank. Ill have to make sure he doesnt go down that path, such a pain.

    Hmm, Ill throw this one at Yamajun.

    Everyone set? Lets go

    Those homo lovers Sugino and Ooyama had left a few hours ago with their stuff, so I didnt think wed meet again. They looked like they knew how to get out of this zone while we had to start from scratch. If we did meet again though, I had no doubt itd be a bloodbath. Lets try not to let that happen.

    But rather than those super strong gays, we should focus on how to clear this zone. Wed literally just gotten shown that we hadnt be tough stuff in the least. And if our caution and morale also drops, we might really get annihted by a munch of small-fry monsters.

    Woah, whats with this ce

    Shits bizarre, its all fluffy

    Dude, its like some kinda theme park

    Waah~, its clouds everywhere~

    Right outside the square, we all voiced our impressions of this area that waspletely new to us.

    Reina was right, it did look like clouds everywhere. Like some sort of cloud kingdom that you could maybe find in an amusement part recreating a fairy talend.

    From the size and shapes of the passages and empty rooms, it seemed like a normal dungeon zone was covered by this soft and fluffy stuff all over the walls to make it resemble clouds. I tried jabbing my knife into one of the cushion-like walls and it slipped through easily. The wall had the consistency of a sponge.

    This isnt the sort of ce were used to, and I think well be seeing new types of monsters here too. Keep an eye out

    We advanced through the cloud zone, wary of our surroundings.

    Some time passed, and we hadnt encountered anything. I considered if Sugino and Ooyama, who went ahead a while ago, thinned out their numbers, but then there were no signs of fighting anywhere, not one corpse, or any blood. The ce was pure white and spotless.

    Man, I was kinda getting sleepy with all the soft and white around

    Khruuu

    When my attention was waning, Raptor gave a cry from beside me. I was going to have Raptor act as properbat potential for us, so I was not riding on it.

    Rem, whats up?

    Oi look, somethingsing out of the walls!

    Before Rem could respond, Ueda who was on point gave the answer. Looks like we gotpany.

    Oi oi, whats up with this stuffed costume fe?

    This cloud things giving me the creeps

    Our two vanguards, Ueda and Yamada, were the first to let out their impressions of these new monsters. Monsters that looked like fluffy costumed people, cloud creatures.

    They seemed to be made of the same cloudy stuff that constituted the walls, and they were around as tall as a short man. With a big head and small arms and legs, these cloud sponge creatures looked pretty deformed despite the overall human shape.

    They had no weapons, and moved slow like zombies. But  there were way too many.

    Momokawa, do I go up front?!

    No, theyreing from the back too, stay here Nakai-kun. Youll need to help Shimokawa-kun and Raptor

    Got it!

    Sure thing, dude

    Rem, arrows, Yamajun, some sagittas please

    Well start off with ranged. They looked like arrows wouldnt affect them at all, but lets test out how much punishment these cloud creatures can

    Moaaaaahhh!

    Rems arrow and Yamajuns bolt of light each struck a different cloud creature. And as they did, the creatures let out low-pitched, sort of pathetic sounding groans as they copsed.

    Wait, theyre weak?

    Lets round up some kills

    After Yamajuns second shot, go for it!

    I put down Rotten Bog behind us while casting support for the vanguard duo. I also had Rem switch out to Nonomiyasnce and join them.

    Now, GO

    We finished off the cluster of cloud creatures in a matter of minutes.

    They didnt heal if damaged, couldnt revive when killed, and hadnt shown any ability to get super strong or fast after a certain point. They were simply defeated, nothing more or less.

    They really were weak. Weaker than skeles

    Their slow, dawdling gait made them seem like matango but without the poison. Like, <i>I</i> could beat them in melee, and thats saying something. They were by far the weakest monsters Id ever seen in the whole dungeon.

    Fuck, not one damn core drop

    Not really unexpected, these things are weak as kittens

    Literally too weak, my dudes

    We hadnt sustained a single scratch, but then again, hadnt attained anything either. We couldnt hope to get any level up bonuses beating these either, it just felt like a waste of effort.

    Wait, what if we somehow arrived at a noob zone of the dungeon?

    Thats what I began thinking as we monotonously BTFOd the asional collection of cloud creaturesing our way as we carried on walking.

    Well, <i>this</i> doesnt look suspicious at all

    We arrived at arge hall made with the same fluffy cloud stuff on its walls But inside, it was filled with this pink smoke.

    Id seen a bit of fog in the basilisk''s acidic swamp zone, and wed seen it for days in the goma jungle zone, and every time, it looked like naturally urring fog. Meanwhile, this not so thick, but clearly pink substance in the air was in no way not suspicious.

    Oi, what <i>is</i> this even

    Its gotta be something every time

    Hmm, doesnt stink at least, seems alright dudes

    Ah, retard! Whyre ya smelling that shit!

    I couldnt believe my eyes, those three idiots just waltzed in there.

    Come back!

    Dont be such a wuss man

    Yeaah, this pink stuffs got nothing on us

    Momokawa, dude, chill a bit

    It apparently didnt smell, and the trio seem to be fine walking inside. Im just d it wasnt some instant kill smog like the stuff that basilisk released.

    You three would be dead if this was poison gas. Even if you dont feel anything now, this might be the slow-acting kind. You never know right? It just might. Ahh, Im so sorry, I dont have any meds for this. Youll probably die very painfully in the next half day or so, so Ill hear out anyst requests if you have them

    Haah, quit that bs

    You trynna give us a lil scare?

    Maybe you forgot, I have a little thing called Intuition Pharmacy

    AH!!

    Eh, wait no, really?

    Haah I dont think itll help, but you wanna have some antidote anyway?

    Oh, no dude, Momokawa, dude, youre, kidding right?

    I am

    You little fuck!

    Fuck you, Momokawa!

    DUDE, I thought I was gonna DIE!!

    Yeah, sorry I lied, but please try not stepping inside weird smoke from now on, alright? If its some new kind of trap, well all be done for

    And so, after convincing those three to not rush in blind, we stopped and started thinking on how to make it through the pink.

    So, youre sure this fog isnt poisonous, right Momokawa-kun?

    Donno, quite honestly. Intuition Pharmacy isnt reacting and well, those guys just proved that its at least not the fast acting sort

    Now, what ever to do. My lie could actually be a truth and it might just be slow-acting poison gas, but I didnt buy it. It wasnt Intuition Pharmacy telling me, but my in old intuition.

    That said, I couldnt believe itd be just harmless, colored fog. It might not directly cause death, but could have any number of other effects on us.

    At times like this, Id really appreciate if we had Takanashi Kotori, the Sages, Mana Analysis skill. That really was the better version of my Intuition Pharmacy, wasnt it? If the thing had mana, whether it be spells, items, or even phenomena, she could get all the info she wanted.

    Im actually more worried about any monsters that could be hiding inside than what the fog itself might do

    True, I cant see that far inside, its thick

    Shimokawa-kun, can you?

    I can only see through the one my magic makes, dudes

    Well, cant say I didnt try.

    This ce looks too risky, you guys want to try another way?

    No, I kind of feel like every path in this zone will lead to a ce like this

    Ok So we go in?

    Hmm, I really dont want to jump in without any n first. Although, speaking of other things we could try

    I got it, we can send in Rem to scout

    Sounds good, nice idea, Momokawa-kun

    No, cmon dont tter me so. Actually, you could even me me for being slow in the head and not thinking of this first.

    That aside, in addition to being immune to poisons, it didnt matter if Rem died physically, so she was perfect for this sort of job.

    Go for it, Rem

    GUGAGA!

    And once she dashed away inside, we endured the task of waiting, for a whole minute.

    GUGAGA!

    Wow, back so fast

    I had no reason to doubt Rems diligence, which just meant that the hall wasnt all that much inside.

    Is there a way out?

    GAGA

    She nodded and made a circle with her hand, the sign for yes.

    Only one?

    GA

    She shook her head and made an X. There was 2 or more exits, meaning multiple paths could be merging here.

    Fork in two?

    GA

    Three?

    GAGA

    Any obelisk or object of interest?

    GA

    Any trees or cover that monsters could hide in?

    GA

    Nothing at all?

    GAGA

    Is it bigger than a forest dome?

    GA

    Less than a dome, but double a fairy square?

    GAGA

    You see any boss rooms ahead of the three exits?

    GA

    Ok, got it. Thanks a bunch, Rem, attagirl

    I gently stroked her skull top while summarizing the earlier conversation.

    Were gonna find exits on 3 directions after we enter, theres nothing of note inside, and it shouldnt be a big deal I think we should go for it

    No one seemed particrly opposed.

    I decided our current destination to be the exit opposite to where we were. We should reach it by just walking straight.

    Just for extra reassurance, I had Rem go and make sure. Yup, we just had to walk in a straight line.

    Okay, since I said its fine, Ill go in first

    Are you sure, Momokawa-kun? You might get attacked suddenly, so maybe we should start with Yamada

    No its fine. I know youre all feeling nervous. Besides, I trust Rem

    I imed, as I straddled Raptor, leaving the worried looking Yamajun, and the fidgeting-as-they-await-their-turn others, behind.

    Since Im on Raptor, I wont lose my way or stray from the straight path. As for Rem, itd be her third time going, so there was one more assurance.

    Aand were here literally, nothing happened

    GUGA, GAGAGA

    Rem nodded vigorously to that. Now the three of us, Rem, Raptor and I, had safely traversed across the pink room.

    I figured they could alle over together, but we <i>did</i> say wed go in turns, so lets stick to that. I couldnt be sure there wasnt a trap that triggered if there was two or more of us going at once.

    He~y! whoevers next, you can go ahea~d!

    It felt like I was calling the next in line to a rickety old rope bridge. The distance wasnt very big, so they should hear me if I shout.

    Got i~t! Im ne~xt!

    The reply was from Ueda. Now that he knew Id crossed over safely, his voice didnt hint to any nervousness.

    He was, taking a while. The path shouldve been a straight line, but Ueda still hadnt arrived.

    I confirmed on my G-Shock watch that wed gone past a whole minute already. Strange, this was too strange. The path across wasnt any more than 50 meters.

    There was a trap, <i>something</i> happened. But I couldnt hear anything indicative of that. Dammit, Ill call him myself then.

    Ueda-ku~n! You alri~ght?!

    Got i~t!

    In spite of my worry, hed responded immediately. He didnt sound particrly in trouble; hed replied normally, like the first time.

    Did you get lost in there?

    Got i~t!

    Alright, but Ill send in Rem to get you, wait where you are, kay?

    Got i~t! Im ne~xt!

    My spine instantly froze over. That wasnt Ueda talking!

    The voice was just like his, but he kept saying the same thing. The exact same thing, in fact, that he said in reply to my first call. It was as if, his voice had been recorded and yed back

    Shit! Rem, we gotta go!

    I got on Raptor again and went back inside the pink room. Maybe Ueda <i>was</i> attacked by a well hidden monster.

    Id gone in ready for the fight of my life but

    What the!? Th-theres no one here!?

    Id made it back to the passage I started at. And no one, none of the people who were supposed to be waiting their turn were there.

    Why, how did they HE~Y! GUYS! ANYONE!!

    My yelling only echoed on the walls, uselessly.

    But there was one thing. As if it was reacting to my voice, all the pink gas in the hall dispersed.

    Shit, shit, weve been had No ones there anymore

    The fog gone, I could confirm with my own eyes that the room was exactly as Rem said. I could confirm that there wasnt any form of cover, so my party wasnt hidden anywhere in therge hall either. The ce was empty.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 135: The Merciless Fog Trap

    Chapter 135: The Merciless Fog Trap

    All myrades had suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared, basically like a suspense horror, but this was no time to whine or worry. What I needed to do was take fast and decisive action.

    Fuuuh, okay rx slong as its not a pitfall or teleport trap, they shouldnt have wandered far

    Itd be hard to reach them if they somehow fell into a pit leading them to a lower floor, not to mention a teleport would make their locationpletely indeterminable. So Ill just not think about those possibilities.

    That would leave other possibilities such as, like with me and the arachne, they couldve been kidnapped by some monster, fallen into some kind of illusion or hypnosis, or simply wandered off with their own two feet.

    I mean, that pink gas reeealy gave the impression that itd make you see things.

    They either went back from where we came, or took one of these forks

    There was always the possibility that they sensed some great danger and left me as a decoy while they ran to save their skins, but I kind of felt like that wasnt what happened.

    This was nothing like that intense trust towards their friends that shonen manga MCs tend to show. There was a clear trap here, this pink smog, and whoever designed it wouldnt let the people who showed up simply escape it.

    And then the fog cleared away since the foolish prey did in fact fall for the trap. The trap had worked and that is what mattered.

    I was fine because well, I had my handy dandy Venomic Vessel skill.

    Lets start from the right

    GUGAGA!

    Yeah yeah going solo was a bad idea, but Id done it a few times. Everyone was missing, and the merit of finding them outweighed the risks of searching.

    I steered Raptor into therge hall now cleared of fog, and went into the right hand path.

    The passage was fluffy as usual, no different from the stuff weve been seeing throughout the zone.

    MOAAHHH!

    Outta the way!

    There was the ational cloud creature blocking our path, but Raptor just trampled them over as I continued to search, for a while.

    Shit, whys this ce so big

    Actually, this was my first time not following thepass, and blindly looking for someone in an area. I had experience scouting out the areas around a fairy square or a boss room, but nothing like this.

    Its at times like these that you realize the importance of mapping .

    There were no peculiarities to any of the walls, this cloud zone was insanely easy to get lost in. So before I really did get lost in here, I started scratching down the path in my notebook. I was not about to let myself get lost too.

    Guess this is it, I should go back and follow the left path

    I did sort of have disasterous luck, so I thought Id picked the wrong path and wasted time, and was about to go back when,

    ! Ahh~

    I heard it, a voice.

    Rem, you hear that?

    Khruu!

    Oh, so you got the better ears then, Raptor

    Id discovered something unexpected, so, I relied on Raptors hearing that was clearly better than mine, and tracked the voice to its origin.

    It was still faint, but wed definitely hit upon someones whereabouts. Finding them after that was easy.

    Its here

    It was a room like any other, an empty room with one entrance. From inside I could hear a mans moaning, wait It was Ueda.

    The voice wasnt screaming, so I doubted that he was being gruesomely tortured or eaten alive by goma. From the tone, I suspected that he was in a situation simr to mine when Id been cocooned by the arachne and struggled to escape.

    Also, other than Uedas moaning, I could hear no cries of foot steps of a monster thought to have assaulted him, so they shouldnt be more than a couple of them if theyre even there.

    I checked my surroundings again so I dont end up getting ambushed.

    Now, I just hoped that this Ueda wasnt a fake or illusion.

    Gotta do it

    Rem and Raptor nodded. Theres three of us, so we would likely be able to quickly subdue the monster, I hoped.

    Please dont let there be an arachne-tier or higher mid-boss inside, I prayed as I charged in.

    Eat this! ckhair Bi

    SAKURAA! SAKURAAAH! AAAAAHHHHHH!

    And there he was, screaming out butt-naked.

    What the even how in the. Id seen a lot of bizarre things in the dungeon, but nothing this hard to swallow.

    Ok, calm, calm as an ocean, lets take this at face value for now.

    Ueda, check. Screaming Souma Sakuras name for some reason, check. Naked, check.

    This is where Id stopped thinking at first, but this should be a mental condition brought about by the trap so I considered the situation seriously.

    The depraved figure of Ueda was on all fours in the middle of the room, moving vigorously. Especially at the hips This would normally lead me to the conclusion of him beating the meat, but just below him, I could see this extra fluffy, humanoid form. A cloud creature.

    There was this one little, tiny chance that he pushed down and subjugated this weak monster. But I should think this more as the creature seducing him somehow.

    Ah! I see, so it was a honey-trap

    This was the most logical conclusion I coulde up with given the whole picture.

    That pink gas put a sort of suggestion into the targets mind, and this made those whod fallen for it see the cloud creature as someone they liked, or someone they found the sexiest, the end result being vo.

    I couldnt tell exactly what would happen to them were they to continue being under the lustful spell, but it wont be anything good. Could be like, the cloud creatures were sucking their mana out, or something.

    Aside from that, what if Id fallen into this myself? Maybe Id have this sort of experience with the illusion of Mei-chan or Randou-san. Im sure that if at some point down the line, Im dying with no hope for survival, Id be regretting not dying this way with every fiber of my being. Cant a boy dream of boobie harem heaven

    Curse you Ueda, hogging the fun stuff Eat this, ckhair Bind!

    And die you, fake cloud Souma Sakura creature! ORA! DIE SAKURA!!

    I was cursing inpletely and utterly personal feelings, something Ruinhilde-sama was likely to scold me for, and used ckhair bind to restrain Ueda, swipe away the cloud creature, and had Rem finish it off without a moments dy.

    The nude Ueda listlessly fell as I released my bindings on his arms and legs, which is the same time when Rem decapitated the cloud created with one sweep of her knife.

    Moaaahhh

    Making a low, airy sound, the creature deted like a balloon and disappeared.

    Now then, the main issue now was if Ueda, who Id forcefully pulled away, would wake up properly. I was pretty mad, and really yanked him with all I had, but there was a chance that this was the type where if the hypnotized person woke up in the middle, they wouldnt be able to distinguish reality from dream. If this honeytrap turns out to be like that, my actions may just have resulted in indirectly killing the guy.

    Oi, Ueda! Rise and shine!

    Nnh, uu S-Sakura?

    No ya retard! Do I look like the hottest girl in ss to you!? Rise and shine already!

    Ha-!? W-wait, Momokawa!? Why the fuck are you here, whered my lovely Sakura go?

    Phew, that actually worked. This hypnosis was the type that came off after a few ps to the face.

    Ueda-kun, you got tricked by the dungeon, what you were seeing was an illusion

    E, Illusion? D-dont lie to me, I was doing it with

    With Souma Sakura?

    Uh! I, I was uh Uhm, yeah well Okay, haha, yeah, a dream, it was, just a dream

    Shit man, Ive never seen anyone look so, dead.

    It was probably not as funny to him. If I had some kind of Futaba-Randou fun time myself, I wouldve undoubtedly cried, even begged, to have that dreamst just a bit longer. Ueda had epted reality rtively fast, so I didnt have much right toin.

    Anyway, you can do your depression and exin what happened after you get some clothes on, alright?

    Woah! Oh, yeah, sure thing, sorry

    And to make matters worse, he was now quickly gathering his uniform and undies that were scattered about. Looking at that, I just felt sad.

    Thats what I know, so everyone else should be caught in this kind of trap too, or more like, catching some, if you get my drift

    Momokawa, I dont really need the dirty jokes right now

    And together with depressed Ueda, we set off on the search.

    Ueda being here meant that they hadnt gone that far away. The cloud creatures probably lured them an appropriate distance away after theyd been hypnotized.

    And knowing that they should be close by made for good motivation too. While following and updating my handmade area map, we slowly extended our breadth of search.

    Oh, I hear someone. This should be, Nakai

    Though not as sharp as Thieves, a Swordsman like Ueda also possessed strong senses. His hearing was apparently better than Raptors.

    This way

    Following after Ueda for a while, I could now hear it too.

    UOOOHHHH!! Asunaaa!! Im gonna cum inside!

    Fumu, it appears that Nakais girl of choice was Kenzaki Asuna. Just what did he see in that crazy sword bitch anyway?

    Looks like hes close to the climax, so you wanna let him finish?

    That kindness will only backfire on him, Momokawa

    What, are you jealous cause you didnt get to finish?

    You trynna pick a fight!?

    My dirty joke finishers left Ueda agonizing while holding his head. Yeah fuck you. I didnt even get one second of those dreams.

    OAAHHH, CUM, CUMMINGGG!! Im cu

    Okkey, ckhair Bind~

    Now go, Swordsman Ueda. Finish off that cloud creature ying as Kenzaki Asuna, kill her.

    Heh, heheh Youre kidding, man Wheres the hidden camera

    Like Ueda just now, after we force dispelled his hypnosis, Nakai tried denying reality, and looked deted, dead in the eyes.

    Nakai-kun, we arent lying to you, sadly

    Ora Nakai, snap outta it, ya fag

    Shit, fucking shit Why dammit I, I was serious too, me and Asuna, we were gonna be

    Cmon man, enough of that, get your clothes on

    Uhuuu

    While crying like a little bitch, Nakai gathered his, also simrly, scattered about clothes and put them on.

    Seriously, stop with the beta orbiting around a girl like Yamada. As a third party, it just feels like a pain in the keister.

    No, I should at least try to have a little more sympathy.

    I see, so it wasnt just the sex, you had a whole scene y out for you

    I asked Ueda and Nakai to exin what theyd experienced in detail.

    First, right after Id gone ahead through therge hall, the pink gas filled the whole ce all the way to the exit passages. The gas was thick, and they couldnt see anything or anyone. They then started hearing sounds of monsters from every direction.

    Panicking, they simply ran, and basically, everyone got separated.

    Then, when I was like, Oh man, Im in some deep shit now

    I saw Asu-, K-Kenzakiing from the other side of the passage real hurt

    For me it was Sakura-chan

    Thats when the real act started.

    The girl theyd been crushing on had chanced upon them and the two started their shattered and tragic new lives with their new partners.

    The fake Sakura and the fake Asuna that Ueda and Nakai saw respectively, both said that her whole party had been eliminated and she was the only one who escaped with her life. Im alone, help me please, youre the only one I can rely on! They begged, tugged at the guys heartstrings, and transition to bed scene

    I think you only see loose, desperate women like that in Hollywood movies

    Sock it Momokawa, you dont even know how it feels!

    Yeah, I even fucking swore that Id protect Asuna with my life!

    Dont you think it was too easy

    It was, alright!

    It was, yeah, but cmon man

    No, sorry about that. I can kinda sympathize. I cant say Id be able to take it as well as youre doing if I experienced that kind of situation

    Still, this hypnotism was oddly powerful. I cant imagine the cloud creatures being smart enough to pull it off, so they could be using our memories Like, self-suggestion? You imagine a good enough reason to sleep with your girl, and no matter how convenient the situation is, you wont feel anything off, or notice it in the middle. Actually, you probably wont want to notice, you wont want to ept the sweet, sweet dream as a dream and wake up.

    Which could mean that the pink gas, rather than being like an hallucinogenic drug, it was more a form of telepathy inducer.

    Mmyeah, we got magic and curses, so adding telepathy to the list doesnt sound off bounds at all.

    Wait, wont that mean that when Takanashi Kotori, the Sage, saw into our real Jobs, it wasnt actually like she was looking at our status screens like in an RPG but actually reading our thoughts with some sort of telepathy?

    Even if she wasnt, a Sage sounded like itd have no problem having a telepathy skill or two. She couldve been reading everyones minds without anyone noticing I dismissed her as a scared little wimp, but I should be more careful the next time we meet.

    Actually, speaking of whom

    So. Shimokawa-kun is probably with

    Yeah, you guessed it, Takanashi-san

    Totes

    Now three, we heard traces of Shimokawas voice after another 15 minutes of searching.

    Haah, haah K-Kotori-chan, we cant, we really, oh dude, oh, ohhhh!!

    I was getting tired of this already. I didnt want to hear any more dude moans. Like seriously, stop with the solo male porn already.

    Momokawa, lets do him mercy

    Well do it

    Ok, I leave it to you two

    In all honesty, this sort of work of trying to manage a manic and naked young man was difficult, dirty and dangerous, 3 Ds I want to divert away from. If they want to switch with me, they can be my guest. Shimokawa-kun, you have such nice friends whod go to these lengths for you. Im jealous, no really.

    That actually kind of sounds like something Higuchi would say. Anyway, we got the totem-pole trio back.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 136: Dream Come True

    Chapter 136: Dream Come True

    Th-this is Im not

    We returned to the room with the gas traps, and after attempting to search the left-hand side passage, we soon found Yamada.

    No, really Please, keep this a secret, from Reina-chan

    Right, no problem. You can rest assured that I wont tell her about youmitting illicit acts with elementary school girls

    Wed found defendant Yamada surrounded by multiple cloud creatures,

    UOHHH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GIRLS ARE THE BEEEST!!

    He shouted, clearly deranged, and we quickly subdued him. Upon further investigation, the used made such ims as, I dont really remember, and even started to repeat nonsensical gibberish such as, Im their onii-chan and theyre all my cute little sisters after all, his pedophilia, lolitaplex, was quite chronic it seemed.

    That was expected though.

    Now we just need to get Yamajun and Ayase-san

    Yamada looked dead in the eyes as he listlessly followed us in our search.

    So many forks

    Looks easy to get lost in

    Do we split up?

    No, we might get into more traps if we go separately. I know this is slower, but we have to stick together here

    We hadnt had any pitfalls yet, but I shouldnt be so sure about finding everyone so easily. Like, what if we find Reina next, but then Yamajun is missing? I wasnt sure I could manage the party without him. As he was a pivotal member of the party as well as a good friend, it was essential we find Yamajun.

    Maybe my honest-to-goodness feelings reached him, as we quickly got a lead.

    I can hear Yamajun!

    Oi, Where?

    Wait, shut up a bit This way, lets go!

    Uedas acute hearing picked up on Yamajuns voice, and we headed in that direction immediately. Everyone here liked Yamajun, hed been a good friend and all-around nice guy to all of us in ss and in the dungeon. We were a lot more serious about finding him than we were for Yamada.

    We quickly checked the surroundings before entering the target room, and deeming it safe, we entered promptly. It was the 5th time already, I was used to it.

    There we saw, as expected, Yamajun was lying on the floor together with a cloud creature.

    M, mmm We, we cant, no No, its just that, Ive always

    H-holy fuck, Yamajun still has his clothes on

    That guys legit got balls of steel

    A dude among dudes

    Unlike them whod been yelling and swinging their hips like dogs in heat, Yamajun, though a bit disheveled, was still in his uniform, and it only looked like he was lying in bed with the creature.

    I was pretty astonished to say the least. Yamajun was a guy too, he shouldve been the same as us hormonal teenagers, but he was actually resisting the blissful temptation that the cloud creature was showing him. Amazing willpower. Or perhaps, this girl he was seeing was someone he was very hesitant to defile.

    Anyway, I was in deep admiration of his psychological duress.

    Yamajun, well save you now!

    I swiped the evil creature away at once using ckhair Bind, and the totem-pole trio, along with Yamada, gave it a severe beat down in spiteful anger. It was overkill yes, but this was its just desserts forying a hand on our Yamajun.

    Ok, rescueplete.

    Nnh, uuh

    Ah! You alright there?

    No, sorry, I cant take it anymore, I Love you, I love you so much!

    Yamajun suddenly made a heated confession of love, as he embraced me.

    Uwaaah!? Hey, you guys, Yamajuns still not out of it! Help!

    Oi, get a hold of yourself!

    Wake up man!

    Thats no dudette, thats Momokawa!

    I was THIS close to get my second kiss from a guy before everyone could drag Yamajun off me.

    That was close, Id thought that wed get him back since we beat the cloud creature already, but since it was a dream-like hypnosis, there was a chance that hed still be confused right after waking up. I hadnt considered that.

    Yamajun, howre you feeling?

    Eh, ah Momokawa-kun Whats

    Yamajun looked listless as he returned to sanity and for the 5th time, I exined the hypnosis trap.

    Ah, oh, thats Im, so sorry Momokawa-kun, I Uuuhh

    Eh, no, hey, dont cry. It happened to all of us, dont worry so much

    Thats right Yamajun, you did great

    Yeah, he was the only one who wasnt already fucking when we found him

    Heheh, whos the girl, you can tell us, dude

    I, dont think it matters Me, I was even, kuh

    We all pitched in, giving him our own words of constion. It was surprising seeing this guy actually cry, but no matter, he soon straightened himself up.

    Sorry, I gave you guys so much trouble. Im fine now

    Yamajun put on his usual gentle smile and stood up.

    Ok, thats everyone, lets get out of this ce

    Oi Momokawa

    Whatrya doing forgetting Reina-chan?

    Dude, youre doing that on purpose, right?

    After that masterful trifecta of retorts from the totem-pole trio, I reluctantly got ready to search for Reina too.

    Guys wait, if Reina-chans in this trap too

    Eh! Oi, oi oi, you dont mean?

    Oh ho ho man, can we legit? Its like a live porno, right?

    O-OI! You fags better not look! I mean it!?

    Boys please, leave the lewd fantasizing to your private time.

    Like really, havent you guys had enough sex time already? Give me some of that goodness too, I want the big titty harem experience!

    Well, if Reina is naked when we find her, its best if you put your jersey on her or something, Yamajun

    Eh, why me?

    Youre the best choice we have

    If our only girl in the party, Reina, had fallen under the same mind control, shed definitely be with someone she liked. That someone definitely being Souma-kun.

    Sure she looked like an elementary schooler, but she was a proper girl of age, well, she was our age. If Souma-kun were to strongly reciprocate her feelings, well, theyd do it. There was a big chance wed find quite the sight once we get to her.

    I personally would like to use my phone, it was turned off and was probably low on batteries, to take a video and use it as ckmail material forter, but I dont think thats a good idea.

    Oi, cmon, Momokawa, cant we look a little bit though?

    Like, as a side benefit to finding her? identally, yknow?

    Like, dude cant be helped if he makes a mistake?

    Imma kill you fags!

    No, I get what you mean guys. As for Yamada whose pants were reacting even as he tried to denied their desires, I dont even want to know.

    Yeah no, I think its better for all of us if we dont see her sex scene

    Why the fuck not?

    Have a heart man

    Seriously dude

    Whats wrong with you! Itll be by ident, it cant be helped!

    Oi Yamada, you cut the crap. I wouldnt care if you were alone and tried to assault Reina after seeing her in her birthday suit, but WE will have to stop you, wont we? Stop being a pain.

    Listen, if Reina gets shocked after finding out that we saw her naked, were all gonna get barb-a-cued by Engard

    Everyone went silent. Of course they did. They wouldnt risk seeing a naked girl if it meant turning into roast chicken.

    So we need to take the utmost precaution when were going in to rescue her. Agreed?

    They all agreed, and we set out on finding her whereabouts.

    After a while, we realized that we couldnt find her no matter how long we searched the area connected to the left hand path.

    So shed most likely gone through the center, I guess?

    By the time I noticed the problem and ran back, Reina was likely already walking along the central path. We might have even passed by each other unnoticed.

    I was honestly hoping she stayed missing like this, but the others looked like they were genuinely worried. But wed searched all we could in this area, and found nothing. We had to look for another way.

    Damn, Dammit cant find her Reina-chan, where are you?

    Yamada whined in a hopeless tone. Wed been at it for a while now, no leads.

    Shit man, I cant hear anything

    Cant she be out of your range?

    Wait, what if she got teleported Itll be impossible dudes

    Shimokawa had a point, there was a non-zero chance that Reina got herself wrapped up in a teleport. This dungeon did in fact have transfer points other than inside boss rooms. For example, the sacrifice portal device that Higuchi tried to use, there had to be more like that. I bet there were teleport traps lying around somewhere or other.

    Look there, I think thats a fairy square. We should rest up for a bit

    After walking a while through the front facing path, we could see a door to a fairy square.

    Wed been walking for ages, and our mental fatigue had surely built up from how we hadnt made any progress towards Reina. Everyone readily agreed to resting.

    We walked tiredly, as if the fatigue had caught up to us, and stepped inside the square.

    Mm, Yuu-kun, I love you too

    Reina, was there.

    We couldnt see the fountain from outside the entrance, and they were right beside it. A cloud creature was there, holding Reina in a tight embrace as if she was being buried in its fluffy body.

    Her uniform was on. Her clothes werent even disheveled. She was smiling innocently like a child being hugged by her mother.

    Reina-chan!

    Yamada and the trio shouted almost simultaneously.

    She was under its spell. Even without me asking, they would quickly run to their precious princess, and unleash their rageful de into the insipid cloud creature  or not.

    Ah, you boys Why, are you here?

    Reina, noticed us.

    Obviously she would since these guys had shouted out her name so loud. But that wasnt normal.

    Reina was currently under the cloud creatures hypnosis, having a sweet reunion with her beloved Souma-kun, so there was no way our words would reach her ears.

    Something was wrong.

    But I seemed to be the only one noticing the discrepancy, the guys who leaped into action in order to save her just answered normally.

    Reina-chan, were here to save you!

    Well fuck up that cloud mofo!

    That dudes not the real Souma Yuuto!

    Yelled the totem-pole trio, followed by Yamada who screamed,

    UOOHHHHH!! ILL SAVE YOU REINA-CHAN!!

    Countering that, Reina replied,

    No, no NOO!!

    Utter rejection. As if, we were terrible monsters who came to ruin her happiness. She screamed in tears as she buried her face into the cloud creatures chest.

    No, dont, I dont wanna! Get away, Im with my Yuu-kun!

    Wh-what are you saying, Reina-chan!?

    Thats a fake over there!

    Dudes, she might be in hypnosis again

    Got it, Ill just fucking kill him

    I wonder, was she really? Couldnt she be doing this fully aware?

    I cant imagine Reina of all people being thankful to us if we separated her from that thing.

    Im sure she thought of us as a bunch of loud and obnoxious boys prancing around her for no reason. She literally had no idea how much we were helping her, being careful not to offend her, and basically protecting her.

    Im with Yuu-kun now! Isnt that fine? Why why do you keep getting in my way!

    The moment I heard that, I felt like Id finally understood this girl called Reina A. Ayase.

    Reina didnt mean any harm. She wasnt the type of scum that trampled on other peoples kindness.

    She was simply, too pure, her heart, too child-like.

    Like how a child wouldnt understand the troubles of their parents. Children in general, basically just didnt understand an adult mindset. Kids had their own sense of value, of good and bad.

    In that sense, seeing as how she hadnt a need once she was with her Souma-kun, it was kind of sad that theyd gotten separated for so long. Basically, if crying and screaming got her to keep being with Souma-kun, that was good enough for her.

    But no matter how big or small her feelings on the matter were, this cruel isekai dungeon wouldnt just let that happen. In reality, her and Souma-kun had been ced separately from the start. That was reality and no matter how she begged or cried, that reality wouldnt change.

    No, I wont leave Yuu-kun ever! I hate you, I hate everyone who wants to take Yuu-kun away from me! Save me, Yuu-kun! Please protect me, dont go away!

    No really, I told you, your feelings wont reach that thing, shouting wont make it real. Souma-kun isnt here.

    Sure Reina, Ill protect you

    But then I heard it, Souma-kuns voice.

    Impossible, dont tell me he actually transferred over, at this perfect timing no less No, theres always a huge sh of light when that happens in a fairy square.

    Nothing like that happened. No one hade. But then,

    Yuu-kun!

    Ill, never go away, Reina I promise

    Mm, promise, Yuu-kun!

    Thank you, Reina that binds us in promise (contract)

    It was the cloud creature, it spoke.

    The thing slowly stood up, Reina still in its embrace. It was like its fluffy body was a costume of some sort, and the real Souma-kun was inside with how fluently it spoke with the same voice as the guy.

    Wh-what the hell, are you

    Towards my strained question, it continued boldly,

    I am Souma Yuuto Protector of Reina, Guardian Beast SOUMA YUUTO

    Instanly, the white cloud body burst.

    And from inside, it, he appeared, looking like an exact mirror image of Souma Yuuto.

    ===

    TN: Scallop

 Chapter 137: SOUMA YUUTO

    Chapter 137: SOUMA YUUTO

    Oioi, no fucking way!?

    The flying fuck is this!?

    Are my eyes fucking with me? Tell me Im not seeing Souma over there

    He looked the very image of Souma Yuuto. To the level that if you told me the hero extraordinaire suddenly teleported inside the cloud creature and literally burst out from inside, Id actually believe it.

    But the entity himself had announced otherwise.

    Guardian beast: SOUMA YUUTO.

    What I wont believe though is that there already existed a guardian with a perfectly coincidental perfect matching name. The most likely possibility is

    Dont get distracted guys. I think, hes something that cloud creature evolved to

    E-evolved? What, do you mean by that, Momokawa-kun?

    I mean that when that thing tried to attack Reina, she turned the tables by taking control of it with some Spirit Master power. Maybe with a skill to dominate monsters and another to make them evolve, she used both in tandem to create a fake Souma-kun as one of her guardian beasts

    That was all conjecture, but that was the only conclusion I could draw from my observations. Whether my hypothesis is right, or it just so happened that her patron god stepped in to save her with a miracle, the reality of the matter wouldnt change.

    It looked like an exact duplicate of Souma-kun, but on the inside, it should still be the same cloud creature. We didnt have to have any qualms about defeating it. I didnt know how far gone Reina was under its hypnotism, but we should first kill it, and then try to get Reina to rights.

    We gotta beat that fake SOUMA now! That things not human, its definitely a monster

    Hell yeah, you got it, Momokawa!

    Heh, guess itll make up for all the shit the real Souma put us through

    That fakers dead meat, dudes

    UOOOH! Ill beat Souma, and win over Reina-chan!!

    Nice, it was looking like everyone was on board. If the thing had transformed into one of the cute girls from ss, I dont think these guys would be so pumped up about it Sorry, Souma-kun. Looks like we wont have a problem kicking your ass.

    Go! ckhair Bind!!

    I wasnt going to underestimate it just because it could be called the weakest of the bunch. The cloud creature had now been evolved via Reinas spirit mastery. We had yet to see how much stronger itd be.

    Therefore, I didnt just leave it all to the vanguards, and properly added ckhair Bind as a measure of support.

    I directed my ckhair tentacles to swiftly crawl like snakes in an attempt to immobilize SOUMA YUUTO, who stood there gantly with Reina behind him.

    Ok, I got both his ankles.

    With that timing, Ueda, Nakai and Yamada used their experience from all our group battles to pincer him from 3 directions.

    He was done for  was what Id hoped.

    GAh!?

    Yelled the three in pain as they were sent flying.

    SHHHAA!

    GUGAAA!!

    Not missing a beat, Raptor and Rem also went for it under mymand Meeting the same result.

    He dodged Rems spear tip in a flowing motion almost like the real Souma-kun would, and delivered a punch as counter. While at the same time, he used one of his sturdy legs to precisely kick Raptor across the sr plexus as it had leaped high and came at him from above.

    Yes, legs. By the time I noticed, the ckhair binds around his ankles had beenpletely shredded.

    Fucking bastard, eat this!

    As SOUMA was about to continue attacking our felled members, Shimokawa and Yamajun fired spells as deterrence.

    The urate shots of water and light element bolts, literally disappeared right before they hit.

    Tch, so this guys the wind guardian

    Both when our melees got blown off and when the arrow spells were nullified, if I wasnt seeing things, Im positive I saw light emerald wind like thing around him.

    That green wind looked identical to the spells used by Nishiyama-san, the Aeromancer.

    Wed thought that SOUMA YUUTO was weak since he wasnt using a sword, but he in fact had a powerful weapon called aeromancy.

    I will end, anyone, who goes against Reina

    The new guardian, who said dark things despite wearing Souma-kuns refreshing smile, now had mildly glowing emerald green gusts surging around him.

    Oi oi, this guys he bad news!

    Wh-whudo we do! We cant handle this thing!?

    Damn, fuck you, fuck you Soumaaa!

    Our three vanguards who had been sted off hadnt actually taken much damage and were now standing. Raptor and Rem also werent broken, and quickly got back into battle formation.

    SOUMA was admittedly strong as an aeromancer But our difference in strength wasnt absolute, he wasnt able to kill everyone in one strike.

    That in mind, we had to defeat him now by all means. Reina already had those dumb animals, Engard and Ramdane, looking out so she didnt so much as scratch a finger nail. So if she then got another one, one that actually spoke, I could see it as nothing but more trouble.

    Most importantly, this SOUMA YUUTO had taken the form of Souma Yuuto, meaning that Reina, who was already delusional, was now on a one way ticket tond. Give me a break already. I finally got this shitty NEET working at the goma fortress capture and now this.

    I had my issues with her, but we still needed Reinas power from here on out No, wait a second.

    Everyone, stand down! Retreat!

    This time, I wasnt running away while yelling retreat. As themander, I needed to be at least the 2nd one to run. I could say I learned from the battle with the Orthus.

    Retreat now?

    You sure?

    Oi, Momokawa! Now aint the time!

    Ueda and Nakai quickly backed off, they didnt want to challenge a guardian beast if they didnt have to. As for Yamada, he was yelling like an idiot again, but even he wasnt bold enough to do this alone, so now changed his focus to defense.

    Shimokawa, who had finished chanting his next spell, exhaled to calm down. Naturally, Yamajun too had lowered his hands.

    Ok, for now, we hadnt gone with the flow and entered battle. We were now at a position to initiate talks.

    Reina! We mean you no harm! Well leave right now!

    Right, we were having the talk about parting ways with Reina.

    Oi, Momokawa, what the hell are you

    Guys, look, I know you haveints, but we need to back off for now. Were not gonna get off easy if we fight here

    I knew that they, especially Yamada, wouldnt agree to my choice of separating with Reina, but I spoke first to shut them up. These guys shouldve realized too. That if we fought here, wed most likely be the ones to end up dead.

    Come on, man!

    Momokawa, dude, we cant just leave her here

    Look, Reina doesnt even want our help right now. If we try to force it, shell get upset, and when she does, shell definitely send in Engard and Ramdane

    Two guardian beast, no, three if we included SOUMA YUUTO. These guys whod been with Reina much longer than I had should know the meaning of taking all of them on at once.

    Right now, Reina wasnt even being held hostage by guardian SOUMA. She was willingly by his side. If we tried to meddle, and she got mad, shed have no problem unleashing all her guardians on us.

    Its just for now, lets fall back

    Reina had the overwhelming advantage. Fighting here wouldnt get us anything.

    So for now, well go back, and make a good n to save her Is what Ill have them think right now, while I was actually nning to just give up on her, andter convince them to do the same.

    In the first ce, Reina was very uncooperative and having her stay as a party member gave us more trouble than she was worth. Sure, her strength from the Spirit Master Job was a great merit, but she was a girl whose uselessnesspletely negated her positives.

    Also, she hated me. I was constantly worried if shed suddenly have one of hers bite my head off. My reasoning also included these personal circumstances.

    Starting with Yamada, Reina had been revered in ss as the cutest of little girls, and quite a lot of boys cared so much that theydy down their lives if its to protect her. Thanks to her looks and charm, shed been treated with the utmost care and affection, no matter how uncooperative she tried to be.

    On the other hand, there was me, someone on whom her charms had literally no effect. I simply had nopulsion to keep such a pain in the ass nuisance around.

    Thats right, now was the perfect time to kick Reina A. Ayase out of the party.

    She now had SOUMA YUUTO, an illusion in the guise of the boy she was crushing on, and there was no way shed want to wake up from that sweet little dream of hers with any of our convincing. I didnt know whether she was still under the cloud creatures control, or if she was intentionally manifesting SOUMA, but what I did know was that the girl was absolutely refusing to look at reality.

    At this point, there was nothing else we could do. My guess was that wed somehow have to get the real Souma-kun here to break her out of the spell.

    She would refuse to leave from here, simply because this ce was now a paradise she could spend with Souma Yuuto.

    Yeah, this shit aint worth it

    Ditto, were dead meat if we take her on

    Tactical retreat, dudes

    Great, the totem-pole trio got the message.

    Keeping a cautious eye on guardian SOUMA, Ueda and Nakai, being as close as they had to be as front liners, started slowly edging backwards. Naturally, I also made Rem and Raptor withdraw.

    Damn, Dammit Reina-chan, wait for me, Ill save you soon

    The lump of regret known as Yamada couldnt possibly fight alone seeing as the others had backed off. He also didnt make a fuss and positioned himself to retreat.

    Momokawa-kun, is this alright?

    Yeah, I cant think of anything else

    Yamajun was perhaps, the only one here who realized my intentions. He wasnt looking at Reina as someone we were regretfully leaving behind, but at me, who had made the decision to exile her.

    Yet, even understanding the nature of that cruel action, he didnt stop me. Thanks man, I appreciate it.

    Reina, tell your guardian to back off. Were going away and mean no harm, I promise you we wont bother you anymore

    My chief concern right now was SOUMA, who hadnt shown any sign of switching out of battle mode. Itd be no joke if the moment we turn our backs, were sliced in two by his Aer Sagittas.

    I let Reina know of our intentions so she can withdraw her creature and guarantee us safe passage.

    I mean, she probably didnt want to start a shitshow either, so with the hope that shed actually listen for once

    Lies

    Raising her thin brows, Reina spoke towards me with an expression that was clearly that of anger, yet still could be described as cute.

    Lies, liar Momokawa-kun, you can only lie

    I what now

    I heard her alright. Just that I had no idea what she was talking about.

    You liar, you actually ARE gonna get in my way, arent you!

    What, are you even talking about, why would I be lying to you right n

    You never tell me the truth, not one time!

    I had not a clue why she had chosen now to go shrieking cunt. But her words strangely started to ring true.

    Ah, yeah thats right, Id not once told Reina my true feelings.

    Damn girl, whend you get this sharp.

    I hate liars, you liar, you always trick me, you bulli me, I hate you, IhateyouIhateyou, Momokawa-kun, I-HATE-YOU!

    So fucking what. I told you, you arent going to see me again. Like I give a fuck if you hate me

    Liar! Youll bulli me again, I know it! Just when I, I finally met Yuu-kun again Momokawa-kun, I KNOW you will get it our way!!

    Reina screamed half in tears as her emotions exploded.

    This was honestly bing stupid, Im so done. If she was iming that every word I said were lies, Ill just stop saying them. Were bidding sayonara to this bitch right here anyway. I just need to shut up and leav

    I understand Reina, Ill go kill Momokawa

    WHa!?

    I suddenly felt this electrifying chill all over my body. Was this that so-called bloodlust? Or maybe an after-wave of mana?

    SOUMA YUUTO, that guardian beast had dered his intent to have me dead.

    Momokawa, you hurt Reina

    What, you

    I will not forgive anything that hurts Reina

    SOUMAs casually raised hand had abnormally thick green magical spunk swirling around it.

    Holy mother of, this level of Aer spell will send me to oblivion!

    Wait, just wait, I dont

    I protect Reina Aer Curis Sagitta

    I had no time to get a word in, SOUMA had alreadyunched his powerful de of wind at me,

    Dead, Im so dead.

    Given the awful state of my motor reflexes, I simply couldnt dodge an iing spell after I actually saw iting. No way of blocking it either. I didnt think I had the time to even pop out a single ckhair.

    Ah damn, I shouldve made either Rem or Raptor stay by my side. They were both sent on the offensive so they were a little too far right now.

    I could see them rushing to protect me, but they wont make it with their speed.

    Thats why, at this point, I had no choice but to stay defenseless and let that kill shot hit

    Momokawa-kun!!

    The sound of impact, I dont know if I heard it right as I was pushed away, or when I was rolling on the grass like an idiot.

    But at some point, I was just staring, at the flower of fresh blood blooming just a few feet away.

    Yamajun

    Ugh, Ah Momo, ka

    Blood violently spurt out from Yamajuns body as he copsed.

    YAMAJUN!? HOW, WHY

    Got away. Fine. Ill hit this time

    I could maybe hear SOUMA speaking in a nonchnt tone. I shouldve understood what his words implied, but my head wasnt working, Yamajun was right there, blood drenching him.

    Why, why did he do that.

    Aqua Mist!

    Aside from me whos time seemed to have stopped, everything else was progressing as usual. At some point, I was surrounded in a thick fog, unable to see much of anything.

    Momokawa, get a grip, dude!

    Oi, run for it, boiz!

    Yamada! Fucking run!

    Shimokawa had grabbed me by the forearm and forcefully made me stand.

    Thats when I finally understood that Shimokawa had conjured Eis Mist to aid in our get away.

    The dude really pulled through for us. I was really d, and also, my head, thatd stopped ticking for a while, started working again.

    Yamajuns still breathing! Lift him up on Raptor right now!

    Gotcha, Nakai, legs!

    Roger, go, go, go!

    Though the process couldve been smoother, Raptor had practicallye sliding and crouched down while Ueda and Nakai hurriedly lifted Yamajun onto its back.

    Raptor could carry him much smoother and faster than we could. And the more time we took, the more time SOUMA had to find and kill us.

    Shimokawa-kun, lead the way!

    This way, dudes!

    Following Shimokawa, who was both the caster of this mist and the only one who could see in it, we withdrew as fast as we could from this deadly fairy square.

    I could hear the vwoomphs of aer des rushing by here and there, but it looks like the guardian couldnt see through the fog either, and all his attacks missed by wide margins.

    Spread out, Rotten Bog!

    As ast stop-gap, I put down a Rotten Bog at the door to the square as we ran away with our tails between our legs.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 138: Confession Unmade

    Chapter 138: Confession Unmade

    We quickly made our way to the starting fairy square of this zone.

    Yamajun was hurt bad. I wanted to help him as soon as possible, but we couldnt risk it away from the safety of the square.

    At the time, I performed basic first aid with the salves I had on hand, and to lessen the bleeding, I wrapped him in ckhair. ckhair bind was also useful in carrying him on Raptors back so that he didnt fall.

    And the moment we arrived, I began his treatment. I say that, but Im neither a doctor nor do I have a calling specializing in healing. I cant really do much.

    Gently now

    Sure, careful guys

    Y-Yamajun, stay with us!

    We set him down by the fountain and took off his outer wear. Unbuttoning his gakuran and shirt, I pulled up his blood soaked undershirt.

    Ugh, its bad

    I despaired.

    The wind de had sliced into him from the top of his right shoulder all the way to his left hip. Therge gash kept gushing out blood, tinting him scarlet.

    Can my ointment A really handle something like this? Even if it healed, what if he lost too much blood by then and Ah, fuck it, do now, thinkter!

    I quickly clean the affected area with water, dumped the contents of my bag and grab the desired ointment container. Applying more doesnt necessarily do more, but I wasnt feeling frugal. I practically buried the wound in ointment.

    Uh, Khh Uu

    Yamajun groaned in pain. Maybe it stings? Just bear with it, this time only, promise.

    Oi Momokawa, tell me hes fine right!?

    Shut up Yamada

    Yamada, panicking and desperate, was seeking reassurance I couldnt give. I then realized that it was better to tell him its fine anyway, but Ueda was a step ahead and Id lost my timing.

    Momokawa-kun Are you, there?

    Yamajun!?

    Though tinged with pain, Yamada spoke in a clear voice. It was a small voice that felt as if it would disappear any second but, he was conscious.

    Dont force yourself, alright? The ointment might work faster if you

    Its OK Ju-just listen I, might not get another chance

    I suddenly thought about how Ive read this scene in a lot of manga. The useless thoughts buzzing into my head must be how I was trying to deny this reality.

    Be that as it may, I still had a duty to hear a dying friendsst words.

    I couldnt look away from this. An important friend was on the fine line between life and death. I couldnt even imagine ignoring his parting words.

    I wrote down, everything I know about the ancientnguage, its in my notebook Im sorry Momokawa-kun, I couldnt teach you properly

    No, you did great, really. And thanks, Ill read it

    Shitshit, why are you talking like youre leaving behind your will.

    Ueda-kun Youre, the bravest one of us I know that youll, be the first to charge in no matter the enemy

    Shit, fuck you Yamajun, why do you gotta say that now!

    Nakai-kun, you, haha, youre great at reading people You handle our vanguard If its you, we can take down any monster

    Heh, heheh, so you did notice. Thats right, Its thanks to me we have great teamwork!

    Shimokawa-kun, youre the best at making, decisions on your feet Thank you, we escaped just now thanks to you

    No I, if I was a little faster, we wouldve

    And Yamada-kun, Ive known you the longest among the guys here Thank you, for being a great friend

    You, dumbass you say that like youre gonna die!

    Youre our strongest Protect the guys So dont worry so much, trust in your friends

    I know, I got it! So Yamajun,  dont

    Yamada was sobbing like a baby. But so were the rest of us. It just couldnt be helped.

    Momokawa-kun Youre the leader. And I know youre a good one at that

    I, Im nothing like that I could just barely manage, and even that was because you were there

    You are despite your weak calling, youre brave, intelligent, and kind Even if you, had to kill someone, yeah?

    Huh, so hed realized that I killed Higuchi?

    I, believed that you did the right thing, I still believe it

    How, how can you. Ive never done anything so great

    Its because Ive always Nnng, ghh, cough!

    As if his time was nearing, Yamajun started coughing violently. Blood came out, dirtying his mouth.

    Haah, haaah. Sorry, I cant

    Yamajun, its ok. Itll be alright, I put on lots of ointment. This thing saved me after I was almost done in by an armor bear you know? Youre be alright!

    Yeah, I know Thank you

    His life was fading away. Yamajun slowly closed the eyes on his pale white face.

    Momokawa-kun Can you, hold my hand, please Its, cold

    Of course

    I gently held Yamajuns hand in both of mine, as if in prayer.

    Thank you this, isnt that scary now

    Yeah, youll be fine When you wake up, youll be all healed up

    Shit, dont cry, dont cry. Howre you supposed to put him at ease looking this sad.

    I had to believe. Even it its just me, at this moment, I had to believe that Yamajun would stay alive, but I

    Good night Everyone

    Yeah, good night, Yamajun

    Ueda was the first to speak.

    Guys, we shouldnt leave him like this

    Right

    Yeah

    Nakai and Shimokawa also stood up.

    W-wait up! What, the hell, are you trying to do!

    Seeing the totem pole trio like that, Yamada began to yell.

    The hell are you talking about

    Calm down Yamada. I, we feel the same

    Yamajun, hes

    Shut your traps! Hes not, Yamajun is not dead!

    Ah man, whats with this dumbass.

    Yamajun is, fucking dead alright.

    He stopped breathing already. His hearts stopped, and I even checked his pupil reflex. Theyre the 3 signs of death apparently.

    Theyd remain wide even with light entering, meaning that he waspletely brain dead too. Since pupiry reflex is governed by the brain, itd remain if just his heart had stopped.

    Yes, by medical standards, Yamajun as a living person hadpletely ceased.

    Yamajun, is dead

    So I told him the unvarnished truth.

    He looks peaceful. They say the dead may look like theyre simply sleeping, and its how it looked to me too. As if he could wake up any moment Which was only selfishness from those left behind.

    I confirmed Yamajuns passing with my own hands. So that I could be sure that putting on more ointment wont help. So that I could convince myself that praying to god at this point wont cause any miracles.

    Dont deny it, Yamada-kun

    I stood up.

    Our first course of action was to give Yamajun a burial.

    Shit, shitshit shit shit shit

    Yamada was crying his heart out while still helping us dig a hole at the base of a fairy walnut tree. He was after all, the closest friend to Yamajun among the 4 of us. As for myself, standing near such passionate mourning, my tears had pretty much dried up.

    My head was already filled with a different emotion.

    For us, Yamajuns death was painful, regretful and tragic beyond words. Its the type of thing you see in a drama show.

    And yet, his death had no meaning. Honestly speaking, Yamajun had died for nothing.

    Of course, he did end up saving me by getting hurt fatally himself. But thats it.

    The act of saving someones life is truly valiant, yes, but if you died in the process, then its all for nothing. You shouldnt have to offer up your own life to save someone elses. Theres no meaning if only onees out of it alive No, rather, I cant ept something like that.

    Why did you save me. You knew that wind de was fatal didnt you? If it was me, I wouldnt have done it. I definitely wouldnt. I value my life the most.

    Whether he knew he was sacrificing himself to save me, or he was a good enough person to not even think on it and did it on reflex, at this point, who knows.

    The ends are all that matters. My feelings on the matter are, in the end, just reasons tacked onto a result. The boy known as Yamakawa Junichirou had died. That was everything.

    This isnt fair. I cant ept this. He didnt have a single reason to die. Yamajun, the heart of ss 2-7, absolutely no one had anything against him.

    This wasnt supposed to happen. This should not have happened.

    What do you call this emotion  it was Anger.

    I, stopped being simply sad. I stopped shedding tears.

    Weid Yamajun in the grave, and as a send off, we took flowers from the ones growing here and ced them over his body. Finally, we shoveled dirt over that and buried him, everyone still sobbing. I wasnt the same but wasnt about to me them for it either.

    I was the only one who wouldnt cry.

    Because, unlike everyone else, I was mad with rage.

    Reina I will kill you

    This was the second time. My second oath of killing someone due to pure grudge.

    For the sin of letting Yamajun die in vain, Reina A. Ayase will face the full extent of my curse.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 139: Liar

    Chapter 139: Liar

    I put aside the jumbled mess of emotions bubbling up from Yamajuns death and hardened my heart. I thought only about what I needed to do now. Calmly, coldly.

    So, what now?

    Theyd been sitting listlessly ever since we finished the burial. I was the first to speak.

    What do you mean what?

    What can we

    Very dull reactions from Ueda and Nakai. They were not thinking about anything. That was, of course, normal. A good friend had just died in front of them.

    If we were back in Japan, we couldve slowly gotten over the shock ande to terms with that reality. But we werent, and we didnt have the luxury to waste time on stuff like that.

    We, still have to get out of this dungeon. Yamajun died, its sad, its sudden, and its hard to ept I know But we cant keep mourning forever

    You aint wrong dude, but nows, kinda, yeah?

    Yeah, you cant control your emotions just like that after all.

    Which kind of made this good timing. They were not fully thinking straight right now, and will be easier to manipte.

    Im not saying we go now. We can rest a while. But I think its better to talk about what we should do

    Shut it. Its all fucking useless

    Yamada griped irritably. It was understandable. Someoned just died and I started yapping on and on.

    Arent you guys worried? About Ayase-san I mean

    !?

    Even Yamada couldnt talk back after that one. Since his heart shouldve been aplete mess right about now.

    R-Reina-chan huh

    Hmm, I mean

    That fake Soumas the dude that killed Yamajun

    Y-youre right, hes the culprit! Well make him pay!

    Their responses were honestly disappointing. These guys, they still couldnt me Reina for what happened.

    Even if they were not exactly on her side, they just couldnt go against her delicate and ultra cutesy half-Japanese charm. Ridiculous, they werent seeing reality.

    Thats right. Ayase-san is, shes still under that smoke bastards hypnotic control

    Shit, just like I thought!

    Of course not, dumbass.

    But please go ahead and believe that. They should listen better if they think we had a good cause. Humans canmit any and every evil by just believing themselves to be right. Believing in yourself, such a great motto.

    So, we need to save her right?

    Y-yeah

    Oo! You bet we will

    Momokawa, dude, arent you just saying that cause we need her in the dungeon?

    Ahaha, yeah, cant deny thats part of it

    Looks like Shimokawas sharper than the other two. Though if you looked at our interactions up until now, theyd obviously notice that I didnt exactly treat her like a princess.

    Shimokawa had realized that I only thought of her as a pain and a burden, only, reluctantly, keeping her with us because of her strength as a Spirit Master. I think he also realized that Im the type of person that valued merit over feelings.

    Hed be half right. I was in fact trying to work with Reina for the strength she provided, but I didnt necessarily think we should expel her from the party even if she didnt help. Though the fact was that her beasts did y a major role in capturing the goma fortress.

    But I too had limits to the amount of bullshit I could wave off.

    Yes we need Ayase-sans power to progress in the dungeon, but aside from that, you guys dont want to abandon her here right?

    Damn straight! Ill save Reina-chan! And Ill take revenge for Yamajun!

    Yamada got jumpy instantly, as if the depression and heartbreak from just now was all an illusion.

    I gave him a convenient interpretation of the situation, and he took it hook, line and sinker.

    His anguish from Yamajuns death was reced by the desire for revenge. Maybe, its because that was easier on the heart, to hate instead of hurt. If theres an enemy, someone to despise, you can target them as the root of your grief.

    Plus, if he also got the bonus of rescuing his proverbial princess, that is, Reina, then of course Yamadas energy would shoot through the roof.

    But to do that, its gonna be our toughest battle yet

    What do you mean? We just gotta beat that fake Souma right?

    We just got surprised back there, if its just him against the 5 of us, we can do it

    That dudes an aeromancer. Easy stuffpared to the real Souma with his stupid sword

    True, I didnt think guardian beast SOUMA YUUTO was that strong either. If we went all out, we could probably beat him. But mostly because he wasnt the real Souma Yuuto, the Hero. There wouldnt be anyst-minute save the day for him.

    But its not just SOUMA. Right now, Ayase-san is still under his control, so shell likely see us as enemies too  Meaning that were up against her Engard and Ramdane too

    Maybe also the water type Seyram that had the shape of ady. There was a chance that Seyram couldnt be used or was weak if there was no water around, but we cant bet on a chance.

    If Reina got serious, she could sic all three, fire, water and thunder type guardians on us. Wed be facing them plus the wind type SOUMA YUUTO.

    It was us 5 vs 4 of them. But practically speaking, the numbers advantage was meaningless. In terms of power, we were at a massive disadvantage.

    W-wait, we arent sure if Reina-chanll think like that! No way shell be controlled by that level of

    She is, and she will. Im absolutely certain that Ayase-san will see us as enemies, and try to kill us

    I said firmly to cut down any budding misunderstandings Yamada might make in that sugar-coated head of his.

    Im sorry to have to tell you this, but Ayase-san just isnt fit for the stress of living in the dungeon. I mean, thats just how she is you know?

    What she is, is a spoiled bitch, thats what. But I left that part out.

    Shes like that, so when that cloud creature hypnotized her, she got to live a dream-like life with her beloved Souma-kun. Of course shell turn like that

    If it was just that, I could leave her be. But that wasnt all that happened. And I cant leave her be any more.

    Right now, if we try and wake her from her dream-world, shell fight to protect it. Heck, if she hears that shell have to go back to the harsh survival life, shell think were demons

    Presumably, the reason why her guardian beasts didnt do anything about the cloud creature was because its illusions were showing Reina what she wanted to see. And as a result, that such a mob it doesnt even get a name cloud creature also evolved into guardian beast SOUMA YUUTO, became loyal to Reina, and entered the guardians team as a colleague.

    SOUMA was acting as a healer for Reinas heart that had been crumbling from the harshnesses of reality.

    But if we all try our best and call out to her, Im sure Reina-chan will open her eyes!

    Yamada-kun, thats what we all want to believe, but it just wont work

    Why the hell not!?

    Why? Because Yamajun died, thats why

    This, this was the crux of it.

    Reina, that girl didnt actually think anything of us. She knew that her guardians used violence to carry out her own desires (selfish whims) but wouldnt do a thing to stop them.

    Reina, you, you were the only one who could have saved Yamajun back there. With just a word, you could have stopped SOUMAs attack. Hell, you couldve just had a stray thought about not wanting it, and that mightve just worked.

    It wouldve been so easy, and yet, that bitch, she refused to see the reality in front of her eyes. And that naivety of hers had cost a life. Yamajuns life.

    Our voices just wont reach her

    That well

    Do you get it now, Yamada-kun? One of us had already died to this. There was no more maybe.

    Which meant that we couldnt harbor any more stupid hopes or think up convenient realities.

    Well call out to her and shelle back to her senses?

    Give me a break with these stupid ns. Shit, even if I had a time-leap ability and could do that over and over, I fucking guarantee it wont work even after a million tries.

    Thats why we need to prepare and n as if were fighting all 4 of her guardian beasts

    No way, all 4 of those powerhouses

    Yeah, not possible

    But dude, then we gotta leave her behind yeah?

    No fuck you, and fuck no were not! We already lost Yamajun, and Im not gonna stand losing Reina-chan too!

    Yamadas lines may sound the most badass, but reasonably speaking, Shimokawa was right. Leaving behind Reina was the safest choice for us if anything.

    And if Yamajun hadnt died, I wouldve been the first one to suggest it. And you better believe I wouldve convinced everyone that it was the best option too. That she was too strong for us, and that we were in over our heads if we thought we could beat her.

    But I couldnt do that now. Thats just how much I hated her. I couldnt ever forgive that bitch. Whatever may happen, Ill kill her.

    If Yamajun was here, hed surely tell me not to go. Hed convince me about how meaningless something like revenge was. He wouldnt want me to go down that path. I knew that.

    Thats why, this was all for me. I wasnt going to justify my revenge by saying its for Yamajuns sake. Me, I couldnt forgive her, and with that rage, Id kill her.

    And on another important note, Reina also thought of me as her enemy. Id almost forgotten from the shock of Yamajuns death, but I did attempt to leave her there, in that fight. I didnt want to fight her.

    But she, she just couldnt forgive the fact that I tried to run away. Reina wanted me dead. We were mutual enemies at this point.

    I couldnt let someone as dangerous as her live free. Even if not for revenge, Reina was now an enemy that I needed to kill.

    We cant beat guardians in a straight fight

    Dude, you can say that again

    Everyone nodded to that. Even Yamada wasnt thinking we could somehow manage beating them with guts and willpower.

    Its pretty risky, but I have a n

    Oo, right on

    Cmon Momokawa, dont leave us hanging

    His ns were great in the goma fortress too, dudes great at those

    Anything, Ill do anything if itll save Reina-chan!

    Nice, everyones on board. Guess it helped that theres the precedent with the fortress. That feeling of everyone trusting you. Its great.

    Its nothingplicated. Since, I think, Ayase-san is still holed up in that fairy square

    Her, along with SOUMA, still being in the other fairy square was the most important condition for this n to work.

    If, for whatever whim, Reina was long gone from there, we didnt have any means of tracking her. If that happened, even I would have to give up on exacting my revenge for the moment.

    But I know she wont. Reina, see, her personality was like a hardcore recluse (hikikomori). Now that she had her, although fake, Souma-kun, she wasnt going to let go of her happy and fulfilling environment for no reason.

    So Im sure that even now, Reina was still over there, idling away and flirting with the fake Souma-kun.

    First, we randomly provoke them so the guardian beast SOUMA chases us

    If that one came at us alone, it was the best case scenario. All we had to do was gang up and beat him.

    We try to separate SOUMA as far from her as we can. And we kill him

    But dude, you dont really think hes gonnae out alone right?

    Yeah, my guess is Engard and Ramdane wille along too

    It sounded like ast boss multi boss round from the get go, but I really did think itd turn out like that. Reina wasnt the type that went easy on her enemies, if she felt like we were being a pain, shelle at us with everything. Actually, if Reina so much as thinks that she doesnt like us, her guardian beasts wille attacking on their own.

    Reina thought of me as a liar and a bully. It was a truly childish sense of pure hatred. So if she saw me, she was sure to get riled up and seriously try to get rid of me.

    Man, quite a bit hated arent I. Yeah, I hate you very much too.

    And if all those guardians doe out, we run

    We wot?

    What do you mean run?

    We just want them toe out and chase us. Its to buy some time

    The hell do you mean buy some time! If we cant beat em, we cant get to Reina-chan, can we?

    Thats it, Yamada-kun

    Hey, hes on point for once.

    Basically, if we can get to Reina, we win We only need to release her from the hypnotism

    With all her bodyguards out chasing us, shell be alone. And once alone, Reina, the Spirit Master, was all but powerless. As she was still the weak, delicate girl she started out as.

    We have to separate Reina from her guardian beasts. The decoy team will hold them back to buy time, and the rescue team will go release Ayase-san. This is the basic outline of the n

    But you know, those guardian dudes aint gonna be stupid enough to ignore that rescue team

    They werent mindless beasts after all. They were smart enough to consider it.

    If one of us hid while the rest yed decoy, it might work but wasnt guaranteed to. If they notice that one of us was missing, they might leave one of them, say Ramdane, behind.

    Right, so for the decoy team, itll have to be all of us

    Dude, then whos gonna get Reina-chan?

    Me

    You?

    How?

    Youre a Shaman remember? You cant run that fast and cant stay well hidden either

    Geez guys, you dont gotta rub it in. Theyre right though.

    Dont worry, I happen to have a curse thatll trick the guardians

    This one, I got when Ruinhilde-sama tore my whole body in two. The new curse magic Id obtained with the cruelest hand-over ceremony yet.

    This curse was the reason I could imagine a way to actually kill Reina.

    Its my new curse 2Shade. I can clone myself

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 140: Traps For Guardians

    Chapter 140: Traps For Guardians

    With everyone now on board with my n, we were starting the preparations right away.

    Our biggest hurdle will be slowing down that all-star guardian team

    Right, the ns fine and all, but we cant even fight those things head on

    And even running away isnt gonna be easy

    The frontline fighters, Ueda and Nakai, added, quite seriously, despite themselves.

    They were right, of course. I knew first hand how strong those spirits were. Talking about the time theypletely obliterated the superior Rem, created from Tendou-kuns drops, and even one-shot the versatile Arachne. Their breath attacks were seriously bad news.

    If they hit us with those when were on the run, were pretty much dead. I wasnt sure even Yamada, with his defensive calling, could withstand that sort of damage.

    Dude, what about my Eis Mist? Dont think we can use that when theyre chasing us, right? If they lose us and head back to Reina, youre as good as dead, man

    Nah, Ill be fine if they end uping back. But for this n to work, we need to make sure they chase after us

    In the chase scene, Yamada will hold the rear as our primary defense wall. In front of him, Shimokawa will be in charge of slowing them down with his barrier spells and Rem is to support with arrows.

    Then, well have Ueda and Nakai who cant really do anything other than run, and after them, me in my 2Shade clone, taking the lead riding on Raptor.

    Right, aside from our positions, I also n on setting some traps, dont expect too much though

    Thisd put me in a real bind. The fact that this cloud zone was pretty much empty. Unlike the jungle zone before this where we had lots of trees and stone to work with, this ce was just white gas. Other than that stupid cloud creature we hadnt seen any monsters either. So monsters drops were off the resources list too. We had to make due with the scarce materials in our square.

    Yeah, so, where are we gonna be leading them?

    Is it the room with the gas trap? Thats a good ce to fight

    If we were trying to literally stop them, we wouldve fought them in the fairy square Reina was in, as Nakai had suggested before. But in a head on fight, wed be the ones undeniably on the losing side. So that was not an option to consider.

    We bring them here, to this fairy square. The n is to imprison them here

    Get real, Momokawa. Howre we supposed to do that when theres no door?

    Wow, even Yamada caught on; I, shouldnt make him out to be that stupid, honestly.

    Well need to draw away as many of them from as possible. Step 1 is trying to iste Ayase-san

    If they get all the way here, dude, you dont think theyll get worried and go back?

    Then well have to pause the operation. Ill use my clone to see if theye inside, and only then go to Ayase-san. So even if they came back, Ill be OK.

    If this part of the n failed, wed just need to retry with a different room. This wasnt anything problematic.

    My second reason for choosing here is that this is where we can block the entrance best

    And? go on

    Well make it look like they caught us in a dead end by running here. Then, when all of the guardians are inside with us, Shimokawa, youll cast the thickest Aqua Mist you can and youll all run out of the square. Once you make sure everyones ounted for on the outside, use Aqua Arma-Shield to block the entrance. The rest of you will use logs to make a wall behind the water barrier.

    This way was much safer than trying to fight 3 guardian beasts at once.

    Engard was the only powerhouse among them. Ramdane was bird shaped so I dont think it can push down a wall, and SOUMA didnt seem so physically strong either. So long as we can withstand Engards tackles from the other side, the barriers should hold.

    Correct me if Im wrong, but your water magic is stronger and easier to use if theres real water around, right?

    Nnot exactly like that, but if I had to keep up the shield for a while, having the water around totally helps

    But, where are you nning to get those logs?

    Yeah, we aint in the jungle anymore

    Look around you, weve got lots

    I gestured at the fairy walnut trees all neatly lined up around us.

    Eh? Is it really alright to cut these down?

    Feels like one of those faux pas

    And we wont get any more walnuts either

    They were surprisingly adamant about it. I guess having fairy squares as their only safe space all this while made them a bit attached. Me too, I wouldnt cut down the trees or break the fountain or ruin the water just for the heck of it.

    Im sorry for miss fairy too, but theres no choice

    Life or death and all that. To err is human, to forgive divine, yeah? I sent that little prayer to the statue on the fountain.

    And dont forget, whether the n seeds or it doesnt, we cant stay here that much longer. Worry about foodter

    Our survival depended on whether we could beat Reina.

    Alright, lets get right to practice

    The team cheered in response. Also,

    Im back~

    Someone casually entered the square.

    It was me.

    Mounted on Raptor, he was a shorty wearing a gakuran. He had a cheeky look to him, with a face that may or may not look too girly. There was only one boy with this face and body type in our ss.

    Wee back

    I greeted myself.

    I got off from Raptor and walked towards me. And once in front of me I vanished like an illusion in a puff of ck smoke.

    To be exact, I returned back to my shadow.

    Dude, this shit still creeps me the fuck out

    Really? Once you get used to it, its kinda fun, actually

    While I was describing the n, Id already started practicing movement with the clone from my new curse magic which would be a critical facet of the operation, 2Shade.

    2Shade : Touche to your two shades. It speaks, walks and feels apart from you, but in the end, is a simple shadow.

    As always, the description was vague vor text. So I went and tested it for what its worth.

    To conclude, tis a clone. Tis a true shadow clone.

    I still had one self, but when I used 2Shade, I had two points of view and two bodies to move and two mouths to talk with.

    I cant even describe the dumb look I saw on myself when I first used this one.

    It really did do that speaks, walks and feels apart from you thing. Id panicked a little when my senses suddenly doubled but Once I thought how it was like controlling the yer in a video game, I stopped being creeped out.

    Its me, yet not me. I move it but it wasnt me. Pretty much like holding a controller.

    2Shade was much more precise than a mere game controller though. The feel, the degree of freedom and sensitivity thats at work when Im moving the clone It was like Id leaped past the bleeding edge of modern VR and entered the future era of gaming!

    Tears of appreciation aside, I was quite satisfied with the practicality of 2Shade. It was perfect for acting my part of the decoy.

    I worked with everyone on the preparations while also getting in more practice with the shadow clone. I had it be carried on Raptor and go back and forth between our and Reinas ce.

    It was easy enough to move around in, but moving myself at the same time, theres where it got tricky. It was like trying to control two pairs of hands at once, not quite something you got to do everyday.

    Currently, its at the level where I can walk around with the clone while talking with my own mouth. But I cant walk both quite yet.

    Luckily, as per the n, once the clone made it here, his job would be done. After that, Id go myself for thest face-off against Reina. Basically, at no point in time did I both had to move.

    That didnt mean Id stop practicing though. Who knows what the future might hold. Id be very d to have the ability to fully control both mes. It was just going to take a while to get the hang of it. But I felt like itde with enough practice.

    So Id been doing that. But just running around in it wasnt so productive considering ourck of time.

    Since I shared POVs with the clone, I was fully using it as a scout.

    Yeeah. Still being azy ass bum

    If I closed my eyes I could focus in on the clones senses. But on the other hand, if my eyes were open, I didnt really notice unless I actively thought on it.

    I was currently spying on Reina from the half closed door to her fairy square. Of course I made sure to make myself small in a corner, with only my head sticking out. But the walls in this cloud zone were all white and fluffy-like, and my ck hair would stick out like a sore thumb, so naturally, I was wearing camouge.

    With those fluffy bits I could easily cut out from the walls, Id made a ghillie suit. This would be my second time doing this since the basilisk. I simply held the stuff together with ckhair bind, but with this, if I stuck to the wall, I blended in quite a bit.

    One day as a camo-spy, I made this observation:

    I could see Reina on the far side of the square,id down beside the fountain and cuddling with guardian beast SOUMA YUUTO. She wasnt moving much but not asleep either. It looked like they were having some pillow talk.

    Theres the question of exactly how much of a conversation you could have with that fake Souma-kun, but the cloud creature was originally something that used your desires to put you in a paradise like dream. SOUMA surely had this power too, and at this time, he must have been only feeding her answers that made her happy.

    It was as if shedpletely forgotten that were in a fricking dungeon with how she was bbering on like they were back at the ssroom. I could see it as confidence, as she had all those powerful guardian beasts on her beck and call. I could also see it as a pitiful girl trying to escape reality.

    Doesnt matter. You better enjoy it while you can, bitch. Savor those dreams for now.

    Right. That instance of observation over with, I returned to my main job.

    A~ttention, one and all, Ill now be going over the traps, listen up

    I called out to the guys sweating it out as they chopped down the fairy walnut trees. Im the brains of this operation so that kind of physicalbor wasnt in my job description. Right person for the right job, right?

    Shit man, why do we gotta do all the work

    Come on, its not like that, Yamada-kun, Ill help out as soon as Im done with this

    I admit, part of me was trying to avoid it, but I actually had a job only I could do, so Id appreciate it if you didntin every time.

    Anyway, look at this

    I opened my notebook after everyone gathered at the fountain, which had be sort of a muster point.

    This is a rough map of the route were following back. These marks over here are where we set the traps

    Unlike at the goma fortress, this time we knew they of thend. It was pretty much a straight line, so although I didnt think wed get lost, having a picture in your head should be helpful. Youd be better at escaping at a ce you were familiar with.

    Didnt you say the traps arent gonna be much use?

    Isnt it just his acid pits?

    I also thought aboutying on rotten bogs here and there to try and slow them down But then I got an interesting idea, and once I tried it, it worked pretty well. Men like a challenge, as they say.

    Shimokawa-kun, lets show them

    Right on, dude

    I wasnt the only one skipping lumberjack duty. Shimokawa, our other magic user, was the same. The two of us had used this time to conceive one particr trap. Now, feast your eyes on what happens when you put together Shaman and Aquamancer

    Acid Shield!!

    The mud red liquid in the rotten bog I set up previously, jostled violently.

    Waves formed in the bog acid as it got pulled up to a single area. The whole thing quickly clumped together in ce, and formed the same shape youd see in an ordinary Aqua Shield.

    But it wasnt ordinary transparent water, it was my bog acid that this shield wasprised of. In other words, it was a shield that could melt flesh and bone to the touch.

    This is Shimokawa-kuns Aqua Shield but made with the stuff in my bog

    And man is it awesome

    Shimokawa and I were all smiles.

    But s, the frontliners simply went huh. Geez, these muscle-brained warrior types just cant, anyway, leaving aside myints at their non-reaction, I did have to do a lot of thinking beforeing up with this rather in lookingbo spell.

    First, an aquamancer didnt just control water, but any kind of liquid. We even knew that he could control hot water, as we had found out when he magicked up a water gun to mess around in the bath.

    Which meant that his magic didnt distinguish between hot and cold water. Furthermore, he had no problem with sugar water and salt water either. Heck he could could use the soup in my boar stew for his spells.

    As for my rotten bog, the acid in there wasnt a form of liquid but a product of my curse magic. As just demonstrated, Shimokawa even managed to manipte that  but it didnte so easy.

    The first trial was aplete failure. Rotten Bog was curse magic and not recognized as a viable liquid for use in water magic.

    As Shimokawa was making a fool of himself, pouring his mana into the un-reacting red mud in a dead serious face, I hit on an idea. What if we mixed the acid with water, couldnt he do it then?

    And the result of that: another failure. It wouldnt move when we added some water. When we poured in enough to highly dilute the bog, that did do the trick, but then, it wasnt really bog acid anymore; it was water with a little acid mixed in. The most it could do was give you a light sting.

    So if water didnt work, lets just mix in other stuff. That thought, and subsequent trials, led to something that actually did the trick: Shimokawas blood.

    Shimokawa was really, and I mean REALLY, reluctant about cutting himself though. But my instincts as a shaman were screaming that I absolutely must try the mages own blood, so I may have been a little forceful getting it out of him.

    Teary eyed and looking like he hated my guts, Shimokawa chanted his magic and lo and behold, Acid Shield was born.

    All that trial and errorter, wed finally managed a way to (conditionally) control Rotten Bog with Shimokawas aquamancy. I could say we only seeded because Shimokawa was talented in his calling. I could also say I knew squat about aquamancers out in the world, so the previous opinion was moot.

    Regardless, this was a big boon for us. I was happy about it, but theres also the fact that this turned into a weakness for my rotten bog.

    I needed to be careful if Shimokawa turned into an enemy somewhere along the line. Or if we met an enemy aquamancer.

    Shimokawa-kun here will be erecting his usual Aqua Shields and mixing in these Acid Shields while were on the run

    Engard could probably bust through a normal Aqua Shield without breaking a sweat, but if he were to get hit with acid after one of his attempts, he might opt for other, slower methods. And even if he does bust through them anyway, hed have to be sustaining slight amounts of damage.

    Its unknown how well my bog acid will work on a guardian beast, but its the best trap we had. Its all we had.

    Well, maybe not. Now that we couldbine aqua spells with rotten bog, a lot of new possibilities will likely open up.

    Basically we have to use these traps so that they dont catch up to us. Actually fighting any guardians will be ast resort only

    Right, sounds like a n

    We dont want to fight them if we dont have to either

    Great, so well go back to our magic practice then

    The hell, you werent gonna help after all

    Yamadained, but left it at that.

    Now, back to work everyone, no time like the present

    Looking at their parting backs, I felt a momentary pang of guilt. These guys were working so hard because their goal was to save Reina. Im quite the viin I guess. I was using their good intentions not only to put them through harshbor, but even have them fight life and limb for my own cause. Was I really so different from Higuchi who used violence to keep Masaru as his ve?

    But I couldnt let this bother me, I couldnt let it loosen my resolve.

    If I wasnt making the n, maybe theyd have made their own rescue mission. Who knows, they couldve tried to simply talk with Reina, which was less a n and more an unintentional suicide.

    A shaman absolutely needed friends if he wanted to survive the dungeon. And honestly, weve been through a lot together now, I couldnt deny at least feeling a reluctance to let them die.

    So both logically and feelings-wise, I cant let them die here. I wont let anyone else die, especially because of a bitch like Reina.

    I will, get my revenge soon

    My mes of vengeance were still burning high. But somewhere within that intense hate alsoy the deep sorrow of losing an important friend.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 141: Guardian Beast Decoy Plan

    Chapter 141: Guardian Beast Decoy n

    Between preparing everything and rehersing our spells over and over, three days went by. All thats left is to pray. Amen, Ruinhilde-sama.

    On ourst supper, which sounds more ominous than it needs to, I used all the remaining preserved boar meat and we enjoyed this feast before the big day.

    Lets go

    I sat my 2shade clone on Raptor while I went on foot. We exited the square and double checked on all the traps while we carefully made our way through the path where that stupid cloud creature ambushed us.

    We never did encounter that bastard after the first timeing this way. It could have a long respawn time or could have been a unique monster too. Anyway, the fact that we cant predict monster encounters, this randomness factor will work for us in this operation.

    We quietly walked while being wary of any monsters. Nobody felt like talking. We were all getting increasingly nervous as we approached the fairy square Reina was holed up at.

    This is my stop. Good luck on the rest, guys

    Sure, dont sweat it

    Yeah, you work on convincing Reina-san

    Dude, this n is pretty much perfect, well buy the time you need

    Momokawa Save her. Promise me youll save Reina-chan

    Yeah, I wont let you down

    I took in everyones well intended blessings and replied through a cool facade. You guys too, dont die on me.

    I then put on my white ghillie suit and sat down against the wall in a small depression near our destination. Iid still, closed my eyes, and concentrated on controlling the clone.

    I have visual

    Uoh! Dont talk so suddenly with that thing

    Kinda feels a bit gross with two Momokawas around

    Eh~, seriously? Im hurt

    Looks like they got a fright when my clone that was still bobbling on top of Raptor suddenly came to life.

    Though I admit having two of the same person in the same ce would creep me out too. This clone is neither transparent nor has any sort of yer 2 tinting, so appearance-wise at least, you cant tell the difference.

    Wait, what if they see through this fake with the flow of mana or a 6th sense or something. I suddenly got concerned if the n will really work.

    But Im already in standby mode, and theres no way we can backtrack now. Well reach our field of battle in under 30 seconds.

    There she is

    Reina-chan

    The door was ajar and we confirmed Reinas presence, as always, flirting with SOUMA. Ive seen this for three days now so Im used to it, but Yamada was devestated at the scene.

    Its his usual immature jealousy, but Ill be d if it will work in fueling his hate towards guardian beast SOUMA in this fight.

    Ok. Operation start

    I call it, the Reverse Ama-no-Iwato! Its pretty simr to the story you hear in grade school: When Amaterasu the sun goddess stayed reclusive in her cave, everyone threw a grand party outside which caused her to be caught when she curiously peeked out. But instead of catching her interest with fun, well be acting as viins to coerce her intoing out. Basically, were threatening her.

    Alright, time to get my viin on.

    I stood at the entrance to the square, inhaled, and loudly dered war.

    REINAAA! YOU STUPID NEET, GET A JOOOBB!!!

    Reina, in a cat-like reflex, instantly shifted her head towards my yell in a fluster. That goes the same for SOUMA who was embracing her.

    Youzy spoiled brat! Ill beat that uselessness out of you if its thest thing I do! You better be ready!

    I was shouting my heart out.

    Its meant to be threatening, so I can really go all out, and the others wont bat an eye.

    Now, everyone together

    Reina-chan! Come back to uuuss!

    Youre better than thaaat!

    The Souma-kun is a fake you knooow!

    COME AT ME SOUMA YOU BASTARD! IMMA FUCKING KILL YOU DEAD!!

    Yamada was simrly speaking his heart, so at least he gets a pass on intimidation.

    Now, whatll she do

    NO WAY! Why, why does everyone keep getting in our way! I hate this, I hate you, get out!!

    Sure thing Reina. I will, no, we will quickly remove these pests for you

    As expected, Reina cried out like a mentally unstable child. And heeding her emotions, SOUMA stood to face us. At the same time, the space left and right of him lit up in magic formations.

    One, a torus that zed like an inferno, and the other a square that crackled with purple lightning. These were of course, the summoning circles that called forth Reinas primary battle force: The infernal lion, Engard, and the thunder hawk, Ramdane.

    Just as I thought, she isnt calling Seyram, her water spirit.

    Yuu-kun, En-chan, Ram-kun protect me ok

    Of course Reina. Id never forgive anyone that made you cry. Ill be back right away after quickly defeating them

    SOUMA, still looking the exact replica he was, put on a refreshing smile while Engard and Ramdane roared their fury.

    Looks like shouting wont do anymore. Its unfortunate we couldnt get Seyram out too, but we can settle for this.

    Whats wrong beasts? Scared of losing to us superior humans! Youll make fine pelts after were done with you!

    On my cue, Remunched an arrow. I didnt tell the others, but Id instructed Rem to aim first and foremost at Reina.

    Now if only we could get a one-shot kill here  Of course, we wont.

    I will remove anything, that hurts

    SOUMA silently cast wind magic to steer Rems arrow staggeringly off course. Theres no time to fire a 2nd.

    My Reina

    Get baaack!!

    The guardian beasts rushed us, and I immediately ordered a retreat.

    Everyone, ready and reacting instantly, turned and ran like their life depended on it. It was now Tag, youre dead.

    Aqua Shield  dwaahh!?

    The enemy simply had more speed. So to slow them down, Shimokawa quickly cast Aqua Shield but it was instantly nullified by Engards fire breath.

    Damn, this is looking tougher than Id nned. At this rate, we might lose one of us before we all escape.

    Run!

    I shouted from Raptors back. Im the only one guaranteed to be safe, and theyre already running desperately as is. Obviously, Im being redundant.

    Shimokawa-kun, get ready  Rotten Bog!

    My curses work fine even as a clone. But its through a proxy so it feels slightly different. The casting speed falls a bit and since I have to maintain the clone, I have that much less mana going into the curse. If I push too hard with the curses, the clone wont break from the pressure, but it will break from theck of mana.

    Anyway, Im the decoy so Ill have to do enough to make it believable.

    Awwright, eat shit, Acid Shieeellld!!

    Trap number one. We waited till they were close enough to a spot I previously dropped my blood on, and Shimokawa erected an Acid Shield.

    GRRRAAAAAA!!

    Thanks to Shimokawas superb timing, Engard, whod been the closest saw that he couldnt st it away with fire from so close, probably thought a mere shield like this was childs y for him, and attempted to bust through physically.

    And, there! With a loud sizzling particr to rotten bog, toxic scarlet scattered everywhere. That of course was the sound of Acid Shield that couldnt withstand Engards powerful tackle and dispersed.

    But the acid should have had some effect.

    I hope

    Engard emerged, roaring furiously, from beyond the shower of acid and deluge of white smoke. He looked like he hadnt taken any damage But he was a bit slower.

    Only temporarily though, as he quickly regained his vigor and continued to give chase.

    Hes tougher than I thought. Looks like well have to really squeeze through this one

    We were treading on thin ice, so anything to slow their assault was helpful. Right as Engard got out of the Acid Shield, Rem shot another arrow, causing it to flinch. It wasnt meant to damage but merely surprise, and it worked.

    But we werent so lucky that they would only be chasing us. They had magic too.

    Aqua SheyaAOU!?

    Uoh! Close call!!

    SOUMAunched wind des, and Ramdane used thunderbolt. Shimokawas spell was interrupted, and Yamada skillfully blocked the deadly attacks with his high defenses.

    Fuck dude, theyre reallyying it on us  Aqua Shield

    Having escaped that close shave with death, he cast his barrier spell anew. But this wall of water spread out to block the passage was also instantly broken.

    This time it was arge Aer Sagitta from SOUMA that cut apart his shield. This strong It must have been a mid-tier variation.

    Oi Momokawa, they catching uuup!?

    We gotta do something dammit!

    The pressure emminating from our pursuers was intense. Ueda and Nakai, who werent supposed to do anything but run, cried out impatiently. I feel the same, to be honest.

    Well soon be at the widest area on this path. Its the ce with that pink gas.

    Come this far into the passage, and the guardian beasts had to consider their attacks so they didnt hit friendlies. That goes double for Engard and Ramdane since, if they used big AOE attacks, the whole cavern could be scorched or electrocuted. Doing that was a sure fire way to beat us, but they could hardly stand damaging their friends against small-fry like us.

    Theyre underestimating us, but thats good. Otherwise, we wouldnt have gotten as far as we have.

    But the ce were about to reach is pretty wide. Once there, theyll lose the handicap of idental friendly fire. And worse. They could use the area to split up and surround us.

    Engard, who was the biggest of the bunch, was first in the line and covered almost the whole width of the passage while SOUMA and Ramdane were following behind in single file. The ceiling wasnt too high so Ramdane couldnt shoot down at us either.

    But that too would end once we enter the next area. They can and wille at us with the full range of their strength and dexterity once we get there.

    Honestly, its not like we were going there without knowing the risks. But we didnt have a better choice.

    Momokawa, were toast if we go there like this!

    Shit, this isnt looking good at all

    Shimokawa and Yamada were yelling in despair. Theyre right, at this rate, theyll catch up.

    Alright, guess its time.

    Rem, youre up

    GAGAGA!

    Wed gone inside. Rem dropped her bow and drew Masarus sword, her figure oozing with determination.

    Ill have to leave behind not only Rem but also Raptor here. Rem would be insta-killed against 3 guardian beasts, but the two of them should get us some time.

    Go get em you two! promise Ill get you even better bodies next time!

    Leaving some proverbialst words, I rolled off Raptors back and started running.

    I didnt look back as I made a break for it. My clone body has no concept of stamina, so I could run at top speed indefinitely. From a pure speed perspective, the clone that only needed mana to move was clearly superior to my real self.

    So even a low-energy boy like me could maintain a steady pace.

    Were out of here!

    This time was critical, and we all knew it. We ran across therge area without a thought to spare.

    GAGAA!!

    GYOAAAAAAA!!

    Behind, I could hear Rem and Raptors war-cries, followed by booms of fire and crackles of lightning. It was the sound of a genuine face off against the guardian beasts.

    Their strengths were leagues apart after all. Even the best Rem Id constructed from Tendou-kuns collection paired with Arachne were instantly beaten by just Engard and Ramdane. A simple raptor and a Rem made with raptor parts were even more hopeless.

    But maybe that dishonorable defeat became important experience for Rem. Those two weresting longer than I thought.

    Theydsted a whole 10 seconds. Which, as it happens, was more than enough time for us to get out.

    You did good, Rem!

    We were out of the danger zone and back to running through the passage. The goal was in sight.

    Awesome, heres thest one Acid Shield!

    We practically leaped into the fairy square with Engards roar behind us.

    Almost at the end game now.

    Once in, Ueda and Nakai split up and quietly hid behind the few remaining fairy walnut trees. Shimokawa and Yamada did the same.

    As for me, I alone ran to the center of the square, and boldly stood in front of the fountain.

    End of the line

    With a cluster of wind des, the Acid Shield set at the entrance was broken down. As one of Reinas he probably knows that this ce is a dead end. SOUMA entered the fairy square with aposed gait.

    GRRR

    KYYOAA!

    After him, Engard entered with with a low growl, his fur slightly unclean from continuously bashing into acid, and Ramdane let off sparks as if to intimidate me.

    Heeey, rx man. Lets talk about this

    Its great that they arent in a hurry to kill me. So I used this chance to strike up a random conversation with SOUMA hoping to drag this out as long as I can.

    Momokawa, you are an enemy. We kill enemies.

    No Im not. Im Reinas friend you know? If I died, shed be missing a lot of conveniences, right?

    Reina wishes for it. So you must die

    Dont you see? I was intentionally ying the heavy role of viin, for her. You guardian beasts are strong, Ill give you that. But can YOU cook a variety of delicious food and instantly prepare a hot bath? If Im not there, Reina wont have any of that luxury in this dreary dungeon. Who knows, she might not even be able to survive without those you know? Ah, I got an idea, sh of inspiration really. Youre a fake but youre still Souma-kun right? So maybe shell listen to you if not us? Tell you what, you go back to her right now and tell her to listen to what I say. How about it? If shees here and give me a genuine Im sorry, I might just start thinking about kind of slightly forgiving her. You get my flow?

    Reina only needs me. Anyone who interferes is an enemy. You are an enemy. I will kill you. Here, now.

    Hmm. Guess no more talky time.

    This guardian beast SOUMA may look and talk like a human, but deep inside, its the same dumb monster as the others. He couldnt even consider what Reina, as a human being, needs in order to survive in the dungeon. He only acted on her wishes with no semnce of a will. He was less her dog and more an unthinking ve.

    Our back and forth just now happened probably because, as SOUMA was made to feel human, he was instinctivelypelled to hold conversation. He came here under orders from Reina to kill us, and probably didnt possess any thoughts besides that. He was not angry thinking how selfish my speech was, nor could he think I may have a point. He didnt have a heart to consider Reina from; practically, like a robot.

    In the end, he was still that cloud creature that Reina forced into servitude with her Spirit Master powers. Its better for me if he isnt too bright.

    Alright, have it your way, faker. You, that stupid mutt, and the dumb bird too. Youre in for an ass whooping

    I talk smack to get the three guardians ready to focus only on me.

    I didnt need to though. Theyre primary target was me to begin with since Reina hates me the most out of all of us. So these beasts that are so in tune with her must hate my guts just as much.

    GRR, GOAAAAAA!!

    Engard leapt at me before any of the others.

    Looking back, he was the first guardian beast I had the misfortune of meeting. When Id killed Higuchi and activated the sacrifice portal, it was this mangy mutt that attacked me as Reina stole my portal. The next time when we encountered Reina in the jungle, the bastard again attacked me and turned superior Rem into ash. Quite honestly, Im itching to tear him a new one.

    And I make due on my grudges

    GAAA!!

    Uggh!?

    Yeah, guess I should mention this. I have no real way of actually beating this thing.

    Engard pounced at me like a real lion, not with magic, but with its teeth and ws. I couldnt do anything to stop the huge but agile monstrosity.

    I was easier than a baby deer. Easily knocking me down, Engard buried his ws into my body, and bit down on my neck with itsrge maw lined with razor-sharp teeth.

    I would be literally dead, if I wasnt a clone. Theres no pain. Obviously theres no pain.

    That in itself is a tremendous plus, but theck of Pain Return would be a minus. That and Intuition Pharmacy and any other curse that uses my body, I couldnt use with the clone.

    But its enough to do the job. Ivepleted my role as decoy, so I calmly gave the final go-ahead.

    Its all on you now, guys

    With that, my windpipe was chewed up and my link disconnected.

    The clone now destroyed, 2Shade was over and I immediately woke up in my real body.

    Iming for you, Reina

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 142: Shaman VS Spirit Master ( 1 )

    Chapter 142: Shaman VS Spirit Master ( 1 )

    Im quietly creeping along the walls in my white ghillie suit.

    The goal is only one: murder.

    Reina is the only one in this fairy square and Id very much prefer ending this in a fast, pre-emptive surprise attack, since she still has Seyram, the water spirit, guarding her.

    OK, they havent noticed me

    I take a quick look inside from the entrance. Shes there. Sad, holding her knees, she is a small girl that evoked strong feelings of wanting to protect her, but to me, it simply makes her an easy target. Heheh, Ill make quick work of this My greatest advantage over her, if I had to say, would be the simple fact that I feel no sympathy or affection in the slightest for that pretty face.

    Her charming looks have been granting her the favor and good will of others for as long as she was alive. Thats what she expects from the world. So yeah, someone like me can be considered her natural enemy.

    Tch, not close enough

    My modus operandi is to use ckhair binds with a knife to kill her from a range.

    But Im just barely too far to make it fatal wound. Theres no problem with my control of the tentacles, but I doubt I can urately hit her in the vitals from here.

    Should I dash in and close the distance?

    No. Reina herself aside, if the spirit beast even slightly notices me, itll react automatically. So I should use this chance I have while they still havent noticed.

    Crawl in  ckhair bind

    I sent out a ckhair tentacle, armed with a knife, let it move like a snake and stealthily make its way across the grass.

    I made sure to bepletely silent, but the grass was too short to hide itpletely.

    !? Wh-whats, is someone there!?

    Reina, noticed. Shitshit, I was almost there.

    Tchh, shouldve stayed still bitch!

    I leap in from the entrance and have my ckhair spring into action, its knife in a dead set course towards her neck

    KYAAAAAA!!

    She screamed, and from the fountain, something jumped. No, not out of the water, but the water itself.

    Khoo

    What came out, making that strange breathing-like noise, looked like a woman. A semi-transparent woman made out of water. Long hair flowing like a stream, a sculpted, inhuman face like a store-front mannequin. She had the figure of a model and wore a fashionable watery one-piece dress.

    This is thest guardian beast, water spirit Seyram.

    And she easily fulfilled her role of guardian.

    Cant say Ive ever been counter-tentacled before

    From her hand, Seyram extended an Aqua Bind wrapping around my own ckhair. The knife was smothered in water and wouldnt budge.

    Damn, Ive been out-tentacled.

    N-no why, are YOU here

    I wonder. But you understand what I came here to do right?

    I say as I undo ckhair bind. I couldnt move it in that state anyway.

    Please, dont do this Why, why cant you just leave me alone! I, I didnt do anything bad at all!

    Ahh, so you get it after all. You see Reina, you didnt do anything, anything at all  Thats exactly why I cant forgive you!

    If I cant overpower it, Ill use numbers.

    I released the seal in both my palms and let loose numerous Redhair Twines. Each of these is quite thin, but they should be enough to hurt Reina. If just one of these can touch her, shell

    NOO!! Help me, Sey-san!

    Rururuaaa

    On her call, Seyram responded in a singsong voice. Raising her arms as if to cast magic, she instantly creates a huge swirl of water. So this is how she ns to counter my numbers.

    Faced with the raging current, my redhairs, thin as needles, were easily rinsed into non-existence. Theyre only tentacle forms of my Rotten Bog after all. Naturally, theyd dissolve in so much water.

    I cant see any way of breaking through the barrier and reaching Reina with my acid hairs. Shit, full points in defense too.

    Think, what can I try I didn''t get the time to think.

    Ugho!?

    Just then, I felt a strong pain as if a fastball hit me straight in the stomach. I moaned loudly in pain and fell to my knees.

    U-ughh stupid spirit, that fucking hurt

    I got hit with one of Seyrams attack spells. I know this since I caught a glimpse of a super fast waterball approaching me right before the hit.

    Ooo, khooo.

    Ah! Sey-san, whats, youre hurt!?

    Hah, hahah looks like Pain Return works on it

    This is great. Looking at Seyram holding her stomach in pain was incredibly reassuring.

    Now, in the worst case, I can use the same tactic as with the armor bear on it. But even if I do put it in a near death state, I have to make sure I still have enough strength to finish off Reina.

    I cant just have her running off. And, as a final solution, I could have Reina herself kill me. Im pretty weak after all, cant do what I cant do

    Ruruu! OAAA!!

    Must not have expected that, Seyrams mad. Behind her, the fountain starts moving. Forming a strong current, the water in the fountain begins to whirl.

    What, shes not trying to hit me with a tsunami right? But she should know by now that attacking me will only work against herself.

    And regardless, I dont recall having any reason to wait for the enemy to prepare their move. I, kinda dont have anything to counter it though.

    Whatever, Ill make due with some harassment to start. I throw as many ckhair tenties as I can. At Reina, by the way.

    AAAAAA!!

    But before I can, Seyrames at me. Literally, her woman-shaped figure shoots towards me.

    Under her dress, I can see the same swirling currents that took out my red twines. Looks like shes connected with the water in the fountain. Her lower body is now a long, winding tempest of water, which kind of reminds me of amia, a monster that is half human, half snake.

    And I am practically a sitting duck with this veritable monstrosity zooming towards me.

    UAAA!?

    I scream and attempt to run the hell away  But Im caught. Two watery arms catch a hold of me, and I am now face-to-face with the see-through woman.

    She hugs me closer, and I went  inside her.

    Fugh! Agbl, blubblublbub!?

    Naturally, Im inside her body made of water. Seyram is a spirit, and Im sure theres some magical mojo going on with her, but physically speaking, the body is still water.

    Inside that sort of environment, Im more than liable to drown.

    Grha, blugagh!

    But I still have Pain Return and drowning is also pain, no doubt. That means Seyram is also feeling  Nothing!?

    Khooo

    Seyram lets out a gentle voice. Here I am, madly iling in my watery cage, but she isnt showing any signs of pain.

    Oh no dont tell me, because shes made of water, she cant drown!?

    Not just that, Seyram doesnt technically breathe either. And since what Im suffering is a shortage of oxygen, she doesnt need it in the first ce, and so, can ignore it.

    Since she got hurt for the waterball, I guess she takes damage physically But damn, I didnt think she could figure out a way to counter my Pain Return that fast.

    Stupid beast, trying to outsmart me.

    Gah, gblubblu

    Nows not the time to analyze. I need to get out of this fast, and I mean in the next minute.

    I have no time and not many ways to fight back. I cant think of any way to st out from the inside.

    And finally, I have no chance of getting backup. This is simply because I left behind everyone, even Rem, so that I could carry out my n.

    G-glub

    This is bad, I dont think I can hold on much longer

    Fuh-fuck! I cant do this man!

    Uedas yelling was drowned out by an explosion.

    Near the fairy square, Ueda, Nakai, and Yamada were all sent flying by the st. They crashed a ways off, and had, for a moment, lost consciousness from the shock.

    Oi, you dudes alright!? Wake up!

    As a mage, Shimokawa was positioned to the rear and so avoided the shock wave that hit the other three. He desperately called out to them, and, still groaning in pain, they somehow stood back up.

    About time we end you. My sweet Reina will be lonely if I dont return soon

    They hear the irritated voice of a man from beyond the curtain of ck smoke. It was the guardian spirit SOUMA YUUTO.

    Hey dudes, can I call it quits?

    Yeah, this is ridiculous

    Shit Momokawa! Whats taking so long!

    The n had worked.

    Theyd sessfully lured the guardian beasts all the way to their fairy square. And with the clone Kotarous sacrificial Rotten Bog, Engard was somewhat damaged.

    At the same time, the other 4 had exited the square and blocked the entrance with the logs prepared beforehand. They then hardened the blockade with Shimokawas fully powered Aqua Shield.

    Just like Kotaro nned, all the guardian beasts they lured out had been trapped inside the fairy square.

    After that, they only had to hold the beasts inside while Kotarou convinced Reina to de-summon them.

    But the beasts would obviously try to break out. Engard used its massive body to tackle the blockade together with its fire breath.

    They didnt know how long they held on, and certainly didnt have the leisure to check.

    Theyd reached their limits.

    After the seemingly endless bursts of Engards fire, Shimokawas water barrier had been exhausted and theirboriously constructed log defense was sted apart. The three warriors who had been using all their strength and stamina to push the logs had also grown weary.

    GRRRR.

    Called Engard in a low and ferocious growl. It walked out of the smoke greatly annoyed. One could almost hear it saying, Thought you could imprison me?

    Kotarous acid bog had only acted as a small deterrent. Though its crimson fur now had spots that were blistered, Engard boasted no less strength.

    Engard boiling in rage, and SOUMA coldly intent on murder. To make things worse, Ramdane glided behind them, not a scratch on it.

    They had followed the n and bought time. But the fight had yet to end since it was now obvious that Kotarou hadnt seeded in canceling Reinas spell.

    How much longer? How much longer could they hold out? Having no clear goal weighed heavily on the four.

    D-dudes, we can we can use that

    Shimokawa said, despair evident in his voice.

    Legit?

    Bro, we might as well

    Oi, you guys cant be serious!

    They still had one more thing to try that Kotarou had suggested. It was a veritablest resort as the contents of the n were of quite the dubious nature.

    Well yeah, cant exactly call it safe

    Its now or never, we gotta do it now!

    Ueda and Nakai were ready. They screwed up their courage with a yell and took out the item Kotarou had given them.

    Shit, SHIT Ill do it, Ill do it dammit!

    Dragged along with their gusto, Yamada also grabbed that something from his pocket.

    The three of them now held a small pouch. Its mouth was loose, the contents slightly spilling.

    It was a white powder.

    It was the goma drug.

    On the off chance they break out of there, use this. It, should help you fight better than normal  since it makes it so you can''t feel pain or fear

    When Kotarou had indifferently handed them this power drug, these three vanguards, for the first time, felt a chill looking at that diminutive boy. And they finally realized that they were facing a Shaman.

    They wanted toin about suddenly being handed such dangerous goods, but Kotarou was right after all. They wouldnt win in a normal fight against the guardian beasts. After sustaining some damage, theyd be hard-pressed to continue fighting while in pain.

    They were facing inhuman beasts whose loyaltiesy solely with Reina. If they were to surrender, they would not be granted any mercy.

    So they must fight. Fight as long as their bodies hold. As it was their only way to survive and buy the most time.

    And to do that, it was as Kotarou said. They needed to suppress both fear and pain with the drug.

    Rx, I adjusted it so that you wont get addicted with just one shot. No really, once will be fine, trust

    They never did believe him on that  But now it was theirst hope.

    Thus, Ueda, Nakai and Yamada, all three partook in the forbidden substance.

    Uh!, GHH!

    GGHHOOO

    Uh! OOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAA!

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 143: Shaman VS Spirit Master (2)

    Chapter 143: Shaman VS Spirit Master (2)

    Inside Seyrams watery insides, I stopped thrashing about. Swimming wont do me any good here. Once youre in this damned aquatic prison of a body, there is no reason in struggling, theres no way out.

    Nows around the time my oxygen bar runs dry and my HP starts to drop instead But no worries.

    The Shaman is weak. Weaker still when, like in my current situation, he hasnt had any decent prep time. I can proudly admit I know exactly where my strengths lie.

    But I went and did it. Despite knowing that this guardian beast Seyram was protecting Reina, I carried out my n anyway.

    Even a single one of these guardians are way too strong. Even with superior Rem, no, even if all of us ganged up on one, I dont see a way we could win. I mean, she''s literally made of water right? Dont think physical attacks will work that well. So despite my hesitation at first, I did it regardless.

    What Im trying to say here is that I wasnt underestimating these things thinking I could take them if its one by one.

    But let me just say this  If its this one here, I can work something out, no problem.

    Blubh!

    Curse time. I open a palm and let some blood flow out. Its my blood. A shamans blood: ck Bloodline.

    That blood quickly dissolved into the fluid currents. Should be enough. One drop is always all it takes.

    Now, lets get the party started  eat acid, Rotten Bog.

    RRRHHAAAAAAA!!

    Waaghh!?

    With an ear-splitting scream, she spit me out. It was so fast, I couldnt react at all andnded face first on the grass. My nose, my poor nose.

    My nose is numbed from the pain, but I still make out the damned water spirit screeching like she was calling Onee-sama! at Reina.

    Huff haaa Hah, HAHAHAHA! Like that? Thats the feeling of getting your body getting pumped full of acid!

    Operationplete. Feels so good, Im cackling like a generic viin.

    Right now, Seyram is screaming in suffering and agony. The cause being naturally, me, as Id manifested my Rotten Bog inside it.

    This instance of Rotten Bog made using my own blood didnt need to be in the ground. It called forth its acid on the spot. Usually, the curse makes a bog of a limited radius, but theres always plentiful bog acid to go around. I estimate its enough to easily fill up a bathtub.

    I sted the water spirit with all that acid smack dab inside the stomach.

    Kyaaaa! Sey-san! Noo, Sei-san!

    OOOO, KIAAAA!

    Yeah, of course, Reina would notice. And not only because of the screaming. With the bog acid bubbling inside, the guardians watery body was quickly saturated with the stuff and the whole thing became a vivid muddy-red.

    I can hypothesize that Seyram should be fine with some poison or other harmful liquids getting inside her. If shes meant forbat, this sort of defense, immunity? Internal plumbing? Anyway, she ought to be built in with that kind of stuff.

    But if the icky piles up so much it literally makes her color change, I doubt she can clean up fast enough. She was in too much pain to do anything.

    Seyram, right now, couldnt focus on her enemy or her master. She could simply writhe under my cursed acid as it melted apart her delicate liquid body.

    But it still isnt dead. Lets not leave things undone.

    Soar, oh wings of misfortune, rooted in this  Contra-beat Butterfly

    Been a while since I used this one. This time, Im using antidote made from blueflowers as the root. This curse will turn my poison relief into a poison aggravator.

    Seyram is currently in a state where her whole body is bubbling with poison, so this will work just wonders.

    The swarm of butterflies makes their way towards the red and rotting creature of water. With the power to seriously ruin your day, the butterflies quietly and gracefullynd on her as if shes a delectable flower.

    RRRHHHAAAAAA

    Just as the swarm touched Seyram, they became phantasmal particles of light and vanished. And with thest of its death throes, the guardian beast was no more. Seyrams body lost its shape as she sttered onto the fairy square grass, now looking a lot like sewage, like a disgusting pile of sludge.

    It was me, a weak Shaman, versus her, an overpowered guardian spirit of water. My victory was solely due to exploiting its elemental weakness.

    Yup, looks like guardian beasts arent all that smarter than normal ones. To win, Seyram should have kept hitting me with waterballs, killing both of us. If she did, Id be dead, and Reina would be fine.

    She thought she could kill me indirectly by drowning me inside her body, but that n didnt go that well now did it?

    Guess I can say I was sure Seyram would never choose to sacrifice herself for a lowly shaman like me. Ultimately, it was Reina herself who didnt want to lose her precious guardian.

    Sure, if she actually yed that master part of Spirit Master, Shed be wary of my Rotten Bog and realize how it was, affinity-wise, disastrous for Seyram. She shouldvee at me with the resolve to lose her beast. See, I dont actually know if these spirits can be revived, or if they die when theyre killed.

    But there are certainly no extra lives for Reina herself. Even if she lost Seyram, she can just strive to get stronger as a Spirit Master, and maybe in the future, she would have gotten her hands on an even stronger spirit, maybe even a higher tiered Seyram, like, greater water spirit or something.

    And there you have it. Reina was a fool to think she could get by doing absolutely no work. Thats why she lost.

    Reina

    Hiii!?

    Herst ray of hope gone, Reinas face dyed in fear. In her eyes, I must look something like a devil or the grim reaper. Not that I disagree.

    Anyst words?

    I draw my insta-kill weapon, Red Knife, and inch towards her.

    N-No, please, no, don''t do this, noo

    Reina quickly degraded to a sobbing mess. Co~me o~n. We were in the same team for a bit, so the least I could do is hear your parting words. Goodness, the same egotistic child as ever I see.

    But thats staying in character I guess. Its thanks to this attitude of yours that we ended up like this. But you dont regret any of that do you?

    Sure sure. My words wont get through to you anyway. Guess, this is it then I dont need the whole let you beg for your life and then kill you shtick

    I stop around 3 meters away from her. Reina herself is so weak, even I could kill her with just a knife. But you can never be too careful. Im thinking of those action dramas where the two people get into ast struggle, the one with the knife finally ending up stabbed instead. Yeah, no thanks.

    So Ill be using ckhair bind to murder her safely from a distance. From here, I can stab the neck or heart or wherever I please.

    Die bitch!

    KYAAAAAA!!

    With 100% uracy, my red knife pierces Reinas neck  Not.

    The scorching red de wont reach. It stopped dead right at her neck.

    What the fuck!? Cant move it! Move damniiit!

    NOOO!!

    My ckhair tentacle isnt moving no matter how much I push, no matter how much mana I pump into it. Itspletely frozen in ce.

    The hell man, dont fucking tell me, In the crisis of her life, Reina awakened the psychokic ESP sleeping inside her? Im-fucking-possible, How the even  No wait.

    Maybe not so im-fucking-possible. Its not ESP, but I do know of something simr.

    No its not, Sacred Tongue: Word of Rejection!?

    Thats what the Sage Takanashi Kotori had. Its a self-defense magic that, from just her shouting, any physical attack would be rendered immobile.

    Ive seen it in action too, so I connected it to this.

    I already know theres intermixing of skills amongst different callings. So Word of Rejection is likely a rare skill granted to mages and not a special skill only for the sage. Hell, I could even believe Reina suddenly getting this power now that she lost all her spirit beasts and was forced to fend for herself.

    Who knows, it could even be one of her three starter skills.

    Motherffff you just HAD to get a stupid power-up!

    I am not, NOT, letting this be a hero turns the tables withst-minute deus ex machina clich.

    I retrieve the knife, nning to finish her with my own hands.

    Good thing Sacred Tongue: Word of Rejection doesnt deal any damage.

    That time when we had to deal with a swarm of ants plus the mantis, the skill was overruled. With willpower and tenacity, I should be able to do the same.

    So I make my attack to end this.

    Noooo! Get away! IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou-I-HATE-YOU!!

    Ngahh!?

    Under the power of Reinas utter andplete rejection, my body was paralyzed head to toe in the Imma stab you pose.

    Ugh, I-I cant Cant move dammit! Wait, whats, Im having trouble breathing and, and I kinda feel something, like something grating inside me it, it hurts!?

    Ghgh, ghaa

    IhateyouMomokawa-kun!

    Sh-shut up you. I cant stand that squeaky voice. It grates on my mind shit, what the fuck is this, is this really Word of Rejection?

    No, maybe not. It could be a stronger skill that stops the enemy AND causes damage.

    Donte-close-to-me, EVER-AGAIN!!

    GUOOOOO!?

    It feels like all the muscles in my body are tearing off and my head stings like crazy. I have no idea how, but Im definitely sustaining bodily damage. Its not like I was cut or tackled but this damn pain, its like a telepathic attack on the mind or like a physical effect generated via pure mana. Dammit, dammit, I cant think of anything to fight this.

    And why the hell isnt pain return working on her? Did this power nullify even that No, no, its because this isnt being considered an active form of attack. Reina is simply standing there while Im doing the attacking, so theres nothing to Return.

    Another way to look at it is that Reina simplyid down a trap, and I stepped into it on my own. If the enemy doesnt directly attack, Pain Return doesnt have a target to act on.

    Get out!

    GAH AAAAGHHAAA

    Blood spurt from my nose. Now its even causing bleeding. Fuck, Im gonna die at this rate. This mystery skill is gonna kill me by bleeding me dry from all the pores in my body.

    Should I back off for now? I kinda feel like this power isnt preventing me from backing away. Meaning, I still have the option to retreat.

    Yeah right. Im never gonna get another chance to get this close to her if I let this go. I just know it. If I let myself ept this Rejection, theres no looking back. I cant do that.

    That means, this, right here, right now, is my one and only chance to kill Reina.

    GET OUT!!

    KHHAaaa

    But my willpower isnt enough wont move my body. Ill be dead before I can muster up that much.

    No use, I cant reach her. No matter how I struggle Im forever a mere 30 centimeters away. My flimsy morsels of courage and guts werent doing shit to this invisible wall.

    Pain is gnawing at my head and everywhere else. And its getting worse. At this point, my nose is gushing and I think Im crying out blood.

    U ugh, bleergh!!

    And then theres the vomit. That boar stew I treated myself as ast supper of sorts is all over the floor now.

    Ahh, hell, Im really gonna die here. Im done, Im so done. In the end, a chum like me cant even hope to get vengeance.

    The thing called pain, it makes everything its bitch. My seething desire to murder is cooling fast. Its enough. I tried. Theres things you can do and things you cant. A Shaman just cant win against a cheat tier calling like Spirit Master. Its time to face facts.

    Yamajun wouldnt have wanted me to do this. If he saw me right now, I bet hed tell me to stop, with that worried look of his.

    So this is enough. I really did get close to killing Reina. Lets leave it at that.

    Isnt it fine? Just let this girl wander the dungeon forever with that fake Souma-kun.

    Yeah, Im, just, fine

    You

    Yeah, Im fine not killing her anymore.

    Kill you

    So Ill just, get some help.

    Reinaa Ill, fucking

    Yo Higuchi. Lend me a hand here. Help me kill like you.

    KILL YOU!

    I drop red knife.

    And in its ce, grab Higuchis butterfly knife from my pocket.

    Its unbelievably sharp. And somehow, just holding it makes me itch for murder. Its like the thing is possessed by all of Higuchis malice.

    AAAAAAA!!

    Am I real life? I can move. With this knife, I can move.

    Those infinite 30 centimeters are finally reaching zero.

    NOOOO! Ihatey-AAAA!!

    UOOOOOH

    Scattering fresh blood from my nose and eyes while vomiting relentlessly, I go for the kill like a zombie seeking prey. Everything hurts, everythings heavy.

    I trip on my feet, knife on the ready.

    A!

    When I came to, I was on top of Reina.

    Id nked out for a second. But the knife was still firmly in my hand.

    KYAAA!! WAAAA!!

    Having be my mount, the girl seems to have finally lost it. She cried and screamed and struggled violently. But shecked the strength to push off even a scrawny guy like me.

    Reinas Rejection was still working mind you. Every baby-punch of hers felt like holes being drilled into me.

    Quickly, I have to finish this quickly or Im dead.

    Hah, Haa. Re-i-naA AA.

    I point my shaking knife at Reinas petite chest. I, dont have the strength left to stab it in. So, Ill use my body, Id use my weight to pierce her  But looks like theres still some fight left in her. Reina grabs onto my hands.

    No, dont, dont do it! Dont kill me, someone please!

    Dih-Die EEEEE

    Reina used every once of her strength and dyed my hands.

    Shitshitshit, I dont have time for this. Im so close, millimeters away.

    One, more, one more push

    Someone help! Yuu-kun, HELP!

    Its over, Reina

    The knife, gently, pierces through.

    It tears through her school uniform, and at longst, breaches her skin. Then, it ended all too fast. My butterfly knife smoothly reached all the way inside Reinas chest.

    Ah, a Yuu, ku

    Her eyes were wide open, but I wasnt the one she was seeing.

    No there was only one guy she ever looked at. Souma Yuuto. And she died, still looking towards him, she died as a simple girl in love.

    Haa haaa. Haa  W-well thats over

    And arent we taking this a little too casually? Dont think its a problem though. Honestly, I cant think straight anymore, so Ill stop doing that for a while.

    I cant even lift a finger right now. I copsed, still on top of Reina who still had the knife sticking out of her chest. From a different perspective, a scene like this is bound to cause a misunderstanding or two.

    Whatever. Im too tired to bother. Im tired of dealing with this bitch, and her stupid whimsies.

    I did it  I really, did it

    Right. This is after 10 seconds, 20? Or maybe more than 5 minutes after. All that gnawing pain was now simply gone, and when that happened, I came to.

    Since Reinas dead, her Sacred Tongue was, naturally, undone. But the damage I sustained is still there, and after that Olympic marathon of IhateyouIhateyous I feel dead tired. But it doesnt hurt so much that I cant move. Plus, I cant just lie on top of her corpse, totally not into that. Feels gross.

    I somehow got myself sitting up and looked at her face.

    Higuchis was better

    Unlike that guy, who had epted his death, Reina mustve kept thinking, why me, until the bitter end. Never even tried to consider why I was doing it. With Higuchi, it was a true duel. Both of us went all out with everything to lose. But what happened today Can I really call it a duel between shaman and spirit master? Was it simply my one-sided vengeance?

    Is it something that thew, that ethics, or a third party could deem righteous?

    Yeah, fuck that. It only matters that I deem is righteous. And I really believed that I had to kill Reina A. Ayase. Me. I had to do it. I took that vow, and now, Ive realized it.

    Haaa Im tired

    Theres no joy or urge tough now that its done. I dont regret anything though.

    No really, I dont feel anything seeing Reinas frozen in terror face.

    Its more a, Yup, thats done. It was tough. Im tired.

    Guess I need to clean up. I slid out the knife. Didnt consider it, but I guess if you popped the stopper off a fresh stab to the heart, the blood really fountains out.

    Ew

    Shit, got some on my face. Disgusting.

    Whatever, I can wash upter. Both myself and my knife.

    Im, still pretty damn tired actually. Cant really stand up. Heres a thought, I can lie down again and sleep but of course, it wont go my way.

    Ah, finally

    I can hear the jolly group of friends entering the square.

    Reina being dead meant that the guardian beasts fighting them also went poof. Figured.

    I can hear, yup all 4 of them. Ueda, Nakai, Shimokawa, and Yamada. Good. All of them made it out alive.

    The dungeon goes on after all, and theyre all preciousbatants. Cant have them retire just yet.

    Haa I should probably get an excuse ready

    I thought I nned this all out, but my head is drawing a nk as to how Im going to exin my way out of Reinas murder.

    I was considering how to break the ice, but before that, theyd alreadye running to the crime scene.

    Oi, Momokawa! Wheres Re

    At that moment, everything went white. If I had to guess, that was Ueda talking, but I cant see anything now.

    The light. Its this light.

    Light so bright and dazzling, it covered every inch of the fairy square.

    What is this light  the answer to which, I should have known. But with the piled up fatigue, my head refused to work, so I didnt know. No, actually, I might be trying to subconsciously refuse that answer.

    Momokawa

    That voice. That was the only voice I shouldnt have to hear at this moment.

    I turn to face it. I couldve ignored it, but I reflexively face towards the voice.

    Reina?

    With an expression of abject horror, standing there was, wouldnt you believe it, guardian beast SOUMA YUUTO. Shit, this ones still alive  is me actually trying to be optimistic.

    S-Souma, Yuuto

    He was the real deal.

    Standing there was the one the only, the Hero, Souma Yuuto.

    Hednded at this fairy square after a transfer. Thatd be the gist of how.

    Yikes, its Souma Yuuto guys!?

    Oi oi give me a break!

    Dudes, we better get outta here

    The totem-pole trios words fell on deaf ears. For both me and Souma-kun. They could be air for all we cared.

    H-huh Is, is that Reina

    Because this guy was looking right at me, no at my feet, wherey Reina in a pool of blood.

    No, she cant be dea

    He was in despair as if the world had just ended.

    Yet he, Souma Yuuto, is the hero. And the hero never surrenders to despair. For he is the one who drives it back.

    He, the hero, thus fights. For he loathes the evil that creates such despair.

    Momokawa, so it was you

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 144: Parting ways

    Chapter 144: Parting ways

    Im so dead.

    I can neither say nor do anything about this predicament.

    I cant do anything but stare dumbly at the Hero thats about to strike me down in rage.

    I only got a glimpse of Souma-kuns sword approaching me, at least, I think I did. Ahh, so thats a heros sword, it suits him.

    Momokawa! You, you killed Rei

    Souma-kuns wail was silenced by a deafening sound of metal hitting metal. It was a high pitched sound very familiar to anyone whos lived long enough in the dungeon. It was the sound of des shing.

    Large, brilliant sparks danced in the air. Its beautiful, I thought nonchntly.

    Whaf!

    I was hit by a gust of wind. My hair was flung back, and I closed my eyes on reflex.

    Kotarou-kun

    And when I opened them again, there she was.

    Mei-chan?

    Yes, Kotarou-kun, Ivee to save you

    Her smile was that of an angel, nay, a goddess. That beautiful smile, that gaze filled with kindness was directed only at me. Is this how the devout feel towards their God? It must be, Im certainly a believer now.

    But the girl standing there was neither an almighty god, nor the goddess of beauty.

    Yeah, Its Its been a while, Mei-chan

    Futaba Meiko. Calling : Berserker. She was the one person I could trust with all my heart.

    Futaba-san, what are you doing!

    Souma Yuuto bellowed.

    Just now, I was about to be cut down by him. He saw Reinas corpse and decided that I must be the killer. I am, though.

    And as if trying to follow after her by killing me and dying from Pain Return, he swung his sword. But Mei-chan interfered. She used a huge ck halberd and came at him from behind, fully intent on killing him.

    But as expected of a hero, he sensed the danger, and swerved around, right as his sword was about to hit me, and parried the blow. He seeded in defending, but because of his bad posture, he wasnt able to brace his legs. Souma-kun was thus sent flying by Mei-chans attack. And again as expected, hended wlessly on the ground.

    Anyway, this is how I avoided instant death.

    The only reason Souma-kun didnt do a follow-up attack was because Mei-chan had ced herself between us, protecting me. She held the ck halberd in her right hand and a ck wall-shield in her left. She rooted her shield on the ground as if to hide me.

    So I was now behind Mei-chan, literally the safest ce in this whole goddamn dungeon. And now that I was safe, as in not petrified in the face of death, I sanely evaluated the situation.

    Futaba-san! I knew it, she did betray us!

    W-wait, stop it, Yuuto-kun and Futaba-san, both of you need to calm down!

    Ah, thats nostalgic, I thought as I verified that everyone had survived.

    Looks like the Souma party that had left me to die hadnt increased or decreased in members. Theyre all familiar faces.

    Theres your Souma Sakura, ring at Mei-chan, and me behind her, as if we were her worst nemeses. Then theres ss Rep, the ever hard working mediator, who was desperately calling for a ceasefire between Souma-kun and Mei-chan. She kinda looks exhausted. Is she alright? Maybe she wasnt eating properly? I think Ill treat her to some boar stewter.

    A bit behind Sakura and ss Rep, there was the already shaking in fear from the sudden turn of events duo, Takanashi Kotori and Natsukawa Minami.

    I could also spot Kenzaki Asuna, the culprit behind my attempted but failed murder via pushing me out of the transport circle. She was turning pale when she saw Mei-chan, ready to fight and willing to kill. I see, so her trauma from being beaten ck and blue by the berserker is still there.

    But isnt there something she needs to say to me after all this time? Like Sorry or Please forgive me or It was wrong of me? I wouldnt forgive her with just an apology though.

    You three, Ueda, Nakai, and Shimokawa I see, so youre the bastards that helped him kill Reina!

    Yamada-kuns there too. Dont ignore him please.

    And no, theyre all innocent! They tried their very best so that the reclusive NEET would see reality. They fought valiantly to keep the guardian beasts in check. ming them ispletely and utterly unreasonable.

    If you must, then me me!

    But ying attorneyester.

    Theres no longer room to talk once you draw your des to kill. When theres a weapon pointed at you, words only act as further provocation. Thats what it means to resort to violence.

    W-we didnt do it!

    Yeah, we only wanted to rescue

    Dudes, this is really bad, we gotta get out of here

    Correct you are, Shimokawa-kun. Theyre the type that just dont listen when theyre angry.

    Well, since Reina is already dead, we cant expect any excuse to pass.

    I bet that Souma Sakura, shed say that I had to save Reina no matter what, that I should have absolutely prevented her from dying and never resort to killing her in self-defense. Heck, shed say that I shouldve died instead if it was a choice. I fucking bet shed say all that with a straight face. It was Reinas life > power gap > my life. For her, its a matter of subjective value.

    So even say I was in court and the judge deemed it legitimate self-defense, the Souma siblings still wouldnt have it in them to forgive me.

    I wont Ill never forgive you!

    Look, hes even saying that. His Cross Calibur looks like its about to go nuclear.

    But now, I wasnt in imminent danger. I had some time to think, all thanks to Mei-chan protecting me.

    Mei-chan, she probably also realized that I was the one who killed Reina-chan. But she still aimed her de at Souma-kun, her ally just moments ago, without the slightest hesitation. Only because she believes in me. Shes the only one in the world whod say: My life > power gap > Reinas life.

    I say this every time: having someones trust feels absolutely fantastic.

    If instead she was someone with a half-assed sense of justice, right now Id be getting the Cmon, Its better to confess and atone for your crimes you know? treatment, that literally never works in your favor.

    Thats how awesome she is. If we cant get out of this now, we arent supposed to.

    Oh-kay people, Id like to exin how this all happened, so lets all put the pointy bits down alright? Ayase-san has died. Indeed its quite a tragic ident and

    You have some nerve! Momokawa-kun, I will NOT let you pass off murdering Reina as some kind of ident!

    ss Rep, would you be so kind as to tell Souma-san to calm down? Otherwise, we simply cant resolve this matter in peace

    No Momokawa. I wont listen to any more talk

    Souma-kun red at me in unrelenting hate. Terrifying. If Mei-chan wasnt here, I wouldve shat my pants under that much bloodlust.

    I figured him more reasonable than his hysterical sister  but perhaps the fact that his childhood friend was killed sent hisposure to orbit.

    This bitch Shitting up my life even after death

    I cursed at Reina who I still hate very much by the way. If only wed met them at the next fairy square, We couldve set our stories such that we never saw Reina, and it couldve been such a happy reunion.

    At the cost of her life, Reina had managed to get the Hero to direct his animosity at me. She practically put a curse on me. Me. A shaman. You canugh now.

    But for them to get transported here of all ces and at the worst possible timing I can hardly call it a coincidence. This was likely nned. Like by some mastermind whos monitoring all of us inside the dungeon, or it could have been the gods. Maybe the god of spirit masters didnt like that I killed Reina, and fiddled with the Souma partys transport destination. I could totally believe that.

    No matter what reasons you had, I I cant forgive you for killing Reina

    Anyway, Ill leave the matter of a mastermind for ater thought and should focus on the problem at hand. Souma-kun is serious. And hes even saying that he wont hear a single excuse from the culprit.

    At this point, I dont think anyone could stop him.

    No, maybe Tendou-kun could. Calm the fuck down, hed say, as hed literally knock some sense into him with his fist?

    I nce around to find, nope, no one else popped in.

    So youre saying I shouldve died instead? She attacked me, and I was about to be killed. It was self-defense

    Shut up! I dont need your excuses

    Stop, please stop this already! We cant solve this by fighting amongst ourselves!

    Ryouko, we cant make amends anymore. Momokawa-kun he, killed Reina. Killing is his nature

    Hey, Im not a murderous psychopath alright I, I had to kill her, it was her or me! If you got a problem with that, then why didnt YOUe and save her! Dont push the me on me when YOURE the Hero and Saintess! If you need someone to hate, hate yourselves for not arriving on time, not me!

    Any negotiation would break down anyway. It wasnt even on the table to begin with. Anything I said now was merely prolonging the inevitable, so I just said whatever.

    Futaba-san, please move out of the way. Let me, let me avenge Reina

    No, you back off, Souma-kun. You heard what Kotarou-kun said: Ayase-san died by ident. You cant me him for it

    Even if, that was the case I cant forgive Momokawa. I can never forgive him for stabbing Reina in the chest like that

    Dont do it, Souma Yuuto. Ayase-san wouldnt want you to take revenge, would she?

    !!

    He lost his words, not because I got through to him. And certainly not because Souma Yuuto somehow got the mental image of Reina sweetly saying to him Please Yuu-kun, dont hurt yourself for me.

    I was just adding oil to the fire. Me, the master baiter.

    He was just so angry his words got stuck.

    If we really fight here You will lose at least 3 people you know? Are you really suggesting your friends sacrifice themselves for someone who already died? Thats just too cruel

    Lets simte a total war. First, I can take out one of them with Pain Return. With me dead, Mei-chan will snap and use reagent X to go full berserker mode and wreak havoc. She can definitely kill 2 or more. If we yed our cards right, everyone except Souma Yuuto would be dead.

    But then, Mei-chan and I would die too, so no.

    Futaba-san, Ill say it onest time. Move. If you dont I will kill him even if I have to harm you

    I will protect Kotarou-kun. If you mean him harm, then youre my enemy I kill my enemies. No exceptions

    Its the climax. In the next moment, we might be in a no holds barred battle royale.

    Which means, its now my turn.

    I celebrate your death with a curse upon your shell. In blood of ck, meat of mud, head only empty. That shell contains a soul no more, but a false heart of dregs impure. Crawl, emerge, and resurrect  Corpse-doll of Resentment

    I was out of mainly stamina, so my mana should hold. And look, I just so happen to have a fresh corpse right here.

    Reina, if you can curse me even after death, Ill curse you even if youre dead. Now Ill make you work, Ill use you so I can survive.

    Freeze, you move one step and I cut

    Reinas corpse reanimated and stood up beside me. I then brought out Higuchis butterfly knife that Id put away, and touched it to Reina the Corpse-doll of Resentments face.

    And I warned them, with the biggest grin I could muster.

    You wouldnt want her corpse desecrated now would you?

    MOMOKAWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

    Souma Yuuto roared in ear-bursting rage. As for the little sister, she wore an expression best described as disgust beyond perceivable bounds.

    But freeze they did. Not one of them moved. For them, even the corpse worked as an excellent hostage.

    Good for you, Reina. They care so much, even if its just your soulless body.

    And good for me, I can use that to get out of here.

    You let us go free here, and Ill leave the body clean. But If I detect even a hint of you tracking us, like with an elemental, I cant guarantee her treatment. Now, if you dont want your cute childhood friend to undergo some intense amateur surgery, I suggest you dont do anything stupid

    They have no way to rescue her. After all, the one under the proverbial hood of Reinas corpse is none other than my loyal minion Rem, my ever so adorable little mud doll.

    And Rem knows exactly what Im ying at. So theres no way the hostage will run away. The criminal and hostage are on the same team, so well both be extra careful not to show any openings. Like if Souma Yuuto lunges at me, Rem would dly use her body to take the damage.

    With Rems utmost level of cooperation, Ill have no trouble walking while in the hostage holding pose either.

    Lets go, Mei-chan. Looks like itll be back to just us again. Sorry

    Dont be. Im happy as long as youre there

    She really annihted my heartstrings with that one. Im really gonna fall in love. Nope, already have. Its to the level where Im terrified of the mere concept of not being with her.

    No, keep it together, me. Stuff like thates after we get out of here safely.

    Shimokawa-kun, can I get an Aqua Mist?

    Eh!?

    The guy jumped when I suddenly addressed him. Hold it together man, once Im out, youre gonna need to lead the party.

    You guys are innocent, Im the one who killed Reina. If youe with me, theylle after you too. So this is where we part ways. Thanks for everything

    In truth, I wouldve preferred not losing the war-potential, but theres no merit in them following me while Im being hunted by the Souma party. Whether they want to prove their innocence through discussion, or also run away because of the awkwardness, Ill leave it to their discretion.

    D-dude Are you sure about this?

    Yeah, I got Mei-chan with me after all. If we ever cross roads, lets fight together again

    Yeah See ya, Momokawa! Aqua Mist!!

    Under the thin veil of mist, Mei-chan and I exit the fairy square.

    Momokawa Ill never forgive you for this

    But Ill forgive you anytime Souma-kun. I hope you can calm down by the next time we meet. Then we can peacefully talk it out

    Souma-kuns fiery re and my icy nce crossed for just an instant. The square was quickly shrouded in mist and we were both out of each others sights.

    And so, Mei-chan and I, no, I guess Rem in Reinas body makes three of us; back to the old gang, now that I think about it. And so, the three of us once again entered a tunnel leading further into the depths of the dungeon.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 145: Confession

    Chapter 145: Confession

    After taking multiple random turns, we arrived at the next fairy square. When we parted ways with the Souma party, we had intentionally gone along paths different from the direction pointed by thepass so as to make tracking us that much harder. I guess this should be difficult enough.

    Welp, sorry Souma-kun. Reinas body turned bad after all

    Because of the curses effect, as soon as wed arrived at the square, Reinas corpse had ceased to move and turned to ash. Its the same thing that happened in Masarus case.

    But unlike my best friend, whose corpse-doll went bad after receiving heavy damage from Higuchi, Reinas was in prime condition.

    But it nevertheless crumbled to nothing, which might just have been Reinas resistance of sorts. Seriously, what a bitch.

    Haaah

    I heave a deep sigh.

    Reaching this safe zone after that mess from before really took a lot out of me. I had a lot to think about, but my head was starting to draw a nk.

    I was in an extreme state of fatigue. Physically as well as mentally.

    Kotarou-kun, how are you holding up?

    Tired I think Ill sleep

    I dropped everything I was carrying and plonked down on the soft fairy square grass. I didnt have the energy to make a spiderweave hammock like usual.

    And this happened just as I went to lie down.

    Wha!

    She was hugging me. This incredible softness, this warmth, and this amazing smell. Mei-chan was holding me close to thatrge chest of hers in a face to face hug.

    Eh, umm, what is it?

    Im so sorry For not staying by your side

    My face was buried in her tig ol bitties so I couldnt exactly see her expression. But I could imagine it well enough.

    Mei-chan, she was crying.

    No, its all good You did end up saving me after all

    Her simple act of holding me like this was more than enough. This was my salvation. In heart, in body, in everything.

    Im so, so d youre alive but still, Im sorry, Im so sorry, Kotarou-kun

    Heey, you dont need to apologize

    What matters is that were alive.

    Im alive and not in imminent danger anymore. All thanks to Mei-chan. Shes someone who could tip the power-bnce between me and Souma Yuutos cohorts.

    Shes the berserker who had be my ally. I couldnt even begin to express my gratitude for just that, and yet. And yet, just what cause did she have to apologize?

    It was tough, wasnt it?

    Sure, it was tough.

    You went through a lot of pain and hardship, didnt you?

    I did. I suffered and suffered. Almost to the point of death, multiple times.

    But what about it? We were all in the same situation, all here, in this merciless isekai dungeon with monsters around every corner. The hardship came as a set.

    Please, Kotarou-kun Dont cry

    Eh

    Im not crying.

    I think.

    Ill always stay with you. Ill carry your share of pain and hardship. So please Kotarou-kun, you dont have to hurt anymore

    Im, not

    Crying, not particrly hurt either.

    Ill protect you. Absolutely, no matter what

    I just had to struggle, over and over, only in order to survive.

    Anything and everything youve done, Ill forgive them, Ill ept you

    Right, I, to survive I

    Even if God himself wont forgive you, I will. Its not your fault Kotarou-kun, you havent done anything wrong. So, cmon, please dont cry. Please dont hurt. Please, believe in me

    Aaa, stop, stop it already. If you say it like that, all that stuff I buried deep down, tried to forget, all that shit I desperately tried to ignore  Its alling back.

    It was so painful so scary Mei-chan was gone and I, I was alone

    Mm

    Rem was there, so I could manage somehow. We even beat a basilisk But that, was really pushing it

    Mm

    But then, I just HAD to end up meeting Higuchi And I Ahh, shitshit, I had to do it

    Mm

    I met up with others too. This time, we did get along But it took everything to get there. I had to work hard to get them to trust me. Im just a Shaman after all, I cant fight alone

    Mm

    I got separated, again. Then met more people It went to shit. Why couldnt she think, why couldnt she understand, seriously, why couldnt she at least try She started hating me for no reason

    Mm

    I Killed people

    Mm

    I killed Higuchi. Because he killed Masaru

    Mm

    I killed Reina. Because she killed Yamajun

    Mm

    Was it, was I wrong to do that?

    Not at all, you did the right thing. Because, thanks to that, youre here alive now

    Uuh

    You gave your best to survive, every time. When no one would believe in you, all alone When you needed their strength, but just being with them only gave you pain, stress, anxiety, misery, and put intense pressure on you

    U-uuu

    Wee back, Kotarou-kun. You dont need to hold it in with me, alright?

    [Crying intensifies]

    Aaah, Mei-chans absolutely right, Im crying like a bitch.

    Wailing, screaming, the tears just keeping.

    But, its fine isnt it? Its just this once.

    Because Ive finally, finally reunited with the one person I can trust from the bottom of my heart.

    Fuaaaah

    I cried, went to sleep, woke up, and yawned, loudly.

    Y-yeahh, I ended up doing something extremely embarrassing Didnt think Id cry so much in front of Mei-chan. I had zero intention of doing that.

    Haaah~

    No, Ill admit it. I was broken, to the point where I didnt even realize it. My heart was messed up from all the piled up stress.

    Asuna shoved me out, I missed the teleport, went solo. That was just the first of my troubles.

    Versus the basilisk, if Rem didnt do what she did, I wouldve lost. It really was a close call.

    And just my luck, the next person I had to meet happened to be Higuchi. Monsters, theyre scary as a matter of course, but humans, theyre can be a whole other vector of scary. I could feel no emotion the whole time I had to look at that bastard Higuchis face.

    In the end, Masaru ended up dead, and I seeded in killing Higuchi. But then, Reina stole my way out. I was already at my physical limits, and then thrown into a situation ofplete and utter hopelessness.

    But as luck would have it, Randou-san picked me up. Tendou-kun and his gang, with them, it actually turned out pretty well. We had a good rtionship going. I can still think of them as allies I can actually trust But I cant deny that getting to that point was stressful.

    I had to employ my low-tier talking skills to somehow get them to ept me. Depending on what I did, I couldve ended up as useless trash #2 next to Randou-san. Maybe even left behind to fend for myself.

    For better or worse, my fate depended on my own actions. That was certainly an endless source of stress and pressure. Thats what it meant to start at the bottom rung of a party.

    Thanks to my diligence, no, probably thanks to the good nature of Randou-san and the other gals, I was eventually epted as one of them But that all went to shit, from one moment of leisure. Well, even if Id been alert, I couldnt have prevented that Arachne from fishing me up like tuna.

    After that, thats when I met princess Reina and her circle of peasants.

    Looking back, this party felt just as shit as Souma Sakuras harem party. They simply refused to work together in a productive way, just remembering is starting to give me a headache.

    So I had to leash them on warm meals, hot baths, and soft bedding. Even Reina couldnt simply ignore the higher level of civilized life. If theyd actually wanted to work with me, I wouldve given them these amenities anyway, free of charge The fact that I had to barter for their cooperation just goes to show how untrustworthy they were.

    I did end up gaining enough influence to have ordering rights over them, and a vague sense of trust had started to form. But it was still a fragile, limited trust. Without Yamajun, who actually held us together.

    What if Souma Yuuto hadnt popped in after I killed Reina? I wouldve had to lead them through more dungeon. But without Yamajun, I wouldnt be able to do anything as the party slowly broke apart. I didnt have the self-confidence. If this party were to face a truly dire situation, Im not sure we could ovee it.

    When it came to that, I would surely leave them and run off on my own again.

    But then, a shaman going solo is like, seeing how the challenges of the dungeon kept getting tougher, I could only see a bleak future down that path. Ultimately, for me, allies are a requirement.

    Its, better this way

    I mean, reuniting with Mei-chan was the best thing that couldve happened.

    Despite my biggest mistake ever, as in, incurring the wrath of Souma Yuuto, being together with Mei-chan again, became my salvation. After all, my heart was cornered enough to warrant wailing like an idiot.

    Doesnt change that it was embarrassing

    Its shameful, as a guy. I know Mei-chan is a kind girl, so she wouldnt shame me for doing something like that But then, shed also never see me as a man would she.

    Dammit, theres already Randou-san who treats me like one of her little brothers. Is Mei-chan gonna treat me like a crybaby now? Cmon, wheres my romance g?

    Kotarou-kun, done changing?

    Ah, yeah

    I was called by Mei-chan, so I put aside my embarrassment and regret, and tottered out of cover.

    Id gone to sleep right away after I was done crying my fill, so my clothes were still dirty from battle.

    Even thought I was that dirty, Mei-chan let me sleep on herp, without a word. I just cant believe how much she spoils me. I wonder, what if Mei-chan secretly got the Mommy unique skill?

    Anyway, after I calmed down thanks to the sleep, Mei-chan gave me one of her divine smiles and volunteered to do theundry.

    These days, Id gotten used to cleaning up for myself, but back when it was just the 2 of us, Mei-chan was always proactively doing those chores, and I really helped myself to that kindness of hers. Now, while I do feel a bit reluctant to let her do all the work, my willingness to be spoiled won out, and I indulged once again.

    That being the case, I was now changed into my gym clothes. And since she was at it, Mei-chan was also in her own gym uniform, currently washing her own clothes together with

    !?

    She was in her jersey. Seeing that, I froze.

    Kotarou-kun, whats up

    What do you mean what? Im getting extra eyefuls of your exemry cleavage there, miss. Wait, is she doing that on purpose? Is this the new trend in girls fashion amongst dungeoneers?

    She was wearing our schools signature deep blue jersey. Its zipper, halfway down. But thats normal. You see girls wear it like that in gym ss all the time.

    See, the problem is, she was doing theundry, meaning, that her undershirt and bra were both not at their designated locations, meaning, that under her jersey she was naked. Boobies, raw, naked boobies, my friends.

    And since she happened to undo her zipper halfway in that state, look. You cant not look, I cant not look Ahh, such a divine valley of white. Such, an impactful, explosive sense of eros.

    Everyone in ss knew Randou-san as the girl with the most bombastic breasts, but Mei-chan, sweet mother of the Lord. If we went by pure centimeters, Mei-chan topped our ss, topped the school, heck, I bet she topped the whole town.

    And she was actually showing off those ginormous jugs with just me here, meaning Is she inviting me? Is she really?  No wait, didnt I just have my face smothered by those naughty knockers? This is insane, my emotions were a mess at the time, and I literally wasnt aware of my tremendous bliss. I only felt strongly relieved by the sense of being enveloped, and wasnt in any state of mind to consider their hugeness, their texture, or their sexiness.

    Aaah, Im such a dummy, dumdum, why, WHY didnt I take the chance to get a good feel. Having stepped into such and of bliss, no well, I dove face first into it, but anyway, I, dont, remember, a thing!

    No, but, this in itself, is pretty bad too Now that Im back to normal, the radiance of her blessed cleavage are poison for my impure eyes. Oi, Im getting poison damaged here, Venomic Vessel, do your damn job!

    Shit, I, I cant Her massive mammaries looked taut enough that they would burst out any moment, and my eyes simply refused to budge. This is bad, I wont be able to make any excuses at this rate.

    M-Mei-chan, urm Your, uh, zipper, looks a bit low?

    I squeaked out, gathering the vestiges of reason left in me to angle my eyes away, but having them constantly flitting back on target.

    It doesnt go up more, too tight, you see

    Whats with that sexilicious reason!? Youre only supposed to find that sort of line in hentai.

    I, I see

    Mm, I kinda feel like theyve gotten bigger, you know?

    Theyre still growing!?

    No, wait, theyre not JUST bigger. I can tell, I just know. For I am, the self-proimed top titty connoisseur in ss, and I im That those breasts have transformed into something much greater.

    In the beginning, Mei-chans out-of-bounds udders simply couldnt fight the forces of gravity. They sagged quite a bit.

    However, thanks to her dungeon diet, and the Blessed Body skill, she now had the proportions to put any bust boasting gravure idol to shame. For her breasts had slowly begun to rise. Like how a space rocket escapes the bounds of gravity, she went from having simply huge tits, to huge rocket tits that stood high and proud.

    It was close to the limit before, but presently, even Mei-chans one of a kind XXL jersey became no match for her megalithic mountains.

    Here I stood witness to something truly fearsome. Mei-chan, she might just be the one to kill me

    Dont, mind it too much

    Ill, try

    Erm, well I guess its alright, if you look a little

    Yup, dead. Im dead now. Goodbye world

    I mean, well, Im on the bigger side, so I tend to notice when people stare But, if its Kotarou-kun, it doesnt really bother me so, I dont really mind

    I see, sounds tough

    I spoke, to the breasts.

    Excuse me. May I please use the washroom now?

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 146: How Theyâ€™ve Grown

    Chapter 146: How They¡¯ve Grown

    Her motherly care healed my heart while her ballistic breasts disintegrated my reason. Mei-chan made me experience ups and downs in ways more than one, but I was calm now. Id gone and relieved myself.

    Wed hung up theundry on a rope of ckhair so the both of us were still in gym clothes, that is, Mei-chan was still in her risque fashion of massively revealing cleavage. So she was now covered up with a nket. I know Im in sage mode, but my instincts can only stand so much boobies. I was weak to breasts as is, so more of the same situation would only make my reason crumble like a house of cards.

    For the above reasons, tis quite unfortunate, but for the sake of world peace, Mei-chans chest had been hidden away. Aah, couldnt I have that bliss for just a little longer Maybe I can expect more in the future

    By the way, you hungry?

    Mm

    I dont think Ive ever heard her say no to that question.

    Well, the dungeon wasnt exactly mountains of food. Fairy walnuts might provide our daily nutrients, but theyre never enough to be full. Everyone was hungry most of the time. But please understand, Im by no means implying that Mei-chan is a glutton.

    I, still have a few things, lets cook something up

    Really!?

    Would I lie to you? Mei-chan and I go way back, right? Rather than cooking for guys, itd be much more satisfying to serve food to her.

    But honestly, we really had used up most of the boar meat in thest supper before vs Reina, so I had just around one serving remaining. Other than meat, I had the herbs that worked surprisingly well as ents, and some bananatatoes, and I guess a bit of edible wild grass and mushrooms.

    For today, lets go with my specialty, the wild boar stew.

    AH, is, is that really, bacon!?

    When I took out thest piece of wild boar bacon, Mei-chantched on to it. Not literally of course.

    Thats right

    Wow, you even have it preserved Didnt that take a long time?

    Nope, I can do it instantly with curse magic

    Oh right, I got Witchs Cauldron after Id gotten separated from Mei-chan, so she obviously wouldnt know. I used this power quite frequently for lifestyle purposes, so lets get the show started.

    just watch, Witchs Cauldron

    I quickly dug a pot hole beside the fountain, and invoked the magic. Witchs Cauldron manifested in that stew pot sized burrow.

    Its got quite a bit of power actually, water boils pretty much instantly inside

    EHH, what-is-THIS?? Its heating up without any fire! Induction type?

    Probably not that. I was thinking it just heats up with some kind of magic. Even though its my own curse, I didnt really know the logic behind it. Its kind of, yeah.

    My cauldron doesnt just heat, it can also cool, and even make things dry. So just throw in raw meat, and you get instant jerky

    Wowow, aweshumm

    Mei-chan was getting awe-inspired to crazy levels.

    However, as a member of the cooking club, her interest in the subject was high to begin with. Witchs Cauldron was practically the ultimate cookware by which you could create countless cuisines. Unlike me, who was ok just having something to eat, she must bepletely ecstatic.

    Also, it can stir on auto, mix like a mixer, and lots more

    Awesome! Its so cool, Kotarou-kun!

    Uhm, wanna try itter?

    Do I! With this, I can make lots of things!

    Her eyes were sparkling. To be so happy with a Witchs Cauldron, guess this is where my shaman luck went. Actually, this is the sort of power that shouldve been bestowed on Mei-chan, not me.

    Putting down the hot stew, we spoke. About all the things that happened since the separation.

    I kinda feel like I spilled the point form when I was crying on her, but now that I was calmly going over the events Mei-chan started crying as she listened to all my hardships. Cmon, if you cry so emotionally, I feel like crying too.

    But if I were to see Mei-chans exposed chest again, my libido was sure to bury every other emotion. Raw tiddies in there after all.

    Anyway, enough about me. I just got a few new curses, didnt get much stronger anyway. Rem was dead again for example

    I was very curious about what Mei-chan had been doing.

    With how she instantly stood by my side and pointed her de to Souma Yuuto, I could rest assured that no NTR had happened. In the event that she happened to be smitten for his heroic charms already, I wouldve met my DEAD END being cut down right there.

    As for me I guess, it went well

    I wouldve been mad jelly of them if Mei-chan wasnt speaking of her experience with the Souma Party in such a sickened tone.

    In the time I spent with them, I realized this Ahh, no one, none of these people are one bit worried about Kotarou-kun

    She said that with such a stoic tone, that I felt my spine freeze over. She was obviously expressing how much she cared for my safety, how kind she was, but it was like, there was a boundless grudge surrounding her words.

    Technically, they did search for you, right? But, Im sure, none of them wanted to actually find you. No, they were hoping they wouldnt

    Well, duh. Thinking from those girls perspective, theyd rather not meet me ever again.

    After Id gotten left for dead, Mei-chan was absolutely furious with Asuna, but because of Souma Yuutos overwhelming might + ss Reps die hard attempt to calm her down, theyd somehow avoided an instant bloodbath.

    Mei-chan knew that shed need their strength to go deeper into the dungeon in search of me. While from Souma Sakuras perspective, as long as they didnt find me, Mei-chan would be friendly. Actually, the bitch would have peace of mind if Id died somewhere.

    Yeah, whatever. My approval rating among them was at minus already

    Yes, they just didnt like you and could only spew pretty words. I, I had to try my best just to keep the anger inside And uh, I dont really remember much of what happened

    Holy moly, Mei-chan was dead serious. You didnt have to get that angry No, from her point of view, Id been mercilessly left to die, while the group of criminals were moving on without so much as a hint of guilt. Yeah, Id get mad too.

    Ah, but I didnt forget to memorize what skills everyone had

    I see, thats good to know

    Mm, since I wouldnt know when theyd be enemies, I paid careful attention to their power sets.

    Looks like she was nning to betray from the outset. It was a nightmare situation for them, but aplete and utter joy for me.

    The further we went, the dungeon bosses became stronger too

    I listened as she recounted the Souma partys dungeon capturing in detail. I got the feeling that their bosses were clearly much stronger than anything Ide across.

    The living armors in the pce zone, the gogma of pyramid castle, and the four armed gogma.

    Id also beaten a gogma to exit the jungle zone, but to think there was one of those super strength monsters with double the arms. Id be dead meat against something like that. The only one other than the Souma Party who could manage would be, to my knowledge, Tendou-kun.

    Really, good job on beating that

    Its because our weapons were getting better along with the bosses. Plus, we could only beat the gogma boss thanks to you

    Eh, me? I cant think of any way I couldve helped?

    Well, I kind of used all of it the Reagent X

    EHH!? ALL OF IT!?

    I admit I had Mei-chan carry a hefty amount of it, but how did she end up using everything? Yeah I used antidote to adjust it, but it was still shoddy work. I hadnt determined a safe dosage either.

    Are you really fine!?

    Yep, Im really fine

    Yeah, I didnt see anything wrong with her. Shes awake and focused, and her face didnt look wasted away either. In fact, it felt like shed actually gotten prettier. I couldnt detect a hint of addiction.

    Still, please try not to do things that dangerous

    Sorry

    I was worried, yes, but Mei-chan was no idiot. It mustve been absolutely unavoidable in defeating the pyramid castle boss. It had served its purpose as an emergency counter-measure.

    I should be happy it helped in oveing a bad end scenario. For better or worse, Reagent X proved its usefulness. I should keep keeping some handy.

    Thats how it went for me. My equipment became better, I learned some battle arts, and got a little stronger I suppose

    Yeah, no, I listened to your adventures, so its no way just a little stronger.

    Ah, also, theres that too, we can use phones now

    you what now?

    Im saying we can use our phones now

    She repeated with a smile, me still no understand.

    Kotarou-kun, lets exchange numbers

    Under her refreshing smile, I ended up doing just that. Its been a big while since I turned this thing on. Id put it deep in a corner of my bag, but looks like the little guy still had some juice.

    Huh. I seriously didnt want to consider it but, Mei-chan, did she actually think that as long as the phones had power, we could use them as walkie-talkies?

    Im sorry, but phones you see, they arent actually connected via radio waves directly, but  *Ring ring*!!

    EHH!?

    It was ringing. On the screen, I could see the callers name, that of the girl Id just now exchanged numbers with, Futaba Meiko.

    Takanashi-sans sage magic, apparently she can use it to connect phones with calling and texting only

    Oh, I see

    Curses that Takanashi Kotori, to think she could even into phones. Sage magic is a damn cheat just like I thought. Actually, its her Upgrade skill thats the cheat. So shes been using the manastones, anothermon type of crystallized mana you read in fantasy, to delve into actual magic item manufacture.

    At this rate, the gap in equipment quality between us and them would continue to widen. On thest face off, Mei-chan was strong enough to oppose them But what if they had something like a rope,, something to cause paralysis, some kind of restraining weapon, a magic item. They wouldnt have had any qualms about disarming Mei-chan with it. Then, they could also use it on me, effectively rendering my Pain Return useless.

    Hmm, looks like well need toe up with a way to procure good weapons and items on our end too, and soon. That gogma I fought had good weapons and even a magic stave. We could get our hands on some nice things from monsters like that.

    Oh yeah, Kotarou-kun, I have a present for you

    Eh! What is it, tell meee

    What can I say, Im a sucker for surprises. Maybe its a sinister looking shamans staff she got from a loot box? Or wait, could it be her panties, like Randou-san gave me? Hmm, both those options are practical and useful indeed.

    I was thinking stuff that would get me reported if said aloud, but I was excited. What I ended up getting were 2 shiny essories.

    The ne is Drop of Life and the ring is called a Guard Ring. Theyre both really useful magic items for self-protection, so I was always thinking I want Kotarou-kun to have them

    Guard Ring: A ring that enables you to use the battle art Guard.

    Drop of Life: A single drop from the Waters of Life that can heal any wound. It has been crystallized into a small gem and mounted on a ne.

    Shed handed them over like giving someone a good luck charm for safe travels, but upon hearing their effects, I was without a doubt, speechless.

    I c-cant believe my eyes These are amazing!

    I couldnt believe that, after all this time, I finally got my hands on something for defense. As a weak shaman, I wanted a way to guarantee my safety as much as I wanted stronger attacks.

    Youve done it now, Mei-chan. We can strategy a lot better with these!

    Thank you! I feel like well have a much easier time with these handy!

    Im d you like them. Ah, do you want me to put the ne on you?

    Go right ahead. Im all for it if its a cute girl doing it.

    I quickly agreed to her suggestion, which quickly led to hell.

    Alright, stay still for a bit

    As Mei-chan moved her arms around me as ifing into a hug, the nket covering her loosened, and fell. This nket, that had sealed the twin monsters for the sake of world peace.

    And now, the twins were unleashed. Explosive titties in splendid no-bra jersey. And closing in fast!

    These outrageous, live boobies were swinging in front of my eyes. If I directed my head only a mere 10 centimeters forward, my face would find itself buried in that divine valley. Because of their tremendous size, I could imagine my whole face would fit snugly into the white crevice.

    I wanna do it, bury myself, motorboat No, I mustnt, control, control The smell, its so good Ahh, my Lord, Ruinhilde-sama, grant me salvation I cant, anymore

    And, there we go

    HaA!?

    Id passed out just now. I was practically on heavens doorstep. That was bad news, I didnt want to find myself in the afterlife just yet.

    THH, THANKYOU!

    Should I put on the ring too?

    AAA, SORRYY, I PUT IT ON ALREADYY!!

    I could only yell like a buffoon, that was my only means ofmunication. My sanity had depleted below measurable levels. If she were to do that again, I wouldnt be surprised if I burst. Truly, YES Oppai NO Touch.

    We have our equipment set, lets head back in

    You dont want to rest up some more?

    Theres still a chance theyve been following us, and I also want to make Rem again

    Oh right, of course

    Yeah, at this point, I think some dungeon diving is in order to avoid my personal constant near death experiences.

    Mei-chan, shes the one person I can wholeheartedly trust. Yet, she was, to me, possibly the sexiest girl imaginable Id finally remembered how hard it was to be alone with her all the time.

    No matter how hard I had it, I couldnt afford to lose her trust  I, would embolden my heard, and once again set off on a dungeon adventure with Mei-chan.

    Hey, Kotarou-kun. Actually, theres something I, have to, ask you about

    Once Id firmed my resolve, Mei-chan called out to me.

    Her look, concentrated in emotion, and her expression, extremely serious.

    Oh, go ahead, what is it?

    What in the world could this important question be? I straightened my posture to listen attentively.

    Well, its about theundry  care to tell me, who, these panties belong to?

    With a straight face, she presented a pair of leopard print panties.

    Ah. RIP in peace.

 Chapter 147: Who For Art These Leopard-Print Panties

    Chapter 147: Who For Art These Leopard-Print Panties

    Im sorry. These were something I somehow happened to receive, so please find it in your heart to forgive me

    Id thought up plenty of excuses, but in the end, decided to honestly apologize. I mean, Mei-chan just wasnt like Souma Sakura or the totem-pole trio who I could y word games on. I trusted her beyond anything, so I didnt want to lie.

    No need to apologize, Kotarou-kun. I really wouldnt mind it no matter how you got this

    Thank you, Mei-chan

    No, really, Im infinitely grateful she could ept my honest feelings.

    That aside, whose are they?

    TCHH! And here I thought the difficult conversation was over!

    Wh-what now? If I confessed honestly, I kind of have the feeling that Id be putting Randou-sans life in grave danger. Like, Mei-chans serious face super scary. That,dies and gents, was her berserker face.

    I didnt want to lie to her, but that being said, giving her the whole andplete truth wouldnt be beneficial for either of us, is the sort of convenient excuse I was considering.

    Like, oi oi oi, what am I supposed to do here I could choose my right to keep silent, but there was a limit to that too. I wanted to be honest to Mei-chan, as much as I could. But can I really just tell her basically everything? About how Randou-sans leopard-print panties were simply marvelous, that I used them every night, and couldnt bear to live without this wonderful, 5 star treasure anymore! Could I actually tell her that?

    No way in hell, its basically a masochistic form of sexual harrassment. I wouldnt be surprised if she just silently brought down the halberd on me after that.

    At this point, though I didnt know if it was cold sweat or nervous sweat, my face was nheless dripping in some kind of bad sweat as I stayed silent.

    I bet, these belong to Randou-san

    !? I, think I managed to avoid showing turbulence on my face after she made that pin point guess. I dont think Ive ever been this close to certain death!

    I, I wont fall for leading questions

    Randou-san is the only girl in our ss whod wear panties this size

    Sh-shitshit, shed deciphered it by size!

    Randou-san was known as the girl with the biggest tits in ss, but it wasnt just her chest that was on the up end. Her ass too wasrge.

    It should be mentioned that of the girls in ss 2-7, whether it be the hotties group including Souma Sakura, or the average to bleh like Nishiyama-san, they were all of normal size and build. The only one you could say was clearly plus sized would be Mei-chan.

    And if you discounted Mei-chan, who was an exception in quite a few ways, the girl who could boast supremacy in the hip department would be Randou-san. Bust, hip, she truly had thebo spice to KO anyone.

    She isnt as big as me, but shes pretty big. I cant imagine other girls having this sort of imported lingerie

    Wait, this was imported lingerie!?

    And this is pretty famous brand too. Its very much like Randou-san

    These leopard-print panties, their value rating was off the charts!?

    It was a shocking truth, a guy like me wouldve likely never found out. The next time I use these, Ill be sure to appreciate their splendor to the fullest There wasnt going to be a next time, was there

    OH, oh, I, see, thats great

    At this stage, I had no hope of covering for Randou-san, and just kept nodding my head like a bobble-head. Im so sorry Randou-san, I had no idea about the intricacies of high school girl panty culture, and their owner was easily unveiled by Mei-chan.

    Well, I was regretful, but that didnt mean I wanted to learn more about panties now.

    Um, Kotarou-kun, dont tell me Youre the type that prefers a girls underwear more than her body?

    No maam, I am 100% more into the body

    I cant lie to Mei-chan. Yup, truth it is.

    I see

    Thats right, believe me, I did no such thing as forcing Randou-san to hand over her panties you see. This is what happened, when I got separated from them, Rem was about to go after me, when shed apparently given this as a parting gift, and well, yeah, Randou-sans the type whod pull this sort of dirty prank right?

    I see, thats good

    Good? Really? Hey Mei-chan, are you really thinking that? Is this sort of exnation, that sounds more like an excuse than anything, really ok with you? That kinda makes me worried.

    But it was a fact that I hadnt told one lie there. Honestly speaking, I had no idea what Randou-san had in mind when she entrusted Rem with her panties. If I had to guess, she was used to hanging around guys, and thought that someone like me, who positively oozed his virgin status, would be happy being given such an article.

    Alright, so, can I have them?

    Eh?

    Well you see, having just one pair is a bit

    Mei-chan said, a slight shyness to her tone. Seeing that started making me embarrassed too.

    Also, I think this size will fit me pretty well as I am now

    Oh, of course! Please, go ahead and use it Mei-chan!

    This was the crucial bit! I gave in to her suggestion as fast as I could.

    Thanks, Kotarou-kun

    No no, you should thank Randou-san if anyone

    Today was a sad day. I had lost my important partner for the night, oh sweet leopard-print panties.

    And yet, these foreign luxury panties had now found another master to call their own, it was a happy day too.

    Mei-chan in leopard-print. Mm, not bad at all. Normal girls our age simply wouldnt fill out underwear of this size, but her, she could wear it snug and tight.

    Haah, d that didnt turn into a mess

    I was genuinely anxious whether Mei-chan would lose all faith in me after that one. I may have been her life savior, but even I couldnt be surprised if she simply left after thinking I was literally stealing underwear in a harsh dungeon survival situation.

    It was an insignificant argument that made me feel numb inside, but wed resolved it. I felt like I had escaped another face off with death, and gotten stronger as a result. I didnt want to try this again.

    With the incident of Mei-chan discovering the leopard-print panties over with, we did in fact leave that fairy square. We encountered some skeleton troopers, been a long time since Id seen those guys, and quickly took care of them. I used the bones as parts for remaking Rem. Rem came back, expectedly, in a ck skeleton form.

    For the time, I handed over her equipment, the sword and spear, as is.

    Wee back, Rem

    GAGA!

    Hey there, Rem-chan. Thanks so much for protecting Kotarou-kun all this time You did a great job

    GAGAGA!

    Rem looked satisfied having her skull patted by Mei-chan. I guess, in some ways, these two have been long battle buddies. Rem should also be happy being reunited with Mei-chan.

    And now, with the old team back together, Mei-chan, Rem and I continued on our path. From here on, we were following thepass, and going towards the boss room so we could teleport out.

    The current zone we were in was all stone, the kind of ce where skeletons spawned a lot. Id made it through some weird ces like the jungle and cloud zones, so this kind of normal ce sort of gave me peace of mind.

    But rxing was sin. This ce was simr to the earlier parts of the dungeon, but it was in fact much deeper here. There might be various unknown traps, or simply super strong monst

    Ah, found the boss room

    Wed made it to the boss room unbelievably easily. Well, I guess there were times like this too.

    The room had double doors like the ones we saw back at vs Orthus, and from a quick peek, it looked like arge, in hall inside.

    I couldnt see the boss itself, must be deep inside.

    Ok, lets go

    Well be entering head on this time. Ill keep an eye on the door, so we can run if it looks too dangerous.

    I had Rem stand in front of me with my wariness on max. While Mei-chan, she just fearlessly walked in.

    GOHRRRRR

    From deep within the dimly lit hall, I could hear the rumbling growl of a beast. The boss was here.

    Kotarou-kun, stand back alright

    Im here at the door. If theres a problem, we can run

    Mei-chan gestured got it behind her, and took a fighting stance.

    Thats A Goliath!

    It had a muscle-bound gori-like body, a brutal expression on its face and horns sticking out of its head. Id seen one of these before, so this was without a doubt, a goliath.

    Tendou-kun had insta-killed this thing, but Higuchi tried to avoid fighting it. It was an easy to understand boss monster that relied on its massive strength.

    Careful Mei-chan, this guys pretty strong and also moves fast!

    The goliath had started moving before Id finished yelling that. It was as big as that gogma, at a soaring 3 meter height, but it had the speed and reflexes to move fast and silently despite its size.

    The monster wasing straight at Mei-chan who was standing closest, bearing its sharp fangs. It was so fast, I couldnt find the time to send in ckhair Bind.

    Damn, it wasing to an all out melee. I had my doubts whether Mei-chan could actually best a strength focused monster head on

    HMPH!!

    Mei-chan hmphed in a not quite so girl-like, but heroic nheless, hmph, blowing away all my fears. Right after that, a loud, dull shing sound echoed everywhere.

    When I was thinking, what the, I could see Mei-chan holding her Dark Tower Shield in front of her, and the goliath, sloppily copsed belly up on the floor.

    Break

    Then, raising her Night Halberd of Dark Iron, she dealt the finishing blow to the dazed goliath in one merciless swing.

    With a ting of metal hitting metal, the goliath was splitpletely in two, from head to crotch.

    Fuuh, that wasnt so bad

    Mei-chan smiled as she observed her work. Mmm, this over powered berserker. Im in love even more. I dont think I can live without Mei-chan anymore.

    That was awesome Mei-chan. Youre so strong now

    Not really. The battle arts did most of the job

    But, you could beat it without using them right?

    Sure

    Her smile was too much.

    Still, now Id actually seen how strong Mei-chan had gotten. At the point where we got separated, I think she was still strong enough to take on a goliath, but itd be a tough battle.

    Her high base strength and speed, plus the newly acquired battle arts, plus a few high quality, upgraded weapons, and most importantly, all of the battle experience shes been gathering Shed, grown so much. And she was still growing, even now.

    Yeah, Mei-chan, youre soo dependable~

    Im d I am too, Kotarou-kun

    Ufufu, Ahaha, we chatted andughed, while in the mean time, Rem went and picked up the core.

    And look at that, I got my hands on some fine parts here

    The goliath had not only a powerful body, but also, hard and tough natural armor all over. If I used it as parts for Rem, shed get a lot stronger just like that.

    So, without further ado.

    With skeleton Rem ced at the center, I rolled the bisected goliath onto the Hexagonal Eye, and also added myst mandragora.

    Rise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earth Vile Mud Doll

    Oof, using the goliath whole was really draining the mana out of me. But I was all rested up, and hadnt fought once so far, so mana stores should be full. I wont run out from this much.

    Almost, almost, there

    GU, GO, GAGARHHAA!!

    With a roar from Rem, ck smoke plumed out from the ritualistic hexagon.

    Haaah Its, done

    The dark gas dissipated, and out came somethingrge and human shaped.

    Yup, pretty big She was, really big!?

    Wah~, Rem-chan, you got taller

    GAR, GURH, GORGARRR

    The new Rem was tall enough to easily surpass me, closer in height to Mei-chan. She was definitely taller than 170 centimeters.

    But that wasnt even the surprising bit.

    Ooh, youve got muscles

    Rem, whod had been a skeleton by default all this time, now had something akin to muscles on her. But these muscles were not the squishy type youd find in anatomical models, but a metallic gray that when touched Were quite hard. It felt not at all like living, breathing flesh, but like cold steel. Thin strings of metal had been bundled up in ce of muscle fibres.

    As for how these metallic strands were functioning as muscles Perhaps the contraction and rxation was all being managed by mana? I didnt quite get it.

    Rems steel flesh covered practically all of her body, being especially dense on the arms and legs. Her silhouette looked currently far closer to human than skeleton.

    As far as vestigial elements go, she still had a skull as a head, but that now had two horns growing out same as the goliath.

    The current Rem, with her full body steel skin, a skull head with horns like an oni, and with the much taller height, actually looked scary. In all honesty, I think shes the strongest one yet. Also, she looked more or less like a cyborg, which was super cool I might add. I wonder, was Rem not actually aiming for golem but robot?

    Rem, you look great Im proud of you

    GURRR, GAGAGA!

    The fact that she now had a shinier new body shouldnt fully be attributed to the goliath parts. Just like Mei-chan, Rem had also grown a lot.

    Its nice, looking at them grow up right in front of your eyes.

    From here on, we could hunt as many goliath tier monsters as we want thanks to Mei-chan. And with stronger parts, I could always further improve Rem.

    Alright, time to go

    Sure

    I got into the teleport circle holding the core when, Mei-chan suddenly attacked, no, hugged me from behind.

    Eh, wha-what is it?

    Like this, youll be safe in case anything happens

    Ahh, I get it. Starting with the thing with Asuna, I had a tendency to incur massive problems right after beating a boss. Like meeting Higuchi first thing after a transfer, like getting kidnapped by an arachnee, like Souma Yuuto suddenly popping in I needed to be extremely careful about the time right after a big fight.

    I couldnt let my guard down just because there wasnt anyone else here now. There was no telling when and where a new enemy might pop out from.

    Thanks. I feel much safer

    Mm, I wont let you go

    Really, thanks so much, for the soft fun-bags all around the back of my head. I, cant I just stay like this I thought, tasting a little bit of heaven, as the familiar light whisked us away.

    We arrived at the fairy square safely and without incident. The fact that there being no one from ss waiting took a load off my shoulders might mean that I was getting pretty anthrophobic these days. Well, considering all my experiences, I suppose Id have to.

    Those experiences tought me that rather than finding reliable friends in arms, I was more likely to chance upon useless burdens, and people who want to straight up kill me.

    I trusted Mei-chan above anything, she was my only true ally. And I pretty much didnt feel like Id find someone as trustworthy. I didnt at all feel like wed get a third member. The level of trust I had with her was, practically speaking, miraculous.

    Mei-chan had a gentle and trusting heart, and on top of that, Id saved her life, helped her in bing able to fight, and survived a ton of ordeals together. And making through all that and more together, wed developed a powerful bond. To look at it another way, if any of that mindset and experience was at allcking, we wouldnt be trusting each other very deeply.

    In contrast, losing that trust, getting disillusioned, being reluctant to cooperate and finally, hating each other, all of those coulde exceptionally fast. Just one mistake could send all the trust down the drain.

    If girls find out your masturbating habits youre suddenly a prisoner on death row, if multiple girls like the same guy, they start burning with jealousy, sabotaging each other and what not. People generally tend to focus on the negatives. Doubting was much easier to do than having some trust.

    Anxiety, fear, jealousy. It could be said that mankind had survived since ancient times only because they possess these cowardly instincts.

    Whatever, what mattered now was that there werent any others from ss here.

    And if there were, whether they turn out to be friends or foe, I wanted to be prepared for anything. If they became enemies along the way, we just needed to be stronger. On the flipside, if they wanted to join as allies, Id need certain chains topel them against betrayal.

    Those Chains as they were, would of course depend on the person. But with my Witchs Cauldron, I could make good food and hot baths, plus, I could provide decent spiderweave bedding too. Those little things together would make for a hard to ignore modicum of luxury in their daily lives. And I already had proof of their effect. They were so good that even thatzy ass Reina had to think hard before wanting to let go. Us kids from well off households would loathe to live without them.

    And lets not forget, I now had Mei-chan to employ the fear factor. I dont think itd work for people on Tendou-kuns level, but if its someone only as strong as Higuchi, we could easily handle them. Yup, violence was the best assurance after all.

    Ok, its fine and all preparing for people, but right now we needed to focus on the dungeon. We should first check out whats going on in this new zone.

    Thatst boss battle was a piece of cake, so we only took a short break before heading out.

    Woah, this is some ce

    Wah, its, like a town? I think Ive seen a movie like this

    Like, one of those where human civilization had fallen, and they were fighting zombies and stuff?

    Yeah yeah, just like that

    Basically, we were looking at a post-apocalyptic cityscape.

    The ceiling was way up there, and the city itself looked to be quiterge. It was like one of those space colonies you see in mecha anime, or actually, it wasnt in space but underground, so I guess geofront was a better descriptor.

    Most of the architecture on this ce were stone constructs, not unlike the stuff youd see in medieval Europe. But then, there were also these tall, box shaped buildings that reminded me of office buildings or apartmentplexes back in modern Japan.

    At a nce, I could see high rise buildings taller than 20 floors, while 10 story buildings were the median. Magnitude-wise the fallen city wasnt so different from back home.

    I didnt know how advanced of a civilization the Astria kingdom was, as they were the only people we knew of in this world. What I did realize was that the people who built this city must have had tech rivaling that of 21st century Earth. No, we didnt have huge geofronts like this either, so theyd be ranked higher. Well, having a dungeon on this massive scale already spoke for itself.

    Alright, so this underground dungeon city, that obviously once had people living in it, now lookedpletely deserted.

    Buildings were crumbling, roads unmaintained, it alsocked any light of the sun, with vegetation, like the stuff Id seen in the jungle zone, overgrown all over. The city looked as if it was transitioning from a state where the people had gone extinct to one where it was once again being swallowed up by mother nature.

    At this point, I had no doubt that this zone too was teeming with dungeon monsters.

    Still, having this sort of vast uninhabited cityid out in front of you really pulls on that adventuring spirit. It got me excited.

    So without a moments dy, lets find out just whaty waiting for us inside.

 Chapter 148: Little Princess

    Chapter 148: Little Princess

    Lets turn back the clock, to a time when Id just entered kindergarten. In the small yground where all the little kids like me were running about, surrounded by the fluttering descent of cherry blossoms, that was when I first saw her.

    Dazzling blonde hair and clear blue eyes. My first impression of her was that she was a living, breathing western doll. Like, she was a character from TV. She felt, out of this world.

    What, are you looking at, nii-san

    Sakura called from the side, looking displeased, trying to catch my attention.

    Hey look, Sakura, isnt that girl a for-ener? Ive never seen a real one

    Like maybe an American? That was where the blond haired, blue eyes people came from as far as I could tell, at the time, and I distinctly remember having this rather rude conversation with Sakura at that time.

    Is this about, Adelhyde-san?

    Ada What? Her names so long

    Her full name is Reina Adelhyde Ayase

    I was somehow rather impressed with the concept of this foreigner and her surprisingly long name.

    What, are you curious about that girl, nii-san?

    Sure am, its a real live American right there!

    I heard shes actually mixed

    Oh, you sure know your stuff, Sakura

    I just, learned it the other day, is all

    Sakura had apparently learned a lot about this Reina Adelhyde Ayase, who was from a different ss than us, long before I had any clue. Of course, she stood out due to her unique appearance But shed be a topic of gossip for a different reason.

    You, shouldnt get too close to her

    Eh, whys that?

    Take another look

    When I looked back, I could see her surrounded by lots of kids, they were all talking excitedly.

    Shes really popr!

    No, see, theyre all boys over there

    When she mentioned it, yes she was. All around Reina, I could only see light blue colored smocks that us boys had to wear. The girls, who wore a simr but pink smock, were looking at the crowd from a slight distance. They looked annoyed.

    Howe?

    Hmm, who knows

    Isnt it just a coincidence?

    Id hope so Anyway nii-san, lets go back to exploring

    Oh yeah! Awesome, lets go, Sakura! Ill beat any monster thates our way!

    Okay, nii-san

    I had fashioned a fallen branch into my awesome sword, and excitedly went onwards in my quest to explore the new in mysterious kindergarten yground.

    After that, Id practically forgotten about Reina. Everyday, I yed to my fullest with Sakura and my friends from the Dove section of kindergarteners that we belonged to. So naturally, I wouldnt have any dealings with kids from another section until,

    Uaaaa, aahhhh!!

    At a corner of the yground, I could see some of those same friends from my section crying loudly.

    This here is Reina-chans castle, you guys will not be allowed passage!

    The boy speaking in a menacing voice, making my friend cry, he, no, they, as there were a number of them, stood as a wall as they spoke their threats.

    The castle that came up referred to the new jungle gymplex theyd finished putting up just that spring. It was the type of stuff you could see in public parks, but this one was themed after a fantasy castle, the very top had a cone shaped roof and ended in a long slide.

    Many of the kindergarteners were desperate to get to ride such a fun looking slide, but no one had.

    Ever since the castle had been built, one person had dominated the top of the slide. It was Reina.

    But strangely, shed never slid down, always simply sitting there, at the top. And furthermore, no one had attempted to push her aside and use the slide themselves either. As for why, it was because the ce was strictly being guarded by the boys in her section. Like knights protecting their princess.

    The knights were too strong, too forceful for the other kids. Even the older kids wouldnt dare approach them.

    But a bunch of my friends from ss wouldnt take this oppression anymore. They attempted a raid, but had the tables turned by Reinas knights.

    Team Dove only had a handful of people while the knights seemed to be consisted of practically every boy in their ss. Theyd been outmatched.

    Stop it you boys! Dont act so selfish!

    But among my sad, crying friends, one girl shouted out in defiance It was Sakura. She had a strong heart ever since she was little.

    Sh-Shuddap! This ce belongs to Reina-chan!

    Get out of here you doveys!

    Get out! Get out!

    Faced against so many boys meanly shouting at her, even the strong-willed Sakura had a strained face, as if she was about to cry any time.

    Thats when Id finally arrived.

    My friends were crying, Sakura was about to, and the ones thatd caused this wereughing in a self-satisfied manner, not intending to apologize in the slightest. This was the perfect setup for my sense of justice to spring into action.

    Hey you! Dont bully Sakura!

    Nii-san!

    I jumped into the fray, standing in front of Sakura.

    Who the heck are you

    Its another dovey

    Get out! We wont let you have the slide

    I was bing angrier as they kept talking selfishly.

    No, I wont! This ce belongs to everyone, its not for just you, youre doing something very bad!

    Shuddit, this heres Reina-chans castle!

    Thats right, and were gonna protect it!

    We aint letting anyone else on!

    It was childish logic on their part. While they were really obstinate about this, we too had really suffered under that oppression.

    I couldnt forgive their horrible actions. But the one I couldnt forgive the most, was still sitting at her ce at the top of the castle, Reina.

    Its because of her that the boys were acting like this. And those actions were causing everyone else problems. And while all the kindergarteners were thrown into warfare all because of the selfishness of one girl Reina, even then, still sat at her spot, looking at a distance, as if the events unfolding below her feet didnt even register.

    Seeing her like that, my unforgiveness for her only grew. Her look that told that she hadnt a care for the world, reminded me of the cold, calcting bosses of evil organizations in those power ranger shows. She looked just the type to have her many underlings enact her evil.

    So I must defeat that egocentric viiness, I thought.

    You damn punk! We told you to get out! Now youll pay!

    The loudest yelling boy had finally snapped, he came forward to battle and threw a punch at me.

    He made his right hand into a fist, and took arge swing. Yes he was just a child, but this was clearly an act of violence.

    However, at this time, Id already started training with my grandpa, so his feeble punch would be exceedingly easy for me to handle.

    Yeaart!!

    My choice of counter was a tackle. This boy was taller than me, but he was still pre-school age. His head to body ratio was higher than that of an adult, so his bnce wouldnt be as firm. This was one of the chief reasons kids fell down so much.

    So versus this kindergartener, I bent my legs to lower my center of gravity and charged him with my shoulder. My tackle wasnt all that strong, but more than strong enough to take out a small kid.

    Whaaa! Aaaaaa!!

    The boy who was brought down by my tackle started crying. His arms and legs had sustained light bruises. Mere kindergarteners just werent tough enough to continue fighting in this sort of condition.

    Oi, whatd you do that for!

    You made him cry!

    Now furious, well, as furious as little boys can be at least, the other knights were riled up because of their downedrade. Seeing that thetter was crying in so much pain, they wouldnt start sending out more to meet the same fate. It was now a tense, wait and see situation.

    Trained as I was, even I couldnt take on more than 10 boys at once. So I made the first move.

    Its over! Return the slide now, it belongs to everyone!

    I screwed up my courage as there simply was no going back anymore, and took down the boys closest to me. I didnt punch them. Being so little, my hands would hurt more.

    These were just little kids, I just had to make them fall over and they were done for, crying like babies. I finished off 3 of them like this.

    Uwah! This guys, strong!

    Too, strong

    Their numbers steadily dwindling, the knights started growing nervous. At this point, they were a lot more scared of me than angry. Now, I didnt need to fear them ganging up.

    Oi, little punk, think you can take us on, huh

    Kufufu, hell be dead meat soon~

    Just then, two new boys emerged from the castle.

    One was a big guy, so big, I thought hed be in grade school already. The other one had a devious face on him, and from his hands, I could hear whistling wind. He was rapidly spinning around, a skip rope.

    The biggest kid in school, in addition to a sly kid whod brought a weapon. But this level of power was tremendous for kids as young as us. I wouldnt win in a straight fight. I almost started to cry too.

    Nii-san, you can do it! You wont lose, everyones depending on you, so youll win for sure!

    There, Sakuras words knocked the cowardice right out of me. Thats right, this is for my little sister, this is for my friends, I cant lose here! I childishly felt a sense of esteemed duty.

    You want a fight, Ill give you a fight!

    Shaddap, yeer going down!

    That was the big guy. He was a whole head taller than me, and gave off intense pressure as he charged. Size mattered this time. He probably weighed so much that tackling him would get me knocked down instead.

    So I waited for him to get as close as possible, he was about to reach in 3 more steps, 2, 1

    Fuh!

    Id jump right, which would be a feint, as I side stepped to the left, evading the impending collision. I used the same movement to circle behind him.

    Hah!!

    Before he could turn around, I kicked him on the back of his knee. Targeting that weak spot, I caused the big guys knees to bend in.

    Uwaah!?

    His bnce ruined, I furthernded a full body tackle on his massive back, which resulted in himnding face first onto the ground.

    The big guys extra loud crying rang in my ears, but I quickly faced the skippy kid.

    Heheh, whats wrong, scared? Scared, little baby?

    Even with hisrge friend defeated, skippy kid looked not a bit perturbed. Could be that he trusted that his weapon would do the job, or could just be simple self-confidence.

    He was fiercely spinning the thing above his head, which looked to me like he was quite adept at handling this skip rope of terror. He probably made a lot of kids cry using that.

    It was still a skip rope though. Unlike a real sickle and chain, it didnt have the sharp and heavy de attatched at the end. But if that thing, going at the speeds it was, were to hit me just once, Id be downed, crying instantly.

    I only had once shot at this. His range was so much higher. In this fight, I didnt need power or speed, but enough courage to close in on him.

    OK!

    Shouting my resolve, I slowly walked towards him. But from his point of view, I mustve looked scared, hesitant, an easy to aim target.

    Youre going down now!

    The skip rope was extremely fast. The stic handle wasing at me drawing arge arc. I could see it. I expected him to do this, and I could see his attack.

    There! I determined my timing and after quickly ducking down, I raised an arm.

    The softer, vinyl rope part of the skip rope caught on my arm, and as it did, the tip changed direction. Almost instantly, half of the rope pivoted around my arm and arced back to its starting location. In other words, towards skippy kid.

    Higyaaaa!!

    The boy cried in pain as his own weapon had been turned against him, hitting him straight on the face. Ouff, thats gotta hurt, I sympathized, but it really was what he deserved, bringing a dangerous weapon to a fight. He should now understand the dangers that came with attempting to wield a weapon.

    That takes care of that! Anyone else feel like joining them?!

    I yelled out from behind the loudly wailing big guy and skippy kid. No one else came up to the challenge.

    Id defeated all the foes, and thus righteously climbed the castle.

    This castle had been upied since its conception so I hadnt actually approached it at all. So it actually felt a little fun, climbing the diagonallyid out rope.

    I quickly made it to the top, the ce where the big slide started. Though I kept describing it as a castle, it was still a jungle gym designed for little kids, it wasnt that big at all.

    Who?

    That was when Reina had first looked my way.

    Her clear blue eyes felt like they would suck me in with how pretty they were. I felt love at first sight for an instant, but kept that a secret from Sakura. I still kept it a secret from her.

    Get down from there. Everyone wants to use the slide too

    No matter how cute she was, she was still the evil boss. I firmly told her my demands.

    The slide?

    Yeah, youre taking all your time going down it, and everyones been waiting ages

    Once Reina slid down this slide, we could finally all begin using it. Sure she was evil, but I wasnt cruel enough to kick her down from a ce this high.

    No

    W-why not!

    Im scared. Its so high

    I was surprised. She had closed her eyes and made an expression that she was genuinely scared.

    Why are you even here then

    Its nice. The cherry blossoms

    That was when I finally understood. Reina wasnt actually monopolizing the slide, but simply enjoying the higher view of cherry blossom petals as they danced their way to the ground.

    Though in actuality, the ce wasnt all that high. But for pre-school aged children like us, it was surely high enough for us to enjoy a wonderful view.

    Oh So you didnt take over the slide, did you?

    No, I didnt. What are you talking about

    Which meant, that Reina was only enjoying the view here, while her so-called knights made up their own interpretations, and blocked our paths all this time.

    Howe no one noticed? Why did it turn out like this?

    Reina hadnt done anything wrong. But all those boys preached how it was for the princess, making a huge scene, causing problems for everyone, which ended up culminating in this great war.

    Haah That was stupid

    I hadnt one clue why those boys went so far to im this as Reinas castle. Or at least, the little kid me at the time couldnt be expected to understand.

    But I was stupid too, deeming Reina as their boss only because I saw her sitting at the top of the castle.

    Thats good then, that youre not a bad guy

    I really was d. Id finally realized that Reina was just a kid too, just like us.

    Im sure that because of how different she looked, with her blonde haired, blue eyed, cute looks, that no one saw her true feelings. When in reality, she was no different from my little sister Sakura, just a normal girl.

    Ok, so you wont mind me using it right?

    Sure

    Since Reina was only enjoying the view, I was fine to do as I pleased. Once I took the lead and slid down, everyone would know that they can too. That It didnt matter if Reina was here.

    I was about to make my triumphant return, I sat down, positioning myself on the slide.

    Youre going?

    But I was finding it a bit hard to actually go through with it under Reinas intense stare.

    Of course

    Youre not scared?

    Nope, its awesome

    Well, it was better than the one at the park at least. This castle slide was a lot higher, and I was expecting a great deal of fun riding it.

    What, so you DO want to slide down

    But Its so scary

    You want to though?

    Yes

    It appeared that once she saw me getting ready to slide down, she got interested as well. She was free to do it, of course. But it was kind of sad, her climbing all the way here, only to get cold feet

    At this point, I just wanted to get this thing over with But somehow, I just couldnt bear to leave her alone. She wasnt bad, she just looked a bit different, but was otherwise, a normal girl. So I could totally be friends with her too.

    Ok, you want to go together?

    Yes!

    Thats when I first saw Reinas smile, I was astounded.

    She sat in front, while I sat grabbing on behind her. And we took off. As tall and long as this slide was, our journey down ended in moments.

    Hey, whats your name?

    Once wed gotten down, Reina looked straight at me as she asked.

    Oh yeah, I never told her my name, I realized after all was done and past. It wasnt fair for me to know her name, but her not knowing mine, I thought in my child-like logic.

    So I readily replied.

    Im Yuuto, Souma Yuuto!

    Yuuto Yuu-kun then!

    Reina cheerfully shouted, Yuu-kun, as she jump hugged me. The sudden action left me no time to catch her, and losing my bnce We fell with a bang.

    Oof, A, ahh

    It need not be said that I cried more fiercely than anyone that day after hitting my head on the edge of the slide. At the end of it all, it was Reina whod managed to actually defeat me.

    Well, that wasnt very cool of an ending at all But that was how I first met Reina.

    ===

    TL: Scallop

 Chapter 149: The Underealm

    Chapter 149: The Underealm

    Nn

    I felt like Id just seen a very nostalgic dream. One of innocent children, my childhood, when we all yed without a care

    It was a good dream, nothing negative about it, but once I woke up, I felt very groggy. I shouldve had enough sleep by now, but my body simply refused to rid itself of this fatigue.

    No, I get it. It wasnt my body that was tired, it was my heart.

    Oh, youre up, Yuuto-kun

    Yeah

    You dont look so good. Howre you holding up?

    Im fine, ss rep. Ill go wash my face

    I was d the first person who saw me awake was her. ss rep was worried for me, but didnt pry deeper than that. Thank you, I need some time for myself right now.

    First, I needed to freshen up. I sshed my face not with the usual cold fountain water, but with water from a luke warm well.

    We werent at a fairy square. All around us were the ruins of brickwork buildings.

    At the moment, we were in the middle of clearing a new zone of the dungeon. Unfortunately, or perhaps because the difficulty had been raised, we failed to find a fairy square by the end of the first days exploring. So reluctantly, we decided on a night watch, and camped out.

    We drew straws for the watch, and I, who had my turn after ss rep, was also thest on watch duty. It was currently 3 in the morning. I should do this properly until the girls wake up.

    I hoped to do it properly, but once I was the only one awake in the silence, the rampant thoughts started again. Why, why why did Reina have to die.

    Shey in a pool of blood, while he, Momokawa, stood to her side, holding a knife coated in fresh blood. I just couldnt get that scene out of my head, it was seared into my eyes.

    He was like the devil himself. He killed Reina, but didnt just stop there, he even puppeteered her corpse and used that as a hostage.

    I was such an idiot, letting them go just like that. After the blinding fog cleared, we did chase after them. We didnt find them. Neither Momokawa and Futaba-san who ran off with him, nor Reinas body.

    I couldnt even prepare a grave for her, Id even let her killer get away without the slightest retribution.

    There shouldve been another way, a better way to go about this No, not that, I, why wasnt I on time? Why the hell couldnt Ie in time to save Reina

    Shit, its my fault Its because Im weak, I was too weak to protect her

    I cant forgive Momokawa for killing her. But I cant forgive myself even more, I wasnt able to protect her.

    I believed that I was always doing my best in this dungeon. Ide to ept my super human strength as normal, magic, battle arts, skills, Id made use of all of those. Most of all, Id gotten the sort of real battle experience I couldnt even dream of having in Japan. Fighting monster day in and day out, Ide to see my powers growing endlessly without limit.

    With this Job called Hero, I had fought all this time and had be strong. Stronger that the past me, stronger than the me yesterday, and I continue to get stronger But it wasnt enough. I wasnt nearly strong enough to even hope to protect Reina.

    What was that best then. I only believed I was doing my best, when the results clearly showed I wasnt.

    Hiroki, my friend, my buddy, even he was killed Wasnt I supposed to let no one else die? Not just Sakura or ss rep, or the girls with me now, everyone, wasnt I supposed to strive for the strength to protect each and every one of them?

    I was naive.

    This naivete of mine mustve put a lot of weight on Futaba-san. Starting from the four-armed gogma, I relied heavily on her strength to achieve our victories.

    But that Berserker who could stood shoulder to shoulder with me, the Hero, had now turned against us.

    I just, couldnt understand what that girl was thinking. Ive heard how she was indebted to Momokawa for saving her life.

    But was that one obligation towards her savior worth protecting him after hedmitted such a clear crime, after hed killed Reina. Was it like what Sakura said, that she was being controlled by one of Momokawas curses? Could it be some other reason, something deeper that none of us would know I didnt have a clue. But the point wasnt that she became his ally.

    I know. The fact that Momokawa was the one who killed Reina was something like a coincidence. Some thing like the worst possible thing happening at the worst possible timing.

    We were in the dungeon, death was always near. Unlike Sakura or I, Reina had none of the fortitude, be it physical or mental, and none of the necessary skills to survive in this harsh, life or death, psychologically grueling life.

    She was, just a normal girl, after all. Reina hadnt changed at all from all the way back when we first met. She was always that pure, innocent girl.

    She wasnt built for a ce like this. Whether it be the myriads of monsters creeping around everywhere, or even other kids from our own ss desperate for survival, any of those couldve brought about her end.

    It just so happened that Momokawa ended up with that role. He was yelling out that it was self-defense, but rather than an excuse, that mightve been what he really believed.

    I couldnt think of any reason for Momokawa to want to kill her purely for the sake of it, he wasnt that sort of person in school. He didnt kill her because he wanted to, is what I wanted to believe.

    Thats why I had to protect her. From monsters thatd have her as food, from ssmates whod kill her for personal gain, and from Momokawa, who was someone who could kill with valid reason From anyone. If only I was there, if I was there at her side, I couldve saved her!

    Damn, dammit why, why didnt I make it

    I could think all I want, but Id always end up back at the same regret.

    I could despair and cry all day, but I couldnt turn back time, I couldn''t bring Reina back. I could only, meaninglessly, regret.

    I couldnt keep staying like this. I knew that. I realized that, but couldnt bring myself to do it, I could only regret.

    Nii-san

    I jumped at the sudden call, looking towards the caller. Then I remembered that my face right now wasnt something I could show others, so I, very unnaturally, faced away.

    Oh, uh, Sakura Its, a bit early to be getting up, dont you think?

    Youre, still thinking about Reina

    I am, a lot

    The words stung as they left my mouth. I ended up saying it to my sister. I was hopeless, pathetic.

    Dont worry. I know we still have to fight, the enemies in this zone are pretty strong. We shouldnt let our guard down, especially when

    Its fine, nii-san. You dont need to be that way, at least, in front of me

    She lowered herself and sat beside me, slightly leaning her body on mine.

    No, I wasnt-

    Yes, you were. You dont say anything, not to me or anyone, youre keeping everything bottled up

    Of course I didnt talk about it. Im a man so, no, before that, theres also the fact that if I became unreliable, itd bear heavily on the others. We were still trapped in the dungeon, I didnt have the time nor energy to spare, to mourn Reinas death.

    Nii-san, I know its not easy, and I respect your decision to hold strong. But please, cant you rely on me, just a little, cant you let me console you It hurts me, seeing you like this

    Sakura Im, sorry, I worried you again

    Right, of course. Of course Sakura knew how stubborn I was being. She was my little sister, someone Id grown up with my whole life.

    Please, nii-san, please just dont try to carry everything on your own. I dont want to be simply protected by you. Let me be your strength, I promise Ill be reliable. Ill be stronger, much stronger as a Saintess

    Yeah, I will. Well get stronger. Right now, thats the only thing we can do

    Reina was killed because I wasnt strong enough.

    But I still had people I needed to protect. Sakura, and everyone, I had to protect everyone. And for that I needed strength. I needed power, more power than anyone The power of a true Hero.

    Thats right. We should all strive to return alive

    Yeah, I wont be letting anyone else die

    This didnt mean Id epted Reinas death. All this grief, all this regret, Id never forget any of it.

    But I still had others, people very important to me, and I needed to keep growing in order to keep them safe. I still had Sakura. I swore to my parents that Id always protect her, my most precious person, my sister.

    Ill do it. Ill beat this dungeon, Ill find a way to return everyone home, no matter what.

    We were in a dark, deserted town. The buildings here hadplex architecture, made of metals and stone, they resembled sight-seeing spots in Europe. The town exuded a sort of finesse.

    The ce didnt look too old and there were few copsed buildings. But no one lived inside, there wasnt a single sign of people having lived in those buildings.

    The air here felt stagnant, and there was the faint smell of blood everywhere. There were also the growls of creatures that were surely not people.

    !! Werewolves iing!

    Natsukawa-san, who took point as the partys Thief, yelled sharply.

    And at the same time, I heard the familiar AWOOO!, a ferocious werewolfs howl, along with piercing bloodlust. Theyd noticed us and were ready for a fight.

    Asuna, guard the rear

    Got it

    I went out front, leaving Asuna with the others in case of a multi-front attack.

    I was beside Natsukawa-san in less than 3 seconds, but the werewolves were also fast. Those bloodthirsty creatures with crazed, red eyes had alreadye to striking distance.

    Werewolves, as their name implied, were humanoid monsters with wolf-like heads. Their bodies were covered in ck fur, and they had physiques like bodybuilding musclemen.

    As if theyd been previously human, most werewolves had some form of clothing on them. Though these clothes were ripped, torn, and didnt function as any sort of covering anymore. Some of them even wore random pieces of armor.

    The one in front of me had its pants legs ripped in half at the bottom, and wore a shredded vest, an overallmon appearance.

    UOOGAAAAHH!!

    If itd simply charged in, itd be no different from any other monster.

    But this werewolf wasnt a simple beast that solely used its ws and fangs. It held its own weapon, and brandished that weapon in a practiced manner.

    Its strength was on par with that of a living armor. Thetter was in full te armor which gave it a higher defense, but the werewolf made up for it with agility. These man-beasts ran, jumped and kicked off walls with tremendous uracy, hunting their prey with a 3 dimensional attack style.

    These monsters also hunted in groups, and wed encounter those at quite a high frequency at that. Their presence alone raised the bar very high in this part of the dungeon.

    Two No theres three. Natsukawa-san, mind leaving them all to me?

    Eh, but-

    Ill be fine. And, there may be more of them lurking around, mind keeping an eye out?

    Okay, will do!

    The monsters we face got stronger. But in all our efforting this far, wed done the same.

    As for me, I had to be stronger than anyone, I needed to be a lot stronger than I am now.

    sh

    In contrast to the heated emotions in my heart, my sword was calm, quick, and focused.

    sh was the first sword art I learned, and as such, it was easiest to use. I would calmly analyze my opponents movements and cut, and if my body allowed it, use all my strength to slice them in half.

    UOAAHH!!

    The werewolf I shed had been bisected and dropped to the ground. These creatures were tough enough to steam through most shallow cuts, but they couldnt possibly avoid instant death once they were split in two.

    Id finished the first of them in one strike and immediately moved to intercept the second.

    FSHH VRRRAAAAHH!!

    My next challenger had its upper body crammed in muscle. It had arms as thick as logs and carried arge warhammer. This one seemed to be particrly focused on strength.

    This musclebound werewolf was charging towards me in wild breaths, but I didnt neglect the third one thatd been standing on a roof to the side and chose this moment tounch an attack from my blind spot.

    GRRRAAAHHH!!

    This werewolf, a thin one that carried a spear, practically shot out from atop the red, triangr roof. I dont know if theyd nned it or whether it was a coincidence, but the situation did in fact turn into one where their opponent would focus on the big, hammer guy in front while the slim spear user would secretly strike their vitals.

    If I focus on one, the other gets me. Meaning, I simply had to take down both at the same time.

    I could finish this easily if I used Cross Calibur, but thatd serve nothing. This fight was one we could win easily, so I will make use of it to train, be stronger, and hone my skills.

    I cant use the Heros finishing move every time if I hope to grow.

    So Ill be handling these foes with the weapons and skills I can use anytime.

    Force Boost

    I invoked the magic that boosted my strength, one I learned when I first defeated the armor bear. At the same time, I drew a sword from an unseen scabard.

    Sword Storage: Dimension magic of the light element, used to call forth weapons.

    An alice blue magic circle quickly formed on my left hand, which is when I visualized my desired de.

    Sword Storage, SELECT, Blue Lightning de

    This skill, Sword Storage, was something Id learned after the gogma battle. It allowed me to create a weapon from nothing, a really powerful magic.

    As the description says, this skill employs a magic that maniptes space, dimension magic. My Sword Storage couldnt store anything and everything, it was limited to ded weapons under a set size and quantity.

    Though the name says Sword, I could actually put in spears, axes, and even those flimsy wooden bats that gomas used. The ssification for weapon was pretty flexible. Thanks to this loose definition of terms, I also put some Potions in there for emergency use, but I normally used this skill as per intended.

    Now, the weapon I called from my Sword Storage this time was Blue Lightning de, one of the magic swords Takanashi-san had created with her upgrade ability before wed gone into the gomas pyramid castle.

    Line Curis Sagitta!!

    I made a thrusting motion with my single edged sword of lightning directed at the spear wielding werewolf swooping down from above.

    There was an undeniable disparity in reach between sword and spear, thetter was said to conquer any sword with itsparatively three fold higher length.

    But that didnt mean I had to disy 3 times or more skill in my sword to beat the longer spear. The solution was much easier, more urate, a sure method to beat the spear user.

    What I did simply amounted to shooting lighting out of my Blue Lightning de, killing the werewolf from far away.

    My magic, Line Curis Sagitta, caused an intense, blue crackle of lightning, skewering the swift monster.

    GYOAAHH!!

    I observed the spear werewolf, its pitch ck fur singed and shredded, as it fell limply to the ground, out of the corner of my eyes, while brandishing my sword against the musclebound werewolf thatde striking distance to me and was about to swing down its steel warhammer.

    GRRR!! VOAHHH!!

    HAAA!!

    Therge werewolfs hammer and the sword in my right hand shed fiercely.

    And the one to be blown away was the one whocked in strength; in this case, the werewolf.

    Good thing I casted Force Boost. Id clearly lose in a test of power without it.

    As both a practitioner of the Souma style of swordy and as a Hero, I wasnt necessarily a power fighter. But monsters didnt follow rules, the creatures of this dungeon didnt y fair, and there were lots of instances where the extra strength can mean the difference between life and death. Many monsters moved in groups, packs or swarms, which would lead to situations where evading their attacks would mean that mypanions behind me would get hurt.

    Normally, Id face an opponent like this warhammer werewolf with my speed, but this time, I deliberately faced it head on in an attempt to test just how far I could go with pure muscle.

    If a simple Force Boost amplified my strength so much, I could expect the buff spells from Sakura and the others to push it much higher.

    But monsters came in veryrge sizes as well, those called bosses. I couldnt rely solely on strength against those.

    With Blue Lightning de in my left hand and the Pdins Sword in my right, I used both weapons at once to finish off the now out-of-bnce hammer wolf.

    Voltec zer

    This was a techniquebining the dual wielding battle art of dual severing, zer, and the innate power of the Blue Lightning de. The azure lightning from thetter could copy over to its paired de, doubling the power as Voltec zer.

    If I used my Blue Fire de in this technique, Id instead have Burning zer. Since the element greatly influences the technique, the name of the battle art changes to match.

    Although, most of the time it wasnt that I n on using these techniques, but it just happens that I have the weapons on hand to utilize them. Even this time, it was only because I judged that Id need Blue Lightning de to defeat the spear user and ended up with thisbo of des.

    Regardless, this already weakened werewolf wouldve been beaten just with zer so with the might of lightning added in, the monster had died before it even hit the ground.

    Seeing the corpse, which had be nothing more than burned ck pieces of meat, I thought it was a bit overkill and I should reflect on it. Not on the cruelty, but the fact that using unnecessarily powerful techniques like this wasted a lot of energy. The fight never lets up. So it was imperative that I be as efficient as possible in order to clear the dungeon.

    That should be all of them, Natsukawa-san, do you see any more?

    . Nope, looks like were in the clear

    Natsukawa-san reported after cupping her ears to confirm any existing presences over a wider range. There was always the chance that other werewolves woulde to their aid hearing sounds of battle, which could draw in other kinds of monsters as well.

    Somehow, weve been very lucky to have Natsukawa-san and her adeptness at detecting enemies.

    Souma-kun, sorry I, left it all to you

    No, I wanted it like that. Please dont worry

    Ok But, um, I, if I could, I kind of want to be your

    Nii-san, we should continue. We really need to find a fairy square by today

    Natsukawa-san, who looked like she wanted to say something with her fists curled in front of her in a determined pose, was interrupted by Sakura suddenly calling from behind. I was the one who wanted to fight on my own this time, so she really didnt need to mind it. Natsukawa-san was really too kind.

    Yeah, we should. Alright, lets get going Natsukawa-san

    Oh, ok, sure, <i>haah</i>

    For some reason, Natsukawa-san made a dispirited expression as she passed by me, and with her in front, we began walking again. Natsukawa-san, if youre tired, I can switch with you Are you sure youre alright?

 Chapter 149.5 - Shiramine Academy Class 2-7 ? Attendance Record ? Total: 41 students

    Chapter 149.5 - Shiramine Academy ss 2-7 ? Attendance Record ? Total: 41 students

    <b>Boys </b><b></b><b> 22 students</b><b>Seat No. 1</b><b>Azuma Shinichi</b><b>Summoner</b><b>Boys ss Representative</b><b>Died vs Tendou Ryuuichi.</b><b>Seat No. 2</b><b>Itou Seiji</b><b>Thief</b><b>Died in the first Orthus fight.</b><b>Seat No. 3</b><b>Ueda Youhei</b><b>Swordsman</b><b>Archery club</b><b>Seat No. 4</b><b>Ooyama Daisuke</b><b>Karate club</b><b>Seat No. 5</b><b>Kousaka Hiroki</b><b>Knight</b><b>Ser club</b><b>Died in Demon-Sword-wielding Boss Goma fight.</b><b>Seat No. 6</b><b>Saitou Masaru</b><b>Warrior</b><b>Archery club</b><b>Murdered by Higuchi Kyouya.</b><b>Seat No. 7</b><b>Sakurai Touya</b><b>Archery club</b><b>Seat No. 8</b><b>Satou Yuuya</b><b>Aeromancer</b><b>Murdered by Higuchi Kyouya.</b><b>Seat No. 9</b><b>Shimokawa Junnosuke</b><b>Aquamancer</b><b>Seat No. 10</b><b>Sugino Takashi</b><b>Judo club</b><b>Seat No. 11</b><b>Souma Yuuto</b><b>Hero</b><b>Kendo club</b><b>Seat No. 12</b><b>Takashima Yuudai</b><b>Baseball club</b><b>Died mysteriously in the forest.</b><b>Seat No. 13</b><b>Tendou Ryuuichi</b><b>King</b><b>Seat No. 14</b><b>Nakai Shouta</b><b>Warrior</b><b>Seat No. 15</b><b>Nakajima Haruma</b><b>Swordmage</b><b>Art club</b><b>Seat No. 16</b><b>Hayama Rewrite</b><b>Basketball club</b><b>Seat No. 17</b><b>Higuchi Kyouya</b><b>Thief</b><b>Died vs Momokawa Kotarou</b><b>Seat No. 18</b><b>Hirano Kouhei</b><b>Swordsman</b><b>Ser club</b><b>Died in the second Orthus fight.</b><b>Seat No. 19</b><b>Momokawa Kotarou</b><b>Shaman</b><b>Literature club</b><b>Seat No. 20</b><b>Yamakawa Junichirou</b><b>Cleric</b><b>Drama club</b><b>Died after recieveing an attack from one of Reina A. Ayase''s Guardian Beasts.</b><b>Seat No. 21</b><b>Yamada Genki</b><b>Heavy Warrior</b><b>Baseball club</b><b>Seat No. 22</b><b>Yokomichi Hajime</b><b>Cannibalizer</b>

    <b>Girls </b><b></b><b> 19 students</b><b>Seat No. 31</b><b>Reina Adelhyde Ayase</b><b>Spirit Master</b><b>Died vs Momokawa Kotarou</b><b>Seat No. 32</b><b>Iijima Mayumi</b><b>Swordsman</b><b>Murdered by Higuchi Kyouya</b><b>Seat No. 33</b><b>Kitaooji Rurika</b><b>Swordsman</b><b>Cooking club</b><b>Murdered by Yokomichi Hajime</b><b>Seat No. 34</b><b>Kizaki Akane</b><b>Pyromancer</b><b>Volleyball club</b><b>Suicide</b><b>Seat No. 35</b><b>Kisaragi Ryouko</b><b>Cryomancer</b><b>Girl''s ss Representative</b><b>Seat No. 36</b><b>Kenzaki Asuna</b><b>Dualwielder</b><b>Kendo club</b><b>Seat No. 37</b><b>Satou Aya</b><b>Archer</b><b>Died in a fight with a horde of Goma.</b><b>Seat No. 38</b><b>Shinohara Emi</b><b>Aquamancer</b><b>Illustration club</b><b>Died in a skirmish.</b><b>Seat No. 39</b><b>Souma Sakura</b><b>Saintess</b><b>Archery club</b><b>Seat No. 40</b><b>Takanashi Kotori</b><b>Sage</b><b>Seat No. 41</b><b>Nagae Yukiko</b><b>Cryomancer</b><b>Literature club</b><b>Murdered by Yokomichi Hajime</b><b>Seat No. 42</b><b>Natsukawa Minami</b><b>Thief</b><b>Track and field</b><b>Seat No. 43</b><b>Nishiyama Minori</b><b>Aeromancer</b><b>Brass band</b><b>Died in the second Orthus fight.</b><b>Seat No. 44</b><b>Nonomiya Julia</b><b>Knight</b><b>Tennis club</b><b>Seat No. 45</b><b>Hinagiku Saya</b><b>Archery club</b><b>Seat No. 46</b><b>Himeno Airi</b><b>Subus</b><b>Seat No. 47</b><b>Futaba Meiko</b><b>Berserker</b><b>Cooking club</b><b>Seat No. 48</b><b>Yoshizaki Maria</b><b>Warrior</b><b>Tennis club</b><b>Seat No. 49</b><b>Randou Kyouko</b><b>Geomancer</b>

 Chapter 150: Sakurai Touya and Hinagiku Saya (1)

    Chapter 150: Sakurai Touya and Hinagiku Saya (1)

    Saya-chan and me, were childhood friends. Our houses were right next to each other, and wed been ymates for as far back as I can remember. And at some point, Id even fallen in love with her.

    Id confessed my feelings in my junior year in kindergarten, and promised her that wed get married in my senior year. Too precocious? Not at all. I waspletely serious. Back then, and still now.

    In the end, be it in elementary school, or middle school, I ended up confessing to her over and over again. And every time I did, she readily replied,

    I, love you too!

    Ahh, I must be the luckiest guy in the world.

    Since Ive had the absolute privilege of being together all my life with the girl I love, my one and only.

    Saya-chan and me, we were so in sync with our feelings for each other But despite that, despite how real life isnt some cheap romance novel, we had our problems.

    I first started noticing these problems in my 3rd year of elementary.

    Boys and girls begin segregating a little starting at kindergarten, bute elementary, this goes into overdrive. Boys start ying amongst boys, and girls chatter amongst girls.

    And between all that separation, whatd happen when one boy keeps sticking to a girl (Saya-chan) anywhere and everywhere?

    Touya~, I saw you with Hinagiku~

    Me, I saw those two, HOLDING HANDS!

    Holy moly! Are you two DATING~

    When they teased me like this, I The pathetic brat of a kid that I was, I, of all things, felt embarassed. I broke under the inquisitive gazes of everyone in ss, and under the pressure from the boys who jeered at me.

    So, you think it couldnt get worse?

    S-Saya-chan I Im not going home with you anymore!

    I told her. Man, if I had a time machine, I swear Id go back to me at that very moment and sucker punch that brat. I still regret it, it was the worst mistake Id made in my life.

    I distanced myself from Saya-chan just to satisfy that sort of meaningless embarrassment. Id made her sad.

    It was only after 3 days that Ide to know that Saya-chan cried because of me.

    Sorry, Saya-chan. Im so sorry I, I love you!! Saya-chan, I love you forever

    I cried and begged with my life for her forgiveness. I cried as if trying to squeeze anything fluid out of my body. Iter heard that I was crying so hard, Saya-chans parents were in a bit of panic about me.

    Anyway, she forgave me. Saya-chan is so kind. I was only forgiven because of her profuse and bountiful kindness.

    Thereafter, I swore to myself that Id firmly oppose anyone who dared get in our way.

    Hell to the rumors, hell to the haters, and hell to the pools of jealousy. My love for Saya-chan will prevail. Once I set my mind on it, I never backed down.

    Ahh, the hell Touya, youre still hanging with Hinagiku? You really wanna date someone that butt ugly~?

    Ill fucking kill you.

    No mercy. No mercy to any enemies of my love. No mercy to anyone who insults my Saya-chan.

    Luckily, Id hit puberty fast. I was also better than average at sports. No way Id lose in some elementary school brawl. I had a lot more at stake.

    Love, that was my greatest source of strength.

    And yet, Saya-chan, my kindhearted, infinitely caring Saya-chan even went so far as to worry for me.

    Touya-kun, please, dont get into fights because of me. I, I know Im ugly, so

    Oh no youre not! Youre the cutest girl in the world, Saya-chan! To me, theres only you, I cant even look at any other girl!

    But Touya-kun, youre so handsome Someone like me, I dont even suit you.

    Im the one who isnt good enough for you!

    Saya-chan was the best, the cutest, the kindest, simply the best. I was working hard every day so I could be at least worthy of standing beside such an outstanding girl, so I could be worthy as her boyfriend. I worked out and studied hard. I even learned stuff about fashion, something I previously had no interest in, so I could look good to her.

    All that hard work shouldve done something.

    Thank you. But me and you being an item, actually, some girls get jealous you know So, dont worry so much. Im dont care if people say stuff about me.

    But, you Dammit, I just want to be with you, why cant they understand that.

    Mm, Ill be with you too. So dont worry, Ill be fine no matter what they do.

    I was getting diabetes with how sweet she was.

    I wouldve personally enjoyed giving hell to anyone who tired to mess with our love, but getting into too much trouble was a sure way to make Saya-chan sad. Cant do that.

    The thing about a rtionship, I realized, maybe in junior high, that it wasnt just about the two of us, but also involved the people around. Its a sensitive age. Everyone gets really worked up about dating and all that despite still being kids.

    Guess I should count myself lucky, my heart was already set in stone. Saya-chan told me how shed seen this stuff happening with upperssmen, so Id already made sure to learn how to best avoid stepping into the so-called confession pitfalls.

    Once junior high starts, love literally explodes, especially for girls. And these chicks I maybe talked to once starteding on to me.

    I was confessed to, many times. So many of these, Bitch, do I even know you? type girls.

    I was a normal kid, just a bit taller than the other boys, somewhat OK at sports, and scored a little above average in grades. I didnt think my face was particrly handsome, and if they did find me good looking, it was probably because of my hair that I styled up to look better. As for my clothes, I just had to wear things that suited my figure and it looked decent.

    I actually got disgusted how these girls would flock to a guy just because he was a slight cut above the rest. These brainless thots, they never even tried to find true love But I couldnt justy out all my thoughts when these bitches came confessing, I had to turn them down gently.

    Women, oh creatures of envy they are. If I told them that I liked Saya-chan so fuck off, there was a 100% chance that theyd bite back at Saya-chan. Bitch please, not only do you not see how much of an ugly creature you are, but you go so far as to get jealous of the cutest girl ever; stupid, just in ugly and stupid. But thats women for you. Meaning, Saya-chan wasnt a girl, she was a goddess.

    It was a matter of getting used to. Once the confessions went into the double digits, I was getting pretty good at turning them down. Well, at least they didnt fly into a rage or start wailing anymore.

    Like that, Id somehow made it past junior high.

    Once I got in high school, everything seemed to calm down, like theyd gone past the phase of blind love and all that mess. Kids had started forming more solid couples, boldly as if proiming, Look at us, were dating!

    You could say I was finally about to catch a break

    Wow, that Souma-kun, he looks like an idol.

    Souma Yuuto, it was towards him that I first felt the meaning of the word jealousy.

    Ever since that incident in 3rd grade, Id put in my utmost effort to be a man worthy of Saya-chan. I could even boast that I was near the top among the attractive boys in ss.

    But Souma Yuuto was something else. His looks he was born with, and then, there was that aura on him. He was so damn handsome, it was like he came right out of a TV show, like a fictional character described as incredibly beautiful.

    I was damn jealous. And damn worried too.

    W-wait, Saya-chan, dont tell me you

    But I still think youre the best, Touya-kun. Thats why <i>youre</i> my boyfriend.

    SAYA-CHAAAN! You mean it? You really, really mean that right?

    You do dont you. Alright, I dont need to be jealous of Souma Yuuto anymore.

    That guy was someone I myself didnt think I could hope to match But Saya-chan said I was the best, thats all that mattered.

    I didnt have to be the best in the world. I just needed to be the best for Saya-chan, thats all I cared about.

    Hey Saya-chan Anyone else, seem like that?

    Please forgive my gutless self for asking you this.

    Anyone else, ah, like Tendou-kun? Hes pretty popr with the girls too.

    Tendou Ryuuichi. Right, hes got the stuff too. He was better than me at least. I was someone whod somehow slipped into the handsome group after lots of hard work, after all. He was the only other guy whod be on par with Souma Yuuto.

    But, hes kinda scary

    Yup, he is, he is, youre not someone to get involved with those delinquent types.

    Dont you worry, if anything happens, Ill protect you, be it from Tendou, or the 4 kings of ck high.

    Anyone else?

    I was getting annoying, I know.

    Hmmm, other than those two, I think youd be the most popr. Youre, um, actually a hot topic among the girls.

    Harumph, who cares what <i>other</i> girls consider their hot topic. Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuuichi can collect all those groupies for all I care. And then, I could flirt with my sweet Saya-chan without reserve.

    Ah, there is one more I guess, um, well Its Momokawa-kun.

    EHH!?

    Momokawa, isnt he that short dude who pretty much looks like a girl? D-do-dont tell me, Saya-chan, youre not into <i>that</i>, are you

    Momokawa-kun, you see, hes got a really cute and girly face and Honestly, he looks a lot better than me I didnt think, Id even lose to a boy in looks

    Saya-chan suddenly had this dark aura about her.

    What, the hell, Momokawaa You dare used that cute face of yours to mess with my Saya-chans delicate pride as a girl. I should make ns to snipe him one moonless night.

    So, yeah, Touya-kun What about you, any interesting girls?

    None at all.

    There were actually a lot of attractive girls in our ss. Starting with Souma Yuutos little sister, Souma Sakura, there were a number of them whom I wouldnt be surprised if they appeared on magazines and TV.

    But I was only speaking objectively, about their looks, nothing else.

    Saya-chan, youre my one and only.

    <i>Fufuh,</i> you too, my one and only, Touya-kun.

    We connected lips, as if natural.

    Wed already had our first kiss way back in kindergarten. In elementary, we did it sometimes, no actually, quite a few times.

    But the first kiss we shared while mutually acknowledging our love was probably some time in junior high.

    Ever since then, Id kissed Saya-chan fully aware of my desire for her. Every single time, my heart pounded as if it wanted to break out.

    I love her, I love her, I lovehersomuch Ahhh, I love you.

    I was born only to meet you. Im alive only to be with you.

    Ill be with you. Forever, forever.

    So

    <i>Haah Haah </i>SAYA-CHANN!

    The first thing I did after waking up in this abhorrent dungeon was search frantically for Saya-chan.

    With the little calm I had remaining, I decided that Id need all the strength I could get, and quickly dealt with receiving my Job.

    I got the Job: Archer.

    Of course I did. Id been doing archery club since elementary. It wasnt anything serious, Saya-chan started doing it, so I simply followed.

    But since I was doing the same thing as her, I had to make sure I did it well. I took club very seriously. Id like to think I got good too. Not national level, but pretty good.

    But what use is an Archer without a bow.

    My equipment from club? That was all obviously in the club store room. Souma Sakura was the weird one for bringing her bow and quiver to ss.

    If I knew <i>this</i> would happen, I wouldve taken them from her, by force if need be.

    No, well, the ssroom was crumbling away and all I could do was hug Saya-chan tight so we wouldnt be separated Shit, she was there, right there in my arms, I lost consciousness in the darkness after the ssroom was no more. Mustve let her go then.

    Please, just let hernd close by

    Kyaaaaaaa!!

    SAYA-CHAN!!

    A scream. I recognized it, why wouldnt I? I could tell it was her, absolutely.

    I ran as fast as my feet would carry. I ran to my girlfriend, my most precious, my one and only, my Hinagiku Saya.

    Touya-kun and I, were childhood friends. Our houses were right next to each other, and wed been ymates for as far back as I can remember. And at some point, Id even fallen in love with him.

    He confessed to me in junior kindergarten.

    Saya-chan, I love you!

    I, love you too!

    I confirmed in a grin. I was so happy.

    I was a girl who had learned the joy of mutual love at a very tender age. Quite a luxury, if I do say so myself.

    Maybe thats why I was ugly, ugly to the point where I felt shame to even dare to love a boy.

    Ahh, the hell Touya, youre still hanging with Hinagiku? You really wanna date someone that butt ugly~?

    This was in elementary school, a boy spoke this out loud in ss, loud enough for all to hear.

    It was mean. But it was the truth.

    That boy wasnt trying to bully me or anything. He was actually trying to get friendly with Touya, he didnt mean anything bad.

    Anyone else would think so too.

    Since Touya-kun, he was already really cool.

    In elementary school, boys who were fast were the popr ones. And Touya-kun was the fastest. He was always the anchor in our sports day ry races. He was everyones hero who always got 1st prize for the ss. I remember this one time in 6th grade, the runner before him tripped and fell, putting his team deadst, but Touya-kun was so fast, he passed all the others like the wind Ahh, Touya-kun was so cool back there.

    Ah! Wait wait, nows not the time to reminisce about him, well, anyway, Touya-kun was really popr.

    He had this daring look in his eyes, and with a perfect straight nose and defined face, along with his fast growth, he was quickly gaining all the attractive features of a young man. He was tall and slender, but still had quite a bit of muscle and knew how to use it. He wasnt just fast, he was great at any sport.

    Not to mention the school tournaments, he was the hero there too. If Touya-kun was there, wed win for sure.

    He was so cool and handsome, if a boy like that won the game, and then, still covered in sweat, made that bright, refreshing smile that boys made, well, any girl would instantly fall for him.

    But that smile of his was always directed at me.

    That made me happy. I felt so happy But, that wasnt all I felt. Someone like me, someone so ugly like me was monopolizing someone as wonderful as Touya-kun.

    I had these narrow eyes, and a round, eggish face. My nose was low, and my hair was always frizzy like seaweed I guess I could say I had good, well-formed teeth, but thats it.

    As for my body, dont get me started. My chest was so small, I sometimes doubted if a bra was necessary, and my legs were short too. At least I wasnt fat, that was good, right?

    That was me. That dull pebble from the roadside of a girl. And Touya-kun, the boy who shined like a diamond was directing all his affection towards me, and only me. And the result?

    Jealousy, jealousy, fierce storms of jealousy. Vilification and nder hailed down from all directions.

    Touya-kun, you know those friends I had with me in junior high? Those cute girls, they werent my friends at all. If they were with me, they could be with you. So they just had to pretend to be my friend.

    Hey bitch, break up with Touya already.

    Dont you feel sorry Touya-kun has to date an ugly bitch like you?

    Wheres your phone? Call him right now, tell him you want to break up!

    Im sorry. Im sorry. Im sorry.

    I felt a lot more pathetic about my weak self than any hate I could have for those girls.

    Touya-kun is <i>my</i> boyfriend. I couldnt even tell them that so they would back off.

    Because, in some corner of my mind, I was thinking. I was, always thinking.

    I kept thinking, Touya-kun, isnt there someone better than me youd rather love?

    I was neither cute, nor beautiful. I furthermore was not blessed with any talent that could counterbnce myck of beauty, and nor did I have the brains to be categorized as intelligent. No beauty, no talent, and worst of all, weak. My heart was weak, I was inferior.

    If only, if only my heart had just a little more strength. And if only, I had a pinch more courage and confidence Surely I wouldve boldly epted all his love. I wouldve been happy.

    But I wasnt. I didnt have that tiny bit of the strength I so desired.

    They would say many awful things, but I couldnt talk back. I could only, silently take it. No, this taking it wasnt so noble an act. I was simply at their mercy, letting them do as they pleased.

    I didnt say anything, I didnt do anything, I just cried quietly, weak, pathetic me.

    Eventually, theyd had enough of that. They started confessing to him. They probably thought itd be easy. I was the worst kind of girl, ugly in both heart and body, itd be so very easy to steal a man away from someone like me.

    True, I was weak. But Touya-kun was strong.

    In essence, no matter how cute the girl, he was quick to turn down every one of them.

    And every time he did I was Ahh, Im so d. Im so d Im still his girlfriend. I was even ugly in relief.

    Here I was, doing nothing, nothing but counting on Touya-kuns strength, relying on him I was exactly as they said, the worst kind of girl.

    So, yeah, Touya-kun What about you, any interesting girls?

    None at all. Saya-chan, youre my one and only.

    <i>Fufuh,</i> you too, my one and only, Touya-kun.

    Once wed entered Shiramine, most of that storm of malicious jealousy was gone.

    Mustve been because of Souma-kun and Tendou-kun, they were a lot more popr than Touya-kun. Most of the girls had their eyes on those two. Though, there were some who thought they were out of their league so tried to aim for Touya-kun who could be easily ced third in terms of looks.

    But even that was much more peaceful than our issues in junior high.

    Friends, Id made real friends. Especially Nagae Yukiko-san, shes the best.

    She was a in and quiet girlpared to many of the pretty ones in ss. But Nagae-san, even though she was still much prettier than me, she actually wished for me and Touya-kun to have a good rtionship together. She was the first person my age to ever say that to me.

    Even when they had no interest in Touya-kun, girls were bound to get jealous if someone as ugly as me were dating a super handsome guy like him.

    But mysteriously, Nagae-san wasnt like that at all.

    No, actually, it wasnt too much of a mystery. She simply had her heart set for another. Thing is though, that other turned out to be Higuchi-kun, and man is he scary No, its fine Nagae-san, I havent told anyone about this, dont worry!

    At any rate, it was thanks to Nagae-sans friendship with me, that Id learned something very important. I still remember those words, words that shook me to the core.

    Hinagiku-san, what are you doing? You need to properly reciprocate Sakurai-kuns feelings!

    Id finally been made to realized that I was only thinking about myself. That one line gouged at my heart deeper than any and all spite I was showered with in junior high.

    But once I realized it, I epted it, acknowledged it, and finally, little by little, I began to better myself.

    Touya-kun had grown far past me, both in heart and body. Hed turned into a charming young man While I, ugly as I am, finally started thinking that I could put in the effort to at least try to get on his level.

    It was no time to keep despairing on my shorings.

    Touya-kun had cherished me ever since we were children.

    And I had to reciprocate those feelings, give back to his love.

    This was not about whether I was worthy. If he wanted it, even right now, I was ready and willing to give my everything to him.

    So it wasnt scary, nor was it embarrassing. No honestly, I was a little scared, and really, really embarrassed Id always heard that your first time hurts, but hey, um, why are you the one crying, Touya-kun? But, Im so happy, youre so gentle, Touya-kun.

    My name is Hinagiku Saya. Sakurai Touyas girlfriend.

    I love him with all my heart, and would do anything for him <i>Can</i> do anything for him.

    So please Please God, if youre listening, please give me courage!

    Saya-chan, dont worry Im here, Ill, protect you

    Summoned to another world.

    Scared and confused, Id been attacked my monsters in this scary dungeon.

    These ck, like cockroaches given human form, monsters had surrounded us. They were vile, ugly things, and had weapons like rusted knives or axes.

    When I screamed out in terror after seeing these things, Touya-kun came.

    But really It should be scary for him too.

    B-but, Touya-kun you

    Its OK, Im fine.

    There were too many of them.

    These ck monsters were short, had thin limbs, and didnt look too strong. But there were more than ten of them, and every one had a weapon.

    On the other hand, Touya-kun was unarmed. He had on the same clothes he was wearing when we were ejected from the crumbling ssroom.

    There was no way he could win like this.

    BuGeGe!

    GuBa! GaBuRaa!

    The monsters had put us down as weak, helpless prey andughed as they surrounded us even closer. It was as if they were joyfully considering how theyd torture and kill us, they werent attacking just yet.

    But their rusted brown weapons could attack any time, finish us off in an instant.

    Well die. We were going to die.

    I was so scared But Touya-kun dying, that was even more scary.

    I could care less about myself. I could die, whatever. Because all this time, Touya-kun, hes loved me so, soo much!

    If I had the power to let him survive, I

    P-pl-please, work Poison!

    I yelled, sping my hands in prayer, I believed in the power Id been granted.

    Buh, Geh OBAAAHHH!?

    And then, one of those monster close to Touya-kun, the one with the knife, vomited blood as it copsed.

    Poison! Poison! Poison!

    I just kept at yelling. It seemed to be a magic for poison. I just kept sting with that one power.

    UGEEEHHH!!

    The monsters suffered and copsed one after the other. Again, and again. My magic, it worked!

    BuGuGu, BuRuGAAAAHH!!

    But I was so focused on yelling out my magic, I was only looking in front of me. The monsters numbered in the double digits and had formed a circle around us, meaning, many were behind me too.

    My spell, Poison only worked on one target for one shot. I could only beat them one by one, in order, and only if I could see them.

    Meaning, I couldnt deal with the monsters behind me.

    By the time I reacted to its fierce screech and hurriedly turned around, the axe-swinging monster was practically under my nose.

    Dont you darey a hand on my Saya-chan, fucking roach!

    In contrast to his chilling roar, an arrow swiftly and silently pierced itself inside the monsters head.

    GUH, gehh

    The monster wavered, with the axe still over its head, and plonked backwards to the ground.

    Haha! Thisll be easy now that I have a bow.

    Touya-kun had picked up a bow from one of the monsters Id defeated with Poison. He wasughing as he boldly held that flimsy little bow.

    Wow, Touya-kun, youre always so cool As I was getting smitten yet again, the fight was already over.

    Phew, d those arrowssted. Yeah, this Job thing really is something, I got 100% uracy.

    Touya-kun Youre safe, Im so d

    Im really sorry, Saya-chan, I couldnt protect you right away. Actually, you ended up saving me

    Now released from the fear and unease, we embraced each other and I started bawling.

    We really shouldnt have made ourselves so defenseless, but Touya-kun didnt mind at all. As hed always done, he hugged me back gently.

    Then, after Id finally calmed down, I asked him,

    Hey, so, youre an Archer, now?

    Yeah, I am

    In a way, this was inevitable. Wed been always doing archery club together, but I never improved, basically, I sucked at it. On the other hand, Touya-kun had talent. He was, after all, the only one in Shiramine who could evenpare in skill to Souma-san.

    So I guess you got a different Job?

    Ah! Um I, well you see, my Job is, um

    Saya-chan, its fine if you dont want to say, I understand.

    No no, its alright, I dont mind telling you at all.

    Come on, youre such a worry-wart Touya-kun.

    Well, its true I got a bit hesitant saying it out loud. Its, kind of a weird one.

    Im a Shaman.

 Chapter 151: Sakurai Touya and Hinagiku Saya (2)

    Chapter 151: Sakurai Touya and Hinagiku Saya (2)

    Id been granted the Job: Archer.

    Sharp Shot: Improves the archers ability to kill, raising both the power and uracy of the bow.

    Detect Presence: Senses are improved to better find the enemy.

    Bow Master: Proof of ones gift in the art of bowmanship.

    From the looks of these starter skills, Im basically no different from an ordinary person once without bow and arrow. At the time I came rushing to protect Saya-chan from the troop of goma surrounding her, it was a fact that I couldnt do a thing to protect her fundamentally because of myck of such equipment.

    It was really lucky that one of the goma my sweet Saya-chan defeated happened to be using a bow.

    Now lets look at Saya-chan, who really did carry us through that emergency battle. Shes what seems to be called a Shaman:

    Poison: Induces poison onto the target.

    Enchant: The ability to bestow a spells effects on items.

    Basic Upgrade: Can perform basic, simplified upgrades. Identify and solve. Disassemble and reconstruct.

    For any skill, you can get a better feel for its effects once you use it. I was d that Saya-chans Poison practically instant killed those goma.

    If it was like in fantasy RPGs where poison is something that causes gradual damage, the gomas wouldve surely overpowered us in no time while the poison was still in effect.

    It appears that magic in this isekai is a really powerful thing.

    No, it must be because Saya-chan is a genius in magic. Aftering to this world her hidden talent in the arcane was finally unlocked and she could wield mere poison as an instant death weapon. Its usible, very usible.

    Speaking of talent, I sort of wish theyd given her a more suitable Job though. Lets see, like Saintess?

    Um, anyway, it looks like we have to make it deeper into the dungeon.

    Thats right.

    We will be able to leave this ce once we make it to the Divine Gate in the deepest part of this wretched dungeon. I want nothing more than to get Saya-chan out of here as fast as I can. So we have to make it to this Gate, no matter what.

    I feel, like we have a long ways to go.

    Dont you worry, Saya-chan. I promise Ill safely get us to the Divine Gate.

    I now had a bow. With this, goma tier monsters were no match, I could down any number that came at me. This is not over-confidence, its simple reality.

    Before making it to our first safe zone, a fairy square, we faced and defeated many goma attacks. Among their ranks thered be archers too, and the more I beat, the more arrows I could stock up. Although, I cant say much about the quality. Damn roaches, even cavemen made sharper arrowheads.

    Touya-kun, I want to fight too.

    You cant, its too dangerous, Saya-chan. You did more than enough in that first fight with the gomas.

    Im very happy that you want to protect me, I really am But, I want to protect you too, you know!<ol><li>MY. GOSH Saya-chan whos so timid was saying she would still fight after that traumatizing experience. And in concern of my safety no less Shit, dont, dont cry. I cant cry from happiness just yet.</li></ol>

    But I, Saya-chan, Im scared to think if something happens to you.

    And I feel the same about you! Come on, Touya-kun, I have a Job too. Lets work together. If its with you, I wont be scared to fight at all. I swear Ill be useful!

    S-Saya-chan uuh

    I cant, the dam of tears burst. I was so moved with her courage, I couldnt bear being stubborn to her anymore.

    And I soon saw that she was in fact, very useful in battle.

    W-wow Its a normal bow.

    Phew, the upgrade was a sess.

    The first thing Saya-chan did was use her Basic Upgrade to modify my shoddy goma bow.

    About this upgrade ability, the caster can use their mana to freely manipte their target object it seems. Its sort of like an alchemist I read about in a manga.

    The shoddy bow was easily repaired, and we even threw in some wood from the walnut trees to modify and reinforce it.

    The end result was an awesome recurve bow.

    The old bow that the gomas had made looked very simplepared to his new slightly M shaped bow. I remember hearing that this type of bow could actually exert more power.

    Gone was the worn down wood that seemed it would break any time, it now looked good as new.

    Shed also upgraded my arrows and now they all had clean, sharp arrowheads. With the improved equipment, I was sure that its power, range, and uracy had improved many fold.

    And only an Archer, that is, I, could bring out that full potential.

    Yeah, ranged really is the way to go.

    With gomas, rather than a fight, it was more a one-sided massacre.

    Id always detect them first using Detect Presence.

    A pack of gomas usually numbered at 10. I could take down 3 of them before theyd even notice what was going on. And if they still couldnt decipher where they were being sniped from, Id just be increasing my kill count.

    And once they did see me and start rushing in with weapons or shoot back Id be more than a hundred meters away. My power as an Archer allowed me to shoot while retreating backwards with surprising uracy. I only had to calmly snipe any that got too close and 10 angry gomas would be 10 dead gomas long before they reached me.

    As for the goma archers, I could ignore them. Im using the awesome short bow my Saya-chan made for me. Any arrows from the shit bows they use simply wouldnt reach me from such a distance. And even if they got in range, with their amateur skill, they wouldnt hit anyway. Damn roaches, train some more before youe out hunting.

    Like that, we were moving deeper into the dungeon, easily taking down gomas, wolves and skeletons alike.

    Even with the asional strong ones, those that wouldnt go down in one arrow,

    Poison  Enchant.

    Once Saya-chan made enchanted poison arrows for me, I could use the power of her unparalleled poison on thoserge body or tough skin types that my arrowscked the power to pierce through.

    Lets take for example one such tough guy, our first boss monster.

    It was a giant skeleton carrying mace and shield.

    Id headshot many skeletons before this, and everyone of them had their skull pulverized with one arrow. But as for the boss skeleton, my direct headshots only caused a slight fracture.

    But Saya-chans technique of using Enchant with Poison worked on it. I dont know how it works, but the poison had an effect on this clearly bare bones body.

    Saya-chan also used Poison directly and the boss skeletons movements became dull, its bones bing weathered somehow.

    One shot there, and the boss broke very easily. Poison seems to have the effect of making bone brittle.

    Once I had a way of damaging it, it was game set. Before the boss skeleton came close enough with its mace, Id already riddled it with enough arrows to make it fall.

    Phew, that couldve ended badly if it wasnt for your amazing poison.

    No no, youre the one who beat it, Touya-kun!

    No I Actually, thats right, we could only do it with me and you together.

    Id realized for the first time after fighting this boss. That we couldnt defeat something like this if it was just me or just Saya-chan.

    Mm, youre right, Touya-kun. <i>Fufufu</i>, lets get better together.

    Of course, Saya-chan, forever forever.

    Our dungeon capture was going well, though we had the asional hard fight.

    Thinking back, we ended up getting a lot stronger from back when we started.

    Drill Shot: Strengthens an arrows piercing potential.

    Point Wave: Changes an arrows piercing potential into a shockwave.

    Meteor: Akin to a falling star, this brilliant shining attack is powerful enough to create a crater in the ground.

    With my bow based battle arts increasing, I now had more powerful means of attack. Taking the same skeleton boss as example, with Drill Shot I could likely pierce right through it, and if I used Point Wave, I could break it from the inside.

    As for Meteor, this one somehow creates an explosion on impact. Its sort of like an ultimate move. When I attempt to use it, my bow bes a lot harder to draw, an stays that way until I release. Saya-chan said that it was because this skill uses up my mana. Its a lot like attack magic apparently.

    That bluish aura that shows up around the arrowhead really does make it seem like magic. And it really does shoot like a meteor, creating a brilliant streak of light and causing an explosion where itnds.

    It was sort of unbelievable for a single arrow to do something like that, plus, I couldnt really use my stealth tactics with this. One shot, and every enemy would know my location.

    So Meteor gets used pretty rarely.

    Scout: Have better, sharper awareness of enemy positions.

    Instinct: Instinctively sense many kinds of danger with this 6th sense like ability.

    These skills boosted my perception so much, it became practically impossible for the enemy to find me first. Scout was like an upgrade to Detect Presence while thanks to Instinct, we could avoid traps and ambushes.

    These two skills made our journey much safer.

    Block Presence: Move quietly and blend into the shadows by suppressing your presence.

    And with this skill, it became harder for monsters to find me after I got my first shots in. Those dumb gomas cant even see me anymore.

    Conceal Form: Move in silence and be the shadows bypletely erasing your presence.

    After repeated ambush tactics, the skill further improved, or should I say evolved, into a much more powerful Conceal Form.

    With this skill, monsters who were far superior to goma in detecting enemies would find it a lot harder to sniff me out. I suspected that the skill even hit my scent very well since those wolf or dinosaur like monsters couldnt find me if I focused on hiding.

    I sort of felt like I was invisible with how well hidden I could be, but if I was out in the open without the skill active, theyd see me normally. Its only when I was sneaking around that these powers worked exceedingly well.

    Id also gotten myself other support skills:

    Hawkeye: Clearly see things in the distance with eyes like a hawk.

    Wind Sense: Feel the wind, improve uracy.

    Hi Walk: Run like a gale.

    Hawkeye felt as if I was looking through binocrs, and Wind Sense let me better calcte the trajectory of my arrows. My ability to ambush was now boosted much higher.

    And for emergencies, I have Hi Walk that I can use to easily run away. Saya-chans light as a feather, so I can run carrying her just fine.

    Though, to say which skill is the most useful of the bunch, itd definitely be Bow Master, one of my starter skills that didnt seem to do anything at first.

    This skill actually affects my archery technique as a whole. Id realized this fact after many battles had passed.

    It not only improved my uracy, but also made me aware how to properly move if I were to run and shoot at the same time. It taught me how to multi nock, shoot two or three arrows at the same time. I also understood how to cut the arrows fletching in ways that let me make arcing shots.

    The more I used the bow, the more targets I hit, the better this skill got. Rather than my skills correcting my movements, Bow Master made me able to make the motions on my own.

    And while I was truly bing a master of the bow, Saya-chan was also growing in tandem.

    Cursemaker Upgrade: Use your mana to ingrain curse magic upon basic upgrades. Thus begins the path into the taboo knowledge of the abyss.

    Once Saya-chan got that slightly dangerous sounding skill, she proceeded to upgrade my bow into something jaw-dropping.

    ckhorn Bow: Arge bow made with high grade horns of an earth dragon. It had undergone ckening under the effects of curse magic.

    My weapon now was arge ck bow made with the tworge horns from a huge dinosaur type boss monster called a trikeratops. This jet ck, glossy bow that looked like itd beencquered had actually be iparably harder to pull than how it was when I first got it. I dont think normal people could use something like this. Saya-chan tried, but she couldnt go past a couple centimeters.

    But I can use it naturally. I dont know if its because of all the archery practice I get, or if its an effect of Bow Master, but I really felt that thisrge bow fit me perfectly.

    And one shot from this ckhorn Bow was so powerful, it was hard to describe in few words.

    I shot arge boar with it since it came charging at me, and to my surprise, it pierced the animals forehead, went straight through, came out of its arse, and lodged into a tree a hundred meters further behind. This much power should allow me to one shot most things within 100 meters. Though Id have to use a battle art to do in something as tough as an armor bear.

    Smallfry like goma should go down from much more farther than 100 meters, this bow was like a death machine for low tiered monsters.

    And that was all with <i>normal</i> arrows.

    Actually, Saya-chans cursemaking did a lot more to my arrows than my bow.

    Poison Arrow: A poisonous arrow enchanted with Poison.

    Vi Arrow: A more potent poisonous arrow enchanted with Vi Poison.

    Paryze Arrow: A paralysis arrow enchanted with Paryze.

    ck Arrow: A ckened arrow.

    ckening: Basic corruption using ck mana.

    First of all, we have Vi Arrow. Its an improved version of the poison arrow, and it makes poisoningrge bodied monsters much easier.

    But there did exist monsters that had resistances to poison, so that wasnt guaranteed to always do the trick. But resistance for poison didnt necessarily mean resistance to other ailments. There were cases where Poison didnt work but Paryze did.

    And when both of those failed and the monster had really good defence, Id use ck Arrow.

    ckening, one of Saya-chans curse magics, had the power to strengthen things by pumping mana into them. Thanks to this power, my now ck arrows were much tougher than before.

    With battle artsbined with ck Arrows, even piercing through the tough exoskeletons of Rook Spiders was easy as pie. It turns out that the ckening also had the sub-effect of amplifying the extra power unleashed when I use a battle art. ck Arrow with a Meteor was my highest output technique so far.

    She also made arrows where the tips would create various effects upon impact, something like grenade arrows.

    ze Ball: A ball filled with extremely mmable oil with an igniter made using a fire stone.

    Smoke Ball: A ball with Smoke inside.

    Poison Gas Ball: A ball with gaseous Poison inside.

    Siesta Ball: A ball with the fog of Siesta inside.

    All of the above were the size of tennis balls, and Saya-chan had make them all using her upgrading talents. The arrows whose heads were reced by these balls did fall in range and deadliness, but they were meant to be shot in the middle of a pack of monsters. These shots would fly in a big arc, and hit in precise spots where I could potentially bring them all down in one go.

    The Siesta Ball is especially useful since enemies dont even realize what hit them. It was thanks to this one that we could invade a goma stronghold with rtive ease.

    There was a castle that housed a huge boss goma, the gogma, but with abination of ck arrow and battle arts along with my trusty ckhorn bow, that boss met its end with one clean shot to the head.

    After many trials, I thought wed gotten very strong I thought wrong.

    Teleporting out of the goma castle, wed arrived at an ancient ruined city. And once we began exploring it, we soon met an enemy that proved too much for us.

    Shit, arrows are useless

    This enemy was a knight in full body armour with the insidepletely empty. It was a monster known as a Living Armour.

    They held weapons of much higher grade than any skeleton and had ample technique in using them. Worse still, they werepletely fearless and had monstrous defence.

    Skeletons had been at least affected by Poison, which worked to make their bones brittle, but the magic did nothing to the living armour. That went the same for vi poison and paryze, this type of monster seemed to have full immunity to bad status effects.

    Then well just have to do this the hard way. Their armours were strong but my arrows could definitely pierce them. And pierce them they did. But they did only that.

    A living armour literally didnt have any weak points. I could snipe its head off, and it just kept attacking like normal, and even if I pin-cushioned it, it didnt feel any pain at all. Heck, even an arrow to the knee did nothing.

    Im used to aiming quickly and precisely at a monsters weak point like their head or what not, but these armours didnt seem to have any such points, any damage I dealt was equal throughout. A living armour probably had the worstpatibility with mybat style.

    Touya-kun, we need to run! I dont think the armours can be beat without some light based magic. If we want to stop them, we need to break them to pieces.

    Yeah, I dont think Point Wave will do much good either Well have to run for now.

    I bet I could partially destroy one using Meteor with a ck Arrow. But living armours werent exactly boss monsters. There were many troops of them wandering throughout the town, and I dont think I could defeat all of them.

    Now, Touya-kun Smoke!

    Saya-chan cast a smokescreen for us, while at the same time, I shot a Smoke Ball arrow at the living armour troop currently on our tail.

    The ck smoke quickly spread and sealed their ability to detect us. Now only their archer type could attempt to get a lucky shot.

    And no way would that happen But it did.

    AH!?

    Worst case scenario.

    An arrow flew threw the curtain of smoke, and by pure chance, hit Saya-chan. She was running away, and it struck her from the back. An arrowhead covered in Saya-chans blood was jutting out from her nk.

    SAYA-CHAN!? D-dammit

    The moment I witnessed that arrow tearing her flesh, my head started to go nk.

    T-Touya-kun Dont, stop Have to, run.

    Even when she mustve been in extreme pain, Saya-chan refused to scream, and gave me that warning. She was right, of course. The troop of living armours were gaining on us. We didnt have time to waste.

    Ahh, Saya-chan, Im smitten by your strength of heart. You even woke me up when my head stopped working seeing you hurt.

    Calm down, I cant panic, its over if I panic.

    Hold tight, Saya-chan!

    Mm, sorry, Touya-kun

    I lifted up Saya-chan, and used Hi Walk to retreat from there as fast as I could. Its good that living armours werent all that fast on their legs.

    Wed been exploring this ruin town for the better part of a week now. And in that time, we learned that the living armours seem to only patrol on a designated area. We also learned that if we leave this area, they wonte chasing.

    The fairy square was too far.

    But we did know a few ces that are outside the living armours range of activity, and in addition, had good vantage points, were easy to defend, and all around rtively safe.

    So I chose one of those ces, arge apartment building at the bank of ake. I ran inside and climbed to the top floor.

    We should be safe here. I wanted to get Saya-chans wounds healed as fast as humanly possible.

    <i>Haah Haah.</i> T-Touya-kun, Im, sorry I, the arrow, it

    Youre fine, youll be fine, Ill fix you up right away alright!

    Her face was drained of blood, shed gonepletely pale. The arrow was still lodged inside her, so I dont think she had bled out that much yet. But with her face in that state, and that weak, feeble voice she now had, panic was quickly starting to boil within my heart.

    Im scared, Im so scared Im scared of losing Saya-chan, I cant lose her.

    Dammit, DAMMIT, I shouldnt have used that potion!

    Ourstst boss fight had been a tough one and Id been gravely injured. Seeing me in a such a state, Saya-chan cried as she used the potion on me. This one potion that wed randomly happened upon inside a loot chest.

    Dammit, if I knew this was going to happen, I wouldve borne any amount of pain the world threw at me and refused that potion from her But it was toote for that now.

    The only thing we currently carried that had healing properties would be the four leafed clovers wed been collecting ever since the first fairy square.

    Touya-kun I

    You dont need to talk. Im here for you, youll be fine I swear Ill get you healed up.

    I removed the arrow, and used the clovers on the wound, being as careful as possible.

    Now, the only thing I could still do, was hold her thin, pale hand and give her my utmost support.

    Thank you, Touya-kun.

    God, if youre listening, please Please save Saya-chan Ill do anything if its to save her. Anything you ask, so please, just this

 Chapter 152: My First Treasure Box

    Chapter 152: My First Treasure Box

    Birds chirped sharply as they flew by overhead. I think Ive seen this type in the jungle zones.

    This meant that I can assume that the nts and animals here may be simr. Or at least, the trees I saw around us were of the tropical type. Maybe I could even find mandragoras here. Id found bananatatoes already.

    We should be on alert for the new types of monsters on this level. Or maybe, since were so deep into the dungeon, we could expect stronger, evolved forms of the monsters weve already seen.

    Lets limit our exploring to this area for today.

    We hadnt strayed too far from the fairy square yet. We needed to be cautious in any approach to a new area, and I figured I could collect our spoils there.

    With my Intuition Pharmacy and Witchs Cauldron, we could find and prepare food rtively easily. With Mei-chan here, gettingrge boars were a piece of cake.

    I had a feeling none of our other ssmates had this much ability in pure food gathering. True, they can survive with just the fairy walnuts and water from the fountain, but thinking long term, its healthier to add actual meat and vegetables to the menu. In other words, the difference is that it would bolster your vitality and stamina. The apparent effect may be small, but this was one of the few advantages only I had.

    Im pretty sure were better in that respect to the Souma Party. They basically only knew about that one type of edible snake, and maybe shrimp worms.

    But there was also Tendou-kun who had the ability to figure out, at one nce, every single one of the ingredients used in my healing ointments. He should find it easy to tell whats edible and whats not. There was also Cannibalizer Yokomichi. He just ate anything. Those two wouldnt be strapped for food any time soon.

    Ill hunt down all the meat! And then, we can cook up more delicious food!

    Mei-chan gets pumped up whenever food is the topic. She was fidgeting around, using her full awareness to seek out any prey that came nearby.

    Hunting is fine and all, but I kind of want to check out some of these houses actually,

    This ce was very town-like in the fact that there were aisles and aisles of houses lined up. Id taken a peek inside some, and basically, they were either like the empty rooms weve seen in the dungeon so far, or had some dregs of what used to be furniture. In short, nothing of value.

    Incidentally, the fairy square wended in was actually inside a big temple-like building. I conjectured that other buildings simr to that one could house more fairy squares. Also, there were the many multistory buildings wed yet to explore for spoils. By spoils, I mean treasure boxes.

    Really, for some odd reason, I hadnte across one of these elusive boxes in all my time here. Like, everyone else Ive talked to had encountered them at least once.

    Oh, right, we might find more meat to be hunted inside too.

    My greed was for treasure, while Mei-chans for meat. Well, I dont mind finding more of either.

    Ive also been informed that Takanashi Kotori had a Sage skill to activate mapping mechanisms in the dungeon. Id learned a little of the ancient tongue thanks to Yamajun, so maybe I could find some kind of item or facility I can use for that.

    Alright, lets try checking out that warehouse, or factory (?), like ce over there.

    I pointed at the biggest building around.

    It had a simple box shape, with half the exterior overgrown in foliage, and thick pipes jutting out of it. The walls looked like brick while the pipes, well they should be metal since theyd gone rusted and worn down.

    First we circled around the dpidated warehouse. The front had thisrge gate, or maybe shutters, big enough to let inrge trucks. It looked to be shut tight, with rust and overgrowth all over it. It mayve not been locked but I didnt want to waste the effort opening it.

    There were other doors to the building. Most were shut by nature like therge gate, but one of them, we found open. This will be our point of infiltration.

    Youre up, Rem.

    GUGAGA!

    Rem made an energetic reply and, I guess she considered that a spear was bad for indoors fighting, took the lead with her sword in hand.

    I know Mei-chan is super strong, but life is still life. We can never be too careful in the dungeon, so as Rem was practically immune to instant death traps, Id of course send her in ahead. I could infinitely revive her as long as I had the parts.

    Guess they still have power inside.

    Technically, it wasnt electricity but powered by mana, I suppose.

    This ancient looking warehouse also had the white light panels everpresent within the dungeon. Although, most of them were dimmer, some broken, and some even flickered like theyd run out.

    This building only had the rare window, so I appreciated the little light we had. I didnt want to rely on the dim light provided by my Red Knife.

    Hmm. The ce really isnt in good shape.

    Kotarou-kun, theres a tree root over there, so be careful walking.

    We were walking in a dim hallway. The rooms inside werent too different from the once in the smaller houses. Crumbling furniture, orpletely eaten up by nature.

    The only things wed gained so far would be some edible mushrooms, and a bundle of herbs. Maybe the dark and damp environment was just right for this sort of vegetation?

    GUGA.

    In the middle of our exploration, which seemed more like vegetable picking at this point, Rem stopped.

    Theres a big room up ahead. And I can hear something inside.

    Mei-chan reported in Rems ce. I myself couldnt hear anything at all yet, but as a Berserker, her ears were a lot sharper.

    Either its students fighting monsters, or monsters fighting themselves. Lets go have a look, preferably without whatever they are from noticing.

    We shouldnt be asking for danger like this, but we need to at least check if theres one of our ssmates there.

    We went into sneak mode, and slowly made our way to therge hall.

    We stepped over the door thatd been taken off, clearly, and, I see, so this really was a factory. There were two, no three,rge cylindrical silo-like things stationed inside. Angled pipes surrounded these machines, and in the ground around them, there were many broken somethings strewn about. These somethings could be the goods produced by this factory, or tools to make said good, or anything really, I had no real idea.

    I was careful not to kick one identally and walked as silently as possible.

    OuOuUaUaa!

    GuVeRa, Obaaahh!!

    Once inside, I could finally hear what Mei-chan was likely referring to. This sounded like, gomas, and the other one, zombies, or something like that.

    What now?

    Theres stairs over there, lets get a view from there.

    After we climbed the rusty stairs, there was a long pathway ced to get a perfect view of the factory as a whole. From the direction of the sounds, I surmised that the gomas were deeper inside, close to the third of therge silos. The 2nd story hallway gave us a good view of their conflict.

    So I went ahead into spectator mode on their little battle.

    They look like an elite gove unit.

    What I saw were 7 goves inbat, all with swords and war-axes. There wasnt one goma around them, so I figured I could call them an elite unit as they wereposed of fully armed goves.

    Their weapons looked good quality, and all of them were also equipped with a sturdy looking bow. Their equipment itself spoke volumes of their strength.

    The goves had formed a circle, and were fending off their enemies falling in from all directions. Their teamwork was also nothing to scoff at.

    Are those really zombies?

    They were a humanoid monsters like zombies, but looked macho enough to rival the builds of the elite gove warriors. Their attacks were fast and aggressive, possessing strength and agility unlike any zombie Id ever seen.

    They didnt have skin, but red, bulging muscles all over their bodies. They had none of that decayed bone stuff going on either. Rather, I could see white exoskeleton-like parts sticking out from some areas on their bodies. Actually they didnt look like zombies at all.

    Hmm, whatever, lets go with High Zombie.

    Ah, theyre a lot weaker than that gori boss, so I can beat them easy.

    Shes talking about the goliath. That, was still supposed to be a boss, so of course it was strong. But Mei-chan took it down like it wasnt even smallfry.

    Setting aside Mei-chans overpoweredness which cant be a good scale topare to at all, I personally think that high zombies would be a pretty high level opponent.

    I dont know if they were inside the factory all along or came chasing the goves, but there were dozens of them. With their numbers, they really just needed to attack mindlessly, and it looked like the gove unit was getting cornered. Against these crazed red zombies, the elite warriors were being worn down. Their numbers would surely be whittled down and then theyd be anihted. The goves were in a state where losing even one would turn the tides against them.

    Can you take on that many high zombies?

    No problem. They arent as tough bodied as they look, and their movements are simple. Theyd go down if I crush the head. Actually, even one living armor is more troublesome.

    And what about the goves?

    I beat lots of those in the goma castle. They only think theyre strong by having weapons, but they arent really. Piece of cake.

    Piece of cake it is then.

    This basically means that I can send Mei-chan into the fray and shede out with not a scratch. Theyre all monsters just the same, so personally, I just want them to die ASAP.

    But Id feel like a dick if I asked Mei-chan to go into all that trouble, so, I guess I could speed things up a bit.

    Alright, I need to get this timing right Got it, this should be good enough.

    Entwine its escape, with weaving hair ckhair Bind.

    Full canto. Thats been a while. I aimed, of course, for the losing side, the goves.

    ckhair Bind was a lot better in some ways to arrows or attack spells in that the caster wasnt the point of origin. It was perfect for covert hits.

    GuBu! MuGaah!?

    With a sudden ck tentacle suddenly wrapping around its arms and legs, one of the goves let out a desperate scream.

    Goves had enough strength to tear those off easily, but currently, they were exhausted from prolonged battle with the numerous high zombies.

    And now, Id gotten it to stop moving for that one moment. And it couldnt even rely on its fellow gove to bail it out since Id done the same to the 6 others.

    BuGa! Guh! GeVaaaAAAAAHHH!!

    One of them shrieked as a high zombie fiercely tackled it down.

    ZeBa!? ZieGuBa nBaaaAAAAHH!!

    Ah, another one tried to save it and got jumped from behind.

    With two of their numbers down and out, the goves circle formation had broken  Now, they would simply, and slowly, get devoured.

    You can do it~ Take as many of the zombies as you can before you die~

    As if encouraged by my little cheer, the gove that had high zombies biting down on them already, used itsst remaining weapon, a knife, to finish off as many as possible.

    And so, after fighting the good fight, the gove unit was indeed decimated by the high zombie onught. On the winning side, the zobs had also lost many of their own. There weren''t even 10 remaining.

    GG, no re. Im so moved. Ill remember yourst struggle for all my days~

    Well then, Mei-chan, Rem, handle the rest?

    Yup!

    GAGA!

    While the remaining zombies were feasting on their spoils, that is, the bodies of the muscle bound goves, that I guess, did have a lot of meat to them, the merciless Berserker, and the killing machine Mud Doll attacked.

    Anyway, I scavenged the cores. Thisd be the second time like this since Gomas Vs Pawn Ants. All their cores were small, but at least they all had them.

    Since Mei-chan carried the cores of all the monsters she herself defeated with her, she had a lot stored up. But all the ones I had were reappropriated by those homo bros Ooyama and Sugino.

    I didnt want to rely on her savings, so I made sure to collect as much as I could. I do NOT want to be a leech.

    Next was collecting their gear. Although for that too, Mei-chans weapons were super rare ss right now from Sage-tier upgrades. At least, Rems stuff got an improvement I guess.

    I helped myself to a spear, knive, and a small axe that looked like a tomahawk, for my mud doll.

    Now that Rem was tall and had her steel wire muscture, she could easily put on a macho goves outerwear too. We didnt really need the dirty clothes, but the belt with pouches and weapon holsters looked useful.

    I equipped her with belts for her waist and shoulders along with the scavenged weapons.

    I think the higher quality bow was one of the better loot. Rem was pretty good with her bow as of now. She was, of course, nowhere at the level of someone with an Archer Job, but she got the job done, and well. Now if I made her arrows with Spiderfrogs Anesthesia coated on, I bet shell score some good kills.

    I had Rem carry one bow, and I carried another as a spare for her.

    There werent any more monsters in the factory. A fewrge bugs scattering around, and a snake that slipped by. That damn snake, it ran inside a crack in the wall as soon as it saw us. Mei-chan got real sad at the missed opportunity to catch it.

    Guess there wasnt much here after all. Lets head back after this room.

    We were on the third and top floor of the factory. At the very back of the hall, there was a room sealed with double doors. If there isnt anything inside, this whole exploration will have been for nothing basically.

    Fine then, I already know my luck never holds up in this sort of thing.

    So without too much anticipation, Open Sesame. Well, not me, Mei-chan did it. Forcefully.

    Ah! A treasure box! Kotarou-kun, look, a treasure box!

    Eh! What, where!?

    Once Mei-chan opened the sturdy door with a bang, she happily reported some great news.

    I was like, holy guacamole, and ran in without thinking and, <i>cough cough</i>, the ce is arid!

    Where, is it?

    Hacking on the stagnant smoke inside, I looked around and couldnt see anything treasure box-like at all. By treasure box-like, I of course mean arge wooden chest with a key hole.

    Inside the room, I could only see metal shelves that looked like lockers, and container boxes of various sizes.

    That one, thats a treasure box.

    Ah, oh.

    Mei-chan pointed out one of the several containers. It had a length of 1 meter, a 50 cm breadth, and a 30 cm height. The box was somewhat ck, kind of like metal, but not really, well it did feel like metal though. As if it had rested there for a long time, the so-called treasure box had weedage all around it, half way up its height in fact.

    Kind of, well, disappointing But who cares, as long as I get stuff inside, were good.

    Hmm. Its locked huh.

    So I dragged it away from the other containers, and started poking and prodding on it, but the lid didnt open at all. Actually, where was the lid anyway?

    Erm, I think they said you had to inject mana inside.

    I see. Wait, what does that even mean, injecting ma Woahh!?

    Suddenly, the treasure box made a whirling sound and let off light. Blue lines of light ran along its length, and the next instant, a click, as if the lock was undone, and then the boxs top slid off.

    O-ohh

    I was bewildered at what just happened. It seemed more scifi than magic, and the box also had the same blue glow inside.

    As for what was inside

    This, is a staff?

    It certainly seemed like a magic staff. It was like a twisting tree branch with sharp ws on the tip like an eagles foot.

    No, Ive seen something like this before Ah!

    The boss in the goma fortress had this. The Explosion Stick. Other than it missing the red fire stone, this staff looked almost identical.

    Wait, what if,

    Settling down my bubbling excitement, I brought out from my bag a green ball thatd been a paperweight for a long while now. It was the wind manastone that had once been on Nishiyama-sans own staff.

    Cmon, this has to work!

    The ws on this new staff moved andtched onto the fist sized wind stone.

    And, heart still pounding, I took a swing,

    Aer Sagitta.

    With a whistle, a single line of wind with a faint emerald glow, shot off from the staff.

    This was, without doubt, an attack spell. All this time after Id be a shaman. For the first time ever, I used not curse, but real magic.

    Y-yes, YESS!!

    Awesome, Kotarou-kun. Congrats.

    And so, from my first treasure box, I obtained my first magic staff.

 Chapter 153: Doki Doki New Life

    Chapter 153: Doki Doki New Life

    With my new magic staff in hand, I exited the factory eager.

    I, I seriously need to have a go with this.

    Sure, you can shoot at the next monster then.

    Mei-chan looked at me gently, like a mother at her child whod be hyperactive after receiving a toy hed been begging for for a long time.

    Right, so I think its safe to conclude that exploring this factory led to a very good haul, but we still had a lot more ground to cover. It was too early to return to the Fairy Square today so with my new toy, we continued our survey of the ruined town.

    Um, Kotarou-kun. Are those monsters too?

    Currently, we kept ourselves hidden from what appeared to be a herd of some new breed of monster.

    The ce they were gathered at resembled a park. This park was overgrown with trees and bushes and there was a small pond.

    These creatures that looked like sheep were munching on the grass in that park, so clearly they were herbivorous.

    Their white, fluffy bodies reminded me of those ursed cloud creatures, but actually, this fluffiness was due to genuine body hair. And though white and fluffy gave the image of sheep, these round-bodied animals had long-ish necks extending out, making them more like alpacas really.

    No, those are normal animals. Called Jaja apparently.

    These Jajas were part of the info Yamajun had gotten on his notebook updates.

    The text updates on our notebooks were personalized and quite literally all over the ce. And from what Ive seen, Yamajuns was the mostprehensive.

    With that in mind, Yamajun had not only prepared an Ancient Tongue practice set, but also a separate notebook with all the info on monsters and such that he knew of. These notebooks werent just important memories of him, they were very useful in the dungeon.

    Are they edible?

    Yep, theyre herbivores and work pretty well as food. Its actually rmended that we hunt some if we run across them.

    Mei-chan had stars in her eyes and looked like she was itching to rush them with her halberd.

    But Jajas are a lot like antelope, theyre sensitive to their surroundings and run pretty fast. Lets let Rem snipe them from here.

    Coincidentally, we were downwind from the Jajas, and they hadnt noticed us. I believed that it would be prudent to hunt using a bow in this case. Well, I guess Mei-chan could technically throw a spear to the same effect. I could totally see her getting a two in one kill.

    Alright, go for it, Rem.

    GUGAGA GAGA?

    Rem retrieved the bow hung on her back and was about to draw, when all of a sudden, all the Jajas thatd been obliviously munching away raised up their heads.

    Did they notice?

    The Jajas went, Maaa, moaaahh, and ran off.

    Ah man~ they got away.

    Wonder how they noticed?

    Ignoring Mei-chan, who looked incredibly sorry at the missed opportunity for more meat, I tried thinking of the cause. If theyd heard us, theyd have already fled by the time we caught sight of them. Plus, the wind direction hadnt changed either, so its hard to imagine they sensed us by scent.

    That leaves stuff like mana flow, or bloodlust but before I could think more, the answer revealed itself.

    BRFFF, BRRFFFF!!

    Turning a corner, arrived arge horned monster. With its single distinctive horn and brown coat, it was unmistakably that one monster Id encountered in the jungle zone.

    I now knew it was called a Roylopse from Yamajunsprehensive notes.

    The first time I met this thing, a fricking Smander swooped in and ate it before it had the chance to even blink, but I dont think Ill have the same kind of luck here.

    This Roylopse walked with aposed gait as if nothing in the area could cause it any harm. It arrived at the spot the Jajas were herding at and began chewing away at the grass. That grass sure is popr.

    So those Jajas had obviously run away because of this monster.

    Hmm, dont think one arrow will be enough for that one.

    Ah, Ill handle it,

    Mei-chan, with her ever-present love for meat, volunteered. Rather than thinking it dangerous, she probably thought it a better turnout since this bigger monster equaled more meat.

    The Roylopse was, as one might guess, a brute strength type. But Mei-chan, who treated even Goliaths as small fry, shouldnt even break a sweat against it.

    Sure. Roylopse meat isnt bad either, so lets change dinner to that. Its a monster too, so itll likely fight back instead of running away.

    Leave it to me, Kotarou-kun. Here, I, gooo!

    Mei-chan charged at the grazing beast.

    BRR, BRGOOHH!!

    The Roylopse, seeing the humaning towards it, seemed to be enraged. It could be because its meal was interrupted, but when I met one of its kind, it had very simr behavior, so maybe it just treats humans as enemies. Maybe its this exact kind of behavior that designates them as monsters.

    Lets do this.

    Mei-chan put strength into her arms as she held her halberd in a fighting stance. She was nning to end this in one deadly strike.

    Mei-chan and the Roylopse stared at each other for a moment.

    Then, the mindless power-brawler of a monster charged head first. It was like a trucking at you at full speed. Even my current Rem wouldnt be able to take that head on.

    However, Mei-chan was, a Berserker.

    Hmp Haa!!

    She swung down her halberd with a fierce war-cry, making a direct and critical hit on the Roylopses fast approaching skull.

    A loud, dull, breaking soundter, the Roylopse was on the ground, defeated, yet still sliding from the remaining momentum. It didnt move, nor would it any longer.

    It died from Mei-chans one attack, its brain destroyed together with the cranium surrounding it.

    Woah Mei-chans fucking badass

    This iprehensible might that could topple monsters many times her size without even using a Battle Art. The Mei-chan I was currently witnessing had to be stronger than what my mind could imagine.

    She was like those guys, Souma-kun and Tendou-kun, limitless. And that made her all the more reliable. In this dungeon, she was my greatest hope.

    We couldnt just take the Roylopse along as we explored, so after draining the blood at the nearby pond, we cut it up into sizable chunks and carried it back to the Fairy Square.

    Lets keep most of this on ice.

    Sure, well have lots of time to enjoy it!

    Yup, her inner hardcore chef was really stoked at the massive amount of meat wed amassed. Truly, with my Witchs Cauldron and its plethora of cooking implements, we had a lot more to gain in a lot less time.

    So without further ado, I went on to prepare the Curse. Considering the quantity of meat we had, I opted to make a fridge type Cauldron with the size of a bathtub.

    Um, Kotarou-kun, is there any way I can use this pot?

    Eh? Hm, I wonder

    It was always me whod been using the Witchs Cauldron to heat or cool or auto mix food. I <i>am</i> the caster after all. Others basically couldnt control it. Actually, itd be seriously problematic if they could, thinking of thepany I kept for the past while. My ability to use this Cauldron was an important role for me only, as well as a boost to my value as a party member.

    But since I was now only with Mei-chan, Id be lying if I said that leaving the cooking to her was anything but convenient. Honestly, Id be a bottleneck if she had to assist in my amateur cooking.

    Lets try it out.

    Awesome!

    And so we tried it out It, half worked, I guess.

    Hmm, so you can use it with mana, but youll need me to change the type.

    Once I casted a Cauldron and set up its effect, Mei-chan was able to use it. It was actually very simr to how that treasure box opened. She just had to let some of her mana flow in and it worked.

    But it turned out impossible for her to change the Cauldrons effect. For example, if it was a fridge type, Mei-chan was able to turn it on and off, but not change it to a stove type.

    Which meant I just had to make a few different ones for her. Itd take some work, but for Mei-chan, I was d to put in the effort.

    Thanks Kotarou-kun. I can make lots of stuff now, just you wait!

    Great, then Ill leave chef duty to you.

    And so, Mei-chan gleefully went on to do her thing, so I took that time to go and make the bath and beds.

    I really was making a lot of Witchs Cauldrons today. This one will be for a bath, and since Mei-chan will be using it, I should probably make it bigger than usual.

    As I disced all the mud and dirt with Rem, my mind drifted,

    It was a big hassle bringing back the whole Roylopse. Basically, Mei-chan did it. We walked straight back to the Square this time, but it wouldve been really annoying if monsters attacked while she was carrying all that load. Seriously, how awful would it be to die because we got greedy and tried to carry too much food.

    We need a porter.

    As of now, I was able to make 5 instances of Rem. In the jungle zone, Id made Rem, Raptor, #2, #3 and #4, so 5 in total. If my MP stores, as it were, had grown by now, I might be able to make a sixth.

    Of course, there was the fact that if I wanted to have a stronger Rem, Id need more mana to expend on a lower number of Rems. This wouldnt change even if I used high quality parts every time and made Rems after recovering mana every time.

    Like, I could make 5 Rems, each with all of my mana. But would all those Rems be able to perform with the same level of technique and precision as a single one? No, I didnt think so.

    Other than the mana needed to create a Mud Doll, there was also mana needed to use, or rather, have control over them. With just the one Rem right now, I didnt really feel it, but this supply of mana would increase in proportion to the number of Rems I had. The power of my Vile Mud Doll Skill would determine how much obedience I would have over all those Rems with that extra drain of mana on me. Though, there could also be a hidden parameter or talent that designates my level of control.

    It was sad that I couldnt make an army with good parts alone, but I wanted to challenge myself, improve. I felt like I should be able to make 2, no, 3 decent Rems.

    And I could make one of those specialized in carrying our stuff. A porter.

    Folks with battle oriented Jobs didnt really need to carry much apart from their weapons. Sure they needed their cores, but Fairy Squares provided shelter and sustenance well enough. They could practically travel empty handed.

    But a Shaman needed his materials. I also had meat and other food stored up, so I needed a way to easily carry everything. Spare weapons, all my concoctions, I had things I couldnt do without.

    Its not like I was being greedy, I, as a Shaman simply needed these things to disy my worth.

    Meh, I guess Ill use a Gove or High Zombie.

    With idle thoughts, I made preparations for the hot bath, I made our beds, then also restocked on my meds and studied up on Yamajuns notes on the Ancient Tongue. After a while of making myself busy, the smell of delicious food had drifted in.

    Kotarou-kun~, dinners ready~

    And look at that, Mei-chan the Cooking Club Extraordinaire already made a ton of piping hot food. I hadnt tried Roylopse before, but I was nheless expecting this to be good.

    I think a simple steak is best for this sort of meat.

    From one of the Witchs Cauldrons, one I made shallow to resemble a frying pan, the sizzling of meat could be heard. On it, I saw a thick juicy b of roasting meat.

    The Cauldron next to it was in the shape of a bowl and had pieces of meat, cooked somewhat rare, garnished all over it. I didnt know what part of the Roylopse this meat was from but the juicy red meat glistening in its own oils was a sight to behold.

    Theres soup too.

    The next Cauldron had simmering mushroom and vegetable soup. I never even imagined splitting the dishes like this. Sorry I only chucked everything in there all the time.

    I really wanted to make rice, but please bear it for now with the mashed bananatato.

    Oh my Lord, is that carbs I see? I mean, sure, its easy to boil and mash these isekai potato substitutes, but the idea honestly never crossed my mind.

    Sorry the whole menu looks all thrown together. This is the best I could manage with the ingredients we have on hand.

    Hey, what are you talking about, this is amazing, Mei-chan! Youre the only one who could evene up with something like this!

    This had to be the first time ever that people ate an actual meal in this god forsaken dungeon. Personally, I thought it was history in the making.

    Now, itd be rude to waste any more time exining. I need only say this,

    Itadakimasu!

    K-Kotarou-kun, is this really

    Mei-chan had her turn turning me wide eyed with her amazing dinner, so now it was time I returned the favor.

    Sure is.

    It really is! A bath! OMG, how!?

    Well, I just heated up water in a big enough Witchs Cauldron.

    I cant believe this, Kotarou-kun, youre a genius!

    No, well, anyone could figure this one out. But no harm in taking theplement.

    Go ahead, you can use it first.

    I can!

    Indeed you can.

    It was great to see that innocent joy of hers. I dont think any Japanese would refuse the chance to take a hot bath. That goes especially for thedies. Even that bitch Reina lostpletely to the allure that is a good bath.

    Alright, Ill be outside then.

    No, dont!

    As I turned around and was about to leave, Mei-chan quickly held me in ce by the shoulder. Eh? Wait, whats going on here?

    Its dangerous outside the Square!

    No, um, look, if I dont do that, theres a chance I might <i>see</i>, right?

    Who cares about that! Besides theres no telling when it might get dangeous for you out there in the open. Im serious, you cannot go.

    Wow, thats Mei-chan for you. She easily crushed down a modern Japanese girls sense of values on nudity and prioritized safety, actually considering the perilous dungeon environment we were in.

    I honestly thought the same, that I was taking on a significant risk in avoiding any path that would lead to me seeing her naked.

    The instigator for this behavior on my part would be the Worst Harem Party. Even if that masturbation incident never happened, if I, by some deep misfortune, ended up seeing those girls during their bathing, ident or not, Id end up in deep shit anyway. Akin to a witch trial, guilty on sight.

    If this happened with Randou-san and the gals, theyd probably understand if it was an ident Though theyd never look at me the same.

    In Reinas case, if she so much as thought I peeked on her, I was instantly mortal enemies with all her guardian spirits and all the other guys in the party (except Yamajun.)

    The act of peeking on a girl in the bath. Not the intentional and criminal kind, but the idental and all-of-a-sudden kind. Its one of those highly prevalent cliches in the anime, manga and light novels I liked so much. The lucky pervert scene. I cant deny wanting that sort of stuff to happen to me.

    And yet, in reality, such events put me ever so close to deaths door. They could very well be the hardest difficulty insta-kill trap.

    Knowing this danger, I put priority on avoiding seeing girls naked over my desire to y out some perverted fantasies. There was that time Randou-san had yfully said, Dont peek now, but even that was a dire warning for me.

    It was for my own safety and well being that I put the utmost care to cause absolutely zero misunderstandings in regards to girls private activities, whether it be bathing, wiping down their bodies or even changing clothes. I was being <i>considerate</i> with my life on the line.

    Ive thought countless times how pointless it was, how incredibly unfair. But I wouldnt risk my life for it. Plus, it was simply impossible for me to understand girls who acted on emotion more than anything.

    And yet there she was, Mei-chan, she actually put some thought into this danger Ive always put myself through.

    Thank you, Mei-chan, you dont know how much I appreciate that.

    So much that I could cry right now. This act of acting logically when pitting feelings against actual physical danger, I never felt how important this was until now.

    Sure, then want to get in, together?

    Eh

    Eh. E-eeh I couldnt think, as if I was shot in the head.

    No, no wait, calm down, this was Mei-chan testing me.

    Or a joke, who knows. No, I could only hope it was a joke.

    Its that, Mei-chan didnt actually see me as the opposite sex. I sort of felt like she was treating me like a grade school kid. I im that she could even consider saying that line only because she thinks of me as a weak little thing, someone to protect and safeguard, no danger to her whatsoever. So calm the fuck down, my overactive libido. Do not expect anything!

    Ha, hahaha.

    I chuckled dryly, trying to show that yes, I know shes joking.

    Oh, I know, Ill take your clothes off for you.

    What did she mean, Oh, I know, I didnt get it at all, and her hands were already on my gakuran, taking off the buttons, eh, wait, what, you werent joking, really? Mei-chan, really, really?

    Mei-chan, give me 5 minutes.

    Huh? Ok.

    I gathered up my marbles and took some distance from her. I looked right, then left, confirming what I needed to confirm.

    Ok, this should work.

    ckhair Biiiinnnndddd!

    I went all out. First I made ckhair ropes hang on both sides of the bath. The Fairy Square always had lines of its distinct walnut trees on both sides so I was able to affix the ropes on their branches, both at a height of 3 meters up. I then used Spiderweave Wind to knit together a sheet of cloth that bisected the bath. Since I did this very fast, in addition to the fact that I wasnt that good at knitting to begin with, the sheet of cloth was of amateur quality. But what mattered was that the other side was not visible.

    And so, in the span of those 5 minutes Id made a shoddy but effective curtain to divide the bath. This curtain was made of ckhair and was therefore ck, in other words, the non see-through-ness was even more prevalent.

    <i>Haah, haah </i>done, Ill be using that side. Lets enjoy a good bath then.

    I thus went to the other side of the bathing hole, leaving thosest words, of sorts. With this barrier in ce, things like a hot bath in the fairy square could now be enjoyed in privacy.

    Geez, you dont need to worry that much.

    I, no, I mean, I wouldn''t calm down without something like this.

    <i>Fufufu,</i> thanks for being so considerate, Kotarou-kun.

    I think you were being a lot more considerate though.

    Mei-chan might have a pure and well-intentioned trust towards me, but I on the other hand, had trust in her, yes, but I also found her extremely hot. And in therey the problem. If she happened to find out that Id been always looking at her with deplorably lewd eyes, who knows what might happen to that trust.

    All said and done, I couldnt make an exception to my no perversions rule, even for Mei-chan.

    And if, this heres a big if and I might as well write it off as hubris, Mei-chan actually liked me, as in like liked me, well, then Id have no issue at all having a dip together, Id go all the way even, thank you very much but then again, she might not see me that way. So long as I wasnt guaranteed that our feelings were 100% mutual, Id rather not step in risky territory.

    Beta? Nope, not at all. This was simply another way I avoided dying.

    If we were back in school, back in our ordinary lives in Japan, Id take the risk. Id brace myself and confess to her. But here in the dungeon, her rejecting me was akin to being handed a ticket to the afterlife.

    Mei-chan was on my side because she trusted me, and this rtionship between her and I was built upon that trust. I didnt want to mess up what we had.

    Alright, lets swear it. Once were out of this dungeon, Im going to confess to Mei-chan.

    If I dont swear this here and now, my feelings would stay as messy as ever

    Wooow, this is a hammock right? Awesome!

    Alright, the bath was done and over with, despite the perturbations in my heart. And now wed get some sleep. Mei-chan was really happy with the Spiderweave hammock thing I had going.

    <i>Fufufu,</i> want to sleep together?

    Yup, Mei-chans trying to kill me, Im certain of it It looked like partying with her was going to be a test of my mental fortitude.

 Chapter 154: Ensnared Again

    Chapter 154: Ensnared Again

    Man, how great is it to not have to eat leftovers for once.

    Really? I dont mind at all.

    Mei-chan had prepared breakfast as if it was the obvious thing to do, and unlike the gratuitous feast of Roylopse yesterday, it was a breakfast oriented meal that was easy on the stomach.

    By the way, whered you get these dumplings for the soup?

    For ingredients she was only supposed to have meat, potatoes and some vegetables. Where exactly did she get dumplings from?

    Ah those, I made them using bananatato starch. They taste vaguely different from actual potatoes, but I dont think it turned out bad do you, not like the taste?

    Perish the thought.

    That reminds me, Japanese cooking starch is made with flower bulbs from a nt called the dogtooth violet, but most of the store bought stuff is actually potato based. I sort of remember learning this in home economics ss in grade school, maybe, I think.

    Anyway, this meant that as long as we had potatoes, we could process them into starch. Now <i>this</i> Id have never even hit upon. And this processing was made possible only because she had Witchs Cauldron at her disposal.

    Its delicious! No really, I cant believe you made dumplings!

    One of the awesome things about Mei-chan, she had the culinary know how to put an array of variation with just a few ingredients and in addition, had the skill and experience to put that knowledge to use. Ive seen variety shows on TV where a professional cook makes masterworks of food with very limited ingredients, much to the tion of the in-studio audience. Just goes to show, pros are pros even when you take away the fancy stuff.

    And this, I wanted to make herb tea, what do you think?

    Hmm, the taste is a bit tangy, but it totally works as tea.

    I see, yeah, the vor is a bit strong huh. Im going to have to rework this one.

    Hey, its great enough to have something other than water for once, you did great!

    Along with this after-meal tea, this was probably the most satisfying breakfast Ive had in the dungeon.

    Now that thats done, lets head out.

    Okay!

    GUGAGA!

    The two of them replied energetically to my proposition, and we set out to continue exploring our surrounding areas. We didnt have any intention of heading for the next Fairy Square, so all our Roylopse meat, the collection of Witchs Cauldrons that was Mei-chans Kitchen and the bath was left as is.

    I wanted to make a porter Rem, and a few more extras, so wed be staying in that Square for another 2 to 3 days at least.

    So anyway, today we headed the opposite direction from yesterdays factory.

    This side had rows and rows of what appeared to be civilian housing. There werent anyrge buildings like the factory that stuck out like a sore thumb. Most of these were box shaped 3 story apartment building types.

    Ok, lets check out that big one there.

    The only one that stood out to me was this tall building that looked like a 10 story apartmentplex. Though, it could turn out to be something else once we get close. Hoping for some treasure boxes.

    5 minutes after we started walking.

    Ah, look Kotarou-kun, theres Jajas.

    Wede across a small herd. There were smaller once with them, children I guess.

    This kind of, nature overtaking a ruined town and animals roaming about really perfected the whole post-apocalyptic image. Like, there were zombies and everything.

    We still have a lot of Roylopse, so lets let those ones go.

    Oh, but I think itd be better to have some variety, you know?

    She had a point. Us kids who were born in an era of consumption are quick to get bored of the same old food. We wanted variation in our meat too.

    Alright, but we cant carry them now. We can get one if we see a herd on the return trip.

    Ugh, alright, makes sense.

    We simply couldnt afford to hunt down all the prey that came our way if we wanted to actually do some exploring. That Tendou-kun with his Item Inventory storage skill. Such a cheat.

    Mei-chan gave ast regretful nce at the Jajas, and we went on our way.

    Kyoaaaahhhhhh!!

    A sudden piercing cry. Id heard one of these just yesterday.

    High Zombies!

    And there they were. A pack of High Zombies with their red, bulging outer muscles started sprinting out of the alleys between the civilian buildings. I dont know if they sensed us by sound, smell or mana, but these undead were running right at us with perfect athletic form.

    Great, I can test my staff on them

    Aaahhhh!

    Wait, too fast, too fuck it, Aer Sagitta!

    Iunched my first in-battle attack magic in a panic,pletely unable to show off like I pictured it.

    I could feel a little mana flowing into the staff, and right after, a glowing green de of wind flew out. The Aer Sagitta, swift as an arrow as its namesake implied, hit straight into a fast approaching High Zombies torso.

    Itsrge musclebound body was gashed horizontally, and blood burst out of the wound. The High Zombie was knocked back, stopping its full speed dash.

    Uooohh gh, gi, kiiiaaaaahhh!!

    But the High Zombie ignored therge wound on its chest and restarted its sprint, drenched in blood.

    What the, how much frickin HP does this guy have!?

    I felt a bit down that I couldnt kill it in one hit, but I was more concerned about how it started running full speed at us again, as if the wound was nothing.

    One more, wait no, if I need 2 shots, the other zobs will get that much more time to close in!

    Uogahh, aa

    And then, before I could fire that 2nd shot, the High Zombie was knocked dead.

    There was an arrow sticking out squarely in the middle of its forehead.

    Rem!!

    GR, GUGAGA.

    That was a nice assist, partner.

    <i>Fuuuu</i>Tremor Break.

    And while I was celebrating thatbo kill, Mei-chan had already finished off the rest of the pack with a single Battle Art.

    Those tough bodied undead that could withstand a direct Aer Sagitta had their heads and limbs ripped and sent off to misceneous directions as they were struck by Mei-chans one attack. All their bodies hit the ground with a thud and stayed that way.

    Now then, about this profound difference in strength between my attack magic and Mei-chans battle art,

    Yeaah, I think Ill just stick to Shaman stuff.

    Ok, and I can protect you, dont you worry!

    Alright, so thats how I, who started getting a little full of myself with the new staff, was brought down a peg, and decided that I should just stick to what I did best.

    The spell staff didnt really work out, but we couldnt stop the area survey yet.

    On our way to our destination that was the high-rise appartment building, we had two more monster encounters. The first were High Zombies like the one just now, and the second were monsters simr to the Red Dog, but bigger and more scary looking, more like a wolf really. Yeah, Ill just call them Red Wolves.

    In both encounters, I did a little bit of ckhair binding here and there while Mei-chan and Rem took care of the rest. No problems at all.

    Phew, finally.

    Wed made it to the building after a couple of frankly disappointing fights.

    The door, yeah, that wont work.

    The front entrance was piled over in rubble. There werent any nooks or crannies even a scrawny guy like me could squeeze through.

    Ok then, lets just try the back or some windo

    In the middle of my line, I was suddenly seeing white lines.

    Oh, its like, deja vu, wait no no, I actually had this exact same experience once already. Right, I remembered instantly.

    And by the time that instant realization happened, the white lines, the spider webs had already ensnared me, lifting

    Uaaaaaahh

    Kotarou-kun!

    aaaah?

    Caught in the spider threads, I was beginning to be lifted up and away super fast, but then, I stopped.

    Mei-chan had caught the line of webbing that was stringing me up. Currently I was 2 stories and a bit above ground. Holy crap, did she literally jump and grab at this height?

    Hmph!!

    With a strong hmph, Mei-chan split apart the strong webbing, grabbed me in a hug and, boobies, so soft, no no, and we safelynded after a short free fall.

    Its an Arachne! Rem, we gotta catch it!

    GRRRGAGAAAA!!

    Rem already had her bow on the ready as if shed anticipated my n.

    Looking upwards, I could see it, the monster with a humanoid upper body and spiders torso and legs, an Arachne. The creature was stuck to the wall outside the highest floor of the building.

    So apparently they appeared in this zone too. I guess the tall buildings made better dwellings than even forest dome trees.

    Anyway, Rems arrow had luckily, no, I guess I should call it a trained skill already, so Rem had skillfully shot into the Arachne that was now trying to escape. The arrow hit it in its human halfs stomach.

    Kiaaaahhh!

    It screamed, reeled, and then, fell but quickly got back to its senses and used its 6 spidery legs to hold itself to the walls once again.

    Dont, touch, Kotarou-kun <b>Aaaahh!!</b>

    And before Rem could ready a second shot, Mei-chan roared, grabbed her trusty halberd andunched it skywards.

    The dark halberd elerated parallel to the wall at a tremendous speed, itsrge axe de crushing into the dumbfounded Arachne.

    Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!

    The creature was detached from its hold. It descended, screaming in a feminine voice. And falling the whole 30 meters and  <i>Crash!</i>.

    Its body made a painful sound as the Arachne sttered hard into the ground.

    A momentter, the halberd that Mei-chan had sent up to hunt down the creature was simrly descending, while spinning. <i>Crap, its gonna-!?</i> But it looks like only I was concerned of the danger as Mei-chan casually raised up a hand and, without even looking, snatched her weapon from the air. What the actual fuck.

    Kotarou-kun, are you alright!? Are you hurt?

    Her berserkers wrathful re that shed directed at the Arachne was all but gone as it was reced with one of worry, like that of a mother towards her child, as she came up to me.

    Im fine. Thanks for the super quick save there, Mei-chan.

    I still cant believe she rescued me from an Arachnes surprise trap. That was some outrageous reaction speed.

    Like, I even began thinking she could handle it if I was shot with a sniper rifle.

    Really? Youre sure youre not hurt anywhere?

    Nope, Im fine, just got tied up a bit. Actually, can you help me out of this?

    Oops, on it!

    Thats right, I was still wrapped up nice and tight by spiderweb. We can talk and what not after I get this off of me.

    Thanks for that. Yeah, if you werent here, Id be spider food already.

    No, Im sorry, I didnt think something would attack from so high up I almost didnt make it, you know?

    Yeah, I guess we needed better countermeasures for surprise attacks like that one.

    But man, shes a lifesaver. If Id gotten forcefully kicked from the party like that again, I dont think Id have the willpower to continue anymore.

    Well, anyway, this monsters just what I needed actually.

    GUGAGA.

    Rem agreed. The two of us already knew how useful Arachnes are.

    One corpse doll,ing right up!

    Once I finished up making my new Arachne Mark II, we continued where we left off before the surprise attack. We searched all over the 10 story building but no luck. We found 2 treasure boxes, empty. Theyd probably been emptied by other students or some stupid Goves.

    But for me personally, grabbing the Arachne made the trip worth it.

    Nice, thisll work perfect for transport!

    I was currently looking at the 2 empty treasure boxes we found, now securely tied on to Arachne Mk. IIs back for transport.

    I have this little theory that these mana powered boxes have the ability to store and preserve items inside for a long time. They have the ability to open and close via mana, so it wasnt a big leap to assume some high tech storage functionality too.

    Basically, Im saying that we didnt need to keep only treasure inside, but also anything else we wanted. Food definitely, and there was also Ointment A and all my other meds. All my shamanic pastes didnt exactly have a long shelf life, so I could preserve their quality by storing them in these boxes.

    Oh, using treasure boxes as mini fridges, thats pretty smart, Kotarou-kun.

    Haha, well I was looking for a new box anyway, and these definitely fit the bill.

    Feeling all warm and fuzzy with Mei-chan thering on the praise, we began heading back to our home Square.

    Ah, Jajas! I see Jajas!

    Great timing, we have Arachne to carry it too, so go for it.

    I watched warmly as Mei-chan went Yaay~ and dashed off with her halberd, eager to bring back one of those docile herbivores as her prize.

    I had Arachne use its webbing to tie up the Jaja and carry it back to the Fairy Square.

    Just a little more now. Well be finally setting out from here once were well and fully prepared.

 Chapter 155: The Bridge

    Chapter 155: The Bridge

    Its about time. Lets head for the next Fairy Square.

    Ok!

    Right, so we had an Arachne Mk. II, and a couple dayster, I decided it was high time we get out of here.

    We filled the treasure boxes chock full of Roylopse and Jaja meat, along with a lot more meds than I can usually carry and lots of other bits and pieces.

    Plus, since I finally got myself a new Arachne, I had the privilege of collecting her Arachne poison aplenty. I now had more Spiderfrogs Anesthesia in my arsenal. Though now, the frog poison had be the bottleneck.

    In addition to that, I used Witch''s Cauldron to dilute the potent paralysis concoction and made something that instead only dulls pain.

    In other words a Painkiller. I get absolutely useless when Im in pain, so this is mostly for my benefit.

    And, lets see, we also got a fair number of spare weapons from hunting down the Goves in this area, so thats about all the stuff we were carrying.

    Finally, I made another Mud Doll Rem, so Rem #3. This seemed to be the maximum number I could efficiently control.

    And, actually its been a while since wed done this, but we used the good oldpass to guide us to our destination.

    Wed done a lot of exploring in these parts, so for a while, we walked through known territory.

    Ueaaaaaaahhhh!!

    And lookie there, its our favorite High Zombies. Punctual as ever. I sometimes wondered where they alle from. My best guess is theyre like Skeletons, spawned out of somewhere or other.

    Get back, Kotarou-kun.

    Sure, but you two, Mei-chan.

    Wait, what?

    I want to see how the Rem team handles this level of threat. Lets leave it to them.

    Oh, alrighty then. Go get em, Rem-chan!

    GRR, GAGAGA!

    Heeding my expectations and Mei-chans cheers, Rem and Rem #3 ran ahead and engaged the pack of High Zobs.

    Arachne Mk. II on the other hand was on rear support, webslinging away.

    The High Zombies who only knew charge and nothing else were hit and bound by shots of spiderweb, falling face first into the dirt.

    That was where Rem and #3 came in, chopping off their heads one by one.

    Uvoooaaaahhh!!

    The dumb High Zombies, because they were indeed dumb, took no hint at how the ones before them were taken out, and charged in the same way.

    Rem held them off well enough until Arachne came in with the webs and then finished off the Zombies efficiently. Rems 1, 2, and 3 were all one in the same soul, so their teamwork was nothing but perfection itself.

    The strongest Rem, the one made with Goliath parts was simply stronger than your average High Zombie, and she was dual wielding a sword and axe to easily end any Zombie that came her way. As for Rem #3, she was made with lower grade parts, yes, but I guess because I put in other good parts over the High Zombie and Gove base body, she could hold her own too.

    Nice, well done, Rem.

    GUGAGAGAAA!!

    After a while, the High Zombies were all cleaned up, and Rem let out a triumphant victory cry.

    Looking good, looking very good. This way I dont have to rely on Mei-chan so much.

    Satisfied with the Remtastic results, we went on ahead, following thepass.

    We had three more monster fights after that, all of which the Rems made quick work of.

    And around mid-day, wed arrived at an area cleared of any buildings.

    Looks like, ake?

    I questioned since it wasnt exactly the picture of ake with nts and trees growing around it. The body of water was enclosed in hard concrete-like stone walls, making it a man-madeke going through the ruined town.

    There was a few meters fall down to thekes surface, and it looked like the people who may have once lived here also saw this as a danger, as theyd made iron fencing go all around the edges. Well, not very functional fencing at any rate, since it was rusted over everywhere with bits and pieces missing even.

    Kotarou-kun look, theres a bridge over there.

    Hrm, and it looks like thats the only way across too.

    The concrete construct was connected by a long suspension bridge. This sturdy bridge was wide enough to handle 4nes of vehicle traffic easily.

    I looked to my left and right, nothing, only this bridge. Both sides ended in this geofronts walls, so it seemed that this was the only way to the other side.

    Yeaah, something about this doesnt feel right with me.

    Whats wrong?

    Big open area with only one avable path. Call me crazy, but this just screams ambush.

    Ah. I can kinda see that.

    But in the end, we had to get to the other side somehow, so we needed to cross the bridge.

    Plus, I dont see any merit in something like Goves camping on the bridge, since all their food and resources were in the more building dense areas.

    This was an FPS problem, and shouldnt be one for us.

    Coast does seem clear.

    We didnt dare let out guard down. Mei-chan focused her senses and also found no monsters or anything around.

    If were lucky, we can get this over with fast.

    Alright, here goes nothing.

    Stop, Kotarou-kun!

    Just as I took some steps across the bridge, Mei-chan yelled out to me, and in the literal blink of an eye,

    Fwoob!

    Something just pierced the concrete like ground in front of me, digging into it.

    A very obvious something, in fact. One with a head, body and tail. An arrow.

    What in the, what, where

    Stop right there!

    I heard a male voice from I didnt know where.

    I didnt stop because of the voice, but because of what it seemingly implied. That arrow had literally shot through concrete. If Id taken one more step, it wouldve shot through my foot and both me and my mystery sniper would be in for some hardcore pain.

    Who are you! Come out and face us!

    Its Sakurai. Momokawa, thatst shot was a warning. Try crossing the bridge and I wont miss.

    Sakurai. So, Sakurai Touya.

    He was in the archery club like Souma Sakura, but unlike many of the boys who joined, he was just in it for the sport. He was pretty good too, Nationals level even, and not only that, he had the looks to be called handsome. He was also above the average in school and sports, but Souma Yuuto dominated in all those, well something like that. On the other hand, if we consider Souma Yuuto an exception among exceptions, Sakurai could be considered one of the very high spec boys in ss.

    Just my luck. These sort of blessed people always got a tonne stronger when they got powered by their Jobs.

    Case in point, he already had me on lock-on, he could kill me any time of his choosing. Basically, hed already gotten the tactical victory.

    Fine, we wont cross Youre actually lucky, Sakurai-kun. If youd killed me with that youd get killed too. Its a skill.

    Doesnt sound too convenient if you have to die too.

    You can say that again. But at least now, he wont just shoot me in the head all of a sudden. It was too much of a risk and Ill bet he wasnt willing to take it.

    Alright Ill bite, what do you want?

    Quick on the uptake, arent you, Momokawa.

    I do it all the time.

    Id avoided the headshot this time because his goal wasnt my death. Him giving me that warning shot clued me in that he wanted something.

    He could just want our cores.

    Also, I not only knew he wanted something, I had a fair inkling as to his abilities too.

    I couldnt see where he shot me from which made it clear that he was a ways beyond the bridge at least. He could be camping out in one of the tall buildings I could see from here. Which also meant that he could should urately from hundreds of meters away.

    There was the fact that he possessed enough power and uracy for that warning shot just now but heres the kicker Howe we were conversing normally throughout all this?

    I could sort of feel that Sakurai-kuns voice was travelling to me by some sort of wind. I on the other hand was just talking normally, but he could hear me just fine.

    In other words, this guy had sharp enough senses that he could hear someone from hundreds of km away, or he had some sort of magic to do it.

    His tremendous power, uracy and sensitivity to even the faintest sounds made him the absolute worst enemy we could possibly face in this wide open location.

    Momokawa, do you have a potion?

    Im assuming you mean that healing stuff you get from a treasure box?

    Thats the one.

    I was wrong, it seems Sakurai-kun needs a potion more than cores.

    Was he hurt?  No, not likely. I bet its for someone else.

    Just asking, but is Hinagiku-san hurt?

    Hey! Why do you know that!

    The only reason that I can think of for why youd go around threatening people for potions, is if someone really important to you got hurt bad. And I cant imagine that someone being anyone other than Hinagiku-san.

    Yeah, I was well aware of their rtionship, like pretty much everyone else. We were in the same ss, so I knew about them since 10th grade.

    They were both really, like, really into each other. Even more hardcore than the pink atmosphere that the Souma siblings made. Heck, there was even that time when someone used if they were really together, and they started making out right then and there, which was when a teacher had toe in and take them to the counseling room.

    What I mean is, if you know about them, than it isnt hard to imagine their predicament.

    Alright, you figured it out. Saya-chans hurt. She needs a potion.

    I see. Sorry, we dont have one.

    Im only going to say it one more time. Youre life is on the line so answer very carefully. Do you have a potion?

    I swear I dont have one. I dont have any potions, but I do have a good healing ointment. Will you be willing to take that?

    What do you mean healing ointment? You mean the clovers?

    It has to do with my Job. I make them. And theyre better than clovers.

    No deal, I cant trust you. If you can make healing stuff, Im sure you can make poisons too.

    Right in the money.

    And here I was nning to get them indebted to me with my meds and be allies. This guy was too over-cautious for his own good.

    If you really want to save Hinagiku-san, youre going to have to trust me.

    No, no I wont. Ive already drawn my bow at you once. And youre not the type that lets any enemy scott-free.

    I, dont think Ive ever done you any harm, so whats the problem, Sakurai-kun?

    Yeah, I dont hate you or anything. Well, its more like I can see it on your face, Momokawa. Youve been through some tough shit. Youve probably killed people too.

    Holy crap, was he for real, or just bluffing with me? Or maybe its that, my face had transformed so much over my time here that people could just tell from a look.

    Lets say I have then, Im still willing to trade fairly. I just want to pass this bridge and I dont want to have to fight you. Just trust me, Sakurai-kun. I dont have a potion, but I have the means and am willing to save Hinagiku-san.

    Thats too bad, Momokawa. Im not in a position where I can afford to take risks. No potion, no deal. You want to pass this bridge, you bring me a potion.

    Alright, fine, well find that potion for you. But on the off chance you change your mind and want my ointments, just send an arrow down with a letter saying you do. Ill be d to oblige.

    Youve probably guessed this much already, but Im an Archer. Everything you see right now is within my range. Dont you dare try and slip past me.

    Roger that, well, I guess well be back.

    It might sound strangeing from me, but I do hope you can get that potion for me. I just want to save my Saya-chan, thats it. I dont want to get in a fight with you. Especially with Futaba-san over there. Even I can tell shes bad news.

    Wowzers, what is this guy. Not only could he tell that this was Mei-chan instantly, he even caught a whiff of how strong of a Berserker she was. His instincts were at the level of a Thief Job.

    We left the bridge, and now some distance way I dejectedly muttered,

    Sakurai Touya huh hes gonna be a pain to deal with.

    It was only after we got far away from the bridge blockaded by Sniper Sakurai that I could finally calm my nerves.

    It was honestly almost suffocating talking with him on that bridge. Im not badass enough to stay chill with a gun pointed at my face so bite me.

    No, I know it was a bow and arrow, but with enough experience in the Archer Job, he might as well have a sniper rifle. Heck, with some bow based Battle Arts, it was probably more of an Anti-materiel rifle.

    While I was chewing on the problem, we headed inside a random close by building, and having the Rems stay on guard, got some rest.

    I sighed audibly as I rested my butt on a crate or something, which is when a pair of big bouncy boobies, I mean Mei-chan, came and stood in front of me.

    Kotarou-kun. I think we should go and defeat him.

    Eh, what was that? I was too focused on the boobies and didnt quite catch it.

    Uhh, ok, so I think she suggested a pretty violent solution just now.

    Lets not go there yet. I know we sort of butted heads back there, but I still think theres some room for discussion.

    No, you dont get it. Its true that Im extremely mad at him for shooting at you, but thats not the only thing Basically, Sakurai-kun wont be our ally. He only cares about Hinagiku-san and no one else.

    You mean about the 3 people limit thing?

    Yes. Sakurai-kun is dead set on using it with Hinagiku-san, no matter what. Hes absolutely ready to kill any of his ssmates for that one goal.

    I, kind of dont want imagine hes gone that deranged

    But I wasnt naive enough to refute the idea.

    I could see where Mei-chan wasing from. While I took time to consider the ins and outs of the situation, Mei-chan had already sensed and deciphered that Sakurai-kun was a dangerous threat to us.

    Its because Sakurai-kun loves Hinagiku-san just that much. Hes ready to do anything for her.

    Its not bad as a premise, but,

    Yeah, its because he loves her that hes ready to sacrifice everything else.

    Even love is dangerous now. Loving someone meant that you treated that someone at special and inparison, everyone else was suddenly worth a lot less to you. I could even call it a form of discrimination.

    Alright, enough of this useless philosophical hubbub. We needed to think up a n for this bridge problem.

    Honestly, I really dont want him as an enemy, you know?

    Yeah, same here, I cant do much against attacks from that far.

    The close range specialist Berserker vs the long range specialist Archer. Thats somepatibility alright.

    Oh well, lets try finding another route across.

    I wasnt even thinking about finding a potion for them.

    Really, why would I? If we can get past him, then thats fine and all, but if that means Hinagiku-san is recovered, that just bolsters their strength.

    I just didnt get why a 9/10 like Sakurai-kun is so infatuated with a 5/10 like Hinagiku-san. I mean, she was so normal looking that put amongst the other girls in 2-7 who were practically all high on the scale, I could even call her ugly. Plus, it wasnt like she had good grades or anything. I dont think she had any particrly outstanding trait at all.

    But even an average everyday girl like her could prove to be a threat with a Job and its Skills. And with Sakurai-kun cheering her on, even that normal girl would want to try fighting with him instead of letting him carry her.

    Id have no problem if she was a weak little thing like Reina without her Spirits, but theres always that what if. What if she was strong, andbined with Sakurai-kun, they became much stronger?

    So basically, if we had to fight Sakurai-kun, it had to be now, as he was going solo, or around when Hinagiku-san dies somehow or other.

    That was our game n. If he keeps refusing my meds, than Hinagiku-san just has to die. We arent generous enough to give away a precious potion to save her even if we do find one.

    I, realize this all sounds really cold and calcting on my part but I wasnt the one who drew his weapon first, Sakurai-kun did. If only he had the courage to beg us to somehow save her, I might have even sympathized and made ns to have them join our team.

    Sorry, not sorry.

    But I dont think we can circle around theke without him spotting us. With his level, he can shoot at us even from that far.

    I know. We really dont have any good options in crossing over thatke. But what say you about crossing under it?

    Under?

    Im talking about the sewers.

    Thats the n. Sneak past the Super Sniper through the Sewers.

 Chapter 156: Operation Crossing The Bridge 1

    Chapter 156: Operation Crossing The Bridge 1

    See? Theres a manhole right here.

    Ah, youre right.

    I was showing Mei-chan to a round, metallic lid fixed on the roadside, a manhole from any angle you look at it. Id noticed that these were here on the first day we started exploring this isekai town, but chose not to bother looking through dirty sewers since I had no particr reason to. Until now that is.

    I mean, Sakurai-kun cant do anything if were underground, right?

    Yeah, I dont think he can prate this deep. Actually, I dont think hell be able to sense us going through the sewers at all.

    Mei-chan affirmed my theory, and I believed in her intuition.

    Now there was the issue of whether the sewers linked to the other side of theke. I wasnt exactly a fan of going in there if I could help it, but like the saying goes, when pushes to shove.

    Lets get it over with I guess huh, how are we supposed to get this open, anyway?

    I think they used some special metal rod that fit in the holes.

    The dungeons manholes also had the little holes on the lid. Although, they werent something we could stick some fingers in and pull.

    Huh, this sure sucks. And with the shape its got, it doesnt look like I can use my tentacles either

    Hmf!

    Mei-chan stomped and the manhole popped up and out of the way.

    There we go.

    Thanks. Alright, so lets send Rem in first.

    I thanked Mei-chan for her excellent usage of brute force, and had Rem #3, our proverbial canary, dive in and check for danger.

    I scanned the sewers from above. Inside, I could see that it was lit up with the same white light panels found all over the dungeon, so there wont be any problem checking our surroundings once inside.

    This was a dungeon sewer so it wouldnt be strange to find monsters living inside, for example, insect types or giant alligators. In the sewer zone I was previously at, there were Jiras, those fish-Goma like monsters, so those could be in there too.

    GUGO, GUGAGA!

    A little timeter, #3, who Id sent in to scout had returned.

    All clear, it looks like.

    Ill go in first then.

    Sure, thanks.

    Mei-chan volunteered to go in first. She didnt use the attachedtter and just jumped all the way down.

    There was a good bit of distance to the bottom but she you know what, Im not going to bother.

    She was now very used to her Berserker body so she had no problem with feats of acrobatics like this, Im sure. She wouldnt do it if she was unsure of whether shednd unscathed.

    As a Shaman, I needed to do research and experiments to figure out the extent of my abilities, but maybe other types of Jobs had a learning curve more instinct based. Or at least, thats how I think Mei-chan had it.

    Kotarou-kun~, its safe down here~

    Ok, Rems there and Mei-chans confirmed the safety too. This was more that enough. I should get going.

    KHSHASHA.

    Ah, sorry Arachne, youre gonna have to wait here.

    This was simply because of the fact that Arachne Mk. II was too big to fit through the hole.

    Oh right, and Mei-chans main weapon, the halberd, and that big shield wont fit either so we were not taking those.

    We were only going in to see how the route looked, so we werent abandoning our stuff or anything like that.

    Huh. Its not that different from the sewer zone actually.

    The construction was practically the same as the sewer zone I once traveled with Tendou-kun and the Yankee Party. So I was honestly expecting suddenly hearing GyoGyoGyo! and getting assaulted by a school of Jiras but that hadnt happened at all. So far.

    Since this was a people-less ancient town, there wasnt any wastage flowing with the water in these sewers and it actually didnt smell so bad. Actually, now that I think about it, every ce where those Jiras popped up stunk like ass. I bet it was those fish mofos that were stinking up that whole zone.

    Kotarou-kun, I think around here should be where theke is.

    Mei-chan, with ever the sharp senses, could easily navigate inside these repetitive sewer tunnels.

    You mean if we go straight through here, well be on the other side?

    Yeah, it should be this direction.

    Right, lets go then. There werent any bends or branching paths so we just went straight For about 3 minutes, after which we had to stop.

    Damn, itspletely caved in.

    Great. Just great. The whole tunnel was caved in right at the point where wed bepletely across. Large blocks of the concrete-like stone had closed off our path.

    Though it wasnt exactly sealed tight. There was just enough space to let a little amount of sewage through.

    GU, GAGA

    I tried having #3 squeeze in from somewhere, but she found no gaps wide enough. And even if we could squeeze into the sewage way somehow, I dont know how long wed have to hold our breath beforeing out the other side. And I wasnt willing to go that risk.

    Looks like this is a dead end. Lets go back and look for another route, I suggested.

    Yeah, too bad huh, Mei-chan agreed.

    We headed back the way we came.

    We arrived at the bottom of the manhole where Arachne was on standby. I put my hand on thedder to climb up when,

    Ah, wait, Kotarou-kun. Ill go up first. No telling if theres a monster waiting outside, right?

    I mean, Arachne was outside and she could probably drive most things off, but Mei-chan had a point. Say, the moment I pop out my head, a raging Roylopse stampedes over the manhole like an out of control truck, Id have my head turned to paste before I know it. Plus, I didnt think Arachne would be able to handle thatrge a beast if it does decide to charge.

    I mean, theres always the possibility of such an attack, but the chances of it really happening was incredibly low. Still, Mei-chan asked to go first with my safety in mind, so the least I could do was agree to her kindness.

    And as I was watching her climb up, suddenly, a bolt of electricity passed through my head.

    Wait, wait, wait. Isnt this where, I get to see her panties!?

    She only had on that swaying, pleated skirt while she was making the climb. In addition, Mei-chan didnt wear spats, those ursed barriers that subverted panty shots. In other word, from underneath, the only piece of shielding that separated my eyes from her flesh would be a mere pair of panties.

    Id painstakingly held myself back from a lot of simr situations, situations that drove my self-control to its very edges, but this, this I could actualize by simply looking up. If this isnt what you call a once in a lifetime chance, I dont know what is.

    No wait, think about this. This is definitely Mei-chans trap

    The moment I lose to my libido, I look up, and then, Mei-chan and my eyes meet, thus spelling the end of my dungeon survival.

    She was testing me, fully aware of the possibility that her panties were in in view. This was my battlefield, my chance to prove that I was in fact a gentleman!

    D-dammit I, I wont, but I, I

    Kotarou-kun~, all clear up here,e on up~

    Oh, ok. Fan-service time was already up, ok.

    In the time I spent pathetically deliberating, Mei-chan had already climbed to the top, which wasnt that far up, and called down to me.

    Damn it all. I just wasted that big chance. No, I know, it was better this way, twas for the best.

    <i>Haaah,</i> bad day today

    In the end, we couldnt find a sewer tunnel that led to the other side of theke.

    This was just a bad day for me.

    First, the bridge was blocked by Sniper Sakurai. Then, my big n about using the sewers as a safe route only led to dead ends. Finally, I even had to endure the sheer pain of resisting the act of looking at Mei-chans panties.

    Nothing good at all was happening today.

    After all that walking and climbing without any result, Id gotten pretty tired, and checking my watch, it was night time already, so we ended up heading back to the Fairy Square. All my energy from the morning when I thought wed be finally leaving our first Fairy Square in this zone, and this is where we end up, returning after a day-trip.

    Kotarou-kun, dinners ready~

    Looks like its German fries for dinner today. She made it using bananatatoes and Roylopse bacon.

    Apparently shed used some of the nts Id collected that worked well as spices but I wasnt able to get a good taste of it. I was constantly thinking how wed really have to fight Sakurai-kun at this rate.

    Seriously, how the hell

    How the hell am I supposed to bypass that Archer whos be so incredibly over powered? I needed a way to get close to him, specifically, I needed a way to get Mei-chan close enough to him. Close enough to give her a fighting chance.

    Her usual defensive equipment, the Dark Tower Shield, was quite bulky and looked like it could withstand massive blows. But would it be enough to block a serious shot from Sakurai-kun? I didnt know, and I was worried. I had a feeling that if he used one of his archery Battle Arts, he might just pierce it through.

    This led me to believe that trying for a mad dash across the bridge holding only the shield overhead was a suicidal idea.

    Then what if I add Rem to the mix No, even if theres two enemies running across, Sakurai-kun would know to target Mei-chan first. The guy had an insane level of intuition, and he was very likely to figure out that Rem wasnt that tough an opponent.

    Then theres the problem of whether, even if Rem makes it there, can she, with her increased strength from the Goliath parts, even defeat this Archer? He might not have specialized Battle Arts for meleebat, but he might still be flexible enough to use a dagger or sword, and might still have decent enough skill in closebat to beat Rem. This tactic is unreliable.

    Getting Mei-chan to face him is definitely the more practical choice.

    But I didnt have a way to aplish that safely.

    <i>Haah</i> if only my clone had Pain Return

    Pain Return was one of the Skills that only worked with my real body, and didnt transfer over at all to my 2Shade clone. Heck, if I could get that sort of cheatbo attack, I wouldve be a master suicider.

    No wait, he wont actually know its the clone, will he?

    I already told him about my Pain Return.

    Meaning, that he definitely wont headshot me immediately. Hed probably try grazing an arrow past my skin to see if the damage does get reflected.

    Yeah, wont work. The moment he does that, hell kill the clone in the second shot.

    Hell see that Pain Return wasnt happening when he hurt something that looks just like me, so inevitably, hell think that I was just bluffing about this countering skill and will mercilessly shoot to kill from there on after.

    As a result, the most I could do with the clone was have it die inbat in the middle of the bridge, still far from Sakurai-kuns location.

    Oh, I know. I dont actually have to make the clone go by itself.

    There was finally a n unravelling in my mind.

    Thats it, Ill just have Mei-chan carry clone me as her shield!

    I yelled in a stroke of genius and stood up from the bath Cauldron in that state of excitement.

    Kotarou-kun~, you called me~?

    I-I didnt! I didnt call you so rx!

    I was sure that if I didnt stop her right away, Mei-chan would easily sweep aside the thin ckhair curtain and invade my bathing area.

    Like, holy crap, if I was another 2 secondste, wed definitely be in a ridiculously awkward situation right now. I mean, sure I had a hidden desire to somehow identally end up peeking on Mei-chan taking a bath, but then again, I wasnt exactly enthused about revealing my own birthday suit to her. Im just saying that my you-know-what isnt exactly a size I can boast about. But that doesnt mean its especially short or small or anything. Its normal sized. Yup,pletely normal.

    Alright, Ill try it out as soon as Im done with the bath.

    I ended my soak in a little less than 5 minutes, after which I called Mei-chan, for real this time.

    Im thinking of doing a little experiment so help me out.

    Experiment?

    Yeah, I want to see if you can tell me apart from my clone.

    Id of course already told Mei-chan about my newly acquired Curses, including 2Shade, but I had yet to show her this one in action. This will be the first time shes seeing my clone Curse.

    So can you turn around for a bit?

    Sure.

    Alright, lets do this nice and proper.

    Expand, Reflect, and so Walk. It is All yet is One, for Reality is None 2Shade.

    I used the full canto for maximum effect. Fuzzy ck smoke began rising up from the shadow extending from my feet, and in the blink of an eye, the darkness moulded into human form and took a shapepletely identical to me.

    The clones Id used before, when fighting Reina, were all wearing the school gakuran, but since this Curse copies whatever Im wearing currently, this time, it was more casual, with an open tracksuit and t-shirt inside.

    Ok, done. You can turn back this way.

    What the!? There really are two Kotarou-kuns!?

    Mei-chan was super surprised. Id had this reaction from others too so I knew that me and my clone were one in the same as far as outside appearance goes. You could look at it from any side or angle you want, but thered be absolutely no difference. There was no yer 2 color scheme and neither was the clone slightly transparent. No difference at all.

    As you can see, theres no difference on the outside, but Im trying to test if people with good instincts can tell somehow.

    Basically, since you have really good Berserker instincts, I want you to see if you can tell which one the real me is. Sakurai-kun seems to have good instinctive judgement too so I want to make sure I can use this against him.

    I had the clone talk first, and I continued after. One thing to note here is that the voice didnt change at all between the two of us. So pretty much like no changes in the VA.

    Oh, huh, I see?  Lets see, mmm, nope, I cant tell at all, Mei-chan sulked.

    Really? You cant tell? I asked.

    Im the real Kotarou, cant you tell!? I forced.

    Hes lying, Im the real one, its me, Mei-chan! I pleaded.

    Eh, EH!? I, wait, what, umm, I dont know~ Mei-chan began deliberating nervously.

    I thought Id mess around a bit, and started doing the old cliche where a shape-shifting monster starts causing confusion among friends and allies. Mei-chan was looking to back and forth to the two of us with an increasingly frustrated expression.

    So you really cant tell?

    Yeah, I honestly really cant tell. But I have a feeling its you!

    And without any warning to me or hesitation on her part, Mei-chan picked out the real body, in other words, my body, and swooped me up in a tight hug.

    What the, hey

    Her chest was touching my face. No, it was more correct to describe my face aspletely muffled. H-holy moly. What is this soft and warm, whats with this great smell. What in the what is I dont even.

    Did I get it right?

    S-sure did.

    Hurray~

    She cheered and squeezed me even tighter. Yeah, I can die, like this, in boobies

    Phew I sighed to calm myself after being released, So how did you get it anyway?

    I wonder, intuition maybe? I just kind of got this this has to be Kotarou-kuns real body kind of feeling.

    Oh.

    Oh shit. If her intuition is this hardcore, theres a big chance Sakurai-kun might be able to do it too. Once he figures out that my shield clone is in fact a clone, the whole n will go up in smoke.

    Ok, can I try again?

    Sure, I dont mind.

    I needed to see what sort of sess rate this intuition of hers was capable of. If it turns out that she gets it right 50% of the time, I can still mark it down as dumb luck

    I got it, youre the real Kotarou-kun!

    And so I kept getting smothered in boobies.

    Mei-chan, whatpels you to hug me so?

    Having had my face drowned in those enormous jugs 10 times in a row, my brain had already turned to mush and I lost the mental faculties to even question her actions anymore. Yeah, this is fine

    HA!? I came to my senses with a start.

    Kotarou-kun, you seemed really out of it, whats wrong?

    I mean, Id have to be legitimately homosexual if I didnt feel anything from that sheer amount of boobs-to-the-face goodness.

    But now was not the time to lose myself to pleasure. Dammit, my head still wasnt working straight. It was still filled to the brim with Mei-chans boobs.

    Well, uh, anyway, so Mei-chan, you kinda just had 100% uracy there. Was it really that easy to tell?

    Well, she said, thinking on her words, I can somehow just tell yknow?  But I dont think others could do it as well as me.

    So you mean, its because weve known each other for a this long? Maybe you can sense a vague difference in presence or something.

    Yeah, I bet its just that. Im pretty sure I can say that I know you best.

    That sweet yet deadly experiment done with, what I learned was that there wasnt a big chance that Sakurai-kun would see through the clone decoy. But then again, it wasnt perfect and I didnt want to put all my eggs in one basket.

    I wanted to get one more counter-measure in ce, if at all possible. So what is it that Im missing?

 Chapter 157.1 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Chapter 157.1 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Air Sagitta

    The fired wind de exploded upon touching the dry ground, scattering clouds of dust but that was all it did.

    Not good. This is no longer the level of smokescreen.

    The easiest way to protect ourselves from the sniper was by finding a shelter to hide.

    The arrows fired by Sakurai-kun weren''t unmanned drones or guided missiles which could track the target with sonar or thermograph. In short, disturbing his vision with some sort of smokescreen should be enough to drop the precision of his aim.

    Normally, hitting a target that couldn''t be seen was an impossible feat even for a bow master, but the owner of Archer vocation had that kind of ability. They could hit unseen targets to a certain extent with their irvoyance-like ability.

    Yup, Shimokawa''s Aqua Mist is an amazing magic after all.

    It was an excellent magic that would allow us to get out of a predicament. Since Aqua Mist instantly covered wide area upon casting, it was an extremely outstanding magic. As if that wasn''t enough, the mist would rob everyone save its casters field of vision.

    Since it took a lot of time just to create one smokescreen, it was basically impossible without skill or magic. Even though I tried to fire Air Sagitta to create cloud of dust, it wasn''t thick enough to hide a human figure and easily scattered away.

    If we wanted to create a real smokescreen, an instrument that would keep producing smoke was a must.

    Should I make smoke grenade in this dungeon?

    I could create such an instrument in a crafting game, but creating it in REAL LIFE was quite a challenge. I mean, it was literally impossible seeing that I didn''t even know its materials, the tools needed, and manufacturing process.

    I can extract oil for torch but that alone is far from enough

    I returned towards the za while pondering over such matters.

    The current status of this fairy za was as follows: the area around the water fountain had be the bathroom and Mei-chan''s kitchen, the area around the trees bedroomplete with suspended hammock, andstly, the area around the entrance a sort of storage for various kinds of loots and materials.

    I gathered many ingredients from around this area, trying to think of a new n by using these materials to defeat the sniper, Sakurai. Even though the ruined city was no different from the jungle after being abandoned for thousands years, we could actually harvest original materials of this area.

    Even though we had gathered all kinds of materials and treasure boxes from around this area, its effects were insignificant. The most it did was enrich our daily diets. Currently, Mei-chan was busy preparing her original spice blend made from abination of several herbs. I could look forward to tonight''s dinner.

    Haah We should be able to create new items and weapons with this Simple Alchemy Formation.

    Well, I guess I was asking for the impossible. Anyhow, I guess I have to make full use of what we have in our hands.

    On the other hand, if we''re talking about something special I had in my hand right now Uhm, maybe it was that Summoner''s Skull which I had kept in different ce.

    Maybe I need to add this skull into Rem in order to learn summoning skill

    That''s a bit impossible.

    Let''s try it for the time being. NO. Well, this is indeed the right time to test this skull but, I definitely won''t do that. I mean, I was bewildered upon finding out that I don''t want to turn Rem into my guinea pig.

    Well, maybe I should just destroy this useless skull then.

    I mean, Air Sagitta was more useful.

    A sh of insight suddenly came upon me when I gripped the cane in frustration.

    This skull seems like a perfect fit for this cane.

    I just felt that way when Ipared the wind elemental''s sphere fitted on the cane with the skull.

    Regarding the size, though the Summoner''s Skull, which was originally a human skull, was bigger, it was a perfect fit if I ced it inside the bird w-like ornament at the tip of the cane.

    No, I mean, it''s way too simple.

    Well, since there was nothing to lose from trying, I detached the wind sphere from the bird''s ws ornament and reced it with the skull.

    The white skull fitted perfectly into the grasp of the w when I fitted it in. In addition, it didn''t get disconnected when I swung the cane lightly. Yup, it was a perfect fit.

    Come forth, smander!

    I struck an extremely embarrassing pose as I swung the cane.

    But absolutely nothing happened.

    Ri~gh!?

    Fool''s Cane: The fool swinging the cane meaninglessly wouldn''t be able to unravel the miracle of the saint, its just an ordinary swing.

    I felt a weak current running into my brain. This had happened before, but now I could see it.

    T-This is a new curse.

    The same thing happened whenever I received a new curse that wasn''t granted directly by Ruinhilde-sama. Like when I received ck Blood or Vessel of Poison. It was usually the kind of curse that directly altered my own flesh.

    But what I experienced just now was a reaction when I swung the cane, not rted to my flesh but my movement.

    Surely, shamans had this image of equipping themself with cane like a wizard or sorcerer, and if my memory serves me right, this was the first time I swung a cane.

    Could it be that shaking The Fool''s Cane isn''t the only way to activate it

    <i>Even if I''ve limited way in my hands, please spare me from some sort of hidden skill or whatever it was, Ruinhilde-sama.</i> I mean, I was the kind of child who was nning ahead after I had a full grasp of my own ability rather than relying on some sort of awakening like the fighter from a vegetable.

    Oh whatever. ignoring the usual wacky vor text, I guess I''ve to try the power of this cane.

    And then, I struck into a pose again and shouted like before.

    Come forth, smander!

    But absolutely nothing happened.

    <i>Tch, as expected, summoning a smander was pretty much impossible huh.</i> I mean, it''s okay even if the one who got summoned was that electric ck T-Rex. I guess summoning such a powerful monster without any cost was practically impossible.

    Anything is fine! C''mon, show your worth as summoner''s skull!

    When I swung the cane wildly

    Uwa, what the heck this guy actually sucked my mana

    When I roused myself to recreate Rem, suddenly, I felt the sensation of mana being drained from my body. When I used my curse, it felt like the mana was sucked from my entire body but now, it was clearly sucked from my hand, and thatrge quantity of mana was flowing into the cane.

    And just like that, my mana became the source to invoke the Fool''s Cane.

    To be exact, it created a magic circle on its own.

    It was a magic circle that I had never seen before. It was around one meter in diameter, the pattern and letters written inside weren''t thatplex either. It was pretty simple to the point that even I could understand it. This magic circle wasn''t written with a line of light, it looked like it was written with blood, like some sort of curse.

    And that eerie magic circle kept appearing, one, two, three and finally stopped after the thirty magic circles had formed.

    And then, after all those magic circles appeared together, a figure formed inside.

    T-This is

    The inside of the magic circle appeared to be simr to Vile''s y Doll, a whirling of chaos. The figure that appeared from inside like a drunk man was a skeleton.

    It was a ck, weak skeleton simr to the early form of Rem. It was about as tall as me, its frail-looking body enough to convince me about its low specs.

    But there were thirty of them appearing together from thirty magic circles. All thirty ck skeletons were lining up in front of me.

    Oooh, this is the first time Ive gathered so many allies. Maybe this is the true power of a summoner.

 Chapter 157.2 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Chapter 157.2 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Simple Summoning CircleCalling forth familiarity using the simple version of the simplified summoning circle. The reason the magic circle looks so eerie is that it is a kind of curse.

    SkeletonBasic form of familiarity. The reason for its ck color is a curse.

    Tuning Wave(Echo) A method for subordination or mutual understanding by tuning one''s mana with the other party. It is the basis for spirit magic.

    While such an exnation appeared in my mind just like the usual curse''s exnation, it felt different to me for some reason. I mean, these three skills were supposed to be a Summoner''s skill.

    Is this the basic skill for summoner?

    <i>Awesome!</i>

    In short, the Fool''s Cane allowed me to use the basic skill of the vocation of the skull that I fixed on the cane.

    It might allow me to learn more skills from the other vocations as I kept using it despite being a shaman, a feature simr to growth type cheat But since my vocation was originally a weak vocation, I didn''t think that I would grow into some sort of TUEE character despite all the new skills I got from the cane.

    There was also a high possibility that I could only use the basic skill of each vocation, even if for example there was a mastery level of each skill, it was nothing more than how skillfully I used that said skill. In the first ce, my experience had told me that I shouldn''t expect something easy like growth type cheat since my vocation was the kind of vocation that gave me a new skill after surpassing trial and tribtion.

    But of course, it didn''t mean that I should just dismiss the effect of basic skills since even if it was basic, it was still a useful skill depending on how I used it.

    Kay then, let''s try this so-called summoner''s power.

    ===

    Yup, these guys are small fries after all.

    I led those thirty ck skeletons for a field test and as a result, more than half of them were lost against six high zombies.

    GARURU, GAGAGA

    KISHAA~

    In the end, it was thebination of Rem and Arachne Rem that defeated the zombies.

    I''d expected this result to some extent, but I''d never expected for them to be this weak.

    Or rather, they''re way too weak it seems their inside really isn''t Rem.

    And as if to affirm my suspicion, Rem the first gave a hand sign as if telling me that I was right.

    The ck skeleton called with Fool''s Cane''s summon art was slow and way too fragile. I mean, Rem who apanied me all the way until this point had reached the point at which she could move way faster than those ck skeletons even in her ck skeleton form. Well, I couldn''t deny the fact that high zombies'' power and speed were above the ck skeletons, but their movements were too monotonous, defeating them should be fairly simple for the ck skeletons.

    And yet, those high zombies wiped the floor with my thirty ck skeletons whose movements were more or less simr to wild skeletons.

    As if, they''re basically wild skeletons painted ck, nothing special except their BLACK color.

    As expected, Rem was the only familiar-like existence for me. Created by thebination of Vile''s y Doll and Corpse Doll of Resentment. Maybe because the "corpse" part was the derivation of "y doll", the content was still one and the same Rem but maybe because the ck skeletons weren''t an existence that was created with a curse or summoning arts, their content might be apletely different existence. [TL: corpse doll() and y doll(), the difference is only by one kanji.]

    Which made me wonder, just where did they get their own ego. If I''ve to say in a more familiar term, the ck skeletons summoned by the cane, their low specs body aside, looked like they were also being controlled by shitty game AI.

    <i>Will they grow like Rem if I trained them in the same way as Rem?</i> But then, I got this feeling that trying to prove that was a waste of time.

    They are just powerless skeletons with nothing but numbers as their advantage

    If we''re talking about the merits of the summoned skeletons, they were cheap and easy to summon, a readily avable bait or sacrificial pawn.

    But of course, Rem was more than enough to assume that role, she could even think for herself. Things would be easier for me if the content of those ck skeletons was Rem.

    It was a convenient skill for withdrawal and pre-emptive strike though.

    Well, it might be possible to erase all the summoned ck skeletons at once with something like space magic though.

    After I summoned the first batch of the skeletons, it was possible to un-summon them after they finished their duties, and re-summon them again in a sh- in short, re-cycling. Naturally, doing that would still consume my mana but, only the mana needed to deploy the summoning circle.

    But there was a single fatal weakness of this strategy, which was already obvious from my field test.

    At least, bring your weapon back too dammit!

    Yes, the thing that came out of the summoning circle was really JUST a skeleton. In the field test this time, I used Arachne Rem as our baggage carrier which included weapons such as swords and spears for the skeletons. However, when those guys got unsummoned, only their bodies vanished, leaving their weapons behind.

    This is just my conjecture, but the summoning circle could only materialize something made from mana. Since those skeletons were created with summoning arts, it was possible to return them to their mana forms and assemble them again. But the equipment that I gave to them was left in the ce where they vanished since it couldn''t be converted to mana. In short, storing physical matter not made from mana in a summoning circle was impossible.

    Dammit, as I expected, Tendou-kun''s item inventory is fu*king cheat.

    He could literally throw everything into that golden magic circle. Including that King Sword, his main weapon, the materials he gave to me, literally everything. It was an extremely wonderful skill with limitless capacity.

    It might be possible to upgrade Simple Summoning Circle if the level of summoning skill got upgraded. And if that happened, I might be able to create simple storage for physical items.

    Welp, let''s forget about that for the time being. My main objective right now is how to utilize what I''ve in hand

    First, I had a rough grasp about the effect of Simple Summoning Circle and Skeletonwhich left me with thest of the three skills- Echo.

    In short, I could turn any monster into my subordinate as long as my magical power is strong enough.

    Isn''t this the so-called tame thingy?

    <i> Another game-like skill huh.</i> Sure enough, Summoner''s ystyle was something along the lines of using this Echo in taming weak monsters first and gradually moving on to stronger ones as they gained more masteries of their skills, which in turn increased theirbat potential.

    Trying this skill on a strong monster might be difficult but it might be possible if I try this skill on high zombies.

    It had been a while since I did this kind of experiment since that time when I was experimenting with poison. Arachne Rem was really useful during this kind of experiment.

    WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

    And then, she captured one of those zombies who raised a death cry in less than thirty minutes.

    Since it''s more powerful than goma, she wrapped that zombie into a cocoon thread and hung it upside-down on a tree.

    Well then, it''s experiment time, Hung man-kun.

    I was facing the hung-up high zombie, poking Fool''s Cane at it.

    ===

    One hourter, the zombie that was hanging upside-down on a tree branch had already transformed into what you might call a "lump of mysterious meat".

    ,,, Failure huh.

    The high zombie''s taming attempt failed. It was an utter failure.

    I could invoke Echo with no problem. The problem was its effect, it was simply too weak.

    Dammit, it doesn''t work on such weaklings, I guess taming is pretty much impossible.

    Or rather, I was simply unsuitable for this magic. Or else, it might be just how unique mind-type magic was. Since its effects were hardly shown, it was really difficult to gauge the effects of this magic.

    If I''d to exin the effect of mind magic, I guess it would be like paint.

    The main function of this magic was to paint my enemy''s mind with my color. As long as I could paint the majority of my opponent''s mind with my color, I would pretty much seed in turning them into my subordinate.

    In short, paint it my color!

    If it does not work on high zombie, I guess it won''t work on govu either, and I don''t think it''ll work on red dog and goma either.

    <i> Wait a minute, doesn''t that mean that there was no monster that I could tame?</i>

    Y-You must be kidding me right

    Oioioi, this magic can''t even tame monsters despite being a skill that is supposed to be able to do so, just what kind of shitty game is this!

 Chapter 157.3 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Chapter 157.3 - Operation Crossing The Bridge 2

    Anyhow, since my vocation was the kind of vocation that belonged to a spellcaster type called shaman, my status should be optimized to use magic including the amount of my magical power. That''s why my magical power shouldn''t be that low.

    But I''d yet to make sure whether this skill called Echo would work against the weakest monster in this dungeon, goma. Even at the best, this was nothing more than a shi*ty skill. Be happy, Red Fever, you got arade!

    Haah, I never expected a day that I missed goma woulde, there''s none of those in this area after all.

    If that was the case, I guess using a ck skeleton was more practical for me.

    Haah what should I do now.

    I was crestfallen, heaving a sigh while looking at the summoner''s skull fitted on the Fool''s Cane with the high zombie hanging upside-down as the background.

    I had no idea which one of my ssmates skulls was this skull, could it be that this sh*tty skill was the reason for that persons death? If that was the case, my condolences,rade. Well, I wouldn''t give you my condolences if summoner was one of the cheat vocations though. I mean, if it was a cheat vocation, the chances were high that the person got overly confident of his power only to have Tendou turn the table against that person.

    When I was in the middle of my escapade, the chirp of a small bird reached my ears.

    The bird that was chirping in this jungle was a bird simr to a tree sparrow whose chirping awakened me when I first arrived in this dungeon. I thought they were adorable birds, different from the wild little birds, but I was wrong. They were gathered around the corpse of a high zombie, pecking its body with their little beaks.

    Echo.

    The moment I used that skill, one of the little birds twitched and stopped moving.

    Did I just seed!?

    I noticed that the skill would work out somehow. It was just my intuition.

    But the feeling became more apparent when I invoked Echo.

    In a high zombie''s case, I felt it was impossible. It felt like trying to paint an entire canvas with 0,3 mm mechanical pencil but when it came to the tree sparrow, the tuning felt like I had dumped a can of paint on the canvas.

    +++

    When I tried to give it an order toe to me, it pped its wings and perched on my shoulder.

    Oo, it seems I just heard something really amazing.

    It turned out, the reason why dominating monsters with mana was so difficult was that they already had mana in their body, forming some sort of resistance to it. But that wasn''t the case because a normal wild animal didn''t have mana, to begin with, it was easier to tame them.

    Well, the reason was trivial for me anyway. What was more important was the fact that I could finally tame them.

    Now then, let''s see if the animal that was tamed with Echo could be summoned with a summoning circle.

    YEAH, IT''S POSSIBLE!!

    When I swung my cane, the tree sparrow perching on my shoulder went down towards the small red summoning circle that appeared on the ground, and disappeared with a puff, leaving a trail of ck smoke behind.

    And when I swung my cane one more time, the ck mist came out again, forming the shape of a tree sparrow.

    HELL YEAH!!!

    It turned Echo was working on a small animal such as a tree sparrow. In addition, I could summon the subordinated animal with a summoning circle too.

    In the case of skeletons, thirty bodies at once was my limit. But if it was only this tree sparrow, I could go as far as a hundred.

    Or maybe, I could go for a bigger bird

    I did it! Now I can do something about Sakurai-kun with this!

    ===

    Finally, our preparation to breakthrough Sakurai sniping blockade waspleted.

    My first card was equipping Mei-chan with my avatar created with Twin Shadow, a psychological tactic to induce hesitation in Sakurai-kun.

    The second card was me rushing in with my makeshift air force while Mei-chan kept Sakurai-kun busy.

    Hehehe, speaking of flying in the air, it sounds like a cheat.

    I was grinning from ear to ear while grasping on the Fool''s Cane which had the summoner''s skull fitted on its tip, looking up at the sky far away from the geofront.

    Up there was the gathering of numerous birds of various sizes and species.

    Yosh, now turn back.

    I swung my cane once as I gave such an order, following which the birds fell down, pping their wings as theynded on the ground.

    The bird that gathered under me was the bird that I found around this area with the effect of Echo. There were various kinds of birds starting from small-sized, tree sparrow-like birds to big-sized, colorful parrot-like birds.

    But then, I could send them back home using a summoning circle just by saying Return. It was an extremely reliable function for a summoners familiar.

    But there was one bird left behind when I ordered them to return.

    It had a crow-like figure both in color and appearance, looking like your normal average bird. This one was the only one who was different from the other birds, it was a corpse doll''s Rem after all.

    As I thought, it is easier to use those birds by appointing Rem as their leader.

    I''d already understood something from the very first skeleton summoning experiment that the familiar created with summon skill or the familiar tamed with Echo had extremely low intelligence. Theyd follow my order faithfully, but that''s all for they couldn''t adapt to the situation.

    At least, I knew that trying to teach them tactics or swordcraft in one day was literally impossible.

    That''s why when it came to actualbat, I''d to give precise orders but this was just the right time. Things would be moreplicated when I gave different orders to several familiars at once.

    Things would be far easier if I could give them amand with a click from the mouse, you know, just like those PC games. Though things might be easier for me as I gained mastery over that area, the current me wasn''t as skilled when it came to manipting the object outside my field of vision.

    For example, when I ordered the birds to fly, they would fly till far ahead in the blink of an eye. When I tried to directly control the familiar, I found out that the live operation was restricted to some extent.

    And in this situation in which the aerial operation was hopeless Rem became my own solution.

    Rem''s thinking capabilities and movements were still going strong even after the number of her clones increased again, well it might be because she had parallel ability built into her specs. That''s why having one Rem, Bird Rem to be exact,manding the flock of birds in my ce reduced my burden as the summoner.

    +++

    All I needed was to exin the outline of our strategy to Rem and she would understand what I wanted to do with her own thinking capabilities. I mean, she could already make her own decisions to some extent when she met an unexpected variable in our n, she could already judge for herself whether she should continue the mission or retreat.

    And now, by appointing Rem as the familiar unit''s leader, all they needed to do was obey Rem-sama''smand.

    And just as I expected, even the brains of those birds (well, they''re birds after all) familiars showed enough intelligence to be able to at least follow Rem''s order. Move, attack, or retreat. As long as they could follow those orders precisely, it was already enough for me.

    How''s your side, Mei-chan?

    Yup, I think it''s great.

    As a side note, while I was in the middle of training the birds, Mei-chan who was in the middle of training to repel the rapid firing arrows with her ck tower shield replied so with a smile on her face.

    Since our opponent was an archer, training to repel his arrows was mandatory. Know yourself, know your opponent, you won''t lose in hundreds of battles.

    Which reminds me, the only opponent who used bow and arrow so far were those ugly gomas with their tattered, clumsy-looking arrows, the same went for Mei-chan, she rarely met a living armor who used bowgun or bow and arrow as their weapon.

    That''s why she was in the middle of intense training to repel Sakurai-kun''s sniping since she had to cross the bridge while protecting my shadow. Well, we can train as much as we can after all.

    Currently, Rem the first, Arachne Rem, and Rem the third were in the middle of shooting arrows relentlessly toward Mei-chan. Since Arachne Rem''s upper half was that of a human, she could use a bow and arrow normally. I mean, look at centaurs, they could use bow and arrow with their upper half too, so Rem should be able to do that too.

    Anyhow, since Rem had already mastered archery, the three of them could shoot from three different directions without missing their target. Any normal opponent would be killed against such a relentless barrage.

    But still, as expected of Mei-chan, our berserker. She could easily fend off the arrows that came from her blind spots.

    This should be enough but I can''t help but feel anxious since Sakurai-kun''s archery is more amazing than this.

    As expected, it''s because his vocation is Archer right. Since the other party has martial art too, this training might be far from enough.

    Uhm, but still I will protect you, Kotaro-kun.

    No, it''s my turn to be your shield now.

    Ah you''re right, tehehehe.

    Now, I could also look cool in front of Mei-chan by bing her shield, it''s my shadow though. I mean, it was true that we could easily win this fight if I made full use of Pain Return when Sakurai-kun shot my limbs which in return would decrease hisbat power, and then bring the battle to closebat but sorry, I''m a realist, I wouldn''t ce my bet on probability, and self-sacrifice wasn''t in my blood.

    In the end, Mei-chan still took the most dangerous role but somehow, I felt a pang of guilt upon seeing her smiling affectionately, praising me for thinking about various tactics without even showing a trace of discontent on her fa Yup, let''s stop with this meaningless self-deprecation.

    What I''d to do now was ce my trust in Mei-chan''s power, pray for the sess of my tactic, and go challenge the lonely Archer, Sakurai-kun.

 Chapter 158.1 - Shaman Vs Archer

    Chapter 158.1 - Shaman Vs Archer

    I stood by myself overlooking the single bridge from atop a tall building by the riverside.

    I wonder just how much time has passed ever since I secluded myself in this ce.

    It has been three days since the appearance of Futaba-san who transformed into a transcendental beauty babe with a busty rack that was enough to make any man turn his head to see her along with Momokawa who suddenly became a cheeky boy.

    Should I try Momokawa''s drug No, the risk I take with that option is way too big.

    To be honest, I had no idea whether weing them with this kind of hostile air was correct or not. I''d no time to hesitate in this kind of situation.

    Momokawa didn''t have potion but he had the drug, believing that was a simple matter. To be honest, such an offer was more than what I expected to the point that I want to ept his offer.

    But, my Intuition warned me that Momokawa is bad news.

    Due to my Archer vocation, my intuition power be really sharp, almost to the point of predicting the future. And Intuition was one of my passive skills.

    But keeping my vignce for a long time by myself like this did chip away my patience.

    If I took that drug, I might be able to heal Saya-chan immediately. Could it be that I actually abandoned the one and only chance to save her?

    Currently, I can''t help but always be haunted by such a thought.

    But no matter how much I thought about it, my intuition kept telling me that Momokawa was dangerous. And by dangerous, I wasnt referring to the outer appearance of a baby-faced, girl-like guy who seemed to be always in his own world back in Japan which stayed the same but I knew that something about him was fundamentally differentpared to before.

    Well, that change might be just natural. I mean, he somehow managed to reach this far in the dungeon after all. There was no doubt that he went through the baptism of this dungeon to reach this far. This was a mere conjecture of mine but my intuition had warned me that Momokawa had killed someone along the way, which might be one of our ssmates, and there was no mistaking this intuition of mine.

    And though I couldn''t guess what was so dangerous about him, he boldly tried to negotiate with me despite my warning shot. Maybe he wanted to recruit us to join his party. I had no idea whether he was telling the truth or not, but he stopped spouting cunning words with another warning shot from me.

    Though my intuition had already be really sharp, it didn''t mean that I could see through a lie. That''s why I knew nothing about Momokawa''s travelingpanions nor did I know about the drug he created. I also had no idea whether the thing he said about the drug was true or not.

    Once you suspect something, you might have a hard time looking suspicious. Nevertheless, from the way that guy, Momokawa''s spoke, even if the other party threatened his life, he would shrewdly drag the other party to the negotiation table, no doubt about it. If the other party was quite gullible, he most likely would force them to agree with him, which made him very dangerous.

    In a thousand chances, he took Saya-chan as a hostage, I was afraid that I wouldn''t be able to fight them back anymore.

    Even though my intuition understood the situation, I couldn''t help but keep thinking about Momokawa''s drug That was how desperate my current situation was.

    Haah God, please, cure Saya-chan

    Her condition being stabilized, for now, was what I hoped. Though she had stopped bleeding, the painful-looking scars had yet to be closed. That''s why without proper bandage and antiseptic solution, there was the danger of infection. Though I did my best to close her wound, in the end, a potion-like magic drug was necessary to close her wound.

    Even if her fever had subsided right now, I didn''t think she would be healed naturally as it is. Maybe because she had lost her appetite, she never touched her meal nowadays.

    What should I do, should I try looking for a potion even if it is just a bit far away?

    I''ve already finished searching the nearby ce. I knew that I would expose the wounded Saya-chan by searching around, but I''d no choice but to leave her side to hunt for our food and drinking water.

    I wouldn''t find a treasure box with potions inside around this area, but I might be able to find one in a big ruined city. Though I''d prepared myself to leave this ce for one or two days to search for a potion, I wished that I''d more options in this regard but

    Dammit, I can''t lose now, that Momokawa should be still hiding nearby.

    That guy would definitely cross the bridge as soon as he realized that I was already gone, and took the defenseless Saya-chan hostage.

    Should I kill him first then

    Nope, I shouldn''t jump the gun. There''s a possibility that Momokawa might also be looking for a potion while I did the same.

    In short, I''d no way out, sealed in this ce.

    Think, think harder. Something Is there some other way to save Saya-chan!?

    It seemed I was drowning in my own train of thought, was what my intuition had told me.

    Upon sensing hostile existence, my Intuition skill would work first, locating the hostile party with Search Enemy. Andstly, I would find the exact location of the hostile party with Eagle Eye or Wind Reading.

    Now, I''d already grasped the rough location with Search Enemy.

    Well, I was bound to notice sooner orter with such a bold gait. The other party made a beeline across the bridge, straight towards my location.

    Sakurai-ku~n, are you there~?

    The one who shouted my name with his child-like voice was, of course, Momokawa.

    You came huh, Momokawa. Did you find the potion is what I wanted to ask but, what in the hell was with that appearance!?

    The one who appeared was, of course, Momokawa. Along with Futaba-san. But, the problem was their appearance.

    Futaba-san was holding a tower shield. In addition, Momokawa was crucified right on the surface of that said shield, like a certain person with "J" as his initials.

    You, just what kind of crime did youmit for Futaba-san to tie you up on her shield? Did you by chance get found out when peeking at her while she was bathing?

    No matter how you looked at it, Momokawa who got tied up on Futaba-san''s ck tower shield looked like a witch who was about to receive a trial or burned on the stake, but since the person himself boldly called for my attention, I guess he wasn''t punished by Futaba-san.

    Sorry Sakurai-kun, we''re also betting our lives here. That''s why wee after we made a perfect n to breakthrough.

    I-I see.

    Please don''t make it look like you''re enjoying some sort of SM y.

    But from his tone, I guessed that he wouldn''t hand over the potion he found so obediently.

    Did you find the potion?

 Chapter 158.2 - Shaman Vs Archer

    Chapter 158.2 - Shaman Vs Archer

    Nope. Let me ask you for thest time, are you sure that you don''t want to try my drug?

    My answer won''t change, I refuse.

    Though I kept wondering whether I should really try Momokawa''s drug, I still ended up at the same conclusion as before, I can''t.

    Fight me or bring me a potion, you only have one of those two options if you wish to pass this area.

    I think you''re putting yourself in danger by trying to fight us, Sakurai-kun. We want to avoidbat as much as possible, that''s why can you at least let us pass this one time.

    If I''m really going to let you guys pass this ce, I wouldn''t go as far as threatening you guys like this. The only safe way to pass this bridge is for you guys to look for a potion, and give it to me.

    I nocked my arrow of the ck horn bowstring and pulled it, ready to fire a warning shot at any given moment.

    That would put an end to it if he tries to negotiate with me again but <i>Well, let''s see how you''ll face this situation, Momokawa.</i>

    I see, too bad then It seems we''ve to kick your ass to pass this ce.

    The moment Momokawa said those words, Futaba-san made a beeline towards my location. Her running speed betrayed the weight of her seemingly heavy equipment.

    You''ll regret this, Momokawa!

    I fired the first shot, a warning shot. The arrow pierced through the air in a straight line towards the duo.

    Then lodged itself right in front of Futaba-san''s toes along with heavy impact.

    But that warning shot didn''t stop her. Rather, she acted as if she didn''t see the arrowing or not, it wasn''t that she didn''t see the arrowing. She didn''t feel the need to dodge or protect herself against the first arrow since she knew that it wouldn''t hit her.

    But Futaba-san seemed quite brave to be able to pull such a feat. Even though she looked like a timid person like Saya-chan back in the ss, it seemed she was also transformed into apletely different person after the baptism of this dungeon.

    That''s just a warning shot. I won''t miss in the next one.

    You didn''t forget about my power right, Sakurai-kun?

    In your tied up state, all I need to do is defeat Futaba-sa!

    Then, the moment I set my aim to Futaba-san feet.

    The shield moved.

    It was a slight movement as if trying to protect her feet from my arrow. It wasn''t my imagination, the shield did move.

    No way, she predicted the trajectory of my arrow. Such intuition

    Yes, I wasn''t the only person who got the supernatural ability called vocation. Though Momokawa had this bizarre atmosphere around him, my intuition had told me that his vocation wasn''t thebat type.

    But Futaba-san was apletely different story. She might have an extremely powerfulbat-type vocation. I mean, she could run so fast without even breaking a sweat while raising that stupidly huge and bulky shield which added Momokawa''s forty-something kilograms of weight on the shield''s surface.

    Despite holding a freaking hundred kilograms shield in her hand, her running speed rivalled Natsukawa-sans, the ace at the track and field club. That fact alone was enough to convince me of her superhuman strength.

    In addition, strength wasn''t the only factor that got strengthened, she had a sharp intuition too.

    Seriously, she literally used Momokawa as her shield.

    If she only held up her shield without moving it, I could shoot her without hitting Momokawa. Even if she copied a terrorist act of using a child as a shield like the one in a Hollywood movie, the current me could score a headshot without having to worry about hitting the hostage.

    But reality sucks like hell, I could shoot Futaba-san when the movement of her shield was always following after my aim.

    I''m sure that Futaba-san was reacting to my aim by using either her intuition or sharp eyesight, or else thebination of both. If I shot my arrow as it is, there was a high possibility that my arrow would kill Momokawa.

    If what Momokawa said about his pain return ability was true, then it would be the end for me the moment I shot his vital spot. Even without that, I would be literally incapacitated if my limbs got injured due to the effect of Momokawa''s skill.

    If his pain return ability was a lie, then I wouldn''t hesitate to kill him on the spot. But I couldn''t take a risk of killing Momokawa before I confirmed the truth about his pain return ability.

    I had a simple way to check the truth. All I needed was to make my arrow graze past him.

    But Futaba-san wouldn''t allow me to do that. As long as she kept moving her shield, my arrow would eventually strike Momokawa''s limbs.

    No, that might be their original aim.

    Because I''d no way to heal my wound. Since I''d already revealed the fact that I needed the potion for instant healing, they must''ve realized that I had no way to heal my wound.

    But Momokawa had his hand-made ointment. In addition, the result seemed to be outstanding. That''s why even if he had to sacrifice a leg or hand, he could heal that woundter. After they dealt with me, who couldn''t move due to injury, they could take their time to heal their injury.

    Dammit, what should I do

    The running speed of Futaba-san was reduced lightly, and then slowly returned to her top speed again. At her current pace, it would only take less than twenty seconds to reach my position.

    She wouldn''t even give me time to think

    Calm down, me.

    Momokawa had be Futaba-san''s shield. ording to intuition, his pain return ability was most likely a lie.

    I mean, he looked way too calm for someone who made himself into a bait. Though I had to praise his guts for his ability to stay calm in this situation,pletely unperturbed was literally impossible.

    It was as if he had some sort of safety measure.

    But that was another possibility. Shooting Momokawa to death was a suicidal act.

    As I thought, I needed to confirm his ability first.

    If his pain return ability was real, I had no choice but to fight Futaba-san and the tied-up Momokawa.

    But if it turns out to be a lie, I still had the advantage with my long-distance attack. I could shoot them both to death with my martial art.

    And then, the first thing I needed to confirm Momokawa''s ability was

    Yeah, maybe I can use tha uhm, what''s that?

    Suddenly, a new idea shed in my mind. At this moment, I noticed an abnormality.

    Is that a normal bird?

    Since I was currently camping on the rooftop I could see the sky.

    It was neither night nor cloudy, I saw a flock of birds flying in the bright basement. Even without Eagle Eye, it was enough to confirm that it was just an ordinary bird.

    Since the trees had grown everywhere in this ruin, this ce could already be considered as half-forest. That''s why it was only natural for normal animals and monsters to live in this area. When it came to birds, various kinds of birds were passing by this area.

 Chapter 158.3 - Shaman Vs Archer

    Chapter 158.3 - Shaman Vs Archer

    That''s why I noticed no abnormalities in their movements since it was just the usual bird.

    But, but, who''s the idiot who would believe that a flock of birdsposed of different species forming a flight-like formation was normal?

    Dammit, is this also part of Momokawa''s n?

    The flock of birds was flying in my direction straight from the river. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn''t help but think that Momokawa was the one who controlled those birds.

    Maybe he intended to use those birds that were moving freely in the sky as a distraction against me who sat motionlessly on the rooftop. Moreover, Futaba-san kept running across the bridge right at this very moment.

    The perfect stance is something like this huh, Momokawa.

    Such a terrifying man. He had prepared such a perfect countermeasure after he saw my sniping style.

    Maybe he really saw me as a hindrance and made a thorough preparation to kill me. Or else, he felt reluctant about killing me, his ssmate, and yet, still forced to do so to keep moving forward No, this wasn''t the time to worry about such a thing.

    Such sentiment was unnecessary.

    I will do everything to protect Saya-chan. The same went for Momokawa, he would do everything to survive. We''re already at each other''s throats. Since that was the case, the rest was pretty simple.

    I made an enemy of an eerie fellow huh but, don''t underestimate my arrow!

    I nocked two, no three arrows. It was easier for me since my target was crowding together, and fired those three arrows. It wasn''t skill but the culmination of my long training as an archer.

    So fast!

    The three arrows pierced the wind with "byuun", and yet, the birds scattered around. But of course, none of my arrows missed its target.

    The first arrow struck a big, parrot-like bird. Second, a parrot-like bird. Third, skewered two tree sparrow-like birds.

    Tch, it''ll take too much time to kill all of them.

    When the birds were flocking together, I ended up allowing Futaba-san to get closer. And yet, I''d yet to confirm the truth about Momokawa''s pain return. Entering closebat in this kind of situation was dangerous.

    I''d to take care of those birds as soon as possible. And there was only one way to do that.

    Fuu haa

    I heaved a sigh to regain myposure. One circle,plete.

    And then, slowly, after I was done with the pre-match ritual that I repeated for who knows how many times, I nocked my arrow with confidence. This time, it was only one arrow.

    And then, the nocked arrow released pale blue light.

    Meteor

    I fired the best weapon in my arsenal.

    The moment I fired the arrow, the arrow shone brightly, leaving a trail of light as it flew in the broad daylight. I see, it definitely fit its name, the Meteor.

    And then, the dazzling arrow of light struck the ck crow-like bird that was flying in front of the crowd and created a big explosion.

    The pale light exploded in the air, and that explosion swallowed all the birds in one go.

    I breathed in the hot wind from the explosion as it caressed my cheeks.

    Okay, next.

    I was stunned for a moment after I used this martial art. I needed to carefully prepare to shoot Meteor, and after I used it, I''d be stunned for a moment. The moment I was stunned meant that Futaba-san could run across the bridge unhindered.

    But, I must stay calm.

    My fingertips trembled due to the time limit but I stretched my hand naturally and went toward the quiver, a movement that I already repeated many times.

    I kept a normal arrow in the quiver. As for the abnormal arrow, I prepared separated storage on my hip.

    And the arrow that I took out was Poisonous Smoke Bullet.

    Poisonous Smoke BulletBullet with Poisonsmoke sealed in it.

    The bullet was a grenade version of poison arrow, Saya-chan sealed Poison smoke in the bullet that would explode upon impact, scattering poison gas in the blink of the eye. It was an extremely useful item to exterminate annoying little monsters such as rats with fangs growing from their mouths, or cockroaches with teeth.

    Originally, Poison was simply a chemical substance, its power diminished a lot when used as poison gas. But then, despite its diminishing lethality, it was still quite effective.

    In short, by blowing this up, I could confirm the truth about Momokawa''s ability. Since its effect could be seen immediately, this was the best tool to test his ability. And since it was a weak poison, to be honest, it had almost no effect on me. But then, Saya-chan had still concocted its antidote for me, just in case due to her overly worrying nature for my safety.

    With this, I''ll confirm the truth of your statement, Momokawa

    The Posonous Smoke Bullet that I fired exploded right in front of Futaba-san. Its poisonous-looking purple smoke exploded right after the impact, covering the entire bridge. It was literally impossible to avoid the poisonous smoke.

    And yet, despite the dangerous-looking gas spreading on her way-or maybe because of her bravery- Futaba-san kept charging into the cloud of smoke.

    Fuh, as expected, it''s a lie huh.

    I couldn''t feel any abnormality in my body. Even if Momokawa held his breath, the Poison would still show its effect when touching his skin.

    Headache, vertigo, nausea, fatigue, I couldn''t feel any of those effects.

    In short, it must be that.

    From here on, I''m going all out!

    I nocked my arrow and drew my bow to the limit in order to vent my anger to Momokawa who tricked me NOW.

    I was aiming for the moment when Futaba-san came out from the cloud of poison.

    ~~~~~!??

    But as expected, she was reacting towards my sniping. The fired arrow was repelled splendidly by her shield. Moreover, it missed the ce where Momokawa was tied up.

    Your bravery is splendid. But that''s as far as you can go!

    I went all out, firing one arrow after another without giving them a moment of rest.

    My vocation, Archer made it possible for me to rapid-fire my arrows which were impossible in real life. Thus, I kept firing my arrows just like a machine gun.

    Kuh

    No matter how much her reaction speed, Futaba-san wouldn''t be able to protect herself from my rapid firing arrows. Though she never let me shoot Momokawa until the thirteenth arrow, I didn''t miss him from the fourteenth arrow and so on.

    Palm, shoulder, shin, thigh. Though my arrow kept piercing Momokawa''s small body one after another, I didn''t feel anything on my body.

    This is the end, MOMOKAWA!!

    The moment my arrows pierced his forehead and heart Momokawa''s body suddenly burst out.

    By burst out, I didn''t mean it exploded. For some reason, ck smoke burst out from his body and vanished with his corpse.

    A double? or illusion? What a shrewd guy.

    Well, whatever. As long as I defeat Futaba-san, your biggest war potential, there is nothing to protect you anymore.

    The real Momokawa should be hiding close by. I was gonna look for him once I took care of Futaba-san.

    Momokawa, you''re way too dangerous to be left on your own device.

    Now that the hindrance is gone. Let''s decided the victor between us, Futaba-san.

    Though the one I shot to death was Momokawa''s double, Futaba-san was looking at me as if I was her parent''s enemy, thus I pulled my ckhorn bow to the limit.

 Chapter 159.1 - Berserker Vs Archer

    Chapter 159.1 - Berserker Vs Archer

    Meiko had already lost Kotarou''s Twin Shadow. But as a result, she arrived right in front of the basecamp of Sakurai Touya. Just one more step until she checkmated the Archer who stayed in his hiding ce.

    And from this point was the rear unit''s oldest problem. He who broke through the bluff shield of Kotarou finally could go all out to shoot the berserker to death with his arrow.

    Arrows incessantly rained above Meiko. The number of arrows he fired within a single moment wasparable to dozens of archers firing their arrows at the same time, however, it was actually achieved by a single person using rapid-firing skill. Facing the barrage of arrows that didn''t leave any gap for her to escape, Meiko calmly raised her shield.

    Tsk, as I thought, normal arrows won''t work on her huh.

    The huge Dark Tower Shield used by Meiko repelled those rain of arrows. Though every single one of those arrows was strong enough to crush even the gore''s tough scales, it was far from enough to pierce through the bulky and tough shield of the living armor.

    ThenTake this!

    Drawing the bowstring of his ck horn bow to the limit, he fired a single arrow. It might be just a single arrow, but the arrow that he fired with his martial art just now had the highest pration power amongst his other skills.

    Faster and more powerful than normal shot, the archer''s martial art, Piercing Shot made a beeline towards Meiko.

    Kuh!

    The sh between arrows and shield gave birth to a loud metallic sound along with spark of fire.

    The thing that made someone as strong as Meiko groan wasn''t the heavy impact added to the arm but the arrowhead in front of her eyes.

    Her prided shield had been pierced through.

    So my Piercing Shot can pierce the shield, but it isn''t powerful enough to pierce through the shield.

    Though the arrow that he fired with Piercing Shot managed to pierce the bulky dark tower shield, it wascking the power to hit Meiko who was protected by her shield.

    Instead of feeling relieved, he felt more anxious right now. The next one, and the one after that could pierce through the shield and hit Meiko. The shield might break as long as he kept firing arrows with piercing shots.

    Wash your neck till I arrive in the rooftop!!

    I''m gonna tear that annoying shield before you can do that!!

    The Berserker strengthened her defence as she moved forward while the archer goal was to destroy her defense. The distance between both of them was only the height of the building.

    The long-distance attack kept raining incessantly on Meiko who arrived right in front of the archer''s base.

    ~~~~~!

    The sound of strong impact kept resounding due to the collision between the arrow and shield. At the same time, droplets of cold sweats started to appear on Meiko''s face upon seeing more and more arrowheads prate her shield.

    The archer fired two Piercing Shot at the same time. Although it managed to pierce the berserker''s shield, it fell short from reaching Meiko who was hiding behind the shield, and far too weak to destroy the shield.

    Meiko''s shield managed to defend its user or so she thought, right in that very moment, the archer fired his third shot.

    Ah!

    The Dark Tower Shield got separated from Meiko''s hand as a loud sound of shing metals resounding in the area.

    Great, it turns out you can''t withstand the Pinpoint Wave huh.

    The third martial art used by the archer to shot his arrow wasn''t the Piercing Shot, it was the martial art that would cause a shockwave upon impact, Pinpoint Wave.

    The effect of that martial art was to convert the arrow''s prating power into shockwave, amplifying the impact and tremor that happened the moment his arrow hit its target to an unimaginable level. It was only natural for the shield to get separated from Meiko''s hand since the third arrow was fired almost simultaneously with the first two Piercing Shot, thus amplifying the impact of those three arrow to unimaginable level.

    The archer was looking at Meiko''s flustered face. It was natural for her to get flustered knowing that she lost the only way to defend herself against his arrows.

    But it was only for a moment when her shield got separated from her hand. By the time her ck shield crashed against the ground along with a loud metallic sound, she was already looking at the archers position on the rooftop of the building.

    The berserker fighting spirit wouldn''t crumble just because she lost a mere shield.

    As long as I entered the building, victory is mine

    Few more steps and Meiko could enter the building that became the base for Touya.

    But still, there was an important factor that made the archer choose this building as his sniping location. That building was the important home in which his beloved person who got injured was sleeping, awaiting the potion.

    He was the only one who could defend that ce.

    But still, how long will it take for you to reach me? I''veid traps in this entire building. I''m still on the high ground.

    Though Touya was originally not well-versed in that kind of knowledge, after several trial and error, he could finallyy numerous booby traps inside the building.

    Using a pitfall trap for the crumbling passage, wire trap that was connected to the Poisonous smoke bullet, stairs that were covered in torch oil, there was even the possibility of it being lit up.

    The effect of the trap had been proven by various unlucky monsters who got stranded in the building or group of govus. Even if, for example, the power of a trap alone wasn''t enough to kill them, one slip was all Touya needed to finish them off.

    Theyout of every single trap in the building had already been perfectly memorized by Touya. He was still in an advantageous position even if they fought in closebat in this building, yes, even if his opponent was a berserker. His advantage was unshakeable.

    Touya managed to keep hisposure knowing that Meiko was going to self-destruct the moment she entered the building.

    But then, Meiko didn''t run into the building she ran along the wall, all the way up to where Touya was hiding.

    C-could it be wall run!?

    Such an impossible spectacle became reality right in front of his very eyes.

    Meiko''s feet stamped strongly on the outer wall of the building as she did a vertical run, each one of her steps were strong enough to crush the wall itself.

    Though Touya was rather shocked upon seeing the dream scene of vertical run properly speaking, he could pull off the same feat by using Fast Drive.

    So such feat is possible as long as one has movement type martial art huh

    He guessed that Meiko might''ve Fast Drive too, or a dedicated martial art for this case such as Wall Run, or maybe, she simply used pure brute force to run on the wall, though he had no idea which one of those possibility, the fact that she was ascending at incredible speed was a reality.

    Touya got flustered for a moment due to Meiko''s unorthodox tactic. However, he had yet to give up.

    You no longer have your shield. and you can''t use anything to protect you. You''re basically a sitting duck to me, Futaba-san.

    This was thest chance for the archer to kill Meiko.

    Despite the killing intent from Meiko who ran on the wall that was pricking on his skin, Touya didn''t hesitate even a single moment to nock his arrow.

    He straightened his posture on the side of a big wall as if he was about to jump from the rooftop, aiming towards Meiko who ran on the vertical wall as if it was a leveled ground.

    Pierce through, Piercing Shot!

    He used martial arts to bring a certain kill to Meiko.

    The arrow that would kill Meiko for sure arrived in front of her eyes in less than a moment, but it got knocked down by a ck sh.

    Repelled!? Dammit, at this distance

    In Meiko''s hand was a sword that was releasing an ominous red aura. The fiendish looking-single-edged sword whose length was no different from sushi knife was the cursed weapon, Dismemberment Demonic Butcher Knife that evolved after she defeated the four armed gogma, the boss of goma''s castle.

    The Bull Demon Sword which imbued with a power different from enchanted weapon called Curse could easily knocked down the powerful piercing arrow from the front. But then, being able to disy the full prowess of the cursed knife showed just how terrifying the reaction speed of the berserker.

    To think that you hide an enchanted weapon as your ace in the hole. But I ALSO HAVE THE ENCHANTED WEAPON!

    Sometimes quantities would serve better than qualities for a reversal tactic. And now was the time to do that.

    The only thing that protected Meiko right now was the knife in her hand. With that, she could even parry Touya''s heaviest and fastest arrow. But she was in the end still a human. No matter how durable her body had be due to the effect of her vocation, it definitely wouldn''t be tougher than her ck shield.

    Thus, all he needed was a normal arrow to get a clean hit. And to achieve that, he would shoot as many normal arrows as possible.

    In addition, he wouldn''t even use a poison arrow.

    Deadly Poison ArrowAn arrow which arrowhead was coated with extremely deadly poison Vi Poison.

 Chapter 159.2 - Berserker Vs Archer

    Chapter 159.2 - Berserker Vs Archer

    Vi Poison was the enhanced version of Poison which Hinagiku Saya learnt in the midst of battle.

    Excluding his martial arts, this Deadly Poison Arrow was Touya''s deadliest killing weapon. Since it wascquered with powerful poison, even a scratch from it would be a fatal blow. The Deadly Poison part of its name wasn''t just for show.

    THIS IS, THE END!

    Touya, who abandoned his kindness which was preventing him from pointing poisoned arrows towards his ssmate, finally fired his arrows. Yes, it wasn''t just one arrow, he fired the entire Deadly Poison Arrow in his quiver.

    The Touya she faced right now was a true, formidable enemy worthy of respect. They went after each other''s life with no hard feelings about it.

    Uhn, kuh

    Even Meiko with her superhuman reaction speed couldn''t keep up with the iing poison arrows which were raining down like a barrage from a machine gun.

    The speed of the arrows couldn''t be seen with naked eyes, and yet, Meiko crushed every single one of them which was aiming for her vital spots with her cursed knife and let the others hit her.

    The first poison arrow lodged on the top part of her left shoulder.

    The sharp pain of when the arrowhead prated her skin aside, she also felt the raging heat that felt like it was going to burn her inside.

    The next one grazed her cheek, the third one stuck into her right thigh, the fourth her nk.

    The Vi Poison in those arrows had finally shown its effect, slowing down Meiko due to the pain she felt.

    W-Why doesn''t she stop!? Don''t tell me the poison isn''t working!

    And yet, Meiko kept running, vertically. No matter how weak her vital sign has be due to the effect of the poison, she kept running.

    KILLKILLKILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

    Along with a warcry that was resounding from the bottom of her stomach, the berserker closed in the distance toward her opponent in one go.

    <i> Crap, she is unstoppable.</i>

    Touya, who was already aware that he was at aplete disadvantage at such a close distance, turned around at once, running into the building.

    Meiko''s running speed was truly befitting of a warrior, but Touya didn''t lose in that regard when he ran with Fast Drive. He definitely wouldn''t fall behind Meiko if both of them were running at their top speeds.

    Once he entered the building, he would be able to regain his advantage again with the traps that he already prepared in the building. Though he felt some anxiety upon seeing Meiko''s predominance, he still had the chance to defeat her as long as he didn''t fight her head-on on the rooftop.

    And then, the moment Touya took the first step.

    KYOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    A crow appeared right in front of him along with a loud cry.

    The ck bird that was sweeping down from high altitude like a falcon was clearly aiming for Touya.

    Dammit, this guy is Momokawa''s

    It was really obvious that its role was to prevent Touya from getting away from Meiko.

    And for that role, Kotarou prepared another Crow Rem.

    Kotarou reckoned that even an archer like Touya would have his hands full with how to deal with Meiko the moment thetter reached the base of the building that became his base, too busy to even take care of a bird flying across the river.

    And then, the Crow Rem used to obstruct Touya was barely within the ability of Kotarou to create familiar.

    Gotcha, Sakurai-kun.

    A chill ran down Touya''s spine the moment he heard Meiko''s voice.

    The familiar crow that was sweeping down from the sky had already been shot down reflexively by Touya.

    But that action resulted in him stopping. And that moment was only less than a second but was more than enough for Meiko to reach the rooftop. Because now, she was right behind Touya.

    OAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The moment he turned around, her de had already chopped his back.

    Her de sliced through the quiver on Touya''s back along with its owner, resulting in Touya copsing on his own pool of blood.

    GU, UUUH.

    He couldn''t stand. Meiko incapacitated Touya in one fatal strike but that result was only natural for archers whose defense wasn''t their forte.

    G-U-H, Dam, it.

    Nevertheless, his hand never let go of his ck horn bow as he yelled to the top of his lungs, mustering thest of his power to raise his body until a single, ck sh decapitated his left hand in silence.

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

    That ck sh severed the left hand that was gripping on the bow.

    With fresh blood spewing out from the deep gash on his back and the cross-section on his wrist, Touya who couldn''t even feel the pain in his body anymore felt that he was about to die. Instead of pain, what hurt him the most was absolute despair.

    He can''t win. A total loss, he couldn''t think of any means to reverse the situation against the monster called Meiko who couldn''t even be stopped with poison arrows.

    Finally, his heart was broken.

    F-Futaba-san please

    Give it up, I won''t spare your life.

    The real reason was because it was already toote to save him right now.

    I don''t care about my life but please, please save Saya-chan.

    That''s

    <i>Impossible. </i>It was an easy remark. And she knew that was true.

    Sakurai Touya loved Hinagiku Saya. And Hinagiku Saya loved Sakurai Touya too.

    If Meiko killed Touya, there''s no way Saya would forgive her.

    And Kotarou was merciless against anyone who tried to kill him. The same went for Meiko, she wouldn''t show a shred of mercy towards anyone who tried to kill Kotarou.

    Reconciliation was already impossible the moment Touya''s arrow mercilessly pierced Kotarou''s clone.

    Okay, leave it to us. Kotarou-kun will definitely save her with his medicine.

    I see, thank goodne

    Touya, whose face showed a genuine, calm smile, looked even more sublime as death approached him.

    Aah, such beautiful love.

    As if I can trample upon such pure love, the least I can do is send him in peace.

    But the matter of killing the Archer, Sakurai Touya who blocked their way was also the way for the Berserker, Futaba Meiko to show her care towards her ssmate, one might say that this act was in fact a mercy kill.

    Thus, she didn''t have a shred of hesitation in killing Touya.

    Sorry, Sakurai-kun. And goodbye

    Her cursed de decapitated Sakurai Touya''s head, ending his life for sure.

 Chapter 160.1 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    Chapter 160.1 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    Pilulululu! The moment I heard that out-of-ce electric sound, I heaved a sigh of relief.

    Hello, Kotaro-kun? It''s done.

    I see. Thank goodness. What about Sakurai-kun?

    No problem, I killed him properly.

    Maybe the honor to feel the tinge of sadness upon hearing that news was the privilege of the victor.

    Understood, I''ll be there immediately.

    Yeah. I''ll be waiting for you on the rooftop.

    I hung up my cellphone after that short exchange.

    Our n this time was for Mei-chan to charge forward by herself towards the sniping point of Sakurai-kun, his base. In short, we just were bulldozing with Mei-chan''s brute force.

    I used my clone as a fake shield along with crow Rem and her air force as Mei-chan''s backup. As for me, I ended up waiting in vain near the bridge along with Rem III, Arachne Rem, and Rem I without getting our chance. The moment this n began, I had no other job other than looking for the timing to let our air force take a flight across the bridge, and praying for Mei-chan''s sess with Ruinhilde-sama.

    I was the one who prepared the draft for this n but, I was once again forced to feel the powerlessness of my vocation. Unable to stand in the frontline along with Mei-chan, only being able to prepare a n and then helplessly watch the situation was really painful.

    Perhaps I am really unsuited to be a general. I might have no hesitation to send aplete stranger to the dangerous frontline. But the one I sent to the frontline wasn''t a stranger, it was Mei-chan, my goddess herself.

    Anyhow, though it seemed so long, it actually took less than five minutes for Mei-chan to cross the bridge under Sakurai-kun s sniping. And now, I''m d that it ended well for us, yes, FOR US.

    After receiving the word from Mei-chan, I hurriedly left the building that I was using as a hiding ce, running toward Sakurai-kun''s base.

    Looking at numerous arrows scattered around the bridge made me realize again just how intense the battle that happened between Mei-chan and Sakurai-kun was. Honestly, I shuddered upon thinking that Mei-chan could actually force her way through this rain of arrows.

    Since I shared my consciousness with my body double, I also experienced the bridge crossing battle in real-time. My vision kept swaying non-stop due to the intense movements of Mei-chan''s shield though.

    In the blink of an eye, I had already crossed the bridge as I was thinking about the battle to cross the bridge from a while ago. Even though I spent a full week formting the perfect tactic to cross the bridge, normally speaking, it''d only take a few seconds for me to cross the bridge without any interruption from the sniper.

    And then, I looked up towards the building that had already turned into the sniper''s base.

    Mei-chan running on the wall of this tall building huh

    Wow, to think that she just climbed this tall building by running on its wall. This was definitely Mei-chan''s improvisation of our original n. To be honest, our original n was for her to enter the building and climb up the stairs all the way to the roof.

    I couldn''t hide my shock when I saw her pulling off such an incredible feat with sheer strength, or rather, I almost thought that my eyes must be tricking me. I mean, just what kind of movement type martial arts must she have mastered that allowed her to run on the wall like that.

    For a moment, I even thought of asking her to train me to run on the wall like that, but I shook off the foolish idea immediately. I mean, I might be able to achieve the same result by riding on Arachne Rem''s back, but then, that kind of thrill wasn''t for a wimpy character like me.

    Thus, let''s just take a proper route to the roof- the stairs.

    Ah, just in case, if there''s a trap in there, III, please go first and check the safety inside.

    GUGAGA

    Rem III gantly entered right from the front entra PEW!

    THE HECK!

    Rem III got smashed to bits by huge debris as soon as she went in through the entrance. The building around this area might look like an ancient, weathered building, but for debris to copse right on top of Rem III at this timing sounded too good to be true.

    I did consider the possibility of him making a trap to hinder our movement, but this is way too much, Sakurai-kun..

    Sakurai-kun should''ve already died and yet, I felt some sort of malice imnted in the traps installed in this building as if to protect Hinagiku-san. It would be uncool of me if I died by a booby trap after we won.

    Sorry Mei-chan, my arrival might be dyed a bit.

    Only after I remade Rem III did I step inside the building.

    ===

    Again, I would have a hard time collecting her remnant if Rem III got destroyed by trap, that''s why I used the more effective Skeleton Summon as my meat shield, I just needed to sacrifice some of my mana to summon them after all. No matter how vicious the booby traps were, I could press through safely almost without risk by using this tactic.

    Ah, you''rete, Kotaro-kun, a minute more and I wouldve gone down looking for you.

    Uhm, some traps in the building are blocking my way after a Wait, what about you, Mei-chan!? Look, you''re in a worse situation than me!

    Her thigh, shoulder, and abdomen were shot by arrows. The silver lining was the fact that she avoided vital areas, but it didn''t change the fact that the other parts of her body were hit by the arrows. As a result, it was as if she was bathed in blood.

    I understood when observing the battle to cross the bridge that she definitely wouldn''te out unscathed, but upon a closer look, I realized again that "unscathed" was an understatement.

    Ah, you mean these arrows? it''s okay, I already used your ointment to close the wound.

    It seems she did all the first aid treatment from plucking out the arrows and applying the ointment to close the wound by herself while I was disabling the traps on the way up. Upon closer look, I found some bloodstained arrows rolling around on the ground beside her.

    No, but it''s still dangerous and painful to do that alone.

    Uhm, not that painful since I drank the painkiller and the antidote has been working properly too. Moreover, despite the amount of bleeding, I''m still fine thanks to my Increase of Blood.

    We''d already factored the possibility of Sakurai-kun using a poisoned arrow in our n. In general, poisoned arrows and fire arrows were cliches in every game. Incidentally, I had also included the possibility of him having an ability to enchant his arrow with magic such as lightning or ice, but we got lucky that he didn''t have those.

    Anyhow, considering the possibility of Sakurai-kun in the possession of poisoned arrows, Mei-chan''s superb physical ability alone wouldn''t be enough to resist his attack. Thus, I made Mei-chan drink a lot of antidote made from blue flowers beforehand to counter the poisoned arrow.

    In addition, I''m really d that the Painkiller was working properly and allowed her to suppress the pain from being shot with an arrow.

    Even so, please don''t overexert your body and rest for the rest of the day.

    Uhm, thanks. But let''s find Hinagiku-san first.

    Yeah.

    It seems she was bedridden due to a serious injury, but she was still alive for sure. There was nothing wrong with being overly cautious since who knows what kind of counterattack she wouldve prepared with her vocation. Seeing that we had already killed Sakurai Touya, we had no choice but to kill her too.

    Upon looking around, I found Sakurai-kun''s decapitated head in one corner of the rooftop and his headless body right next to it. The reason his eyes closed peacefully might be because Mei-chan closed his eyes for him.

    I wouldn''t have any idea about what he felt if he died in a battle against a monster, but as the perpetrator of his death, when I saw his fresh corpse like this, I nonono, let''s stop thinking about that. The current me had no right to feel that kind of sentiment. Though Mei-chan was the one who killed him in the battle, the one who nned for his death was me. In short, that ghastly headless corpse was what I wished to see.

    Let''s go.

    I left the rooftop along with Mei-chan to go looking for Hinagiku-san inside the building. Since the other party was already gravely wounded, I expected that there would be no battle, so Mei-chan wouldn''t get her turn. But just in case, I asked her to raise her vignce.

    Leading us, as counter-traps, were two summoned skeletons followed by Rem I. Mei-chan and I were ced between Rem I and Rem III. Since Arachne Rem''s body was far too big to pass through the corridor of this building, she was on standby at the entrance of this building.

    I think, she''s on the top floor, closest to the roof.

    Since Sakurai-kun was ring at anyone who passed the bridge from the rooftop, he most likely spent the majority of the day on the rooftop. If that was the case, he most likely ced Hinagiku-san within his reach.

    In addition, monsters who want to attack them muste from the first floor. Naturally, that''s excluding the possibility of specter-type monsters who could appear out of nowhere. Considering the fact that he chose the rooftop as his sniping location, he should''ve prepared a living ce on the top floor which was the easiest to ess from the rooftop.

    Yeah, no doubt about it. There''s no trap around here and you can find the traces of people living around this floor.

    Only this floor was strangely clean and clear. In addition, there was some sort of workshop or warehouse in one of the corners, things such as monster''s materials and lumbers were scattered around that corner. To put it simply, those scattered materials and lumber screamed that someone had been living in this ce.

 Chapter 160.2 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    Chapter 160.2 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    But I can''t feel any presence inside. As if there''s no one inside.

    Upon hearing Mei-chan mutter so, I guessed that someone might have been living on this floor, but Hinagiku-san was definitely in another room. Or else, she might''ve some sort of skill which hides her presence from us. Depending on her ability, it wasn''t impossible to achieve at least that much.

    Let''s go looking for her carefully, she might be aiming for the moment of our carelessness.

    Yeah.

    I summoned more skeletons in order to cope with any kind of situation that might happen and started looking for her butOur search ended as soon as we started.

    We found Hinagiku Saya.

    I see so this is the reason huh

    She was sleeping peacefully on top of the bed which was made by Sakurai-kun. I was sure that she would sleep peacefully like this, forever.

    Because I knew that Hinagiku Saya had already passed away.

    K-Kotaro-kun, this mean

    Looking at her current condition, it seems quite some time has passed since Hinagiku-san passed away. Her body started to show the signs of rotting. I don''t know the exact time, it might be around one or two weeks ago, but it''s definitely not more than one month ago.

    Even my untrained eyes could tell that Hinagiku Saya had already died. I didn''t even have to check her pulse and breath to confirm that fact. Her body was clean without any external wound but herplexion was something that none other human-made except for the dead.

    Then, Sakurai-kun is

    Maybe, he simply couldn''t ept the fact that his girlfriend had already died.

    He had gone mad. Yeah, that was the only exnation for his behaviour.

    And that exined what he did to us. I couldn''t feel a shred of hesitation in Sakurai-kun''s actions even though he had never killed a person before. He was very straightforward in threatening his own ssmate to go looking for a potion to cure Hinagiku-san.

    Behind that seemingly calm facade turned out to be a boundless, raging madness.

    N-No way, Sakurai-kun

    The one who was shocked the most was Mei-chan, the one to personally killed Sakurai-kun.

    If only if only Sakurai-kun had epted Hinagiku-san''s death, we might be able to work together with him.

    But reality wasn''t that sweet. Sakurai-kun had no choice but to keep doing what he did, even if it meant risking his own life.

    Surely, that was just how much Hinagiku-san meant to him, she was his entire world.

    Kotaro-kun. Let''s bury them together.

    Yeah. That''s the least we can do for them

    But as a shaman, all I could do for these two was mourn, I won''t let myself feel any sort of sentiment towards them.

    Sakurai Touya was a formidable enemy who stood in our way. When you killed such a formidable enemy, it was only natural for you to loot them, no matter how insignificant the value of the loot.

    <i> I will mourn you guys, but I still have to go on living after this.</i>

    That''s why I''ll only take your head as loot.

    Archer''s SkullThe skull of someone with Archer vocation.

    Shaman''s SkullThe skull of someone with Shaman vocation.

    Though I gained two new additional skulls for Fool''s Cane after summoner''s skull, I honestly wasn''t delighted.

    I asked Rem I to behead Hinagiku-san. As expected, I couldn''t bring myself to ask Mei-chan to do this kind of a dirty job for me after shed beheaded Sakurai-kun. If possible, I wanted to behead Hinagiku-san with my own hands, but my weak strength made it impossible for me to do that.

    And then, I used Witch''s Kettle to bake the two, newly gained severed heads. Baking was the best method to peel off the skin tendon, muscle, and organs from their skull after all.

    As a side note, we also cremated their corpses. I made a fairly huge kettle beside the building and cremated their corpses in it. And filling up the kettle with soil just like that for their grave. A multi-purpose crematorium and graveyard.

    The reason why I cremated them like this was just in case, to prevent them from bing undead. Sentiment or not, I really didn''t want to fight them again even if they became undead, this battle alone had left a bitter taste in my mouth.

    They might have died due to my plot, but I wanted to at least honor their deaths. At least, I hope they''d enter paradise together, a ce that would probably reject me.

    Haah.

    I heaved a deep sigh. The ssmate I killed today wasn''t the kind of hateful person that I wanted to kill from the bottom of my heart, it simply happened because we had no choice but to do that. Andstly, I felt really guilty for burdening Mei-chan with the crime of killing our own ssmate.

    But then, we really had no choice but to do this. Even if I couldn''t do anything about this situation, we cannot move forward unless we do this.

    I inserted the still lukewarm Sakurai-kun''s skull, the Archer''s Skull into the eagle ws part of the fool''s cane.

    Presence DetectionYour sense became sharper to detect the presence of your enemy.

    Presence IstionSurpress your presence, be one with shadow so that you can move stealthily.

    Eagle EyeEagle-like eyes, you can see something far away urately.

    Even though he was an archer, none of his basic skills were rted to bow or arrow such as drill shots. Or else, my earlier assumption that the Fool''s Cane bestowed basic skills for the vocation was actually wrong, it might be actually selecting skills that suit its user. It prefers practicality since an archer''s martial arts are literally useless in my hand since I need to use both hands to execute archer''s martial arts. Archer''s martial arts were useless since I''d have to hold the cane in my hand when using the archer''s skill.

    But these skills were really useful.

    Rather than an archer, these skills were more suited for an assassin. And those martial arts skills might hardly show their effect in my hand, a shaman.

    And I was particrly grateful to the Presence Istion skill which helped me hide my presence. In addition, the Eagle Eye skill was also useful when looking at the situation in the field from a faraway ce, it reced the need for binocrs.

    As for Presence Detection, well since Mei-chan possessed sharp intuition and Rem could detect the enemy''s presence for me, this skill musty low for the time being. However, there''s nothing wrong with having too many skills. I mean, in case I''m joining the battle, I, the rear guard would be vulnerable to the ambush of the enemy''s reinforcement when Mei-chan, the vanguard, was busy dealing with the enemy in front of us. But this skill allowed me to maintain vignce against ambush.

    Well then, next was a surprisingly in and boring skill from Hinagiku-san''s Shaman''s Skull.

    Never expected that there''ll be another Shaman

    Maybe she also received every single one of her skills from Ruinhilde-sama after undergoing all kinds of gruesome methods. I checked the abilities with half-anxiety and half-expectation for the power that resided in Hinagiku-san''s skull.

    PoisonMakes someone fall into a disorderly state with the power of poison.

    EnchantNow you can add an effect of magic into materials.

    Simple Alchemy FormationEnable the most basic alchemy such as Comprehension and rification. Disassembly and reconstruction.

    Ooh?

    What the The lineup of her skills waspletely different from mine. Rather, the naming of her skill waspletely normal like other spellcasters that I met before, yeah, unlike my wacky-sounding skill. Is this really the same shaman skill granted by Ruinhilde-sama?

    Could it be that even with the same vocation, there''s a possibility that ites from a different god?

    Previously, Id imagined a game-like setting that one vocation definitely came from one god but now that I think about it more carefully, if the number of gods in this world is only as much as the number of vocations, it means that this world wasn''t created by a single god, this world was definitely created by many gods.

    I mean, even if you lined up two warriors, you would find that they might usepletely different weapons, they might use a one-handed sword, two-handed sword, dual wield, knives, halberd, etc.

    Even in the matter of vocation, Kenzaki Asuna''s Twin Swordsman or Yamada''s Heavy Warrior must belong to a superior category. In short, even the God of vocation who used the sword as their weapon was divided into Swordsman and Twin Swordsman.

    That''s why the number of gods wasnt equal to the number of vocations, there''s a high possibility that several gods might bestow the same vocation.

    I see, maybe Ruinhilde-sama is actually the minor existence amongst the God of curse.

 Chapter 160.3 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    Chapter 160.3 - The One who He Wanted to Protect

    Oops, that''s no count, absolutely no count. I''m definitely not looking down on my patron god. My revered god, Ruinhilde-sama is number ONE in the world. YES, Ruinhilde-sama is definitely the biggest shareholder amongst the God of curse the elephant, the other gods of the curse were only at the level ant.

    But still, these skills are the jackpot.

    It resembled the one owned by Sage. Heck, the Simple Alchemy Formation was truly simple. And that''s why I knew just how useful that skill was.

    Bybining Simple Alchemy Formation and Enchant, even someone like me could make an enchanted weapon and other magic tools. <i>Ah, so Sakurai-kun''s poisoned arrows were made bybining Poison with Enchant to his arrow, huh.</i>

    In addition, he also fired something like a ball that exploded into a poison mist towards Mei-chan during the battle, it must be some sort of poisoned ball made by Hinagiku-san. They really were a powerfulbi.

    Well then, the thing that I was worried about the most was the effectiveness of the Poison skill itself. Mei-chan got hit by a poisoned arrow before, but since those poisons had already been neutralized by the antidote that she drank beforehand, I had no idea about how powerful this poison was.

    Anyhow, it should be more useful than the very first curse that I received upon arriving in this world, the most useless fe amongst my arsenal, the Red Fever

    You''re still awake huh, Kotaro-kun.

    Mei-chan called me when I was still tinkering with the cane. Upon hearing her remark, I quickly checked my watch and found that it''s long since past midnight. Since I''d been maintaining the habit of going to sleep at night and moving during the day, I rarely woke up till past midnight.

    Yeah, I''ve had enough rest in the afternoon. I''ll hit the bed after I''m done with the inspection.

    Since this ce had already been cleaned up before, we decided to spend the night in the base made by Sakurai-kun. I was rather reluctant to go back to fairy za after such a battle, and it''d take a really long time to find another building that we could use. Though I was reluctant to stay in the building whose lord was killed by us, we couldn''t afford to be picky in our current situation.

    Let''s sleep together.

    Eh?

    Okay, let''s hit the bed right away, and just when I abandoned the cane and was about to stand up, I froze.

    It''s okay to sleep together, Kotaro-kun.

    It seems my ears truly didn''t y a trick on me. Even if I cast a spell to make me deaf, Mei-chan''s answer wouldn''t change even if I asked for another confirmation. And the look on her face, she was freaking serious.

    Eh, no, rather I''ll happily jump on that offer, but is something the matter?

    <i> Okay, calm down buddy, there isn''t malice on her face. Yeah, let''s treat it that way.</i>

    <i>Let''s calm down and not lose your focus even if it''s just for a moment. If we don''t respond in this kind of situation with a calm andposed head</i>

    Sorry I am too scared to sleep alone.

    Scared?

    Just what in this world could make my beloved Goddess, Futaba Meiko, the Berserker who brute-forced superhuman sniper, Sakurai-kun''s barrage of arrows with her goliath-like power, trembled in fear like a newborn calf. What, you think I''m joking? my bad then, it was the reality!

    Uhm, if, if Kotaro-kun is dead, I I might act just like Sakurai-kun.

    I was taken aback and forgot to breathe.

    W-What should I say to her now? Waiting for a reply, ASAP.

    I didn''t know what to say to her but I understood her feelings because I''d do the same if she died.

    It''s okay I''ve to admit that the possibility for that to happen wasn''t zero, but that''s exactly why we''d do our best to prevent that from happening.

    AAAH, FU*CK, What in the he*ll am I talking about?! Why can''t you say a bit of a cheesy line in that kind of situation, ME!

    I also feel the same. I''m really scared every time I think that you might die in one of those battles, Mei-chan. That''s why, let''s do our best to survive, together.

    <i>And for that reason, I wouldn''t hesitate to use the freshly severed head of my own ssmate. That''s why I want you to at least pretend to not see a little bit of the cruel deed of mine as a shaman.</i>

    Uhm, I see thank goodness.

    I had no idea what she meant by thank goodness but it seemed Mei-chan had finally calmed down as shown by her gentle smile. By the way, you might be wondering that I might only treat you as war potential, nothing more than a disposable pawn. But, unfortunately, that''s just how I am. I should have a proper emotion as a human, yeah, at least there was a little bit left

    Thanks, Kotaro-kun. Then, shall we hit the bed?

    Yeah.

    Wait a minute, we''re seriously gonna sleep together? Like in the same bed?

    I''d such an expectation for a moment. Currently, those deadly-twin melons wrapped in the sexy jersey which served as recement for pajamas, made me wonder whether I could hope for more, now was the moment of truth for a man. Look, there''s two sleeping bags, right? My weak will heard an angel-like devil whisper with a pair of small horns on the head.

    The sleeping bag it might be made by Sakurai-kun and Hinagiku-san as theirpanion for dungeon capture. While pondering that the sleeping bag might be made with Simple Alchemy Formation using fluffy yet firm fur, I entered the sleeping bag and rolled until I arrived right beside Mei-chan.

    Yup, I understand, I knew that sleeping in the same bed was pretty much impossible <i>But, this is enough</i>

    Good night, Kotaro-kun.

    Uhm, good night, Mei-chan.

    Thus, I entrusted myself to deep sleep while feeling that this might be Sakurai-kun''s revenge on me.

 Chapter 161.1 - Ruined City Capture 1

    Chapter 161.1 - Ruined City Capture 1

    Well then, the end of the Sakurai-kun battle was tragic in many ways but we moved on and took every single loot that might help us in the next destination.

    No matter how many times I look at it, it seems like a splendid arrow. This workmanship is literally rivaling Kotori-san.

    First, the biggest harvest from this battle was the bow, Sakurai-kun''s weapon. It was made from a huge, pearl ck horn, and was a rather boorish looking bow.

    ck Horn BowA longbow made from the horn of a fine breed earth dragon. Its color turned ck, ckening due to the effects of the curse.

    For some reason, my Pharmacy Intuition could analyze it and gaze the feedback into my head. It could be turned into a longbow due to the mastery of the skill, or else, it simply turned this way since the material was way too big.

    One thing for sure, its quality definitely cut above the primitive bow used by govu. The only problem was the fact that it was hard to use.

    To be specific, the bow string was way too tough and solid. This must be THAT, the kind of weapon that you couldn''t equip unless your  reached a certain level.

    How about you, Rem? Can you use this bow?

    GUGAGA, GOGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Rem I flexed her metal muscle and then tried to pull that tough ck horn bow. Ooh, awesome, she can use it. Well, it might be thanks to plentiful gorias materials that I added when I upgraded her that she had the required. I tried to ask Rem III to pull the bowstring, but she couldn''t.

    Thus, it was decided that the ck horn bow would be Rem I''s main weapon.

    Naturally, Mei-chan could pull the bowstring with ease, but she wasn''t especially used to handling the bow. There was also the fact that her out-of-standard melons were hindering the process, thus we decided that it was pretty much impossible for her to handle the bow.

    After that, we tried to check Sakurai-kun''s sub-weapon such as the short bow. This bow seemed like the properly made, enhanced version of govu''s bow, though its bowstring was rather tough. It didn''t need that much power to pull it to the point that even someone as weak as me could use it. Anyhow, I entrusted this short bow to Rem III.

    As I had thought, theyd prepared all kinds of bullets and arrows.

    Sakurai-kun was equipped with various sets of arrows and bullets which could be paired with his bow.

    Poison ArrowArrow that has been enchanted with Poison.

    Deadly Poison ArrowAn arrow whose arrowhead is coated with extremely deadly poison Vi Poison.

    Paralysis ArrowArrow that has been enchanted with Paralyze.

    ck Arrowckened Arrow.

    me BulletA bullet stuffed withbustible oil and an ignition device made from fire magic stone.

    Smoke BulletA bullet infused with Smoke.

    Poisonous Smoke BulletBullet with Poisonsmoke sealed in it.

    Sleeping BulletA bullet infused with Siesta''s smoke.

    It seems Hinagiku''s Shaman was geared to learn abnormal conditions spells such as sleep, paralyze, or poison. And she could manufacture various kinds of arrows that could inflict abnormal status with Enchant.

    Uhm, it''s a shame but, it''s pretty much different from what I can do.

    Nevertheless, being able to make poison arrows with Poison alone was good enough for me. As for the other kinds of bullets or arrows such as sleeping pills or paralysis poison, I pretty much could make it by hand. Or rather, I had already created my own paralysis arrow by using Spirog''s Poison.

    After that, the bullet side, Smoke Bullet was in conclusion, the bullet wasn''t a kind of magic itself, it was just manufactured from readily avable materials. It seemed like the content was wrapped in a small bag made from a monster''s hide. It could have been made with Simple Alchemy Formation. If that was the case, I''d made something simr before.

    This is truly an ability that is tucking my creative instinct.

    Though the end result was really simple, it took quite a lot of time and effort to actually create one of these bullets manually. For example, manufacturing lumber like the one they sold at the home center needed a lot of work from cutting to treatment with tools and machines.

    Humans used tools to develop their civilization. Our modern civilization was built on top of countless tools and the way to handle them.

    But, the existence of Simple Alchemy Formation had negated the need for those tools themselves, to put it simply, it was like an Omni tool''s magic.

    Whats manufacturing lumber? You could forget about that straight lumber, you could literally change the shape of lumber as easily as ying with y with this alchemy formation.

    Whether it was wood, stone, or metal, the limit to their forms was the creativity of the user of alchemy formation themself.

    Heck, so this is what you call production-type cheat huh.

    As a test, I tried to make an arrow with this Simple Alchemy Formation. Andpleted it in less than a minute.

    The stone arrowhead was sharp, the wooden shaft of the arrow was straight, smooth and beautifully polished, the feather was trimmed neatly. The notable mention in this case was the formation''s ability to unite the stone, wood, and feather into a single, polished and neat form. A real, handmade arrow seemed to attach, or insert the arrowhead into the wooden shaft but, the arrows made with this formation looked like they''re perfectly fused together, I couldn''t even find seams or split in the shaft to insert the arrowhead.

    Even our modern technology couldn''t recreate this kind of arrow. Such terrifying magic. It felt a bit like a certain alchemist in the manga that I read before. Well, it''s not like I could transmute a huge object apanied with a showy effect though.

    But still, this Simple Alchemy Formation alone is enough to make a living for my entire life if it''s brought back to Japan.

    Unfortunately, it was nothing more than a simple ability to make crude weapons or tools in this dungeon survival. No, wait a minute, I should be able to create the thing that I''mcking until now with this magic.

    Anyhow, since the number of recipes in our menu had increased as ofte, I think I was craving for a beautiful te of perfect meal.

    ===

    After looting everything that we could loot in that building, we left the building. As expected, we''re not suicidal enough to make this ce our base of operation. Thus, we went straight towards the next fairy za. There might be a boss room waiting for us right before that though. Anyhow, today, we''re back to faithfully following the magicpass as we walked down the street of the ruin.

    Kotaro-kun, they''reing.

    Yeah, I also felt their presence somehow.

    Five minutes after we walked down the street, the one who appeared before us was none other than high zombie-kuns who were sprinting energetically toward us. They''re as lively as a child running around in the park.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    A familiar, deafening roar resounded from around the corner of the street.

    Normally, I would''ve guessed that they''re about to appear by this roar. But now, I could sense the arrival of these high zombies right at the same time as Mei-chan who had superior senses than me as a fighter.

    Yeah, it was quite mysterious power I guess.

    That was what I felt as I grasped tightly on the Fool''s Cane with Sakurai-kun''s skull attached on its w-shaped base. For the time being, I felt quite relieved upon knowing that Presence Sense was working normally. It was an extremely handy passive skill that was always active. I mean, a powerful active skill is just a piece of trash if I can''t even use it, that''s why this constantly active passive skill was much better for me. I mean, using familiar to scout has an unexpectedly high degree of difficulties, that''s why this presence sense was a great harvest.

    Uhm, shall we start trial shooting?

    Yup. Please back me up if things go awry, Mei-chan.

    Mei-chan was walking to the side of the street as she nodded to me. Following that, Rem I who carried pearl ck ck Horn Bow and Rem III who carried a normal bow came forward.

    And then, I who exchanged Sakurai-kun''s skull fitted in the base of Fool''s Cane with Shaman''s Skull which I got from Arachne, stood beside the 1st and the 3rd.

 Chapter 161.2 - Ruined City Capture 1

    Chapter 161.2 - Ruined City Capture 1

    INCOMING!

    WOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Half a minuteter, high zombies wereing out one after another as if having a runningpetition from the corner of the building. The distance between us and them was around 50 meters. It''d take at least five seconds for them to arrive at our position if they ran at full speed, but that''s only if they ran through an open, uninhibited road.

    Poison

    I used Hinagiku-san''sPoison with the Fool''s Cane the moment Rem fired her arrow.

    The arrow flew straight towards its target in this kind of open field. The current Rem could get a headshot as much as she wanted.

    And just as I thought, that arrow struck right into the temple of the high zombie with a thud. Anyone who studies zombies theory would believe that the zombie would die for real when you attacked their head.

    Three high zombies who got shot in its temple fell forward just like that due to the inertia of their ru wait a minute, three?

    Uwaa, the ck horn bow could pierce through their skull as if it just a block of tofu.

    The arrow fired by Rem I pierced through the head of the high zombie she was aiming for. But its momentum didn''t get weaker, it also pierced through the rotten brain of the high zombie behind the first one.

    As a result, she ended up aplishing an achievement of a double kill in one shot.

    Amazing, with such terrifying pration power, not even a giant monster of roirops'' ss could withstand the arrow fired from that bow as the arrow fired with ck horn bow could easily pierce through their hard shell and fur. Rem, who was equipped with a ck horn bow, was definitely the strongest one in the history of Rems until now.

    Well then, even if I was super duper excited with the firepower of the ck horn bow, I had to confirm the effect of my own magic.

    But well, it was fairly obvious with just a single nce though.

    Uwaa, this is way too OP.

    The high zombie who got hit by Poison fell t on the ground, vomiting blood from their mouth, writhing in agony for a few seconds and dying.

    The high zombie who stubbornly refused to die even after they got hit by two Air Sagitta fell t and die with just one hit of this magic, this magic was too powerful. In addition, that wasn''t the only effect of Poison.

    In fact, this Poison didn''t seem to be released in the form of smoke or poison bullet. It was almost as if it hit the target within my field of vision.

    It felt like something was relieved with a wave of magical power. As for how I knew when it hit its target, it felt like the target was zapped by light electric shock rather than fired by an arrow. I mean, the result of what happened by that zap was literally disyed right in front of me.

    What the heck, this is an absolutely terrifying offensive curse.

    Don''t tell me that Hinagiku-san received this terrifying Poison as one of her initial skills? That''s, how should I put it, made me jealous.

    Hinagikus curse style was the kind that used something akin to instant death magic toward her enemy. While on the other hand, Ruinhilde curse style would cause my enemy to get a light fever(lol). I never expected that there would be such a huge difference between our offensive abilities despite being the same shaman hup I''m so f*cking jealous of her.

    That''s amazing, Kotaro-kun, you kill them all!

    Ah, yeah, it''s amazing this power is truly amazing.

    Eh, for some reason, you don''t look too happy with this result?

    <i> Please don''t mind me Mei-chan. It is only boring jealousy of a man.</i>

    Well then, my jealousy aside, I''ve finished the field test for the new ability of my skull collection.

    Though the streets of the ruined city seemed to spread for as far as I could see after crossing the bridge, the further we walked, the scenery started to be greener and more wild animals or monsters could be seen.

    GYOA, GYOA, GUEEE!

    The one who let out an ugly-chiken-like chirp was a chick-like monster as big as an ostrich, yeah, it was a bird-type monster. It looked more like a bantam than a niwatori thanks to its light brown color. [TL : Bantam and niwatori are type of chicken]

    It stood on its pair of burly and stout legs which were equipped with sharp ws that look sharp enough to stab their opponent to death. Those brutal and atrocious-looking weapons were definitely that of a carnivorous weapon. And worst of all, those guys formed a crowd.[TL: Chicken are omnivorous]

    Ooh, they eat high zombie.

    It seems that even the high zombies that were running freely in this ruin were also included in the food chain. Five high zombies were fighting against five carnivorous chickens. They were quickly dispatched one by one by the chickens and ended up as their lunch. Despite their toughness which allowed them to fight till death along with their inability to feel pain and fear, they''re reduced to bottom feeders against the ostrich-sized chickens whose ws could tear their bodies to shreds like it was just a piece of paper.

    They fell much too easily when the chicken delivered a kick with their top running speed, and then they greedily poked into the bodies of the high zombies with their savage beaks, effectively turning them into nothing more than fresh meat in mere seconds.

    They look like chicken-type raptors. I wonder which one is stronger between the two.

    Currently, I was observing the process called survival of the fittest between monsters from afar using Hawk Eye while reminiscing about the deceased Raptor Rem.

    Anyhow, the carnivorous, chicken-like monster called Kokko wasn''t a big deal for the current me. Though I couldn''t say the same if there was a crowdprising hundreds or thousands of them, the biggest group was onlyposed of around dozens of them. Though it was true that theirbat strength was higher than that of high zombies, a single hit from Mei-chan''s halberd could easily bisect them, their fleshy body made it possible for Rem the 1st to kill two at once with her ck-horn bow, they also fell way too easily with Poison.

    But I mustn''t let my guard down since they''re moving way faster than high zombies. The shoring of Poison was simply from the fact that the target must be inside my field of vision. Thus the target outside of my field of view was outside the firing range of this magic.

    That''s why this magic is hardly effective against enemies who move really fast, or in the forest which vastly limits my field of vision. Just like any other offensive magic, I''d have to restrain my enemy in one ce to fire my magic.

    I must take note that some magic might be situational.

    Even if I used rapid firing Poison to cover that weakness, Air Sagitta was much easier and practical to use for that.

    Though poison is a powerful skill, it has an equally gaping weakness. Finally, I concluded that relying solely on Poison was a suicidal act.

    By the way, the chicke I mean kokko that we defeated along the way was preserved as today''s dinner. YAAY, IT''S A FRIED CHICKEN FESTIVAL. I mean, even my pharmacy intuition said These guys are delicious

    Thus, we''re advancing while waiting for another batch of fresh chicken meat.

    Kotaro-kun, is this really, okay?

    It''s okay. It looks like a gentle herbivorous dinosaur after all.

    As we walked along the main street that was covered with a beautiful green color, like awn, we were passing by the side of a truck-sized dinosaur that waszing around on thewn as if enjoying a nap under the sunlight.

    It looked like hornless triceratops. Those fucking roirops were rushing at us with bloodshot eyes as soon as they saw us, but these hornless triceratops were just munching the grass in their mouths without a care for the world, just like the cows raised in farms. <i>What peaceful fes!</i>

    I wonder if they''re edible.

    They''re edible but let''s forget about that right now since we already have enough chicken meat.

    You''re right, it''s not like we can bring the leftover meat with us too anyway.

    So Mei-chan would hunt them if we could finish them in one go. No, she would definitely hunt them. And hunt more of them if they turn out to be delicious.

    Well, I had no opinion in this regard since I wee even more delicious meat.

    And then, after we passed the group of peaceful triceratops, my sensor picked up a sign. Active monsters wereing towards us!

    KUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    A huge shadow was sweeping down from the sky while raising a loud cry.

    UOOOO!

    Each p of its giant pair of wings created a squall that could send us flying. And then, a giant bird-like monsternded in front of us along with the explosive sound of its pping wings.

    H-Huge

    It wasn''t as big as a dragon but to put it simply, it was an oversized bird.

    Its gigantic figure that stood on two legs reminded me of that smander and skeleton, half of its body covered with feathers while the other half was covered with shell. Its face resembled that of a lizard instead of a dragon, and just like those suicidal kokkos, its eyes were ring at us with its huge beak pointing at us.

    But its wings weren''t that of bird-like feathers wings, it had membrane-like bat wings. Itsrge eyes felt to be a mix of dragon and bird.

    A giant kokko huh. Its face resembles them after all.

 Chapter 161.3 - Ruined City Capture 1

    Chapter 161.3 - Ruined City Capture 1

    Even though there was a crowd of huge herbivorous dinosaurs dying to be preyed on by predators from the sky right behind us, this fe was aiming for us. Was it just being small-minded, or else, it was prioritizing hunting humans.

    It was almost impossible to escape from a flying enemy in this kind of ce without any refuge.

    I''ll leave this guy to you, Mei-chan. Rem, prepare Poison Arrow.

    Though it was smaller whenpared to the smander, it could be a little bit bigger than the triceratops from before. Despite their simrity, I think we shouldn''t underestimate this guy like those stupid kokkos. Despite its ridiculous appearance, it should be a boss monster. We must go all out from the very beginning.

    I left the frontline to our Berserker, and prepared a ranged attack with our current greatest firepower, Rem the 1st with poison arrows.

    I could literally manufacture poison arrows as much as I wanted as long as I had Poison, Enchant, and Simple Alchemy Formation.

    There was no problem with delivering my order to Rem and Mei-chan but what should I do now during the battle?

    Should I use Poison? Nope, Rem the 1st had already prepared a poison arrow, there was no reason for me to use poison too. Should I back them up with Wind de? Nope again, that attack might not even leave a scratch on this guy. The effect should be obvious once I fired that magic at that oversized kokko.

    Guess, I''ve no other choice but to harass the enemy like usual Let''s go, Arachne, show them who''s the boss!

    I invoked ck Hair Bind to twine its entire body. Arachne''s spider thread was fired at the same time as if to match my timing.

    At the same time, I reced the skull of the Fool''s Cane with Summoner''s Skull.

    Skeleton 3rd squad, CHARGEEEEEEEEEE!

    Skeleton army from summon magic was truly unreliable to be counted as part of our manpower. But it was perfect for distraction since I could summon thirty at once.

    They''re absolutely useless whether it was their power, speed, or their intelligence, but they''re a perfect sacrifice to grab that oversized koko''s wings and legs to prevent it from flying.

    KUEEE! KYOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    UWAA, seriously, aren''t these guys like way too much!? Might be what they thought upon finding themself getting entangled with ck hair, spider thread, and skeletons clinging into its wings and legs.

    I would just finish them off right now if I solo them but unfortunately, that job went to the ace of our party.

    Rupture!

    GYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The huge axe-like de of the halberd which was made with something that resembled ck ore sliced through the wing of oversized kokko so easily as if it was just a piece of tofu. The skeleton No. 6 that grappled those wings did their job perfectly. Yeah, good job No.6. Nice fight, nice assist.

    The reason Mei-chan was aiming for the wings instead of the head was to prevent the oversized kokko from escaping, which was making our hunt be moreplicated.

    Yeah, now it''s time to beat itShock!

    Mei-chan kept abusing her martial art in the fight against the oversized kokko that did its best to dodge her attacks.

    GOGYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The oversized kokko was clearly screaming in agony when the membrane of its wing was torn by the powerful shockwave from Shock. I mean, it had already lost the other wing just a while ago.

    With this, they''repletely robbed of their flying ability. And now, we''d less worries about the iing air-raid and closed their path of retreat from the air too.

    OOO, OGOGOGO KYAAA!

    And yet, they had yet to lose their fighting spirit. Completely enraged, they''re charging towards Mei-chan, trying to attack her with their beaks Or not, they actually opened their beak.

    Breath attack huh!

    Seeing the spark released from their beaks, I guessed that it might be some sort of fireball but, two arrows pierced into their wide open beak right at that very moment.

    UGOOO! GOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    Eventually, they ended up vomiting blood instead of me, poor chicken.

    But that was only as expected since it was the arrow with Poison''s effect added in it.

    Maybe due to their oversized appearance, the effect of the poison arrow fired by Rems has yet to show on the oversized kokko. Was the poison taking its time to encroach that huge body? Or else, did it have some sort of skill that invalidates the effect of poison? Well, I had no idea which one of those it was right now, but seeing the oversized kokko''s agony, I couldn''t think of it as having the skill to invalidate the effect of poison.

    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And then, even their n to counterattack using a breath attack ended up in failure, I mean, that oversized kokko''s fate was sealed the moment it showed an obvious opening like that in front of us.

    What shall we do, Kotaro-kun? We can''t finish a kokko of this size.

    Don''t worry, this guys meat is inedible after all.

    Thus, after we finished dismantling it, taking out a reasonably sized core, feathers and shell, we continued on deeper into the ruin.

 Chapter 162.1 - Ruined City Capture 2

    Chapter 162.1 - Ruined City Capture 2

    After we killed that oversized kokko, we continued for a while, kicking the asses of the pack of monsters such as red wolf, raptor, or kokko whoever dared to block our way, and arrived without a hitch at the next fairy za.

    After finishing the stewed kokko in spring onion, we ended the day with a good night''s sleep. We happened to find a spring onion-like vegetable, and I noticed that I could make skewers in just a moment with wooden branch and Simple Alchemist Formationand most dishes with my skills, but I had nothing to lose by having a professional cook, right?

    We had arrived at the second fairy za in this ruin, but we still couldn''t see the end of this ruin. This fairy za was nothing more than a checkpoint, we still had to continue tomorrow.

    Now then, let''s start this day with another resourceful dungeon capture.

    Soon enough, we heard deep, heavy footsteps of a gigantic creature. Yes, it was a huge creature, far bigger than the oversized kokko and was right there near us.

    Fortunately, our team had Mei-chan''s intuition and my Presence Sense. Thanks to those abilities, we secured enough time to hide ourselves from that giant creature''s eyes.

    GRRRRR HUFF, HUFF.

    The monster who let out that growl and rough breathing resembled the Thunder Tyrano that fought the smander for the prey. It''s appearance resembled that of a T-Rex.

    The shape of its angr head and rock-like shell that covered its entire body resembled that of a Gore.

    Though its size was smaller than t-rex, it came in a group of three. They were much bigger than a raptor and yet, they were terrifying guys who were moving in a crowd.

    They''re Grimgore huh

    ording to Yamajun''s note, grimgore was the superior form of gore.

    In addition, the only information we had about them was the fact that their strength was befitting a creature of their size and the fact that they''re moving in small packs. In addition, they seemed to be able to use earth elements too. Since I didn''t think it was possible for them to chant aria, due to their race, they most likely used something like sand breath.

    They''re more troublesome than boss monster in a certain condition.

    What shall we do, Kotaro-kun?

    Well, let''s not confront them.

    We might be able to acquire a bigger core if we beat those grimgore but let''s keep that forter. There was no merit in challenging them in our current situation.

    Thus, as we waited for them to leave this area from inside the building, I sent Rem the 3rd to lead a squad of skeletons to scout this area just to be sure, after she confirmed that the grimgores had already left this area, we resumed our dungeon capture.

    And then, five minutester, we stopped again.

    Hey, Kotaro-kun, that''s could it be

    In front of Mei-chan who gulped her saliva, like a predator finding their most favorite prey was lump of yellow with so many winged insect buzzing around it

    Yeah, no doubt about it, it''s beehive.

    A huge beehive was hanging down below a ruined building. And for some reason, the bees that were hovering around it were bigger than their earth counterparts. Are they honeybees, hos, or simply bee-like monsters?

    Though I don''t know about their ssification, the same logic must be applied here, never going near them unprotected. We should leave this ce as fast as possible before those bees catch our presence.

    Maybe we should try to harvest the honey.

    But in my team, there was a hero who wanted to harvest the honey no matter what. Nay, since she will literally rob those bees of the honey that they painstakingly gathered, the word thief might suit her better.

    Anyhow, our berserker seemed to have made up her mind to get that honey no matter what.

    Ah, but I think we shouldn''t take the honey if the bees turned out to be carnivorous bee.

    But still, we have to get our hands on that HONEY!

    Uhm, I absolutely understand your feeling even if you''re not emphasizing it so much like that. I mean the devil whispewoops, I mean the Pharmacy Intuition already whispered "It''s delicious you kno~w" in my head.

    As you wish, Mei-chan. Those are honeybees. They may look atrocious due to their big size, but they''re just an oversized honeybee.

    YAAAY!

    My retreat was sealed by Mei-chan''s delighted cries.

    That''s just how much she wanted to eat those honey.

    I mean, we never ate sweets after we were sent into this ursed dungeon. Even a man knew that the thing loved the most by women was sweets. Mei-chan''s-a gourmand-current condition was more than enough evidence for that.

    Then, I guess we shall take a peek for the time being.

    Wait, calm down, we have to be fully prepared before we challenge the beehive. I mean look, you don''t want to waste even a drop of the honey from the beehive, right?

    Y-Yeah, you''re right.

    Well, I could only imagine the beehive explode into countless pieces once Mei-chan attacked with her halberd using Violent Tremorwhile we''re retrieving the beehive. But, just in case, in the worst scenario in which she messed up with her power adjustment, the beehive might be blown to smithereens, scattering rain of precious honey.

    I mean, I want to eat the honey too, it was already on the level that my Pharmacy Intuition gave a serious appraisal result, telling me it was really delicious, packed to the brim with nutrition too. All the more reason to sessfully harvest it.

    Well then, first, let''s see what we can do.

    First, though Mei-chan had calmed down for now, who knows when she would jump the gun again if we spent too much time in this ce, thinking about the perfect solution to harvest the beehive. Yup, since I never had any experience in beekeeping, I had no idea about the best way to harvest the honey from the beehive but I guess we''ll have to make those noisy honeybees shut up first.

    Yosh, it''s your turn, REM!

    GUGAGA!

    Rem the 1st and 3rd replied vigorously. And then, the skeleton toon followed the two. The fifteen of them were forming beehive suicide attack.

    As for the equipment, I gave them oil, torches, and a wooden pole made from the nearby tree branch. Next was a spider thread nest to retrieve the beehive.

    First, the skeletons armed with torches attacked the beehive while making loud ttering sounds. Naturally, the bees got agitated by the noisy ck skeletons and rushed to attack thetter at once. Countless bees surrounded the skeletons, turning them into a lump of ck mass.

    Their aggressiveness backfired on them. Now,mencing the operation.

    The skeletons that got surrounded by countless bees then set its body on fire. From the very beginning, I''d already smeared torch oil on their bodies to ignite them. Naturally, it would be engulfed in fire immediately if I let them hold the torch from the very beginning.

    The skeletons that bravely sacrificed themselves to be burnt alive were burning like the most brilliant star along with the honeybees.

    Repeating this over and over with the rest of the thirty-two skeletons should be enough to annihte most honeybees. Man, a fearless yet weak servant sure was useful during this kind of time.

    The two Rems were moving quickly, steadily lowering the beehive while expelling the rest of the honeybees inside the hive by lightly striking the beehive with the wooden rod in their hand. The fallen beehive got caught in Arachne Rem''s spider thread, and just like that the three Rems brought it back to the fairy za.

    Thest thing we needed to do was squeeze the honey from the beehive, well tossing the beehive into the Witch''s Kettle was all I needed to do.

    YAAY, YAAAAY I I thought we would never be able to eat sweet again

    Mei-chan was already in tears, ted by the sweet smell from the honey. Heck, she was already licking the honey that was dropped from the nest. The saying that sweet was a tranquilizer for women was true after all.

    A~h, my first sweet after such a long time is absolutely delicious.

    I mean, I also lost to the temptation and started licking the honey by the time I noticed it. The rich and mellow sweetness that spread in my mouth tasted like the most delicious sweet Id ever eaten

    Yosh, then I''ll do my best to make sweets with this!

    Thus, Mei-chan was walking towards the Witch''s Kettle for cooking while licking the honey moderately.

    <i>Eh, does that mean we''re taking a break from dungeon capture today?</i>

    Well, it''s not like there would be a problem by taking a days break or two. Today was honey-holiday after all.

    ===

    We departed for real the next morning.

    The honey dumplings made by Mei-chan with our extremely limited ingredients were superb. As expected of a gourmand and chef, she could make dango that draw the best sweetness of the honey from the flour starch of bananatoes.

    Since honey was an extremely rare treasure that we had no idea when we would find another one again, we decided to keep it secured in an air-tight and safe ce, AKA treasure box and loaded it on Arachne Rem''s back for extra safety measures. It wouldst for quite a while since I sh froze it with Witch''s Kettle. [TL : It seems the author has no idea that they would need a tight, secure, and clean box to store honey for a long time, meaning that freezing it does nothing to it. heating it will destroy its nutritional value though.]

    Mei-chans willpower charged to the brim by the power of sweet

    The greenery around the city ruin increased the further we followed thepass. Eventually, the sight of huge trees standing side-by-side with ruined buildings became more and more apparent as if the city was being swallowed into the forest. Naturally, the number of monsters and wild animals also increased the further we went into the forest. On the other hand, there was also more hiding ces for the high zombies.

    Haah!

    <b><i>SLASH!</i></b>

    Mei-chan, whose morale boosted through the roof with sweets, easily swung the halberd and sliced the throat of a huge monster. And then, the giant lizard that received that fatal wound tottered on its feet for a second before copsing with a thud.

    The lizard, whose size was bigger than an alligator, crawling on the ground on its four limbs was poison-less basilisk. It was clinging on the wall of one building like a newt and suddenly rushed towards us as we passed that building.

 Chapter 162.2 - Ruined City Capture 2

    Chapter 162.2 - Ruined City Capture 2

    Fortunately, it''s only merit was its huge body. It was neither poisonous nor had breath skills, so we defeated it in its own game. And just like that with the oversized kokko and the poison-less basilisk, the frequency of us fighting big-sized monsters increased.

    Rem, who used poison arrow with gorias power, had more than enough power to pull the bowstring like when she had made it from materials I got from Tendou-kun, but it was too dangerous to rely on Rem alone. If not for Mei-chan, my most prominent weakness, namely theck of attacking power, would be even more prominent, and the battle was getting harder and harder as we went even deeper into the forest.

    The silver lining in this situation was the fact that we''re not attacked by small fry monsters who formed packs such as raptors or wolves. I had no idea whether it happened because they guessed instinctively that they''re no match for us or simply avoided us due to our superior numbers, but being able to avoid unnecessary battles was definitely a big deal.

    A battle against them was no big deal for us up to this point, but the consecutive battle such as that wa whoopsie, my Presence Sense was reacting again. This guy was a fairly powerful one and seemed to be fairly close with our current position.

    Thus, when we were advancing really carefully while looking around for that enemy we found it.

    Ah, that''s could it be

    Yeah, living armor.

    It''s been a while since we encountered another human-type monster aside from a high zombie. There, we saw three huge knights wearing jet-ck armor standing guard like a gatekeeper at the entrance of the building behind them.

    I''ve heard about living armors from Mei-chan before. They''re a fairly powerful monster that appeared in the beautiful ce called pce area. In fact, her Knight Halberd and Dark Tower Shield was looted from the corpse of those living armors.

    Since they can''t move too fast, they won''t go after us if we kept this distance though.

    Uhm, since those guys were clearly protecting that building, there must be something in there.

    If possible, I didn''t want to fight against powerful opponents like living armor but, if they turned out to be guarding some sort of rare treasure in that building, that much danger was only as expected. I mean, even if it turned out that there was nothing in that building, their whole body itself was a treasure.The weapon they used was much better than the one used by govus. I mean, their great sword seemed to be a perfect match for the current Rem the 1st.

    Mei-chan, suppose that you fight alone, can you defeat those three living armors by yourself?

    Uhm, defeating them from the front might be too difficult, but I think the current me should be able to do that much. I''ve learned more martial arts too since thest time I fought them.

    Great, then let''s beat them up. Rem and I will do our best to distract two living armors, please use that opening to defeat thest one. But please don''t overexert yourself retreat at once if you can''t kill that one in thirty seconds. Be prepared since Rem and I will use smoke ball to help you when you''re retreating.

    Uhm, understood.

    After exining the simple n and making sure that there were no other monsters around this area, we approached the trio gatekeeper living armor.

    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Mei-chan was rushing ahead with a warcry.

    The living armor didn''t lose their cool upon seeing Mei-chan''s rush and readied their weapon at once. And right before they made their move, Rem and I entered the fray to distract them.

    Violent Tremor!

    A loud explosive sound came from Mei-chan''s weapon. The living armor which was holding on to shield and mace guarded against her attack just in time with its shield. But Mei-chan''s attack power might be beyond their expectation.

    The shield got blown away from its hand while making a loud metallic nk with GAGAGAGAGAN! . The living armor clearly got overpowered by the power of Violent Tremor.

    The moment Mei-chan destroyed the living mail''s guard, she didn''t waste that opening andunched the next strike to the exposed trunk of the living armor.

    In normal situation, the other two living armors should''ve interrupted Mei-chan the moment she broke the guard of theirrade. But it was our duty to prevent that. Distracting our enemy attention was my forte.

    The other second armor was equipped with a double-edged greatsword. Arachne Rem and I used our ck and white thread to seal their movement and distract them from Mei-chan. Naturally, that alone was far from enough to stop them. And that''s where Rem the 1st and 3rd yed their roles.

    GUGAGA!

    Rem''s sword which we robbed from govu was made fairly well. Though their sword might break if shed from the front with a far more superior sword of the living armor, with Arachne Rem and I in the mix, ourbat power should be more or less equal.

    It already took almost everything for me to seal the second living armor''s movement and yet, we still had to deal with the third one.

    GO, SKELETON THIRD TEAM! STOP THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!

    The sacrificial pawn skeletons were really useful for this kind of situation. Man, when they say that number was justice, they really mean it.

    Naturally, there was no way those stupid skeletons could match the living armor equipped with long spears. But their numbers made up for it.

    Even if one swing of the living armor''s spear could knock back three skeletons, the ten remaining skeletons leaped forward, tackled the living armor like a certain line-backer tackling a certain running back number 21.

    But still, I might''ve to say that persistently sticking like that to the living armor could only hold them back for a while. They could easily peel off the clinging skeletons, and crush them apiece.

    With this, how many more seconds do you need to peel off all those skeletons?

    Rupture

    When they''re about to peel off thest skeleton, a mighty strike split the skeleton in two.

    Mei-chan had finished off the first living armor within allocated time. Since none of itsrades could cover for the gap in their defense, the first living armor ended up turning into sandbag for her, and died without being able to resist her brute force.

    After finishing off the first one, she rushed towards the living armor who was ying with the skeletons.

    And bissected its body finishing the fight in mere seconds. With this, there was only one remaining living armor. This was a perfect victory for us.

    Thanks for the hard work, Mei-chan. I''m truly amazed seeing you being able to finish them off faster than my expectation.

    Yeah, it''s thanks to your power, Kotaro-kun.

    Man, Mei-chan with her brute force to insta-kill such an opponent was the MVP though. I mean, all I did was stall them for around thirty seconds.

    I mean, in Souma-kun''s party, I wouldn''t even know when the monsters are going to attack me. If it''s Kotaro-kun, I believe that you''ll definitely stall them for me.

    I never wanted to hear the backstory of Soumas party. I mean, everyone except for Souma-kun might want Mei-chan to die. That''s why there''s no way she would entrust her back to those unreliable party members

    I see, I believe in you too, Mei-chan.

    But I had no intention to let her force herself to resolve an impossible mission. That''s why I had to at least secure her retreat path.

    Anyhow, it seems there''s no other living armor.

    Yeah, there''s no other monster around this area either.

    Great, with this there''s nothing to stop us from entering the building.

    I re-summoned the disposable skeleton that got killed in the previous fight and ordered them to enter the building as a sacrifice to dispose of any trap that might be set inside the building. I mean, we''re a goner if a chandelier suddenly falls from above, right? Mei-chan might be able to do something about it though.

    It seems there''s no trap either.

    There was no new living armor popping out of nowhere either. The inside of the building was quite spacious, but that''s all, there was nothing in it, just really spacious.

    No wait a minute, it wasn''t that there was nothing at all. Right in the center of the building, straight from the entrance was a treasure box, standing proudly by itself.

    That treasure box is absolutely suspicious, right?

    Eh? You think it isn''t safe?

    It seems Mei-chan had no suspicion towards anyone who set the treasure box in such a position. As for me, cing a treasure box at such a ce literally screamed "I''m a trap, you know!". Rather, the treasure box itself might be the trap, was it some sort of mimic!?

    Anyhow, let''s use the skeleton to check it for now.

    Whether it was a time bomb or mimic, it wasn''t a big deal to sacrifice the disposable skeleton.

    And then, skeleton-kun walked with ttering footsteps, arriving safely till right in front of the treasure box. After they opened its lid and confirmed its safety, they brought the contents back to us.

    Eh, that was rather unexpected since nothing happened, what about the trap? Or the mimic?

    Look, it''s absolutely safe right.

    Y-aeah, you''re right.

    It was quite anti-climatic but, well, all was well and we got the treasure too. Now then, time to see the treasure inside the treasure box.

    This is potion huh.

    Inside the transparent ss bottle was a pale bluish liquid which let out a dim light. I knew it at a nce since I had seen it before. There was no mistake about it, this was a potion.

    Kotaro-kun

    It''s okay, rather, this is a jackpot.

    Mei-chan looked like she wanted to say something, but I decided to ignore it.

    I knew that she wanted to say "If if only Sakurai-kun got the potion in this ce" well, there was no need to think about that "IF" anymore, what had happened had happened.

    That''s why let''s take this potion for ourselves, use it for our own survival beyond this point. That''s all we could do right now.

 Chapter 163.1 - Present

    Chapter 163.1 - Present

    That was an extremely beautiful white pce but, that was the story of the past, it was nothing but a ruin of its former glory right now.

    The air feels really different.

    The one who spoke was Tendou Ryuuichi.

    Just a while ago, he literally obliterated a boss monster and activated the teleportation that sent them to this area. After having a closer look at the area beyond the fairy za, they knew that they''d arrived at a ce that was akin to pce ruin.

    Did we just get teleported into a castle?

    Yeah, it seems to be that way. Look, there''s a chandelier too.

    The one looking around curiously was Nonomiya Jurya(Jury) and Yoshizaki Marya(Mary)bi.

    The fairy za itself felt different from the one they had seen until now, there was a remnant of a white wall which made it different from the usual ones. Its most distinguished trademark, the water fountain, was also more gorgeous than usual.

    Hey, it seems Momokawa has yet to arrive at this location.

    And then, different from the others in the group, Randou Kyouko was muttering the name of a certain boy.

    At least we know that he ain''t teleported to this za.

    How do you know that, Tendou?

    If he had, the first thing he would do is make full preparation before going onwards. He''s that kind of fe.

    Upon recalling that, Kyouko looked around and found out that Tendou was right, there was no trace of anyone living in this za before. Because recently, they often found traces of someone living in the fairy za before them.

    It was just as Tendou had said, if Momokawa Kotarou really did arrive at this fairy za before them, the first thing he would do with his vocation Shaman''s skill was to turn the fairy za into his base. Considering his weak strength, it was almost impossible for him to use the fairy za as a mere checkpoint like them.

    Then, let''s keep going.

    Thus, Tendou and team, who concluded that Kotarou wasn''t in the same area as them, decided to continue with the capture of the pce area.

    It seems the same enemies exist in all areas, isn''t it?

    The one who first appeared before them, in less than five minutes of leaving the fairy za, was the skeleton that they''re already familiar with. Though they formed a small toonplete with equipment, the equipment had already deteriorated.

    Shall I take the first shot?

    By all means.

    Momokawa did say that magic is all about practice.

    It''s not, like thatTera Sagitta!

    Kyouko fired her earth elemental''s low-rank offensive magic that she became quite familiar with, Tera Sagitta while enduring the teasing smile from Jury-Marybi.

    Despite being a lower rank offensive magic, the basic, and the weakest offensive magic in the earth element, its magic destructive and pration power wasparable to that of a rifle bullet. The effect became even more prominent in the fight against brittle enemies such as the skeletons before them.

    The fast-approaching small toon of skeletons was obliterated in two or three shots of Tera Sagitta.

    Yeah, it is just like the usual skeleton.

    I expected them to be a little bit stronger since they''reing from the castle-like building, but I guess this guy is small fry.

    JuryMary gave their impression as they saw the small toon of skeletons get obliterated very easily by Kyouko''s magic.

    In the new area, even if they found the same monster like the one they met in the previous area, the monsters were usually more powerful than the ones from the previous area. That''s why theyd expected that the skeleton would move like an expert martial artist.

    But since the ability of the skeleton that just got annihted was pretty much the same as before, it meant that the danger level of the new area was the same as the previous one.

    Could it be that this area is in fact a piece of cake?

    Not yet The star actor is just about to appear.

    A skeleton was walking with a deep and loud metallic sound, which made it apletely different breedpared to its peers. And then, it finally showed its figure from inside the dark passage in front of them.

    There were two of them, armed from head to toes like a knight.

    The figure of those knights whose breadth and height were taller than Ryuuichi was truly a giant from a human perspective. It was obvious at first nce that their dark grey steel armor was quite bulky, add to that, they wore tin te bucket-like helmets to cover their entire heads.

    Ooh, doesnt this one look promising?

    No matter how you look at it, the inside of the armor was definitely not a human. Ryuuichi could smell the same smell of the skeleton from inside the armor of the two knights. It seemed they belonged to the undead race.

    Tera Sagitta!

    Kyoukounched an attack without a shred of hesitation.

    The two knights were carrying shields in their left hand, axe, and spear in their right hand respectively. Since they''re using closebat weapons, a long-distance attack with magic was an obvious choice to stop them from approaching, or kill them before that. That was Kyouko''s simplest yet most effective tactic.

    The reason for her to do that was that even from that distance, Kyouko knew that the two knights before them were extremely dangerous opponents.

    The earth bullet went straight towards the knight. Following that was the loud metallic sound that resounded in the passage.

    NO WAY, THEY''RE UNSCATHED!?

    Upon a closer look, the knight with a spear set their shield. And there was a dent in the center of the shield which Kyouko and Co assumed as the ce which got hit by Tera Sagitta.

    And that''s the end of the attack which was delivered by Kyouko with her all. In short, no damage.

    Back off, you girls won''t stand a chance against them.

    B-But!!

    I mean, we also want to fight!

    I said back off.

    Jury and Mary weren''t stupid enough to realize that was thest warning from Ryuuichi.

    It wasn''t like they''re trying to show their power to Ryuuichi, it was just their pride as Warrior and Knight. They wanted to show Ryuuichi that they''re not just helpless girls in front of powerful enemies.

    But Ryuuichi had no intention of letting them fight the two knights. It was neither kindness nor affection. His eyes were ring at the two knights in front of him.

    To sum it up, when he told them to Back off, it simply meant Don''t disturb my fight.

    Here Ie, armor ba*tard. Lets see if you can withstand this

    Ryuuichis lips lifted up forming a ferocious, war-like smile while he took out his King Sword from Treasury.

    His crimson greatsword that absorbed the power of red firedrake was swung weightlessly with one hand. Seeing that, the knights raised their shields like before.

    RAAAGH!

    Following that, an explosive sound, almost twice as loud as the previous one, resounded in the passage. The cause of that explosive sound wasn''t just the superhuman strength that swung the sword, but the weight of the sword itself added more power into that sh.

    Against such destructive force, the shield, and the body of the huge knight that was holding it, got slightly distorted in one hit.

    But that was all it did. The shield and the knights holding it still maintained shape, albeit a little bit distorted.

    Now, as if to say it was their turn, the spear-wielding knight was charging forward only to be greeted by Ryuuichi''s kick which came even faster.

    They''re lighter than what I imagined

    The spear-wielding knight whosence charge got canceled by Ryuuichi''s kick got blown back.

    Ryuuichi initially thought that the knight would fall on their rear upon receiving his kick, only to see them blown back. It seemed the margin of error between his eye measurement and real weight was really big. Moreover, the recoil he felt when he kicked the knight was enough hint for him to guess the answer.

    I see, there''s nothing inside those armors, huh.

    They were hollow armor and helmet monsters loitering around aimlessly. Though Ryuuichi remembered that armor monster in the RPG game that he yed during his childhood, he forgot about their name.

    So that means these guys have no head, heart, or weak spot huh.

    The axe-wielding knight was rushing towards Ryuuichi while thetter was pondering about the weakness of his opponent.

    But the huge de of the battle axe that swung from above was blocked way too easily by Ryuuichi''s king''s sword. The piercing sound of shing metals resounded as the axe and greatsword were locking each other.

    So annoying, let''s just hit it randomly then.

    After he had decided on how to defeat his foes, Ryuuichi started pushing back the axe-wielding knight. As countless sparks flew from the point of contact between the axe''s de and sword''s de, the king''s sword became even hotter. Its scarlet de grew hotter and hotter until it almost turned pure white and <b><i>BOOM!</i></b> the firedrake power in king''s sword finally exploded.

    Following that, a, no, twice, thrice, four consecutive attacks from scorching great assailed the axe-wielding knight.

    Pale, white smokes rose from the decapitated steel armor instead of blood. Right arm, left arm, thick waist armor, and neck.

    Well, I guess that''s it.

    The axe-wielding knight who just got dissected by Ryuuichi crumbled down on the spot. It seemed that it already had no power to raise its arms.

    If the underling is this tough, I guess I can have some expectation for the boss in this area.

    Ryuuichi muttered with a satisfied look on his face as he decapitated the spear-wielding knight who was rushing to avenge theirrade.

 Chapter 163.2 - Present

    Chapter 163.2 - Present

    Uwaa, Tendou-kun is too OP.

    Yeah, yoo OP

    Jury-Mary sung a praise seeing such a handsome man showing his strength before them. But Kyouko was the only one who apparently felt disturbed since the Tera Sagitta that she had relied until now was easily blocked by the knights.

    Stronger magic, is what I want to ask but

    Ever since she participated in the battle, Kyouko started to understand the value of Strength.

    Reason being ording to someone who was already powerful from the very beginning, namely Ryuuichi asked Momokawa Kotaro about why he was so desperate. He replied that he, who wasn''t strong from the very beginning, knew more than anyone that weakness was a "sin" in this dungeon survival.

    You''ll survive if you''re strong, and die if you''re weak. Survival of the fittest, it was aw of the jungle that he wouldn''t understand unless he experienced it himself. It was something that she couldn''t feel since she was always being protected by Jury-Mary and Ryuuichi before they met Kotaro.

    But still, what should I do to raise my level.

    And yet, no matter how much she deliberated, she couldn''te up with a good idea. Understanding the value and importance of bing stronger was the key, but realizing that was apletely different matter.

    In addition, thinking was not Kyouko''s strong point. As much as she was embarrassed about it, she was someone with the lowest grades in the ss.

    Hey, Tendou-kun, what are you going to do about their weapon?

    If those weapons are of no use to you, can you let us have those weapons? It looks stronger than normal weapon.

    In front of Kyouko who took a short break after her brain got heated up due to her thinking, there was the figure of Jury and Mary picking up the axe and spear from the wreckage of the knights who got decapitated by Ryuuichi.

    Ryuuichi didn''t seem to be interested in those weapons either.

    Oi, ce those thing over there for now.

    Jury and Mary obediently ced the weapon on the ce pointed by Ryuuichi.

    ServantAlchemist

    As soon as Ryuuichi muttered those words, a pale, golden magic circle appeared on the ground beneath the weapons. The magic circle which looked different from the one when he invoked Treasury shone brightly.

    Thereupon, something like particles of light started to appear from the magic circle, and their number gradually increased until finally it formed a human figure.

    The human figure made of the particles of light was a short, child-like figure, holding a hammer in one hand, and wearing a pointed hat like the one worn by a fairy in a fantasy story. Their number increased from one to two, then three to four as they gathered in the magic circle as if they''re dancing And then the light broke apart, disappearing into the darkness like an illusion.

    The only thing left in there was the spear and axe ced over there. To be exact, its form was also different from before.

    Inheritence skill.

    ServantAlchemistFollower of the king. The alchemist who made various things in ordance with the king''s order.

    The skill he used this time was a new one which he got before he knew it. To be exact, he got this skill upon seeing Kotaro ordering various things to the ck skeleton called Rem.

    Though he wascking the in-depth knowledge, he at least understood that in this world, he could use spirit to use magical power called Alchemy. Sage Takanashi Kotori aside, it seemed that both Souma Sakura and Kisaragi Ryouko had acquired that ability too.

    But since he wouldn''t know how this skillpared to theirs, he used this chance to try that new skill. That''s why he invoked ServantAlchemist.

    Try to use them, Jury-Mary. Its performance should be much better now.

    The axe and spear which formed altered by Ryuuichi''s ServantAlchemistbecame smaller, and easier to wieldpared to when they just picked it up. Though the weapon was originally made bigger to suit the knight''s big frame, it was way too big for normal girls like them. That''s why even with their current power rivaling ten men, that weapon was too much for girls like them to handle.

    At this point, the new spear and axe were just right for them. The shaft was just right for their grip, there was even a flowing golden pattern on ck background which gave an aesthetic beauty to it.

    ck Metal SpearA spear bestowed by the king.

    ck Metal AxeAn axe bestowed by the king.

    When Ryuuichi told them so, both of them were looking at the weapon that literally transformed into apletely different weapon from the original with a dumbfounded look on their faces. But that dumbfounded look transformed into a whole face smile as soon as they touched the handle of their weapon of choice.

    T-this, could it be

    Present for us!?

    It seemed that even Ryuuichi had to agree that there''s no way the members of his group could fight properly against the moving armor with the crappy weapons they plundered from the skeletons.

    Whether it was given as a present, charity, pity, or a mere whim, Jury-Marybi epted it with a cheerful look on their faces.

    Hey, Tendou-kun, is there no weapon for me?

    Ah, well, it might take a while.

    Please make it as fast as possible.

    For some reason, even Ryuuichi couldn''t help but smile wryly upon seeing Kyouko''s self-important attitude.

 Chapter 164.1 - Big Boss

    Chapter 164.1 - Big Boss

    The capture of the pce area by the Tendou team advanced without a hitch.

    FULL THRUST!

    HEAVY SMASH!

    The ck Metal Spear thrust by Jury and the ck Metal Axe swung by Mary was easily smashed through the solid living armor. When the two gals who gained superior skill for vanguard vocation got Ruiichi''s alchemist made weapon, they gained everything they needed to fight against the living armor from the front. But, since they''re still slightly weaker than Living Armor, they yed safe and fought in tandem against one opponent.

    Haa, this fe is too fricking solid,Tera Sagita!

    On the other hand, though Kyouko wasn''t lucky enough to get a new offensive magic, she became more proficient in using Tera Sagita to the point that it could pierce through the solid defense of the living armor. Her tera sagita''s power, precision, rapid-firing speed increased exponentially to the point that she could fire three at once.

    Though one tera sagita wascking the power to prate the living armor''s defense, it was strong enough to disturb their movement while she used pin-point shot to drill a wind hole into the living armor''s armor.

    Kyouko, that''s enough!

    Leave the rest to us ORAORAORA, HEAVY SMASH!

    Despite herints, Kyouko''s Tera Sagita managed to keep the living armor in check, creating the opportunity for Jury-Mary to drive in the finishing blow.

    Though they had no idea about the proper way to judge whether they''re alive or dead due to their non-existence physical body, they decided that it was enough as long as the other party''s body didn''t move anymore after barraging it with their strongest skill. And then, since the other party didn''t move anymore, they deduced it was safe to assume that the other party had already died.

    When the vanguard Jury-Mary worked in tandem with the rear guard Kyouko who grew into splendid Geomancer, the trio of gals who gained more experience the more the fight became an extremely fearsome force that could y living armor with their cooperation y.

    And now, three days after they explored the pce area, most of the living armors that appeared were left to the trio by Ryuuichi while he fought the ck living armors which were clearly more powerful than the grey one. [TL: Assuming that the grey one is the one that was left to the trio is normal living armor.]

    The best thing about living armors was the loot gained from salvaging their corpse(?), whether it was weapons or armor, all of them were far more superior in terms of quality than the loot they gathered from the skeletons. On top of that, there were a lot of treasure chests in this area filled with various items such as potions or magic items.

    Though the increase of the treasure chest''s appearance also apanied with the increase of the one with trap, it was far from enough to deceive Ryuiichi''sEye, after canceling the trap with brute force, all that left was the item inside the treasure box. [TL: Tendou is walking hack code!!!]

    And then, though they gained a whole lot of items and weapons during today''s exploration too the item suitable for Kyouko, a geomancer, had yet to appear.

    Woops, finally the boss huh.

    After walking through the huge pce area for one week, they finally arrived in front of the giant double door which apparently led to the bosss room.

    Without trying to hide his fighting spirit whatsoever, Ryuuichi kicked open the seemingly extremely solid, double heavy metal door and entered the bosss room at once.

    And just as they expected, an opponent, as grandiose as the double heavy metal door, was already waiting in the center of the room.

    It was a giant, jet-ck knight around three metres tall. The armor itself was clearly far more powerful than the other living armors they had met so far, and more grandiose. The golden ornaments in various parts of the glossy ck armor were proof enough of it being a higher rank than the other living armors as if to say, I''M THE BOSS.

    In addition, even its weapon, the great sword that was stuck in the floor beside it, looked as grandiose as its owner with golden ornaments on its ck background.

    Alone, is it? it seems this guy ain''t haveckeys either

    Tera Sagitta!

    Kyouko''s magic had already struck the General Armor even before Ryuuichi got the chance to pull his sword.

    From the very beginning, she knew that all of her attacks could do nothing more than create a dent on the armored living armor or at least stop them in their tracks, and yet she couldn''t help but be shocked upon seeing her magic turned into grains of sand before it touched the armor of the General Armor.

    Uwaa, is that a barrier? That''s cheating, right?

    Randou, youre actually moving faster than me.

    Eh? I mean, it''s a monster, an enemy, rather, it''s the boss of this area. Nothing wrong with getting the first strike, you know.

    At least think a little bit before you take such action But well, I''m not in a position to tell you about that either.

    Heaving a deep sigh, Ryuuichi switched his mind to enter battle mode.

    Leave that guy to me, the rest of you back down, and don''t disturb my fight.

    Okay then, since I don''t think that my attack is going to pass through that kind of defense, I''ll leave the rest to you, Tendou. Godspeed.

    Good luck Tendou-kun! Shall we have a chat over there, Kyouko?

    Well, I know you can do this, Tendou-kun! and Kyouko, shall we have you to reflect on your recklessness over there?

    Eh, what''s the matter girls? Why do you speak as if I''m in the wrong?

    After ncing from over his shoulder towards Kyouko who wore a dissatisfied look on her face as she was being dragged away from both sides by Jury-Mary towards the giant metal gate, he looked at the enemy before him.

    Heya, it seems you''re quite powerful.

    It wasn''t ttery, just tant truth. He could feel the same kind of pressure rivaling the red dragon he fought before emitted by the General Armor who stood like an immovable stone statue in front of him. No,pared to the deranged Red Dragon who lost its mind because of Azuma Shinichi, Summoner''s control, on top of their old age, the General Armor before him which was filled with razor-sharp killing intent like the killing machine in SF movie might be able to show an even higher performance during the battle. The dragon might''ve had higher specs as a monster despite their old age but the General Armor definitely had an overwhelming performance in the aspect ofbat.

    In addition, he also realized a fact after fighting all the living armors along the way, they used actual swordsmanship, a trainedbatant instead of a monster that fought with their instincts. They''re not just brandishing their axes or spears recklessly, they''re thinking like humans, using their weapons effectively. Even the weakest living armor in this area possessed some real skill to make full use of their weapon. Since that was the case, their boss, the General Armor, should be a weapon master. A genuine monster who couldn''t bepared with Yokomichi who only knew how to rush ahead.

    It had been a while since he met an opponent that could make him go all out.

    Here Ie.

    Contrary to the king who disyed an arrogant smile, the General just pulled out their sword from the floor and readied their stance in silence

    .

    ..

    YAAY, VICTORY!

    AS EXPECTED OF TENDOU-KUN!

    Jury-Marybi''s cheerful voice resounded inside the room. But a puff of Wild  after a tough battle had calmed him down.

    Haa~h, that''s exhausting indeed.

    After having a proper taste of precious cigarette which he got from Kotarou, Ryuiichi recalled the King Sword that pierced through the helmet of the General Armor and canceled the King Armor''s gauntlet on his hand which he used to pluck the core.

    The form of the armor and the sword which slowly turned into particles of light was then turned into a golden vortex surrounding the helmet armor of the defeated General Armor.

    Raw Material has been acquired.

    Dark General''s Great Sword, Xam''dringer

    Dark General''s Helmet, Xam''dbog

    King Sword purification start COMPLETE

    King Sword New form, Dark Sword, Xam''d

    As expected, his King Sword gained a new form after he defeated a formidable enemy which he met for the first time in a long time.

    The new form was a great sword resembling the one used by the General Armor, it had a bulky double-edged sword de with golden ornaments shining on its ck background. Its destructive power which came from its weight and overwhelming sharpness aside, it even had the same ability as the raw material.

    General Armor''s great sword could fire a shockwave when swung, create a stone block when it hit the floor, and shoot lightning from its sword de.

    After the fight, a third of the floor of the bosss room was smashed to pieces, half of the wall was burned ck. All of the destruction was due to the fiercebat between Ryuuichi and General Armor.

    Anyhow, a new powerful magic had now been added to Ryuuichi''s King Sword.

    By the way, his King Sword could still switch back to its previous form, Firedrake Sword, Smandra and skeleton boss''sUnrefined as he wished Though he still had the blue greatsword form which he got after beating the crocodile-like lizardman boss in the undergroundke, it had yet to get its turn to show off.

    He possessed many kinds of swords that increased on their own along with his growth to the point that he was toozy to remember every single one of their form. Even if he changed his sword form, he would use the weakest form of his sword, Unrefined when he was going easy against the other party.

    But since he got a form whose power surpassed the previous strongest form, Firedrake Sword, Smandra, Dark Sword, Xam''d would be his main weapon from now on.

    And then, the harvest of this battle wasn''t just King Sword''s new form.

    Predation Skill

    Phantom Maild the user''s body with invisible armor that has the same defensive power as the Dark General''s helmet.

    Nega WaveFires a shockwave from a sword de.

    Curse De Soilckening earth as a result of encroachment from dark magical power.

    End Boltck lightning born from dark magical power.

    Nether VortexDark General sure kill sh. Repulsive dark aura formed into a vortex of destruction.

    Fear GazeAttracting the enemy''s attention by using instilling fear in them.

    Horror BreakCoercion with resistance against the undead.

    Terror BreakCoercion with resistance against the ghost.

    Ryuiichi walked to activate the transfer circle with the core in his hand while being fed up with the information that was crammed into his head.

    After Ryuuichi absorbed the boss''s weapon and armor helmet, there was almost nothing left of it. Even though he consumed most of its materials, he had some parts left.

    Ryuuichi nced at the wreckage of the armor that he didn''t absorb, and then hoisted his hand toward the wreckage.

    ServantAlchemist

    The alchemists made of particles of light appeared along with the golden magic circles and were starting to create something from those wreckages. Less than a minuteter, the particles of light dispersed, and a new weapon was already in Ryuuichi''s hand.

    Hee, ain''t bad.

    Ryuuichi muttered with a satisfied look on his face, something that he rarely did. The weapon which received the king''s praise was a gun.

    To be exact, a golden revolver. It was an extremely gaudy-looking gun no matter how one looked at it.

    When he tried to pull the trigger, the revolver''s percussion hammer moved and the six chambers rotated. There was no reaction whatsoever, giving it the impression of a model gun, or airsoft gun.

    Randou, take this.

    Eh ah, uwaa, don''t just casually throw it away!!

    Kyouko who reacted a moment slower after seeing Ryuiichi casually tossed the revolver towards her failed to catch it, and let it fall on the ground.

    Then, ain''t this one useless without bullets?

    You can increase the power of your magic by injecting your mana into it when you fire your magic with it.

    E~h, seriously?

    Try itter. And stop pointing its muzzle towards me, that weapon is dangerous.

    Ka~y. But well, thanks.

    It''s not a big deal. Now let''s get out of this area.

    Thus, Ryuuichi had also managed to finish the present for Kyouko in this area and moved to the next area along with his group.

    That''s a huge za.

    The ce they''re transferred to was a vast za, so vast that they ended up being mesmerized by it.

    Uhm, this ce is more than twice as big as the usual one, isn''t it?

    It kinda like a park.

    Jury and Mary were looking around inspecting the biggest za they had ever seen.

 Chapter 164.2 - Big Boss

    Chapter 164.2 - Big Boss

    But soon, they knew that size was its only merit and nothing else. It had the usual fairy fountain, fairy walnut trees that grew like roadside trees, and a multicolored flower garden.

    Since there was nothing special in there, Ryuuichi and Co left the za immediately.

    Uwaa~~, there''s nothing at a~ll.

    Kyouko spoke with a bored look on her face. The scenery that spread before them was a wastnd with nothing but red-brown soil.

    If one was speaking about the most outstanding thing about this wastnd was none other than the huge tower from where they came from. In short, the ce where the huge fairy za was located.

    The fairy za was located on the second floor of the tower, the first floor was where the huge, circr entrance was located. They found empty rooms but every single one of them was deserted and nothing left behind in there.

    Since they couldn''t find anything in the tower, they had no choice but to travel in the wastnd.

    But around one hourter If one was speaking about a change in the wastnd, it was a gigantic cliff that was towering far above them. It was as if they''re currently walking right in the bottom of its valley.

    This, when will we arrive?

    Who knows, looks like it will take quite a while.

    If Ryuuichi said so, then he must be right. In fact, there was almost no change or whatsoever even after they walked for almost thirty minutes along the valley.

    It was a boring and tedious walk, and just when Kyouko started to yawn due to boredom, a change urred.

    I~~, KIKI~~!

    The ones who appeared while raising monkey-like cries were grey human-shaped monsters. But they weren''t actually a grey monkey since a pair of wings were growing from their backs.

    A~h, I get this feeling that I''ve seen them somewhere before. They look like gremlins, right?

    They ain''t Gargoyle, huh

    It has stone-like grey-colored skin and an ugly devil-like face. Their huge, bat-like wings seemed to be integrated with their arms.

    Since there was no temple or church around this area, they guessed that the monsters might be stone statues that moved around with magic like a puppet, or else, they might actually be monsters.

    But then, since they bared their hostility towards Ryuuichi and Co thetter had no leeway to ponder over the former''s ecology, it was the time to show the former who''s the boss. The number of gargoyles that appeared was ten. It seemed they were gliding down from above the cliff.

    Yo~sh, let''s beat ''em up~

    Kyouko simply couldn''t wait to test her new toy. She decided to aim for the gargoyle that kept screaming "GIIGIII" as if trying to intimidate them with her golden revolver.

    Tera Sagita

    The sound of explosion resounded in the valley as her revolver''s percussion hammer struck the bullet chamber with a "DOON!". The thing that was fired from the gun''s muzzle wasn''t a red spark but Tera Sagita''s magic circle.

    Tera Sagita''s orange magic circle which appeared on the tip of the revolver''s muzzle right after the percussion hammer struck the bullet chamber was destroyed right in the next moment, as for the result, it look like muzzle sh instead.

    And then, the Tera Sagita fired by Kyouko rushed toward the gargoyle at breakneck speed right from the front and drilled a huge hole in its chest. The gargoyle''s body popped off with a deep, thick sound.

    In addition, the gargoyle that was flying behind the first one also had a wind hole drilled into its body.

    OOOH, it''s double kill.

    WOAH, That''s rad.

    Kyouko felt the same way as Jury-Mary.

    Thank you Tendou-kun, this gun looks retro but is really strong!

    The most surprising thing about the gun wasn''t limited to its power, it had a terrifying rapid-fire feature too.

    Kyouko went trigger happy with her new weapon.

    As a result, she kept firing Tera Sagita whose invocation speed became much faster than before. Since it was in the form of a revolver, properly speaking, the rapid-fire rate should be as much as the number of bullet chambers, which was six, but perhaps because what she fired was magic, she could keep firing her magic as long as she had mana.

    In short, there was nog from reloading, she could keep firing her magic much faster than before as long as she had mana.

    But then, even with those advantages, she still had a hard time hitting the moving enemy. But, the thing that fired wasn''t a bullet, it was magic, her own magic.

    As she gainedbat experience, Kyouko had developed some sort of intuition when she fired her Tera Sagita towards her enemy. When she fired her magic, it didn''t just fly in a straight path, it flew as if she was directly controlling it like her own limbs At the very least, Kyouko learned that trick by instinct.

    In short, she wouldn''t miss if her enemy was the kind that could only charge from the front.

    I-I DID IIIIIIT!!

    Kyouko raised a victorious cry. Jury-Mary also gave their blessings to her achievement.

    This should be enough for a while.

    Ryuuichi left the matter of disposal of the small fries and looked at the trio of gals that were cheering joyfully.

    They didn''t find materials that needed to be collected from gargoyle''s carcasses.

    When Kyouko beat the first gargoyle, they already knew that it wasn''t made from stone, it was a genuine monster made from flesh and blood. But of course, their skin was in fact as tough as rock, defense-wise, they''re tougher than goma.

    But then, no matter how hard their skin, they''re no match for the current Tendou team. Both Jury and Mary could easily decapitate them without even using their martial arts.

    Though they''re not that powerful, the number of iing gargoyles kept increasing the more they advanced.

    It seems we''re about to arrive at their nest.

    It was obvious at the sight of the increasing number of gargoyles. But the reason Ryuuichi said that clearly was simply because the nest was right before them.

    There was nothing to say about gargoyle''s individual power, but they''re a huge threat when attacking in great numbers. Though Ryuuichi kept hisrge stride forward as if there was nothing to worry about, Kyouko and Co who followed him from behind raised their vignce to the maximum.

    And just as Ryuuichi had said, they found the nest. Or something that was supposed to be their nest, the reason they couldn''t see the nest until now was simply that it was too gargantuan.

    Uwaa~, this is really dangerous right?

    The scenery that was waiting for them when they arrived at the end of the bottom of the valley was a basin in the form of gargantuan mortar. It could be described as a super massive antlionrvae pit.

    In addition, there was a rocky mountain right in the center of that pit. It was around 100 metres high. Those rocky mountains which were almost round in shape had numerous giant, pointed, spire-like rock pirs on it instead of trees. Amongst those spires, the one in the center was the highest one which resembled Tokyo tower or sky tree.

    In addition, countless gargoyles were crawling around those pirs or towers.

    It was a mystery how so many monsters bred and lived in that kind of ce that was devoid of any vegetation and water. But then, it was fairly obvious at a nce that they''re not starving and ready to rush at anyone who dared toe closer to the rocky mountain.

    This number is too much, isn''t it?

    I don''t think we can fight all of them

    The trio of gals leaked a weak sigh upon seeing the sheer size of the gargoyle army. On the contrary, Ryuuichi

    That one is dangerous.

    The trio couldn''t hide their shock since this was the first time Ryuuichi actually said those words.

    But it was only natural for him to feel that way. Nevertheless, the trio of gals who thought that Ryuuichi was referring to the number of the enemy, failed to understand the true meaning behind Ryuuichi''s remark.

    Ryuuichi said That one. He was clearly referring to one being instead of that countless gargoyle.

    It wasn''t a slip of tongue, it was an indisputable fact. The existence that he regarded as dangerous wasn''t the gargoyles, it was another single, more overwhelming, and gigantic existence.

    To think that there was such big guy.

    Eh?

    What, do you

    That moment, the gargoyles pped their wings. All of them were raising a dissonant chorus. But their chorus stopped at once.

    The next moment, a thunderous roar shook the air. To be exact, it even shook the ground.

    The rocky mountain moved.

    At first, everyone thought it was just their eyes tricking them. But then, they realized that the slight tremor wasn''t just a mere tremor, they couldn''t help but understand that the earthquake happened because of a gigantic being started to move.

    Yes, the rocky mountain which was supposed to be the nest of the gargoyle was moving on its own.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Something of a gargantuan size wasing from the bottom of earth along with a deep reverberating roar. It was thick, long like a tree''s root But it turned out to be only the head of that giant.

    Its shining red eyes was a definite proof of them as a living being. Beneath the soil and sand that was falling from its skin was metal-like, shiny, bluish-white scales. Rows of sharp teeth were peeking out from its slightly opened jaws. Though its long tongue wriggled like a snakes, its sheer size was in factparable with the tail of an adult dragon.

    The thing that came out was a super-sized snake-like head.

    And then, the out of standard-ultra-sized monster whose size was clearly far bigger than the serpent which made humans look so small appeared from the mountain. The snake was ring at Ryuuichi.

    You guys, step back no, go back to fairy za.

 Chapter 165.1 - Ooyama Daisuke

    Chapter 165.1 - Ooyama Daisuke

    A being called man is strong.

    I grew up hearing those words from my father. He was a genuine karateka, whether it was me, my little brother, or my second little brother, he donned us in training garb the moment we were aware of our surroundings and started our basic training. We were famous in our neighbourhood as karate idiot''s siblings.

    A being called man is strong.

    Those were the words that I believe.

    That was only natural since I was unmatched in brawling ever since I was in elementary school. With this strength that came as the fruit of training from my father, I used my fist to gain the right to y basketball in the gymnasium or ser in the training field, it was also with this fist that I won the huge quarrel against the students from other schools over the right to use the biggest park in neighborhood to y baseball with my ssmates.

    The me of that time was a hero. Everyone was praising me, or maybe, afraid of me. Since I was strong, I''m definitely a man amongst men, the me of that time didn''t doubt this.

    A being called man is strong.

    My father, no, the thing that made my faith waver happened when I was in middle school. As we entered our growth spurt, the men who became taller than me appeared one after another.

    I was by no means a shorty, but I wasn''t that big either. When I was lining up along with my ssmates, I was right in the middle.

    Naturally, it didn''t mean that height had anything to do with being strong. Since I had the body and skill that was drilled into me since my childhood, I absolutely wouldn''t lose against those brainless dudes who only had their heights. But then, I came to realize that there was a difference between my weight and those who''re taller than me.

    The sport such as judo or boxing was divided by weight. Why did it get divided in that way? it was simply because the difference between weight couldn''t be bridged with skill alone.

    When I entered the second year of middle school, I finally realized that I had no talent. You became more skilled just by bing taller. I became even more conscious of that when my second brother finally grew taller than me.

    I think I''ll try Shiromine High.

    In the spring of my third year, I told my family about my intention to enter Shiromine High when we ate around the dining table.

    I see.

    Shiromine High, is that famous prep school, right?

    OOh, Big Bro is awesome~

    Our big bro is smart after all.

    Both my parents didn''t actually oppose my choice rather, they''re clearly delighted. Both my brothers were praising me for being able to try Shiromine High which was famous for its high deviation value. Everyone gave their blessing to me for choosing Shiramine High.

    In reality, the me of that time wished that they would stop me instead. I wished that my father would knock my head with his iron fist as he shout THIS FOOL!. I wished that my little brothers would shout ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY FROM KARATE?.

    A being called man is strong.

    At that moment, my faith in those words had already crumbled. I was a man, I''m supposed to be strong, and yet I knew better than I was weak. That''s why I made studying my escape. On the front, I said that I wanted to be a man who excelled in both martial arts and literal arts.

    So that means I''m not a man if I''m not strong. Why, why none of you are shouting at me? Why did no one stop this weak me? I mean, the time I allocated for preparing for the entrance test was longer than the time I allocated to train karate.

    I mean, I don''t care about studying or whatsoever. I don''t care even if I''m stupid. I just want to be stronger than before, and yet

    It''s cold.

    On the day of the entrance test for Shiromine High, I was attacked by intense cold temperatures as soon as I left the business hotel in which I spent the night before. My hometown had a warmer climate.

    Dammit, how can I act like a sissy. If I pass the entrance test, I might''ve to live by myself in this ce.

    No, I''ll get epted for sure. I mean, I used Shiromine High as my escape from karate, family, and ssmates, I even boasted to them that I''m gonna get epted for sure. As a man, I''m definitely going to get myself epted into Shiromine High to keep my promise to them.

    Thus, I ran towards Shiromine High with such a resolution in my heart.

    I had finished my review the night before, and also took the right bus. I arrived at the school gate and found the table with my number without any mishap along the way.

    I saw numerous test-takers in front of the school gate. Well, it was Shiromine High after all. Students from various regions gathered to take the test, not just the students of this city. They''re simply not wearing their uniform right now, that''s why it was hard to distinguish their origins.

    But like hell, I''m gonna lose against them. All of them were my rivals. And I''m gonna beat them all.

    Fuwaa so sleepy

    Suddenly, I heard azy yawn which was akin to pouring cold water onto my burning spirit. When I turned my eyes to my side ring towards the yawning bastard who dampened my mood with an irritated look on my face

    !?

    Uoo, a good man in that way, I was rooted on the spot. That''s just how manly the yawning man who sat beside me was.

    <i>Is this guy really the same junior high school graduate like me?</i> His appeal as a man was through the roof.

    The yawning man was tall. And he ain''t just your usualnky and tall, his body was clearly trained. His contours were enough to tell me about that fact. I could feel deep down in my heart that there was a power, overwhelming power hidden beneath his seeminglyzy appearance.

    He had perfect chest muscles and broad shoulders. And yet, he didn''t look like a muscle daruma either thanks to his long legs. Instead of Japanese, he was just like an action star in a Hollywood movie.

    Though he had blonde hair, his face was that of a Japanese. An extremely good-looking one on top of that. Though a blonde-haired man who made such a big yawn was usually seen as nothing more than a delinquent, when this man did the same, it was as if it came straight out of a famous movie scene. He was an extremely charming man to the point that I couldn''t take my eyes off him.

    Ryuuichi.

    The man then looked in the direction of the voice who called him, perhaps his friend.

    Oh, Yuuto.

    Thank God you came properly.

    Well, can''t keep acting like junior high school forever after all.

    But if it''s you, I guess you will be epted quite literally whichever high school you''re going to go.

    So you wont leave me alone, huh.

    As if! Let''s pass this test together.

    The friend who called out to the yawning man with a smile on his face was a really handsome man.

    <i>Oioioi, what is this, are you telling me that these kinds of guys are not that rare in this city?</i> I mean, the only time I saw something like this was in a TV drama.

    Could it be that all of this was just a dream since I couldn''t endure the pressure of taking this test?

    Those two then proceeded to enter the school building while I was still thinking about such stupid things.

    So his name is Ryuuichi huh.

    The tall, blonde-haired man was Ryuuichi. And his friend, the idol-like fe, was Yuuto.

    <i> Ryuuichi was my idea fuck, what in the hell I''m thinking about.</i>

    <i> Calm down, I''m not gay!</i>

    But when I saw an ideal man, the figure which I always dreamed about, I couldn''t help but have this yearning<i> aaah, goddammit, like hell I had the time to worry about such a thing.</i>

    Fu~~

    I took a deep breath and tried focusing my mind.

    Before I noticed, I had already sat on the desk with my number in the ssroom while I was mulling over the situation. The test would start in less than five minutes.

    Finally, it was the moment of truth. Let''s give my all. This is a manly, one-on-one battle, bring it on Entrance Test!

    Uh, please, please

    Dammit, the shorty who prayed like a girl beside me is so fu*king noisy!

    Oh f*ck, forget about my statement just now, ain''t that fe actually a gi wait a fu*king minute, that''s a gakuran. <i>So you''re actually a man, huh!</i>

    I mean, what the hell is with that face? Are you a man? A girl, or an elementary school student? Seeing a weak-looking guy like him was enough to make me irritated

    Well then, let''s begin the test.

    Dammit, if I fail in this test, I''m gonna curse this girlish shorty who sat beside me!

    Haah.

    The test had ended safely without a hitch. Though I was so nervous right before the start of the test, it turned out I could finish it without a hitch.

    I could see it. This might be what you call the fruit of mybour. Well, if I didn''t get epted, I could only me myself for that.

    Aah, it''s finally over. Let''s board the first bullet train tomorrow to go back home.

    Anyhow, I was walking towards the hotel where I was staying while reporting to my father. The sun was about to set and though the temperature dropped even furtherpared to the morning, well can''t be helped, it was in the middle of winter afte

    UWAAA! P-PLEASE STOOP!

    Suddenly I heard a man''s miserable cries. My ears weren''t ying a trick on me, it came from one of the back alleys.

    Heey, yer fe just came out from that Shiramine, aintcha?

    This uniform ain''t from this area.

    So, did youe to this ce to give us some of your pocket mone~y?

    When I passed by that alley, I saw a splendid, textbook example of money extortion.

    There I saw a trio, whose appearance was definitely that of a delinquent, was currently surrounding a fatty. From their conversation, I guessed that they were extorting a small amount of money from the test taker.

    Uuh s-sorry, please, let me go

    Oioioi, it''s fu*cking too little.

    Ain''t need to worry, we''re gonna leave you with enough money to go back by electric train.

    That''s why give yer money quicklyORAA!!

    One of those yankees used a knee strike on the fatty. It was an extremely clumsy attack devoid of skill and weight but the fatty still crumbled down in agony upon receiving that knee strike.

    Good grief, such miserable fe. Not only did he not train his body but his heart was also very brittle. He was just a fatty who could only grow fatter.

    Oi, the fes over there.

    I hate such fatass and gutless fes like him, but the fes with twisted guts who surrounded others to extort money from them were even more disgusting in my eyes.

    Hah? The hell are you?

    Who the hell is this fe?

    Are you this fatty''s friend?

    Shut up. Just scram already, yankee like you ba*tards are just eyesores!

    Their merry atmosphere from before vanished as soon as I provoked them like that.

    It seems you really want to make trouble with us huh? Hey, what shall we do to this fu*cker?

    Ya ain''t someone from this area. It seems this fu*ker has no idea what it means by selling a quarrel to us.

    Been a long time since I got this irritated

    The trio leapt toward me at once.

    The fatty escaped from the alley as soon as the trio''s attention focused on me. He was, unexpectedly, a quick-witted fe. He didn''t even thank me.

    Let me teach a lesson to this baldy.

    Ain''t a baldy, it''s cre-cut. Yer eyes must be so rotten.

    One of the three stepped forward. He looked like the most short-tempered one or maybe the most skilled amongst them. But well, the tallest amongst them was definitely even taller than me.

    Such, like hell I''m gonna lose against suchnky and untrained fes.

    You''re doing karate huh?

    What the hell yer surprised about, fu*king yankee.

    The yankee suddenly asked such a question upon seeing my stance. Meaning that he realized that I did karate despite looking like a stupid yankee.

    Ya ain''t supposed toid yer hand on amateurs like us aintcha?

    What, it''s already toote to worry about that.

    I''ve already received a ck belt a really long time ago, it''ll be a huge mess in various ways if it''s known that I used my karate on them. In the worst situation, even if for example, I got epted into Shiromine High, they would reject me for my behaviour, but screw that I''m also a man. Like hell, I''m gonna back off after I went this far.

    This fu*king baldy is so annoying kill, kill him.

    The yankee then took out a knife as he said so.

    It was a butterfly knife. It was small but still, a real knife. It could easily tear my skin, or pierce if used for a stab.

    Dammit, for this fe to take out an edged weapon, this guy must be really pissed off.

    DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

 Chapter 165.2 - Ooyama Daisuke

    Chapter 165.2 - Ooyama Daisuke

    The yankee was closing in while grasping the knife in his right hand.

    Naturally, I had no experience in fighting against an opponent armed with an edged tool.

    Dammit, ain''t the time to get cold feet It''s just a cheap, dull knife. These gutless yankees wouldn''t be able to beat my karate!

    But still, I''m really gonna die if I get stabbed by that knife.

    I might really die. This wasn''t a brawl anymore, it was a death battle.

    <i>Can I win this? I can someone who escaped from karate like me win this</i>

    ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

    !!??

    I snapped out when the de of the butterfly knife arrived right in front of my eyes.

    That was close, just barely dodged that one.

    SHAAAAAAAAA!

    I felt a dull pain running down my leg. <i>Dammit, did he kick me just now!?</i>

    GUH!?

    Unexpectedly, my stance crumbled. But ain''t gonna fall on this ce, so I forced myself to propped up.

    SHAAA! RAAA!

    Kuh!

    I stepped back upon seeing the cold knife''s de swing before me. When my stance was already half-crumbled, the knife came to take my life, and I was unable to move for some reason.

    SHAORAAAAAAAAA!

    GUHA!

    And then, my body finally copsed on the cold floor after receiving another sharp kick. And then, a sharp kicknded on my stomach as if to not give me any moment to breathe.

    U GUH

    DIE! DIE BALDYYYYYYYYYY!

    And then, numerous kicksnded on my copsed body. He was aiming for my nk and face and had yet to show any intention to stop. That was only natural since this wasn''t a match, this was street brawling

    Fuh, weak, this fu*ker is too weak. This baldy is just all bark and no bite!

    Geez, now you said the words that you shouldve never said to me.

    Weak. Sure, I was weak. There was no way I, who showed such an ugly appearance, was strong Dammit, it seems I got cold feet cos this small fry suddenly took out a knife.

    This yankee wouldn''t dare to stab me. I noticed now that all they did was brandish it to show off and use that gap to attack. That was his basic tactic.

    When my focus waspletely on the brandished knife, hended a low-kick on my unguarded leg.

    And I lost so easily against such cheap tactics. No matter how you look at it, it was my loss.

    Urgh Dammit

    Oi, this one seems to be a test taker of Shiromine too?

    Let''s extort him in ce of that fatty.

    The hell yer talking about, we ain''t gonna let him off with money alone.

    Those yankees started rummaging through my bag and pockets as they said whatever they wanted. But, no matter how much they screamed or cursed me, there was nothing in there.

    Hey, shall we beat the hell out of him?

    Let''s make him pay with his front teeth.

    OH, I FOUND A SMARTPHONE! LET''S TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS FELLA''S P3N!S AND SPREAD IT TO HIS ENTIRE CONTACT PERSON. LET''S SAY "COMMEMORATION OF TAKING ENTRANCE CEREMONY".

    Fuhahaha, great! That''s great!

    That''s savage! If it''s me, I ain''t want to live anymore.

    I shuddered upon hearing their vulgarugh. Ain''t gonnain about any kind of pain since I was used to it due to my karate training. But, oi, stop!

    Ora, undress quickly!

    Hey, like hell I''m gonna do that.

    Can''t be helped, guys, you seize his legs.

    Sto-Stop stoooop

    I couldn''t resist at all when two of them were pinning my legs. After they untied my belt and just when they''re about to pull my cks down

    That''s enough, you''re about to go too far!

    The male voice of someone who happened to pass by resounded.

    <i>Thank God, reinforcement! </i>The moment I thought so, I felt an extremely unpleasant feeling. <i>Ain''t need your pity</i>

    HAAH? Who''s now!

    Just a passerby. But, I can''t just close my eyes after seeing what you guys are trying to do. Ive already reported this to the police, you better get out of here quickly.

    Police? Haa, do you take us for an idiot? Ya think we''re gonna be scared of them?

    You''re not a native of this area, huh. Don''t you know that we''re from Kuromine.

    Though I had no idea what kind of high school gave birth to these low lives, it must be a really dangerous ce since they carried a real knife and swung it around in street fights. Ain''t gonna think that they would retreat willingly just by reporting to the police.

    I see, well can''t be helped then, I guess I have to use brute force.

    Seeing that the yankees were unwilling to back down, the passerby finally stepped up.

    O, what, ya want a piece of me too?

    Be careful, this fe is clearly more troublesome than that baldy.

    Ha, worry not, I''m gonna finish this in a sh.

    Maybe because he got ahead of himself after he managed to beat me, that knife yankee stepped up again.

    On the other hand, the man who came to save me

    I''m a judo practitioner. Amateurs like you lot won''t stand a chance against me.

    He didn''t seem to be bluffing. That yankee was right, the passerby fe was a tough one. He was tall and burly. A bear-like man. Moreover, that wasn''t all, his muscle was extremely tempered, maybe even more than mine.

    Judging by appearance, he looked like a calm andposed big man with round-thin sses and was clearly older than me. Senior high school, no, he might be a college student.

    Haha, so it''s judo after karate. Fine, defeating both of ya will increase my fame.

    He took out his butterfly knife while shouting vigorously.

    Yeah, even if he was practicing martial arts, there was a difference between being able to face an armed opponent and not. After all, modern martial arts were nothing more than a sport

    Uhm, since you take out a knife, I guess I can''t go easy on you. Are you ready?

    Fool! The one who needs to get prepared is yoGOGH!?

    Just when I thought the knife bastard was going to charge towards the judo guy, he stopped right after he took the first step.

    Both of them were out of each other''s reach. And yet, the knife-wielding yankee bastard actually dared to yell at the judo guy.

    The attack came from outside of the range. It was a long-distance attack.

    In short, the judo guy threw a stone at the knife-wielding Yankee.

    O-Oi, how dare you throw stone!?

    That''s cheating, is your judo just for show!

    The hell you''re talking about, this is a brawl, right? Why should I use martial arts rules in a brawl? And since you ba$tard are using a knife, it means that I can use stone.

    The judo guy threw the stone calmly as he walked towards the knife-wielding yankee who just staggered after his head got hit by a stone, and lifted thetter by the cuff of his neck.

    Well, since you''re asking for it, I shall use some judo moves on you.

    And thus, he performed a splendid shoulder throw.

    The knife-wielding yankee''s back struck against the asphalt. Even I shuddered upon seeing such perfect execution of shoulder throw since it didn''t allow any resistance at all.

    Ka, Hi Fu

    The mouth of the knife-wielding yankee was pping repeatedly like a goldfish gasping for water. Yeah, that must be really painful.

    Well then, who''s next?

    Oi, this is bad.

    Yeah, this ba$tard is dangerous.

    The two other yankees started to get cold feet upon seeing the judo guy easily turn the table against theirrade. I could see that their eyes had already lost their fighting spirit.

    Humph, if you lost your balls, then get out of here quickly, and don''t forget to bring your fallen friend too. I''m telling the truth about calling the police, they''re tad too slow and troublesome though.

    It seems that even those idiot yankees had realized at this moment that trying to fight the judo guy would only result in them experiencing the same pain as theirrade. The two then carried the knife-wielding yankee with them as they left the alley.

    Are you okay? That was a close call huh.

    Big, strong, and burly. I was saved by the very personification of my ideal image of a man, I felt so miserable and yet d at the same time.

    Surely, the moment I lost against the knife-wielding yankee was the moment I lost my confidence as a man.

    That''s why I felt like my meeting with this judo guy was a fateful encounter.

    The time when I knew that his name was Sugino Takashi, the student who took the entrance test for the same high-school as me, was when we met again during the season when cherry blossoms bloomed at the entrance ceremony of Shiromine High.

 Chapter 166.2 - Ruined Citys Boss 1

    Chapter 166.2 - Ruined City''s Boss 1

    It''s okay, it won''t be a hindrance during the battle.

    Mei-chan, who thought nothing about the design of the wall and only focused on the uing battle, was truly a splendid warrior. I mean, when I met her in this dungeon for the first time, she was such a crybaby who bawled non-stop saying that this dungeon''s design looked like a temple of an evil god. And who knew that such a crybaby would transform into one of the most fearsome warriors I''ve ever met.

    Sure enough, it doesn''t look like this bad-taste of the design has anything in particr but oh?

    When I was looking around the hall restlessly, I heard quiet footsteps approaching this ce. <i>The boss finally made their appearance, huh.</i>

    The boss, seems like a high-zombie''s boss, huh.

    The bosss figure with red-muscle fibers wrapped by an almost transparent white husk was definitely the figure of a high-zombie. The only problem was its size, the boss was a three metres giant.

    Its figure was macho, or should I say that its upper half swelled up unnaturally. Its muscr body and log-like arms alone were enough to tell me that this fe was power-type.

    For some reason, this fe had the same design as the boss in a zombie shooting game.

    What do you think, Mei-chan?

    It looks strong but not that overwhelming, perhaps.

    If she felt that way, it meant that this boss was truly a power-type, the muscle brain.

    I mean, Mei-chan had the experience of fighting against the living armor boss who had both power and technique, not to mention her fighting against four-heavenly king gogmas and their boss, four-armed gogma.

    In fact, speaking of strong bosses, I guess it was only natural for her who formed a party with Souma-kun''s harem to meet those powerful bosses due to their powerful line-up. But I think the setting had already been corrected now since she was partying with me, thus we got a slightly weaker high-zombie boss.

    If we fought this fe I think we might be able to beat this guy fairly easily.

    MUOOOOOOO HYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And then, the fu*king boss raised a high-pitched, transvestite-like warcry despite being a muscle daruma. Just when I thought it was some sort of a signal for the start of the battle,

    UOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    A familiar warcry resounded in the entire hall.

    T-This ba*tard, don''t tell me

    Red lines suddenly appeared from the ominous-looking relief and the eerily distorted pir, forming a crooked magic circle from which the high-zombies wereing out.

    These zombies seemed like they were summoned from the entire area with that magic circle, rather than that, their number had already exceeded a dozen.

    Dammit, this fe is the type of boss who can summon small fries to assist them.

    Kotato-kun, get behind me.

    Mei-chan sent me a slightly worried look.

    Yeah, that was natural since I might be put in a dangerous situation if the high-zombies and the boss were attacking at the same time.

    But the man in the game, a boss with this kind of gimmick should be defeated as soon as possible. I mean, the high-zombies seemed to be able to spawn infinitely.

    Mei-chan, Rem, please take care of the boss.

    But, that means you''ll be

    I''ll do something about those small fries. Rather, please take down the boss as fast as possible while I''m taking care of those high zombies.

    Uhm, understood!

    GARURU, GOGAAA!

    Mei-chan, who believed in my strategy, then went to fight the high-zombie boss immediately. Right behind her was ck Knight Rem.

    Since we''re aiming for a short, decisive battle, we had to attack with our most powerfulbat potential. I did feel nervous since Rem the 1st, ck Knight left my side to fight alongside Mei-chan, but we would be at disadvantage the longer we fought.

    For that reason, I waspletely focusing on defence in the absence of our party''s ace.

    Nevertheless, I''m d that the enemying out are the enemy that I''m used to Spread Rotten Bog!

    First, I deployed Rotten Bog to gain a territorial advantage against my enemies. Since we couldn''t retreat, my back was facing against the wall as I deployed the bog in the front.

    Since high-zombie couldn''t feel pain and they were always charging at their fastest speed, they had badpatibility with Rotten Bog. They could easily cross over several metres wide acid pool with ease. The acid would melt a few their feet but was far from enough to stop them.

    That''s why I rarely used this skill in this ruin, but it didn''t mean it waspletely ineffective against them.

    AAAAAOVAAAAAAAAAA!

    Well then, let''s ssh a lot of acid on their stupid heads. The high-zombie slipped upon walking in the pool, and though it stood up immediately, it raised a cry of pain, or fear upon seeing its melted limbs.

    The high-zombie sprinted like a girl as soon as it saw me. In short, it was really careless with its footsteps.

    It would jump down if it met the kind of obstacle like stairways, but it didn''t give a shit if it was only on the level of feeler-like water nts on the water surface. Or should I say that itpletely failed to notice its existence?

    In addition, it looked like a human and walked on two feet, but what do you think would happen when it tripped over a rope while running at its fastest speed? The answer was, it fell t head-first like some sort of punishment game.

    Incidentally, theycked the sense of camaraderie too. They were just brainless idiots who kept charging forward even when theirrades fell right in front of them. Thanks to their egoism, I was still safe and sound.

    ABAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    UGYOAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Thus, the high zombies kept crashing down all over the ce. That''s why Rotten Bog alone was enough to defeat them.

    The fallen one became a victim of Rem the 3rds arrows and the bashing of the skeletons. Incidentally, they did so while avoiding building corpses in the pool.

    The most solid way to cross the bog was by building numerous corpses on it, they''re sprinting all at once. Since I have skeletons, I more or less managed to remove the corpses from the bog but yeah, it wouldn''t be for that long.

    I give up, their spawning rate is faster than my expectation.

    Though my tactic managed to trim down the first wave of the high-zombies, the summoning circle on the wall and pir kept sending new waves of high-zombies one after another.

    There were several patterns of the summoning system of these small fries.

    One is the one that could only summon fixed numbers. One where it was constantly summoning undead at regr intervals. The one that summoned at irregr intervals existed too. The worst of all was the one that summoned more in ordance with the other party''s strength.

    In short, even if for example, you could exterminate an army of small fry at once, thest type of magic circle could send an even bigger scale of an army. In that situation, the solution was either sparing some of the enemies or just dealing damage enough to keep the enemies barely alive to deceive the perception of the summoning magic, preventing them from sending more and more enemies but this wasn''t a game and there was no walkthrough for this boss battle, thus I had no choice but to analyze the situation in real-time.

    Maybe this summoning circle has some sort of deficit that I can use to crack it down.

    Welp, the second wave wasing. Half of them got buried inside the acid bog. It meant, their numbers were at least twice as much as the first wave.

    The skeleton squad which I equipped with sword and Rem the 3rd had already ambushed them from behind, but their subjugation speed had clearly be slowerpared to when they exterminated the first wave.

    Finishing off the high zombies who fell into the acid bog was a simple matter but the skeletons were barely hanging in there. We barely managed to cut down most of them when I assisted them with my feelers.

    I was already hard-pressed even with just two high zombies.

    Good grief, and here I thought that our number overwhelmed them, only to let me taste their number overwhelming our side.

    Dammit, and it keeps spawning those high-zombies.

    Their speed didn''t seem to be that much different from before. Though the time we needed to subjugate them had increased, I might as well be making an assumption that there wouldn''t be any other variation depending on how we subjugate the second wave.

    When the summoning speed of the high-zombie exceeded the time we needed to exterminate them, that would spell our defeat. Currently, we needed less than three minutes to crush the second wave. Cr*p, the situation was even messier than my expectation!

    Mei-chan

    When I took a nce at the boss battle in the main hall, it was right at the moment when Mei-chan released a big sh towards the boss.

    The halberd''s de sliced through the boss''s shoulder diagonally from above its shoulder. That gashing and the bloody wound should''ve caused considerable damage towards the boss, and yet numerous small tentacles wriggled around the wound instead of blood.

    KYOAAAAAAAAA, KUEEEEEEEEEEE!

    The boss which now turned into a grotesque being with tentacles wriggling out from its body kept fighting while raising a warcry.

    Dammit, it can transform on top of having high recovery ability! Stop adding those ridiculous gimmicks!

    Even Mei-chan was frowning as she was facing that lively boss who kept brandishing its strong arm and tentacles.

    It seemed the tentacles appeared due to the shing wound, and from the looks of it, the same thing had already been repeated a few times. I mean, those tentacles were growing from the boss''s nk and feet.

    Meaning that it would recover no matter how much we cut it. To make the matter worse, those tentacles were also acting as some sort of bump against the iing attack. Any half-hearted damage would only strengthen the boss.

    Dammit, those tentacles will only prolong the boss battle

    To win this boss battle, we had to find a way to defeat the boss with its ridiculous regeneration speed in one single attack while I kept the high-zombies army at bay.

    Eh, was this a checkmate for us?

 Chapter 167: Ruined Citys Boss 2

    Chapter 167: Ruined City''s Boss 2

    <i>Eh, was this a checkmate for us?</i>

    No, calm down, I still have some unused cards left, or should I say that now was the time to search for a breakthrough.

    Any more than this, the current me wouldn''t be able to exterminate the spamming high-zombie fast enough. Shaman was alwayscking in terms of firepower after all. In short, I should start with finding a way to stop them from spawning.

    Icked understanding in the matter of summoning magic of this world, I mean it was only a while ago that I could summon a skeleton, the weakest of the bunch. Yes, I didn''t understand, but what would happen if I tried to stop the magic circle?

    Arachne, try to aim at that pir first. Match your timing with me. 1, 2Spiderweb Twine!

    Omitted the "3", both Arachne and I fired bundles of spider thread with all our power towards the nearest pir.

    Just when a new high-zombie was about to spawn from the magic circle on the eerily twisted pir, when its upper half was about toe out, mine and Arachnes threads came at that moment.

    GUUUUUUUU, OAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The almost out high-zombie was struggling while raising a loud cry since its entire body got sealed with extremely sticky spider thread. But, that''s all it did.

    This type of spider thread was weak against fire, but it was overwhelmingly strong against physical attack. Well, it wasn''t actually impossible to tear it off with high-zombie''s power but those fes were idiots who only knew about swinging their limbs wildly towards their opponent. No matter how much they swung their arms around, they wouldn''t be able to get out of that spider thread, forever.

    That''s why I thought that spider thread was the best material to seal high-zombies.

    Okay, it seems possible to split our job. Arachne, you aim for the wall!

    SHAAAAAAAAA!

    I handled the nearby pir while Arachne headed towards the wall in the opposite direction which had a magic circle floating on top of it, and fired her spider thread to seal each of it. The quantity of the binding thread to high-zombies was reduced by half, but it should be strong enough to keep those spawning high-zombies at bay for a while.

    This should be enough to reduce the number of spawning high-zombies but

    Well as expected, it''s literally a piece of junk if this simple measure alone is enough to stop it.

    Just as I expected, the newly summoned high-zombie pushed aside the tied-up one. cing an obstacle on top of the magic circle couldn''t stop the summoning process.

    The summoning circle didn''t lose its function and kept summoning new high zombies but but, even the newly summoned high zombie was caught by the sticky thread.

    Does this mean that even if we can''t stop the summoning, it''s possible to keep them at bay?

    No, that''s wrong, stopping their movement was more than enough!

    Yosh, Arachne, close all summoning circles with your thread! 3rd, finish off the rest while we stop their reinforcement!

    KISHAAAAA!

    GUGAGA!

    +++

    Both Rems raised a warcry as they moved to fulfill their duty. Arachne Rem''s ability to manipte spider thread was far above mine. I mean, she could fire the thread from her hands, butt, and mouth after all.

    The thread she fired sealed the summoning circle on the pir and wall, binding the high-zombies that came out from there. Even when the next one had already been summoned, it needed at least a few of them to exhaust the previous sticky thread. Now then, how many seconds does it need for a summoning circle to summon five high-zombies? And as long as we could take care of the sealed high-zombies during those times

    VOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Eei, get lost, Poison!

    Some high-zombies who managed to slip out from the skeletons'' army and Rem the 3rd came toward me. But they got insta-killed with abo of Fool''s Cane and Shaman''s Skull. Man, there was nothing better than offensive magic that could blow these small fries to pieces in one sitting.

    Great, now we''ve the high-ground.

    I killed the rest of the high zombies while sealing their summoning circle with Poison. Since our opponent''s reinforcement had been slowed down, the bnce of the battle started to tilt to our side.

    When I was looking around, I noticed that the number of the summoned skeletons had already been reduced to half due to the battle against the high-zombie, but that wasn''t a big deal since I could resummon them whenever I wanted by recing the skull fitted on my staff. Now it was the time to use human-wave tactics with summoning magic.

    Fuuh, we somehow managed to stop them.

    After we dealt with all of those enraged high-zombies we only needed to deal with those who got sealed in ce and those that just got summoned. With this, the reinforcement from summoning magic had beenpletely sealed-off.

    Since it had already reached this situation and my skeletons'' squad had numbers to their advantage, I sent two of them to every summoning circle since all they needed to do was behead the high-zombies, in that way, the summoning circle had already sealed.

    Though the corpses of high-zombies kept increasing, as long as we set some of them aside and applied Arachne Rem''s thread again, the trap could be used as much as I wanted.

    With this, I can finally help Mei-chan.

    Kotaro-kun, I defeated the bo~ss.

    EH! SO FAST!?

    Yeah, I killed it as fast as I can.

    And then, right behind Mei-chan who waved her hand cheerfully towards me was the body of the boss of this area, which was already "Butchered" into something that befitting a horror movie.

    Eh, wait a minute, how did you defeat it? That fe should''ve incredible restoration power, right?

    Yeah, since it kept growing those octopus-like tentacles from its wound, I just gouged its core from inside its body.

    <i>Woow, thats too OP!</i> But it was a brilliant tactic nheless. Seeing that there was a boss room, we had no doubt that this magic stone was a core.

    It ended fairly easily thanks to Rem-chan''s cooperation.

    GUGAGA

    Upon a closer look, I saw the spear used by Rem the 1st-Dark Knight was sewed into one of the bosss legs, it seemed she acted as Mei-chan''s assistant. Yup, my judgement to assign Rem the 1st was correct after all.

    Uhm, good job, Rem. And thank you for your hard work, Mei-chan.

    Yeah, it''s easier since you sealed the summoned high-zombies for us.

    Nonono, you know that some of those high-zombies slipped out of my extermination and headed towards you right, Mei-chan. You know that and yet, I left those guys to you since I waspletely in a defensive situation and had no leeway to take care of them, sorry Mei-chan.

    Anyhow, as before, the MVP of this boss battle was Mei-chan who literally soloed the boss. I was satisfied with surviving this battle and not bing a hindrance for her.

    Well, shall we use the teleportation circle?

    Yeah.

    Since there was only one high-zombi boss, there wasn''t that much loot to pick. For the time being, we''re picking its bones, meat, and tentacles.

    And the teleportation circle appeared in the deepest part after the boss room as per usual. And it might be thanks to the fact that we''ve beaten the boss, the high-zombies were also stopped spamming. The sign of someone trespassing this ce was none.

    Yup, it should be okay. Since I''ve confirmed the safety, now we could teleport with ease.

    Gyu~

    Thus, we were teleported while being embraced by Mei-chan.

    "Zaza~n", "Zaza~n", and thus, we''re weed in the next area by the calming sound of waves. The seemingly endless blue colour spread beneath our eyes. It was a sea, A FU*KING SEA.

    Could it be that the teleportation circle is broken and we''re actually sent to an uninhabited ind?

    Those anxieties did pass my mind as I saw the blue sky, the blue ocean, the seemingly neverending white, sandy beach.

    Uhm, since wee out properly in the fairy za, this ce is undoubtedly inside the dungeon maybe?

    I mean, the ce we were teleported to from the boss room had always been the fairy za of the next area. And then, the ce we were sent to was an extremely beautiful, southern ind-like resort with a beautiful, white-sandy beach.

    The fairy za in which we could see those beautiful scenes unhindered was located next to a stone building built on top of the slightly elevated cliff. Unlike the jungle, the fairy za was surrounded by small buildings.

    Ah, Kotaro-kun, this ce is definitely inside the dungeon.

    Though she seemed to be doubting this ce a while ago, Mei-chan suddenly turned 180, and said those words with a convincing look on her face.

    Why do you so sure about that?

    We''re still inside the dungeon. The sea isn''t spread until the horizon, it is blocked by a wall at a certain point.

    Eh, seriously!?

    I tried to take a look again at the vast, blue sea spreading in front of us but I couldn''t see the end of the sea at all. Mei-chan might realize that fact with her sharp, berserker instinct.

    In short, this isn''t a true sea, its just an extremelyrge pool, right?

    Uhm, I can''t see it clearly with my eyes, but yeah, it''s something like that.

    In short, the sky and the sea was nothing more than an extremely advanced CG render. I''ve never seen such a gimmick during my exploration until now, but could it be that the forest dome had the function to disy the natural environment?

    Well, it was way too advanced to the point that we should just ignore those gimmicks. The most important thing was the fact that this was an artificial sea area.

    Even if you say that it''s just a pool, considering its size, there should be an aquatic monster.

    The only aquatic monster I''ve ever met was boss, crocodile-like lizardman and Jira in the undergroundke area. Since this was a sea-resort-like area, there might be a sea monster in here. In short, we''d to be very careful since this was the first time we met this kind of environment.

    Since its just afternoon, and we just finished a boss battle, let''s just do a simple exploration around the fairy za and then take a rest. We''ll start exploring the area tomorrow.

    +++

    Yeah.

    Well then, let''s enjoy the white-sandy beach immediately, shall we?

    One, two, puuull!!

    Yaa~h!

    GUGAGA!

    Mei-chan and Rem pulled a huge made of spider thread on the sandy beach with mymand. Inside the pulled spider web were one, two, three, basically it''s filled with fishes with glittering silver scale.

    HAHAHA, WE GOT A BIG HAUL OF FISH!

    Well then, we might''ve finished with scouting the area, but if you''re wondering why we''re catching fish with makeshift fishing, I''ve to say that the fishes were right there, waiting to be caught.

    Let''s go back to two hours ago.

    Look Kotaro-kun, there''s a lot of fish swinging in this ce.

    Mei-chan spoke like a child, yet her eyes were that of a predator that had found its prey.

    Sure enough, this part of the sea clearly had a lot of fishes swinging in a group. Appearance-wise, they looked like normal, edible fishes. Since our diet always consisted of meat nowadays, I started to miss the taste of fish. Seeing them swimming freely in the sea, I got this craving to eat them. When I looked at Mei-chan, she had already leapt into the sea, towards where she felt the presence of the fishes.

    Mei-chan, can you fish?

    Yeah. I''ve no problem whether it''s sea or river.

    She might''ve mastered such skills to eat freshly caught ingredients. On the other hand, I had zero experience in fishing. I was an indoor type

    But, maybe it''s much better if we cast a fishing. Can you make a fishing, Kotaro-kun?

    I have already made a hammock before. Well, I''ve always made enough for a few people every time we arrived in the new fairy za. That''s why you could say that I was fairly skilled when it came to creating a with spider thread. Creating a fishing is easy pea eh? Why is this thing so fu*king heavy? I mean, it wasn''t the usual, it had a conical shape

    Though it turned out to be rather challenging, I quickly cast the make-shift fishing into the sea.

    And then, we got a big haul of fish thanks to Mei-chan''s rich experience in casting the fishing.

    Lets see, edible, edible, enot edible, edible, not-edible, edible but not that delicious.

    There were various kinds of fish caught in the fishing. There was silver-scaled pike mackerel-like fish, tropical-like multi-coloured fish with triangle head, heck, I even found gold fish-like fish or puffer fish-like fish <i>Wait a minute, this guy''s poison is bad news right!?</i>

    I appraised each variety of fish really carefully with Pharmacy Intuition. Around half of them were edible, a bit less than half were also edible but not delicious, and the rest contained deadly poison. I set aside thest one to create a new poison.

    The sun has set, let''s go back to the fairy za.

    Yeah, this much is enough for our dinner. I really can''t wait to taste the fish after a long time!

    <i> Mei-chan, your drool, your drool.</i>

    The sky might be just a projection, but it seemed to be synchronized with the passage of time. When I looked at my watch, it was only a little bit over six in the evening. Even if it was just a fake, being able to see the sky itself calmed down my mind.

 Chapter 168.1 - Live in Tropical Country

    Chapter 168.1 - Live in Tropical Country

    Our follower, Momokawa Kotaro.

    Y-YES!

    C-Cr*p, it felt like she was about tounch a surprise attack on me.

    Well then, I came to Ruinhilde-sama''s divine space like usual. Well, it was the usual chaotic universe, a mysterious space befitting of a god.

    You''re using a cane, huh.

    A-yes M-My apologies, I only noticed this as ofte.

    She might be referring to the fact that I used Fool''s Cane. I mean, that was the only cane that came to my mind when she referred to cane.

    Those called shaman are wielding canes. You''ve finally taken another step forward.

    Thank you very much.

    Anyhow, I always wee the first part, the praise, but here was the scariest part of being called to this ce. I mean, thest time I called into this space, she split my body right in half right after she praised me.

    Be gentle for this one please

    Whether to advance, retreat, or stagnate, it''s up to you. You may choose peace by not doing anything or choose anything. In truth, you''ve to tread a thorny path if you desire a change.

    Woopsie, here we go, a mysterious and iprehensible lecture from Ruinhilde-sama. As for me, I didn''t give a shit about the truth, I only care about whether it would hurt like hell or not, that''s why my apologies Ruinhilde-sama, your lecture went into my right ear and exited from my left ear.

    Good, since your fate has connected, it''ll form karma. No matter which path you choose, you''ll be

    <i>I''ll be what?</i> Eh, wait a minute, please don''t stop your speech with such a cliffhanger.

    I shall grant thee a new curse.

    <i> Ah, Ruinhilde-sama, please don''t stop your lecture in such tant way by leaving such cliffhanger!</i>

    T-Thank you very much.

    <i>Hey, please tell me that this lecture wasn''t some sort of g for a certain event right, right? Everything will be okay right? The way you stop talking in the middle made me feel uneasy but</i>

    Walking along, the shadow of falsehood will never change and stay by your side.

    She showed her bony hand with long and sharp fingers.

    <i>This pattern</i>, she was going to stab me with her fingers! Was she aiming for my forehead this time? Or eyes? Or heart? Spare my crotch please I gritted my teeth, preparing to ept the iing pain. When I opened my eyes that closed by reflex due to many painful experiences in this space, I saw Ruinhilde-sama''s fingers pointing behind me.

    <i> What''s the matter, is there something behind me?</i>

    Though I was curious and wanted to turn around, I managed to surpress my curiosity with fear but this might be one of those events which I had to turn around. So, I resolved myself and turned around.

    Eh what the, who?

    A ck shadow was standing quietly over there. The shadow, yes, it really was a human-shaped shadow. Upon a closer look, its limbs were wafting around as if it were idle.

    It had no face or special traits. Just a simple human shape that didn''t seem to be any different, but for some reason I got this feeling that its physical features resembled mine.

    Ah, could it be

    And then, with a flick, my line of sight turned around to that of the shadow

    "Zaza~n", "Zaza~n", and thus, we''re weed to the next area by the calming sound of waves. The seemingly endless blue color spread beneath our eyes. It was a sea, A FU*KING SEA.

    Ah!

    I leaked an extremely sloven voice as I was lying slovenly in a splendid beach chair.

    Beside me was a small, low, round table with ice-cold lemonade on top of it.

    Sprawlingzily on this beach while enjoying the rich, pseudo-sunlight raining down incessantly was exactly like a vacation in the southern country. Yeah, as if the life inside the dungeon was a big fat lie.

    This is bad. I don''t want to leave this ce.

    It''d been more than a week since we arrived in this coast area. We''d already finished exploring the area, and I even got a new curse from Ruinhilde-sama on the first night we arrived in this area.

    We ended up overstaying our visit since this ce was veryfortable.

    I mean, we''d a lot of delicious fishes, sweet fruits growing nearby, free for picking. In the forest, there was a whole lot of plump chicken-like birds literally telling us "Feel free to eat our eggs and meat".

    And Mei-chan was really happy as long as there were new ingredients to find, and the same went for me. During such a beautiful life in which we could forget about dungeon capture, and enjoy our vacation in peace, I started to abuse Simple Alchemy Formation to create furniture or tools during our spare time.

    This beach chair was something I made by using the timer around this area with Simple Alchemy Formation, the same went for the small, round table. Even the cup of the lemonade was made from timber.

    Since a certain fruit which we found around this area had just the right lemon-like acidity, we could make fake-lemonade by using that fruit and honey. Since we had enough supply of fresh water from the fairy fountain, I just needed to use Witch''s Kettle to freeze the water and make ice for lemonade.

    Which reminds me,tely, Mei-chan managed to gain perfect control over Witch''s Kettle. Well, it was actually possible to tamper with its function to a certain extent. That also reduced the number of pots that I made for each function.

    Currently, having a few subs for the heating purpose was enough. Those could be used not only for cooking food but also to create condiments or preserved food.

    The fish could be dried, and salt could be prepared with ocean water. The salt was slightly different from goma''s salt, or rather, for us who were used to Japanese sea salt, it felt like our standard of living in this dungeon survival went up to another level.

    When we''re talking about nostalgic taste, the first thing that came to mind was soy sauce we''recking the ingredients for that, but the taste of fish sauce should be close to that.

    Fish sauce was a type of seasoning made by pickling fish in the heap of salt. Though I heard that fish sauce such as nam was quite famous, I''ve never actually tasted it before.

    Since we got so many varieties of edible fishes, Mei-chan insisted on making more variants of it. Until just the other day, she waspletely engrossed in her research to find the most delicious fish sauce by experimenting with every avable fish in this ce.

    Finally, her passionate research bore fruit, Mei-chan finished the perfect fish sauce. When I tried it out, I almost shouted T-This is soy sauce!! due to how simr it was to soy sauce vor. But then, thanks to the additional vor and deliciousness of the fish which became its ingredients, it was <i>wait a minute, could it be that it was actually more delicious than soy sauce?</i>

    And though we sessfully re-created soy sauce, what made both Mei-chan and I most ted was the fact that we could pick all those delicious fruits. I mean, a dessert after hearty meal was a must, right? This was the extreme of luxury, or should I say development?

    Take this lemonade for example, it was made from fake lemon-or should I short it as fakemon-, a fruit which could be found around this area that tasted infinitely close to that of citrus. And look up there, the most indispensable part of southern country, palm tree lookalike.

    But the one I liked the most was the fruit with rich and mellow sweetness like thebination of peach and mango, Momomango. It was so fu*king delicious, yet so rare. Even after investigating the area, we only found two such fruits.

    When we found them, deciding which to eat was so fu*cking difficult. In the end, we went for fifty-fift nay, I''m a third, and Mei-chan two-third. I wanted to hold back from eating too many sweets.

    Anyhow, we got a peaceful ce that we want, a ce abundant with food, and a sandy beach for sunbathing.

    Haa~, I can''t help but start to miss survival life.

    To be honest, living this slow-life wasn''t a bad choice. The food was delicious, and we could maintain thisfortable lifestyle as long as we''d Ruinhilde-sama''s curse, and most of all, I wouldn''t feel lonely since Mei-chan was with me. Well, from her perspective, she might want to be spared living like Adam and Eve with someone like me in this ce.

    Kotaro-ku~n, lunch is ready~.

    And so, when I turned around towards the one who called me with her enchanting, sweet voice I saw the charming figure of a woman who I wanted to spend my life with as Adam and Eve.

    Mei-chan who rushing towards me wasn''t wearing her usual sailor uniform but a white bikini. It was the extremely risqu kind which almostpletely exposed her massive and atrocious twin mountains that could instantly wipe out my sanity. Aah, the way her massive jug-of-tits swayed up and down as she ran made it to look like theyre about to pop out of her bikini bra that barely hung in there, or rather, I couldn''t help but wish it to just pop out <i>Ah, sorry, my deepest apologies for forgetting to pray to you just now, Ruinhilde-sama!</i>

    Yeah, I''ming.

    I replied to her while faking a calm face, stooping forward a little bit so she wouldn''t realize that my lower body had gotten really excited.

    The creation of that swimsuit was a huge blunder

    <i>What? Why did I make it then?</i> I mean look, this ce was hot, there was a sea with white sandy beach nearby, it was only natural that I wanted to make a swimsuit, right? And so, I casually made that white bikini for Mei-chan. Well to be honest, I made it with some hidden motive. Or rather, it was filled with my hidden motive.

    In fact, thanks to my frequent use of spiderweb, the current me could weave proper clothes or two. To be exact, I could manufacture clothes with Simple Alchemy by using Arachne''s thread as the materials.

    Since my curse could even fulfil the clothes part of three basic necessities of life without any problem, the spider thread white bikini for exploring the beach area wasplete.

 Chapter 168.2 - Live in Tropical Country

    Chapter 168.2 - Live in Tropical Country

    To be honest, I got really ho*ny when I created that swimsuit, but as soon as Mei-chan wore thepleted product with a delighted look on her face Woops, let''s not talk about this matter anymore. If I had to say, it was to the point that I was forced to create a pareo on the spot to cover my spider thread trunk for me. I mean, it was a really convenient item since all you needed to do was wrap it around your hip to hide the inside.

    Yeah, maybe it''s about time for us to end this southern country life.

    There''s a lot of delicious food, a peaceful environment, and with the addition of the seemingly never-ending temptation, I might really give up on continuing the dungeon exploration if we stayed any longer.

    Thats not good. I want to go back to Japan, even if we couldn''t, I refuse to be trapped in this sorry dungeon where you had no idea what was gonna happen next for life.

    And most of all, considering how many of my ssmates died and those killed by me until we arrived at this stageThe people who I failed to protect and lost their lives as a result. Thus, there was no way I''m gonna stop in this kind of ce, their dead souls would never forgive me for that.

    Anyhow, let''s do our best from tomorrow.

    Even if today was thest day of our vacation and there was only half a day left, I had no problem with it.

    Yosh, let''s go!

    Despite our reluctance, we departed from the beachside fairy za which gave usfort until today.

    Following the direction of thepass, wed already walked along the coastline for a while now. We engaged inbat whenever we encountered any monster along the beach, still wearing a swimsuit.

    Its defense power was non-existent, but it didn''t really matter since the school uniform we wore so far also offered zero point of defense. Naturally, I wore a shirt since I couldn''t calm my mind unless I wore something to cover my upper-half.

    Mei-chan on the other hand was still in her glorious swimsuit form. Even now, her ever glorious, and tempting twin-everests were bouncing non-stop by my side. <i>Uh, okay, calm down little me, don''t go into berserk mode</i>

    Ah, something came out, Kotaro-kun.

    <i>Nice timing, monsters!</i> Now I finally had something to distract me from the tempting massive, twin-object beside me.

    As expected, it''s Jiras huh.

    The figures that came out from the waves one after another were bipedal fishes. To be exact, it was a human-like monster with a fish head. I''ve fought them once before in the undergroundke, but this one seemed to be their variant I mean, their color seemed to be brighter than the one in the undergroundke.

    Look, there''s an even bigger one. For some reason, it gave a govu-like feeling.

    Yeah, it seems to be called Jajiras.

    The almost unrealiable mail function suddenly sent an update notification this time. Both Mei-chan and I received the information about jiras-type monsters.

    I see, I''ve prepared for this but yeah, this is just disgusting.

    Amongst the crowd of jirases that appeared before us, one was a head taller than the others, and more muscr. It felt like the scenery of a single govu mixed amongst goma, really obvious.

    And then, this jiras-version of govu, jajiras had far bigger fins than normal jiras, with acorn barnacle covering its body and limbs.

    +++

    I mean, it looked like the real version of urban legend which said that if your knees were grazed in the sea someday it''s going to be filled with acorn barnacles. I mean, the scenery of so many spiral-shaped shells jam-packed together was enough to send a chill running down my spine.

    And those acorn bernacles acted like some sort of armor for jajiras. Practically, it might be impossible to cut through the acorn barnacle with a blunt de.

    Kotaro-kun. Giant acorn barnacle is actually a high-quality ingredients, it''s really delicious when you steam it with salt and sa

    That fe is inedible, give it up and just mow them down!

    Though I felt bad for her, I really had no choice but to stop Mei-chans gourmet adventure with this one. Hearing that, she charged straight into the crowds of Jiras with the might rivaling that of a dump truck, yet she looked rather disappointed for some reason.

    Nevertheless, her figure when she was swinging around her huge halberd in her bikini was really FANTASTIC.

    Now, the Jajiras whose body was covered in ck shells were raising a warcry while raising the spear in its hand.

    GYOOOGYOOOGYOGYOO!

    Fuh, done.

    The jiras'' army that charged recklessly at us waspletely obliterated by Mei-chan whose raw t!ts kept trying to charm me. Even though there were traces of their blood sttered on her bikini, it could be washed clean immediately. Well that aside, Mei-chan was really a berserker. An extremely charming berserker.

    By the way, I used the corpse of the strongest amongst them, Jajiras to create Corpse Doll, and recycled the rest.

    Nowadays, thanks to my constant use of Rem, The Dark Knight, Arachne, and the 3rd, in addition to summoning skeletons troopers, I could barely create Rem the 4th. If we''re going all out, it would be extremely difficult to maximize each other''s potential.

    That''s why when we included this jajiras, this guy couldn''t be counted as war potential. But then, I still had to turn this fe into Corpse Doll since there was nothing wrong with having too much war potential.

    Well then, I''m looking forward to working with you.

    GYOGYO!

    The ck jajira went into the sea while raising a strange cry.

    Ooh, as expected of fishman, she could swim very well. Her figure got away in the blink of eyes, and vanished between the waves.

    Why did you send her away, Kotaro-kun?

    Mei-chan came to ask me after shed washed off the blood stter on her swimsuit. Yup, her figure wrapped in the wet swimsuit was even more charming than before.

    I want to try looking inside the sea.

    At the very least, this ce was a dungeon. To be exact, a giant pool made to resemble a coastal area,plete with the sea, flora, and fauna.

    I mean, we received blessings of the sea in the form of marine products until just recently, but since we met jiras after we decided to leave, there must be monsters living in the sea. Maybe, we could find something that was different from the monster in the sea.

    Problem was, I had no idea what was the form of that "something", it could be an extremely dangerous magic trap or a sunken ship filled with treasure.

    Just curious since we couldn''t survey the area inside of the sea.

    Uhm, if feels like a normal sea for me though.

    Well, it was something akin to sea diving after having enough of the life in the southern, coastal country. And let''s pick some delicacies such as sea-urchins or shellfish if I find them.

    That area near fairy za was surprisingly peaceful and yet jirase out once we entered this area, so there might be a jiras nest at the bottom of the sea of this area.

    I see, we might be wiped out if we''re fighting in the sea.

    No, let''s not speak about being wiped out.

    I mean, let''s stop talking under the assumption that we''re gonna be wiped out. Mei-chan''s train of thought became rather strange after her transformation into a berserker.

    Anyway, let''s entrust the matter of investigating the sea to Rem, and while we look for campside around this area

    That moment, a water column rose on the sea surface far from our position with "ZAPAN!". A single nce was enough to affirm that it was caused by a huge creature.

    Wha-Wha-What the hell is that? It''s like a whale, or shark.

    It was clearly the appearance of a huge, aquatic monster. But we''re on a sandy beach, far away from where that creature appeared, that''s why Mei-chan spoke with such carefree voice as if she was in the middle of a tour to see migrating whales.

    Sure enough, it wasn''t dangerous for us. But, BUUUUUUUUUUT, its sheer size that rivaled that of thunder T-Rex or smander along with its overwhelming presence was enough to send a chill running down my spine.

    Id imagined it would be a giant shark or great octopus king, but I never expected for a mosasaurs to appear.

    I only saw it for a moment, but the creature with huge fins on a whale-like body and the crocodile-like head was most simr to the prehistoric dinosaur that I know, mosasaurs.

    It was a carnivore, oceanic reptile that lived in thetter cretaceous period. To put it simply, it was an oceanic dinosaur.

    In addition, Jajiras Rem was eaten by that fe. I mean, my connection with Jajiras Rem suddenly interrupted right when that oceanic dinosaur appeared.

    Well, this sea turned out to be far more dangerous than our expectation.

    What shall we do if that fe turns out to be the boss of this area?

    <i>Uwaa, please stop gging us, Mei-chan.</i> I was rather familiar with the underwater stage in the game. But then, it was an impossible feat for normal huma ah wait, Tendou-kun did jump into the undergroundke to fight the crocodile-like boss.

    At that time, I''d be praying desperately to be gifted with a skill that will allow me to fight underwater.

    It might be impossible for me, but I want to give one chance to Mei-chan.

    U~h, maybe we should train our underwaterbat skills from now on. I mean, we''re in our swimsuit too.

    Let''s not force ourselves to do the impossible.

    For the time being, wed only raised our vignce towards the monster thatnded from the sea. We''re safe from that dangerous-looking giant monster in the sea as long as we''re still onnd.

 Chapter 169.1 - Red Raptor

    Chapter 169.1 - Red Raptor

    After Jajiras Rem was eaten by that mosasaurs-like giant aquatic monster, we walked away from the ocean and then entered the forest that resembled the jungle area in order to build our camp there. We avoided camping along the coastline which barely had any hiding ce for our cover since we found out that jiras frequently went to thend. And even if the jungle area we choose was far from safe, the current us were focusing on getting away from the jiras. Those human-shaped fish wouldn''t go as far as entering the forest.

    Our campsite became huge spiderwebs sticking from one giant tree to the others. Rather, we literally slept in Arachne''s nest, made by Rem.

    And there was no need to fear it would get torn to shreds since I''ve had first-hand experience trapped as stock food for Arachne. In short, the spiderwebs were extremely resilient to the point that it was safe for us to use it as scaffolding. As long as Rem the 2nd AKA Arachne Rem made full use of her abilities, she could go as far as creating Arachne nest without its unique adhesive nature, really user-friendly for us.

    It took a long time to create it, but it was worth it. We needed to guarantee our safety when we built camp outside of the fairy za. I pulled a full stop when it came to going to the bed.

    Great, this should be enough.

    I nodded in satisfaction while looking at the result of todays hard work along with Arachne Rem.

    I went up onto the spiderwebs when it was time for bed. There was no need for me to climb the tree since I could create adder to climb by using a ck hair bind.

    Mei-chan and I were sleeping on top of the nest while Arachne Rem was on the lookout. On the ground were Dark Knight Rem and Rem the 3rd. Just in case, I also summoned skeletons'' corps. No one was going to aim for my skull collection and y doll as their trophy anyway.

    Kotaro-ku~n, dinner is ready.

    Ans so, Mei-chan called me just like usual after she was done with cooking dinner.

    Today''s menu was crab, crab, and crab. Well, we found a giant crab by some sort of coincidence. To be exact, a crab-like monster.

    It was an atrocious-looking crab with a pair of sharp pincers with sharpness rivalling that of a mantis de and carapace as tough as a rock spider''s carapace. In fact, it was extremely aggressive since it just suddenly rushed at us as soon as it saw us.

    But even that giant, atrocious-looking crab was defeated by my charming berserker, Mei-chan, and turned into a full-course crab meal for our dinner. Man, I was really grateful to all edible monsters.

    It has a light vour but there''s faint umami in it.

    Yup, it was delicious. The shell that was boiled in the witch''s kettle gave faint umami to the soup just like the king crabs.

    It didn''t taste like meat or fish broth, yet was still delicious, as expected of crustaceans.

    And thanks to its huge size, it also has a lot of that delicious crab brain.

    Yuup.

    I was having my fill of crab brain taken from the atrocious looking carapace with a lot of splinters growing from it.

    After the dinner, we did simple maintenance of our weapons, and then I did a bit of study about ancientnguage while Mei-chan did research about new ingredients then prepared to go to bed around an hour or twoter. We could actually keep the bonfire, but there was no need to maintain it for the entire night. We slept not long after the sunset, and woke up along with the dawn. This was basic to outdoor camping. Well, we''re inside a gigantic dungeon though.

    Well then, since it''s been really dark now, good ni~ght.

    Kotaro-kun

    My eyes snapped open upon hearing the whisper right beside my ear.

    Dark. I was surrounded byplete darkness. Even though the night had yet to fullye, or wait, was it midnight already?

    I couldn''t see anything but I knew that Mei-chan was right beside me. Maybe, even her face was right beside mine right now.

    Eh, yes?

    I reflexively replied with a dumbfounded voice.

    What could wake her up in the middle of the night? Is it the famous "Reverse Night Crawl" event? Or else, did I wake up right before the deed and realised that all of this was just my dream?

    We might''ve been surrounded by enemies.

    SERIOUSLY!?

    My sleepiness blew away the moment I heard that it was an enemy attack instead of Mei-chan''s "Reverse Night Crawl". I then tried to recall the simtion in case we were raided when camped outside fairy za.

    What''s the identity of the enemies surrounding us right now?

    It''s definitely monsters. They''re moving in flocks but it seems they''re stealthy on top of that.

    So that was the reason why Rems had yet to warn us about their arrival. Meaning that even when she was asleep, Mei-chan''s berserker instinct was still working at full throttle. I mean, the chance of Rem betraying me was zero.

    The only silver lining in this situation is the fact that the enemies aren''t ssmates. But still, they seem to be strong.

    Rem had yet to notice the iing enemies, or rather, they were already standing by after hearing what I said, but our enemies might be small fries such as Goma since they went as far as approaching us stealthily. Did that mean they''re special forces sent by those jiras to attack us? Something like Navy Jiras for example?

    Let''s leave this ce and go out to the beach.

    Since our opponent came in the midnight, they were most likely nocturnal. And yet, they could move stealthily in this forest as if they''re used to it. That''s why there was a chance that they were going to abandon their raid if we stepped out of the jungle and into the beach area.

    Though moving on to open sandy beach without any cover looked like a poor decision against an opponent whose number was superior to us. For us, being besieged on the sandy beach was much better than being besieged in the forest, our opponents home ground. I mean, we couldn''t shake off the darkness no matter how many torches we kindled in the forest, and we''re not used to this jungle.

    Let''s go, Kotaro-kun!

    Mei-chan put on her equipment in a sh, and then carried me along with her shield she held in her left hand.

    With the side benefit namely glued to her soft and tender body, that satisfying sensation blew away immediately due to the sensation of being carried at high speed.

    It seemed the enemies were about to rush at us anytime now that''s why Mei-chan carried me and jumped from the Arachne nest.

    I felt an extremely strong impact uponnding. But it was okay since the impact was killed as my head buried into extremely soft gigantic moundsparable to the most luxurious air-bag. It was so amazing, my face was buried soooo deeeeeeeeeep in it to the point that I could barely take a breath. Sorry, but can I ask for an encore?

    We finally got away from them! Now light the torch!

    Even though all this non-stop action was wearing me down, I looked at Rems and the skeletons and shouted at them.

    All of them carried a torch with them as our bodyguards during the nighttime. Though there was no need to use the torch since they could kill all the small fries who dared to approach us during the night, now wasn''t the time since we had to intercept the other party. Rem had no problem with seeing in the dark, and it seemed to be the same for the skeletons. That''s why they had no problem with their vision even in the darkest of the night but hey, we''re the ones who actually need them, you know?

    The light from our torches illuminated our surroundings. At least we didn''t have to worry about stumbling due to the roots of trees when fighting in this open space.

    Mei-chan in the front, Rem-the Dark Knight and Rem the 3rd at the sides, and Arachne Rem to the rear with the skeleton squads right behind. They started to form a column formation as they ran in the forest.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    A piercing roar resounded in the forest.

    HUMPH!

    The sound of a sharp halberd strike could be heard along with the usual harrumphing voice of the lovely berserker who ran in front of me.

    It was then followed by the death throes of the targets who got hacked to death by Mei-chan. Did we manage to break through their encirclement? Or did they simply just chase after us who was trying to escape? It was hard to know which one it was, but one thing for sure, the number of iing enemies kept increasing.

    Raptor huh.

    Though the fe who got hacked to death by Mei-chan was thrown back while raising spray of blood, I managed to catch a nce at its dinosaur-like appearance.

    And due to ot the torches that illuminated our surroundings, I could see that the raptors that were encircling us were raising noisy warcries. Yeah, there was no mistake about it, all of them were raptors.

    I heaved a sigh of relief upon finding that we were fighting against familiar opponents. I mean, the scariest opponent was the kind of opponent that we had no idea about.

    Raptor was amongst the strongest monsters in the small fry category. They were quick-witted, equipped with sharp fangs and ws, and protected with scales. Maybe the only monster who could win in a group battle against them was gore.

    ording to Mei-chan, this was the first time we had gotten surrounded by so many monsters, but Mei-chan who experienced tremendous growth as a berserker, Rem whose power had been upgraded by the living armour''s equipment, and "PLUS " such as the skeleton squad and me, we could pretty much get through this situation with ease. Once we managed to leave the forest and entered the beach where we were free from the threat of idental death such as having those raptors aiming for me using our blind spot, our victory would be guarante

    Kotaro-kun, the exit towards the beach is

    Mei-chan stopped running once we got through the thicket and entered the sandy beach.

    When I was about to ask "Is something the matter?" to her while turning around, I stopped upon seeing the situation behind us.

    No way, three giant crabs at such timing!

    Waiting on the beach were the figures of giant crabs-whose kin had turned into a delicious dinner some time ago- waiting for us with their pair of sharp-looking pincers. And three of them on top of that. Even though we only met one of them during the day, were they actually moving in crowds too?

    One of them wouldn''t be a big deal. Mei-chan could insta-kill them with ease. There was no problem even if the two of them came out together. I mean, Mei-chan could take care of one of them, while Rem-The Dark Knight would take care of the other one.

    But, of all things, three suddenly decided to have a reunion. Insta-killing them was pretty much impossible in this situation. I mean, one of them would be free while Mei-chan and Rem-The Dark Knight were taking care of their opponents.

 Chapter 169.2 - Red Raptor

    Chapter 169.2 - Red Raptor

    The giant crab has a tough shell rivaling that of a rock spider. Normally speaking, only berserker or the dark knight could break through those shells with ease, it was still a bit too much for Rem the 3rd who just strengthed a little bit stronger than her normal form. Nevertheless, though Arachne Rem, I, and skeletons squad could distract the third giant crab there was the raptor''s crowd eyeing us from behind, in the forest.

    Crabs at the front gate, raptors at the back gate. Though the saying sounds much better than lion and wolf, in reality, those crabs and raptors were far more terrifying than lion and wolf.

    Mei-chan, take care of the crab! Arachne, support her!

    YES!!

    SHAAAAAAA!

    For now, Mei-chan should be able to deal with those three giant crabs. There shouldn''t be a problem since she also got the support of Arachne Rem.

    And then, with Rem-Dark Knight and Rem the 3rd as a vanguard, and skeleton squad as a meat wall, we will block the iing raptors. These raptors were much easier to handle than those infinitely spammed high zombies.

    Maybe those giant crabs appeared in the worst timing as if it had been waiting for us was to avenge theirrade who became our dinner. Well, today might simply just not be our lucky day. Since the misfortune kepting one after another as if to prove Wait a minute, was this really just a mere coincidence?

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Let''s do it like usual, Rem. Spread, Rotten Bog

    First, let''s use our usual tactic, pulling them into Rotten Bog. Since I couldn''t underestimate the raptors'' jumping strength, I did my best to create the biggest bog I could make.

    Both Rem-Dark Knight and The 3rd could make full use of the bog. They would disturb the monster who tried to jump over the bog. In the worst case, I could disturb their jum with ck hair feeler.

    As for the skeletons, though they couldn''t move properly in the bog created on the sandy beach, it was plenty enough to allow them to fight.

    Andstly, I just needed to keep those raptors at bay as long as possible. I''m gonna disturb their jump with ckhair Bind, and kept them at bay with Redhair Twine. And then, by loading Summoner''s Skull into the Fool''s Cane, I could use Poison which could insta-kill raptor-level monster.

    Here we go. Kill''em all.

    This was the winning form that we kept using even now. I also had some leeway thanks to an offensive skill called Poison. But, the flock raptors were unperturbed by those.

    Raptor who grew in the wild wasn''t a fool. They would retreat as soon as they saw us dispatching a few of theirrades with ease since they knew that the gain wasn''t worth it. Based on the previous experience, it should be about the time for them to give up but

    KYOAAA!

    That moment, I saw a red silhouette at the edge of my field of vision.

    Was it just my imagination, or else correction, it wasn''t just my imagination.

    There''s red-colored fe mixing in amongst the raptors.

    Was that, raptor''s sub-species? Or else, their boss? Anyhow, there was no mistaking, it really was red-raptor.

    If it really was raptor sub-species, the least I could hope for it was strengthened physical capabilities, and being able to breathe fire. But, since I had no idea what kind of ace-in-the-hole it has, I had better not get closer to it for now.

    Where is that fe?

    Despite its conspicuous red color, I had a hard time finding it since it was moving way too fast. But it shouldn''t be able to hide for so long in this open spa THERE YOU ARE!

    SHAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor was, upon a closer look, notpletely red, but had red stripes like a tiger. Its entire body was covered in bright red color, with long, dark brown color stripe like that of the original raptor.

    But its greatest feature wasn''t its color but the shape of its head and tail.

    Its head was shaped as if it was prepared to pierce through the enemy who stood in front of it with pair of sharp horns on its head. A normal raptor had no such horn growing from its head but the red fe had two horns growing from its head. There was also this thick and hard shell covering its head, making it look like a helmet.

    Its tail was like that of a jagged de. Its cutting strength might be inferior to that of knight mantis''s scythe, but its length and thickness, along with its atrocious, saw-like appearance made it look really cool.

    No doubt, that fe was the boss. That appearance, that presence was definitely different from your average raptor.

    I had to bring that guy down no matter what. Now wash your neck. You''re already within my Poison''s range.

    EAT THIS, POISON!

    Seeing the red raptor standing at the edge of the acid bog, and after making sure that it was already inside my line of sight, I unleashed an invisible curse, Poison toward it. This curse which would deliver poison toward the enemy in a straight line, in my line of sight, was supposed to be invisible to the other party yes, it SHOULD be invisible.

    SHA, KUAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor''s body suddenly arched forward alongside its loud scream. And by the time I noticed, that fe had already gotten away from my line of sight.

    No way, it dodged!?

    Could it be that fe could see something along the poison wave heading toward it? Or else, did it notice in that instant that it wouldn''t hit by my curse as long as it avoided my line of sight? It would be okay if it was just a coincidence, but

    Aaah, dammit, that fe is way too agile!

    That fe then transformed into the red gale, running around in the vicinity of the acid bog. I tried my best to take down that fe, but its running speed, and the way it was jumping around randomly, sometimes hiding into the flock of itsrades, it kept dodging all the curses aimed toward it splendidly.

    Crap, my poor dynamic vision couldn''t catch up with that fe''s erratic movements. To begin with, aiming and shooting were something that I''m really bad at. It wasn''t that I hate FPS, but I didn''t like it that much either.

    SHAAA, SHAAA!

    The red raptor who slipped out of my aim then came out and unleashed a counterattack. It swung its saw-like tail toward the nearby skeletons.

    Naturally, the skeleton mob which was nothing more than the weakest mob in this dungeon was crushed like cookies when the strong, saw-like tail de struck them. The tail that swung horizontally split the skeleton in half right from its waist.

    But when I tried to fire Poison using that gap when it paused for a moment after unleashing an attack

    SHAAAAAAAAAAA!

    It failed since the red raptor didn''t stop moving after it unleashed its attack.

    It skillfully dodged my aim with fluid motion, stepping onto the fallen upper half of the skeleton who just got bisected, it then kicked out with its muscr rear leg, and ran along the sandy beach.

 Chapter 169.3 - Red Raptor

    Chapter 169.3 - Red Raptor

    Seriously, what should I do now?

    And it was gliding.

    Yes, it was fu*king gliding on the surface of an acid bog using the wreckage of a skeleton instead of a surfing board.

    Well, Rotten Bog''s depth was shallow, to begin with. It wasn''t exaggerated to say that its depth was akin to a puddle. That''s why a corpse that fell into the puddle was enough to bury the bog.

    A longer preparation was needed to create a deeper bog. To create a bog-like the one I used to defeat basilisk, I made a magic circle and offered a sacrifice.

    Naturally, the one I used this time wasn''t that, it was the one I invoked with several drops of my blood on a cursed crest. The water was shallow as usual. In addition, the strong acid that filled the bog was thicker than water and far more slippery. In short, gliding on its surface was really easy.

    What the hell is this fePoison

    I kept firing my curse toward the red raptor that came close with apletely unexpected method, surfing a board of skeletons. It came close in a straight line. If that was all it did, hitting it would be easier.

    SHAAAAAAAAA!

    At that moment, the red raptor jumped. It was a splendid jump, a great jump.

    OH CRA

    Dammit, I missed it. The Poison that I fired on its trajectory missed a big time when the red raptor jumped up.

    And just like that, it leapt straight toward me who stood on the other side of the bog.

    That was fast, the next Poison wouldn''t make it in time, it wasn''t a skill that could be fired rapidly. If that''s the case, ck hair bi dammit, it won''t make it in time, the raptor''s ws had already arrived right in front of me!

    GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    But Rem the 3rd came from the side, tackling the red raptor as she raised loud warcries.

    Rem!

    GUGU, GUGAGAGA!

    Anyhow, she might havee to my side immediately upon seeing the dangerous situation. She rammed her bare hand, as strong as she could toward the red raptor.

    Thanks to her quick reaction, I narrowly escaped death.

    SHA, KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor seemed to be pissed off since it got disturbed just when it was one step away from bringing down its prey, me. Even when it fell on the acid bog, it stood up and immediately roared in rage as if the acid in the bog couldn''t hurt it.

    Rem the 3rd was also readying herself to challenge the red raptor again, and rushing toward thetter.

    The red raptor bit into Rem as if it wanted to tear her apart. Its fangs bit deep into Rem the 3rd''s shoulder, creating a crunching sound as it pierced through Rem''s armour, and then turned around as if trying to fling Rem away from this ce.

    GUGAA!

    In the end, it swung its saw-like tail toward Rem the 3rd who helplessly got thrown to the ground. That one, martial art-like strike, beheaded Rem the 3rd''s head with a single red sh.

    At that moment, I felt Rem the 3rd''s connection with me get cut off. She died.

    Poison

    I fired the curse toward the red raptor that just killed Rem. But maybe because it didn''t let its guard down toward my curse even when it was enraged, it dodged quickly right before I fired my curse. Dammit, how could this fe dodge the spell at such a close distance!

    GISHAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor then bared its fangs toward me. It could still dodge Poison even when I fired it from an arms distance.

    Thus, I decided to change my tactic.

    This time, I was gonna use Sakurai-kun''s tactic, the poison smoke bullet made by Hinagiku-san''s Poison.

    Since it was literally impossible for me to hit the red raptor with its super evasion abilities, even from point-nk rage- I threw the ball at its feet.

    Poison smoke bullet was encased in a type of container that could break easily upon impact, which would trigger the poisonous-looking, purplish smoke to spread at once.

    GIII, SHAAAAAAAA!?

    The red raptor cried as if being wary of what I was going to do next, but the smoke had already entered within its range. Even if it was clever enough to dodge an attack that woulde from a straight line, it wouldn''t be able to dodge the poisonous smoke that enveloped it. This fe wouldn''t be able to dodge the spreading poisonous smoke it ran into.

    But this measure alone was far from enough to finish it off. Its fangs or ws might kill me first before the Poison.

    Thus, I had to hold it in its ce. Naturally, the one I was going to use this time was the reliable ckhair Bind!

    STAY IN YOUR POSITION, BLACKHAIR BIIIIIINO!?

    SHAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    A red de, that fe''s tail de rushed toward me from inside the smoke that was hiding its figure.

    A momentter, I felt a red liquid dripping down from my cheek which was followed by sharp pain but, I knew that this wasn''t a fatal wound. The enemy was right in front of me!

    UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    I used all my willpower to bind its limbs and used myst resort, Higuchi''s butterfly knife, and the red knife. If it was at this distance, even I would be able to

    Kotaro-kun!

    GURURU, GAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Mei-chan, our guardian deity, came from behind while unleashing her terrifying might. At the same time, Rem-the dark knight also made her move, keeping the other raptors in check.

    SHAA, KUAA, KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor reacted swiftly upon seeing the change in the battlefield. It was just one step away from killing me but chose to retreat while raising loud cries.

    After the purple smoke cleared away, I caught a glimpse of a red-figure crossing over the bog by using itsrades'' corpses.

    I-It got away huh

    As expected, the wild monster pulled away at the sight of Mei-chan''s brave figure. In the blink of an eye, the battle on the sandy beach had ended, and peace returned to this sandy beach at night.

    And yet, I still held the two knives in my hands, unable to calm myself after such an ambush battle.

    K-Kotaro-kun! The-The-There a wound on Yo-Your fa-fa-face!?

    +++

    Eh ah, it''s okay, it''s just a scratch.

    Come to think of it, there was a graze on my cheek. Mei-chan looked like she was about to cry as she approached me as if she was experiencing more pain than me. On the other hand, I calmed down.

    Bu-Bu-But, i-it''s my fault if such a scar remains on your face!

    It''s okay, something like a scar could be healed in no time with my ointment, that''s why calm down.

    While soothing Mei-chan who was shaken even more than me, I smeared ointment A, which had already be something akin to a household ointment, on my cheek. Uuh, it stung, it''d been a long time since I felt this

    Sorry, Kotaro-kun, if only I was a little faster.

    N-No, don''t worry about it. I mean, you had to deal with only those crabs, but you still dealt with raptors too.

    She aplished her duty as a vanguard with a perfect score. I mean, she splendidly kicked the ass of three giant crabs and turned the table against the raptors that surrounded her.

    The one who let his guard down is me.

    If the aim of that jagged tail-de was a bit lower, I don''t think it wouldve ended with something as simple as this scratch on my cheek, I might have even lost my head. The reason that fe missed that attack was because of the poisonous smoke affecting its vision.

    I really was lucky that the melee only ended up with a scratch on my cheek. Yes, I was literally inches away from death just now. It wasn''t a boss battle or battle against a ssmate; I realized yet again that even a small fry could kill me if I underestimated them. I had lowered my vignce as soon as I realized that we were up against the raptor.

    I thought that I had control over the situation, but I wouldn''t have been put in such a dangerous situation if I didn''t underestimate the enemy, and the result of this battle might change. Rem the 3rd wouldn''t have me=et her end, I wouldn''t have received this ugly wound on my cheek, and that red raptor wouldn''t have been able to get away.

    For example, because I was overly relying on the convenient Poison, I neglected the fact that I could switch the role of Rem the 3rd with Rem-Dark Knight once I realized that I couldn''t hit the red raptor with poison. I mean, as long as I could use Rem the 3rd and skeletons squad even better, Rem-Dark Knight should be able to stop taking care of those raptors.

    I mean, no matter how clever Rem had be, she always fought as the vanguard, thuscking the ability to see the entire battlefield. The most she could do right now was cooperate with my n based on the information that she knows in short, I shouldn''t participate in offense and just focus on seeing the overall situation in the battle and adjusting the n ordingly.

    Let''s leave this ce for now. We should choose another camping ce to take a rest.

    Uhm understood.

    After collecting the minimum amount of materials and core, we took no time to leave the sandy beach that already reeking of blood after that battle.

 Chapter 170.1 - Traces

    Chapter 170.1 - Traces

    It was the second day since we had been walking along the coastline.

    As expected, it''s trailing after us.

    It seemed that the red raptor had been following us persistently.

    <i>What a tenacious fe!</i> Bears have a strong affinity for following their prey, but it seems raptors have the same trait too. Or else, it was simply itching to avenge many of its fallen subordinates.

    Whatever the reason might be, it was undoubtedly following us.

    The raptor had yet toe to raid our base again save for the raid that night. Yes, it was "yet", but those fes had been following us ever since.

    I mean, we would see a crowd of raptors from time to time. It was quite normal with another group, but the one that didn''t attack upon seeing us was clearly following amand to observe our actions.

    Just to be sure, I tried to scout them.

    Thebat power of the bird''s Corpse Doll which I used for Rem to scout in the battle against Sakurai-kun was nonexistent, but shed gained an ability to scout our enemy with a bird''s eyes instead. I used several bird-type Rems and spread them in every direction instead of reviving Rem the 3rd who was murdered (not dead) by the red raptor.

    And then, Bird Rem told me that she saw a glimpse of that red raptor trailing us. I wasn''t so naive as to think that they merely happened to walk in the same direction as us.

    I had been reflecting on many things after their previous ambush. I hadmitted a blunder that almost killed me that time but I had to admit that the boss of those raptors, the red raptor was an extremely cunning fe.

    First, about the three giant crabs who appeared right there as if theyd been waiting for us toe out from the jungle might be the one who got lured by that red raptor toe to that specific ce, or just scrap that "might be", after experiencing a direct sh against that the red raptor, I was convinced that that fe was the culprit.

    I''d pretty much confirmed the traits of the giant crab over the course of two days we spent walking along the coastline. Normally, they would sleep under the sandy beach, or loiter around the beach in search of prey. They only came out when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching their sleeping ce.

    But they wouldn''t go after us as long as we ran into the forest.

    We had grasped the essence of the giant crab ecology over the course of these two days. And the red raptor that had been living for a long time in this area was surely aware of the giant crab trait. Thus, it was highly possible for raptors to awaken the giant crabs sleeping under the sandy beach and then bait, making theme after it. And given its running speed, well, escaping from those crabs was easy since the raptor just needed to run into the jungle located right beside the beach.

    That''s why against the kind of prey that it saw for the first time, namely human, the red raptor not only set the ambush to happen in the jungle, its home base but also cut off our retreat toward the sandy beach by kiting those giant crabs over there  was what I concluded upon post-battle reflection.

    I didn''t care even if it was only my own delusion of seeing a monster attempting to do an (Monster yer Killer). At least, when ites to that red raptor, I should go with the assumption that it had that much intelligence. Though it had terrifyingbat power, the most terrifying aspect about that red raptor was the fact that it was highly intelligent. I mean, using the wreckage of skeletons to surf over the acidke had already surpassed the realm of makeshift judgment.

    To be honest, this kind of highly intelligent opponent was far more troublesome than those muscle-brained bosses. It happened once in a while in , a small fry monster whose strength surpassed that of the boss.

    Kotaro-kun, shall I go and beat that fe?

    No, our opponent is way too dangerous.

    It''s okay, I can easily kick the ass of that red raptor!

    In terms ofbat strength, you''re definitely stronger than that fe, Mei-chan. That''s why it is definitely going to avoid a direct confrontation with you. Rather, you gave that fe a chance that it had been waiting for by leaving my side.

    Maybe the reason the red raptor''s group was not trying to hide was so we would know about them.

    Firstly, after the previous ambush, the other party clearly understood our strength. They knew that they''re no match for Mei-chan even if they pitted her against the giant crabs and surrounded her with arge number of raptors. In addition, there was also Rem-Dark Knight who could fight forever without worrying about fatigue or pain. Both of them were our team''s greatestbat potential. On the contrary, everyone else, aside from them, were small fries.

    Knowing that the red raptor was definitely waiting for those two to leave my side. Had I sent Mei-chan to subjugate the red raptor, the red raptor might have split half of its pack to stop Mei-chan, and use the other half to kill me.

    That''s why Mei-chan and Dark Knight absolutely cannot leave my side.

    I- I see now to be able to see that far ahead, as expected of Kotaro-kun.

    No, I think that anyone who experienced that battle woulde to the same conclusion. Or not, Mei-chan who became stronger might''ve not thought that much about a makeshift tactic like that.

    Haa, I also want to be able to solve a problem with brute force like a certain peerless berserker. I mean, I got this feeling that she could dodge Poison with ease. Absolutely not someone who I wanted as an enemy.

    Those fes might not attack us as long as we didn''t show any gap. Since we''re still in their home ground, they definitely are not going to give up on us that easily. They''re confident that they can beat us in a drawn-out battle.

    Then, shall we ignore them till we beat the boss of this area?

    No, we''ve to beat them as soon as possible. It''s still fine right now, but theyre definitely going to start their attack after weve exhausted ourselves fighting another strong monster.

    In short, the red raptor was gonna order its flocks to attack us even at the slightest sign of us having a hard time in the battle. In that situation, it was literally a dead end for us.

    Naturally, there wouldn''t be any problem if we could arrive at the boss room without any encounter but  it was much safer to get rid of them as soon as possible.

    Uhm, so, what shall we do then?

    We need a tactic to lure out the red raptor and its flocks.

    Our skill had been revealed to those raptors in that night raid, but it didn''t mean that they knew all of our skill-set.

    Anyhow, let''s secure a base somewhere in that ruin.

    My line of sight was directed at the buildings lined along the sandy beach. There were so many tall buildings that looked like hotels. To be honest, it reminded me more and more of Hawaii or a southern country''s resort.

    Nevertheless, just like in the previous area, half of the buildings had already been encroached by vegetation, just like post-apocalypse ruins.

    The jungle was a raptor''s area. But the ce with the man-made building was our turf, humans.

 Chapter 170.2 - Traces

    Chapter 170.2 - Traces

    We finally arrived at the beach resort-like ruin. With so many huge buildings, there should be a fairy za somewhere around this ce, and even if there weren''t any, the buildings alone were enough to serve as our base.

    First, we''d to find a ce for our base.

    Uhm, by the way, that building over there is the best candidate.

    Among the ruin that had been covered in greens was a single building that was still in beautiful condition, for some reason. Well, its color had faded due to the passage of time, but it hadn''t copsed or cracked. In addition, the non-existing greenery made it look like the nts were avoiding that particr building. And it wasn''t just the building, even the garden was free from the encroachment of nature.

    Was this ce filled with herbicide? Or else, it might be protected by a magic barrier that preserved the building. If possible, I wished it to be thetter. Thus, we walked toward that building.

    We entered from the front, it was then that I realized it was just as Id imagined. Though this building looked like a hotel from afar, from the remnant of pce-like ornaments in various ces, and an atrium-like structure built until the third floor, this building was definitely an important facility.

    GYOGYO, GYOAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And then, its jiras'' employees weed us, the first guests in who knows how long.

    Since there''re jiras inside, there''s a high possibility that there''ll be a treasure box inside.

    Let''s pray for that.

    Mei-chan annihted the jiras in a sh, and their corpses were carried by summoned skeletons. We couldn''t leave nature to take care of their corpses right now after all. Their foul smell might attract the other monsters.

    Now, let''s explore the hotel while letting the skeletons do menial, albeit, troublesome jobs.

    It seems no one is here aside from jiras.

    We didn''t encounter any other monsters other than jiras on the second and third floors. It waspletely different from a ruined city where we would chance upon wild animals every now and then inside the building. However, I didn''t feel their presence at all in this building. In the end, even those jiras might also be looking for the treasure box.

    In short, the thing that drove the monsters and nts away from this ce was poison but

    Kotaro-kun, there''s a huge jajiras over there, but it has already died.

    Mei-chan, who goes in first to clean the route, returned and reported that information to me.

    When I tried looking into the hall that looked like a multi-purpose hall from the opened doors, I did see the corpse of jajiras and a few other jiras around it.

    After checking our surroundings to make sure that we''re alone, like when ambushing gomas trap a long time ago, we charged in with weapons in hand.

    But nothing happened after that. There was no trap whatsoever, only jiras corpses left in this ce.

    Is this, an internal discord?

    Since this huge jajiras seems powerful, I don''t think these jiras could kill it.

    Since that was the case, were they killed by another monster? But upon a closer look at their corpses, it didn''t seem to be the case.

    There''s a cut wound on their chests and the sign of their core being taken out. Our ssmates.

    !!??

    Hearing the result of my investigation, Mei-chan''s vignce rose at once. She didn''t forget to prepare her halberd and walked toward the entrance.

    Since the blood has already dried, more than half-day should''ve already passed since the battle. I think they should''ve left this ce if they didn''t turn this ce into their base.

    I want to inspect the corpses a bit more. I asked Rems and Mei-chan to be on an alert while I continued inspecting the corpses.

    Starting from the biggest one, Jajiras, there were clearly traces of its core being gouged out. But the real reason for its death was that half of its head had been crushed by an extremely powerful blow.

    This jajiras was covered in a thicker shellpared to the one we''d seen so far. And yet, its heavily protected head had gotten smashed like that.

    It seemed to be done in one hit with strike-type martial arts.

    The other jiras were also having the same traces all over their body. The state of their corpses was even more tragic than the jajiras, such as corpses whose heads had been blown off, corpses whose bodies dented inward, etc, etc.

    Uhm, there''s no traces of strike on this fe''s corpse these are, signs of burning.

    Though half of the corpses of the jiras in this ce had traces of being beaten to death, the other half had been charred.

    No matter how one looked at it, this was definitely the result of me magic.

    Also, the burn marks weren''t on the entire body, they were at only certain ces such as the stomach, chest, and face with pinpoint uracy. Maybe they''re holding back from using explosion magic since they''re fighting indoors. Or else, they''re using a fighting style that enabled them to hit such ces with pinpoint uracy.

    Even if I were to ignore the fact that jiras was a small fry monster just like goma, the battle that happened in this ce seemed to be a clean-sweep victory for our ssmates. Well, that was only natural since anyone who reached this area had proven themselves to be quite skillful.

    Theres no other external injury that I can find aside from these meaning that one of these jiras fought was abi of a strike-type warrior and pyromancer.

    That dead shitty NEET, Reina aside, meant that the culprit was a duo. And the answer came upon me as soon as I concluded it was strike and me duo.

    That gay couple, Ooyama and Sugino, huh.

    Back when Yamajun and Reina were still alive, those fucking gays appeared before us, who were exhausted after the battle in gomas castle, and robbed us of our cores.

    They said themselves that Ooyama was Pyromancer and Ogino Heavy Warrior.

    What shall we do, Kotarou-kun? Shall we kill them off?

    Mei-chan was looking into my eyes with unshakeable willpower, ready to hunt those fu*king gays as long as I said "Let''s kill them". Since I''d told her about the instance in which those fu*king gays had robbed us of our cores, she knew that Id already ced them under the list of my enemies.

    If possible I don''t want to kill them.

    But they robbed your cores back then, right?

    I knew that she was trying to say, "Then they shouldn''t beining if you robbed your cores back from them and kill them off". It was a cruel, yet simple logic.

    It might look like I''m turning into a hypocrite if I say because they did not kill me back then.

    Yeah, I don''t mind. There''s no need for you to dirty your hands any more than this. Leave everything to me.

    My chest tightened a little upon seeing her smile since I had no idea whether she was serious or joking when she said that, I mean she was a berserker after all.

    Don''t mind about it, it doesnt affect my mental state. Sugino''s vocation is Heavy Warrior, and he''s really strong. Ooyama''s power is still a mystery. To be honest, there are too many risks to take if we choose to fight them.

    There was no merit even if we confronted them from the front.

    If we''re going to fight them, we''ve to take them down at once with a sneak attack. We should be able to gain high-ground as long as we can take down Ooyama first  Wait a minute, this might be a good chance.

    Perhaps it was the two of us who noticed them first while the other party had yet to discover us.

    Understood, let''s look for them and wait for a chance to ambush them. Fufufu, we''re the same as those raptors I guess.

    Yeah, we''re currently being chased by the red raptor.

    The raptor was chasing after us, while we were chasing after our ssmates. What a strange situation.

    One mistake mightnd us into being nked by the red raptor and those homos, but

    If we yed our card right, we could defeat both the red raptor and those two homos. Or, we could guide the red raptor to attack those disgusting ho <i>no, wait a minute, don''t get impatient, me.</i>

    Wasn''t this just like the saying about a person who was chasing after two rabbits? Moreover, this gambling-like tactic was ill-suited to me. I''m a timid person, that''s why I detest gambling-like tactics and prefer more down-to-earth tactics no matter how despicable it seems.

    Okay, it''s decided. Let''s sever our source of anxiety and exterminate that annoying red raptor first. We''ll leave the matter of those homos forter.

    We set the matter of those homos aside for now and focused on the matter before us. In so doing, we could allow them to defeat this area boss while all we needed to do was wait for the right timing to ambush them.

    Since they had yet to notice our presence in this ce, let''s keep the matter as it is for now. There was a low chance they noticed us as long as they didn''t suddenly turn around.

    Thus, we''d to take care of that stalker raptor first. Crush them one by one  was the basic of the basic in war.

    Well then, let''s take control of this hotel first.

    Uhm understood.

    Well, since all the monsters had already been exterminated, we just needed to finish the others arrangement.

    But there were three treasure boxes in this hotel whose contents had already been taken away by those fu*king homos.

    Though I knew that it was firste first serve, I couldn''t help but feel annoyed at the sight of the empty treasure box

 Chapter 171.1 - An Extremely Obvious Decoy Tactic

    Chapter 171.1 - An Extremely Obvious Decoy Tactic

    Presently, I was walking by myself along the sandy beach.

    After we gained total control over the hotel and turned it into our base, I spent my days leisurely sunbathing on the beach. Since I was using a swimsuit, it was obvious that I was unarmed.

    I even set another table and beach chair made from the wood around this area. With ice-cold water in my cup, everything was perfect.

    I bided my time and leaned on my chair, showing a defenseless state.

    I should be able to bait them with this but

    I muttered as I looked at the beach.

    The one sunbathing on the beach was, of course, my doppelganger, Twin Shadow.

    The red raptor might put me on its top list, and since I didn''t use Twin Shadow during our previous battle, it had no idea about this curse.

    That''s why I could freely unt Twin Shadowto lure the red raptor.

    Mei-chan, Rem-Dark Knight, and I were standing by the entrance, waiting for the raptor to rush toward the defenseless, and half-naked me.

    We sealed all the entrances of the 1st floor with wooden boards so that they couldn''t be seen from the outside. It looked like fragile plywood which couldn''t defend against raptors'' attack, but all we need was cover.

    And Simple Alchemy Formation was enough to create this simple structure. Half a day was enough to create them.

    In addition, I recreated Rem the 3rd too

    Look Kotaro-kun, the raptors areing out.

    They finally came huh. Faster than I expected, they really are a persistent lot, huh.

    After I confirmed that the raptors had emerged from the forest, I changed my consciousness to Twin Shadow immediately.

    A small number of them havee out huh. Those cautious bastards.

    The ones who appeared were only part of the flock. Most of theirrades were still waiting, observing the situation from inside the forest, not following the group who walked until the beach.

    Obviously, those who came out were scouts, a measure against trap.

    Yup, it''s too obvious after all Mei-chan, keep hiding. Leave this to the skeleton squad.

    The one who spoke was my main body, my doppelganger who was lying in the chair was rising in panic upon seeing the iing raptors.

    Uwa~, raptors! Why are theying out in this kind of ce~

    I hurriedly escaped from the beach while spouting that clich lines.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The raptors were charging at once toward my exposed back while raising cries.

    Wa~h, save me~

    I sent out skeleton squad while saying thatme script with a monotone. The skeletons who already standing outside of the hotel rushed toward me at once. If it were only the skeletons, their threat level should be far from enough to prevent the red raptor from making its entrance.

    Anyhow, those skeletons were running toward their master(fake) while raising their swords overhead.

    KYOAA, KIAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The raptors had already arrived right behind me but the (fake) me turned around as soon as I saw the skeletons were about to arrive and ran straight into the forest without looking back.

    They want to avoid unnecessarybat huh but whatever, I''ve expected them to not eat that obvious bait.

    I''m sure that from the red raptor''s perspective, what happened just now wasn''t as if it was I who got careless and just by myself wouldn''t make it in time. Well, at least it wouldn''t know that Mei-chan and Rem-Dark Knight were standing nearby.

    Even that cunning red raptor wouldn''t be able to judge whether my act just now was a trap or simply my negligence.

    U~hm, it seems we need a more detailed n to bait that guy out of its hiding ce.

    In the end, the raptors didn''t show themselves again even when I was sunbathing again that day.

    ===

    The next day, I used the same bait again, just to be sure. But then, it seemed way too unnatural when I was just by myself, I guess I needed to fix that part.

    We were currently dismantling Jyaja, an alpaca-like herbivore that just happened to wander near the beach. Well, we had to guarantee fresh food after all.

    I made full use of Jajiras in the hotel as the main base materials for Rem the 3rd, Mei-chan was currently teaching me and her how to dismantle the corpse for its meat. I ced two skeletons armed with swords to guard us nearby.

    These two skeletons would be decimated easily by the red raptor''s troops.

    But maybe because they''re still wary of my n, they only sent scouts.

    As expected, it really didn''t work huh.

    GOBUBU, GOBAAAA!

    WOAAH!? I''M NOT FUCKING CALLING YOU!!

    Just when I thought that the raptor wouldn''te out, a giant crab emerged from the sandy beach. It seemed the smell of the blood of jyaja that we dismantled had attracted it intoing.

    Can I beat that fe, Kotaro-kun?

    Mei-chan was asking my real body who was hiding at the entrance of the hotel.

    No, let the 3rd, skeleton and my shadow deal with it.

    I had to prevent the scouts from seeing Mei-chan rushing out from the hotel as much as I could. The red raptor had most likely guessed that she was hiding in this hotel, but there was a huge difference between a conjecture and conviction, I had to manipte the information in this way.

    And by the way, let''s use a little bondage y at the giant crab seeing that there was no Rem-Dark Knight and Mei-chan.

    Ah, that was really close.

    The giant craby down powerlessly after a sword prated the gap between its shell.

    Jajiras Rem, formerly known as Rem the 3rd, had so-so specs, but she didn''t avoid the fight against the giant crab which was armed with a tough shell.

    It was a really close fight. I suppressed the crab with ckhair Bind, moreover, the skeletons were stopping it with their life on the line. And finally Rem the 3rd was stabbing her de into that gap created by us. One single mistake would send the giant crab on my way with its sharp pair of tongs, ultimately revealing my Twin Shadow.

    If the red raptor saw the scene in which my shadow dispersed into a mass of ck mist instead of bing sttered blood and meat, it would notice immediately that the one over there was a fake instead of the real me.

    That''s a close fight but they still aren''t going to attack even with this huh.

    We, who were struggling while trying our best to beat the giant crab as shy as possible, were starting to win while sacrificing four skeletons. An opening for an ambush should be created without victory, but the raptor didn''t even appear.

    As expected, the red raptor was still raising its vignce toward Mei-chan and Rem-Dark Knight.

    Maybe my solo act isn''t convincing enough but since that''s the case, let''s divide our force as they wish.

    Now we''re done with the experiment. We somehow even ended up with a fresh, wild giant crab as a bonus.

    ===

    That''s why we''re going to try the second n for today.

    And the pivotal part of that n was Rem''s material. By the way, the giant crab''s shell from yesterday was the best material for her armor.

    As for the other materials, we got them from the raptors who were beaten by us in their night raid, and a few regenerated tentacles from the high-zombie bosses we had beaten before. I mean, there was only so much that Arachne Rem could carry on her back, after all, with all of our equipment included.

    And then, if I were to remake a new body for Rem, a whole intact corpse would be the best choice for that.

    We should choose the strong monster for the best result.

    But an extremely powerful enemy who can annihte us is no good either.

    Since there was a high chance that the red raptor would swoop in once it detected the window for an attack, we had to be really careful when choosing the material for the new Rem.

    In short, we''re hunting for a strong monster, but not strong to the point that it would overpower us. At the same time, we''re also exploring these resort hotels, looking for unopened treasure boxes.

    Kotaro-kun, I''ve found Jiras, what are we going to do with them?

    The first one we found was our dear friendly neighbor, jiras. They were just like the gomas in the ruined city, they were exploring the resorts for items or weapons.

    Their equipment aren''t that good, but let''s annihte them since they might be hindering our n.

    At such times, we could gain an upper hand with a pre-emptive attack.

    I mean, Rem-Dark Knight was equipped with ck Horn Bow which we had plundered from Sakurai-kun, and Rem the 3rd was equipped with a short bow made with Hinagiku-san''s skill. I had Poison andstly Mei-chan, the one with the highest firepower among us who could create a hell-like scene with just rock in her hands.

    Wemenced a long-range all-out attack and annihted the jiras flock in a matter of seconds. And resumed our exploration without even bothering to check the jiras'' corpses.

    In the end, we couldn''t find any special monster even after wandering for a while. Most of what we found were docile herbivores such as Jyaja. This area seemed to be a peaceful heaven.

 Chapter 171.2 - An Extremely Obvious Decoy Tactic

    Chapter 171.2 - An Extremely Obvious Decoy Tactic

    The moment I thought so, I glimpsed the shadow of the superior species of gore, the grimgore, suddenly appearing from the shadow of the building before then hurriedly hiding back. As if it could hide such a huge figure. We should be able to stop the red raptor with that fe.

    We couldn''t find a rare monster, nor did we find a treasure box.

    And just when I was starting to think that today''s exploration was unsessful we found THEM.

    Or chanced upon them to be exact. We chanced upon them when we entered a small, hall-like circr building.

    BUMOMO, BUOAAAAAAAAA!

    The one raising a mad cow-like cry had ox head yet, it was walking on its two feet like a gori instead of four.

    I guess it was okay to call them minotaurs. No, I felt that it was stronger than that due to its gori parts. I mean, it looked like the ox-headed version of the boss of goliath.

    Yosh, I shall call you Minogori

    There''s two of them huh What do you think, Mei-chan?

    Uhm. They''re weaker than gogma.

    Then, please team up with Rem to take care of them. I''ll stand guard against the raptor outside.

    Leave it to me.

    The seemingly powerful Minogori was gonna face the power tag team of Mei-chan and Rem-Dark Knight. Yeah, I could rest assured when I left the minogori to them.

    Kotaro-kun, we''re do~ne.

    And then, to be honest, she massacred them with her unique skill on the first strike! I mean, the fight literally ended the moment it started.

    Great, this fe is the best material for the new Rem.

    Well then, today''s recipe was as follows.

    The base was the fresh corpse of minogori. And after she was created, a giant crab''s shell would be added as her outer shell instead of armor. Raptor''s ws and scales would be the sub outer shell.

    And then, though I had no idea what would happen to her, I decided to dump everything that we got from the high-zombie boss.

    Next, was the usual mandragora, and THAT which was extracted from my little Momokawa.

    Vile''s y Doll

    It''s done. It kept sucking in quite a lot of my mana, made me feel light-headed but not enough to make me fall.

    GRRR UGOAAAAAAAAA!

    Ooh, she has a more monster-like feel than usual.

    Rem the 4th was rising from the chaotic magic circle while raising energetic(?) cries.

    Rem the 4th''s height wasparable to Rem-Dark Knight. Her body was d in muscle armor. Well, her base was the macho minogori, after all.

    No, those muscles might be the effect of the high-zombie boss materials. I mean, the base body might be that of minogori but the upper half of her massive body was just like that of a human. Her muscle didn''t swell as much as the high-zombie boss, but it was pretty close to it.

    Maybe that just how powerful the effect of the materials taken from the boss monster was. Or else, could it be that it might be just a coincidence since the materials that constructed her werepatible with each other? Let''s verify this factter.

    Well then, now we had the 4th whose build resembled that of the high-zombie boss, but different from that guy. 4th had atrocious-looking ox-like head and shell that was made from the giant crab.

    The one barely killed by my shadow yesterday aside, there were still the other two who were in by Mei-chan before, so we pretty much had a lot of crab shells.

    As a result, the minogori''s huge frame was covered with a thorny and rugged shell. Even though it wasn''t as tough as living armor''s armor, the likes of raptor''s ws would hardly be able to put a scratch on it.

    Yup, the 4th is nicely done.

    Nevertheless, her specs were a far cry from Rem-Dark Knight.

    But that was enough. Since Rem''s new body surpassed the minimum requirement that I need.

    Next, let''s try the new curse.

    Well, it wasn''t practically a new curse though. I mean, I didn''t see the usual daydream whenever I received a new curse. If I had to say, it was akin to a game''s level-up skill system.

    99 GhostEmpty skull isn''t actually empty. Attachment and dying wish are phony and yet, it umtes advancing into a dead-end, forming a spirit. Will it go into the path of righteousness or fall into depravity?

    Though I noticed that the vor text of the exnation was as confusing as usual, I noticed a change the moment I got this curse. And that happened whenever I used Fool''s Cane to summon skeletons corps to do something.

    High ZombieOne of basic familiars. The skeleton is enhanced with additional muscles for its exoskeleton.

    The only monster I could summon by using Summoner''s Skull up to this point was only Skeleton. And two additional basic skills, Echo, and Simple Summoning Circle. That''s why no matter how it was re-arranged, I wouldn''t miss any chance in the line-up.

    And that change was the appearance of the 4th skill.

    Rather, their real name turned out to be really the High Zombie. I mean, I knew that I had given them with such a simple name when I first saw them, but to think that it was used as an official name for the skill. Well, maybe it was named that way since that skill was given to me.

    Come High Zombie!

    And then, when I swung the cane, the figure that I was really familiar with appeared from the blood-red magic circle along with the feeling that it sucked my mana more than when I summoned skeleton.

    OOOO, UOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    It scampered with all of its power like an athlete while raising lively cries. Sure enough, I sessfully summoned a high-zombie.

    Naturally, the fes who were called by me weren''t that atrocious undead who would rush toward me on sight, it was the fes who would absolutely follow my order.

    But the maximum number I could summon in one go was seven. Nevertheless, these seven could easily crush fully armed skeleton corps with their bare hands. Their power, speed, toughness were far above skeletons.

    +++

    And yet, the reason why these guys were bing one of the small fries was simply that they''re a muscle-brained monster who only knew how to charge the moment it found an enemy. But it wouldn''t be the case when they''re under my control.

    It seems the ns will go really well if we''re using these High Zombie.

    Yup, their specs were better than what I expected, and now had to return them to the magic circle.

    It might look like I had learnt a new summoning skill but this might be the power of my new curse, 99 Ghost.

    The number of abilities that I could use for each skull of the owner of the vocation into Fool''s Cane was three. I could be unconsciously feeling that three was the limit of Fool''s Cane, it couldn''t increase or decrease.

    That''s why it never came to me that if I kept using it, I would be able to gain proficiency and learn a new skill like what happened in the game.

    But it seems such a limit was disabled by Ruinhilde-sama.

    With this 99 Ghost, the skull was no longer a mere skull, it would gain experience and growth as if it were still alive and could gain new abilities. I mean, the Advancing into the dead end might be referring to the deceased vocation holder, and it gained the possibilities for growth with this new skill.

    And then, whether to make it grow normally or in a strange way, everything was up to me. Since it was literally nothing more than soulless skull, it was nothing more than a weapon for a shaman.

    Now everything has been prepared, I won''t lose this time.

    I''ve tested all that I needed to and gained more and more splendid results. No matter how cunning the red raptor was, it was nothing more than a monster.

    You''re going to lose if you think that you can sh with human intelligence.

    Anyhow, now it was time to start the second, obvious decoy tactic.

 Chapter 172.1 - 2nd Decoy Tactic

    Chapter 172.1 - 2nd Decoy Tactic

    WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Grotesque human-shaped monsters were raising warcries as they walked in the forest. They were undead monsters whose danger levels were a cut above the zombies with raw, red, naked muscles wrapped in white armor. The monster Kotaro called High Zombie seven of them were currently running in the forest close to the beach.

    GUGO, GAGAGA.

    And the one who led them in the front was a jet-ck knight. She was Rem-Dark Knight, otherwise known as Rem the 1st, a splendid y doll.

    Despite donning a huge, full te armor, an enormous shield on the left hand, and a spear on the right hand, her speed rivaled that of the high zombies.

    Ki~, chichichi.

    Upon seeing a ck tree sparrow-like bird chirping and pping its wings, the high zombies and Rem were heading toward the direction pointed by the ck tree sparrow-like bird.

    Naturally, the ck small bird was also Rem.

    Weak, small birds withoutbat power almost didn''t consume Kotaro''s governing power, thus they''re basically low-cost units. Theirbat strength was zero, but the bird''s eyes field of view along with their abilities to fly made them extremely valuable scouts.

    Severals birds Rem were released to locate the position of the flocks led by the red raptor.

    The goal given by Kotaro was to subjugate the red raptor.

    Though the number of the flock was still unknown, Rem-Dark Knight and the high zombies shouldn''t fall behind inbat strength. If things went ording to the n, Rem-Dark Knight should be able to subjugate the red raptor.

    But that''s only during frontal confrontation.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Flocks of raptors were rushing toward Rem and Co from one corner of the forest.

    GUGAGA!

    But now, she wouldn''t fall for the same trick as the night raid back then, Rem-Dark Knight was ready. Her sharp spear killed any raptor that dared to approach her, her shield blocking their ws and fangs.

    Since her subordinates, the high zombies had no other means for an attack, aside from biting and kicking, it took them more than one attack to bring down the raptor that came at them. On the other hand, since the high zombies'' toughness and vitality were far above the skeleton, the raptors had a hard time killing them. Befitting of their endurance as undead, they endured the raptors'' fierce attack.

    Their main role was to tank the attack and let Rem-Dark Knight finish off the enemy. With such clear role division, Rem''s troops wiped the floor with the raptor''s flock But the boss, the red raptor wasn''t among the attackers.

    Or rather, Rem had already realized that the red raptor wasn''t stupid enough to sh from the front with her.

    It wasn''t prediction or instinct, it was an actual fact delivered from bird Rem, her other-half.

    You''ve finallye huh. I''ve been waiting for you, Red Raptor.

    Yes, the figure of Rem-Dark Knight stopped moving in that ce after she confirmed that she had aplished her duty while focusing her attention on her other-half who was looking at her master revealing a cunning, yet daring smile.

    ===

    You''ve finallye, huh. I''ve been waiting for you, Red Raptor.

    The red raptor made its appearance, raising a growl in front of me who stood in the middle of the beach. Following it were its subordinates who wereing out from the forest one after another.

    Uwaa, I would''ve never expected that there would be so many of them. This fe went all out this time, huh.

    It seems this is going to be a close fight, huh.

    The reason the red raptor appeared before me was it knew that one of my aces, Rem-Dark Knight, was away.

    I ordered her to take the high zombies corps to subjugate the red raptor after all. I''d be lucky if she hit the jackpot and managed to exterminate the red raptor, but things wouldn''t go that easily; the red raptor was clearly nning to ambush me when the number of guardians around me had reduced.

    The forest was their turf, a few raptors would be enough to stall Rem-Dark Knight in there. In fact, Rem-Dark Knight had engaged in the battle against raptors a few moments ago.

    Now, her function had ceased, she was nothing more than an empty shell.

    Well then,e at me. With this, the only one left to protect me is Mei-chan.

    KYOOO, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor raised a war cry as if to answer my provocation.

    And that was the trigger for our battle.

    The raptors raised a savage roar as they rushed toward me who was standing in the middle of the sandy beach.

    Rot away in the water of rotten redRotten Bog

    I invoked Rotten Bog with full aria.

    I had used this curse during the night raid back then, they were already familiar with it.

    Hou, that fe taught its subordinates how to bypass this one huh?

    Though the acid would cause a fatal wound upon contact, the wound wouldn''t be fatal in just a short moment. If one got entangled and fell, the extended period of immersing in the acid bog would bring irreparable damage. On the other hand, it didn''t mean it wasn''t possible to endure momentary pain.

    Thus, the raptors method to cope with this acid bog was jumping instead of running.

    Thanks to my training, the range of rotten bog had expanded rapidly. Not even the agile raptor could cross over in one jump. But then, they might be able to cross over in a jump or two afternding in the middle. If they kept jumping like that, it was possible for them to jump over the bog without having to suffer from the effect of the acid could be what they thought, right?

    GYO, OAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

    The raptor that jumped in first drowned immediately uponnding on the bog.

    Afternding with a great ssh, the raptor finally sumbed to the deadly bog.

    FOOL! IT ISN''T JUST A PUDDLE OF WATER!

    As long as I did everything properly, from the start to finish  from drawing magic circles, giving offerings, and chanting properly, I could turn Rotten Bog into a literal deep bog. Since the proper preparation was quite troublesome, it was rarely used in livebat, but it was a perfect trap.

    The only time I got the chance to use this was when I subjugated basilisk. I''ve been growing stronger ever since then. I too was really surprised upon finding out that the Rotten Bog that I invoked with theplete ceremony was bigger and deeper. If I used this during the fight against high zombie boss, I was sure that battle would turn into an easy mode with just Rotten Bogalone.

    But as expected, preparing bloody offerings and drawing that huge ass magic circle brought me quite a lot of trouble. Though I used Twin Shadow to do all of those preparatory jobs, the time I needed toplete it wasn''t that differentpared to when I did it by myself.

    Well, ying on the beach had also be a good pass time while preparing for the ceremony. Most of all, it was the best tactic since that was all I needed to do.

    KYOA, OU, GUOOOOOOOO!

    The red raptor cried upon seeing a few raptors sinking at once. Since all the raptors that had yet to jump suddenly stopped in ce, it seemed the cry just now was an order to stop at once.

    The raptors then started loitering around aimlessly around the acid bog.

    I was currently standing right in the centre of Rotten Bog that deployed doughnut-shaped formation, trying to circle around the bog was pretty much impossible. Though the raptors were mouring as they tried topletely encircle the bog, none of them dared to jump.

    Even the red raptor looked extremely troubled by the depth of the bog. Or maybe, they were waiting until the effect of the acid bog wore off.

    But I was sure the wise red raptor would choose to retreat soon. It would learn that I might beying a trap like this, and then, it wouldn''t try to attack me when I stayed still again.

    But I couldn''t let things go as they wished. We would be only put at a disadvantage the more we let the red raptor get away after failing to ambush us.

    That''s why I''ll defeat you in this ce. It''s checkmate.

    Well then, now is the time for the main actor to enter the stage. Jumping vigorously from the sea with a ssh wasn''t a humanoid fish with fin, but an extremely ferocious ox-headed monster with a pair of horns.

    Rem the 4th, otherwise known as Rem-Minotaurs. With a massive, minogori and high zombie boss body, d in armour made from giant crab, she was an ace candidate despite being a new type.

    Dual-wielding great sword in right-hand, and mace in the left which was handed down by Rem-Dark Knight, she was eager to try her new form.

    Good girl, it seems the transfer is a sess.

    The reason I chose a stupid n like dividing our forces and sending Rem-Dark Knight out was simply that she could return. Recalling Rem-Dark Knight''s physical body within a moment with summoning skill was impossible but Rem herself could return. To be exact, her core, or should I call the essence of Rem, part of it seemed to exist within my body, thus, we''re always together. The body that was created with the y doll was no different from the duplicate that was created with my Twin Shadow, they were nothing more than our avatar.

    Thus, we couldmence our swapping n by sending Rem from Dark Knight to the 4th, Minotaurs who had already been put on standby inside the sea.

    Powerful Dark Knight and Minotaurs couldn''t be used at the same time. But, it was possible to make one of them move. And even though Rem changed her body, it took no mana from me at all.

    Around this time, the Dark Knight in the jungle was nothing more than a soulless armour. I did have my worries about leaving it alone in such a ce, but since the armour was really solid and not even a raptor''s ws could leave a scratch on it, we could leave it alone for now and let Rem return to Dark Knight''s bodyter.

    GRRRRRR, KYOA, KUAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The red raptor raised a shrill scream upon witnessing the Minotaurs'' appearance. It started to lose its cool huh.

    I mean, that was only natural. It felt that it was safe to attack me now that Rem-Dark Knight had left, but the new one whose strength rivalled that of Dark Knight appeared out of nowhere. We''d turned the tables against him.

 Chapter 172.2 - 2nd Decoy Tactic

    Chapter 172.2 - 2nd Decoy Tactic

    The deep acid bog that I prepared was still ready to swallow any stupid raptor that tried to jump over it. Even if it was trying to withdraw, it would still have to fight the same acid bog next time. If it could escape from Rem-Minotaurs, that''s it.

    Ignore the small fries. But no matter what, we cannot let the red raptor escape.

    Bottomless acid bog in the front, and Minotaurs Rem in the back.

    I re-summoned the high zombies to this ce just to make sure that everything went ording to my n. Since the one who followed Rem-Dark Knight had been annihted by the raptors, I just needed to consume my mana to summon seven new high zombies.

    Moreover, I added thirteen skeletons as a freebie!

    As a result, great chunks of my mana were consumed at once to summon them. But then, the scale of this battle was tilting toward us now. And now, I just need to persevere.

    UGOGOGO, GUGAAAAAAAAAA!

    Minotaurs Rem raised a warcry along with the high zombies and skeletons. Together, they were rushing toward the enemy camp, aiming to kill the other party''s general, the red raptor.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Thus, a grand monstrous battle between a mixed army of Minotaurs Rem+high zombies+skeletons against the raptor army unfolded on the other side of the acid bog.

    Minotaurs Rem whose power rivaled that of Rem-Dark Knight brandished her greatsword and mace, mowing one raptor after another. The fearless high zombies and skeletons were heading toward the raptors, opening a path toward the red raptor.

    But then, the raptors were charging toward the high zombies with a simrly fearless spirit, they tore the high zombies'' bodies with their ws and fangs as they sumbed to death one after another. The skeletons were easily destroyed by them too.

    Then, let''s increase the number.

    I still had some mana left. I could replenish the high zombies and skeletons anytime I wanted to. It might be seen as a poor human-wave tactic, but hey, there are only seven of those high zombies. Uhm, I might be able to raise the upper limit if I kept using it though.

    Moreover, my mana was draining at a rapid pace

    GRRR, KYOAA, GYOAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Well then, now that they realized they''re slowly but surely being cornered, they finally prepared huh.

    They then looked at me who was standing grandiosely, crossing my arms on the other side of uncrossable acid bog with a look that looked like they wanted to chew me alive.

    It seems they finally decided to go with the do-or-die n to kill me.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    All the raptors suddenly jumped into the acid bog at once under the order of red raptor.

    ck Hair Bind

    Naturally, all of them sunk into the acid bog, no one could even touch my feet. Given the depth of this acid bog, they might be able to stack corpses up to the surface after throwing the entire raptor troops into the bog.

    <i>But then, there was no way I''m gonna let you do that.</i>

    Just to be sure, I hindered their movements with ck Hair Bind and dragged them steadily into the bog.

    GUAAAA! GYOAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Death wails resounded across the battlefield. Or rather, this wasn''t a battlefield anymore, this was a ughterhouse for those raptors. I did feel bad for doing this to them, but I wasn''t that powerful to be able to show some mercy to them.

    GUOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    <i> Look, neglience will cost your life.</i>

    The one that came from above while raising enraged cries was, of course, the red raptor.

    They failed to make a bridge as theirrades sunk into the bog, one after another. But still, it was enough for an impromptu bridge.

    The red raptor made one splendidly using of itsrades who had yet to sinkpletely into the bog to cross the bog to kill me who was in apletely defenseless state wearing only a trunk And pushed its ws and fangs to prey on me.

    I''ve been waiting for this you knowckhair Bind.

    I wouldn''t feel any pain at all since this was only Twin Shadow. And since there was no such danger, the Pain Return didn''t activate either.

    But still, it could use ck Hair Bind. Since it couldn''t feel pain, I could use it to fight with my all until it died.

    KUWAAAAAAAAAA!?

    Ahaha, finally noticed huh. The reason you lost is you can''t see through this fake me.

    The moment its ws and fangs sunk into my weak, white skin, the red raptor finally noticed that the one they attacked wasn''t a human due tock of blood.

    The shadow body which was nothing more than a lump of mana was truly irksome. It''s awful, right? Chewing on a body that was even less voluminous than water.

    By now, the red raptor might''ve realized it was all set up to bait them to rush toward me. They might be trying to strike a killing move and restraining me.

    And yet, like a dying, mad warrior, they cut the ck hair that bound their body with their saw-like tail de and used their ws to tear my shadow with terrifying agility.

    <i> But no matter how fast you move, it wouldn''t change your fate who was trapped in there right at this moment.</i>

    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Reaper''s scythe, no, berserker''s de had already descended from above.

    Mei-chan, who was standing by on the 3rd floor of the hotel, leapt and descended to this ce.

    Well, the distance between this ce and the hotel aside, the red raptor would retreat once it sensed Mei-chan wasing.

    Thus, Mei-chan couldn''t hide too close to this ce, and she had to finish them off in one swift attack. This was a certain kill trap that made full use of Mei-chan''s physical strength to jump over several tens of meters.

    I used my shadow to lure the red raptor into a trap, so Mei-chan would finish them off.

    Fuuh, it went ording to n.

    I, who returned to my real body after my shadow got annihted, was looking at the scene of our victory whichprised of the raptors scattering around as they escaped and Mei-chan smiling happily as she raised the decapitated head of the red raptor to me who was watching from the top floor of the hotel.

 Chapter 173.1 - Red Sport Car

    Chapter 173.1 - Red Sport Car

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAA, GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The one who raised that ferocious roar was the red raptor with its burning red scales.

    OOOOOOOOh, it''s so fu*cking coooooooooooooooool.

    I embraced the red raptor,pletely satisfied with its appearance. Man, it was even more satisfying since they were used to being my opponent.

    Naturally, this red raptor was Corpse Doll.

    In fact, I had decided in my heart that I wanted to ride this guy the moment I caught a glimpse of it. In the first ce, I had already proved the usefulness of raptor as a mount. Having pair of feet that could run agilely in any kind of terrain would be an extremely useful asset for the dungeon capture whose end had yet to be seen.

    I was okay with a normal raptor, but my greed triggered at the sight of this special individual.

    A big and splendid physique, one timerger than a normal raptor. Two sharp horns grew from its head, and the red scales lent it a majestic, exclusive personalized aircraft feel.

    Yup, this is wonderful. It was as if I just bought a red sports car. Maybe I should nickname it "Countach" to honor that awesome-looking sports car.

    Hey, Mei-chan. I wonder what''s the first name youde with if I say it''s sports car?

    Uhm, Alfa Romeo?

    Yosh, your name is Alfa!

    I mean, it would be rude to call it red raptor forever, right?

    Well then, let''s test drive Alfa immediately.

    Hearing me, Rem the 3rd AKA Red Raptor AKA Alfawho was lying down obediently raised an adorable purr. Honestly, I could hardly believe that such terrifyingly brutal and cunning boss had now turned into an obedient Rem. Even though there was almost no change in its outer appearance, she was much more adorable right now.

    I even prepared a new saddle and stirrup for my adorable Alfa. The saddle was made with materials that I had stocked since the jungle tower, but now that I had all the materials that I needed, experience in making it once before, I could manufacture it in a better way with Simple Alchemy Formation. I could even brag that the quality of the finished product surpassed the previous one.

    It was made by guessing the rough size from seeing the red raptor''s appearance but yeah, it fit perfectly. Maybe I''m more suited for a manufacturing job. I mean, most of my curse was geared for production. Don''t you agree with me, Ruinhilde-sama?

    Anyhow, now that I had installed the stirrup and leather saddle, all the preparation for riding was alreadypleted.

    Yoosh, let''s run along the beach shore like this under the evening sun!

    The red new car ignited her engine as I rode on her back in high spirit, and gripping the reins, and then she dashed at full spe SO FAST!?

    Are you okay, Kotaro-kun? No injury?

    Fuhehehe, I''m okay, okay. Thank you, Mei-chan.

    I fell spectacrly from the ride since I was unable to withstand the sudden eleration and was caught by Mei-chan who standing by behind in case something like this happened. Aah, the back of my head was wrapped in such wonderful air ba wait a minute, this wasn''t the time to be lovestruck like this.

    I patted Alfa''s head who returned immediately with an apologetic look on her face while making a tough man face to Mei-chan who was worrying about me-in order to hide the fact that I actually enjoyed her twin, supreme airbag-.

    Ma~n, my bad for that, it''s definitely not Rem''s fault. I mean, I tried to ride her with my extremely lousy riding skill after all.

    GRRR~

    I gave words offort to Rem who was feeling down. Which reminds me, when Rem received her Ashidaka''s form before, I scolded her for running while ignoring my condition(motion sickness). Thus, she kept paying attention when I used her as my mount.

    It seems this incident had caused quite a great shock to her since it turned out that she still had more to go with the care of the passenger But, honestly speaking, the problem might be lie in me this time for being physically unfit. I get this feeling that I might not have fallen if I had gripped the bridle stronger next time though.

    It seems I need the training to be able to handle Alfa when she ran at full speed.

    Maybe I should prepare a seat belt with ck hair bind this time. The figure of me seating with a safety belt might look neat and safe, but it came with the danger of being unable to react quickly to an ambush. It was necessary when I used Alfa to escape with her during dangerous situations though.

    Anyhow, we''ve aplished the goal of defeating the red raptor and turned them into corpse dolls for now. There was no more reason to stay in this resort-like hotel any longer.

    I felt a pang of regret, but it was time to depart.

    ===

    The next morning, all preparation had already been put in order and my mana had restored too, so it was time to depart.

    Which reminds me, yesterday''s battle was a rare battle in which I came to the front line despite fighting with a party. Mei-chan on the other hand had stayed hidden until thest moment to deal a finishing blow to the red raptor.

    Since I didn''t just have Rem, the existence of high-zombie and skeleton as my sacrificial pawns enabled us to execute this tactic. My male instinct whispered to me to execute this strategy so that she who always came out first as vanguard could have an easier time. This was also to prevent her from getting bored of fighting small fries.

    After this, maybe it was better for Rem and me to fight if it was only the opponent around the level which we could take care of. But then, the chance for such a monster toe out constantly was close to impossible.

    It was really amazing just now, but I''m really sorry since I''m the only one who rode the Alfa.

    I suddenly noticed something when I saw Mei-chan speaking cheerfully as she walked beside Alfa. Just what kind of a bastard am I for letting a girl walk while I rode on the motorbike AKA Alfa?

    It''s okay. I don''t mind at all.

    I was assaulted by a pang of guilt seeing her smiling innocently like an angel.

    Moreover, it makes it easier for me to evacuate you, Kotaro-kun by cing you on Rem-chan''s back during the emergency.

    And then, she spoke in a way that made it look like I was really weak and needed her protection or not, I mean she was right on the point, I was really weak, and this had already been established the moment I received Shaman as my vocation.

    I mean, it''s not like I could say Please give me cheat-like power that makes me strong! to RUinhilde-sama at this point.

    Thank you. I''ve been saved time and again by your words.

    Don''t worry about me. I mean, you''re dead set on riding the red raptor, right?

    Uwa~, for her to see through even my childish dream of riding a red raptor, how embarrassing.

 Chapter 173.2 - Red Sport Car

    Chapter 173.2 - Red Sport Car

    Anyhow, there was literally no need for me to prepare Rem-type mount for Mei-chan. The reason being she reacted way faster when she was on her feet than on her mount. At least, this had already been proven when she was using a fishing pole made with Arachne Rem''s thread.

    Thus, I rode once again on Alfa''s back and we advanced through the ruin along the beach.

    The one walking in the front was Rem-Dark Knight who had safely returned from the forest. Behind her was me who rode Alfa and Mei-chan by my side, followed by Arachne Rem as our transportation unit.

    Last in line was Rem the 4th, Minotaurs.

    The matter of being unable to use Dark Knight and Minotaurs didn''t mean that it was impossible to move them together, it was in the end, a matter of specs.

    The abilities of Minotaurs which were made from boss materials were quite high. It was even more obvious during yesterday''s battle, thus we naturally couldn''t just abandon such precious war potential. In the end, I was just being stingy.

    Because of that, we took Minotaurs along with us as Rem-Dark Knight''s spare. Anyhow, we moved forward without meeting any obstacles.

    But upon a closer look, Living Armor, Red Raptor, Arachne, Minotaurs, the four of them looked like a splendid monster collection. The skeleton and high-zombie were kinda like the freebies in this kind of setup.

    It wouldn''t be strange if our ssmates chose to attack us first, no question asked when they saw such a lineup.

    But the ce we''re going to capture today is just over there it''s already close by, Mei-chan.

    Uhm, understood.

    Everyone paused right at that moment. I also descended from Alfa. No, we had no n on taking a break around this ce.

    One block from here seems to be a simr resort hotel which we used as our base.

    Shall I try to take a look?

    Let Rem go first. We''ll only move forward after she confirms the detailed situation.

    Kotaro-kun, are you going to kill them?

    That would depend on their abilities.

    Ooyama Daisuke and Sugino Takashi, I had been long looking for those two.

    After we found their trace in the hotel that we used as our base, I made as many bird Rems as possible to scout their position.

    My first purpose was to confirm whether Ooyama-Suginobi was waiting nearby to ambush us during the battle against the red raptor. Though I included them in my list of hostile parties, I couldn''t let them disturb our decoy tactic. Though they had yet to notice us, we might''ve to revise the decoy tactic to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

    Fortunately, Rem bird''s squad didn''t see Ooyama-Sugino nearby the red raptor''s troops.

    As a result, we managed to safely turn the red raptor into my personal vehicle, but it didn''t mean that we could stop looking for Ooyama-Sugino after we defeated the red raptor. Honestly, I wanted to be spared of meeting those as*holes again right after a battle.

    And now, we were moving forward to our second strategy, tracking them down the bird we sent had just returned, meaning that she had already located our target.

    We gained a huge advantage by discovering them first. We''re gonna ambush them once we see the chance, or else, just let them be in case their strength surpasses our expectation.

    In short, we''re going to observe their movements or spying on them, right?

    Yup.

    What I needed the most was information.

    It was obvious that the two''sbat capabilities were cut above the rest. Especially Sugino, who was endowed with realbat skills, martial arts, and tough defense of Heavy Warrior could instakill Yamada who had the same vocation. Maybe he could easily choke Mei-chan just like he did Yamada. Thus, I wanted to avoid unarmed hand-to-handbat against him.

    As for Ooyama, seeing the corpses left in the hotel, he seemed to have quite a lot of firepower. In the first ce, fire element was something akin to flower of attack magic in another world. But then, seeing that there were almost no burn marks around the battlefield, I assumed that Ooyama could control his power very well.

    Having extreme control over his me magic would make him an extremely dangerous rear guard.

    That was my current estimation about the two''s power, but there was a high possibility that they still had an ace-in-the-hole. Thus, I wanted to confirm theirbat capabilities as much as possible by spying on them during boss battle or monster battle.

    Maybe we should let them take care of the boss in this area, and then ambush them right after the battle.

    You don''t wish to kill them, Kotaro-kun?

    About that I still feel some resistance to killing someone up till now, but honestly, it isn''t convincinging from me.

    I had killed two of my ssmates, after all. Higuchi Kyouya, and Reina A Ayase. I didn''t regret my action. They were enemies, that''s why I had to kill them at all costs.

    Yeah, that was the only reason I killed them, they were enemies. As for Ooyama-Suginobi those two did humiliate me and even robbed us of the cores that we were working so hard to gather, but if you ask me whether I really wanted to kill them, my answer is no.

    I didn''t resent them for their actions. Nor did I hate them to the point that I wanted to kill them like that shitty Reina.

    But still, I had a reason for wanting me to kill them. I had to remove the hostile factor preventing us from working safely as equals, in short, we either exclude them or get rid of them.

    Sorry. So you really aren''t actively seeking murder.

    Higuchi was the only one who would go as far as killing someone for his own benefit. Sorry but, I refuse to be that kind of a scumbag was what I wanted to say, despite having such cool and prideful reason, I honestly couldn''t be proud of myself for doing this.

    Let me rephrase it, murder was scary.

    Nevertheless, Mei-chan and I, the two of us advancing so far into the dungeon, our progress had turned even the timid me into a cruel, killing machine.

    I wouldn''t have felt anything if it was someone who I wanted to kill no matter what. But I would feel it was a waste to kill someone who I didn''t really want to kill.

    Yup, it''s okay. You''re a kind boy, after all, Kotaro-kun.

    Only to myrade, that''s it.

    I mean, everyone would do the same. Look, those yakuzas and Yankees were kind to theirrades and friends too, right?

    Fufufu, I know about that. That''s why I''ll do the job for you. There''s no need for you to do the dirty job, Kotaro-kun.

    Eer, thanks, but I''ll feel bad if I keep relying on you on that matter, Mei-chan.

    How can you puff up your che*st while saying that you''ll do the dirty job of killing people for me? But still, it sounded nice when she said it with a dead serious look on her face, I mean, the powerless me who would be killed too easily by small fries enemies got one in million chance to use a super-efficient killing machine which would turn me nearly invincible. I didn''t even have to move an inch to kill the unarmed enemy who couldn''t move on the battlefield anymore. I didn''t have to kill the enemy ornd the finishing blow, all I had to do was break their limbs or immobile them. But under modernws, leaving an enemy incapacitated in the battlefield, knowing well that such an action would kill them, was prohibited. Just like leaving a baby in the car to go to pachinko parlor would kill them.

    Then if we really have to kill those two, let''s kill them together to share the burden between us.

    Yeah, that''s much better. It''s better to be apanied than take the burden on her own.

    I see, then, let''s keep this as a secret between the two of us.

    Ha~ha, here we go, the romantic moment was wrecked by the content of the secret that reeds with blood.

    Anyhow, it isn''t clear yet whether we''ve to kill those two or not. That''ll wait until we have all the necessary information about them.

    In the end, I decided to take action with a half-hearted resolution.

    I feel like I''m a sorry excuse of a man for not being able to sayYeah, let''s kill ''em! to Mei-chan even after I went this far, but I felt that this was important to prevent me from breaking down mentally.

 Chapter 174: Observation Duty That Inflicts Unpleasant Trauma

    Chapter 174: Observation Duty That Inflicts Unpleasant Trauma

    Blue sea, white sandy beach. Two shadows were running along the beach, basking in the bright sunlight.

    [TN: This part is cut off since it''s R-18, a literal yaoi and this isn''t R-18 section. Not that this part is important though.]

    ===

    Thank god I don''t see that.

    The n to observe them was the deepest regret I''ve ever felt.

    Currently, my Twin Shadow was hiding in the nearby building of the second resort hotel which apparently became the hiding ce for OoyamaSuginobi.

    My shadow came riding Alfa and observing the two with naked eyes under the assistance of Rem birds. My real body was in the middle of siesta in our temporary base. I could leave my body with ease since Mei-chan who preparing our meal was right beside me.

    And then, my shadow came to observe the situation wearing a handmade ghillie suit(Ruin Ver.).

    When it started, I still had no idea whether I could find the two but fortunately, the two appeared on the beach and fell right inside my scope of view.

    And that''s where I used up my good luck.

    The two were running in their underwear. I had a really bad feeling at this point. And then, my premonition turned into reality when I saw those twoe out of the hotel hands entwined tightly. I mean, that was love no, let''s stop that.

    And then, things turned into an extremely disgusting R18 scene.

    Though I wanted to retort "Are you guys a couple from the Showa Era?", I quickly realized that they''re one of those disgusting gay couples living in the modern era. Honestly, I never wanted to know those kinds of disgusting R18 scenes. MY BRAIN WAS FU*KING DAMNED.

    The true hellish scene began after Sugino caught the escaped Ooyama. I cut off my connection with my shadow before it was toote. Any normal man wouldn''t be able to stand that kind of scene.

    I asked forRem birds assistance before I left my post.

    Rem was very lucky. She didn''t feel anything even if she saw that disgusting, R18 gay scene, she didn''t feel anything at all.

    Haah

    I heaved a sigh to calm down. I didn''t want to think anything right now. Especially men''s bodies. Dammit all, I''ll make sure to overwrite those disgusting memories by leering at Mei-chan''s bombastic figure even if it would kill me. Once I return safely, I am going to look at that unrivaled hourss figure, the round butts, and the twin melons as if licking all over it, I PROMISE!

    A~h, I want to go ba~ck.

    My motivation to continue with this mission hit rock bottom after I saw that disgusting scene.

    But, I had toplete this mission since it was rted to our uing strategy after all. There was no option of backing out now.

    I didn''t want to know the details of that gay couples daily life, but what choice did I have?

    I tried to regain my motivation, but my profile was as white as paper right now.

    Ku~n, Kyu~

    Maybe because she was worried about my loss of motivation, Alfa who stayed by my side was rubbing the tip of her nose on me.

    A~h, what an adorable girl you are, Re~m.

    She is such a wonderful pet-like existence who heals her master''s wounded heart, isn''t she? Pet is family after all!

    <i>But Alfa, please stoop a little since your color is way too conspicuous.</i>

    ===

    Though Ooyama and Sugino managed to deal a great amount of damage to my sanity and willpower due to how often they bined", the monitoring system of my Twin Shadow and Rem''s informationwork made my job much easier.

    Three days had already passed since I observed them.

    The two had yet to find out about us right now was what I wanted to believe. In the end, all I could do was observe them from afar, I couldn''t even hear their conversation.

    No matter how much I used Rem''s birds, they couldn''te too close to the two due to the unexpectedly sharp perception of the vocation holder, they might realize immediately that Rem was some sort of familiar.

    They really were taking their time in thest three days. After spending a hot night in the second resort hotel, the two finally left in the morning of the third day looking refreshed.

    Seeing that, my Twin Shadow rode on Alfa''s back immediately to follow them, I kept chasing after them while Mechan followed from behind with my real body. Basically, I split my consciousness and solely focused on the shadow side to get more information about the two. By doing that, my real body would enter a state akin to sleep, but it was possible to move it around by cing my real body as a piece of luggage on Arachne Rem. Honestly, I didn''t give a damn about sleeping while being carried along like a piece of luggage. There was nothing to worry about since Mei-chan and Rem-Dark Knight were right there, and I could wake up immediately whenever I wanted to.

    I should measure their roughbat potential with the two observationworks that I built but since the monsters that came out in this area were small fries such as jiras'' variant, or giant crabs, they were far from enough to properly measure theirbat potential.

    I feared that the only chance to get a confirmation about their realbat capabilities was once we fought them.

    Sugino was dashing around unabashedly with his Heavy Warrior, sting off the approaching enemies with his giant mace. Ooyama was the Pyromancer who was firing fireball-otherwise known as Ignis Sagita- and sending off support from the rear with his bow and explosive arrow.

    Fortunately, Ooyama was still unarmed when using his magic without any sort of cane or something along with that.

    Seyaa! Seyaa!

    He sent forth punches while letting out extremely spirited warcries. And then, a zing fireball around a softball size appeared in front of his fist. His yell  was that karate? Did he use that to rece aria? That didnt look like your average sorcerer''s style, but the Ignis Sagita must be packed with a lot of firepowers since it never missed its target.

    Like when they were surrounded by jiras, he sent forth a lot of fireballs as big as a volleyball after firing himself up with his karate-like yell. And the fact that the fireball exploded when it hit its target, scattering sparks, making it even more destructive. So his sorcery might be more powerful than your usual Ignis Sagita.

    Currently, I had confirmed that Ooyama could use at least two spells. But at this stage, I wouldn''t be too surprised if he still had two or three more spells.

    Come to think of it, he isn''t using defense magic at all.

    Perhaps because he had Sugino to act as a tank to pull the enemies'' aggro, I didn''t see him developing elemental defense magic like the one owned by ss Rep or Souma Sakura. Pyromancer''s defensive spell should be something like conjuring a firewall, but well things might have developed into a situation like when that Orthos was decapitated by Mei-chan.

    Or maybe, he has yet to learn that spell. Individual differences affect the growth of vocation, resulting in every individual learning different kinds of skills despite having the same vocation.

    Since Ooyama was using a karate-like fighting style, there was a high possibility that he would develop extreme offensive magic but let''s y safe with the assumption that he has defensive magic.

    <i>Yup, let''s keep observing them force them into showing all the cards in their hand </i> was what I thought until I saw them arriving in front of the boss room.

    The boss room was a slightly open cave with aplicated creek. I had seen a lot of natural caves, but this one seemed to be made by carving the wall into some sort of temple. It looked like the Abusinbel temple of Egypt, but the pirs and statues had already copsed, leaving none of their original forms.

    But since there were numerous traces of treatment, it was obviously a man-made structure.

    This is definitely the boss room.

    Ou, let''s kick their as*es!

    OoyamaSuginobi entered the cave temple in high spirit.

    Since they had rested well the previous night, the moment they arrived, they were in top condition. Their survival life became clear after observing them. They went into hunting edible herbivores such as Jyaja for their meat the moment they found one.

    Naturally, they couldn''t cook it as well as us, but sprinkling salt over freshly grilled meat was more than enough for starving youths. At least, their meals had been centering around meat after a diet consisting of only walnuts.

    They didn''t show any signs of weariness from the long survival life since they''re basically a fu*king gay couple, so their spirit remained sky-high. There might be only two of them, but this boss fight should be able to force them to show their ace in the hole too.

    Now is the only chance to ambush them.

    Those two might be able to beat the boss fairly easily. And who knows when we will be able to meet them again once they activated the teleportation. In short, these few days that I spent while enduring mental attacks called gay porn woulde to naught.

    We''re going to ambush them now.

    Uhm, leave it to me, Kotaro-kun!

    Mei-chan smiled fiercely as if she was gonna charge at once with her halberd, but let''s hold her back for now.

    Let''s aim for when they let their guards down and are exhausted from the boss battle.

    In short, we''re going to ambush them right before they activated the teleportation circle. Yeah, ambushing during such a time was the worst kind of experience. But, it''s my turn to do that now.

    Let''s use Rem to inspect the situation inside.

    Since it was a cave, a bird would be really conspicuous, thus I created a snake form for Rem from the snake that I caught in the thicket.

    The had stripped, dark-reddish coloured snake of medium size; it wouldn''t too conspicuous even if it was creeping into the cave. Thus, it was fair to say that she would be able to sneak a peek at the battle inside the cave without being discovered.

    We''ll be on standby until the end of their battle.

    Are you really okay with murdering them, Kotaro-kun?

    Yeah, let''s kill them.

    I who still was hesitating over whether to kill them or not decided to see their strength first before making such a decision. Moreover, we were the ones who would suffer if this ambush failed because we were holding back.

    Thus, we couldnt show any mercy from the very beginning. Whether they were going to live or die, was a problem forter.

    Aim for Sugino.

    Yes, I''m going to kill him for sure.

    If we had to choose which one we should kill first between Ooyama and Sugino, the answer would be, naturally, Sugino. His defense was really troublesome. We had to incapacitate him in the first strike.

    We had to raise our vignce toward Ooyama''s me too, but that fe with paper-thin defense would fall easily with a single sh from a skeleton equipped with a sword. The chance of sess in ambushing Ooyama was pretty high with SkeletonandHigh-Zombie alone. Sugino on the other hand was really troublesome since the disposable summoned monsters wouldn''t even be able to breach his defense.

    Mei-chan, focus on Sugino. Leave Ooyama to Rem and me.

    Though we had decided to take them down, I was still quite ufortable doing that toward someone who wasn''t my target.

    Different from before, I didn''t kill them because of a grudge, but because it was necessary. I didnt like it at all, but this was for the best. Even if we spared their lives, they would only cause more disadvantages to the other ssmates because these two bastards were prepared to sacrifice all our ssmates to survive.

    <i>Yes, the time you decided to abandon your ssmates You guys became my enemy.</i>

    Shaaaaaaa.

    A snake returned to my side while raising a hiss. When I looked to the side, Rem-Dark Knight nodded in affirmation.

    <i> Great, the time hase.</i>

    Let''s go.

 Chapter 175.1 - The First Ambush Plan

    Chapter 175.1 - The First Ambush n

    After walking through the cave for a while, we arrived at the boss room. Though the entrance of the cave looked like some sort of temple, the area after looked just like a normal cave. Just a spacious boss room without a wall and door.

    We''re currently hiding in the corner (to the right) just before the boss room. Mei-chan, the vanguard, was equipped with halberd for blitzkrieg. I had entrusted her with the task of nning the timing of our ambush.

    Mei-chan used her hand mirror to observe the situation in the boss room.

    From my position, I had no idea whether her hand mirror reflected their figures. But when they picked up the boss''s core, theirughter reverberated throughout the cave.

    And just as I was wondering when she''d signal me, Mei-chan rushed in right away.

    <b><i>Swish CLANK!!!</i></b>

    It was the sound of the stone gripped in Mei-chan''s hand thrown into the boss room.

    It would undoubtedly attract everyone''s attention when there was a sound after the boss battle. It was simple psychology. Even in the infiltration-type game, this kind of trick could be used to distract the other party.

    I doubt those two would react like those stupid AIs in the game, but at least we managed to distract their line of sight.

    Fuuuu

    Mei-chan''s figure vanished like an illusion, leaving behind only a sharp exhtion.

    Let''s go!

    That was our cue, Rems and I stepped into the boss room.

    A giant crab with a violet shell was tumbling over in the middle of the spacious boss room. So this guy was the boss, eh. It was huge, had four pairs of arms, there was something like transparent crystals growing on its shell, and it looked like it could use sorcery too but this guy had already been dismantled.

    The dead boss, or rather, there was no value in the boss after its core had been stripped off. What I should worry about was the due that defeated this fe.

    The first one was Ooyama Daisuke. He looked quite surprised at the ambush.

    The other was our main target, Sugino Takashi. He was carrying his mace that was used to defeat the boss and looked equally surprised but Too slow.

    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The berserker, with the jet-ck halberd, raised high overhead, closed in faster than Sugino could react with his mace.

    U, GUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

    WE DID IT! The jet-ck axe de tore through Sugino''s body.

    As expected of Mei-chan. It was a direct hit since the guard didn''t make it in time and, her attack broke through the infamous defense of the heavy knight. The axe de tore through Sugino''s upper half.

    +++

    Blood sprayed from his wound, it was clearly a fatal wound. Though he avoided an instant death due to the toughness of the heavy warrior, it was still a critical hit.

    TAKAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Ku Do-Don''t worry about me, Dai-chan! Do it!

    Sugino held his ground and shouted loudly despite the fact that the upper half of his body was drenched in blood. And then, though he failed to raise his mace in time to defend himself from Mei-chan''s death blow, he could still grasp it with both hands.

    <i>This guy hasn''t given up, eh?</i> No, what he said to Ooyama just now worried me more. I had a bad feeling about this.

    REEEEEEEEEEM!

    GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    From the very beginning, we nned to kill Ooyama after Sugino. Rem-Dark Knight raised her great sword overhead, shing toward Ooyama

    How dare you DO THAT TO TAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! IGNIS WALL DEFENCE!

    At that moment, a giant firewall stood in front of Rem-Dark Knight.

    GUGA!

    That wall was huge to the point that even Rem-Dark Knight hesitated to cross over it. But she did a good job by stopping since that firewall might have inflicted a great amount of damage on her.

    <i> But, this is bad,</i>

    Mei-chan!

    Fufu, kukuku Momokawa-kun, you should start to worry about yourself before her you know.

    That voice was definitely Suginos. I couldn''t see the situation over there due to that zing firewall.

    But still, the way he spoke, it was as if he wasn''t injured at all.

    Sugino! Dammit, so it''s just a shallow cut.

    As if I''m gonna die from something like this.

    Kotaro-kun, leave this guy to me! I am definitely going to kill him this time!

    Ooh, that''s scary. It''s hard to believe, but you''re Futaba-san, aren''t you? You aplished a grueling diet to the point of bing an unrecognizable beauty, eh? I''m sorry for saying this, but I''ve zero interest in women, your beauty won''t work on me at all.

    For the time being, Mei-chan seemed to want to continue the fight against Sugino. But from the way Sugino spoke, it sounded like he had already healed the wound he had received from Mei-chan''s surprise attack.

    If that was the case, then it''s an all-out one-on-one battle to the death. I had wanted to avoid this situation at all costs, but it really couldn''t be helped.

    Don''t force yourself, Mei-chan. We''ll do something about this after I cro

    Heh, you fool! Ain''t gonna let you do that!

    Ooyama rushed toward me from behind the firewall, his voice shrill with rage.

    <i>What''s the meaning of this? I assumed they''d try to kill Mei-chan first by ganging up on her and trapping her in the firewall.</i>

    How dare you look down upon me, MOMOKAWAAAAAAA! YER FU*KER AIN''T PREPARED AT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!

    You mean, fight like a man?

    A nice guess for a trap like you. Yes, it''s just as you say. Momokawa, your opponent is ME!

    With a snappy voice, Ooyama assumed a karate stance.

    I guess there was no other option but to engage in a one-on-one duel. It turned into apletely unexpected situation but I had Rem by my side. Since Ooyama was by himself, I had the upper hand.

    Rem, let''s beat him up!

    Come at me I''m ready!

    ===

    Why

    Why, eh?

    Meiko, with her back to the raging firewall, was up against Sugino, who remainedposed despite being drenched in his own blood on his upper half.

    Sugino had already taken a defensive stance with his mace, leaving no room for her to exploit. Even she was hesitant to inadvertently step into his range.

    For a while after that, both sides silently red at each other, without stirring from their positions. It was at this moment that Meiko noticed something.

    First, the wound she inflicted had already recovered. It hadn''t healed perfectly since there was still a crooked scar left behind. Judging by that and the trace of blood, she was certain that the Sugino she had attacked a while ago was real. After all, no matter how she looked at it, there was no way a heavy warrior would have a skill with a simr effect as Kotaro''s Twin Shadow.

    Since that was the case, the one she had ambushed just now was definitely the real Sugino and yet, he had recovered right in the next moment. Thus, she concluded that he might have some sort of self-regeneration skill like the high zombie boss from the previous area. She thought that he might have a skill simr to that but then, Meiko arrived at another possibility.

    No way, Droplet of Life

    Uhm, do you also have the same thing? Man, so you got an extremely rare item too, eh.

    It seems that her guess was correct.

    Droplet of Life was an emergency regeneration item she got in the pce area filled with living armor when she was still with Souma Yuuto. Though it was a disposable item whose effect was to instantly heal fatal wounds it was an item that could literally turn the tide of battle.

    Meiko was silently smacking her lips.

    Ooh, that''s terrifying killing intent. Quite a beautiful face youve got there.

    If you give up obediently, I''ll at least let you die painlessly but

    For a gentle and timid Futaba-san to be able to say that, just what kind of experience you WHOOPS!

    Meiko was swinging down her halberd while closing in on Sugino.

    Guh, such power!

    Yet, Sugino managed to catch that heavy blow with the mace in his hands. But that wasn''t the end of the attack.

    Fu~, HAAAAAAAA!

    Moreover, this speed!

 Chapter 175.2 - The First Ambush Plan

    Chapter 175.2 - The First Ambush n

    The first attack was followed by consecutive shes. Strike, mowing down, uppercut, and thrust. With thebination of spear and axe, she made full use of the halberd''s function as a weapon. But the way she brandished the ck Iron''s Knight Halberd, boasting its oversized axe de and extremely heavyweight, was more of a show of overwhelming violence than splendour.

    That brutal attack that had already transformed into a ck storm was rushing toward the heavy warrior.

    This is why, I CAN''T GET ENOUGH OF DOING THISHARD COUNTER!

    Sugino, who barely protected himself from the brutal onught, invoked his defensive martial arts, Hard Counteragainst his opponents attacks.

    The extremely tenacious mace suddenly flicked off the halberd''s brutal strike.

    Uhm.

    Something that never happened before happened, Meiko''s bnce crumbled. The halberds length and mass made it an atrocious weapon, thus, a momentary gap would be created when parried.

    YAAAAAAAAAA!

    Sugino hollered and used this chance to close in on Meiko. And instead of attacking with his mace, he punched with his right hand that held nothing.

    Sugino, who was originally a judo practitioner, was stronger in grappling than wielding the weapon. He aimed at the nape of Meiko''s sailor uniform.

    Though he had never used his technique on women, the other party was a superwoman whose strength and speed were far above him. He couldn''t afford to underestimate the other party.

    However, his hand that was heading toward Meiko''s nape without any hint of hesitation ended up catching the empty air.

    DAAA!

    Meiko drew back her upper body and managed to avoid Sugino''s lethal technique. She barely escaped, or not, seeing how her out-of-standard pair of twin mountains were also outside Suginos reach. She had clearly anticipated his move.

    Sugino had never seen anyone escape from his technique with such a bizarre feat before. But, thanks to the superhuman physical abilities granted by vocation, it wasn''t an impossibility. As a result, even an experienced judo practitioner would be caught off guard.

    Meiko''s next strike arrived faster than Sugino''s.

    She stomped her left foot and sprang in the air, showing her skirt and panties  a shot that would definitely kill Kotarou had he seen it, and sent forth a kick as she spun in midair.

    At that moment, her long, thick pair of legs showed incredible walking capabilities as a berserker which convinced Sugino that his opponent wasn''t a brawny gori.

    GOBHU!?

    Meiko''s kick that felt like a giant hammer struck Sugino''s cracked abdominal muscle. It was a clean hit, and yet, the guy withstood the attack.

    Any normal human who received that blow would have their stomach and innards ruptured. But a heavy warrior had two initial skills, Iron Skin, and Metal Body, and added with the fact that Sugino had learned Ironwall Skin and Iron and Steel Body, he managed to survive the onught.

    Though he managed to avoid fatal damage, his defense couldn''t fully absorb the impact of Meiko''s kick. The residual impact sent his body  which boasted its sheer height and weight  floating a little in the air.

    Fortunately, Meiko couldn''t use that chance to finish him off. The reason, the kick she had unleashed from an unreasonable position had also prevented her from using her halberd.

    As a result, Meiko corrected her stance afternding on the ground again, as did Sugino, who was forced to retreat after the previous kick. And the distance between them widened once more, creating the same situation as at the start of their battle.

    The kick isn''t strong enough, eh. As tough as expected.

    How scary, for a woman to have such terrifying strength.

    Souma-kun is stronger you know.

    Hahahaha, he''s still special even aftering to this world, eh.

    The fu*king gay decided to escape together. No matter what method, even if they had to build a mountain of corpses.

    It was an extremely tough goal and yet, he became even more annoyed upon hearing that there was still someone stronger than Meiko.

    I''m no match for you, Futaba-san.

    Feel like giving up?

    I''m no match for you, but I don''t feel like losing either.

    While saying so, Sugino retreated even further to open the distance between the two of them.

    Want to escape?

    My best n, for now, is to buy the time by escaping from you.

    It''s futile.

    Aren''t you worried about Momokawa-kun?

    Meiko replied to that question with silence.

    It would be a lie if she said that she wasn''t worrying about Kotaro, but she wasn''t in hurry. The reason being Kotaro wasn''t by himself. Though not as powerful as her, Rem-Dark Knight was his second most reliable bodyguard. A dozen or two fireballs wouldn''t be enough to crush Rem-Dark Knight.

    Moreover, there were still Alfa and Arachne standing by in front of the boss room. Skeletons or high zombies might be a tad too weak for Ooyama, but they could be meat shields for Kotaro.

    With such a lineup, beating Kotaro wasn''t a simple matter.

    Thus, she had to make sure that the most dangerous of the two disgusting gays, Sugino the Heavy Warrior, must be kept in check.

    Fufufu, it seems youve misunderstood something.

    Misunderstood what?

    When he went all out, Dai-chan is way stronger than me you know?

    Sugino was smiling as usual when he said so, but something about his smile made him look like a wild beast now. Meiko knew instinctively that he wasn''t bluffing.

    Dai-chan will beat Momokawa-kun for sure. And then, it''ll be 2 vs 1. Your defeat was decided the moment I teamed up with Dai-chan.

    Kuh!

    Meiko was looking at the wall of fire behind her, wondering whether she should cross it even at the risk of burning herself.

    Oops, I''ll dly wee if you''re showing your back of course. I won''t hesitate to beat you to death with this club.

    Sugino was no match for Meiko, but he would deliver a death blow without hesitation once he saw a chance. Thus, they''re pretty much equal.

    She couldn''t afford to show her back in front of Sugino who readied his mace.

    Ko-Kotaro-kun

    Meiko frowned for a moment but then instantly took a snap decision.

    She raised her face, revealing an enraged, man-eating fiend-like face befitting a berserker.

    Aah, that face, I know it. Futaba-san, you''re maiden-in-love, isn''t it?

    Turning anger into strength, Sugino understood such feeling.

    It''s truly unfortunate. Was it not for this situation, I would be cheering for you.

    It''s unfortunate indeed Now, DIE!!

    HAHAHA, I REFUSE!

    Berserker''s fierce attack and heavy warrior''s defense  It was time for their battle to the death.

 Chapter 176.1 - Shaman vs Pyromancer 1

    Chapter 176.1 - Shaman vs Pyromancer 1

    Rem, let''s beat him up!

    Come at me I''m ready!

    All Rems charged towards Ooyama at once.

    And the one in the lead was the strongest amongst them, my prided Rem-Dark Knight. Running beside her was Rem The 3rd-Alfa.

    Rem The 2nd-Arachne was standing by my side as she fired her spiderwebs at Ooyama  solid vanguard and rear guard to disturb the other party''s movement. It was simple, but in front of such a perfectly coordinated attack, Ooyama was,

    UWOOOOOOOO I''M ALL FIRE D UP, MUSCLE HEAT!

    Ooyama''s body was wrapped in a pale, red aura, and he sent forth punches that were too fast for my eyes to follow.

    BLAST, KNUCKLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    He unleashed a straight punch, the one he called st Knuckle, collided with Rem-Dark Knight''s greatsword which came down from outside of his punching range.

    Attempting to sh des with bare hands was insane. But then, there was an explosion when Ooyama''s zing red fist collided with the de.

    GUGAA!

    The explosive punch of the zing fist repelled Dark Knight''s greatsword.

    The power of the explosion seemed to be quite strong since it even managed to destroy Rem-Dark Knight''s stance. And then, seemingly unwilling to let go of that chance, Ooyama closed in the distance and unleashed another punch toward Dark Knight''s breastte.

    SEYAAAAAAA!

    The second st Knuckle managed to send Rem-Dark Knight flying.

    That moment Alfa used that chance to swing her strongest weapon, the sawde tail yet, Ooyama had already begun moving away from that position.

    SHAAAAAAAAA!

    He unleashed a roundhouse kick toward Alfa, repelling her tail, and spun once again in mid-air before he unleashed another kick  a kick that sent Alfa, whose size rivaled that of a horse, flying.

    <i>What the heck!</i> His speed and power, which gave Dark Knight and Alfa a run for the money, waspletely outside of my expectation.

    The only advantage I had left was the spiderwebs to seal his movement, but

    These annoying webs! BURNING POWER(FIERY PASSION)!!

    The spiderwebs that Arachne and I had fired at him had been erased, burned to dust by the me that was erupting from his body.

    <i> He can also wrap his entire body with me, huh.</i> That alone was enough to render spiderwebs and ck hair, which originally were weak to fire, useless. They got burned to ashes just by approaching him.

    But perhaps its true value wasn''t just in wrapping the user''s body in mes but in boosting the user''s physical abilities as well.

    Furthermore, he used a power-up sorcery called Muscle Heat at the beginning, which clearly increased his physical strength. Both effects seemed to be ovepping.<i> Dammit, there''s a game-like ovep buff system in this world, huh.</i>

    Though both sorceries might actually reinforce his overall physical strength, I''ve been wondering just how much those twobined sorceries enhance his physical strength

    He~, I''m not done YETFORCE BOOST(Physical Strength Reinforcement)!

    ANO-ANOTHER BUFF!?

    ARE YOU FU*KING KIDDING ME!? HE HAD ANOTHER BOOST!!!

    Ooyama''s arms were d in pale red light due to Muscle Heat, his body was d in me due to Burning Power, and there was still the shining red light due to the effect of Force Boost.

    Ooyama''s red hands, which had obviously be a killing weapon at a nce, casually blew back Rem-Dark Knight, who was attempting to stand back.

    THE HECK, ARE YER INSIDE EMPTY!!? IT''S FU*CKING TOO LIGHT! ORAORAORAORA!

    I mean, he grabbed Dark Knight''s helm with his right hand and threw her off like a tin can. Dark Knight, who had been thrown so easily that he looked like a badly treated doll, collided with Alfa, who was about to backstab Ooyama.

    <i>Humph</i>, too weak, Momokawa.

    The burning red Ooyama was barking at me after seeing Dark Knight tumbling along with Alfa like a bowling ball crashing on the pins.

    Dammit, to think that he has so many buff-type sorceries.

    I cursed in a low voice. I hadpletely misjudged Ooyama''s strength. I thought that his physical strength was lower than Suginos whose vocation was Heavy Warrior and yet his offensive power turned out to be off the chart.

    His power with triple reinforcement might have surpassed Mei-chan, the Berserker.

    I mean, a sorcerer who was piling up buff upon buff on himself was actually way more powerful than the fighter, what kind of shi*ty game was this?

    And just as expected, not even Rem-Dark Knight could beat someone with that cheat-like skill.

    Since my vanguard got destroyed in an instant, Arachne Rem who stayed by my side came forward.

    So the only one left is that weak-looking spider.

    Take a closer look, dammit, there are bulges on her che*st, Arachne is clearly a girl Go, High Zombie!

    I summoned seven High Zombie to act as a meat wall and ordered them to charge at Ooyama.

    UOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The seven high zombies were rushing towards Ooyama who was standing calmly in his ce as they raised their usual loud warcries. If this was the scene in those zombie movies, Ooyama would die for sure, but the zombies were, unfortunately, just small fries in this dungeon.

    Momokawa, how dare you send these small fries even after knowing how powerful I am? DONT. UNDERESTIMATE. MEBLAST KNUCKLE!

    He punched the ground beneath his feet with his burning fist. The high zombies were then sted into the air with a "BOOM.

    Maybe an indirect explosion was enough to take care of the high zombies, AKA small fries. Incapacitating small fries in one punch, that exploding punch sure was convenient.

    Thus, the high zombies got insta-killed without even managing to as much as scratch Ooyama''s skin, but they had bought enough time for me. I unloaded Summoner''s Skull and loaded Shaman''s Skull into my cane.

    HOW ABOUT THISPOISON!

    At this range, Ooyama wouldn''t be able to dodge this no matter how powerful he became. This was my current, most powerful spell. TAKE THIS, HINAGIKU-STYLE, INVISIBLE CURSE!

    What did you do just now? Something smells fishy.

    Cr*p, not even Poison was working on him.

    Did he have some sort of resistance?

    Ah yeah, you''re a Shaman, eh? Too bad, this me is also protecting me from magic. Yer weak attack will never reach me.

    As expected, the fire wrapped on Ooyama''s body was also acting as magic defense and gave him abnormal status resistance.

    I mean, it obviously set his entire body "ON FIRE" and yet, neither his trousers nor red tanktop got burned by the fire. His body aside, I guess that me really did act like some sort of barrier that would protect his clothes too.

    Come to think of it, Souma Sakura had the all-purpose, Oracle Barrier too. I guess you could say that every element had its own barrier.

    The reason he revealed that information showed just how much confidence he had in himself. He might try to make me surrender by the sheer gap of power between us.

    Since that''s the case, you should try to hit me. Lets see if that weak me of yours can protect you from my Pain Return.

    Your provocation ain''t gonna work on me, Momokawa. Taka has given me a strict warning about that ability.

    <i>Tch</i>, just like how I never let my guard down against them, the same went for them. Pain Return could only be used once as a threat when I encountered them with Yamajun and the others. Being a smarta*s, Sugino would definitely think of a measure to counter this ability of mine in case we fought each other again.

    Fortunately, we''re right in this ce, a ce devoid of traps and any sacrificial pawns to be used to kill me. It appeared that the boss room had some kind of method to keep the monster from outside from entering.

    I see, so are we going to just stand here and wait until Mei-chan kick Sugino''s ass?

    That you, who is reliant on women, are saying that makes me want to puke.

    Hey, are you trying to say that gender equality is wrong? You should be careful what you say because you''re also implying that fu*king homo like you are the trash of humanity.

    How dare you

    Whoops, you better not punch me to death. I don''t want to die with a fu*king homo like you, after all, Id rather die with a busty babe like Mei-chan.

    <i>Tch</i>, Momokawa, I guess letting you talk is a great mistake.

    Ooyama shot a murderous, mad dog-like re towards me, but he couldn''tnd a direct attack on me, he waspletely on guard against my Pain Return.

    Thus, I could survive for a few more minutes. Ooyama had too much power to the point that he could kill me with one punch, thus he couldn''t attack me.

 Chapter 176.2 - Shaman vs Pyromancer 1

    Chapter 176.2 - Shaman vs Pyromancer 1

    Now was the time to take a gamble, but I couldn''t do anything but wait for Mei-chan to beat Sugino on the other side of this firewall. Once Sugino was defeated, we should be able to do something about Ooyama.

    I felt bad for doing something like gambling for the chance of Mei-chan''s victory, and that wasn''t included in the off chance that she was defeated. Honestly, this wasn''t the best n and I hated this kind of gambling strategy, but I knew that Mei-chan could do it. Betting my life on her was worth it.

    Thus, let''s believe in her victory.

    My duty was to buy time as much as possible and prevent Ooyama from helping Sugino. I mean, he could easily send Rem-Dark Knight and Alfa flying with his punch, but our fight was far from over. Rem, who couldn''t feel pain, was tough.

    Rem-Dark Knight and Alfa had already recovered, the two of them were ring at Ooyama''s back as they kept their distance from him. They''re ready to cut as soon as he shows an opening.

    Let''s take our time, the one who has a leeway is me after all.

    I wonder about that. The other one knows that you''re fighting against me after all

    Ooyama was starting to move. Arachne I, Rem-Dark Knight, and Alfa rushed as if to protect me.

    What the, did he have some sort of fire spell that could negate the effect of my Pain Return? Just what in the world was he trying to do to overturn this situation? And when I was observing him vigntly, Ooyama suddenly walked away from us.

    He was approaching the corpse of the crystal crab, the former king of this room.

    <i>Humph</i>, ORAAAAAAAA!

    Ooyama held onto the pincer of the crab, raised it with his triple-enhanced strength, then threw it towards me!

    UWAAA!?

    Ah, that was close, you''re gonna die too if that giant crab hits me!

    The corpse of the giant crab boss crashed right in front of me, sending sprays of some of its blood residue along with a loud crashing sound. It seems he wasn''t serious about using this crab to kill me. I mean, throwing it directly counted as attacking me, so if I got crushed to death, the same would happen to Ooyama.

    Momokawa, I know the way to beat you! Burn till nothing is left, Ignis st!

    The moment Ooyama raised his hand, a pir of fire rose up like a me dragon. I could perish quickly from the me radiation.

    UWAA, WHAT''S WITH THIS HEAT!

    But he didn''t unleash that fire on me. The one that Ooyama aimed at was the crab''s corpse.

    He unleashed his me toward the crab''s corpse as if to cremate it right in this ce. Ah, the smell of baked crab was really appetizing.

    Uo, feeling hot now, Momokawa?

    What?

    Im asking, are you feeling the heat now?

    <i> Of course, I am!</i> Like hell, I didn''t feel the heat when I was standing right in front of a deliciously baked crab.

    I mean, I was already drenched in sweat now.

    And thanks to my vocation as a pyromancer, heat means nothing to me. At most, it feels like a warm breeze.

    That''s literally simr to the hidden status of each vocation, just like the poison that I concocted. Thus, it was only natural for pyromancer to have something alongside heat or fire resistance as their hidden status from an early stage.

    That''s why this heat is nothing for me. But you must be starting to feel the heat right?

    When I was literally drenched in sweat almost twice as fast as before, I finally managed to understand what Ooyama was trying to say.

    Yeah, Pain Return can''t do anything against this heat.

    HEHEHE, AS EXPECTED OF TAKA! How''s that, Momokawa? feeling helpless now since I only grilled the corpse of the boss. THE LIKES OF YOU CAN''T DO A SH*T AGAINST ME!

    The unleashed me released heat that couldn''t be countered by Pain Return. Because the Heat that I felt wasing from something burning in front of me.

    Hey, do you know what the upper limit of body temperature that a living human body can withstand is?

    To maintain a normal life, the limit of the body temperature was around 45 degrees celsius. More than that, humans would normally die.

    This was a well-nned trap that made extensive use of me magic. Ooyama attempted to drain my stamina and kill me by raising the temperature in the area as well as my body temperature. Will I perish as a result of dehydration? Will my heart rate increase? Will my brain be the first to burn? Whatever it was, the increase in air temperature had put my life in jeopardy.

    Kuh, so the countermeasure is the fire itself.

    If I were you, Momokawa, I wouldn''t move from your current position. Ignis Defence can be activated much faster than you can make your move. If you try to cross the firewall, you will only end up killing yourself for no reason, and it is not an attack either.

    He may not have used a firewall to surround me because he wasn''t sure whether my Pain Return would counter it or not. But the same was true for me.

    Furthermore, he could consider how using so much fire would affect Sugino, who was fighting Mei-chan on the other side of the firewall. In a nutshell, this was the maximum amount of fire that he could use.

    Nevertheless, this amount of heat was more than enough to kill me.

    Fu-haa

    Even the air I breathed felt like it was burning my lungs. And because the area around me was the firewall that Ooyama erected immediately after the ambush and the corpse of a boss crab that had been baked to the proper temperature, the temperature would only rise with each second.

    I wouldn''t be able to survive for too long. Sauna was one of my weaknesses. I mean, 5 minutes was the longest record.

    I wonder how long I could persevere in this kind of temperature? 10 minutes? 5 minutes? Even if I didn''t die, it would be the end of me if I fainted. In that situation, how long could Mei-chan handle Sugino''s defense and Ooyama''s firepower

    Well then, what are you going to do now, Momokawa!?

    <i> A~, what should I do now? I''m in a pinch</i>

 Chapter 177.1 - Shaman vs Pyromancer ï¼’

    Chapter 177.1 - Shaman vs Pyromancer £²

    Cr*p, I really have no idea what to do about this situation but

    This was something I was used to, and every time it happened, I barely escaped. I assumed that with perseverance,st-minute bravery, and quick wit, anyone could do it Yes, it happens all the time, a sh of inspiration to get you out of a bind?

    What''s happening, Momokawa? This isn''t the time to be dazed, right?

    In this kind of heat, five minutes went by in a sh. As this unpleasant heat coiled around my body, I was already drenched in sweat from head to toe. I really wanted to jump into the fairy za''s water fountain right now. If possible, along with a Mei-chan in her bikini.

    A~h, it''s so hot

    He, your head is slowly being roasted, eh?

    Shut up, who do you think is to me for my developing erotic delusions as a result of my desire to escape this scorching hell? Do you think I''ll cry as a result of this? Dream on!

    Fuu Ca-Calm down, remember, there must be something that I can still use.

    My head wouldn''t calm down because I was surrounded by heat instead of the pain I was used to feeling, or rather, this was something I didn''t expect.

    Normally, when confronted with a situation like the approaching armored bear, I would act like a gambler, but No, wait a minute, speaking of armored bear, how did I manage to beat that guy back then?

    With red mushroom''s poison.

    What are you talking about? Reciting a poem before you die?

    Can you shut up for a minute!

    The red mushroom I mixed into onigiri and hamburger was undoubtedly the main reason the armored bear died, but the clincher was something else entirely.

    I raised its body temperature with Red Fever, and tore open its stomach with Pain Return.

    Thus, the armored bear died. It was a historical moment when I defeated an armored bear using only my initial skill. Without it, the current me would no longer exist Whoops, this wasn''t the time to bask in my past glory.

    Yeah, Red Fever

    Ipletely forgot about its existence because it was super shitty abilities whose only effect was to cause a slight fever in the target. I mean, it could literally win the most useless skill of shaman''s award. Yes, only Red Fever could win such an award among all skills.

    Considering the situation during my fight with the armored bear, the sparkling Red Fever was a sign of the target''s rising body temperature; in short, it would make the other party feel uneasy due to the fever.

    Since that was the case, I should return this cursed heat that I was feeling to Ooyama with my Red Fever, even if was only a little bit.

    Naturally, Ooyama waspletely different from the armored bear back then, he wouldn''t suffer from high fever. On a side note, this light fever was by no means lethal But, let''s just hope that it''s lethal.

    In short, it was nothing more than a bluff to fool the other party.

    To sum it up. First, I chant the aria in secret and hit Ooyama with Red Fever. It was by no means lethal, but Ooyama would definitely sense the oddity, namely his rising body temperature.

    That was my n.

    Fufufu, how''s that Ooyama! Your heat seems to be countered by Pain Return!

    Yes, I spoke in a way to make it look like my skill had upgraded in the middle of battle. Otherwise known as the new power of Pain Return.

    This was a counter to Ooyama''s tactic which was built around the fact that my Pain Return couldn''t counter indirect heat. I hoped that Ooyama would reconsider this tactic based on this fact.

    So he ould be doubting my words. But he also shouldn''t have the courage to confirm the fact. And before I noticed, the heat around me had subsided.

    It seems Ooyama was looking down on me. Or maybe, he was literally looking down on anyone he considered weak. That guy, like the spirit beast of water, Seyram, would never expect me to turn the tables on them in the form of mutual destruction.

    As a result, Ooyama would definitely avoid such a result. He would undoubtedly employ a different strategy once he realized that the heat could be mitigated.

    If he did so, Ooyama and Sugino might have another n to kill the shaman. Before that, Red Fever might not be able to bypass the Burning Power''s resistance. I mean, even before that, his buff canceled Poison only leaving behind a strange smell. So let''s just prepare another counter n in case this n fails.

    <i>Continue bluffing until he couldn''t tell the difference between right and wrong. But let''s give it a shot and see if it works. Think of another strategy if this one didn''t work. After all, I could withstand this heat for another five minutes.</i>

    Yeah, let''s do this. Rem, listen to me, Ooyama might show an opening after this. When you see it, attack him with everything you''ve got.

    SHA!

    Arachne who stood in front of me replied with a cry.

    Yes, here we go.

    Put a curse into thy body, it shall fall into an endless fever

    It was an aria that I chanted for the first time in a really long time, but it strangely felt familiar to me. Well, it might simply be because it was one of my oldest skills.

    It was really ironic that I had to rely on my most unreliable skill in this kind of situation but <i>Please make it work so that I can get out of this pinch!</i>

    Red Fever

    I invoked my 1st curse while locking Ooyama''s figure, making sure that I didn''t miss it.

    And just as I had expected, that effect was

    What the, my body! W-WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!?

    YEAAAAAAAAAH, I FU*KING DID IT!

    I was also taken aback by Ooyama''s exaggerated reaction. His eyes widened as he sensed the abnormality in his body.

    Yeah, let''s keep going on until he believes in my bluff. If I''m not mistaken, the remark I nned for this oue was

    Fufufu, how''s that Ooyama

    IMPOSSIBLE! MY REINFORCEMENT HAS VANISHED!

    Eh?

    For some reason, his reaction was different from what I had expected.

    My reinforcement has vanished, I definitely heard him screaming those words but

    Ah, it really has vanished.

    The red light and me that enveloped Ooyama''s body had really vanished.

    Muscle Heat''s aura, Burning Power''s me, and Force Boost''s light  the special effects of all the three reinforcement skills had vanished altogether.

    <i> What''s the meaning of this?</i>

    DAMMIT, WHAT IN THE HE*LL ARE YOU DOING, MOMOKAWAAAAAA!?

    HAHAHAHA! IDIOT, YOU''VE ALREADY FALLEN INTO MY TRAP, OOYAMA!

    WHA-WHAAAT!?

    Fu*k, I was the one who wanted to say that. But now I had solved the problem with his reinforcement.

    Your body isn''t hot, its as if youve caught a cold, right?

    HAH! So this feeling as if I caught a cold is caused by your damned curse

    Yeah, this is the true power of my 1st curse, Red Fever Canceling reinforcement-type magic!

    <i>Wait a minute, I see, so that''s the effect huh!?</i>

    The moment I said those words, I hit upon a realization.

    Red Fever could cancel buff, in other words, it was a debuff skill.

    Red Fever: Causes the target to feel feverish.

    I was always vexed whenever I remembered the time when I, who was at the bottom of despair, was given this skill with nonsense vour text. But it wasn''t until recently that I realized the seemingly simple vour text concealed a profound meaning.

    Causing the target to feel feverish means that no matter what kind of condition my opponent was currently in, it would be reced with Fever.

    Thus, even if the target used a power reinforcement or speed reinforcement spell, it would be reced with Fever by using Red Fever.

    It never got the chance to shine since none of my enemies ever used a reinforcement spell until now. And even if they did, they went unnoti No, wait a minute,e to think of it, something simr happened the first time Mei-chan consumed goma''s drug.

    Mei-chan, who drowned as a result of goma''s drug, ughtered the gomas who surrounded me before rushing at me after all goms had been ughtered. I recall she stopped biting into my neck after I used Red Fever on her.

    Could the effect of Red Fever have neutralized her excited state at the time?

    Uwaa, despite the obvious foreshadowing, I only realized the truth now. Well, I guess the fact that I was desperate at the time yed a big role in this.

    An-Anyway, since Red Fever could not only cancel buffs but also debuffs, didn''t that mean this ex-most useless skill was actually the most OP skill?

    Hehehe I''ve had faith in you since the beginning, Red Fever-sama

    CAN-CANCELING REINFORCEMENT SKILL!!! DAMMIT, TO THINK THAT YO HIDE SUCH SUAAAAAAAA!?

    SHAAAAAAAAA!

    As he roared, Ooyama desperately tried to dodge the spiderwebs fired by Arachne.

    Ah,e to think of it, I did tell Rems to attack when the other party showed a gap.

    GUGAGA!

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Rem-Dark Knight and Alfa charged from behind at the same time as Ooyama revealed an opening.

    Tch, these fu*kers UWOOOOOOOOOO, IGNIS SAGITA!

    Ooyama retaliated byunching a barrage of Ignis Sagita at the approaching Rem-Dark Knight. Though it did slow Rem-Dark Knight''s rushing speed slightly, it was far from enough to stop her.

    GISHAAA!

    Rem-Dark Knight was acting as a tank, using her shield to stop the barrage of Ignis Sagita, with Alfa rising on her shoulder. Alfa, whose jumping ability was one of its most prominent when it was still alive, closed in on Ooyama at once from Rem-Dark Knight''s shoulders.

    KUH, st Knuckle!!

    Ooyama countered Alfa''s swooping attack from above with his exploding fist.

    Alfa''s ws collided with Ooyama''s burning fist at that exact moment.

    GUWAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    <b><i>KABOOOOOOOOM!</i></b>

    The sound of an explosion resounded along with Ooyama''s scream.

    It seems their sh ended up in a tie. Three long bloody lines ripped through Ooyama''s red tank top. Alfa''s scale color, on the other hand, appeared slightly sooty, as if there was no damage at all. It seemed that st Knuckle couldn''t disy its full potential without Muscle Heat.

    GRRRR, SHAAAAAAAAAA!

    Alfa quickly adjusted her stance before leaping at Ooyama, who was still perplexed by the wound on his chest.

    UGOGOGO, GUGAAA!

    Furthermore, Rem-Dark Knight, who had finally been freed from the barrage of Ignis Sagita, was closing in with her greatsword raised high in the air.

    UWOOOOOO, ONE MORE TIME BURN, MY BODY! MUSCLE HEAT!!!

    Red Fever

    The me-like red aura that Ooyama unleashed dissipated into a haze as soon as I countered it with Red Fever.

    No doubt about it. Red Fever erased the effect of the reinforcement spell.

    Ooyama, on the other hand, could use his reinforcement spell even while under the influence of Fever. Only to have it canceled again by my Red Fever, that''s all. It was straightforward but effective.

    Dam-Dammit

    Ooyama wore a defeated look on his face when I sealed his most powerful weapon, the reinforcement spell.

 Chapter 177.2 - Shaman vs Pyromancer ï¼’

    Chapter 177.2 - Shaman vs Pyromancer £²

    TN: You Got T<em>he</em><em>Rainbow yer</em> Title!

    ===

    When Ooyama''s reinforcement spell was sealed, he could still use his offensive pyromancer spell, but it was ineffective against Rems. His only advantage was a long-range attack, but Rems was closing in on him.

    Rem-Dark Knight stood in front of him, raising her great sword above her head for a strike that would undoubtedly end his life, while Alfa''s saw tail de came from the side.

    Ooyama, who had lost his three buffs, had no way of defending himself against Rem''sbination attack.

    UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, DAI-CHAAAAAAAN!

    A third party suddenly appeared between the two sides. It didn''t take a genius to figure out who this was: Sugino Takashi.

    Perhaps he sensed instinctively that his partner was in grave danger and thus leapt across the still-burning Ignis Wall Defence.

    TAK-TAKAAA!

    How dare you, TO HURT MY DAI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!

    SERIOUSLY! He attacked twice with his huge mace as he yelled.

    The mace, which was loaded with raw power, struck Rem-Dark Knight and sent Alfa flying.

    Despite the fact that Alfa''s saw tail de ripped through Sugino''s body, she received a counter due to her heavy warrior tough body. Sugino, in short, was tanking the attack with his tough defense.

    Sugino stepped in like a hero to save Ooyama, who was in danger.

    Aah, I made it in time. Did you get hurt, Dai-chan?

    Taka, you idiot! Why are you going this far for someone like me

    Yeah, Sugino was an idiot. Ooyama would''ve died if not for Sugino''s interruption.

    But I had learnt a lesson from Yamajun. Such an act was pointless if the person who came to save you died.

    As a result, I could express some sympathy to Ooyama, who was in the same situation as me when Yamajun saved my life.

    Naturally, it''s because I l GUBHOO!? [TL: GOOD JOB ATTACKER, YOUR TIMING IS THE BEST!!]

    Sugino''s nk emitted a massive ck de. Its razor-sharp, jet-ck tip pierced the steel-like body of the heavy warrior.

    Fuuh, that''s one down.

    As she said those words, the berserker walked out from behind the firewall. Her gait was light as if she were going for a walk, and she held no weapon.

    It was a hurtling halberd that had pierced Sugino''s nk.

    Perhaps that halberd had beenunched from the other side of the zing Ignis Wall Defence with full berserker power through the hole created by Sugino, who passed through the firewall to save his gay partner and pierced his defenseless back.

    Yeah, Mei-chan and Sugino were also fighting on the other side of the firewall that was created to iste me.

    Berserker and heavy warrior were vocations specialized inbat. Unlike shamans like me, who had to rely on underhanded tactics in battle, their fights were extremely fierce, with no room for error.

    He was literally asking for it when he recklessly turned his back on Mei-chan in the middle of a fight to save Ooyama. And Mei-chan, who had transformed into a merciless berserker, wouldn''t let go of that opportunity.

    N-No way Lies, Taka

    Sorry, Dai-chan You''ve to run.

    Ooyama stood dumbfounded in front of his gay partner, who had been skewered by Mei-halberd chan''s as if it were karma. Sugino, on the other hand, had already given up hope of winning.

    Sugino, the brawniest and tallest man in the ss, had already copsed on his knees as if he had lost the will to fight. As he vomited blood, he barely prodded his knee, urging Ooyama to flee.

    THE HELL YOU''RE TALKING ABOUT, LIKE HELL I''M GOING TO ESCAPE! LIKE HELL I''M GOING TO SAVE MYSELF WHILE LEAVING YOU TO DIE!

    DON''T WORRY ABOUT ME, YOU HAVE TO ESCAPE, DAI-CHAN!

    Sugino pushed Ooyama''s body back at that moment. Ooyama copsed on his back, screaming like a frail girl. <i>Seriously, you''re a man, aren''t you?</i>

    My bad Sugino-kun, we have no intention to let go of Ooyama-kun, you know? I mean, both of you have already been marked as Kotaro-kun''s enemy, after all.

    Saying so, Mei-chan unsheathed her sub-weapon, the cursed sword Dismemberment Demonic Butcher''s Knife.

    RUUUUN! RUN, DAI-CHAN! YOU''VE TO SURVIVE, LE

    Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to bury you two in the same hole so that you can suffer together.

    Sugino could only manage to urge Ooyama to escape. At that moment, the berserker mercilessly grabbed his head. Mei-chan could easily grab his soft Mohican-styled hair and plunge the sword de, which was wrapped in an ominous aura, into his thick neck.

    WA-WAIT, STOP, PLEASE DON''T KILL TAKA! PLEASE, TAKA IS MY EVE

    It''s okay, Dai-chan. Sorry, we can''t be together till the e

    That''s all he could say before Mei-chan, who shuddered seeing the exchange between the two gays, beheaded Sugino.

    STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

    Toote, Sugino''s head had already separated from its body.

    Dismemberment Demonic Butcher''s Knife easily tore off the heavy warrior neck which was supposed to be really tough. Mei-chan moved her hands like Sugino were a piece of meat to be butchered. Her movement waspletely natural as if it had been programmed into her muscle memory.

    Perhaps this was the second human(ssmate) that was killed by Mei-chan. And yet, it was as if she had been used to this situation.

    Now then Ooyama-kun, anyst words?

    Mei-chan, holding the Dismemberment Demonic Butcher''s Knife in her right hand and Sugino''s decapitated her in her left, asked the trembling, pale-faced Ooyama with an angelic, merciful smile.

    Ah, Uh, AAAAh

    Worry not, just count the spots on the ceiling and it''ll be over in a sh  no pain, no suffering.

    <i>Just like Sakurai-kun and Hinagiu-san, eh.</i>

    Strangely, we had mourned them properly.

    WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, SMOKE!

    Ooyama''s body emitted a pitch-ck smoke as he screamed like a madman.

    !!??

    Mei-chans face stiffened for a moment, and the next moment, she had already wrapped her arm around me.

    Its just smoke, eh. Sorry Kotaro-kun, I let him escape.

    Thanks to Mei-chan''s quick reflexes, by the time I realized, she had already carried me to the corner of the room. And by the time the dense ck smoke in the centre of the room dispersed, Ooyama''s figure had vanished.

    His vocation seemed to be quite versatile, as he had even learnt a spell that allowed him to escape a predicament. I reckoned it was just like Shimokawa''s Aqua Mist  all or nothing  Ooyama''s wasbat mage.

    We''ll go after him, right?

    No it''s enough.

    But he''s dangerous, we cant leave him to his own devices.

    This is enough. I don''t think we should do more than this.

    I wonder just what kind of an expression I had when I said that. It was a pity, but I saw no reason to kill someone who had already been reduced to that state.

    But Mei-chan, who wholeheartedly epted my decision, was even more amazing. She simply hugged me silently.

    Aah, the warmth of her skin thawed my frozen heart and pierced my bones. Cr*p, what should I do now? At this rate, I''ll be very horny very soon

    Ha~h, let''s get away from this ce immediately to avoid future trouble.

    Yeah.

    I reluctantly withdrew from her embrace and took out the boss'' core that had already be our target. Thankfully, Sugino was the one who had been holding onto that core.

    After we put everything in order, we transferred safely.

    Nheless, despite the fact that our ambush was a huge sess, I couldn''t get used to the feeling of killing a human.

    Whether it was because I didn''t get my hands dirty this time or because she could kill Sugino without hesitation, or because I saw how close the two had be in thest few days, I was impressedI didn''t want to think about any of that right now.

    But I think I understood what Higuchi meant when he said You''ll regret this, you know, albeit just a little.

 Chapter 178.1 - Hot Flesh and Blood

    Chapter 178.1 - Hot Flesh and Blood

    TN: True Rainbow yer

    ===

    Huff Huff Huff

    Ooyama who was about to run out of breath stopped running.

    He strained his ears as he readjusted his breath, trying to catch the sound of any possible pursuer. He sighed as he realized there was nothing but the sound of falling water.

    He sighed yet again as he realized he had managed to shake off the Shaman and Berserker.

    Huff, huff Taka

    Sugino Takashi died to give him a chance to escape. Ooyama could never forget his final moment.

    Dammit why, why

    Naturally, what Ooyama wished for was for them to fight together, and open their way up to survival. But the reality was cruel, the loser had no right to choose who would survive nor would they get such a chance.

    Like hell, I want to survive by myself Taka, without you

    His sense of loss and regret was nearly crushing him.

    Had he known that things would turn this way, he would have rather died with Sugino. Yet, the reality was cruel, he survived by himself.

    Even after he knew that he was doomed to die, Sugino took the risk of showing his unprotected back to the berserker just to protect Ooyama.

    But whether it was because he was following Sugino''sst will or because he was terrified of the berserker who easily ughtered Sugino, it didnt matter anymore. At the very least, he had no idea why he escaped.

    He was furious with himself. Angry for losing to Momokawa who he had always regarded as a coward and looked down up. And this very attitude had ended up with Sugino saving him from mortal danger. He was truly powerless at that time and could only run with his tail between his leg.

    It was truly an unforgivable act for him. But he couldn''t go back anymore. Sugino was already dead.

    What should I do Taka

    The person who usually replied with a gentle smile was already gone.

    Dammit without you my life is

    The other party was the sole reason for him to survive in this world.

    And yet, he failed to realize how dangerous life in another world was and had been busy looking down on someone for his girlish appearance, that error had caused irreparable damage to him.

    Wait for me, Taka, I''ll go to your side soon

    Committing suicide was the only option for him right now.

    He took out a utility knife, the first thing that he felt when he was about to slit his own throat wasn''t fear. He strangely felt at ease since he knew that he would reunite with Sugino.

    <i> Yeah, this is for the best, I could just forget about everything But, is it really okay to do this?</i>

    Guh dammit!

    The sound of a knife falling to the floor resounded throughout the cave.

    Dammit all like hell I can reunite with Taka in this way!

    As thest one left, Ooyama Daisuke still had his own pride as a man.

    I''m the reason for our defeat Taka died because of me

    And yet, Ooyama was forgiven. If there was heaven and they reunited there, it would be a moving reunion.

    But no. Even if Sugino forgave him, he couldn''t forgive himself.

    It ain''t time to meet Taka before I get my revenge!

    His survival instinct reignited once he vowed to get his revenge.

    Strangely enough, he didn''t hate Kotaro or Meiko who killed Sugino, he had already epted Sugino''s death as a result of the battle with their life on the line.

    But it didn''t mean that he didn''t want a rematch.

    Momokawa, Futaba, I''m not gonna die till I kill both of you I''LL SURVIVE TILL I GET MY REVENGE!

    Ooyama, who fell into the darkest moment of his life, was burning with renewed fighting spirit.

    Committing suicide was easy, he could do that anytime. Since that was the case, he could only charge ahead like a demon of revenge, unafraid of death.

    Only after he got his revenge could he reunite with Sugino with pride. Losing him meant losing half of his life, thus he didn''t even think twice and gave everything to his revenge. He had lost his reason to live.

    To be a man, you''ve to be strong Yes, power, I want more power.

    His mind and body were roiling with fighting spirit.

    Shaman Momokawa and Berserker Meiko''sbi was truly powerful. The current him could not defeat both of them on his own. He had to rely on himself now that he had lost Sugino.

    The road ahead was painful and difficult, but there was nothing else awaiting him beyond that goal. But he saw it as a punishment because he had survived on his own.

    Wait for me, Taka. I''ll avenge you after I be strong enough, so until the

    As he was about to finish his sentence, a water droplet fell on the nape of his neck, causing him to pause and look up.

    Dammit, what the hell is this sticky liquid. Ain''t water at all.

    He reflexively wiped the nape of his neck and found out that the liquid was really sticky. Moreover, it released an extremely bad stench.

    The heck, this is disgusting, what kind of bug is thiah?

    When he raised his face to see the origin of that mysterious mucus, he saw that.

    Hu Hu, ng

    THAT was clinging closely to the ceiling like a spider. Though its outline couldn''t be seen due tock of light THAT silhouette resembled that of a human.

    Drools kept spilling from THAT mouth.

    HIIII!?

    Ooyama screamed as the sight of THAT sent a chill running down his spine. The reason being, THAT appearance was too disgusting.

    Hung, ryyyy

    The fact that it barely spoke made it clear that it was a human.

    THAT has a bby fat body and looks shabby. As if that wasn''t enough, it was naked. There was only something that look like the remnant of pants that covered its cr*tch.

    THAT ugly, obese figure was definitely a human, and yet, the way it was clinging to the ceiling like a lizard was akin to something that came out straight from a horror movie.

    But, the most terrifying thing was the fact that he could vaguely guess its identity.

    Y-Yokomichi, you

    The face that was staring in his direction with dirty-looking oil dribbling from his hair was that of one of his ssmates, Yokomichi Hajime.

    ss 2-7 was filled with a lot of characters that he hated. One such was the delinquent Higuchi or weak-looking Momokawa, but Yokomichi Hajime was the number one guy who invoked his psychological disgust.

    He was excluded from the ss due to his repulsive attitude. He had all three traits that made his ssmates hate him  repulsive personality, obesity, and clothes without any hint of cleanliness.

    That feeling intensified even further for a gay like Ooyama. He might cry even louder than a girl if his a*s were groped by someone like Yokomichi.

    That was just how much he hated Yokomichi Hajime.

    But that was also the main reason he could recognize Yokomichi''s face.

    Fu~h Meat me~at

    Yokomichi''s cloudy gaze was fixed on Ooyama, who stood dumbfounded.

    Ooyama''s hair stood on its end, he used his magic immediately. The one in front of him wasn''t a ssmate that he could talk with, it was just a starving monster.

    His survival instinct that had been trained to its utmost in this dungeon survival was ringing non-stop, telling him to attack first.

    UOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Ignis Sagita!

    A huge fireball unleashed from his fist toward where Yokomichi was clinging at. He retreated as he fired once, twice, thrice but,

    FUSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Something like a long and thin feeler repelled the exploding fireball.

    Ouch!

    He tried to dodge the iing feeler, but it was faster and coiled around his ankle. He felt his foot go numb along with the sharp pain. He then realized that the feeler might have paralysis poison.

    But it wasn''t enough to paralyze Ooyama''s entire body.

    Dammit, don''t think that this sh*t can stop me! HAAAAAAAAAAA, MUSCLE HEAT!

    Ooyama kicked the feeler coiling around his ankle with his left foot as he felt power rise in his upper body.

    NGYOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Yokomichi roared an indescribable roar on the other side of the smoke created by the exploding Ignis Sagita, possibly because he felt the pain.

    Yuck, what a disgusting guy. My bad dude, I don''t even want to punch you with my fist.

    He nned to keep Yokomichi at bay with a ranged attack. It was a ruthless decision, Ooyama focused his entire power on his fists.

    NUUUUUUUUIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

    This time, instead of just one, several feelers arrived at the same time, apanied by that agonizing wail. Six feelers flew at the same time, making the sound of cutting the wind.

    He took a stance as if gathering power. Then his right leg began to lose sensation. Ooyama had failed to avoid the six feelers due to two ovepping factors.

    TCH!

    The feelers then began to wrap themselves around his other limbs, neck, and che*st, sealing his movement. Though his body felt heavy as a result of the paralysis poison''s overwhelming dosage affecting his nerves, Ooyama was unfazed.

    DON''T LOOK DOWN ON ME! BURNING POWER!

    As he was engulfed by the me-like aura, power returned to his body.

    Burning Power had the power to negate abnormal status just like how it negated the poison bullet fired by Kotaro. Even if his body had already been affected by the abnormal state, the effect was diminished due to the purification power of the burning me.

    The paralysis was already gone, and the feelers that were wrapping around his body were about to be burned to a crisp by the me.

    Even Ooyama couldn''t stand the thought of being taken down by uncool Yokomichi''s feeler. As a result, he concentrated his mana in his hands in order to increase his firepower and burn the filthy Yokomichi to cinders with his next attack.

    After the smoke cleared, Yokomichi body that was hidden behind it was also revealed. This was the first time Ooyama saw Yokomichi''s appearance along with the feelers that were coiling around him.

    Na, A-AAH, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Even Ooyama couldn''t help but scream like a girl.

    Those feelers wereing out of Yokomichi''s mouth. In other words, his tongue.

    The tongue that stretched and branched into several feelers looked like a fantastic organ of some sort of monster, but since it came out of Yokomichi''s mouth, it was undeniably his tongue.

    Ooyama''s disgust reached new heights when he realized that the filthy man''s tongue, which no other man dared to approach, was licking his body.

    He lost his mind at that point. Hepletely forgot about casting his most powerful attack spell and focused solely on escaping the disgusting clutches of the feelers as soon as possible. His movements became irrational as if he was attempting to stay afloat while being unable to swim.

    This created a fatal gap.

    BI-BI-BIGACHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

    Seeing that opening, Yokomichi fired an electric shock.

    Predation Skill

    Power Generator OrganAn organ that creates thunder magical power.

    Yokomichi, who gained an organ that generated electric power in his body, was able to discharge electricity throughout his entire body. He let out a bestial roar akin to the beast from which he obtained his Power Generator Organ, followed by an electric discharge from his tongue.

    GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Ooyama wailed in agony as his entire body was ravaged by an electric discharge, and he copsed helplessly on the ground.

    Yokomichi drew back his tongue, possibly because he judged that the prey was already incapacitated.

    And then approached the prey that had already lost their means of movement.

    U-A, aa Get awa

    Yokomichi, who had descended from the ceiling, was approaching Ooyama with his four limbs like a wild animal rather than walking like a human.

 Chapter 178.2 - Hot Flesh and Blood

    Chapter 178.2 - Hot Flesh and Blood

    Meat, Meat Meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

    Though he could barely speak like a human, the way he walked on all fours with drool dripping from his mouth and a clearly lost face showed that he had lost his mind and turned into a beast in the truest sense.

    And as if to demonstrate the fact, Yokomichi waspped at his lips with his metamorphosed, branched tongue.

    The skin around his mouth tore apart until his ears, just like the famous woman with a split tongue, as if to make it easier for him to eat more of his prey meat. But it was his densely packed, crooked fangs that were the true horror.

    His razor-sharp fangs, hard-looking mr, and a row of crooked teeth that grew without a sense of unity were enough to elicit feelings of repulsion and fear. And that eerie mouth still hadn''t finished its transformation.

    Yokomichi''s horn was beginning to grow from the side of his face or rather, it appeared to be a massive jaw. It resembled chelicera in a spider or scorpion.

    Yokomichi''s face was no longer human. With his chelicera wide open, he resembled a repulsive monster.

    MO-MONSTER!

    Thus, the famished monster dashed toward his prey.

    M-MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

    ST-STAY AWAY, SA-SAVE ME, TAKA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Ooyama forced his paralyzed body to flee from the monster Yokomichi, crying out in despair like a girl. He attempted to get back on his feet and flee the scene. But he failed, and all he could do was crawl like a lowly bug.

    And even that was too slow. Just like a butterfly caught in a spiderweb, resistance was futile.

    YOU CAN''T RUN, MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

    Contrary to his savage, bestial roar, he surprisingly unleashed a swift and powerful attack that could instantly kill his prey.

    And that attack came from a long, scorpion-like tail growing from Yokomichi''s back. It was an ominous-looking tail with a violet-colored tendon and a ck luster shell. The tip was bright-red, big, and sharp like a spear.

    Predation Skill:

    Death Stalker''s Poisonous Spear TailTail of a giant scorpion that contains an extremely powerful neurotoxin.

    The red scorpion''s poisonous spear struck right in the center of Ooyama''s defenseless back that was trying to crawl away from Yokomichi. The hypocrite homo who used Momokawa of being sissy turned out to be the real sissy.

    KAH! Ha, Ha, Haaa

    The stinger which transformed into a 30 cm long knife mercilessly pierced Ooyama''s back. But then, the overwhelming effect of neurotoxin didn''t even allow Ooyama to scream in pain. [TL: Serves you right!!]

    Soon, his body could only twitch.

    FU! HA, FUHAA!

    Though neurotoxins are terrifying due to their paralyzing effect, the most terrifying aspect is that the target is fully conscious. Now that Ooyama waspletely paralyzed, he could only watch in terror as the monster Yokomichi crept closer and closer to devouring his prey.

    Yokomichi''s extremely foul stench aside, the sight of him walking on all fours caused extreme humiliation and fear because it looked like he was about to be ra*ed. Ooyama had an epiphany when he reached his lowest point of despair.

    I, shall, partaaakeee!

    .

    ..

    Hah! What I''m doing!?

    Yokomichi, who had escaped from extreme starvation, regained his sanity after consuming fresh prey.

    Ah, fu*k, I lost my sanity.

    And then, he noticed that he had just eaten another one of his ssmates.

    There was a pool of blood on the floor. And yet, not even a piece of bone, or meat remained. Everything had already been eaten till there was nothing left.

    Though he ate every part of his prey until there was nothing left, he apparently did not eat his prey''s clothes; instead, he unconsciously peeled away the clothes before eating, much like peeling shrimp shells.

    Uhm? This gakuran''s trouser Does that mean I just ate a MAN!?

    Yokomichi was writhing on the floor, his face contorted, as if he wanted to vomit, but the taste of hot flesh and blood in his entrails was real. Originally, the gender didn''t matter forCannibal; it was still delicious.

    Dammit, ain''t have any idea who the bastard is, but I shall forgive him just this time. It can''t be helped since it''s an emergency situation after all.

    Yokomichi finally consented after writhing on the floor for a while.

    He had no idea who the ssmate he had just eaten was, but he did recall that he had be severely malnourished.

    Everything started when he was teleported into sandy soil with almost no living creatures.

    That fu*king desert stage.

    That dessert was part of the dungeon too. Yokomichi managed to capture a huge desert area all by himself.

    The monsters that lived in the barren desert area where resources were extremely scarce were also extremely cunning in nature.

    Yokomichi had eaten every single inedible monster he met in the desert area.

    He devoured a rock-like lizard, a centipede chimera-like bug, an extremely nimble cactus, a yellow-colored rat that can fire electricity and, finally, the huge scorpion-like monster, Death Stalker, who had been waiting in the boss room.

    Though he ended up losing his mind due to extreme thirst and hunger along the way, since he kept moving forward relying solely on his survival instinct, he managed to beat the boss and safely break through the desert area.

    Whatever, death stalker is really strong so the one that I ate should be quite powerful too OOOOOOOOOO, HERE IT COMEEEEEEEEEES!!

    Predation Skill

    Ooyama Daisuke''s Fire SorceryReproduce part of mid-rank and low-rank fire spells.

    Ooyama Fire Fist StyleEnables closebat with fire system reinforcement spell.

    DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT, IT''S THAT FU*KING OOYAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! WHY DID I''VE TO EAT THAT FU*CKING HOMO OF ALL PEOPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    Aside from Higuchi, who NTRed his Yukiko, and the delinquent Ryuuichi, a hot-blooded-looking man like Ooyama was the type Yokomichi despised the most. Especially since he noticed that the way Ooyama looked at him at times was simr to how the girls looked at him when they were repulsed.

    WHAT KIND OF FILTH DID I JUST EATT THAT FU*KING SWEATY RETARD IS GOING TO MAKE ME SMELLY TOO! DAMMIT, QUICKLY GET OUT OF MY BODY YOU FUCKING HOMO!

    Despite his regret upon knowing that he just ate a man, and homo on top of that the ability he got was worth it.

    The ice spell he gained from eating his first victim, Nagae Yukiko, was limited to Part of Low-rank . That was only natural given the individual had never attempted to improve her abilities.

    However, in Ooyama''s case, perhaps because he advanced so far in this dungeon, he learned a portion of a mid-rank spell in addition to a low-rank spell. As if that weren''t enough, he even incorporated those spells into his own uniquebat style, Ooyama me Fist Style.

    Fuhehe, this is it, with this Tendou fire isn''t scary anymore.

    Up until now, he could only excrete mucus with high heat resistance or fur with heat resistance, but now he gained the true power of pyromancer. That power brought with it true heat resistance, which shielded him from fire attacks.

    Dammit, when will the revenge event against that DQN Tendou arrive? I shall never forget that disgra OOOH? TH-This smell

    Suddenly, a certain smell tickled his nose. The cave was filled with the smell of blood, but Yokomichi could smell the finest fragrance amongst the stench.

    This smell, Kotaro-kyun! H-He''s close by!

    Like a trained police dog upon detecting the smell of the criminal, Yokomichi was pushing onward through the cave. Fortunately for him, the path was straight.

    There was no mistake, Kotaro Momokawa was right at the end of the tunnel.

    Yokomichi''s tension was rising non-stop as he followed the smell that kept getting stronger the closer he was to Kotaro.

    UOOOOOOO, KOTARO-KYUN IS MY WAIFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

    The open za that he rushed into at his full power was already empty.

    Eh is this, the boss room? And it has been captured too?

    The corpse of a grilled giant craby in the center of the room. When he sniffed the ce, he noticed that, in addition to the smell of Kotaro, there was also the smell of Ooyama and other people mixed in with the stench of blood.

    It seems they just fought another ssmate right after beating the boss.

    And then, after meeting Ooyama and sniffing an unknown smell of another person mixed in with the bloody smell He left the scene, assuming Momokawa Kotaro had already won the fight.

    Dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

    Yokomichi ended up crying tears of blood upon realizing that he had failed to eat Kotaro yet again.

    I MISSED HIM AGAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!

    Yokomichi, who had transformed into a grotesque-looking Cannibal, was crying like a girl in love, but in the form of a savage beast.

    ===

    TN: Thus end this disgusting chapter.

 Chapter 179.1 - Hayama Relight

    Chapter 179.1 - Hayama Relight

    My name is Hayama Relight.

    Yes, it isn''t Ritsuki, it''s Relight. It sounds like some sort of ng for a bright DQN name, but now, what would you say when you know that the owner of that name was a mob instead of a handsome and refreshing dude?

    That''s why don''t be fooled by my name. It had already been decided since ancient times that the value in meny in their heart(personality), specs(abilities), and look(face).

    So which of those three categories do I belong to?

    First was the face, you might say that I belong to the handsome side. I mean, even I am almost scared shitless of my face when I look at my own reflection in the mirror. Unfortunately, no girl has ever seen it.

    Moreover, I didn''t want to depend on this face of mine alone. I do my hair every morning and apply a little bit of perfume. This should be enough to make me look manly, right?

    Next, my high specs were pretty much given. I mean, it was given the moment I passed the test to enter that famous private high school, Shiramine High Eh? Just barely passing as spare? Well, it''s only because I was under weather on the day of the entrance test.

    Moreover, men aren''t all about being smart, physical strength and reflex are pretty important too. And my forte was, in fact, the sports.

    It might sound cocky, but I was the undisputed ace of the basketball club. I was a regr, starting member for three years straight during the middle school era. That''s why after I got epted into Shiromine High which was famous both in literal and sports activities, I failed to be a regr starting member from my first year since the level of the other members was quite high too

    <i>Cough,</i> I mean, the inside was far more important. Yes, its the heart(personality).

    I mean, look at those perfect supermans, blockheads such as Souma Yuuto, or that self-absorbed Tendou Ryuuichi, just look at their personalities.

    But I am different! I am not popr among the girls like Souma, I shall let the girls realize that I''m a much better person inside. That''s why I have been bidding my time, I wonder when a girl in our ss would notice me?

    Well, I shall wait, I''m not an impatient person. My springtime of youth has only just begun. The school festival is just around the corner. I, the member of the basketball club shall be the undisputed king during the winter ball game. And thus, I shall increase my appeal for the fated moment when a girl realizes my charm and tries to approach me.

    Yes, my rosy springtime of youth has only just begun or so I thought.

    Fu*k I''m screwed

    No matter how you looked at it, I was right inside the forest.

    It all began when the chime signaling the start of homeroom rang, we were suddenly sent into another world. When the ssroom crumbled down, all of us fell into bottomless darkness, I was thest one left as I clung to the cab in which we kept the cleaning tools but I finally reached my limit and fell into the darkness.

    This must be a dream. Yes, and I would find myself sleeping on my desk when I woke up.

    Or so I thought, I was in the forest when I woke up.

    Seriously, where in the world am I?!

    Another world of magic you must be kidding me

    Since the incident truly came out of nowhere, I almost ignored the content of the mysterious broadcast, but the content was indeed something along that way.

    What a shocking setting. I mean, it was something that you used to trick children nowadays, but seeing that I had ended up in the forest after falling from the crumbling ssroom, my views differed.

    Wha-Wha-Wha-What should I do

    I was dumbfounded for a while after that.

    Even when I was skimming across my surroundings, I didn''t see any familiar trees.

    Like hell I can survive this sudden survival mode I''m just a member of the basketball club, outdoor living is impossible.

    I was an expert on barbeque thanks to my experience in outdoor camping though. And in this forest, I should take popr survival routes such as drinking muddy water and eating a snake or a frog.

    Cr*p, I''m really screwed now. At this rate, I would die without being able to do anything.

    Aah, wa-wait a minute,e to think of it

    I was struck by a sh of inspiration, I really am a genius after all!

    They say that I can use magic, right!

    I hurriedly rummaged through my bag and took out my note in which I had drawn the magic circle reluctantly since everyone did the same. The announcement did say that this would allow me to use magic.

    I don''t believe in ultism but Please help me, God.

    I was a member of the Zen Sect, but the teaching didn''t stop us from asking for God''s help. Oh God, I beg You, please grant me super awesome magic that allows me to overturn the battle situation! Somehow, it feels like when I pulled ten times gacha. PLEASE, GIVE ME SSR!!

    Vocation, Spiritualist.

    Tiny Spirit ManiptionThey''re still extremely small and young. But don''t forget that they''re really close to you. Now, listen carefully to everyone''s voice.

    Spirit Summoning FormationThey''lle when you call them. Your heart is tied to them no matter how far apart you are.

    Spirit Language ComprehensionBasicIts just a little bit, but you can talk to them. Put your guts and call them up. Your feeling will reach them.

    ?

    What in the hell was this poem-like exnation?

    Hey, what do you think about those exnations? Wait a minute, I, I''m like a total noob in magic, how do you expect me to understand that wacky voured text?

    I mean, we''re talking about spirit here. They''re not something that I could see or hear.

    And yet, the texts vour told me to "listen carefully"!

    O-Okay, calm down, this isn''t the time to get flustered oh right, summoning, let''s try summoning.

    Let''s try to summon a spirit first. And then, let''s try to talk to them, OK? I''m sure that they woulde along with an absurdly brilliant light effect when I summon them.

    Okay, let''s do thise, SPIRIT!

    Unfortunately, nothing happened.

    Come! COMETH O SPIRIT!

    Unfortunately, nothing happened.

    COME, COMETH! I BEG YOu, PLEASE COME SPIRIT-SAN!

    And yet, nothing happened,

    Please, I don''t care whoever it is, pleasee spirit-sama

    AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED!

    E-Eh what''s the meaning of this? Did I just get tricked?

    When nothing happened at all, I started to suspect that things such as magic or spirit were just the product of fantasy.

    But well, I guess it''s going to be troublesome if those really existed. Though I should''ve gained the power of magic, my vocation as a spiritualist reduced that power to nothing more than BS.

    Th-This must be a mistake right one more time, let me reroll

    But the magic note that had been used once didn''t react at all no matter how desperate my wail.

    DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

    I, who had reached the limit of my patience due to that unreasonable situation, tore the note that didn''t react at all in a fit of anger. THAT FUC*KING USELESS PAPER SHOULD JUST REINCARNATE INTO TOILET PAPER IN ITS NEXT LIFE!!

    What should I do now, all of my abilities look like fraud no matter how you look at them!

    Imented my luck again as I let the wind scatter the note that had been reduced to pieces, leaving only emptiness in my heart. Thus, the blood that rose to my head calmed down at once.

    What should I do noooooooow

    I became more and more anxious. I knew that I would be in deep shit if I kept staying in this dangerous forest, but I really had no idea about what I should do or what I could do right now.

    Currently, I only had that useless vocation called spiritualist, and a bag filled with books. In short, I had nothing at all.

    Rather, where are the other guys am I the only one who has strayed from the group

    If memory served me right, this ce should be the dungeon. But no matter how you looked at it, I was clearly inside a forest, it wasn''t a ruin or a cave like a dungeon that appeared in the game.

    Everyone who got their vocation should''ve started their fun dungeon capture like the one in RPG game by now. Leaving me alone by myself, that''s it, not that I could me them for this.

    Maybe I could only rely on myself from now on.

    I became more and more anxious as I thought of such depressing possibilities. I mean, like hell I could survive in this ce by myself!

    Oh right, let''s call for help!

    I got another sh of inspiration. I took out the smartphone in my pocket with a swift movement rivaling that of a gunmans.

    Out-Outside of service area

    Only to get a hard p from bitter reality, namely outside of the service area. But I guess such an oue was possible if this ce was isekai.

    Alone I, am alone

    What was this sadness, was this what the only kid who couldn''t connect to SNS felt? I mean, not being able to connect to the inte alone was enough to make me feel a sense of istion.

    And this wasn''t figuratively speaking, I was literally all alone. No one was going toe to save me. I rather cut my wrist and die than experience this nightmare-level game.

    Urgh

    I couldn''t stop crying after experiencing this sense of helplessness and despair.

    If someone asked, "Aren''t you too unsightly for a man?" I would shut their mouth and let them experience this despair. I was definitely not crying like a girl!

    Uuh what should I do now At this rate, it''s only a matter of time before I die

    And then, right at that moment, when I cried like a brat

    The thicket beside me swayed.

    Wh-Who''s there!? Oi, save me please, I''m here~!

    I raised my face and shouted toward the thicket.

    I absolutely wouldn''t feel embarrassed even if they found me crying in this ce. There''s another person right there, I wasn''t alone. I couldn''t help but feel that it was the only ray of hope.

    And then, the one who appeared from the thicket as if answering my hopeful wail

    Pugugu, guaa

    Was a bear who raised a somewhat idiotic-sounding roar.

    I-Is that a bear?

    When talking about a huge beast whose body was covered in light brown fur and was taller than a human when it stood on its two feet, the first thing that came to mind was a bear. And yet, this strange bear had long, bunny-like ears, and strangely enough, its face resembled that of a plushie rather than a real-life bear.

    But rather than the adorable, teddy bear type, it had an awfully cheeky look on its face.

    Uhm, are you by chance, wearing a bear-like costume?

    PUGAA!

    When I asked whether there was someone inside this cartoon-like bear, it replied with a snappy roar.

    When it opened its mouth, I noticed that the inside of its mouth was too real for a costume, I realized that the one before me was a real-life bear-like species.

    Upon a closer look, I realized that its ws and fangs looked really sharp, and its fur looked very real and fluffy.

    Though it looked like a cartoon character, there was no doubt that it was a real-life bear. In addition, humans can''t win against bears.

    At least, I wasn''t courageous enough to repel it by punching its nose like a certain old man from the movie.

    A-A-Abababa

    I absolutely stuttered.

    I mean who would''ve expected that I would end up calling a bear from another world when I called out to the thicket? I should''ve raised my vignce.

    But I had to do something about this situation rather than condemning my own stupidity.

    At least, running away without looking back was impossible at this point.

    Bears could run even faster than humans, but running aside, my feet had already been rattling non-stop since a while ago. Forget about feet, my body refused to move.

    PUGUU, PUGAGA!

    HIIII!?

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 Chapter 179.2 - Hayama Relight

    Chapter 179.2 - Hayama Relight

    This bear, despite itsical appearance, was considerably taller and bigger than me, and with a simple p, it could practically one-shot me to death.

    I, a mere human, have little chance in front of a bear with its teeth bared as though menacing me.

    Oh, right, I''ve to y dead at a time like this.

    This was the 3rd sh of genius inspiration.

    Yes, when ites to the sure-fire method to deal with the situation where you''re attacked by a bear, ying dead was the most obvious choice all over the world.

    G-Guah I''m dead

    Thus, I performed with my god-like acting ability in thest moment of my life and produced a realistic death act. Thus, I slowly fell to the ground and shut my eyes tightly.

    With this, even the otherworldly bear should''ve understood that I was already dead.

    Look, your prey is already dead you know. Now it''s time for you to leave shush

    Pugugu.

    I could feel the breathing of the bear near my face. Wa-Was this guy checking whether I really dead or not!?

    Ple-Please forgive me

    .

    I had to endure it at a time like this, I was desperately holding my breath while feeling the hard touch of the bear''s nose on mine.

    <i> Please, please overlook me just this time!</i>

    Lick!

    HYAAAA!?

    Crap, I ended up screaming after the bear licked my face

    Pukuku.

    Wha-What are youughing about

    My perfect ying dead got disturbed because the bear was licking my face.

    In front of me whose eyes snapped open was the bear who wasughing as if mocking my acting.

    Da-Dammit just kill me now! Here, feel free to eat me!

    Humans truly be desperate when they''re cornered like this.

    The bear shouldn''t be able to understand my remark, but still, I shouted at it.

    Just eat me now! Here, I''m ready!

    Pukuku w-won''t eat.

    AH?

    I won''t eat you.

    I-IT SPOKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!?

    A certain day in the forest. I met a talking bear.

    Ahahaha, what the heck, you turned out to be such a nice guy!

    Pukuku, nice guy.

    On the nearby fallen tree, the bear and I were sitting together in the trunk of the fallen tree, it was a genuine first friendly encounter.

    As expected of another world of magic. Never expected that Id encounter a talking bear on the first day I arrived in this world.

    I''m, talking.

    Though it spoke in broken tongue, like that of a suspicious foreigner, I was surely talking with a bear. Though my ears clearly captured them barking at me, strangely enough, the meaning of their words appeared in my mind in the Japanesenguage.

    So, in ordance with what I heard, the bear had no intention to attack me, it approached me since it thought that it had found a strange fe that it had never seen before. WTF, couldn''t you see this gentleman here is a refreshing and handsome fe? Well, not that I expect the bear from another world would ever understand the charm of Japanese youth.

    Anyhow, if we could talk in Japanese, it means that we could understand each other.

    My name is Hayama Relight, what about you?

    I, have, no name.

    What, seriously?

    Only, boss, can have name.

    Hee, that must be a harsh pack, isn''t it? Well, I feel ya, I guess no matter which world it is, underling gets it hard.

    Even when I was working part-time in a family restaurant, I got ordered around by another worker called the part-time leader who wasn''t even a full-time worker. Looking at future prospects between a high school student and freeter, the former was definitely much better, thus I thought that we were going to be treated nicely.

    Can''t go back, to the pack.

    Oh, so you''re a stray child eh. Since that''s the case,e with me.

    I, lost against the boss. Have to, leave the pack. I''m fine, by myself.

    Ah, I remember watching the same kind of story on a documentary channel back when I was still a child.

    Fighting for the boss seat happened among animals that formed packs, and in most cases, the loser never ended well. And unlike human society, the safety didn''t exist in the wild.

    I see, it must be hard on you whoops, we can''t stay negative here! We''ve to be positive in this kind of situation. Look, nothing ties you down right now, you''re free! Screw boss of pack, you''re a lone wolf!

    I''m, a wolf?

    You ain''t a wolf

    I mean, bears didn''t even live in a pack, to begin with. Or else, their ecology might just be different in another world.

    Anyhow, things are going to be troublesome if you don''t have a name, do you want me to choose a cool name for you?

    Name.

    Yes, you want a name, right? I just happen to be really good at choosing one.

    I want, a name. Please, give me, a name, Relight.

    Leave it to me, Pal. Here we go, your name is

    There''s a saying "Name that suits one''s nature". Just like this handsome me who named Relight was the personification of my greatness. As expected of my parent. I could reassure you that my name had nothing to do with popr manga at that time. [TL:  For some reason, I got this feeling that it has something to do with popr manga.]

    Anyhow, now it''s time to give a wonderful name to this bear.

    Though I met an extremely desperate and hopeless situation when I just met this fe, I calmed down a lot after talking to him. The me who was sobbing until a while ago looking like an idiot had now calmed down and reflected on it.

    That''s why I was definitely going to give this fe a really cool name to repay the debt.

    Though this fe had a short and stout build like a certain bear in cartoons, it didn''t change the fact that he was a real bear. Since that was the case, his name must sound wild, and powerful. Moreover, after being chased out from the pack, this fe had literally turned into an isted man. So I wanted to give him the image of a lonely man too.

    And if we add the fact that this fe''s fur was light brown

    Your name is Kinako!

    Kinako

    Yes, Kinako!

    This light brown color was definitely that of kinako. Add to it the fact that he''s somewhat roundish.

    I felt like this name was slightly different from what I had envisioned, but since this name suited him the most appearance-wise-, I guess it would be all right. After all, my naming skills were awesome.

    I''m, Kinako. Nice, Kinako, is a good name.

    It''s good that you like this name.

    Maybe because he was really delighted, Kinako''s body was fidgetting restlessly. Moreover, his rabbit ears were moving non-stop. The sight of him showing his delight from the depth of his heart was truly an adorable spectacle.

    So Kinako, what are you going to do after this?

    I''ll go, on a journey, alone. Maybe, leave the forest.

    Oooh, seriously!? You''re going to leave this forest!

    The forest, is wide. And outside, is even, bigger, or so they said.

    I see, well it''s natural that the outside world that youve never seen before is bigger!

    And then, there might be a human habitation outside of this forest. If that was the case, I could be free of the trouble of thinking about how to survive tomorrow.

    And if I came with Kinako, well, we might be able to earn some change of money by doing a street performance.

    I, will go. See ya, Relight.

    He stood from the trunk of the dead tree with a regretful look on his face, but Kinako kept walking toward the outside of the forest with determined eyes.

    Ah, Wa-Wait for me! Wait for me Kinako-chan, I''ll go with you!

    If we really parted ways here, both of us would definitely be alone again. Most of all, Kinako wanted to leave this forest.

    Not that I had any other choice than to follow him!

    Relight, want to, go to?

    Yes, Kinako! Let''s see the outside world along with me!

    That was the beginning of my journey with a talking bear called Kinako.

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 Chapter 180.1 - Reunion with Bosom Friend

    Chapter 180.1 - Reunion with Bosom Friend

    A tall and slender man in the prime of his life with pale skin. He was wearing a jet-ck mantle, though his figure had the grace of a noble, his face looked like that of a man-eating demon with a row of sharp fangs and it wasn''t figuratively speaking, it was literal, I mean, we''re talking about Count Drac after all.

    Haah Haah We somehow managed to beat this guy

    That Drac had finally vanished into ashes after I hit him with my Cross Calibur, it was as if the pale blue light of my finishing strike had purified it.

    It was such a long fight, but we finally managed to beat the boss of the underworld. Complete capture.

    Nii-san!!

    Yeah, I did it, Sakura, I defeated the boss by myse woah, don''t jump at me so suddenly like that.

    Sakura rushed forward the moment I beat the boss and embraced me who was sitting on the spot due to exhaustion. I barely managed to catch her, but her tackle felt stronger than usual since I was really exhausted.

    But Challenging a boss by yourself is way too reckless

    My bad. But I''ve to do this to be even stronger.

    Thus, I fought Drac, the boss of the underworld by myself.

    Drac was much more powerful than the four-armed gogma, this was something that I realized as I shed with him for the first time.

    First, he had physical abilities rivaling that of mine, a Hero. We''re equal in terms of speed and power. And he was also equipped with a sword, his swordcraft mastery rivaling that of an expert, it was sharp and swift.

    Drac was using a thin, lightweight saber, but the weight behind his swing betrayed the fragile-looking weapon in his hand. As if that wasn''t bad enough, the saber itself was an enchanted weapon.

    A blood-like crimson aura that swirled like a whirlpool around the sword''s de could be fired as a long-range attack like a red wind de. And that wasn''t the only use of it, it could also extend into something like a whip to mow down arge area at random, which to be honest, looked really cool and scary.

    His other abilities were something like unleashing arge number of ck spears from his shadow or summoning countless bat-like creatures from his fluttering cape Both of those were troublesome skills and yet, it was worsened by the fact that Drac could use a variety of spells and other skills which made him the most difficult boss so far.

    That''s why defeating him would be proof of my strength.

    Learned skill:

    Riot zer(Unpararreled Sword Dance) Greatly increased the swiftness of consecutive shes. Consecutive shes resemble that of a dance that could create mountains of corpses.

    Grand Walker(Long Distance Galloping) Greatly increased movement speed. Allowing the user to run through 1000 li(around 500 km), even on a trackless road.

    Ground ShrinkHigh-rank skill of Souma-style martial arts. The way it is used for closing in the distance without being noticed gives an illusion as if the ground itself has shrunk.

    Blue Merit WaveUnleashing more powerful light attribute which was created by mixing the Hero''s life force with a high-density magical power aura.

    Acquired skill:

    de of Holy BloodGranting the sword''s de with powerful purification ability by applying a drop of blood of holy lineage to the sword''s de.

    Multiple Chains Summoning FormationSummoning formation that specialized in summoning a lesser spirit. It''s possible to summon numerous lesser spirits by deploying many summoning formations at once.

    White Shadow SpearMaterialized light attribute in the form of a white spear. It is possible to take it out from any ce that emits light on the user''s body.

    I felt that I had gained a whole lot of experience and be more powerful after I defeated a powerful boss but The most terrifying part about Hero was their ability to learn even the power and skills of their opponent.

    Whenever I learned or acquired a new skill, the voice in my head separated them into those two groups.

    It seemed that a learned skill was the type of skill that I learned after umtingbat experience, while an acquired skill was the type that I gained by mimicking my opponent''s skill.

    That''s why learned skill was something that I had developed during thebat, many of those were using Souma-style''s skills as their base.

    Acquired skill, on the other hand, was, yup, whether the effect of the spell or the skill, it resembled the one used by Drac. Naturally, there was no way a Hero would use something like a sword of fresh blood or dark magic. It just reproduced the skills effect by using light attribute.

    Though the effect of the new skills was easy to understand This was far from enough.

    Congrattion for soloing the boss, Yuuto-kun.

    Thank you for going along with my selfishness, ss Rep.

    Seeing your battle, I almost can''t stop myself from barging in many times over. Yeah, bosses aren''t supposed to be fought alone, Yuuto-kun.

    It''ll be okay. I''ll beat the next one too.

    There''s no doubt that you might be able to beat the next one too but Can you please at least consider our feelings when we can only watch you fight from afar?

    Ugh!

    I really couldn''t refute when she said that. And that feeling was enhanced since Sakura refused to let go of me.

    My bad I guess you''re right about it.

    After a fierce battle against Drac, my feelings and that of the others had finally cooled down.

    In the end, I was in hurry. I had neverpletely recovered after I lost Reina. Maybe, I tried to escape from reality by fighting the enemy before me by myself.

    I think you should hear Sakura''s opinion, but let me tell you again, we''re yourrades. You should rely on us sometimes.

    It''s not like I don''t believe you but I might be scared of losing someone more than this.

    That goes for us as well. No one here wants to see anyone else die, that''s why we''ve to fight together.

    You''re right, sorry about that. This will be thest time I do something like this.

    Uhm, that''s enough. We also felt traumatized when we saw Ayase die. That''s why we feel the same fear whenever we see Yuuto-kun fight the boss by yourself.

    They''re right, I wasn''t the only one who felt the shock of Reina''s death. That was only natural, I mean, Sakura aside, there was no way that ss Rep wouldn''t feel anything upon seeing Reina''s tragic death.

    Only now did I realize just how willful I had be after that incident. <i>I really am stupid.</i>

    Well then, let''s work together to capture the next stage.

    That''s right, Souma. We won''t fall behind next time,

    I''ll do my best too, Souma-kun!

    Kotori will do her best too!

    Asuna, Natsukawa-san, and Kotori-sans encouragement gave me strength. <i>Thank you for putting your trust in an idiot like me.</i>

    Yosh, let''s go. We''re going to the next stage, and everyone gathers around me.

    And then, with the core that was left behind by Drac who turned into ashes as he died, everyone gathered at the center of the room, the location of the transfer circle.

    It was a beautiful, shiny red crystal that looked like a ga that fit the size of my hand. It might be an extremely pure crystal due to its high mana density, or something along that way.

    Drac''s core shone even brighter as the transfer circle started to shine

    uhm.

    The next time I opened my eyes, we arrived at a familiar fountain surrounded by trees. The transfer was a sess.

    Though I''d gotten used to the sensation of transfer, I couldn''t help but be surprised every time it happened.

    Yuuto, eh.

    R Ryuuichi!

    Standing in front of me was the figure of my best friend with the usual sour look on his face.

    ===

    After that, we spent almost two hours filling each other in about what had happened so far to both of us.

    A~h, so tired

    Come to think of it, the ss Rep has finally met Ryuuichi.

    I might''ve said it was a reunion, but the one who shoved me away and jumped first into Ryuuichi''s embrace was the ss Rep.

    Well, I guess that was natural. She might think that she had hidden it cleverly, but it was an open secret to everyone that ss Tep loved Ryuuichi. So, it was only natural for her to shove everything aside the moment they were reunited.

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 Chapter 180.2 - Reunion with Bosom Friend

    Chapter 180.2 - Reunion with Bosom Friend

    Having that said, I had a lot of stories to share with Ryuuichi, but I let ss Rep have her fill of Ryuuichi first. She had been acting calm,posed, and decisive all this while, but she cried her heart out the moment she saw Ryuuichi.

    That was just how much she missed him. Ryuuichi on the other hand was reallyposed and just gently embraced her.

    Anyhow, it was such a contrasting reunion, but maybe because she was tired of crying, ss Rep now fell asleep.

    Everyone was also resting right now.

    Ryuuichi and I got away from the women''s camp and walked toward the corner of the za.

    Thanks, Yuuto. Taking care of Ryouko must have been exhausting.

    Not at all, she''s the one who is taking care of me. Yes, she always saved me with her advice.

    I see. Well, I guess it''s only natural for her to get along with you.

    But then, ss Rep is also carrying so many burdens with her. That must be the reason she was so happy upon reuniting with you.

    Humph, I wonder about that. I''m not going to give a shit about the miraculous reunion and something along that way. Who knows that we might be dancing in the pa nah, I guess it''s not time to worry about that.

    Though I was really happy to be able to reunite with Ryuuichi, I also couldn''t shake off the feeling that this reunion was in fact someones machination.

    Even the fact that we transferred right in the scene of Reina''s gruesome death was too much to be said as coincidence.

    Our entire ss got transferred, and then we started dungeon capture ever since then. Yes, everything seemed like we were dancing in the palm of the mastermind. I did feel the same way as Ryuuichi, but he was right about it being too early to worry about this matter.

    Ryuuichi has also been protecting Rando and Co properly along the way after all.

    Not really, those fes just tagged along. I''m barely doing anything for them.

    From the way he spoke, it meant that Rando and Co could fight for themselves. Ryuuichi was never the type to be honest with his words after all.

    Though I didn''t interact with them that often, I felt slightly relieved upon knowing that the trio of gals, Rando-san, Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san, was safe and sound. In this way, I confirmed that my ssmates were living well.

    Nevertheless, it''s a good thing that they''re living well.

    Haa, ain''t that obvio Yuuto, who''s died on your side?

    Ryuuichi heaved a sigh as he said that, but then, he noticed something before he finished his remark and asked that question. It was as if he could see through me.

    I really can''t hide anything from you, after all.

    That''s your fault for making it so obvious on your face. Like hell I''m gonna miss such obvious expressions.

    I had already somewhat recovered from the shock though.

    Well, it''s not like I''m going to keep this matter a secret. Rather, I have a question for you, Ryuuichi.

    I don''t want to join you if you''re going to talk about gloomy topics, but I''ll at least hear your question.

    I let out a wry smile upon hearing his usual reply but, my mood worsened the moment I tried to speak.

    I already know about some of our fallen ssmates. Amongst them, the one who died right before me was Hiroki and Reina.

    Hiroki, who you might call one of my buddies, got himself killed by boss-level govu who wielded a demon sword at the beginning of dungeon capture. The shock when I saw her headless corpse was what awakened me to the bitter reality of this dungeon.

    But Hiroki''s cruel death was more or less still a normal death in the hand of a monster.

    Huroki lost his life in a boss battle. To protect Asuna and Kotori-san, he

    I see. So, who''s the person who killed Ayase?

    Just how much Ryuuichi had seen through me? From the way he spoke, it looked as if he was fully aware of the source of my pain, sorrow, and anguish.

    Is it Higuchi? Or Yokomichi?

    I haven''t even said that she''s killed by a ssmate yet.

    I''ve told you right, you''re so easy to read. Look at your face That''s the face of someone who just got betrayed.

    The most dangerous thing in this ce wasn''t just the monsters or the boss We could be killed by our ssmates too.

    Surely, even I might not be able to hold myself back to rush at that guy with the intention to kill him if I saw him again.

    It''s Momokawa. Reina was murdered by Momokawa.

    Naturally, I realized that my voice was trembling with anger when I said his name.

    I resented my own weakness for failing to protect Reina and yet And yet, the anger that I felt toward Momokawa, her murderer who even toying with her corpse didn''t vanish from my heart.

    I see. Momokawa, eh. That fe

    Ryuuichi made an expression as if he understood what had happened back then, and heaved a sigh as his expression changed to the one when he was about to face a troublesome matter.

    Yuuto, don''t tell the gals about that matter. Things will be troublesome once they hear about it.

    What do you mean, Ryuuichi? Do you know something about Momokawa?

    He could be someone you hate a lot for murdering Ayase but For another person, he''s an important man.

    What do you me No way, who amongst those three dating Momokawa?

    Okay, let''s stop trying to snoop your nose to where it does not belong to. Just a reminder, don''t let those three know about this matter.

    Ryuuichi, you Are you trying to protect Momokawa?

    Don''t misunderstand me. As long as it won''t hinder me, I won''t poke my nose in another''s circumstances.

    I see, indeed. You''re always that kind of man, Ryuuichi.

    If Reina was my childhood friend since kindergarten, Ryuuichi would be considered to have been associated with me for even longer than that. And yet, both of them had never gotten along with each other.

    Ryuuichi had this personality that always caused him to overwhelm the other person since back then, which made him an extremely poor match with the timid Reina. Though they knew each other''s faces and names, I''d never seen them talking with each other before.

    That''s why for Ryuuichi, Reina was nothing more than an old acquaintance, a mere ssmate. His reaction to Reina''s death was just like him.

    Rather than that, Yuuto. I need your help.

    My help, in what?

    There''s an extremely ridiculous boss in this area. Honestly, beating that one by myself is impossible.

    What?

    Since even Ryuuichi went as far as asking for my help, it meant that the boss was really powerful but No, wait a minute, I don''t even know the extent of Ryuuichi''s current strength and what kind of vocation he had.

    The reason we met in this area might be rted to that very boss.

    Wha-What do you mean Or rather, right now?

    Naturally, I''m tired of waiting already.

    No, I mean, we just finished boss battle too.

    You beat by yourself, right? Anyhow, follow me. It''s not like I''m asking you to fight that fe immediately, I''ll just let you watch a part of it.

    Ha~h, can''t be helped I guess.

    Even though he usuallycked motivation, the current him was the exact opposite of that.

    But then, it made me even more worried about the boss monster who forced even Ryuuichi to do this. Anyhow, since we were literally trapped in this ce as long as that boss was still alive, our only choice was to beat that boss.

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 Chapter 181.1 - Super Boss

    Chapter 181.1 - Super Boss

    We were walking on the wastnd with nothing but sand and rock, along the bottom of the valley that was formed from the extremely tall cliff.

    ording to Ryuuichi''s story, we had to walk around for an hour along the cliff before we arrived at the actual boss stage. We were exchanging more information along the way.

    Hero and Saint, eh. It feels like something that suited you guys for some reason.

    I never consider myself a hero but I think your King suits you.

    Shut up! It''s not like I can change the name of my vocation.

    <i> No doubt about it!</i> Ryuuichi''s vocation was a rather peculiar one. ording to Nonomiya-san and Co''s stories, his vocation couldn''t even bepared to them since itsbat prowess was simply too overwhelming.

    And yet, you still can''t beat the boss eh

    Well, you''ll understand the reason as soon as you see the boss. We''re currently in a stalemate.

    Are you sure it''s really okay to mess around with such an opponent?

    Fortunately, the other party never moved an inch from its current position. It won''t even go after us even if we escaped. That''s the sole reason Ive survived until now.

    Meaning that the boss will not move from the boss room''s rule was applied to that boss too. I thought that the boss was something like that flying dragon which I saw back then in the jungle but, I guess we''re lucky since we didn''t have to worry about the other party chasing after us.

    On the other hand, we couldn''t gain an advantage over the other party either.

    Over there.

    When I looked at where Ryuuichi was pointing, I noticed that the air in the valley was different from before. Extremely powerful mana was drifting about.

    We would arrive in the boss room as soon as we came out from the va or should I say that the rocky mountain that stayed still was the location of the boss.

    What a number all of them are monsters, huh.

    There was a huge mountain standing right in the centre of the mortar-shaped ground. Amid the densely packed pirs, there was a huge one in the centre that stood out from the rest like a skyscraper.

    Countless goma-like monsters called gargoyle were living in the stone jungle of that mountain.

    Yuuto and I will go down over there. The rest of you girls just stand by in this ce.

    Ryuuichi, are you sure that the two of you are enough to beat all of them? I mean, it''s just too mu-

    Yes, let us fight along with big brother t-

    Ryoko, Sakura, take care of those monkeys for us.

    ss Rep and Sakura raised an objection upon seeing the number of monsters that we had never seen before and yet, Ryuuichi dismissed them before they managed to finish their remarks.

    No, wait a minute, Ryuuichi didn''t even care about the army of gargoyles.

    Prepare yourself, Yuuto. The boss ising.

    At that moment, a tremor ran through the ground. Before I even had the time to consider whether it was an earthquake or not, the mountain before us started to change.

    Wha-What the heck is that It''s way too huge.

    Something like a snake came out from a huge hole.

    Its size was huge to the point that it might not even be a snake anymore. I mean, what the hell was that? It was even bigger than a train.

    Here ites, Yuuto.

    Even though its sheer size was enough to surprise me, Ryuuichi jumped down and rushed toward the snake.

    Before I knew it, his hands were already wrapped in ck gauntlets with golden patterns, he was also carrying a ck great sword in his hand.

    Wait, Ryuuichi! Good grief, what an impatient guy. Sakura, I''ll leave the covering fire to you. Take care of those gargoyles while we fight that giant snake.

    Understood, big brother. Please be careful.

    Be careful, Yuuto-kun. And make sure that you drag Ryuuichi back if things get too dangerous.

    Okay.

    With that, I was chasing after Ryuuichi, running toward that ultra-sized snake whose size was big to the point that I had to raise my face to look at it.

    Well, we''re literallycking both strength and manpower to beat this guy.

    So that''s why you''re waiting for the other ssmates to arrive at this ce.

    Yeah, ain''t gonna lie about it being too big for me to defeat it by myself.

    So you did try to beat it by yourself.

    It''s been a really long time since I sold a quarrel and got the table turned against me.

    Ryuuichi said with a refreshing smile on his face despite his tattered condition.

    Yeah, I somehow got the gist of it, but I was truly convinced upon seeing his smile about this dungeon being nothing but a thrilling battle for Ryuuichi. I''d never met a battle junkie who loved battle more than him, or so I wanted to say, but my grandfather was an even worse battle junkie than Ryuuichi. That person was literally a berserker.

    Anyhow, trying to beat that thing from the front is a fool''s errand.

    Both Ryuuichi and I were beaten ck and blue against the ultra-sized snake that I had never seen before. There was no use trying to sugarcoat our current situation, we were escaping from that giant kaijuu We''re escaping with tails between our legs, returning to the fairy za.

    Ryuuichi was very tattered, and the same could be said for me.

    They go up to five.

    Seriously Just how many of THAT is hidden in there?

    At first, there was only one ultra-sized snake. Its size was overwhelming, but both Ryuuichi and I could easily take care of it.

    It was easier than I expected was what I felt until I saw the second head appear from the mountain.

    At that moment, I thought that my eyes were ying a trick on me, or I was hit by some sort of illusion spell but The second head was a reality.

    U-U~hm, Souma-kun

    What''s the matter, Takanashi-san?

    Takanashi-san was keeping her distance, clearly scared of Ryuuichi, but she made a resolute face as she approached me and then opened her mouth.

    Yo-You see There might be a total of eight heads of that snake.

    How did you know about that, Takanashi?

    HYAAAA!?

    Takanashi-san jumped in surprise upon hearing Ryuuichi suddenly asking a question to her, but she calmed down a few secondster. It resembled the sight of a lion ring at a little deer.

    I-I saw with my Magical Power Analysis that there are eight simr reactions of magical power from inside the mountain that''s why I think that there might be eight of them.

    It seemed that mountain was the nest of the gargoyle, and also the nest of that giant snake. <i>There are eight of those guys, eh.</i>

    As expected, the analytical power of Sage is reliable. Did you find anything else, Takanashi-san?

    Lets see, there are eight snakes but in fact, its just one.

    EH!?

    That giant snake is actuallying from a body of a monster!

    I see, we''re fighting against Yamata no Orochi, huh.

    Ryuuichi guessed right away the true identity of that giant snake. Indeed, there was no other name that was more appropriate for the eight-headed enormous serpent.

    Also, I think the only possible way to beat that Yamata no Orochi is by destroying the biggest lump of magical power in its centre, which I think is its core.

    So you''re trying to say that fe can regenerate its head.

    Yes, I think it''ll keep regenerating its head with the supply of magical power from its core.

    The main reason for our defeat wasn''t because of the number of the giant snake, it was simply because of our opponent''s terrifying regeneration.

    Ryuuichi and I had beheaded the first head that came out very easily, but the second and then the third that came out from inside the mountain turned out to be the revived first head.

    While blue particles of light were covering the cross-section of its decapitated neck, they regenerated at an extremely terrifying speed considering its size.

    In just five minutes, its uninjured head was already baring its huge fangs toward us again.

    And then, when the two of us were struggling against the third head, and just barely managed to beat the sh*t of it, another two heads made their appearance, this time showering us with thunder and fire breaths respectively In the end, the three heads that we defeated a while ago were resurrected, making the battle into 5 vs 2 which forced us to retreat.

    That''s mean, even if we somehow managed to defeat all of its eight heads

    Maybe it''ll just regenerate again.

    It was truly a hopeless situation.

    I mean, it was freaking eight giant snakes. Even if we somehow managed to behead all the eight heads, it might just resurrect like nothing.

    Moreover, those breath attacks aside, I got this feeling that they still had an ace in the hole.

    The only sure way to kill it is to destroy its core, eh.

    Ain''t gonna be a simple matter either.

    Yeah. I''m pretty sure that Yamata no Orochi was aware of its own weakness. That''s why the core that connected to the eight heads was hidden within the shell called the mountain.

    Since there''s a ce for their head toe out, can we just use that passage to enter into the mountain?

    That''s most likely impossible since we might not even have any room to spare.

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 Chapter 181.2 - Super Boss

    Chapter 181.2 - Super Boss

    The ce where that giant snake came from was a giant hole at the bottom of the mountain. Surely, we might be able to reach the core of the monster if we entered from that ce, but I didn''t think there would be extra space aside for that giant snake.

    Can we use several small caves in the mountain to infiltrate the center of the mountain?

    Its not like we can climb into the nest of that gargoyle.

    In the fight just now, though we fought a lot of gargoyles, they did not appear all at once at the beginning of the battle.

    It was just a small part of the entire herd-a little over hundred- but, all of them were heading straight toward Ryuuichi and me. In addition, when they got shot down by Sakura and Co, their target was moving toward them Nevertheless, the gargoyle nesting in the mountain didn''t react at all, the only ones rushing at us were the ones in our vicinities.

    But if we were to rush into their nest, all of them could rush out at once.

    When that happened, it would be a different kind of deadly battle than when we fought Yamata no Orochi.

    We should be able to enter as long as we crush its eight heads

    Forget about eight, five of them are enough to beat us ck and blue.

    Indeed, no matter how strong Ryuuichi and I were, the most we could fight at the same time was five. Defeating eight of them at once was impossible with our current line-up.

    If only we had another fighter who could fight on the same level as us

    If only Futaba-san were here.

    No, seriously, just what in the hell am I thinking about!

    To think that I was thinking about relying on her strength again just because I was pitted against a slightly more powerful opponent. In the first ce, she had already been with Momokawa who had be an enemy now.

    Even if we met them again in this ce it might be another fight against ssmates.

    Anyhow, we can''t defeat that fu*king snake with our current line-up. We''ve to be stronger, or train the others to be stronger or wait for more reinforcement(ssmates) to arrive, right?

    Ryuuichi was right. We couldn''t beat Yamato no Orochi with our current line-up. Since that was the case, we could only increase our war potential.

    Anyone without a closebat vocation will have a hard time fighting against that giant snake from the front. Asuna, Natsukawa-san, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-san might be able to fight them since their vocations are SwordsmanandWarrior.

    I''ll leave the matter of raising them to you. I have no intention to babysit anyone.

    I know. You can do as you like. And somehow be more powerful, right?

    Training properly ain''t my style, but it''s a different matter if there''s an opponent for that.

    Yeah, Ryuuichi really was going to use Yamato no Orochi as a training dummy, after all. Well, he might really want to beat it by himself.

    I really wanted to tell him to not overdo it, but I knew that he wasn''t the kind of man who would stop doing something once he decided to do so.

    Okay everyone, hear me out!

    We decided on our current objective. For the time being, I would train everyone-including myself- so that they became even more powerful so we could fight Yamata no Orochi.

    Ryuuichi and I had already reunited in this ce. So I thought that the other ssmates would gather in this ce too. It would be more reassuring if we got additional reliablebat potential such as Futaba-san.

    The reason I thought about this was simply that deep down, I knew that we couldn''t beat Yamata no Orochi with our current line-up.

    KYA! THI-THIS LIGHT IS SOMEONE TRANSFERRED TO THIS!?

    Takanashi-san, who was standing right by my side, suddenly shouted so while pointing at the phenomenon of the dancing particles of light at the corner of the fairy za.

    Who''sing at this kind of time?

    Well, much weed additional surviving ssmates in our current situation.

    No, wait a minute Let''s not make assumptions that the ones who came were proper ssmates first. The one who came might be Momokawa.

    If that was the case, a fight might break out

    Fuuh, thank goodness the transfer is working properly. I can''t help but wonder what kind of scary things will happen when we''re using transfer circle always.

    It''s okay, I''m with you to prevent that after all, Airi.

    The one who appeared from within the light was a pair of boy and girl. The two of them were cuddling together, linking their arms like a couple.

    Thank you! Then, since Haruma-kun did his best in the boss fight, I''ll give you a looooooooooot of serviceter

    Though the girl was flirting with a sweet voice at first, her expression solidified at once the moment she noticed our group in the fairy za.

    Ah, eehm, Himeno-san and Nakajima, right? An-Anyhow, thank goodness you guys are safe and sound.

    These two are going out, eh. Well, that matter aside, let''s congratte them for surviving first.

    A-A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! S-SOUMA-KUN!? NO WAY, IT''S THE REAL SOUMA-KUN!!

    Uwaa, Airi

    Even though they looked like a pair of stupid couple a moment ago, Himeno-san pushed Nakajima-san aside as if he was a hindrance the moment she saw me and rushed toward me at once.

    <i> Heck, that was scary. Himeno-san turned out to be that kind of girl, eh.</i>

    THANK GOODNESS! NOW I CAN FEEL TRULY ASSURED WITH SOUMA-KUN!

    A-Ah, you''re wee

    I retreated at once since Himeno-san''s momentum was too shocking, She then caught my hands cheerily as she raised her arms.

    Haa, the one who came is a noisy girl, eh.

    KYAAAAA! TENDOU-KUN! IT''S THE REAL TENDOU-KUN!? YAAY, WE''RE ABSOLUTELY SAFE NOW!

    Seeing, Ryuuichi exhaled deeply as if he was truly annoyed. Himeno-san raised an even more boisterous and cheerful voice. <i>She was so happy, eh.</i> I thought that she simply couldn''t bear the loneliness since she was only with Nakajima, but it seems I was wrong.

    Fufufu, with Tendou-kun and Souma-kun together, my era has co

    Himeno-san, please keep your cheerful mood in moderation. You know what kind of situation we''re currently at, right?

    Sakura suddenly forced her way through to separate Himeno-san from me as she spoke with a bone-chilling voice.

    Ah Souma-san is here too, eh.

    Naturally, I''ll never leave my brother''s side.

    Himeno-san had a cramped smile on her face upon seeing Sakura''s bone-chilling smile. Though both of them were smiling, it felt like a giant storm was blowing around them.

    Anyhow, it''s a good thing that both Himeno-san and Nakajima-kun are safe and sound and managed to reach this ce.

    At this moment, ss Rep broke into the strained atmosphere and changed the topic immediately. <i>Thank you as always for your mediation, ss Rep.</i>

    Well then, everyone gathers around. Let''s confirm our current situa What the heck, again!?

    The next moment, the transfer circle shone yet again.

    Seriously, they areing in session. Was this a mere coincidence? Or someone''s n?

    No one could answer that question of mine at this point, the only job of the dancing particles of light was sending the one who stepped into it to the next destination.

    And just as I expected, the one who appeared from the transfer circle was

    ===

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 Chapter 182.1 - The Knifes Ownership

    Chapter 182.1 - The Knife''s Ownership

    Three shadows of humans were trailing a huge shadow that was racing through the densethicket.

    WAIT RIGHT THERE!

    TRYING TO RUN HUUUH!

    The one who ran through the forest while clearing away the branches along the way was the Swordsman, Ueda. Right behind him, wielding ax was the Warrior, Nakai.

    The two were yelling as they went after their escaped prey.

    BUGIIIIIIIII!

    The one who ran through the forest while raising a pig-like scream was a boar-like monster. It was different from the great boar that they had hunted down before. It was one size smaller yet a precious source of food.

    Thus, they went after the boar-like monster while sporting demon-like looks on their faces, just like primitive men.

    UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, GRAB IT! AQUA BIND!

    Shimokawa, the Aquamancer who followed after Ueda and Nakai had somehow managed to unleash his most powerful Aqua Bind while running.

    Several small feelers emerged from the magic circle that appeared in front of his palm, heading toward the fleeing boarcoiling around its rear leg.

    BUHIIII!

    The boar tripped and fell down due to the sudden breaking. The chasing trio rushed at once without wasting even a breath.

    YEAAH, YOU''RE FINISHED NOW, PIGGY BA*STARD!

    DIE AND BECOME OUR SOURCE OF PROTEIN!

    Nakai and Ueda raised their weapons, shouted those remarks as they rushed toward the boar.

    OI, WAIT A MINUTE! THAT GUY CAN USE SOME SORT OF SPELL!

    Maybe because of his spellcaster-type vocation, Shimokawa detected a flow of magical power that couldn''t be detected by the other two and warned them the next moment,

    BUGIGIGI!

    A cloud of dust suddenly blew up along with the boar''s warcry.

    UOOOO!?

    BUHOOO!

    Ueda and Nakai stumbled on their steps when the cloud of dust suddenly exploded from under their feet. Fortunately, it had zero offensive ability, thus the two of them were literally unscathed.

    BUGIGI!

    But that was enough for the boar to regain its footing and resume escape.

    YOU''RE NOT ALLOWED TO ESCAPEEEEEEE, AQUA Heavy Bind!

    He stretched both his hands, and a magic circle that was much bigger than before appeared in front of his palms, the binding magic turned into a huge whip that bound the boar''s body.

    NOW!

    UOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

    Thanks to the Totempole Trio''s perseverance, they managed to secure precious boar meat for the first time in a long time.

    ===

    Thus, theyy on the ground in front of a flickering bonfire after they had enjoyed the feast.

    Haa~h, as expected, meat is the best.

    I feel alive again.

    The boar that kept resisting until the very end with their earth magic was called Geoboar, the taste of its meat was simply out of the world. Thus, the trio felt sympathy toward primitive humans whose daily lives depended on hunting. It was now that they realized the meaning of life by hunting.

    But ain''t delicious enough since we''ve no salt.

    Shimokawa muttered after burping.

    C''mon, that''s a bit too much for our current situation.

    Momokawa ain''t with us, that''s literally impossible.

    One week had passed quickly after the trio had parted ways with Momokawa Kotaro.

    Thus, they finally realized that they had lost the key yer of their team. Even now, they were already missing that cheeky youth with a girlish face.

    They had happened to witness the break-up between Souma Yuuto and Co with Futaba Meiko who had suddenly appeared on the scene when Reina was being murdered by Kotaro, resulting in Kotaro and Meikos retreat while taking Reinas corpse as a hostage. Thanks to a certain understanding in their minds that Kotaro''s actions were so like Momokawas, the Totem pole Trio plus Yamada also managed to escape safely.

    Shimokawa, who used Aqua Mist due to Kotaro''s sudden request, left the fairy za along with his friends after greeting Souma Yuuto''s group.

    Since there were several branching passages beyond the fairy za in which Reina was cooped up with sacred beast Souma Yuuto, Souma Yuuto and his party who were chasing couldn''t overtake them after a point. Naturally, they couldn''t reunite with Kotaro and Meiko who were already far ahead of them too.

    From the fact that the trio had already suspected Souma Yuuto for being involved in Reinas murder due to their previous record in trying to kidnap Takanashi Kotori, Shimokawa made a spur of moment decision to part ways with Souma Yuutos group since it was literally impossible for thetter to believe them in that kind of situation. No one was going to me him for making such a decision or so it was supposed to be since, unlike the trio, Yamada had no criminal record to his name. But then, he didn''t say anything to the trio and just went along with the flow and joined the trio''s group.

    It was clearly unusual for Yamada to not join Souma Yuuto''s group which wasposed of top beauties of ss 2-7 with his little sister, Sakura, on the top list.

    Anyhow, now the trio who wanted to get away as far as possible from Souma Yuuto''s group got the fourth member, Yamada, into their group and resumed their dungeon crawling.

    After that, they left the stone area and currently, we''re in the outdoor, jungle-like area like the one where they had discovered Goma''s fortress.

    Though the vegetation resembled a jungle, a white sandy beach and azure blue sea spread on the other side. As if the ce they were arriving at was the coastline of a southern ind.

    Though they''d only been advancing by following the directions of thepass so far after their sweet time with Momokawa''s skills, their bodies, that had tasted the vour of the meat again, couldn''t be satisfied with just the nuts they found in fairy za. Not to mention that they''re youths at the peak of their growth. Meat, their body wanted meat.

    Though the main reason was simply that they wanted to eat meat instead of nuts, Shimokawa suddenly recalled the fact that in Kotaro''s case, he turned the leftover meat into preserved food such as bacon or air-dried meat. And he simply couldn''t forget the taste of bacon stew they ate in the night beforemencing Reina''s rescue(assassination) operation.

    If they were to continue their dungeon crawling as it was, Shimokawa knew that they needed preserved meat. Naturally, Ueda, Nakai, and Yamada agreed immediately.

    Thus, the first thing that the four of them did after arriving at the seashore area was secure the supply of preserved foods.

    Thus the four started living a life of survival.

    Things such as Can we eat this snake? Is that delicious-looking fruit really that delicious? was something that always became their main problem due to the existence of poison, they had to drink the antidote they got from Kotaro but if the poison turned out to be more than the antidote could handle

    The thing that was seemingly edible was everywhere. But they had no idea which ones had dangerous poisons or dangerous parasites or viruses in them.

    At that moment, they came to realize again just how terrifying the shaman''s passive skill is called Pharmacy Intuition.

    Nevertheless, to a certain extent, they tried to eat things that seemed to be edible with the mentality of a gambler. For example, fish.

    It could be seen very easily that there were various fishes swimming in the sea. Thus, it was only natural for them toe up with the idea of catching the fish immediately.

    Fortunately for them, Yamada had the experience of fishing. Unfortunately, he couldn''t stop crying when he started telling the story about how he went to various ces to fish with Yamajun.

    And as if that wasn''t unlucky enough, they had no fishing pole and line either.

    If Momokawa was with them, he would have used his spider thread-like curse and prepared everything they needed immediately, but none of the four had such wonderful production skills.

    After two days of gruesome work, they managed to create a fishing pole with a tree''s branch, a line by knitting small ivy and a hook from a shaved monster''s bone. The fishing pole was finally ready.

    The hooked fish was only so-so. It only served to fill the four youths'' stomachs but definitely not long-term by any means.

    Nevertheless, they''re very lucky since they at least knew which fish was edible from the hooked fish.

    The matter of supplying fish by fishing was left to Yamada, as for the Totempole Trio, they went into the forest, looking for monsters that were seemingly edible at first nce such as great boar.

    They decided that the insect-like monster and raptor that could appear out of nowhere from the thicket was no good. A great fight broke out between the trio and the nt-type monster who could spit digestive acid and use its ivies to attack them.

    Thus, as they kept failing in their quest to find the monster that was seemingly edible at nce. Today, they finally found what they were looking for, albeit not as big as a great boar, they found a geoboar whose appearance resembled that of a great boar, which brings us back to the present.

    Haa Momokawa is truly amazing.

    Especially now when I want a bathtub and hammock the most.

    Oi, be grateful to me who provides you with a shower.

    Thanks to Shimokawa, their group never had a hard time with baths. Unfortunately for Shimokawa, there was nothing exciting about pouring water on the bodies of naked dudes.

    Despite her ugly appearance, showering Airi with his water would make him feel much better than showering some dudes.

    ===

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 Chapter 182.2 - The Knifes Ownership

    Chapter 182.2 - The Knife''s Ownership

    However, Shimokawa now realized that perhaps because there was no presence of a woman, and there were only four men that the dull survival life like this became interesting.

    Hey, about Momokawa No matter how much I think about it, could it be that he nned to kill Reina-chan from the very beginning?

    Shimokawa ended up muttering such a question as he gazed at the bonfire.

    No one answered his question. But the same grim look on Ueda and Nakais faces told them the answer.

    Oi, that topic is a bit

    Let''s stop talking about that.

    No, Yamada has already fallen asleep, I think I''ll use this chance to have a conversation with you two. That''s why please hear me out just this time.

    Right from the moment Kotaro joined their party, there were a series of mentally exhausting events such as goma fortress'' raid, separation by illusion in a maze of white clouds, and then the rescue operation to save the deranged Reina.

    But then, without Kotaro to lead their party, and the death of Reina during the turbulence, Shimokawa could finally look back at the situation at that time when those tension-filled moments had finally left them.

    That one, I mean Reina-chan, now that I think about it, that girl was truly a shitty, charmless brat.

    Ah, I see. I agree with ya. Now that I think properly about it, I can understand why Momokawa treated Reina-chan like that.

    Well, Momokawa seems to be going out with that Butaba. Reina-chan is simply just not his type.

    Both Ueda and Nakai were nodding along as they recalled how Kotaro didn''t even give preferential treatment to Reina. But their nods suddenly came to a stop.

    Oi, wait a minute. Futaba at the time, ain''t she like, waaaay too slim?

    Seriously, so the big-brea$ted beauty who went with Momokawa is THAT FUTABA!

    Reina got stabbed to death and Souma Yuuto party suddenly intruded though they couldn''t follow the situation due to the rapidly changing development of the situation back then, now that they had the leeway to recall the situation properly, they finally noticed that the figure of the girl who Kotaro called as Mei-chan was way too different from the one in their memories.

    The difference was a lot, to the point that it was enough to make them think Who the hell is that girl? when they saw her for the first time.

    The air around that big-brea$ted beauty had somehow reminded them of Futaba Meiko, but now that they had calmed down, it was strange no matter how they thought about it.

    Ain''t that a bit too much for a level of sessful diet!?

    Futaba is actually so beautiful.

    Dammit, so the reason Momokawa dates her is that he discovered that fact.

    For the first time since they had arrived in this world, the trio felt the effect of an underhanded y of the shaman.

    They came to realize that even before they received a vocation, the existence called Futaba Meiko had always been an unpolished gem. Their imagination was running wild as they imagined Kotaro doing this and that to those miracle proportions that could make even the best gravure model run away barefoot. It was a terrifying diet n.

    Momokawa can''t be underestimated.

    But if it''s Momokawa, he''ll do that for sure.

    Yeah, I think Momokawa doesn''t mind even if Futaba is still as fat as before. I mean, I heard from Yamajun before that everything else is a trivial matter for Momokawa as long as their br*asts are huge.

    Seriously, he only needs their br*ast to be huge!?

    Too big will make them look disgusting instead. I think the beautifully-shaped big br*asts with pointy tip is the best.

    I''m not gonna aim too high. But ck n!pple is no good for me.

    And just like that, their discussion about b00bs kept going on for a while after that. This was a normal topic during a men''s gathering.

    So, what''s the story?

    Ah, well, this is actually rted to the matter of Momokawa murdering Reina-chan.

    Woops, it seems we ended up getting derailed by b00bs. I broke the ice nicely with that topic though.

    Finally, the trio went back to their original topic.

    But if Momokawa really intended to kill Reina-chan from the very beginning Is it because he resented her?

    I heard from Yamada that he was really pissed off about Momokawa''s decision though.

    When I noticed that Momokawa had tricked us and killed Reina-chan, I felt that he was really detestable but Now that I have calmed down and thought about the matter more carefully, I think it''s only natural for him to want to kill Reina-chan so much.

    Shimokawa spoke with aplex look on his face as if he had no idea about what to say or which one was right.

    In the first ce, without the existence called Reina, they finally realized just how stupid they were at those times, for them to be cajoled like that by Reina. If they really cared about Reina, they should be wailing right now for their failure in protecting her, and yet They strangely felt almost nothing about her death.

    It felt like the toy that they treasured so much during their childhood turned into a mere piece of junk after they grew up.

    Momokawa might have realized from the very beginning that Reina-chan is nothing more than a piece of baggage. And yet, that useless baggage is actually being protected by those dangerous sacred beasts that can''t be trifled with. If Reina-chan was as ugly as Airi, we might have felt the same way as Momokawa.

    Yuup.

    That''s, correct.

    Kotaro''s action at that time was far more rational than any other member. If not for Kotaro''s timely arrival before the assault on goma''s fortress, they might have already been annihted by goma''s assault party in the jungle tower back then.

    And the only one who could survive such a situation was Reina with the power of her sacred beast.

    But killing her was a bit You know.

    Momokawa at that time was really terrifying. I mean, he killed a real person, not a monster.

    Killing Reina, making an enemy of Souma Yuuto who was enraged by her death, using Reina''s corpse as his shield to get away from Yuuto, and calmly retreating from the scene along with Meiko those series of events were too absurd, and even though the trio had already grown ustomed to the act of killing monsters, they who had never killed a human felt that Kotaro''sposure at that time was akin to madness.

    Well, he managed to get away from Souma by doing so but Momokawa who could think of such a method in that kind of situation is really amazing, in a dangerous way.

    Hey, speaking about Momokawa, could it be that he has killed someone before he killed Reina-chan?

    Yeah, if he has killed someone, that can exin why he''s soposed at that time, right?

    Hearing Ueda and Nakai''s opinion, Shimokawa pondered for a while.

    His eyebrows furrowed as if he was worried about something But as he opened his mouth, his expression was that of certainty.

    Hey, have you really not noticed it?

    Haah?

    Eh, what?

    The knife used by Momokawa to kill Reina-chan It''s Higuchi''s butterfly knife.

    He knew about that since he had seen the knife a few times already back when it was still in its original owner''s hand.

    Back when Shimokawa was strolling around the city with Higuchi, they had ended up being surrounded by the students from Kuromine High, and Higuchi took out this knife at that time.

    Naturally, he didn''t use that to attack those students, the spectacle of Higuchi sending more than three students of Kuromine High back to their den by himself while bluffing with a knife in his hand had been imprinted deep into Shimokawa''s memories.

    Honestly speaking, at first, he mocked Higuchi who always brought his knife with him like a child his toy, but when he saw him driving out the delinquents by bluffing with his knife changed his impression of Higuchi.

    Higuchi wasn''t bringing the knife just because it looked cool. He had the courage, and proper skill to use the knife to his advantage.

    Thus, Shimokawa could never forget Higuchi''s butterfly knife. Even without any additional ornaments, he could tell it was Higuchi''s knife at a nce.

    Thus, he had noticed it immediately when Kotaro was holding that blood-stained knife in his hand.

    Momokawa Might have killed Higuchi.

    ===

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead which catches up with the raw.

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 Chapter 183.1 - Gathering 1

    Chapter 183.1 - Gathering 1

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead which catches up with the raw.

    ===

    The shadow of four people appeared from within the dancing particles of light bursting out from the transfer circle.

    A~h, I''m dead tired! Let''s sleep immediately!

    That fu*king catfish, my body is numb even now

    Ah,e to think of it, amongst the medicines left by Momokawa is a medicine to cure paralysis.

    Oi, stop yapping as if you guys are the only ones who got hurt. It ain''t that painful, yeah!

    The people were chatting merrily as if they were still in the ssroom instead of the dungeon.

    They were Ueda, Nakai, Shimokawa, otherwise known as the Totempole Trio, and Yamada of the baseball club.

    The ssmates who saw them appearing from the transfer circle disyed various reactions.

    GEH!

    The one who felt something along that line was the duo Nakajima Haruma and Himeno Airi.

    Airi went half-mad along the way and ended up pping Reina before everyone med the former.

    Haruma, who had Airi be taken away by the trio when he was in the middle of having a give-and-take rtionship with Airi, became really confused which ended up in him leaving the party on his own.

    The two didnt share a pleasant experience with the four. On the other hand, they both felt that being put in the same team as the four wouldplicate the problem and give rise to another problem. They were both perplexed for two different reasons.

    .

    The one who didn''t show any reaction upon seeing the four was Tendou''s Yankee team. Not to mention that Ryuichi had literally zero interest in them, so he didn''t care about them at all.

    Trio gals of Kyoko, and Jury-Marybi had more or less interacted with the four in the ss, but their rtionship wasn''t close enough for the gals to jump in joy upon seeing the quartet. It was just a relief upon seeing the four had survived this far.

    You guys arrived in this ce too, huh.

    The one who showed the most dramatic reaction upon seeing the four was, of course, Souma Yuuto and Co who had a chance of meeting with the four (plus one back then) before.

    Geh, IT''S SOUMA YUUTO!?

    Se-Seriously, what in the world is he doing here?

    A~h, we''re done for.

    The one who showed the strongest reaction to the appearance of the four was Souma Yuuto who made a face as if he wanted to cry, his hand already resting on the hilt of his shining sword as he unleashed an oppressing aura toward them.

    Behind him, Sakura had already drawn her bow, and Asuna had unsheathed her sword too.

    It was an extremely dangerous situation.

    And even if the four understood that it was only limited to that, they had no solution for this situation.

    In this kind of situation, the only one who could break the ice with his eloquent speech was Momokawa. But the strangely reliable shota was not present at the moment.

    Thus, Shimokawa decided to take the matter into his hand.

    Ma-Maan, I''m really d to see everyone is safe and sound!

    Shimokawa pretended to be oblivious to Souma and Co''s hostility toward them.

    He judged that they at least wouldn''t be killed in this kind of situation. Not to mention that Souma party wasn''t the only one in there, they''re in the presence of other ssmates too.

    He reckoned that someone with a strong sense of justice like Souma wouldn''t do something as extreme as killing his ssmate in front of many people.

    How dare you say that, Shimokawa?

    And just as he thought, Yuuto didn''t just suddenlysh out at him, his hand was still on the hilt of his sword.

    Wha-Wha-What makes you so angry like that, Souma? Did we do something?

    ENOUGH! Don''t tell me that you have already forgotten the sin youmitted.

    Wa-Wait, calm down now! Re I mean, are you angry about Ayase-san''s death? That''s a misunderstanding, we''ve nothing to do with that, or rather, we even tried to save her back then!

    Trying to make an excuse now! You guys are clearly hanging out with Momokawa.

    That''s why I''ve told you that it''s just an ident! An unfortunate ident! It couldn''t be helped, we really did try to sa

    SHUT UP! I WON''T FORGIVE YOU GUYS FOR KILLING REINA!

    The situation worsened immediately. And no one stepped out to stop the enraged Yuuto.

    From the third party''s perspective, they were obviously going to be killed by Yuuto, thus Shimokawa regretted the choice of using optimism as his way out of this situation.

    But when he was exposed to Souma Yuuto''s rage from the front, it felt as if he would die at this very moment. Now, he realized just how amazing Momokawa was for being able to speak till the end in front of this kind of opponent.

    He felt that they were definitely going to die unless he said something.

    Butme excuses like that wouldn''t work on the enraged Souma Yuuto, on the contrary, it would be akin to pouring gasoline into the fire.

    Thus, he had no choice but to beg for their lives to be spared with dogeza And the moment Shimokawa made such a decision.

    Don''t screw with me.

    The one who broke the awkward situation was neither Shimokawa nor Yuuto, it was the third party who had kept his silence until now.

    DON''T SCREW WITH ME, SOUMA YUUTO! THE REASON WHY REINA-CHAN AND YAMAJUN DIED IS YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

    The one who raised an enraged voice was Yamada.

    O-OI, YAMADA!?

    WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!

    An astonished Ueda and Nakai tried to stop the Yamada who was mad for a strange reason.

    SHUT UP! IT''S YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING IS YOUR FU*KING FAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULT!

    Ueda and Nakai tried to hold him back, but Yamada easily brushed them aside and rushed toward Yuuto. The heavy warrior''s charge was unstoppable.

    UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

    Kuh, what the

    Yamada''s fury was unreasonable. Though Yuuto was really confused by that, he reacted calmly against Yamada who rushed at him while raising his fist.

    He didn''t use his sword, but it didn''t mean that Yamada was less powerful.

    Souma-Style, Bnce Breaker

    Learned skill:

    Bnce BreakerBare-handed arts of Souma-stylebat arts. Grab, pull, and throw.

    To begin with, Yuuto had been taking martial arts lessons since his childhood, mainly in the basics of the throwing technique of Souma-style. With that, his martial arts technique transformed into an even more powerful bare-handed skill after gaining Hero vocation.

    Yuuto had no idea about Yamada''s vocation nor did he know about thetter''s strength. But he guessed to some extent the moment he saw Yamada rushing at him.

    <i>Maybe, Yamada''s body is protected by some sort of defensive skill.</i>

    Thus, he concluded that countering with a punch or kick wouldn''t work on Yamada. And it''s not like he could use his sword against Yamada either.

    As such, he was left with the option of using the throwing technique.

    GUOOOO!?

    Thus, Yamada who rushed with an enraged look on his face got mmed to the ground by Yuuto with his throwing technique. The current Yuuto could easily use this throwing technique to face a rushing giant boar.

    Even if there was nothing special about the technique, Yamada who overly relied on his brute force ever since he gained his vocation was no different from a monster.

    Yamada, whose weight and height were amongst the top rank in the ss, got thrown off easily, floating in the air for a while, and then falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

    Thanks to the power of his vocation, Heavy Warrior, the shock he received when his back mmed to the ground was insignificant. But that impact was enough to force him to exhale the air in his lungs.

    GAH!! COUGH, COUGH!

    Yamada broke into a coughing fit. It was now thatYuuto seemedto have pretty much confirmedYamada''s vocation.

    <i>So his power can really cancel half-hearted blows. But seeing that he has a coughing fit, it seems he still needs to breathe normally.</i>

    It''s going to be troublesome if you keep rampaging after this. Sorry, but sleep for a little bit.

    Before Yamada could get the chance to stand up, Yuuto had already mounted on his back as he applied a triangle choke on Yamada''s neck. It was the very same technique used by Sugino, another holder of Heavy Warrior vocation back when they got ambushed in the fairy za, and now it was used on Yamada again.

    GU, GA, AA

    A few secondster, Yamada stopped resisting, his hand fell to the ground as he passed ut.

    Fuh, what in the hell is happening? Doesn''t he feel ashamed for suddenly charging like that?

    Thanks to Yamada''s sudden outburst of anger, the look in Yuuto''s eyes became even colder. Even Sakura and Suna who stood behind Yuuto were making a face as if they wanted to kill Yamada who was unconscious at the moment.

    The situation quickly descended into total chaos due to Yamada''s action Or not, as Shimokawa foresaw that this was the turning point.

    Oi, Souma. Why in the he*l are you trying to kill Yamada? A stupid, ignorant goody two shoes like you is really the worst human being!

    ===

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead which catches up with the raw.

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 Chapter 183.2 - Gathering 1

    Chapter 183.2 - Gathering 1

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

    ===

    Shimokawa aborted his dogeza tactic. He knew that this was the time to corner Yuuto.

    We lost Yamajun you know!

    Wha-What

    Yes, he struck back by telling Yuuto that Reina was not the only victim.

    Everyone was getting along with the youth called Yamakawa Junichiro, who was called Yamajun by everyone.

    HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED YAMADA''S FEELINGS!? YAMAJUN IS HIS BEST FRIEND!!!

    And what are you trying to tell me? Of course, I''ll be sad if Yamajun is really dead, but what''s my involvement in that matter?

    Souma Yuuto was also getting along with Yamajun to some extent. He was considered by the entire ss as a friendly youth who was full of consideration. He was a young man who could get along with anyone regardless of their gender.

    But Yuuto never met Yamajun after the entire ss got sent into this dungeon. Thus, though it was obvious that he had nothing to do with Yamajun''s death, he stopped for a second and considered the option that it might be somehow indirectly rted to him.

    You see, Ayase-san waas caught in one of the traps in that area. A trap that shows an illusion of someone we want to see the most.

    Now, Souma Yuuto had a vague suspicion that he never thought about until now. In fact, Yuuto''s innocence was anything but fake at this point, but the story was just too confusing. And due to his curiosity, he ended up wanting to know the entire situation.

    For the same reason, Yuuto, or rather, all members of his party had finally calmed down and were willing to hear the entire story.

    We''re also caught in that trap, but we managed to get out of it. However, Ayase-san refused to wake up from that trap. And just when we''re trying to wake her up That THING appeared, Souma Yuuto.

    W-What''s the meaning of thi

    Ayase-san has this really amazing vocation called Spiritualist. It''s a super strong vocation that allows her to summon a super strong monster called spirit beast. And the new spirit beast that was summoned by Ayase-san back then is Your PhantomSouma Yuuto.

    In short, Yamajun was killed by that spirit beast.

    How stupid! That''s just a false usation! My dear brother has nothing to do with that!

    Sakura shouted as she drew her bow.

    Her action was akin to that of a selfish child who med everyone for her own fault. The kind of person who couldn''t be reasoned with.

    Shut up! We''re the ones who witnessed it dammit! Yamajun was killed by Souma! Don''t ever think that you will get by with it!

    However, the other party had also thrownmon sense out of the window.

    They knew that Yamajun wasn''t killed by Souma Yuuto. But seeing the face of Souma Yuuto who was a literal carbon copy of Souma-look-alike who killed their best friend, the real Souma Yuuto aside, it was only natural for the one who lost their best friend to lose control of themself. It was something akin to trauma.

    YE-YEAH! SHIMOKAWA IS RIGHT!

    EXACTLY, BECAUSE OF THAT SOUMA-LIKE SPIRIT BEAST, WE''D TO RISK OUR LIFE TO SAVE REINA-CHAN!

    DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW!? EVEN THOUGH WE LOST YAMAJUN, WE STILL TRIED TO SAVE THE CULPRIT WHO KILLED HIM! AND THEN YOU CAME, AN IGNORANT LATECOMER WHO SUDDENLY STARTED BERATING US LIKE MADMAN! APOLOGIES! APOLOGIES TO YAMADA, NOW!

    Seeing Ueda and Nakai taking the advantage of the situation to reverse the situation, Shimokawa shouted to Yuuto''s side to gain more advantage.

    On the other hand, Souma Yuuto didn''t say anything and looked like he was pondering something.

    You''re a man, stop making such baseless usations! Brother, don''t believe them.

    Wait, Sakura. I

    Moreover, even if that''s true, it''s a fact that Reina is killed by Momokawa. And you guys are his aplices

    I''ve told you again and again that it was something that happened when we tried to save her

    To begin with, Reina''s case aside, you guys have the track record of attacking Kotori too. Don''t tell me that you have forgotten about that incident.

    O-Oi, why did you bring that up now!? It has nothing to do with this situation.

    When Yuuto fell silent, now it was Sakura''s turn to start berating the trio like a bitch.

    Moreover, the matter of him attempting to rape Kotori was something akin to ck history for Shimokawa.

    [Why is this fu*king bitch bringing the past like that, does she have some sort of grudge?] Shimokawa thought to himself.

    I can''t trust any of you. However, considering the fact that you''ve nothing to do with Reina''s death, I''ll spare your life. Now get out of this ce immediately.

    Hey, don''t boss us around!

    If you don''t leave now, You''ve to fight all of us right here. And when that happens, I''ll show no mercy!

    She pulled the bowstring to the fullest and suspended a light arrow in the air, Sakura was ready to fire her arrow at Shimokawa at any given time.

    Wa-Wait a frigging minute, we''ve no intention to cause trouble he

    [Dammit, I should''ve stuck to the dogeza n!] he thought to himself but then,

    UWOOOOOOOOOO!?

    It happened just when he thought he was shot to death.

    Dazzling light filled the entire space. He thought that Sakura, who was pissed off, fired her arrow of light right onto his face.

    And yet, he didn''t feel any pain. Only then did he realize the direction from which the light came.

    Rather, the blinding light was something that he experienced a while ago.

    That light only meant one thing Other people have arrived at this za.

    The moment everyone in the za saw the silhouette of the newly arrived ssmate, they all uttered one name.

    It''s Momokawa huh.

    Tendou Ryuichi said with a bored look on his face, but he was the first one to speak upon seeing the short silhouette.

    Oh, it''s Momokawa.

    The one who truly spoke with a t voice was Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma. They only spoke of Kotaro''s name because this was the first time they saw that short ssmate of theirs.

    Mo-Mo-Momokawa!

    The one who called his name with reverence, like one was seeing a hero when he got cornered, was Shimokawa who was about to be shot to death by Sakura.

    Momokawa

    And naturally, the one who called his name with aplicated look on his face was the Hero, Souma Yuuto.

    He was brimming with rage toward the killer of his dearest childhood friend, Reina Adelheid Ayase, who he failed to protect.

    Souma Yuuto gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he unleashed a genuine killing intent that waspletely different from the one that he pointed toward Shimokawa and the rest toward Kotaro.

    Yo, Souma-kun.

    Momokawa Kotaro called out his name.

    In this ce where many ssmates had gathered together, the shortest in the ss and also nerd of the literary club who gained the undivided attention of all those present was truly someone befitting of his Shaman vocation as he could still smile carefreely even when facing this kind of situation.

    The Heros killing intent was on full throttle while the Shaman smiled carefreely as if ignoring it all.

    This reunion is faster than I expected. Has your head cooled a l BUWAAAAAA!?

    MOMOKAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The one who rushed first to Kotaro wasn''t the Hero who raised his sword of light high above his head.

    MOMOKAWAA! THIS FOOL! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WE''RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!?

    A-Aah, so-sorry for making you constantly worry about me Randou-sa-ugh

    The one whose feeling had surpassed Souma Yuuto''s wrath was Randou Kyouko who had always been worrying about Kotaro ever since thetter got kidnapped by Arachne.

    Tha-Thank God Thank God you survived that incident!

    Uhmuhm.

    And just like that, Kyouko embraced Kotaro with all her might-suffocating thetter- as she started to cry, leaving everyone around speechless for a while.

    ===

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 Chapter 184.1 - Gathering 2

    Chapter 184.1 - Gathering 2

    Fuuh.

    Finally, Randou-san stopped crying and let go of me, giving me room to breathe.

    Man, I was deeply moved right now since I was embraced so passionately. I mean, from the way she embraced me, Randou-san was clearly extremely worried about me. I thought she was the easy-going type, but it turned out I was wrong she was an extremely passionate type.

    Or something like that. That said, the matter of me bing emotionally moved was simply because I had survived from being suffocated to death by her light-brown twin valley. I mean, my train of thought got short-circuited when she embraced me. What? Souma Yuuto? He''s just a trivial matterpared to big boobs!

    I felt bad for Randou-san who got so emotional upon our reunion, but my train of thought had always short-circuited whenever I saw big boobs and got embraced by them.

    Anyhow, that''s the end of bonus time, now was the time to get serious.

    We were thrust into a precarious situation as soon as we transferred, namely a reunion with hero-sama''s party led by Souma Yuuto But, it wasn''t the worst situation. Rather, we had the high ground.

    Yes, another party aside from Souma party had already gathered in this huge fairy za. There was Tendou''s Yankee Team which included Randou-san, and the Totem Pole Trio plus one who I missed. In addition, the duo, Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma, were also here.

    Including Mei-chan and me, there were currently 18 ssmates gathered in this ce.

    Since there were 41 students in sses 2-7, it meant that around half of them had already been gathered in this ce. This might be the first time for so many people to gather at once in one ce for dungeon capture.

    Excluding the Hime-Naka duo, I had already met everyone in this ce. In short, the chance of something unexpected happening was low. And most of all, a majority of them had a favourable rtionship with me thanks to my effort.

    Thus, in this situation, in which many people gathered in this ce, I had the advantage. Even Souma Yuuto, who had already calmed down, could understand the situation.

    Yo, long time no see, Tendou-kun. Do you still have your cigarette?

    You seem to be as lively as ever huh, Momokawa. Never expected you''d be this tenacious. Only left with one. Do want me to do something about it?

    The first thing I had to do upon arriving was suck up to Tendou Ryuichi, the owner of cheat ss vocation who could rival Souma Yuuto''s Hero.

    I had no idea what kind of vocation or abilities were granted to Tendou-kun by his vocation, but he had disyed numerous abilities back then. To be honest, even I was not sure whether Mei-chan could win against Tendou-kun.

    And I had already built a favourable rtionship with that powerful Tendou-kun. Going by his personality, no matter how much Souma Yuuto painted me as the worst viin who killed Reina, Tendou wouldn''t just simply believe him.

    And the proof of that was the curt tone he used to greet me, that was the normal and usual way he used to greet me.

    Thus, I''d confirmed now that Tendou-kun wasn''t hostile toward me. Fufufu, I won.

    It should be possible to produce more if you ask Takanashi-san who has the ability to copy small things.

    I see, my decision to keep thest one is correct after all.

    I''m more surprised to see you in such misery due to a single cigarette.

    Oh shut up.

    And so, while having such a rxing conversation, I moved in closer to Tendous side. Seeing that, Randou-san was alsoing closer along with Mei-chan in order to hide me from Souma party.

    With this, Souma''s sibling wouldn''t be able to attack me even if I suddenly made a verbal slip. Seriously, could they bring themselves to involve Tendou-kun and Randou-san?

    It''s good to see you two safe too, Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san.

    You too, Momokawa.

    I''m quite surprised to see you survived that spider.

    Randou-san''s girlfriends, Juri-Maribi, were also pleased with our reunion.

    Well, after the event in which I taught them the proper way to fight, I managed to get along with them. They''re reliablerades-in-arms who fought alongside me during the siege of Jira army in the undergroundke.

    Shimokawa-kun and Co seem to be safe and sound too. Were you by chance, in the middle of quarrelling or something?

    Ye-Yeah, and your timely arrival has saved the skin on our necks.

    We''ve been waiting for you, you know!

    Your timing is superb!

    And just like I thought, they, who were quarrelling with Souma party, were running up to me immediately. The Totem Pole Trio revealed a relieved look on their face.

    Wait a minute, howe Yamada-kun fell asleep in this situation? Did he by chance, tire to death? Well, let''s leave him aside for now.

    Mei-chan!

    Are you sure?

    It''s okay. I''m safe now.

    People were gathering around me in the blink of an eye. Mei-chan walked a little away from me after I told her that I was safe now.

    Hime-chan, thank God you''re safe!

    Ah, u-uhm Rather, you''re Futaba-chan, right?

    Now that Mei-chan was freed from her duty as my bodyguard and had nothing to do, she went to greet the Hime-Naka couple.

    Anyhow, Mei-chan was Himeno-san''s true friend, after all. They belonged to the same group of friends and have always been together in ss. And this was a fact that was well known even by me.

    Since they''d been a friend from the very beginning, Mei-chan could easily take them into our group as soon as they met. Let''s make full use of their friendship.

    Uhm, do I look different just because I got a little bit slimmer?

    A little Bit?

    And there you go, Himeno-san was tossing the usual retort to anyone who had yet to see Mei-chan(slim version). Her personality had undergone more earth-shattering changes than her appearance, but since I knew that she was the true friend of Futaba Meiko, I was sure that they would get along just like before.

    Nakajima-kun, you''ve been protecting Hime-chan all along, right? Thank you very much.

    No, I''m just, uhm

    Nakajima-kun, the recipient of words of gratitude from Mei-chan, who had transformed into a bombshell, was truly hrious. <i>Well, I understand what you feel dude.</i>

    But still, I also knew that his line of sight went to and fro Mei-chan''s beautiful face and out of standard bazongaas. No normal man could escape from its deadly temptation, yeah normal man. Well, in my case, I would be ring at them though.

    I''m really d to be able to reunite with everyone safely like this.

    Well then, the ssmates in this ce, everyone but Souma party hade to my side. Naturally, I wouldn''t expect them to trust me as Mei-chan did but This spectacle alone should be enough to make Souma Yuuto understand the situation. <i>The only ones who want to kill me are just you and your little sister.</i>

    Since everyone gathered around me as they gave their greeting, it was enough to make it clear about their rtionship with me. At least, none of them was hostile to me.

    <i> In short, you know what it means to kill me in this ce just because you are upset about Reina''s dead, right? Or, did the siblings have to kill the other ssmates too just to kill me?</i>

    Well, that was a trivial matter. Even if they chose to do thetter, the Souma siblings would be chased out so that they wouldn''t be a hindrance.

    But, there was no way this pair of siblings could do that. I mean, they''re the honourable Hero and Saint after all.

    ss Rep.

    What''s the matter Momokawa-kun?

    After I gained the absolute protection zone called the ssmate barrier, I called out to the ss rep who seemed like she had been waiting for this.

    I ignored the Souma siblings. I mean, trying to make sense of people who seem like they''re about to be consumed by their own rage was a literal waste of time.

    It seems everyone has been transferred to this ce, and both sides don''t seem to be aware of each others situation yet.

    Yeah, it''s just as you said. Himeno-san''s group and Shimokawa-kun''s group just arrived a while ago too.

    Then, I guess other ssmates will join us soon.

    Well, I am not sure about that.

    It was obvious from her expression that ss Rep had already been on the edge with the appearance of the oversized bomb called me who could trigger the Souma siblings to rampage anytime soon.

    She looked anxious, maybe because she had no idea what I was trying to say next. And then, her gaze silently moved toward Mei-chan who stood warily beside me.

    And not just that. Everyone was looking at us- Mei-chan and me who yed the central role in this drama- and understood that Souma''s side was at a numerical disadvantage. One small mistake would cause the overwhelming pressure to explode like a volcanic eruption, which was all clear from the expression of the ss rep.

    I had yet to say anything, other than that threatening remark.

    <i> But, ss Rep, you know right? You know what would happen if you let the Souma siblings act ording to their rage, right?</i>

    Well, everyone seems to have many things to say, but I think we should sit down first and talk to each other with a cool head.

    How dare you to say that so brazenly!

    Sakura shut up!

    ss Rep shouted as her face was drenched in a cold sweat.

    <i> Yeah, good job, ss Rep. Its a good thing you understood your job.</i>

    ===

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 Chapter 184.2 - Gathering 2

    Chapter 184.2 - Gathering 2

    ===

    ss Rep was the one who stopped the Souma siblings. It was the same before, right? To be honest, it was an extremely stressful job, but I had no choice since the person was the best choice we had among the people in this ce.

    Therefore, as someone who understood the situation, ss Rep shouted at Sakura-chan who was too muddleheaded to understand the situation.

    Sakura looked confused at ss Rep''s outburst, I realized that the stupid girl had yet to realize the gravity of the situation.

    Yup, her smart image must be fake. Did she survive this far without even bothering to notice the subtleties in someone else''s face? Just like that fu*king Reina. Well, they''re childhood friends, after all.

    To be honest, this is the first time I am seeing an amazingly clueless person like her.

    That goes for you too, Momokawa-kun, can you be quiet for now!

    Whoops, my bad, ss Rep, I made a slip.

    Ryoko, you''re not going to believe in Momokawa''s story, right?

    Don''t be deluded by his words. Even if we''ve to kill each other, I will never t

    THAT''S ENOUGH! ARE YOU REALLY REARING TO KILL EACH OTHER!?

    Oooh, ss Rep''s pissed off for real!

    Seeing her abandoned her usual cool attitude and shout like a nauseated woman, the Souma siblings- the reason for her rage, and the other ssmates were looking at her with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

    Sorry, I ended up snickering I mean, I, as the main cause of this situation, should feel nervous, and yet, I couldn''t help but feel that the whole situation was way too hrious.

    Thus, I desperately held back myughter while leaving ss Rep to handle the Souma siblings. The stress and pressure that she felt right now might be enough to bore a hole in her stomach, but hang in there Our Mighty ss Rep!

    Oi, enough of this sh*t.

    And the one who raised his voice was none other than Tendou-kun.

    This move waspletely out of my expectation. However, it wasn''t a bad move. I mean, Tendou might have decided to interrupt in the middle-albeit reluctantly- after seeing ss Rep''s disorderly appearance.

    Sakura, you shut up for a little bit. Now is not the time to deal with your hysteria.

    Ryuichi, no way, you too

    I said shut up. I hate doing this to a woman but, you should have already known what I''m going to do next right, Sakura?

    Kuh

    Amazing, as expected of Tendou-kun. He could easily shut down the hysteric woman called Souma Sakura. Maybe she got her ass kicked very badly a long time ago when she angered Tendou-kun. They were childhood friends, that might be the reason why she knew that Tendou-kun wasn''t joking.

    Andstly, Yuuto.

    What''s the matter, Yuuto?

    CLENCH YOUR DAMN TEETH ORAAA!

    Thus, Souma Yuuto was sent flying by Tendou-kun''s straight right along with a "BOOM".

    Well, the delinquent, Tendou-kun''s, the punch had already been strong from the very beginning, but I could only imagine how powerful it had be now that his spec boosted even further after he gained his vocation.

    Souma-kun, who got sent flying like it were a scene from the battle manga, ended up crashing into the woods around the fairy za and stopped moving.

    Wait a minute, did he just Die? Seriously, a hero died in such a pitiful way

    Wha-What''s the meaning of this, Ryuichi

    Ah, he was still alive, huh? Souma Yuuto stood back as if nothing had happened to him.

    Tendou''s enhanced straight had only left a red bruise on Souma Yuuto''s cheek, nothing more than that. Tendou-kun aside, Souma Yuuto''s defence seemed to be on a cheat level too.

    I guess I have no choice but to tell you this. Yuuto, the current you is a pure embarrassment, even I feel embarrassed by your action.

    What the

    The only one who got blood in his head is YOU. And then what? Are you going to go on a rampage now? Sorry, but the current you is simply arrogant. Don''t you feel ashamed as the sessor of Soumas style?

    Kuh I

    At least hear their story first. I''ll let you do as you like after that.

    To be consumed by rage It seems I''m really immature indeed.

    m and cool eh? That kind of style ain''t for me.

    I had no idea what they were talking about, but with this Souma Yuuto''s fighting spirit and killing, intent had abated somewhat.

    The process was different from what I had imagined, but the Souma siblings got persuaded somehow.

    Thanks Ryuichi.

    Ain''t doing this for ya.

    Thus, Tendou-kun, who had finished his job, muttered his usual tsundere line as he came back to my side.

    Momokawa, you don''t need to use such a roundabout way.

    My bad, I''m fully aware of just how weak I am. Perhaps it''s something that you don''t understand, Tendou-kun.

    Weak eh. I wonder whose mouth speaks such a tant lie.

    Tendou-kun didn''t say anything more, he just smiled wryly at my reply. I guess he had no intention to continue the conversation with me.

    Well then, ss Rep It seems we need to prepare a ce for a conference for all of us.

    Yeah, we''ve to know each others situation first. Let''s share information and decide our future course based on that.

    The conference is going to be a peaceful one, right?

    Naturally. We absolutely won''t interrupt the talks. On the other hand, we hope that you do the same thing on your side, Momokawa-kun.

    Maan, Mei-chan might be a Berserker, but she isn''t the kind to rampage for no reason.

    This isn''t a joke, Momokawa-kun. You know whats gonna happen if the current us, who have the power of vocation, fight against each other, right?

    Of all the people gathered here, I''m the one who understands it best. My Weak vocation, Shaman isn''t just for show.

    I can trust you on that, right?

    I swear upon the God of Curse As long as the other party doesn''t start the fight, we won''t do anything either. Something like a nonaggressive defence, right?

    I used that chance to establish my self-defence rule. I mean, a single attack from any of them was enough to critically wound me after all.

    I understand. Let''s know each others weapons first.

    I prefer we keep our abilities a secret though.

    No, I won''t allow an action that will rouse everyone''s suspicion to happen again.

    I said it half-jokingly, but ss Rep was serious.

    In fact, I thought that everybody would have a hard time if the restriction was too stringent. Someone like Tendou-kun definitely wouldn''t participate in this. And Souma Yuuto could easily break through those restrictions when he was enraged.

    Anyhow, it only took a while to arrange the conference ce. I mean, now that many people had gathered in this ce, I''m sure everyone would want to talk with each other.

    Despite our experience in the dungeon, we''re still high school students, after all.

    Well then, let''s start our ss meeting.

    ===

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 Chapter 185.1 - Class Meeting 1

    Chapter 185.1 - ss Meeting 1

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

    ===

    Well then, let''s start our ss meeting.

    Haah?

    The one who raised such a voice was none other than ss Rep herself.

    I mean, a discussion when everyone in the ss is together is called a ss meeting, right?

    Well, that''s correct but

    Though ss Rep wanted to retort, she couldn''t say anything hearing my sound argument; but let''s set that aside for now.

    Then since everyone has gathered here, you shall take a seat for now.

    Why Momokawa is the one in charge of this?

    Randou-san, please stop taking the initiative to push me at this important moment! I mean, the one who took the initiative in conversation often came out ahead of the others. All the more so amongst Japanese who rarely take the initiative.

    If I didn''t take the initiative at this moment with an eloquent speech, I wouldn''t be able to change the atmosphere in this ce into that of a peaceful one back in Japan.

    You''re the one who brought it up.

    Hehe, just like ss Rep.

    <i> I''m quite desperate inside, Randou-san. I''m fully aware that I amcking the capabilities for this.</i>

    In the first ce, the male ss rep of our ss was Higashi-kun. Well, even he was barely qualified as ss rep. As for our female ss rep, Kisaragi-san was way too suited for that position. Maybe ss Rep vocation was most suited for her.

    Yuuto-kun, Sakura, both of you are okay with this, right?

    Yeah. It''ll be much easier if everyone is working together.

    I guess it can''t be helped.

    As expected of the owner of ss Rep(Lol) vocation, her work was quick. Souma Yuuto had to ept this result, albeit reluctantly. And once he made known his stand, the rest would follow him.

    ss meeting huh, Momokawa used yet another strange term again.

    I don''t mind that though. He''ll do a good job for sure.

    Momokawa, our course of action ispletely dependent on you! Please, do your job properly!

    Due to my sudden entry, the Totem Pole Trio''s role was relegated to that of a bystander, after all, the troublesome matter had been dumped on me. Despite them being like that, they''re my important allies in this kind of situation. At least, they''re more indebted to me than Souma''s party, it was literally impossible to get along with Souma''s party.

    You enjoyed my support after experiencing civilized life in the jungle tower, huh.

    Yeah, we will give our full support too.

    Well then, please wake Yamada-kun first, we can''t just leave him behind.

    Oooou.

    Yeah, I really couldn''t left them after all. I''m sure none of the trio would wake Yamada unless I reminded them.

    Don''t worry Hime-chan, everything will be okay as long as we do as Kotaro-kun says.

    Ah, y-yes.

    It''s true, that''s why you mustn''t be a hindrance, okay?

    Mei-chan was sitting beside Mei-chan with a good-natured smile as wemenced the operation to form our faction. Nakajima was also sitting down with her.

    HimeNaka couple didn''t have that much influence in the ss, the evidence being Yamajun''s remark about their vocation. That''s why these two wouldn''t cause trouble during a ss meeting. So, Mei-chan alone was enough to bring them into our faction.

    Do your best, Kotaro-kun.

    Uhm, leave it to me.

    Naturally, everyone was working together to arrange a meeting ce. As long as nothing went wrong, My, I mean our position shouldn''t be any worse but Souma Sakura definitely wouldn''t let that happen.

    I had no idea when Souma Yuuto''s emotions would get out of control again, so I had to prepare for the worst.

    Well then, since everyone is seated, let''s begin.

    The one in charge of the ss meeting is me, the ss rep. And Momokawa as the initiator.

    No oneined about this. ss Rep truly had established her role as the ss rep of ss 2-7.

    It was evident from the fact that Souma party didn''t say anything about her taking that position. And to honour them, I had to act as a proper mediator too.

    In reality, you could say that the ss was currently divided into two factions the Souma faction and the Momokawa faction.

    That was evident from the fact that the seat was separated into two groups while the ss Rep and I stood in front of both of them.

    Strangely enough, everyones seating arrangement was like that of a ssroom instead of a circle.

    The ones who sat in the front row, right in front of ss Rep and me who stood on the podium, were Mei-chan, Randou-san, and Souma siblings. Naturally, Mei-chan and Randou-san were on my side.

    On the second row, from my side was the Totem Pole Trio, while the ones who sat on ss Rep''s side were Natsukawa-san, Takanashi-san, and Kenzaki bit*ch.

    And the third row was, if I was pushed to say, from my side was the HimeNaka couple with Yamada-kun who groaned as he woke up. <i>Good morning, Yamada-kun.</i>

    And sitting on thest row was the neutral party with Tendou-kun sitting on the edge of the fountain and JuriMary waiting upon him.

    <i> Not a bad formation.</i>

    My goal was to gather everyone and make clearing the dungeon amon goal. And naturally, I would make sure that everything was fine by having a proper grasp on the leash. At worst, I would be a member of the Senate to have some control over our decision.

    Seeing that I had incurred the wrath of Souma Yuuto, the only way for me to survive was to provide support for my ssmates. Though Mei-chan was a powerful bodyguard, it wasn''t enough to guarantee our safety since I had no idea when would we return to the survival life of just the two of us.

    I mean, even if we lived a leisurely slow life, THAT pair of WMD of hers constantly excited me.

    My n was to look for a way so that all of us could get out of this dungeon while aiming at the deepest level of the dungeon with everyone, even if it was only one more person. I''ve seen and experienced way too many battle royale among my ssmates. Yeah, only after arriving this far did I realize just how many people had already died at my hands.

    I''ve had enough of that. I mean, it''s not like we had to kill each other until only three of us were left. I had to do this for myself, and everyone who decided to believe me.

    That''s why now was the time. Whether it was due to the fact that we were dancing to the tunes of the mysterious mastermind, or simply because of the whim of god, it was a fact that 18 ssmates had gathered in this ce. We might not get another chance like this. Now was the only chance to band together for amon cause.

    <i>It''s okay, I can do this.</i> The current me would be able to aplish this.

    Now let''s start with introductions.

    Yes, this might be the first time for many of us to meet each other since we''re sent into this dungeon.

    Tell us about your skills and vocation, make it short and simple. Also, mention the strongest monster youve defeated until now. We will start from you, ss Rep.

    Eh?

    Though she seemed like she wanted to retort with something along the lines of "We''re not starting from you!?", I gestured to her to speak while feigning ignorance.

    My vocation is Cyromancer. For now, I can use offensive and defensive spells up to an advanced level.

    OOOOH!

    Some of us raised our voices of admiration, the reason being they were also the owners of sorcerer-type vocation.

    Thest time we did this, ss Rep said that she could only use up to intermediate. It seemed she had yet to be able to use advanced when Mei-chan left with me after Reina''s murder.

    Meaning that she had managed to use advanced spells after Reina''s murder. It seemed she wasn''t lying since it was only avable some time ago.

    As for the strongest monster that Ive defeated until now My apologies, since we''re always ganging on the boss, the strongest monster that Ive defeated by myself is goma.

    That''s like the earliest stage of the dungeon, right?

    Yeah, there were only Futaba-san and the other two at that time.

    How nostalgic, unlike now, that''s the time when you''re being considered as baggage right, Mei-chan?

    Ko-Kotaro-kun! Please don''t talk about that time anymore!?

    Maybe because Mei-chan considered that phase as her dark history, she hurriedly tried to stop me from talking. Well, if we continued as it was, we would eventually reach the part in which she was considered a piece of baggage despite her Knight vocation, whoops better stop now before she chokes me to death with her hug.

    Yeah, anyhow, since a certain Parasite-san can''t solo the boss, the boss has literally been defeated in a party battle.

    Momokawa-kun I wonder what you mean by Parasite.

    Well, ss Rep, who can''t solo the boss, admit that you left all the boss fights to Souma-kun please~.

    Guh Wha-Whatever. The most difficult battle I had participated in might be the one when we fought five Gogmas.

    EEEEEE~H!? Are you referring to the Gogmas in the pyramid who were single-handedly killed by Mei-chan? Are you sure that''s a party battle!?

    Sorry, Momokawa-kun. It seems I can''t cooperate with you anymore.

    Ahahaha, no way, ss Rep, I''m just teasing you.

    Half of that was serious, but seeing that ss Rep was on the verge of crying, I had to make it look like I was teasing her.

    ===

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 Chapter 185.2 - Class Meeting 1

    Chapter 185.2 - ss Meeting 1

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

    ===

    Since that''s the case, what about you, Momokawa-kun?

    Eh, me? Do you really need to ask that question?

    Though ss Rep was looking at me with a cold, piercing gaze that was enough to send a chill down my spine, I let her to do that.

    My vocation is Shaman. It''s an extremely useful vocation that allows me to have a nice andfortable bed, hot bath, and delicious meal in this damned dungeon survival.

    What about yourbat prowess?

    With regard to mybat prowess, since the damage on me will be rebounded back to my attacker due to my passive skill, you can say that mybat prowess is zero when there''s no opponent.

    Hey, have you really defeated a boss by yourself?

    I have. Despite my looks, I''ve plenty of experience in soloing on some stage. Well, it''s not by choice, of course, but It was due to an unpleasant incident which you know of too, right?

    I nced toward that bi*ch, Kenzaki Asuna who averted her gaze. <i>Not even a word of apology from her, eh?</i>

    Momokawa-kun, that topic is a bit

    I know, let''s keep this topic forter.

    Thus, I began the tale of myself soloing a boss.

    I defeated a basilisk-like giant lizard who can spit out deadly poison, the boss in the area filled with a purple swamp.

    Seriously? How did you do that?

    I used up all my courage and wisdom of mankind.

    When I recalled that event now, it really was fiercebat. Rather, I might have really died at that time if not for one of my passive skills, Vessel of Poison.

    That''s a vague way of telling it.

    Shaman has a wide range of skills, after all, there''s more to that story, but it will have to wait untilter. Anyhow, since even I, with myck of offensive power, managed to kill the boss with enough preparations and ns, no one should give up on themselves.

    Simply put, if we''re talking about the strongest opponent I''ve ever faced, it would be Higuchi or Seyram though. The reason I didn''t say anything about that was that those opponents were rted to the people I murdered.

    Well then, next is your turn, Souma-kun.

    Yeah.

    It was a cold reply, but I felt neither anger nor irritation in his voice, his voice was t. I guess he wouldn''t be perturbed by me talking to him after he cooled off.

    My vocation is Hero. I can use both sword and magic along with each skill. My hero-like skill is the sword of light. The strongest foe that I defeated is the Drac-like fe, the boss before this area.

    It seemed that Drac''sbat style resembled Suma-kun''s, he could use both sword and magic. Since he could barely defeat it in a one-on-one battle, Souma-kun was clearly the stronger one.

    Souma-kun had also leveled up properly. Just how powerful had he be right now, I wondered Maybe he would kill me once he knew that Mei-chan could only overwhelm him in a contest of pure strength.

    I guess I had to examine the hero''s power in detail after this to prevent any incident in the future.

    I am next.

    The strongest force on my side that could rival hero Souma was none other than my main attacker, super ace, and my guardian deity, Mei-chan the berserker.

    My vocation is Berserker. I can use weapons, but I''m pretty much useless with regard to magic. And then, uhm, I guess you can say that I''m quite confident about my strength.

    She did a good job exining her power in an obscure way. The person herself seemed to realize that she was a bit more powerful than normal.

    Hey, are you slimming down so much due to the power of your vocation?

    The fearless Randou-san bravely asked the question that everybody had on their minds, but was too scared to ask. In fact, the other girls were also looking intently at Mei-chan the moment Randou-san asked that question.

    However, the pitiful creature called women still can''t escape from two absolute necessities for their beauty namely exercise and dietary restriction even in this world of magic. I was the only one who knew that Mei-chan had been fighting fiercely as the vanguard after she awakened as a berserker and gained that miraculous proportion that was enough to make all gravure models cry tears of blood. Yes, everything was the result of her own efforts.

    Uhm, the reason I changed is, Kotaro-kun.

    Momokawa~, maybe we should talk about thister?

    Randou-san, there''s no such thing as a weight reduction drug.

    And stop making a face as if you have seen the end of the world.

    Let''s keep the matter about the power seed that can help to burn calories a secret for now. I feel bad doing this, but it''s definitely not because I don''t want to see Randou-san lose her weight, okay?

    I''ve defeated various bosses, but the strongest one is definitely that pyramid gogma.

    Hearing that she went as far as consuming Reagent , I knew that it was apletely tumultuous battle. Yeah, I really want to see Mei-chan''s gant figure, after all.

    Nevertheless, it was typical of Mei-chan, I mean back then, she had to fight alongside people she couldn''t trust. I mean, how she had ended up facing two of the five gogmas by herself if werent for the problem with the party? Moreover, the so-called ssmates had never given covering fire for her or healing magic even once during the time she was with them. I seriously wanted to ask what in the hell the other party members did back then.

    Well, it may be because the best situation for them was having Mei-chan get herself killed by one of the monsters they encountered along the way.

    However, I would never let that happen again the moment I hold the right tomand the team.

    Well then, I am next

    I ignored Souma Sakura''s self-introduction while recalling all those bleak events of the past.

    Rather than ignoring her, the real reason was simply that there was no value in hearing that useless information right now. I mean, considering Souma Yuuto''s personality, there was no way he was going let his party members fight properly.

    At most, their skills and equipment were just a little better than thest time I saw them.

    By the way, Souma Sakura didn''t say anything about her omni barrier that could only protect herself, the Oracle Field during her introduction. So she was that kind of person, eh.

    My vocation is Geomancer.

    And just like hero harem''s team, Tendou was the strongest in his yankee team, and the other party member didn''t grow that much during the time we were apart. Seeing that the Randou-san trio along with JuryMarybi were safe and sound, they didn''t seem to encounter any problems along the way. But, they still grew properly even in that state.

    Oi, who wasughing just now? Are you looking down on my earth magic?

    It''s Shimokawa.

    Shimokawa.

    Wa-Wait, You''re mistaken, Im just just curious about Randou''s golden revolver, what the heck is that!?

    Shimokawa-kun wasughing at Randou-san''s Geomancer eh.

    Well, earth magic in many games and mangas was considered a bad or miss vocation, after all, it didn''t have the image of being OP but The same could be said for your Aquamancer though. I mean, the user of water magic was usually attached to the image of a pure MAIN HEROINE.

    I looked at Shimokawa who was trying to avert his gaze in a hurry toward the golden revolver with a pitiful gaze. But well, I''ve been wondering myself what in the heck was that revolver? Was that really a golden gun?

    Well, I''ve be stronger thanks to Momokawa''s advice though.

    You really are not beating around the bush, eh.

    Eh, Momokawa, why does it sound like a g, like something had happened between Randou and you?

    Shamele~ss.

    Kotaro-kun, did something happen between Randou-san and you?

    HIEEE!

    The first thing that came to my mind at that instant was my first kiss with Randou-san.

    It was supposed to be one page of my springtime of youth, but nothing happened after that due to the incident with the arachne. And that fucking arachne was Had now be a vessel for Rem the 2nd.

    Well, the most terrifying thing wasn''t the arachne, it was Mei-chan''s reaction. I mean, what''s with this dead serious look on her face? Look, Shimokawa wasughing as if he was enjoying this situation. That''s why smile, please.

    Well, nothing really happened though

    Futaba, have you kissed Momokawa?

    !!??

    <i> Randou-san, don''t pour fuel into the raging me, please!</i><i>Seriously stop, I mean, it''s not like I''m dating both Randou-san and Mei-chan, and being stamped as trash before I even had a rtionship, so can you please stop making the situation even moreplicated?</i>

    What do you mean?

    E-~h, I mean nothing though?

    Mei-chan was looking at Randou-san, her eyes were serious.

    Wa~h, awesome, so this was the legendary scene of carnage~.

    Kotaro-kun Are you going out with Randou-san?

    Eh, Momokawa has already gone out with Futaba, right?

    And then, now they decided to throw me right into the center of that carnage.

    <i>Girls, what''s the meaning of that question? Could it be that you girls are in love with me?</i> The possibility aside, should I just confess to both of them right here?

    No, wait a minute, think carefully if I confessed to them and it turned out that they did not want to date me, that would crush my heart and sap my willpower to continue the capture of this dungeon.

    Even if that wasn''t the case, I should be very careful when choosing my words. Now, remember, one of my policies, before I left this dungeon, was to get away from a love affair that might prove fatal

    Eh, didn''t Momokawa tell us before that he is going out with Futaba-san?

    <i>Shimokawa, curse you!</i>

    The white lies that I made that day to show off had actually snowballed and be a nuclear bomb at the worst possible timing Seriously, what should I do now

    ===

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

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 Chapter 186.1 - Class Meeting 2

    Chapter 186.1 - ss Meeting 2

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

    ===

    Oi Shimokawa, tell me about that, IN DETAIL.

    Shimokawa-kun who received a cold, piercing gaze from Randou-san had no choice but to continue while making an expression as if he realized that he just stepped on andmine.

    Well, the truth is I heard a while ago that Momokawa has been going out with Futaba-san.

    Your source?

    The person himself. Later on, I heard from Yamada that Momokawa himself proudly imed that his type is a chubby girl.

    Yup, I did say that But it was a necessary lie at that time to deceive Yamada-kun who waspletely infatuated with Reina, I had to proim that proudly to clear the suspicion on me.

    But the fact that I said We''re going out proudly in front of everyone was an act of falsehood. It wouldn''t cause a problem if our conversation back then didn''t spread

    Haah? The heck, that''s a lie though.

    It''s not. I''ve been going out with Kotaro-kun since a while ago.

    Mei-chan!?

    <i>Why are you correcting my lie!?</i>

    <i> What''s the meaning of this? Is this some sort of high-level tactic that is often used by girls? Or else, could it be that Mei-chan is truly Whoops, let''s not get derailed with this off-topic discussion for now. I mean, someone please help me settle this situation!</i>

    As I thought, Momokawa gave Futaba notes on the magic circle before the ssroom transfer.

    Shimokawa-kun be quiet.

    If they really are going out, why haven''t they kissed yet?

    <i>Randou-san, be quiet, please. Why do you keep asking questions that look like you''re trying to provoke Mei-chan? Do you really hate the fact that I''m going out with Mei-chan that much? Is this the so-called jealousy? Please stop giving me hopes and expectations.</i>

    We''ve kissed, you know.

    Lies! If that''s the case, you''d have replied immediately.

    Mei-chan, who was maintaining aposed look on her face since a while ago, had finally furrowed her eyebrows. <i>Oh crap, she is one step away from unleashing her killing intent!</i>

    I did it you know, with Momokawa. We''ve cleared the first base.

    <i>Oh, sh*t I''m screwed up, things will escte into a fight to death if this keeps going on.</i>

    I guess, it was time for me to make a decision.

    Randou-san and Mei-chan, that''s enough.

    I felt an extremely deep trust emanating from Mei-chan. Randou-san on the other hand might''ve had a good impression of me and kissed me before, albeit more like a forced one.

    That''s why I was truly restless right now. I mean, like hell I wouldn''t feel that way. I mean, two girls who are literally right in my strike zone actually have feelings for me. Which man wouldn''t be ted by that?

    Yes, I had made a Falling in love during dungeon capture is a NO vow inside but That was my own selfish decision, after all. It had nothing to do with Mei-chan, Randou-san, and the others.

    I mean, dering that now would be equal to telling everyone that I was a virgin through and through. If possible, I wanted a chance to cross the line too Was what I expected before I realized the bitter reality. Well, this wasn''t something that I could decide by myself.

    But that had to wait until the end. Anyhow, that was something that we had to do after so many ssmates gathered together like this. I mean, what was waiting for us after this was cohabitation.

    What are you talking about, Momokawa? You know that the kiss is real, right?

    Kotaro-kun She must be lying, right?

    Sorry, Mei-chan. Though it''se out of nowhere from Randou-san, the kiss did happen, and the matter of me going out with you was actually me just trying to pretend. Well, that''ll be thest time for the time being. Since I could do that, I hope everyone can do the same.

    I mean, all of them seemed like they enjoyed the scene of me almost getting squashed to death between Mei-chan and Randou-san while munching on sunflower seed. <i>Like hell, I''m going to suffer alone. I''m gonna drag you down with me, Japanese love to share troubles, after all.</i> [TL: NEET doesn''t exist if that''s really the case.]

    That''s why from this point forward I FORBID LOVE RELATIONSHIP!

    I abandoned all hesitation and shouted boldly.

    In fact, it should be decided after a proper discussion but I decided to dere it first since things seem to be getting really dangerous if we keep getting derailed from our topic. That''s why everyone will be banned from having a rtionship from now on.

    O-Oi, what''s the meaning of this, Momokawa!

    Don''t wanna~!

    I refuse!

    <i> Oioioi, this policy works best for you guys, the Totem Pole Trio though. Opposing right on the go is a sign that your train of thought was too shallow. </i>I mean look closely guys, this gathering is literally a harem of the beauties in our ss. Your group is literally excluded from that.

    This is something that I noticed a long time ago, but currently, we''re the only humans in this ce. I want everyone to work together so that all of us can get the hell out of this dungeon. Let me tell you that it''s much better for everyone to follow this policy otherwise Feel free to leave.

    <i> Good, no one is leaving. </i>Since Tendou-kun stayed still, no one made their move.

    When I say "Everyone has to work together", it means that we''re going to start cohabitating, boys and girls will live under the same roof from here onward. That''s why having a rtionship between men and women when we''re in this kind of ce, is akin to holding an oversized, ticking time bomb. For example, whats everyone going to think if Souma-kun was having sex with either Natsukawa-san, Takanashi-san, or Kenzaki-san every single night?

    Oi, Momokawa, you

    I won''t forgive you for insulting my dear big brother, Momokawa.

    I did tell you "IF", right? I mean, that''s literally the easiest example that we can find in this situation, right?

    <i>I DELIBERATELY didn''t include you in that example you know. Incest is a big NO, after all.</i>

    What do you think, ss Rep?

    Though I understand why Momokawa-kun said what he said, emotions aren''t something that we can just suppress.

    Uhm, if ss Rep can regte everyones love rtionship so that there''s no problem during dungeon capture, I don''t mind even if we don''t prohibit love rtionships though.

    Okay, let''s prohibit love rtionships.

    As expected of ss Rep, she skillfully dodged the huge time bomb. She had learned her lesson that she might die from the stress if she went through carelessly with her decrees.

    ss Rep is right, there''s no need to go as far as prohibit someone''s love affair, it''s something that shouldn''t be repressed. Everyone feels the same way, right? Anyhow, what I want from everyone is to control themself, at least until we get out of this fu*king dungeon.

    And by that, I mean they should at least refrain from flirting in public. I mean, that much shouldn''t be a problem, right?

    But even adults have a hard time in this regard since human emotions are ratherplicated, to say nothing about us, high-school students in the peak of our youth. If we really lost all of our self-restraint in this enclosed ce, I guess it wouldn''t take long for things to develop into mid-day orgies or other kinds of scenarios in H-doujin. That''s why we had to set a minimum set ofws.

    With that, I just ask you to not flirt in the public, even if it is just a simple love confession. Those kinds of things can wait until we leave this dungeon.

    I agree with Momokawa.

    Ooh, to think that Souma-kun would be the one to agree first was a surprise.

    Souma-kun must have a hard time in that kind of harem party.

    My bad Momokawa, I am yet to be able to joke around with you. Be serious, please.

    Being red at by beauty was quite mental damage and when a handsome and cool dude did that to me, it felt the same. Honestly, this calm andposed Souma Yuuto was several times scarier than the enraged him.

    Are you sure about this, brother?

    He did say that we''ve to set a minimum amount of rules and regtions since we are going to cohabit. That''s why I agree.

    You''re right but still

    Hey, could it be that the reason Sakura-chan was against the prohibition of love rtionships was that she wanted to cross the line with her big brother?

    Momokawa-kun, I suggest that you don''t say what is on your mind right now.

    Roger that, ss Rep.

    <i> In short, you must''ve arrived at the same conclusion as me right, ss Rep? So you actually don''t trust your best friend in this regard, eh?</i>

    Just as Souma-kun has said, we''ve to set a minimum number of rules and regtions. If some of you are against it, or should I say that some of you have already been a couple, we might be able to talk about this matter together right now, what do you think?

    I said so while scanning all the faces, but no one raised their hand.

    Well, that''s only natural I guess. I mean, the idiotic couple of our ss, Sakurai-kun and Hinagiku-san had already died. Not to mention that fu*king gay pair, SuginoOoyama, had already been put to eternal sleep.

    So the only ones left in this ce were the ones with unrequited love or the ones who had yet to confess their feeling. I might belong to both categories.

    Well then, I guess this means that everyone approves of the love rtionship prohibition rule, ss Rep.

    Yeah, it''s decided then.

    ss Rep noted down our decision with a pen and note that appeared out of nowhere. Man, I guess the title of ss Rep wasn''t just for show.

    That''s why, Mei-chan, Randou-san, please stop quarreling over me for the time being.

    Uhm Understood, Kotaro-kun.

    Muu~h.

    ===

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

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 Chapter 186.2 - Class Meeting 2

    Chapter 186.2 - ss Meeting 2

    Mei-chan replied while hanging her head down in disappointment, Randou-san was puffing her cheeks, and her blockheadedness went full throttle. This could be quite a blow for them, but at least I managed to force them to retreat for now.

    Sa-Safe Had it not been for this ssroom meeting, a greenhorn in romance like me would surely grind to dust in a hell called carnage.

    Well, we''re off topic just now, but let''s continue our self-introduction.

    Well then, the topic had derailed way off the course to the point that everyone had already forgotten about it, but it didn''t really matter since we had just begun the self-introduction. It could take a lot of time, and everyone could be bored if it went on for too long so we had better finish it ASAP.

    Next to be introduced, after Randou-san, was Souma harem. Since I had more or less known most of their abilities, their self-introduction served only as a reminder for me.

    Lets see, my vocation is Thief but, just to be clear, it''s definitely not that kind of bad thief all right!

    Natsukawa-san started her self-introduction while emphasizing the fact that she wasn''t a bad thief.

    Next was Kenzaki Asuna, andstly Takanashi Kotori.

    Just like ss Rep, it seemed their vocations had grown properly. Their magic and martial arts were perfect. An orthodox example of the strongest party.

    Aah, my vocation is Swordsman

    After that, it was the Totempole Trio + Yamada team.

    After our separation, they carried out their life of hunting by mimicking me, even defeating the boss all the way to this ce. They even managed to make smoked meat by themselves. But the meat was half-roasted, you know? I guess they didn''t have enough smoking equipment.

    The biggest downside was the fact that their growth was far behind Souma harem. Each of them could have learnt one or two new skills, but theirbat improvements weren''t that dramatic.

    My vocation is Healer

    The one to give such a nonchnt introduction was Himeno Airi.

    I already knew her from the information that I got from thete Yamajun.

    She might''ve branching ability that came from Kin instead of a vocation.

    Yokomichi had transformed into evil kin who literally ate humans. Not even I wanted to meet that disgusting fe. Kin was a truly dangerous power since there was a high possibility that they might stop being a human and transform into a monster instead.

    Regarding Himeno Airi, I also know about the fact that she was the one who sucked out men''s essence like a subus, but she had been kicked out after Reinas arrival. Considering that fact, her danger level might be lower than that of Yokomichi but Just to be safe, I had to keep her under observation to prevent an undesirable situation. Let''s rope in ss Rep and Mei-chan into this.

    Mine is Magic Swordsman

    And the partner of that subus was none other than Nakajima Haruma. Yamajun had also told me about Nakajima-kun.

    ording to him, the duo was originally a partner, but then he left the party after the Totempole Trio NTRed Himeno-san. Well, since both of them had left by the time I arrived, I missed the big drama.

    Let''s ask the trio about the details of the situation back thenter. Nevertheless, seeing that Himeno-san NTRed so easily, I guess Nakajima-kun''s vocation ain''t that strong but

    Magic Swordsman sounds like the strongest kind of jack of trades master of none''s vocation.

    And ording to Nakajima-kun''s himself, its skillposition was the very definition of a jack of trades master of none.

    He could use both sword and magic. It was a powerful vocation, but both of his abilities were clearlycking any finishing move. By now, he should be able to utilize at least one advanced skill in sword and magic and yet, Nakajima-kun had only managed to reach intermediate.

    It might be useful to solo various small fries but, its downside would be more imminent as he fought against the boss.

    I''m Knight

    I''m Warrior

    JuryMarybi whose turn came after Nakajima-kun seemed like a properly growing vanguard.

    Even though it was Tendou-kun''s one-man team, they went forward with a positive attitude to fight for him, whether it was against small fries or a strong monster. And that experience was the reason they had survived thus far.

    Both seemed to have mastered powerful, advanced-like skills. At least, they''re much better than when they''re scared shi*less when they fought by my side in the undergroundke. Let''s congratte them on bing stronger.

    Ah, about me.

    And thest one was Tendou-kun. His self-introduction was the one I was most curious about.

    My vocation is King. I can use a huge sword and amazing magic. The strongest opponent Ive fought so far is the Living Armor boss.

    He confessed his vocation obediently. Was it because Souma-kun revealed his vocation too?

    <i>I see, King eh. I had thought it would be Demon King.</i> I was slightly disappointed, yet relieved at the same time.

    But Tendou-kun, the most amazing power of your vocation was in fact the perfect bnce of everything pushed to the limit such as a golden magic circle with a function as storage with infinite capacity, or appraisal eyes that could see through my ointment recipe.

    If we include his power to synthesize, King was clearly far more excellent than Hero.

    But Hero had the awakening temte

    Now that everyone has introduced themselves, let''s talk about our current situation.

    Since my group was thest one to arrive, I had no idea why so many people had gathered in this ce.

    But I could faintly guess the current situation.

    Looking at the traces in this za, the hero harem and Tendou Yankee team were most likely the first ones to arrive. And then, both members of the team had no grudge toward each other, not to mention that Souma-kun and Tendou-kun were BFF. There was no reason for them to not cooperate with each other.

    Their team was the strongest dream team of the ss and yet, even they were forced to stay in this area, meaningSomething was preventing them from moving onward.

    As for what that "something" was, let''s listen to them first.

    Regarding that, let me exin.

    All the ssmates who had just arrived, including me, lent our ears to ss Rep.

    And then, I regretted it.

    There''s a super strong boss called Yamata no Orochi. Both our teams tried to defeat it s, we failed.

    Seriously!

    Seriously, super boss right on the go. It was simple, and that''s why it was also the most troublesome one. Rather, it was even more despairing upon knowing that the very same boss defeated SoumaTendou''s tag team

    Wha-What kind of a monster is that Yamata no Orochi?

    It''s a dragon, or maybe a snake with eight heads. The only thing that came out from the giant rocky mountain were its heads, it can fire powerful magic from its mouths, and then, even if we manage to cut down its heads, it gets revived in five minutes. ording to Kotori''s analysis, it''s impossible to stop the regeneration of the eight heads unless we destroy the core located in its real body.

    Eh, what a fu*king cheating monster is that?

    ===

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 Chapter 187.1 - Class Meeting 3

    Chapter 187.1 - ss Meeting 3

    TN: Check out my new project too! The Recement for Suicidal Undead catches up with the raw.

    <strong>TN: Ill take a break from 14/11/2022  20/11/2022 for a one-week family trip, please do understand that this trip has already been nned since august.</strong>

    ===

    Since the first history of the game, Battle against giant monsters is really troublesome in every action game in which a yer is pitted against a monster.

    Though the battle against a giant-sized, building-like monster was the peak of fantasy, in reality, it was nothing more than an umtion of simple jobs such as keep attacking particr points like there was no tomorrow, invoking a special gimmick at the correct timing, etc, etc.

    Naturally, I did have some experience in that kind of battle, but it was nothing more than hailing spamming attacks on a walking giant dragons weak point while scoring critical hits once in a while. Even though it was only an endless repetition of simple attacks, due to the boss off-the-charts physical strength, it took a lot of time for me to finally defeat it. Not to mention that y was going around the fact that the boss would give a rare drop or rare materials

    Did you hear it properly, Momokawa-kun?

    I heard it properly, the size is just bigger than my expectation.

    I was an avid gamer after all. I enjoyed ying games appropriately, at least more than a normal person but less than an addict.

    Thus, I could differentiate between game and reality. I knew just how dangerous the act of subjugating a giant monster in reality was.

    Game was nothing more than a game after all. There wasnt a monster in reality that could be defeated so easily as long as we did this or that.

    Souma-kun, do you think its possible to defeat Yamata no Orochi if every single one of us here works together?

    Impossible. It isnt the kind of opponent that we can defeat with a mere superior number.

    See~.

    If our opponent was arge number of gomas, we could increase the quality of our war potential to mow them down, but the opponent was a giant monster that we had never fought before, thus trying to overwhelm it with mere numbers was a fools errand. It was a monster that could easily crush humans with slight movement.

    Nevertheless, everyone in this ce was a vocation holder. Defeating Yamata no Orochi should be possible with all of us working together. Lets force everyone to grind their power. Useless NEETS should just die like Reina.

    I understand the situation, lets put aside the boss subjugation for now.

    Either way, we had to start by gathering the information about Yamata no Orochi first, subjugating it would have to wait untilter.

    Rather than that, we had to decide upon several policies first.

    Its just as you heard, weve to defeat a powerful boss called Yamata no Orochi to continue to the next area. Thats why everyone here has to work together. Thats why the next thing to do is n the subjugation, step by step.

    As expected of ss Rep, she took the lead without me having to give the clue.

    First is setting the rule for cohabitation, the rule of forbidding love rtionships has already been decided, but we still have many other rules to decide.

    It would take a lot of time to subjugate Yamata no Orochi, including the preparation time. Perhaps not everybody needed that, but my Shaman definitely needed a lot of preparation. I was different from the Hero who would awaken at thest moment and turn the tide of battle.

    Thats why the biggest goal of this ss meeting was to decide on the policy that would facilitate the cohabitation of 18 ssmates from this point on.

    Well, Ive already prepared a draft for tha

    Wait.

    The one who raised his voice was none other than Souma Yuuto.

    Whats the matter, Souma-kun?

    I understand that everybody is going to cohabit for a long time after this, but theres something that weve to decide no matter what Or should I say that weve to judge it.

    Are you talking about the matter with Ayase-san?

    Yes. It includes that matter, but I have some other questions for you, Momokawa

    <i>What sharp eyes!</i> His eyes were filled with an unshakeable sense of justice, as someone who used to do shady things, it hit the sore spot in my heart.

    How many people have you killed until now?

    Jealous of me, eh? Well, Im sure that you havent killed anyone until now.

    I replied with a little hint of sarcasm. Still, was there a need for me to confess the number of my kills?

    Souma-kuns straightforwardness was troublesome at such a time. Now that he had calmed down, his sharp intuition caught the fact that I hadnt only killed Reina, I had also killed other ssmates. Well, I guess I had to tell the truth now.

    Honestly speaking, if he really wanted to condemn me, he could use Reinas murder case. But Souma-kun, who asked about my victim other than Reina, had a good grasp of my weak point.

    Yeah, I already had a previous offence of murder even before Reina. But well, it wasnt like the police were gonna capture me for that, there were no police in this dungeon after all.

    Anyhow, how would everyone feel once they knew that there was a murderer living amongst them? If I were in their position, I wouldnt want to live this close to that person. If we consider human sentiment, the normal punishment would be execution, even the lightest punishment would be something along the lines of banishment.

    What kind of personality that person has or what kind of crime they were burdened with, honestly speaking, we should really start with whether such a person should be allowed to enter themunity.

    But this judgment waspletely unfair to me. It was exactly why I didnt try to mention this matter. I advanced the story with a preamble that everyone would be together but I guess Souma-kun had realized that he would lose the chance to mention Reinas case once this meeting was over. At least, on the surface.

    I half prayed for him to forget about Reinas case till the middle of the meeting but I guess it was in vain. Seeing that Souma-kun mentioned this matter clearly, there was no way for me to ignore this matter anymore. Thats why even though I failed to reach the ideal result, I guess I had to settle for the second-best result.

    Meaning, the first thing I had to do was

    Calm down, Mei-chan. Ill take over from this point onward.

    Uhm.

    Stopping Mei-chan whose killing intent had red from rampaging. The discussion until this point would be for naught if she suddenly jumped out and started killing Souma-kuns harem. This ss meeting had yet to reach the desired result.

    Whats the matter, Momokawa?

    Before I answer your question, let me ask you, is it a crime to kill someone in this dungeon?

    What?!

    Sure, you can condemn me as a murderer. You can even report me to 110 right now with your cell phone. If patrol cars of the police cane to this ce, Ill obediently let them put a handcuff on me.

    Hahaha, thats impossible Momokawa.

    Though he said so with a dry smile on his face, everyone knew such a thing was impossible. I mean, Japan aside, this wasnt even the earth, but the fantasy world of sword and magic.

    Until the policee to arrest me, murder is something irrelevant, right?

    <i>I am Japanese through and through right? The crime of a Japanese should be judged ording to thew of Japan, youre the only one who thinks like that.</i>

    Thats why your question is invalid. Youre free to report me to the police once we return to Japan though, Souma-kun.

    Dont screw with me, Momokawa. Thats not the reason for me to ask you that question.

    Then, borate on your question, please.

    I asked that since I wont be able to work with you as long as you keep secret about Reina and other ssmates that died at your hands.

    So youre telling me not to lie or keep a secret, are you, my boyfriend?

    Your crime of murder has to be clear first before we can start to cohabit.

    Whoops, Souma-kun splendidly dodged my joke. Well, even if I were a girl, someone like Souma-kun would be thest person I wanted as my boyfriend. His stubborn nature was a literal minefield for everyone around him.

    But, I do realize that Souma-kuns opinion in this regard was correct.

    I mean, this was also the chance for me to wash my hands and clear my name. Everybodymits small crimes, but murder is another matter.

    Fine, I will tell you the name of everyone who died in my hand, but on a condition.

    Condition?

    Right now, the crime confession in this ss meeting shall not be questioned any further. In short, including murder.

    DONT JOKE WITH ME!

    Do I look like I am joking, Souma-kun? Why would a criminal want to confess their crime in a situation where theres no amnesty or reduction of penalty?

    Are you trying to escape from your own crime? Do you even have a fragment of justice in your heart?

    Humans dont live with justice, they live because of their desire. Open your eyes and see the reality, Souma-kun.

    THATS BULLSH*T!

    Thats enough, Yuuto-kun, Momokawa-kun.

    Thanks ss Rep, I did believe that youll step in to stop the situation from spiralling out of control.

    My gratitude was replied to with a sharp re from ss Rep. I decided to leave the rest to ss Rep while acting dumb.

    Everyone has their own view in life. Yuuto-kun, you said it yourself that the crimesmitted by everyone until now should be settled at once. Momokawa on the other hand gets zero merits even if he confesses all his crimes.

    In short, this was nothing more than trying to gain an advantage over me. Justice or whatever the reason, ss Rep did a really good job in understanding the situation.

    Anyway, everyone has to work together from now on. While its true that some amongst us havemitted murder, in my honest opinion, we really cannot afford to lose anyone in this ce.

    ===

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 Chapter 187.2 - Class Meeting 3

    Chapter 187.2 - ss Meeting 3

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    ===

    But, ss Rep

    Yuuto-kun, if youre this insistent on the idea, the only ones to be left in this ce will be Sakura and you.

    What are you talking about?

    Firstly, I, who abandoned Futaba-san back then, am also an aplice in the murder. And secondly, think about the reality of this dungeon. This ce isnt so kind as to let everyone leave neat and pretty.

    The Souma siblings who had luckily gotten their hands on Hero and Saint vocation and overwhelmed their foes with absolute power managed to reach this far without having to dirty their hands. Randou-san, Jury and Mary under the patronage of Tendou-kun seemed to be clean too, or should I say that they would have never gotten a chance for that with Tendou-kuns cheat-like power.

    If youre delivering judgment here, everyone in this ce will be punished.

    But isnt it fine if it isnt a crime, at all?

    We do recognize crime in this ce. But it doesnt mean that were willing to receive punishment.

    Once a crime wasmitted, the culprit should be punished as fast as possible. It was the norm, a proper train of thought of a normal human.

    Maybe Souma-kun felt something akin to dissatisfaction upon seeing a death row criminal still alive for decades without receiving their punishment.

    But realistically speaking, the execution of the punishment and the settlement of crime didnt necessarilye as a set. The rtionship between the two parties aside, it would take a really long time. Look, without those, he was literally pushing false charges on me, right?

    Anyhow, ss Reps suggestion was indeed the best choice for both of us. Either way, the crime of killing Reina was discovered, there was no need for me to be thorough about reasoning. It was impossible to say that I wasnt going to kill Reina at this point, the other party was the witness after all.

    I agree with ss Reps opinion. I think everyone should confess to the crime they havemitted before arriving here. And then, the treatment for those crimes should be put on hold.

    Sorry, but I didnt want to be the only ck sheep. Thats why I might as well drag everyone down with me. Even without that, I was also curious about what kind of crime the others hadmitted beforeing to this ce.

    Nevertheless, I think that Tendou-kun might be the one whose killing score mightve surpassed Mei-chan or Me.

    What do you think, Yuuto-kun? The only choice is to confess the crimes or confess nothing.

    I have no other choice, huh.

    In the first ce, no one in this ce has the right to judge others. Lynching is prohibited in Japan, you know.

    In short, since Souma-kun had notmitted any crime, he would be the only one to shout Guilty, guilty due to his sense of justice.

    <i>Now then, Souma-kun, can you still say Criminal must be punished if youre attacked by ssmates and end up killing thetter in retaliation? Or, can you still say those words if I was the one who died at the hands of your little sister, Sakura?</i>

    Though I felt bad for saying this, it was human nature to care for those who are close to them. I would protect Mei-chan from any condemnation resulting in her ughtering the other ssmates, but I would do everything to drive Sakura to death if I found that she had killed people.

    Fine. But everybody must be honest. No lying or hiding anything.

    Ahahaha, even if we dont confess everything, youve no choice but to ept that.

    MOMOKAWA-KUN!

    Whoops, calm down ss Rep. Our coexistence depends on Souma-kun, after all. If he has decided that he wont forgive me, I have no choice but to leave, and when that happens, I doubt that everyone here will choose to stay. Since there is the three people escape rule, a battle royale will eventually break out to decide the spot.

    Youre still using such a threat even at this stage, eh.

    Nope, I am just asking for your resolution. If you forgive me, everyone will cooperate. On the other hand, if you have chosen to persecute me, itll be a battle royale.

    What we decided in this ce wasnt the nature of the offensemitted by the others or my murder case. It was the agreement to not pursue any crime that wasmitted before arriving at this ce until all of us managed to leave this ursed dungeon.

    Without that, once a quarrel broke out due to a trivial matter, everyone would start to me the other for their previous crime. Especially the women, theyre the kind of creatures that love to condemn by bringing past crimes out of nowhere, right?

    All that was needed for the situation to spiral out of control was just a small trigger.

    Like hell I can forgive you for murdering Reina

    I never asked for your forgiveness, I was just asking you to endure it for now.

    Yuuto-kun, please, calm down for now.

    Ive been doing that, ss Rep.

    Unexpectedly, Souma-kun replied calmly. But inwardly, he must be really furious. He might be doing his best to appease his fury with reason for now. It seemed Tendous punch had shown its effect too.

    Momokawa, I cant and will not forgive you. But Ill endure it for now. Thats why Ill cooperate with you to get out of this dungeon. I wont question your crime until all of us have escaped from this ce.

    Thank you for your understanding, Souma-kun. Well, lets not beat around the bush, all right.

    Souma Yuuto, I know that youre an honest fool of a man who would never go back on his own words. Thats why I will bet on your strong sense of justice and agree with you for now.

    But Momokawa, the crime that youmit in the future will be judged. When that happens, Ive no intention to let you off.

    Yeah, we will decide upon the judicial system after the start of cohabitation.

    In the end, this session was only to let bygones be bygones. Anyone whomitted a crime after this wouldnt be able to escape judgment. And with these many people, it was only a matter of time before big trouble emerged. Ah, lets stop thinking about troublesome situations.

    Well then, on to the next topic. After this, we will talk again about all the crimes we havemitted until now. And we mustnt me anyone for that.

    And then, regarding the talk about the crime in this ce, let me add another rule so as to not mention it again in the future Well, something along the lines of not pursuing the crime that is not revealed in this session.

    What do you mean, Momokawa?

    I mean, suppose that someonemits a crime in the future, someone might say something along the lines of Look, he hasmitted the same crime again. right?

    Isnt that only natural, I mean keeping it a secret is even worse.

    We should rify everything, we ought to begin by ceasing to be unreasonable.

    Enough, Momokawa-kun. In short, youre trying to say that even if the crime we confessed to here is forgiven, theres no need to reveal it unless someone asks for it deliberately.

    I mean, the forgiveness was only on the surface. Once it was known that Person A hadmitted a crime without even trying to dig up the reason behind it, the crime would make the other partybel Person A as a horrible person. And a bad rumor would soon propagate.

    Thats why we will get the right to keep silent. On the other hand, we also get the right toin.

    Yeah, thats good enough. People who dont file theirints in this session wont get another chance in the future.

    So if they choose to shut their mouths, they had to shut their mouths forever. Andter, they wouldnt get the chance to file aint once they missed this session.

    Thats why this was the crossroad for the criminal and people who know of the crime to make their choice. This was permitted by me. Either way, it was literally impossible to punish the other in our current situation. The only difference was whether they would disclose the crime or not.

    Haah Ive been wondering just how many crimes you havemitted for you to go this far.

    Well, this is going to be a long story so lets hear it slowly

    ===

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 Chapter 188.1 - Class Meeting 4

    Chapter 188.1 - ss Meeting 4

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    ===

    Well then, lets start the throbbing murder trial. The No. 1 entry was the most notable one, Reina Adelheid Ayase-chans murder case. Im such a kindhearted person for obliging Souma-kuns vehement request.

    But then, thanks to their previous scuffle with Shimokawa and Co right before I came, the matter about Reina falling into illusion and murdering Yamajun was known by them. All that was left for me was to exin the situation chronologically in detail.

    In short, the matter of me killing Ayase-san was a sad ident that happened when I tried to protect myself from her attack.

    .

    My exnation wasprised 70% truth and 30% excuse for self-protection, but I was more interested in how Souma-kun would react. <i>E~h, whats with this silence? Have youe to understand now just how much trouble I went through to cultivate that fu*king NEET?</i>

    As I thought, if shes with me, Reina

    Thats right. Had she met you sooner, Yamajun wouldnt have had to die.

    Souma-kun said that he wouldnt forgive me for his entire life, but it meant that Reinas crime of murdering Yamajun was also his fault.

    How dare you say as if its someone elses matter?

    Now that Souma-kun had calmed down, it was his little sisters turn to bark at me. <i>But of course,e at me, Sakura-chan.</i>

    How cruel of you, Souma-san. I was DIRECTLY involved you know? Thats why I can say it without any guilt. I did everything I could to save Ayase-san. Its purely out of goodwill despite not being under the obligation to do so. Even if we failed to save her, youve no reason to condemn us like that, you should thank us instead for willing to take such trouble.

    We really tried to call Reina to snap out of the illusion in the misty trap area, after all. And the one who refused to face the reality was none other than Reina herself.

    The sacred beast, Souma Yuuto, that materialized due to her insanity was nothing more than the result of Reinas weak heart, she refused to see the reality in spite of her cheat-like power.

    LIES! Arent you just trying to make an excuse for yourself? I know that you wanted to kill Reina from the very beginning.

    Eh, how are you going to prove that then? Do you have some sort of killing intent detector? You must want to judge me, right? Too bad for you, this isnt a trial, what Im telling you is the truth.

    Let alone trying to acknowledge your crime, you are even trying to justify it Shame on you!

    The one who should be ashamed is Souma-san. Dont you understand that your attitude of always trying to find a chance to nitpick with me, marred Souma-kuns efforts of trying toe to terms with me?

    <i>Weve already had a prior agreement. My crime would go unpunished no matter what I said. You cant punish me. Thats why we held this confession meeting so that everyone could confess their crime and the other ssmates would see their story from another angle.</i>

    Tha-Thats Unforgiveable

    Its okay, Souma-san. I dont care even if you cant forgive me, youre free to leave if you really dont want to be together with this murderer.

    Stop right there Momokawa. I understand what youre trying to say, Ill ept your condition. Thats why lets stop talking about this matter now.

    Souma-kun seemingly tried his best to suppress his killing intent. <i>Ooh, that was scary~.</i>

    I wont go overboard as long as you dont do that.

    Yuuto-kun, Sakura, I understand how you feel right now, but youve to ept this situation and shut your mouth.

    Kuh Ive no choice but to ept this situation since both Big Brother and Ryouko are rebutting me about it.

    Sakura had finally backed down too, eh? As expected, after this matter settled in, there was no more reason to refute.

    Well then, lets move on to the next killing tale.

    Sakura red at me, who started speaking again like nothing had happened, with a terrifying look on her face. Perhaps thats how a pious Christian looks at the devil.

    So you killed another person, eh.

    Because not all ssmates were getting along with each other. The reason is the premise- only three people can get out of this dungeon.

    Thats why you might say that this was legitimate self-defence. There was nothing shady about it.

    Who are your other victims?

    Though she looked calm on the outside, there was no way to hide the fear in her voice when she asked this question.

    Sakurai-kun and Sugino-kun.

    Wait, Momokawa-kun. Im the one who killed them.

    <i>Cra~p, Mei-chan, you are such an honest girl. This ce is different, you should keep your good girl cover and let me do all the dirty job. I mean, since were a team, separating the beautiful and the dark side would be more useful in human rtionships.</i>

    What do you mean, Futaba-san?

    No need to be wary, the reason we killed them was that they tried to kill us first. Thats a fact.

    Were the ones who ambushed Sugino, right? Well, I guess that was a trivial matter in this situation.

    Was there no other way? You should have been able to avoid a fight to the death against them if you spoke to the

    That riching from you, the very person who wanted to kill Kotaro-kun without trying to ask for an exnation actually dares to say that.

    A~h, Mei-chan had actually said the thing that I didnt want to say on Souma-kuns face.

    <i> But yeah, youre absolutely right, Mei-chan. You see that Souma-kun, youre basically doing the same as them Went straight to kill me just because you saw me killing Reina. If Mei-chan didnt stop you back then, you wouldve already bisected me.</i>

    In short, youre trying tomit murder too, Souma-kun.

    I just No, youre right.

    Eeeh, Souma-kuns attitude toward Mei-chan was actually differentpared to his attitude toward me. Why did he act so meek in front of her? For arguments sake, Ive even said it was self-defense on top of many other excuses.

    Anyhow, exin the situation in detail.

    The Archer who couldnt ept the fact that his girlfriend had died on him kept attacking us non-stop. On the other hand, the Heavy Warrior killed as a result of protecting Ooyama.

    Both Sugino-kun and Sakurai-kun were extremely tough opponents with a firm belief in themselves.

    Regarding them, even I as their opponent ended up Respecting them for their firm beliefs. Honestly speaking, I rather have them as our allies.

    So thats what happened, huh How should I say, they did go overboard?

    ss Rep, who heard the detailed situation, muttered so with a gloomy look on her face. The others reacted in the same way.

    No oneined since those shes were unavoidable Maybe that wasnt the case for Sakura though.

    Well then, with this we confirm that Sakurai-kun, Hinagiku-san, and Sugino-kun are dead.

    Yeah, this is the evidence.

    HIIII!?

    I lined up three skulls in front of me, ss Rep raised a small scream upon hearing that. <i>Well, was this too much for her to bear?</i>

    Thats why the only one who could ask me a question properly was, yes, Souma-kun.

    Oi Momokawa, dont tell me

    Its just as you guessed. Starting from the right, its Sakurai-kun, Hinagiku-san, and Sugino-kun.

    By the way, how many people understood the reason I only brought their skulls amid the ssmates here I wonder. Even if my shamans instinct was useless for that kind of thing, a useful thing was useful.

    HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THEM EVEN AFTER THEY ARE DEAD!

    Ha~h, will you stop treating me like some sort of psychopath already? Im tired of it, you know.

    Well, anyone who failed to guess the reason why I brought the skull of my victims would surely think something along the lines of Uwaa, this guy is bad news.. Thats why I could only turn a blind eye to such a reaction.

    Ar-Are you using this for some sort of curse too?

    As expected of ss Rep, youre absolutely correct. Its not like I wanted to dishonour them after their deaths, but I have to use everything I can to survive this dungeon.

    Had Ruinhilde-sama given me slightly decent skills, I wouldnt have ended upmitting these kinds of atrocities, you know.

    Nevertheless, beheading them and only taking their skulls is something unforgivable as a human.

    The one who beheaded them was me. If you want toin, say it to me.

    You think theyll forgive you just because its necessary? Treating your ssmates corpses like that is truly befitting of a man-eating fiend.

    To begin with, Ive never asked for forgiveness. Both Kotaro-kun and I will do everything to survive. Weve no luxuries to choose the means. And you who are enjoying the constant protection from Souma-kun have no right to use us.

    WHA, I JUST

    Thats enough, Sakura. No need to continue this empty quarrel.

    Souma-kun stopped the quarrel between Mei-chan and Sakura faster than our reliable ss Rep. He didnt seem topletely agree with Mei-chans view though.

    Momokawa, lets put this matter aside for now since I recognize those skulls as a necessity for your curse. But make sure you give them a proper burialter on after all of us leave this dungeon.

    I cant make you such a promise since theres no way to know whether we are really safe after leaving this dungeon. However, once we arrive at a safe haven or when I feel that theres no need to keep the skulls anymore, Ill arrange a proper burial for them.

    Great, with this Id achieved the goal of being pardoned from killing those two.

    ===

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 Chapter 188.2 - Class Meeting 4

    Chapter 188.2 - ss Meeting 4

    As for the reason I did this, it was to confess the killing that was so far only known to Mei-chan and me with these skulls as evidence.

    Because it was the preparation to let the others know that I had to do this to be able to use the others abilities with the Fools Cane, which was also the biggest contributor to our cohabitation life. We couldnt afford to seal the use of this cane right now.

    But just letting them see these skulls alone was enough to convince them that I had killed them.

    Not to mention that Sage Takanashi Kotori had her own troublesome skill too.

    That girls eyes could be able to see the original owner of the skull. When that happened, everyone would think that I mightve hidden the fact that there were more ssmates murdered by me.

    Since my choice was between being caught red-handed and confessing it myself, I preferred thetter. Even if I had the right to keep my silence, some situations needed me to reveal it myself.

    Moreover, once Souma-kun or Sakura discovered the fact, they would raise another ruckus like a while ago. Sorry, but I wanted to be spared from such trouble.

    Well then, after knowing about such a risk, I intended to make it clear to them first but

    May I have a moment, Momokawa?

    Whats the matter, Shimokawa-kun?

    I replied immediately upon hearing Shimokawa asking in a meek voice.

    Momokawa, therere still other ssmates that died by your hand, right?

    And why are you asking me that question?

    I was different from Mei-chan or Tendou-kun, I couldnt release intimidating pressure and yet, Shimokawa averted his gaze, looking as if he was afraid of me when I asked him back.

    However, he raised his face as if he had made up his mind, all the hesitation and fear had vanished from his face this time.

    Im not Souma, Ive no intention to me you or anything. But if thats true, I want to at least hear about it properly.

    <i>Ooh, what a wonderful sense of camaraderie. Even this guy is blessed with a good friend, huh.</i>

    I see. Well, if you go as far as saying that, I guess Ive no choice. This goes for Ueda-kun and Nakai-kun too, right?

    Yeah, Shimokawa has told us of such possibilities beforehand.

    Were prepared.

    <i>Fine then.</i> Since the Totem Pole Trios opinion was united, Id no choice but to tell them.

    Its just as youve guessed, I killed Higuchi.

    I see Higuchis already

    By the way, how did you notice this fact?

    Theres no way I wont notice it when youre using his butterfly knife so brazenly.

    I guess my guess was wrong. That knife wasnt a mere essory, it was actually Higuchis trademark. Since that butterfly knife was tougher than average, Id been using it as my trump card. It was also the very same knife that allowed me to kill Reina.

    Are you going to resent me for that?

    Nope, I wont do that I mean, he must have tried to kill you for real too.

    <i> What a good friend you are!</i> But the most terrifying thing about Higuchi was the fact that he would attack even his ssmate as long as he considered them an enemy without a shred of hesitation.

    Then, let me hear the reason behind that incident.

    Say Randou-san, youre getting along with Higuchi-kun, right?

    I had arrived at the point where I killed Higuchi when Mei-chan asked that question to Randou-san who was sitting next to her. At a nce, it seemed like she felt nothing when she heard my story, but that made her even more terrifying.

    Well, maybe Randou-san had already prepared and epted the fact that her ssmates could die at any moment in this dungeon. She either had a mind of steel or a few loose screws.

    Well, thats justified I think. Hes the one who was selling quarrels first, after all.

    She replied with a rather stiff voice, it seemed she had raised her vignce toward Mei-chan.

    Mei-chan on the other hand didnt seem to care about Randou-sans opinion, she looked the same as before.

    I thought he was going out with you.

    Eeh, Higuchi and I are impossible~

    The other ssmates thought they were dating though. The delinquent Higuchi and the gal Randou-san were truly a match made in heaven, or so I thought if I had no idea about the truth.

    In fact, they just happened to click with each other and became friends, they definitely had no romantic rtionship.

    Are you going to resent Kotaro-kun for killing Higuchi?

    Higuchi simply reaped what he sowed. I mean, the fact that Momokawa defeated Higuchi is more unbelievable But both he and I had no idea that Momokawa is that powerful.

    Yes, our battle couldnt be described as a mere use of vocations abilities. With the meager strength of Shaman in direct confrontation, I climbed up, bit by bit, and finally killed the hostile ssmate; the reason I won was simply that I used my courage and wisdom.

    Randou-san seemed to understand that fact.

    What? I was just a bit surprised. Do you think youre the only one who knows of Momokawas strength?

    Uhm, its nothing. I guess Randou-san who was saved by Kotaro-kun like me understands that fact too.

    Mei-chan was smiling instead of hiding her expression with a poker face.

    You really have changed, huh. Im not just referring to your appearance, even your personality has changed too.

    Those whose personality doesnt change even after being thrown into this kind of ce are even stranger than me though Or so I want to say, but I guess this change is inevitable since the previous me was way too timid.

    Mei-chan revealed a self-deprecating smile as if to express the fact that she had already bid goodbye to her previous weak and timid self. Inside, Mei-chan had alreadypletely transformed into a different person.

    She was reborn after being awakened as Berserker.

    Arent you scared of us, Randou-san? I mean, both Kotaro-kun and I have already killed our ssmates after all.

    Stop asking that kind of question already, it feels like youre threatening me.

    Ah, my bad, I dont mean to do that.

    I mean, though not as much as Momokawa, Ive experienced various things along the way too. Ive no intention of ming you two like Souma. Hes already strong from the start, after all. Maybe he hasnt experienced as many setbacks as us, right?

    That might be the reason Souma-kun could always gloss over things. Eventually, humans wouldnt understand this feeling unless they experienced it themselves.

    Randou-san, who saw the Souma siblings bombarding every single one of my statements, looked as if she was looking at trash.

    Thank you. Ive been saved time and again by your words.

    Ive never joined Souma harem party, after all. So choosing to believe in Momokawa is just an obvious result.

    Gaining more cooperators was nice, even if it was just one. For me, who was fatallycking in purebat ability, the number of ssmates who stood by my side was equal to my standing. Mei-chan seemed to understand that fact.

    Thats why, even if Randou-san took pride in the fact that she had kissed me, Mei-chan wouldnt involve her personal feelings in this matter.

    Yeah, we can be good friends as long as you trust Kotaro-kun.

    ===

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 Chapter 189.1 - Class Meeting 5

    Chapter 189.1 - ss Meeting 5

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    ===

    Well then, the story of Masaru and me against Higuchi was truly thest story of a ssmate who died in my hand.

    Who else has killed their ssmate?

    The air plunged into an eerie silence when I asked in a carefree voice. Eh, could it be that aside from Mei-chan and me, everyone else was a virgin who had never killed anyone all the way to this ce?

    <i> Like hell Im gonna believe that</i>

    Humph, does that mean no one really killed their ssmate beforeing here? It wont be toote to confess right now, this is your only chance.

    Why are you looking at me, Momokawa-kun?

    Well, its nothing ss Rep, I guess the next topic after the murder is attempted murder you know. Do you think theint that you will hear after the confession will be differentpared to murder?

    Haah You should have told me about this before, but it doesnt really matter I guess, not that it makes any difference Minami!

    Hyai!?

    Natsukawa-san, the evil Thief suddenly shrieked when she was called by ss Rep.

    Natsukawa-san, who had shown no interest in this topic up until now, looked like she had no idea why her name was suddenly called out of nowhere.

    Ive told you about this before, but let me tell you again, Minami and I abandoned the wounded Futaba-san to die before she was saved by Momokawa-kun.

    Uuh Ple-Please, forgive me for that

    Well, I dont care about that anymore though.

    Mei-chan didnt seem to care about that particr event, but still, this wasnt a matter of their crime being forgiven or not, it was to rify the motive and give the full picture of that event. It was something that everyone in this ce had to know.

    What do you think, anyment from you, Souma-kun?

    Why are you asking me?

    Naturally, arent you curious about the crimemitted by your COMRADE?

    <i> I have been med so thoroughly for my crime by you, after all.</i>

    Ive nothing to say. Even if I said something, it would only look like Im trying to gloss over the matter.

    Eh, how unusual. I mean after you say that you wont forgive me, you say nothing after hearing that ss Rep and Natsukawa-san left Mei-chan to die from her injury, how selfish of you!

    Who said that?

    You said that to me thou~gh.

    Shut up. Either way, the crime confessed here wont be pursued any further, saying something wont change anything.

    Whoops, now my absolutely innocent verdict had backfired on me. As expected, he was sharp when he calmed down.

    Well, even ss Rep was really cornered back then to the point that she had to take the most drastic measure of abandoning her ssmate.

    I feel ashamed of my own ipetency.

    Well, the situation back then was really serious and youd have no choice but to take that extreme measure. I also suffered from the same hardship for a while after I saved Mei-chan back then.

    Ge-Geez, please stop mentioning such an embarrassing period!

    How I missed the time when we ganged up a red dog, just to get experience.

    While immersing ourselves in the nostalgia, since ss Rep had finished her confession with a well-reasoned exnation behind her attempt of abandoning the injured Mei-chan to die, I really hoped that the next one would follow her example.

    Well then, anyone else atte~mpted murder?

    My question was followed by an eerie silence.

    Oh my, even though I could literally pinpoint the very person who tried to kill me, the culprit was actually still unwilling to admit her crime even in this kind of situation.

    Remaining silent doesnt mean no one knows about your crime. What gall you have for keeping your silence even though everyone in this ce already knows of your crime eh Kenzaki-san?

    !!!

    Kenzaki Asunas shoulder twitched upon hearing my question.

    Seeing her looking down with a pale face, it seemed that she was at least aware of her crime eh.

    Asuna, I wont me you for that. You should just confess rather than receive indecentints from Momokawa-kun.

    <i>Hey, what do you mean by unpleasant? Well, I am aware of that side of mine, but my indecent thoughts have always been toward Randou-san and Mei-chan.</i>

    Kuh I-I

    After ss Rep gave her such advice, Kenzaki finally started talking, she looked anguished.

    Kenzaki Asuna pushed me out of the teleportation magic circle right before the transfer, and as a result, I was left alone. To be exact, she tried to kill me for real, theres no way I can ever forgive such a tant act of attempt to murder solely based on her selfish reason, the only way for me to forgive you is for you to kill yourself.

    Momokawa-kun, please at least let her confess!

    I refuse, she doesnt even have the gall to confess her own crime.

    Souma-kun and the member of his harem party might be kind enough to wait for Kenzaki to confess her crime, but did they really think that I, the victim, was kind enough to wait for her? With the way she spoke like a robot, it would take her forever to finish her confession.

    And I was definitely not doing this to harass her either.

    I just wanted to use this chance to let everyone in this ce know the truth. That Kenzaki Asuna was someone who would have attempted to murder for no clear reason. I guess it meant that the same applied to all the members of Souma-kuns harem.

    In fact, I really wanted to hear from your own mouth the reason why you pushed me out of the transfer circle back then.

    I didnt beat around the bush and asked for an exnation for the reason behind that attempt.

    Though I knew that Kenzaki Asuna had always been doubting and hating me to the bone, Ive been wondering why she went as far as dirtying her own hands.

    I could still ept if such a situation happened right after she discovered my mastr*bation session by ident back then. But now that I think about it, the timing of her pushing me out of the transfer circle was after the Hero, Souma-kun saved the day, and right when we were about to be teleported to the next area was too suspicious.

    This is your chance to confess, Kenzaki-san. Why did you try to kill me back then?

    Tha-That, I I dont know.

    Haah?

    Kenzakis answer was the most unexpected answer on the list. As I saw Mei-chan re hatefully as she unleashed her killing intent toward the former more than me, the victim had instead put me at ease.

    <i>Yup, I know that youre really enraged right now but spare her for now at least, Mei-chan.</i>

    Thus, I decided to investigate this matter even further while stopping Mei-chan with a gesture of my hand.

    You said that you, the person herself, have no idea why youmitted such an atrocious act? Can you please stop making such petty excuses?

    Youre mistaken! I, I really cant remember that particr moment Even I, have no idea why I did something like that to you

    <i> Is she putting on an act No, it doesnt seem to be that case.</i>

    Momokawa-kun, Asuna was in a confused state back then. We also cross-examined her back then, but she didnt give a satisfactory answer.

    Humph, so the person herself had never expected that she wouldmit such a crime out of nowhere.

    Hmm, so she gave the same answer as when Soumas side questioned her motive. Even if Kenzaki wasnt thinking when she pushed me out of the transfer circle, her state back then was indeed very strange.

    This meant that what happened to her before that yed the most crucial role. She must have a reason for pushing me out of the transfer circle.

    Well, I guess its not a secret that I really resented Kenzaki-san for pushing me out back then, but dont you think that the timing is a bit too suspicious since it happened right after Souma-kun saved us?

    No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way the people around would let her act go unquestioned after she pushed me out back then. I mean, she didnt think that they would all praise her for excluding me from their party, right?

    I wonder about that. At that time, Asuna was really hostile toward you, after all, she might have unconsciously moved her hands forward upon seeing your defenceless back.

    <i> I see, so it was my fault for letting my guard down.</i>

    Lets reflect on that matter. From now on, I wont enter the teleportation circle unless Im hugged affectionally by Mei-chan. I swear that it isnt because I want to enjoy those supple, massive pair of t*ts.

    So youre trying to say that the timing for her to do that in such a situation is simply too bad huh

    Asuna might have been worried that Futaba-san or the other group might be controlled with Momokawas brainwashing hex.

    E~h, thats just nonsense.

    I also think that you wont go that far, but the possibilities do exist.

    I see, it seems their vignce was more than I expected. Maybe she thought something along the lines of the ero doujin plot such as Ive to do something before this guy brainwashes us!

    Though she seemed to have an abnormal conjecture about me, was she really such a shallow girl who believed such conjectures Without evidence on top of that?

    Uhm Well, lets set that matter aside for now.

    I wanted to ask ss Rep a bit more time to ask more questions to Kenzaki, but any more questions would lead to something outside of the rification of her motive.

    In conclusion, her action back then was strange. But I felt that she wasnt lying about not understanding the reason either. To be honest, I wanted to ask her more about this since it was way too strange.

    By the way, hows the situation after the teleportation back then?

    Honestly I dont want to remember it.

    I mightve killed her if not for ss Reps intervention.

    Thank you for the hard work, ss Rep.

    If you really feel that way, make sure you rein Futaba-san properly, Momokawa-kun.

    Leave it to me, I trust Mei-chan with my life. Even now, she was ready to tear Kenzakis limbs apart as long as I gave her OK sign.

    ===

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 Chapter 189.2 - Class Meeting 5

    Chapter 189.2 - ss Meeting 5

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    ===

    On the other hand, Mei-chan wasnt a machine, she should be able to hold herself back even if I didnt stop her.

    Well, excuses aside, dont youve something to say to me, Kenzaki-san?

    I-I I always feel that youre suspicious, I cant trust you!

    Mei-chan, Kenzaki-san wont feel like apologizing unless I win the duel against her.

    Leave it to me, I shall make her beg for your forgiveness immediately.

    ASUNA! IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER EVEN IF ITS JUST A PRETENSE, YOUVE TO APOLOGIZE IMMEDIATELY!

    M M-My apologies

    Humph, it seems Kenzaki had yet to ovee her trauma toward Mei-chan. Sure enough, justice by violence was the best.

    That should be enough right, Momokawa? Since you wont pursue this matter anymore, Asuna doesnt have to apologize anymore.

    Let me ask you, Souma-kun, who do you prefer between a woman who apologizes insincerely after ying dumb about her own crime and a woman who apologizes wholeheartedly after she has admitted that she was wrong?

    Dont toy with me! Youre not even apologizing at all.

    Naturally, in my case, it was legitimate self-defence.

    But what about Kenzaki Asuna? She might be suspicious of me, but we were still on the same team back then. Even though we still had no idea about the reason behind her doing such a thing, someone who harmed their own ally for self-centred reasons was a criminal.

    Momokawa, you

    Thats enough Yuuto, this is my own doing after all

    Asuna

    <i>Ho-how gant of you, Kenzaki Asuna.</i> I mean, she stopped Souma-kun of her own volition after all.<i> Is your girlish side tickled after seeing him speaking up for you?</i> Honestly speaking, I wanted to ask more about that, but unfortunately, I couldnt do that right now.

    My bad, Momokawa I mean, Im really sorry.

    Making use of the situation to show off her good side before the man she loved, Kenzaki bowed toward me.

    Yup, I cant forgive you, after all. Lets settle this properly after we leave this dungeon, prepare yourself for that moment, Kenzaki.

    MOMOKAWAAA!

    You seem to forget a simple fact, Souma-kun. Apologizing alone wont make her innocent, we decided to postpone the judgment until we leave this dungeon after all.

    Thats enough, Yuuto-kun. The same goes for you, Momokawa-kun.

    ss Rep skillfully intervened to separate us. I wonder how many times she had done this since the start of this ss meeting. It felt like she had be more and more experienced as time passed by.

    Anyway, lets use this murder attempt of Kenzaki Asuna for negotiation materialster. When we truly escaped from this dungeon safely, Ill drag Kenzaki down with me if they tried to judge me.

    By the way, you are also charged with attempt to murder when you tried to kill me in a fit of rage, Souma-kun.

    Oi, in such situation

    Give it up, Yuuto-kun, Ive to say that Momokawa has the right to say that in this case.

    Lets take it as a debt of gratitude this time.

    I understand, thats enough.

    It might look like a small incident, but Souma-kun still tried to kill me when he saw me murder Reina. Ive to gather more negotiation materials since it would give me advantages over the others.

    By the way, that was the attempt to murder that revolved around me. The next one was

    Well then, anyone else wants to file aint

    When I cast a nce, looking for the next person, the one who averted their gaze was Shimokawa. Ueda, who sat beside him, hung his head down, and Nakai was lying down.

    I see, they had already prepared themselves for this.

    Shimokawa-kun.

    YES! IM REALLY SORRY ABOUT THAT! I DID IT ON IMPULSE!

    Ueda-kun.

    IT REALLY WAS AN UNEXPECTED SITUATION BACK THEN! WE REALLY HAD NO INTENTION TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!

    Nakai-kun.

    BUT THE ONE WHO CHOSE TAKANASHI-SAN AS THE TARGET WAS SHIMOKAWA!

    What do you think, Souma-kun?

    I overlooked your action back then, but It seems that was a mistake.

    You three shall be punished with death.

    OIOIOI, WAIT A MINUTE, MOMOKAWA! ARENT YOU THE ONE WHO SAID THAT WE WILL BE FORGIVEN AS LONG AS WE WERE APOLOGIZING ON THIS OCCASION!?

    THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU SAID BEFORE!

    WE DIDNT DO ANYTHING, RI~GHT!?

    "

    "

    <i>Good grief, these guys are noisy!</i> Well, it couldnt be helped, rape was even worse than murder after all.

    My bad, Shimokawa-kun I am really helpless in this case.

    Aint ya giving up way too easily, Momokawa~! Even though we chose to trust you!

    Oops, they were really about to cry when they were exposed to Souma-kuns killing intent.

    On the other hand, the person most affected by this matter, Takanashi-san, didnt even speak a single word from the very beginning. She just went to hug Souma-kun and was sobbing nonstop. It could be because she was really frightened upon recalling that experience.

    Sure enough, it seemed this woman had realized that putting up that damsel in distress act was equal to pressing the switch of the electric chair for the death penalty.

    The anger voltage of Souma-kun, who gently brushed the back of the crying Takanashi-san, slowly rose to a terrifying degree.

    Dammit, things looked really bad right now, the trio might be killed for real if I didnt defend them right away.

    Anyhow, the three have already reflected on their actions, just forgive them already, Takanashi-san.

    Uuh, fueee

    Since you dont say anything, I take that you forgive them.

    Nooo!

    <i>The heck, she faked her cry, huh.</i>

    Well then, do you want to say something?

    I, I cant forgive them They did such a cruel thing Im, really scared

    <i>Uhm, I see.</i> Takanashis brave yet frail act of confession was the textbook example of a girls reaction when attacked by a ruffian. Seeing her current appearance, I got this feeling that everyone would want to be safe andfort her. At the same time, it also made her knight in shining armor want to kill anyone who made such an adorable girl suffer like this.

    But, such an act wouldnt work on me. Honestly, I felt annoyed instead since this kind of act reminded me of that bitch Reina.

    Humph, but, youre captured with Aqua Bind, right? Seeing that youre not injured, theres no need to make a big deal of this matter.

    Su-Such sphemy! Youre the worst!

    Momokawa-kun, I cant help but think that theres something wrong with the way you say it.

    His little sister was faster than Souma-kun to curse me. Even ss Rep was slightly taken aback by my reaction.

    Then, heres a question, what made you want to catch Takanashi-san?

    Thats already decided right!

    Let him say it, what are you going to do to Takanashi-san?

    Tha-That

    <i>No way, you want to rape her.</i>

    Sakura-chan stopped before she said the F word. I mean, it was unbing of a girl to shout RAPE! in the presence of many people. I guess she could still feel ashamed, huh.

    Whether its in the past or present, theres only one thing a man does when he catches a weak woman make her his woman.

    <i>Make her his woman, is it? Thats an ancient way to say rape.</i>

    But I guess I had to raise my opinion about Sakura-chan a bit since her sudden and unique outburst concluded the matter faster than Souma-kun sending the lifeboat.

    Just as expected, Souma Sakura wasnt just your average beautiful girl.

    Nope, youre wrong, Souma Sakura. Ive never thought of such a thing.

    What are you trying to say at this point Are you trying to say another sophism, Momokawa?

    I red back at Sakura with my usual cheekiness who in turn red angrily at me with her almond-shaped eyes.

    That time, the three of them just wanted to take Takanashi-san hostage. They wanted your core and equipment.

    Namely, robbery right in the middle of the day, definitely not rape!

    The Totem Pole Trio were my precious allies, after all. Thats why I would do everything to defend them even if I had to use sophistry as Sakura had said Do forgive me if I failed though.

    ===

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 Chapter 190.1 - Class Meeting 6

    Chapter 190.1 - ss Meeting 6

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    ===

    Good grief, arent you making a big deal of things such as the crisis of chastity when she just caught lightly?

    Thats only natural, right!

    Nope, you girls are the ones who thought that way. In fact, theyre reigning in the top caste of the ss thanks to their beauty.

    Anyhow, Sakuras denial was half-conscious and half an attempt to deny that Totem Pole Trio had no intention to rape her at all.

    But look, theyre not even touching Takanashi-san, right?

    From the oue, then yes. But if they caught Kotori, its easy to imagine what theyre going to do to her.

    Nay, thats just in your imagination.

    Stop trying to defend them! They obviously have such wicked ideas!

    Uhm, I was really troubled right now since she was right, thats why I had no choice but to exchange such sophism But, just a bit more.

    Anyhow, lets try to ask them. Did they really want to rape Takanashi-san?

    Yo-Youre mistaken! Its just as Momokawa said, we only wanted the core!

    Thats right, we did that since we thought that Soumas team has a lot of core!

    The three of us only wanted to escape!

    As expected of the Totem Pole Trio, they caught my hints and used my argument as justification for their attempted crime.

    The three of them are trying their best to survive. I do think that theyre guilty of assaulting their own ssmate, but I dont think theyve to be cornered one-sidedly like this.

    You think were going to trust such lies!

    Since nothing really happened to Takanashi-san, do you really have to go that far with them?

    Just how rotten is your character for you to not even recognize what they did as a crime

    Since youve also gone too far in cornering them, dont you think that youve to do something about your ugly nature who cant trust humanity?

    No doubt about it, sparks were definitely flying between Sakura and me.

    I understand yourint. Lets set aside this matter forter. Either way, its not like we can punish them in this ce.

    Ryoko! Are you going to forgive such tant lies too?

    This is an argument that will never meet a good conclusion. Lets not waste our time in this kind of useless talk that will definitely turn into a quarrel.

    After having resolved the matter of me killing Reina which took so much effort since we wanted to build a strong group, it was only natural for her to prevent the situation from turning toward the worst direction just because of the Totem Pole Trio attempted rape in the past. Me aside, ss Rep surely had a lot of pent-up frustration in her stomach right now.

    Sakura, we have no choice but to keep this matter aside for now. PLEASE understand our current priority.

    I understand But I want safety management to be strengthened.

    Yes, a ban on love rtionships is definitely for that, but weve to decide on the other rules to prevent any trouble.

    Lets discuss that matter after this.

    In addition, there was still some charge that I wanted to make clear.

    For now, since the punishment will be put on hold for now, the Totem Pole Trio slumped on the ground with a look of relief on their faces. <i>You guys are seriously way too unprepared.</i><i>There is a limit to how much I can cover for you guys.</i>

    <i> Now, lets move on to the next topic before Sakura starts bbering some nonsense again.</i>

    Well, anyone else wants to confess their crime? Now is the only chance for you toin.

    Despite my question, seeing that no one reacted, I guessed there really was nothing else. In the first ce, a conflict between a group of ssmates rarely happened when the chance of them meeting each other was pretty low.

    Upon recalling that fact, I realized that I might be the only one with the highest encounter rate with ssmates.

    <i> Anyway, if no one is talking, I guess its up to me. This reminds me that Ive been talking non-stop since a while ago.</i>

    Dont you have anything else to say, Himeno-san?

    Eh!

    Himeno was surprised when I asked her.

    Well, she could be thinking that she would be thest person to be asked. And yet, she looked like she had so much pent-up frustration.

    I heard from Yamajun that you left their group before my arrival.

    Ah, yes, indeed

    <i>Himeno-san, your eyes were swimming around nonstop, you know.</i> Thats only natural since she might be unwilling for her deed of sleeping around with at least five men in the ss to be disclosed on this asion.

    I wouldnt me her for doing that since that was a natural course of action for a woman without a powerful vocation to survive in this dungeon, and the five men werent stupid enough to disclose that fact either. I mean, disclosing that fact would make the six of them the most hated lot in this ce, next to me.

    Well, youre literally abandoned, do you have anyints against the one who abandoned you?

    I No I dont care about such things anymore.

    Himeno-san could weigh the pros and cons. I mean, I was almost convinced that she would say something along the lines of Hey, how dare you abandon me back then! to the Totem Pole Trio and Yamada.

    "

    "

    Well, she mightve realized that it was much better to leave a good impression on Souma-kun or Tendou-kun rather than make a mess of the situation. And she didnt seem to want unwanted attention from other girls too.

    I see, all is well then. Everyone ended up worrying nonstop after your sudden disappearance back then, after all, they feel responsible for that too.

    Look now was the best moment to settle the past grudge.

    Tha-Thats right, we had been always worrying about your safety back then!

    Sorry for not saving you back then, Himeno.

    Were reflecting on our actions back then. We will never do that again.

    The Totem Pole Trio could read the mood and apologise properly. Their decision to make themselves look slightly better was right.

    That goes for you too, Yamada-kun, say something already.

    Ye-Yeah My bad.

    <i>Though you dont seem like you are putting your heart into it, you should at least put some effort into your apology, Yamada-kun.</i>

    My apologies too, I also went too far back then But its okay now, I mean, everyone is regrouped, safe and sound.

    <i> Good job, Himeno-san.</i><i>Even if you feel otherwise, thank you very much for helping me set the mood.</i> Himeno-san, Totem Pole Trio, and Yamada-kun didnt want to talk about their messy rtionship back then.

    "

    "

    Since only the people concerned knew the situation back then, Souma-kun and Co, who had no idea about the situation, were left speechless. But that might be the best oue.

    Dont worry, Himeno-san. Since Ayase-san isnt here anymore, you wont experience the same thing again.

    Tha-Thats right, and thank you, Momokawa-kun.

    <i>Can that Thank you be regarded as Thank you for killing Reina?</i>

    Oi, whats that mean, Momokawa.

    And just as I expected, Souma-kun was the one who reacted first when Reinas name was mentioned. Well, he had no idea what had happened to Reinas party before, after all. This could be the first time he had heard about the situation.

    Its something that happened before I met them. Himeno-san, Shimokawa-kun and Co, and Ayase-san were at one party, but they kicked Himeno-san out since she is a nuisance.

    Lies, as if Reina going to d

    To put it properly, the bully never had the intention to bully her victim.

    Reina never had any ill will toward Himeno-san, nor did she regard her as arade, that bi*ch was simply apathetic.

    What I told Souma-kun was a mix of truth and lies.

    But then, saying that Reina was the bad girl would allow me to have an edge over Souma-kun.

    Well, that is also something that I heard from Yamajun when I met their party after they expelled Himeno-san. I have no idea what really happened since Impletely unrted to this matter. Thats why you should just ask Himeno-san what kind of harassment Ayase-san showered on her.

    Will you hear me, Souma-kun!?

    <i>Ooh, nice assist Himeno-san, keep up the good act of the tragic heroine who got bullied by a viiness called Reina. Go on, Ill be cheering for you.</i>

    No, lets stop that. I doubt that I will be able to suppress my anger when I hear someone speaking ill of Reina.

    For Souma-kun, Ayase-san might be an angelic childhood friend but that doesnt seem to be the case for others. Let me tell you this, she isnt an angel, shes just a mere human. Since shes a human, its only natural for her to do something bad.

    Shut up, I dont want to hear that from you who murdered Reina.

    Were always ready to tell you about how much trouble Ayase-san caused us To the point that we almost died back then.

    I definitely didnt do this to provoke Souma-kuns wrath.

    I just wanted him to know that there was someone else who had a deep grudge toward Reina too.

    He might be able to dismiss my story about Reinas evil deed, but what if there was another person, unrted to my circumstance, who suffered the same hardship as me?

    Will that let him know that Reina was also a bad girl? Or else, Souma-kun, youre already aware of that.

    It might be easier to deny that fact if I, the one who murdered Reina, was the one who said so. However, the same couldnt be said about Himeno-san who had nothing to do with me. For him, Himeno AIri was one of the ssmates he had to protect.

    "

    "

    In short, that would justify my reason to kill Reina. I guess I had to thank Himeno-san for this. Yeah, youre also a splendid victim of Reina A. Ayase. <i>Wanna form a victims association with me?</i>

    Well then, both sides are willing to forgive each other in Himeno-sans case.

    The way you speak makes it look like a shady treaty, but Whatever, fine by me.

    <i>You didnt have to say it, ss Rep, everyone seems to know that was just formality.</i> But, the most important matter was the problem had already Settled at this moment and would never be brought up again until we were out of this dungeon.

    Well then, I guess were about to run out of joke material soon but There must be at least, onestint, right?

    Everyone now raised a ruckus, wondering who I was referring to this time.

    Well, its not like I knew everyones circumstances. Thats why I think its fine to let them keep one or two secrets. However, those were trivial matterspared to murder.

    Thats why even though I really didnt want to touch this topic, I couldnt bring myself to let go of this case.

    Tendou-kun, whose skull is this Summoner?

    The one that I took out this time was the first skull to decorate the Fools Cane, Summoners Skull.

    Honestly speaking, I had nothing but heartfelt gratitude to Tendou-kun who gave me this skull, but that matter was different from this. Id to disclose this matter before it became huge troubleter.

    And most of all, it would act as a deterrent to Souma Yuuto, namely letting him know that his best friend had alsomitted a murder like me.

    Oh, thats Azumas skull.

    Tendou-kun nonchnt reply was honestly a letdown.

    Ryuuichi You, really

    The heck yer talking about, Yuuto. He sold a quarrel, I bought it, thats my principle. Selling a quarrel in this ce isnt the same as brawling against those thugs in the city.

    Yeah, Tendou-kun was Tendou-kun, after all. Trapped in this cursed ce called a dungeon, gained power that allowed us to kill a human so easily called vocation, a quarrel wouldnt just end as a simple brawl.

    At this point, were back to survival of the fittest, strong preyed on the weak.

    That Summoner, Azuma-kun, is he strong?

    Well, he had a huge dragon that can breathe fire. That guy was bad news.

    Eh, that smander was Azuma-kuns pet!?

    He might have gotten lucky. Appearance-wise, that dragon seemed like an old one and about to die at any moment.

    I see So thats why Azuma managed to tame it despite just receiving his vocation.

    Moreover, even if it was an old one, it was still a smander. Rather, being able to tame it in a single try Wasnt there a huge gap of ability between him and me who could only tame tree sparrows?

    Yup, Summoner was a cheat-like vocation, after all.

    ===

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 Chapter 190.2 - Class Meeting 6

    Chapter 190.2 - ss Meeting 6

    Ryuuichi, you should be able to finish the fight without killing him right, why didnt you do that? Murder isnt something that you can undo

    Oioi, stop spouting such nonsense. That guy wants to bake me alive.

    Tendou-kun replied to Souma-kuns outburst looking fed up.

    So then, are you not feeling anything at all? Not even a regret!?

    Yuuto, you shouldve long since realized it. We gained unimaginable power after we came to this ce. and literally, nothing to stop us from using those powers to our hearts content. We can literally abuse our powers as much as we want. In that kind of situation, its a literal Kill or killed situation.

    HOW CAN YOU ACCEPT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! WERE

    Hah, thats riching from someone who tried to kill Momokawa without any exnation.

    Thats Yeah, youre right but still

    In short, the strong survive. Thats the end of the story.

    BUT!

    But since strength isnt everything, here we are.

    Survival of the fittest wasnt just for a monster or wild animal, we humans also experienced the baptism of the wild.

    Enough of this, no need to continue this useless topic. Lets discuss our cooperation after this.

    Well, lets do our best. At least, make sure that you do not be a hindrance.

    But then, Tendou-kun seemed to be unwilling to cooperate with the rest of us. However, this was actually his own way of saying that he was willing to cooperate with us.

    Maybe, the male ss rep, Azuma-kun ended up fighting against Tendou-kun-and got his ass kicked- after he forced Tendou-kun to cooperate with him.

    Momokawa, do you think youve the qualification to say that?

    Naturally! Ive killed most people so far. Thats why spare me from the trouble, please.

    I cant forgive nor trust you. But Ive no intention to let anyone die. And Momokawa, youre one of them.

    Thanks Souma-kun, we can work in peace as long as you feel that way.

    Well then, I guess thats all we had to say about this dangerous, untouchable incident.

    Except for Himeno-sans case, everything else was only for the sake of venting without any kind of punishment, at least till we managed to get out of this god-forsaken dungeon.

    In short, now we could all finally face each other without any kind of resentment from the past. Even if it was a mere pretense.

    Since theres no more case, thats all for this session I guess. All the crimes mentioned in this session shall not be brought up again until weve escaped from this dungeon. Some of you might still have a grudge over it, but I hope you can put that grudge aside since weve got to work together from now on.

    ss Rep said to everyone. However, no one objected.

    Well then, uhm, we have a lot of topics to talk about, the first one being  summarise which ssmates survived and which ones did not.

    Youre right, weve to start from there for now.

    Thus, ss Rep made a list of the names of the students in sses 2-7 as followed below:

    . Azuma Shinichi Summoner Dead

    . Itou Seiji ThiefDead

    . Ueda Youhei Swordsman

    . Ooyama Daisuke Pyromancer MIA

    . Kousaka Hiroshi Knight Dead

    . Saito Masaru Warrior Dead

    . Sakurai Touya Archer Dead

    . Satou Yuuya Unknown

    . Shimokawa Junnosuke Aquamancer

    . Sugino Takashi Heavy Warrior Dead

    . Souma Yuuto Hero

    . Takashima Yuuda Dead

    . Tendou Ryuuichi King

    . Nakai Shouta Warrior

    . Nakajima Haruma Magic Swordsman

    . Hayama Relight Unknown

    . Higuchi Kyouya Thief Dead

    . Hirano Kouhei Swordsman Dead

    . Momokawa Kotaro Shaman

    . Yamakawa Junichiro Healer Dead

    . Yamada Genki Heavy Warrior

    . Yokomichi Hajime Cannibalizer Fugitive *

    [*TN: Theres no mistake in the number, and the author has confirmed this was the way his high school used it for the girls roll call.]

    . Reina Adelheid Ayase Spiritualist Dead

    . Iijima Mayumi Unknown

    . Kitaooji Rurika Unknown

    . Kizaki Akane Unknown

    . Kisaragi Ryouko Cyromancer

    . Kenzaki Asuna Twin-Swordsman

    . Satou Aya Archer Dead

    . Shinohara Emi Unknown

    "

    "

    . Souma Sakura Saint

    . Takanashi Kotori Sage

    . Nagae Yukiko Cyromancer Dead

    . Natsukawa Minami Thief

    . Nishiyama Minori Aeromancer Dead

    . Nonomiya Julia Knight

    . Hinagiku Saya Shaman Dead

    . Himeno Airi Healer

    . Futaba Meiko Berserker

    . Yoshizaki Maria Warrior

    . Randou Kyouko Geomancer

    Amongst the 41 students listed above, 15 were confirmed dead, 6 were missing they were either dead or had yet to reach this gathering area, 1 was alive but not with us right now, and another was the monster that I really wanted to kill from the bottom of my heart, andstly were the 18 of us who were gathered here.

    "

    "

    [TN: Theres no mistake in the number, and the author has confirmed this was the way his high school used it for the girls roll call.]

    Upon a closer look, a lot of our ssmates died.

    If we include the missing ones, there are more than half of them.

    Maybe, the missing people had already died.

    The fact that so many people had gathered at once in this ce was by no means a coincidence. Thus, it could be concluded that the rest had died or couldnt make it to this ce for some reason.

    Does that mean no one new is going toe after this?

    Probably not. Ah, but, if Yokomichi really dide, weve to kill him for sure.

    Randou-san and Co had told me about Yokomichis Cannibalizer.

    I mean, I would have never expected him to appear right after I got kidnapped by Arachne. Tendou-kun didnt kill him for some reason back then.

    That guy was no longer a human. Maybe because of hisck of hesitation tomit murder from the point when he saw humans as food, I had alreadybeled him as a dangerous monster.

    Even Souma-kun showed no objection to subjugating Yokomichi since thetter had already attacked Sakura and Co. Now that all of our opinions had united like this, there wouldnt be a problem even if Yokomichi suddenly appeared.

    But then, our biggest trouble was, of course, the Yamata no Orochi.

    Well then, shall we go to see that Yamata no Orochi?

    Eh, now? There are still a lot of things to decide in the ss meeting.

    Right now, our top priority is the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi. So, our next movepletely depends on the subjugation method.

    I couldnt see Yamata no Orochi as a simple giant monster that we could beat by charging recklessly. We mightve to raise our level to some extent. It was a long and tedious preparation in order to be able to subjugate Yamata no Orochi with enough safety margin Or at least find out the minimum amount of strength we needed to subjugate Yamata no Orochi.

    In order to achieve that, we needed to live an organizedmunal life for some time while assigning everyone their roles and jobs toplete the preparation for Yamato no Orochis subjugation.

    I had yet to see this so-called strongest boss, Yamato no Orochi. I wanted to assess it with my own eyes for now.

    Yeah, youre right. Okay, lets go.

    With ss Reps permission, all of us went to see Yamata no Orochi.

    ===

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 Chapter 191.1 - Strategic Meeting For Yamata No Orochi Subjugation

    Chapter 191.1 - Strategic Meeting For Yamata No Orochi Subjugation

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    ===

    DA-DAMMIIIIIIIIT!

    I shouted on the top of my lungs as Mei-chan carried me like a piece of luggage as we escaped from Yamato No Orochi.

    Two hours ago

    We set out from the fairy za to confirm that Yamata No Orochi really had to be defeated by all of us.

    After walking for around one hour in the dry wastnd, we arrived at a giant valley. Thereon, we walked another hour to arrive at Yamata No Orochis nest.

    Since we were only here for observation, we would not force ourselves to beat that guy. Or so it was supposed to be, but it turned out there was a horde of gargoyles in the mountain in addition to the kaiju-sized boss monster, Yamata No Orochi. It was by no means a ce for carefree observation.

    Thus, I entrusted themand to Souma-kun who had the experience to fight this guy and started the attack after a simple role-sharing.

    The vanguard who fought directly against Yamata No Orochis head was ced in the most precarious situation. Therefore, Souma-kuns turn came first followed by Tendou-kun. And now, the berserker, Mei-chan was added as the third force.

    The Hero Souma Yuuto, the KingTendou Ryuuichi, and the Berserker Futaba Meiko. There was no doubt that they were the top three in terms ofbat prowess in sses 2-7. I expected those three to be able to corner Yamata No Orochi and yet Yamata No Orochi had proven itself as an extremely powerful monster.

    Even thebined force of the three had reached the limit with the prolonged battle as they started to lose their stamina.

    And just as Souma-kun had said during the meeting, trying to defeat this guy with brute force was impossible.

    I mean, trying to aplish that through a rain of me, thunder, and beam-like breath was just impossible. <i>Oi, when were you nning to tell us about this fu*king breath attack, dammit!</i>

    As we run with our tails tucked between our legs apanied by a series of giant explosions behind, Mei-chan lifted me up and carried me till we were back at the valley.

    Maaaan, its a miracle that no one died in that brutal fight.

    Now you understand just how dangerous Yamata No Orochi is right, Momokawa-kun?

    Everyone dragged their feet as we returned to the fairy za. For now, we had confirmed that all 18 of us were safe. However, even though it was supposed to be simple scouting, the level was dangerous to the point that it wasnt strange for any of us to die in that kind of situation.

    I guess we had to be extremely prepared to subjugate it with utmost safety measures.

    Yeah, I think everyone has understood the severity of the situation too.

    Yeah, no matter how much I thought about it, this was clearly an impossible challenge.

    Generally speaking, when ying a game with such a fu*king gargantuan monster, it had weaker strengths topensate for its size, and yet, all of that monsters stats had been maxed. If this was a real game, Yamata No Orochi would be an undefeated boss that was doomed to be scrapped.

    Rather, wasnt this guy a literal raid boss?

    Anyhow, defeating that fe with a frontal attack is impossible.

    Even the trio, the strongest of sses 2-7, ended up in that state. Yeah, defeating all its eight heads and entering its body to destroy its core hidden deep in that rocky mountain from the front was impossible. I mean, that would be too difficult a job for our strongest trio.

    The crucial part of the n is how much we can reduce the trios burden

    Currently, only this strongest trio could fight Yamato No Orochis head from the front. Therefore, the other vanguard such as a swordsman or knight had to be the trios support.

    Those with long-range attacks, otherwise known as spellcasters with attack magic, had to get rid of the gargoyles that impeded the trio, but honestly, their role was still far from satisfying.

    After all, there were 18 of us. We wouldnt be able to subjugate the Raid Boss-Yamata No Orochi without proper ns and preparation.

    So, what are we going to do, Momokawa?

    U~hm, lets see

    Once again, everyone gathered for a ss meeting. I stood in front of everyone along with ss Rep, receiving their undivided attention as I was asked about our n.

    Even though Mei-chan had just fought a formidable boss monster, she looked at me with sparkling eyes as if she believed that I woulde up with the best n to subjugate Yamato No Orochi.

    On the other hand, Souma-kun, who didnt have a speck of trust in me, was eyeing me as if he were testing me.

    Tendou-kun just acted as if this matter wasnt his business like usual, but I knew that his attention would focus on me once I started talking.

    Thus, I felt overwhelming pressure from all 17 of them with various thoughts in their mind.

    Well, their thoughts were trivial matters since I had to do this anyway.

    There are preparations and steps that we have to aplish to subjugate Yamato No Orochi.

    Do you have any n?

    Honestly speaking, its still a draft. But first, weve to decrease the burden of Souma-kun, Tendou-kun, and Mei-chan who act as our main vanguard.

    Yeah, I also think its impossible to defeat it from the front.

    As expected, even Souma-kun wasnt stupid enough to spout nonsense like We just need guts to beat that guy!, we had to calmly analyze its attack patterns.

    To defeat that guy, weve to go into that mountain and destroy that guys core, its main body.

    I mean, that fu*king bas*ard seems to be able to regenerate its head forever if we dont destroy its core. At first, I was skeptical about it, but then I was forced to acknowledge that fact when I saw it with my own eyes.

    In fact, even if the number of its regeneration wasnt infinite, there was no need to confirm it since even one of its heads was enough to give us a really hard time.

    As such, we divide the roles into two one infiltrate the mountain and destroy the core; two, fight the eight heads.

    If even one of those heads wasnt upied, it might go after the one who infiltrated the rocky mountain.

    Even without that, the rocky mountain was the very den of gargoyles, making it even more difficult to search and destroy the core.

    But even the three wont be able to fight all eight heads at once.

    Uhm, the first thing we have to do is find a way to seal the eight heads. Then, we need to find a way to destroy its core. We wont be able to subjugate Yamata No Orochi unless weplete these two steps.

    So, what are we going to do to aplish the two steps?

    Weve to think about that hereon.

    Everyone looked dejected upon hearing my reply. <i>Oi, stop sighing like this is the end of the world.</i>

    <i>You thinking up with perfect subjugation ns against that massive-sized monster is that easy!</i>

    To have a perfect subjugation n, our only recourse is trial and error this method will take a lot of time. In short, we have no choice but to stay for a long time in this ce.

    In short, a cohabitation. We might be lucky enough tond a lucky strike that would instakill Yamata No Orochi, or find a much safer, secret route, which might be as big as an imaginary number.

    In short, weve to secure a safe living ce in this ce before our battle against Yamata No Orochi but then Weve another problem, namely securing food in this wastnd.

    EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?

    The one who raised a shocked scream was none other than Mei-chan.

    Why Futaba-san screamed as if this is the end of the world?

    Souma-kun asked quite naturally upon seeing Mei-chan scream that was loud enough to make everyone flinch away from her. As expected of a handsome guy, he was a natural.

    I mean, that means were going back to the menuprising of only nuts and water again ri~ght.

    The fairy za in this ce was awfully spacious which made me think that it was specially prepared for many people. This size was literally enough for us to have our own private space.

    In that part, there were so many fairy nuts and spacious flower fields. It would be enough if it was just for a short-term living ce.

    But that was a problem. Meat aside, were used to luxurious living since a while ago which even allowed us to enjoy sweets, fruits, or honey. But then, having to go back to a diet that only consisted of walnuts was nothing more than torture. Its like we were already living in heaven, only to drop straight into hell

    Oi, were going to be screwed if theres no meat, right?

    The-Theres gargoyle over there, so we might be able to

    Stop, those fes are clearly inedible.

    It wasnt just Mei-chan, the Totem Pole Trio who had been following my example of wild cooking were clearly troubled by the prospect of returning to the dietposed of only walnuts again. Thats right, like hell we could fight the boss if we didnt eat meat filled with meat broth.

    I think weve to secure food supply as soon as possible.

    Hey, were in the wastnd you know. Everyone who came here from the teleportation circle wont be able to go back.

    Souma-kun was right.

    At least, I knew that we would have a really hard time finding even a single animal in this wastnd. <i>Will we be able to find a jungle or forest if we keep walking? In the first ce, can we reach the limit of this ce on foot?</i>

    No way, even without Yamata no Orochi, were still in huge trouble Wait, could it be that it was checkmated the moment we arrived in this area!?

    Uhm, excuse me

    ===

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 Chapter 191.2 - Strategic Meeting For Yamata No Orochi Subjugation

    Chapter 191.2 - Strategic Meeting For Yamata No Orochi Subjugation

    Just when I was about to arrive at such a terrifying conclusion, a small girl raised her hand, although she seemed timid it felt fake.

    Is something wrong, Kotori?

    The Sage, Takanashi Kotori stood up, seemingly wanting to say something.

    I think, we can go back.

    Is that true, Kotori?

    Yeah, maybe

    Too slow, you should have said it quickly if there was a way to go back. But I wasnt the kind of guy who would snap at such trivial matters. I should leave this matter to ss Rep and Souma-kun to force her to blurt out all the information that she knew.

    We use the transfer circle on the first floor to teleport into another fairy za.

    Seriously!? Then lets do it immediately, our destination would be an uninhabited inds beach.

    HIII!?

    Calm down, Momokawa-kun. Youre scaring Kotori.

    <i> Fu*k off, its much better than Mei-chan literally charging toward her, right?</i>

    Well then, first, lets confirm whether it is really possible to use the transfer circle again as Kotori-san said.

    Thus, they all left the fairy za and went to the first floor immediately.

    This ce was a tower whose structure resembled the jungle tower. I realized this fact when we left to scout Yamata No Orochi. Naturally, this tower was much bigger than the jungle tower. It was no exaggeration to say that it was as big as an office building, but then ss Rep said that there was nothing special about the tower aside from its empty room.

    And naturally, at the entrance was a spacious hall just like in a huge office building.

    It was covered, but there was a circr pattern on the floor, it seems this was the transfer circle that Takanashi-san talking about.

    I see, its written in ancient script, huh.

    Upon a closer look, in that gloomy entrance, amongst the countless letters, I discovered a few that I had learnt before.

    <i> Perhaps she knew the existence of the teleportation circle because she had read this.</i>

    As expected of Sage.Takanashi-san is really reliable at a time like this.

    Ehehe, Im really happy that Souma-kun is praising me!

    Takanashi-san, how many ancient letters can you decipher? Is that a skill name?

    Although I asked that, I didnt give a sh*t about Souma-kun and Takanashi-san who formed their ro-like space behind me.

    Takanashi-san grimaced but still replied albeit reluctantly, perhaps wanting to maintain a good image in front of Souma-kun.

    Kotori has Ancient Language Decoding-Complete But then, it doesnt mean that she can decode everything since there are many parts that she cant understand.

    It should be a better version of Yamajuns Ancient Language Decoding-Beginner. <i>It isnt intermediate, it wasplete eh?</i>

    Could it be that Momokawa-kun can read ancient letters?

    Not at all, I dont have the ancientnguage decoding skill after all.

    I didnt lie.

    However, I had learnt how to read a little from Yamajun.

    The reason I didnt tell her that was simply because I couldnt trust Takanashi Kotori. I swear that this had nothing to do with my grudge when she tried to use me as a meat shield when we got nked by spawn ant back then.

    Takanashi-san was a rare frail girl without directbat skills like Sakura or Kenzaki. Simply put, she couldnt hurt me with strength. But it didnt change the fact that this girl was one of the girls who was head over heels for Souma-kun.

    In short, when push came to shove, she would take Souma-kuns side, and be my enemy.

    Takanashi Kotori was one of the members of Soumas harem; she was my potential enemy. There was no reason to reveal all my skills to her.

    Nevertheless, I didnt lie to her about not having ancientnguage decoding skills, I could only read one part of it thanks to the note left behind by Yamajun. This might be a piece of trivial information, but I should pay attention to this little fact and get used to this lie.

    So, what do you think, Kotori? Can you use teleportation?

    Uhm, lets see The destination is three Uhm, maybe four. And then, we need the core to activate the function.

    ss Rep cautiously asked Takanashi-san who could read the ancient letters. Honestly, I wanted to ask outrightly but left the matter to ss Rep.

    Meaning that theres no problem with teleporting to the other side from here, but can we teleport back to this ce?

    Its okay. It seems that an infinitely formed to-and-fro path can be used when we use this teleportation circle to another ce.

    If that turned out to be a teleportation circle that could only send people out but didnt allow them to return was no different from banishment.

    So, is anyone willing to volunteer?

    That question was followed by a long and awkward silence.

    This reaction was natural since no matter how used to we were to the teleportation circle, the one we used till now was the teleportation circle in the boss room which was automatically invoked by cing the core of the boss. Honestly speaking, I didnt want to trust Takanashi-san only to find myself teleported to an unknown ce.

    Nevertheless, since I knew that there was a sacrifice-type teleportation circle activated by Higuchi, I already knew another teleportation method other than using the boss room. I dont think someone like Takanashi-san would tell all of us about that kind of teleportation circle that she could use to secretly banish someone.

    But humans were creatures that couldnt help worrying about whether the teleportation circle could really send them to the other side and send them back again or not.

    Well then, its your turn, Souma-kun.

    Momokawa, you

    You believe in Takanashi-san, right?

    Naturally, I believe in her, but I get a really bad feeling when such a proposales from you.

    No Souma-kun, you absolutely cant use this teleportation circle![Monotone tsundere]

    Are you screwing with me?

    Tch, I thought he would be a single-minded idiot once I said the opposite. <i>What a heartless man you are, Souma-kun. Limited to me though.</i>

    Okay, everyone~, since our hero over here is getting cold feet and is scared of idental death when trying Takanashi-sans teleportation circle, Ill go in his ce!

    Ko-Kotori, believe in Souma-kun

    Stop it Kotaro-kun, its too dangerous!

    Seeing Souma-kun re at me, Takanashi-san hurriedly sided with Souma-kun. Thereafter, Mei-chan rebuked me while ring at Takanashi-san as if considering the option of killing her. ss Rep who noticed the situation seemed to be trying to find the best solution as fast as possible Ma~n, it was so easy to make a mess of the situation with a single remark when there were so many people.

    Get a grip already Momokawa-kun, and stop looking at the horizon as if you want me to solve this mess by myself!

    I did say that Ill go, but of course, Ill use my offshot, so you can rest assured, Mei-chan.

    I see, well, its not a problem then.

    I mean, I really had no intention of bing the guinea pig for Takanashi transfer magic.

    And in this situation in which I needed a sacrificial pawn, my Twin Shadow could act as my eyes and ears.

    Well then, Souma-kun who got cold feet, youll supply the core needed for transfer.

    Kotori-san, tell us how many cores we need to activate the transfer.

    Hero-sama forcefully ignored me and asked Takanashi-san for the number of cores needed for transfer. <i>Okay, Ill leave the payment to you! </i>

    ===

    Note: Momokawas attention to trivial matter would save his asster.

    ===

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 Chapter 192.1 - Committee Member And Person In Charge I

    Chapter 192.1 - Committee Member And Person In Charge I

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    ===

    In conclusion, the teleportation circle could be activated safely.

    My shadow going back and fro confirmed the safety of the teleportation.

    The destination of the teleportation wasnt the boss room, it was the fairy za. Honestly, that was a relief since if the transfer destination was the boss room, we might bump into the re-popped boss.

    We could go to four ces using the teleportation circle on the first floor of the entrance.

    The first was the beach resort of an unpopted ind in which Mei-chan and I had ended up thest time. The ce in which were raided by the red raptor who became the current Alfa Rem, the ce where we fought against OyaSugibi, in short, the area before this one. Anyway, we decided to call it Resort Area.

    The second was set underground, in a gloomy city of eternal night. We called it The Underworld. Souma-kuns party had captured this area before arriving in the current area.

    The third was a ruined pce area. Mei-chan seemed to have passed by this area when she was still at Souma-kuns party. It was a circr ruin with a beautiful white pce. Tendou-kuns party had cleared this area before arriving at the current one.

    And the fourth was the desert. It was a giant desert with some ruins of the previous civilization. It was the only area that none of us had visited but Considering the previous case, this area must be the area before this one.

    In the end, we cant defeat Yamata no Orochi unless we upgrade our equipment and raise our levels in the area that we visited so far, eh.

    At this point, it became clear that someone was intervening with our progress, but this was useful for the current us.

    In the first ce, we could prepare for the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi as long as we could return to so much area.

    Hereby, the second ss meeting of ss 2-7 begi~ns!

    I quickly dered the start of the second ss meeting.

    Todays topic is deciding the rules of cohabitation and division of roles.

    Thanks to Takanashis transfer magic, this tower could finally function fully as our base of operation, and the headquarter for Yamata no Orochi subjugation squad to make their n.

    Meaning that it was the time to set the rules for the life of cohabitation to prevent the case that had been in ss Reps mind once we started cohabitating.

    Nevertheless, since we had no intention to live our lives in this ce, our life in this ce was literally centered around the preparation for the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi. On the other hand, since we need to live for a long time in this ce, and go about our daily activities, we had so many rules to decide upon and things to do such as assigning the right person for the right job.

    Thanks to the power called vocation, even girls could wander outside without any worries.

    Anyway, since the draft has been made by ss Rep and me, I shall read it for you all.

    After the activation of transfer magic, ss Rep and I made a n after doing a simple survey around the four areas. We had to be clear on this matter since leaving it randomly would only have a detrimental effect on our n.

    Thus, everyone was given a turn to read the note written by ss Rep about the simple rules to follow.

    The content was as below:

    Rule No.1: Abiding by the decision of the ssroom meeting. When someone breaks the rule, or a problem arises, a ssroom meeting will be held to decide the punishment.

    Rule No.2: No romantic rtionships. No love confessions either and other simr activities.

    Rule No.3: No arms inside the school tower. Everyones weapon will be kept inside a dedicated arsenal.

    Rule No.4: Duels are prohibited. There shall be no violence used to solve a problem.

    Rule No.5: No one shall leave the vicinity of the school tower for no reason. In case someone wants to leave, they have to get permission from both ss representatives. They are also to report their n, destination, and reason for leaving.

    Male ss representative: Momokawa Kotaro.

    Female ss representative: Kisaragi Ryouko.

    Chairman of the public moralsmittee: Souma Yuuto.

    Vice chairman of the public moralsmittee: Randou Kyouko.

    Chairman of supportmittee: Souma Sakura.

    Vice chairman of supportmittee: Himeno Airi.

    Chairman of public rtionship: Natsukawa Minami.

    Equipment In Charge: Takanashi Kotori.

    Yamata No Orochi Observation Duty: Momokawa Kotaro.

    Cleaning Duty: Rotation System.

    Laundry Duty: Rotation System

    Meal Duty: Futaba Meiko and a helper decided through the rotation system.

    In-Charge-Of-Tendou-kun: Kisaragi Ryoko.

    Thats the gist of the n.

    This matter of rules and splitting duties resembled the one when we were still in school, or rather, agewise, were still students, so the n was made in the form that was most familiar to us.

    With this, the supervisor in the public moralsmittee, the medic in the health preservationmittee, supply squad in the mealmittee, felt like the wild dungeon survival life that was already in hard mode even in the best situation, had turned into hell mode.

    The reason we implemented this system was to make everyone remember their daily school life even if just a little.

    Its okay, lets just do it in this way said ss Rep despite knowing that the probability of us returning to our original world was zero.

    Well, I who arranged everything along with ss Rep had also be the male ss rep, and even though it was an informal decision, we decided to do this anyway to regain the feelings of our springtime of youth. I, unlike many other male students, was the ss rep. Well, my approach was different from hers after all.

    Anyway, with this decision, I had a clear position both in name and reality in this ss 2-7 in which only 18 were left. Now, I had to pay attention to my approval rate to maintain my current status.

    Regarding the school regtion, we decided to write the bare minimum.

    Basically, every decision had to be made in the ss meeting, hurray for democracy, which included the prohibition of love rtionships, which had already been approved before.

    At first, I felt that we needed to include a minimum amount of moral conduct such as No Murder, No Rape, No Stealing on top of the usual school regtion but,

    Momokawa-kun, we mustnt do that.

    Said ss Rep as she looked at me with a pitiful gaze as if I was a human who couldnt trust another human from the bottom of my heart, thus we scrapped this idea.

    Well, most Japanese with good conscience nowadays avoided those kinds of deeds though. And even if it happened, the decision would be made ording to school regtions, not that I knew which one though. There was no point in deciding such a regtion if we couldnt even prevent it.

    Therefore, to implement No Murder, even if in a small measure, we decided on rule No. 3: No Arms. Rule No.5 was added just to be safe. The most important thing here was Rule No.3 which literally disarmed everyone.

    Even though it was still possible tomit murder with the power of vocation, the existence of a weapon in their hand would make a big difference.

    In this situation, it seemed that no one but me was most suitable for this kind of job. Anyway, it would be enough as long as they had no weapons when they were in the school tower.

    Ah, the so-called school tower was naturally the tower to which we were transferred from the previous area, the location of the transfer magic circle, and the huge fairy za.

    The entire school wasposed of 18 students in ss 2-7. But since there was only us, the students in this ce, and we lived under the same roof, it was enough to call this ce a school.

    "

    "

    I wanted everyone to regain the feeling of when they were still in the school during this cohabitation.

    Thats all, any questions?

    Congrattion on bing ss Rep, Kotarou-kun.

    I refuse to ept such a shrewd person as a ss rep Moreover, why am I not on the public moralsmittee along with my big brother? Randou-san is definitely ill-suited for that position.

    Why am I in the public moralsmittee despite my zero experience in this matte~r? But still, even I will feel offended when you say as if I have a criminal record, Souma Sakura.

    Cuse me~, can you tell me why I am a PRmittee member?

    Kotori is The only one in charge of equipment?

    So youre nning to watch Yamata No Orochi 24/7 eh, Momokawa?

    Oi What in the hell is this In-Charge-Of-Tendou-kun

    ===

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 Chapter 192.2 - Committee Member And Person In Charge I

    Chapter 192.2 - Committee Member And Person In Charge I

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    ===

    Yup, just as I expected, everyone had a lot of questions about personnel cement.

    There, there, calm down first, Ill exin. Ah, ss Rep has already exined to Tendou-kun about this matter. Shes in charge of him, after all.

    Haah, it really cant be helped. The only one who can look after him is me after all.

    Hey, stop with this In Charge joke-like duty.

    Okay,e with me, Ryuichi, Ill exin it to you.

    ss Rep, who dragged Tendou-kun away from the rest of us, looked bright and sunny.

    Yeah, ss Reps raison dtre was to look after Tendou-kun. I mean, she mustve a lot of pent-up frustration due to dealing with so many kinds of troubles, thus I created a chance for her to vent that stress. There was prohibition of love rtionship among our rules, but I was quite sure that nothing was gonna happen between them.

    In a certain meaning, taking care of Tendou-kun was a kind of tranquilizer for ss Rep, but the true goal behind this duty was to secure a special treatment for him.

    The reason for this wasnt really that we wanted to give him special treatment, it was more because Tendou-kun didnt seem to be willing to cooperate even in the current situation. In short, my title as ss rep wasnt enough for me to order him around.

    Though our rules were imperfect, breaking them would only create antipathy. And those rules had the worstpatibility with Tendou-kun, a natural born rogue. Hed abide by it if he felt like it, and vice versa a selfish person through and through.

    In fact, I couldnt imagine Tendou-kun willingly sweeping the floor. Yet, I saw ss Rep forcefully pulling him.

    With the above example, it would be much more efficient to treat the rogue Tendou-kun as an exception from the very beginning. I mean, everyone must have known just how much ss Rep had suffered from nitpicking Tendou-kun every single time.

    Thus, Tendou-kun was allowed to move freely, with ss Rep tagging him along. Naturally, I wanted him to do his best in assisting the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi.

    Well then, take care of Tendou-kun, ss Rep, leave the matter of exining the roles division to me. Also, please stop quarreling for a moment, Randou-san, Sakura.

    Whats with that sudden overly familiar way of calling, add honorific! I dont think Ive ever given you the permission to call me in such familiar way!

    E~h, well, even I unknowingly called you without honorific, you know? Well, that will make us sound closer.

    Dont mess with me. The title ss representative is ill suited to you.

    I agree with you.

    Momokawa, thats enough! I also No, stop this useless quarrel already.

    Ahahaha, look Mei-chan, Souma-kun started retorting as soon as ss Rep isnt around.

    But he has yet to reach ss Reps level of retort.

    Yeah, hecks training.

    Hey, stop talking as if this matter is unrted to you.

    Well, Ive nothing to say since youve already stopped your little sister.

    And who do you think has caused this

    Eh, its you right, Souma? Its because youve someone who easily snaps at the others with a simple provocation. You should do your duty properly as an Onii-chan to keep your troublesome little sister in check you know.

    Whoops, Randou-sans retort was truly ruthless.

    In fact, she was also pissed off by Souma Sakura who kept yapping non-stop. This matter wouldnt be soplicated if only she could be quiet like a good child.

    Her reckless remark had triggered a war of opinion

    I understand, Randou-san. Ill remind her to not make any trouble again.

    Big Brother! Dont listen to this woman!

    Sakura, I wont say that everything is your fault, but everyone in this ce has to work together. You cant always nitpick on everything Thats why I was chosen as the public moralsmittee

    Correct, Souma-kun.

    Its just as he said. You might not trust me, but I trust in your character.

    As much as I hate to say it, Souma Yuuto was truly a man with a strong sense of justice. If we exclude ss Rep, you could say that he was the most suitable person as the chief of public moralsmittee. But then, his inflexible train of thought almost rivalled that of his little sister, Sakura.

    The thing that shook his sense of justice was his hatred toward the killer of his childhood friend, me. On the other hand, my case aside, Souma-kun could be impartial to everyone.

    If possible, I want public moralsmittee to stop incidents like just now. I wont say something as grandiose as maintaining public security, but I want them to be the peacemaker for any kind of quarrel. Thats why both ss Rep and me think that Souma-kun is the most suited person for that.

    So, why must I be the vice chief?

    Well, its to give the most impartial judgement. If Souma Sakura is the vice chief, itll be special police instead of public moralsmittee.

    Youve thought that far huh, Momokawa.

    Whoops, the chief of public moralsmitteee started to enter the fray.

    But well, theres a saying that a fish cant live in extremely clean river, right?

    Well, sure enough Sakura does have an obstinate side to her.

    Yo-You actually agree with him, Big Brother!?

    Wait a minute, this situation Could it be that Sakura-chan had never realized this?

    What Im trying to say is that Souma-kun is the strict police, and Randou-san is the flexible police.

    E~h, nice idea, Momokawa~

    Agreed. And its more reassuring since theres Randou-san from the girls side, right?

    I dont want to be caught by Souma though.

    This is the best mediation n. And when it happens, we will hold another ss meeting.

    In fact, the reason I chose Randou-san as the vice chief of public moralsmittee was for power bnce.

    I, no, I think everyone had at least noticed this fact, that some faction had already been formed in this gathering of 18 students.

    Hero faction centered around Souma Yuutos harem.

    And my mish-mash faction.

    Number-wise, I won, but the Souma-harem party won in terms of solidarity. So it was quantity versus quality.

    If the one I chose as the vice chief of public moralsmittee was someone from the Souma faction, I definitely wouldnt chose Sakura. In short, I favoured those from my side.

    I believed in Souma-kuns personality, but I wouldnt blindly trust it. I mean, he was also a man, Im sure that if something happened to one of his harem, he would prioritize them over making impartial judgement. In fact, it had happened once before, when he didnt pursue Kenzakis murder attempt.

    In that regard, by cing Randou-san, whose judgement wouldnt clouded by Souma harem, both factions could maintain impartial judgement.

    Moreover, if Souma-kun and Randou-san had different opinions, the situation wouldnt spiral down to killing each other. I mean look, if Sakura and I were in charge of public moralsmittee, a little incident would turn into a duel immediately.

    Thats why Ill leave this matter to you, Randou-san.

    Well, I guess it cant be helped since Momokawa said so.

    Thank you, Randou-san.

    She epted her role, albeit reluctantly.

    Well then, best regards, Randou-san.

    Yeah, me too, Souma. And stop acting familiar like that with me, the gazes of your women is scaring me.

    Randou-san rejected the offer for handshake from the ever smiling Souma-kun with a bored look on her face.

    Eh, wha-what do you mean?

    Think of it yourse~lf

    Ooh, here ites, blockhead correction of Souma-kun. Lets keep him as he was for a while. There was a love rtionship prohibition among our rules after all.

    ===

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 Chapter 193.1 - Committee Member And Person In Charge II

    Chapter 193.1 - Committee Member And Person In Charge II

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    ===

    With that, I briefed everybody on their duty,

    Health Preservation CommitteeSince there were two users of healing magic, Sakura and Himeno-san, they would automatically be chosen as chief and deputy. Healing duringbat aside, they were also responsible for sanitation during normal times.

    Uhm, by sanitation, does that mean we are responsible for the management of the toilets too?

    The face of the deputy of the saidmittee, Himeno-san, was literally screamingAre you kidding me!.

    Dont worry, my Witchs Kettle can easily aplish such a feat.

    In fact, I had already confirmed this matter, namely using the witchs kettle as a toilet.

    I mean look, since Ive been living at fairy za for a long time now, it meant that I would have the urge to relieve myself many times too. There was no problem if that urge came during the exploration since we could leave it alone, but it would be big trouble if we were to stay put in one ce.

    And thats where the Witchs Kettle showed its true worth. In short, it could elerate the dposition process of human waste until it would be rid of all stench. So rather than a toilet, it would be closer to thepost maker.

    It was a result of my trial and error since my knowledge of that area was quite vague Until I managed to find a way to quickly dpose waste into the soil with Witch Kettle. Naturally, it was mine and Mei-chans favorite. We couldnt go back to the old way anymore.

    Anyhow, there was no problem even if the toilet was used by eighteen people. I could even make eighteen toilets for personal use, thus making every one of us responsible for our own toilet.

    Ah, so it is like so. Since thats the case, Ive no problem with it.

    Well, no one likes toilet cleaning, after all. Lets not push such jobs to one or two people.

    This trivial matter would gather a lot of antipathy and dissatisfaction. In amunity of just eighteen people, the dissatisfaction of one person was a big deal.

    I knew it was pretty much impossible topletely erase all dissatisfaction, but I tried to give as much consideration as possible.

    Well, thats all for toilet matters. Now, lets move on to the next topic.

    Public Rtion Committee: In short, the one responsible formunication. Natsukawa-san was automatically appointed the chief since she had the most email addresses of our ssmates among the eighteen people in this ce. Even if the smartphone couldnt be used in this dungeon, Thiefs agility was really useful for this position. I definitely wouldnt say that she had natural-born talent for this job.

    In Charge of Equipment: Just as the name suggests, its a job that was literally responsible for everyones equipment and also for the teleportation circle. Currently, the Sage, Takanashi Kotori was the only one who could upgrade our equipment and operate the teleportation circle. Since this was an important job that couldnt be entrusted to others, she was tasked with this job.

    In Charge of Observation of Yamata no OrochiFor the time being, I had the leeway for observation by sharing only my vision with my Twin Shadow which was positioned near Yamata no Orochis nest. At the very least, it was far better than observing those shi*ty gays at the beach resort.

    Cleaning Duty: Everyone cleans in turn. Wasnt that simply a students duty?

    Laundry Duty: Everyone should wash their ownundry, but having someone in charge of this was better due to our limited water supply. Naturally, must be separated by gender.

    Cooking Duty: It is a must to seize everyones stomach. Anyone who dares to object will be punished by going back to the fairy nut diet. Thou shall offer all your food to her. Thou shall be blessed in doing so. But of course, eighteen people at once is still a huge amount of job, thats why shell get an assistant every time she prepares a meal for everyone.

    And that was the general exnation about the division of everyones jobs.

    Generally, those are the jobs for everyone, but there are other jobs that I wanted everyone to know about right now.

    I announced the job assignment first and then pped my hands to regain everyones attention.

    Everyone, were going to hunt together after this.

    The moment I said so

    Haah?

    The one who reacted like that was mostly a Souma-harem member. It seemed like they never went hunting a wild boar until now, thats a city guy for ya.

    Uhm, hunting, is it

    The ones who didnt seem to be confused with my remark were Souma-kun, Nakajima-kun, Jury and Mary.

    Seriously, right now? You really are a ve driver, eh, Momokawa.

    The ones who spat such sarcasm despite the eager look on their faces were the Totem Pole Trio and Yamada. As I expected, they had also tried my survival lifestyle.

    I still have food ingredients, but its far from enough for eighteen people. Thats why I want all of you to hunt a lot of prey since securing food is our current top priority.

    Well, that might solve the problem of our food but

    Souma-kun agreed immediately since he also realized that I was right.

    The first thing weve to do is make sure that theres no problem with our daily life in this ce, prepare our equipment, and raise our level. We can forget about Yamata no Orochi until we be strong enough.

    That fe might be a raid boss, but we did not have a time constraint to defeat that guy. Whats more, he would stay in his nest forever even if we didnt defeat him.

    Oi Momokawa, are you referring to wild boar?

    Therere a lot more edible monsters in the beach resort area other than wild boar, so we can literally hunt a lot of them.

    Though it tended to escape due to its cautious nature, the safest one to hunt was the herbivore Jaaja which was rmended by the email too.

    The second in the rmendation list was a ferocious monster that had an edible meat, bird-type monster, Kokko.

    However, since we had Souma-kun, we might be able to up our ante and hunt roirops and minogori too.

    ===

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 Chapter 193.2 - Committee Member And Person In Charge II

    Chapter 193.2 - Committee Member And Person In Charge II

    TN: <strong>NEW PROJECT!</strong>

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    ===

    Though one might call this persecutionplex I never wanted to entrust my back to the members of the Souma faction again, ever.

    From what I had seen so far, Takanashi Kotori emanated the same vibe as that bitch Reina, and though I felt it was natural for a girl to be purely scared, the fact that I had no idea what she was thinking about made me realize that she hated me so much, enough to kill me.

    In fact, I was unwilling to give her an important position such as the one in charge of our armament, our literal lifeline during the battle, but I had no choice since her vocation,Sage, was the only vocation to allow that. It was impossible to swap her with another person.

    Thats why I had to use her, but I would never let my guard down.

    Well then, good luck everyo~ne.

    I sent off everyone onto their respective hunting ground as they were wrapped in the light of the teleportation circle while brooding over the problem with Takanashi Kotori.

    With that, there were only me, Mei-chan, Randou-san, ss Rep, Tendou-kun, and the operator of the teleportation circle, Takanashi Kotori.

    ss Rep couldnt afford to leave since she was in charge of Tendou-kun, we had to work together to prepare suitable living space in this tower.

    What are you going to do after this, Tendou-kun? Are you going to take a nap?

    Im not a NEET.

    Tendou-kun, who got a mouthful of information from the person in charge of him only a while ago, replied quite frankly without beating around the bush with a tired look on his face.

    Im going to visit that shitty snakes nest.

    Then, take me and Randou-san along with you.

    Eh, me too!?

    From the look on her face, she was obviously reluctant to walk for another two hours. Well, the matter of assigning her the job to make the base for Witchs Kettle aside, I actually had a main job for her

    BUHAA!

    Momokawa~, I dont want to walk that far agai~n.

    Randou-san suddenly ambushed me from behind, ying with my cheeks.

    A~h geez, let me go!

    Meanie~

    Cant be helped then, ride on Alfas back with me.

    Whats that?

    I mean that.

    Kuaa!

    I pointed at Alfa who responded with a roar.

    Riding On that?!

    Its a new car that I obtained by betting on my life after all. Worry not, the inside is Rem.

    I see~, Rem-chins new form eh.

    I was really grateful for times like this since she already knew about Rem.<i> Rather, whats with that adorable name, Randou-san?</i>

    Well then, Im going first~

    Ah, wait a minute Tendou-kun! Well go after Randou-san makes the kettle.

    The heck is that?

    Its a kettle.

    Meanwhile, Tendou-kun, you can ask Takanashi-san to make a copy of yourst cigarette.

    Almost forgot about that.

    Great, thatll be enough to keep him in this ce!

    Can you do that, Takanashi?

    Hiiii!?

    Ryuuichi, you still have a leeway to smoke in this kind of situation?

    Let it go already, Ryoko. Rules like that only work in the school

    <i>Good job, in charge of Tendou-kun. Do your best to keep him busy with the usual lovers quarrel.</i>

    Well, lets finish making Witchs Kettle ASAP.

    Just look, I mean, Randou-san seemed to doubt the might of the kettle too. With her power as a geomancer, we could easily manufacture kettle of any size and kind. And, it was included in my n to defeat Yamato No Orochi.

    ===

    TN: Why dont he make a giant kettle and cook Yamata no Orochi inside?

    ===

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 Chapter 194.1 - Public Service

    Chapter 194.1 - Public Service

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    ===

    I was really surprised to see Randou-san finish the base for Witchs Kettle in a sh. I mean it was much faster than before.

    When she invoked Terra Shield with the golden revolver she got from Tendou-kun, making the kettle-shaped shield was a breeze for her. Not to mention that she could freely alter its shape and size. But of course, she still had to use the intermediate rank spell, Terra Alma Shield(Huge Rock Shield) to make arge public bath.

    And it took quite a while too.

    But then, she learnt the intermediate defensive spells. I had heard about this matter during her self-introduction, but seeing her use the spell in real time made me realize Randou-sans growth.

    With this, we would be one step closer to thepletion of our subjugation n.

    Okay, lets go to Yamata no Orochis ce.

    Uwa~, there are two Momokawas.

    I had expected Randou-sans reaction when she saw me invoke Twin Shadow which I was gonna use to observe Yamata no Orochi.

    Awesome, how did you do that? Are you actually using VR?

    Nope, this has nothing to do with VR, this is another one of my curses, it has a physical form.

    Oo~, I really can touch it.

    Wha, not inside my clothes, please!

    She suddenly pushed her hand from the gap of my gakuran and squeezed my shadows stomach. Though it didnt have a sense of pain, a normal sensation was still transmitted. <i>Gah, am I weak in that spot!?</i>

    Tendou, can you tell which is the fake one?

    Nah, cant tell.

    When things started getting dangerous, Randou-san pulled out her erotic hand, what a disappointment, she shouldve co I mean, its good that she stopped.

    But it seems Tendou was telling the truth when he said Cant tell since he looked at me more seriously than usual.

    By the way, since Takanashi-san could replicate the cigarette, Tendou-kun took a whiff as soon as she copied the cigarette.

    But yeah, its fake. I could pretty much tell that as soon as I touched it.

    A~h wait, please sto~hp~

    Tendou-kun roughly brushed my shadows hair. Naturally, I didnt enjoy the moment since I wasnt a girl, and even if I was one, Tendou-kun wasnt my type. And since it transmitted a normal feeling except for pain, it felt a bit awkward. Thats why even though the hair of my real body didnt get crumpled down, I reflexively tried to fix my hair due to the influence of my shadow.

    Anyhow, the person who saw this would quickly try to touch my shadow, thus I had to warn them that we had to go to Yamata no Orochis nest.

    OO~H, Awesome! Is this how riding a horse feels like?

    Well, Rem is paying intention to ensure the stability andfort of her ride.

    Randou-san was truly enjoying her first riding experience on the back of a red raptor AKA Alfa. Our safety was guaranteed since we were riding Rem. The stirrup and saddle made it even easier to ride her.

    Well, that matter aside, Randou-sans appearance when she rode Alfa was really stimting.

    I mean, she wore her usual mini skirt and opened her leg wide as she straddled Alfas back. I ended up blessed with an asional panty shot. Mei-chan was wearing her leopard print right now, but Randou-san mustve brought a change with her. I mean yeah, ck was nice.

    As if that wasnt stimting enough, since we were literally jolting around, her delicious, creamy brown massive pair of tits were shaking nonstop.

    I was unintentionally lured by that miraculously erotic sight and yet, <i>say Tendou-kun, youre not even taking a nce at such an erotic spectacle, are you a homo?</i>

    Oi, Momokawa.

    Eh, what, I am definitely not thinking of something rude you know?

    I dont care about that. Can you go a bit faster?

    Sorry, but Im still not used to controlling my shadow while doing other activities with my real body at the same time.

    Since this was a good chance to train moving my Twin Shadow and real body at the same time, I might as well use this moment to the fullest.

    My shadow, which went along with Tendous team toward Yamata no Orochi, was on foot while I helped Mei-chan and ss Rep with various preparations in the school tower.

    But moving my shadow and my real body at the same time was a tough job. I mean, even at the best of times, moving my right hand and left hand differently was already hard enough, and yet, now the difficulties literally spiked up with me controlling two bodies at once.

    In fact, the way my shadow walked was akin to a drunkards gait right now.

    But, despite the shadow walking like a drunkard, my real body moved like usual. I noticed that depending on my practice, I might be able to gain perfect control over moving both my real body and the shadow at the same time with practice.

    Ive no obligation to follow your training. Get on that red raptor, now.

    E~h, cant be helped I gue~ss.

    Though I felt that riding an Alfa with two people at the same time was quite dangerous, the me of this time had yet to know that an even greater danger was looming before me.

    Cmon Momokawa, youre on the ba~ck.

    When Randou-san told me to ride behind her <i>Uhm, well, glued so closely like this was dangerous in various ways.</i>

    Okay, hold on tight Momokawa, were going to da~sh.

    Are you sure that I can hold on tight!? Woah, that was dangerous, lets amend the love rtionship bans rule after this

    ===

    After we crossed two hours worth of distance in mere thirty minutes, we arrived again at the rocky mountain which became the nesting ce of Yamata no Orochi. Maan, I would rather say that it was a wonderful thirty minutes of service time in which I could legally hug Randou-san. Her soft body was the perfect suspension.

    Well, my brain might be dyed pink after such an experience, but that didnt mean I could just ignore the dangerous air in front of the raid boss nest which was filled with countless gargoyles. I mean, we had been attacked a few times along the way by stray gargoyles. Now it was time to get serious.

    Let me handle them. Just make sure that you guys wont be a hindrance.

    Okay, I know my limits.

    Yeah, we will call for your help when we need your help.

    Aint gonna save yer asses.

    Tendou-kun spoke with a disappointed face and then went to fight Yamata no Orochi alone.

    Even he knew that he couldnt defeat it by himself. As the holder of a seeming cheat among cheat vocation, King, it seemed like he wanted to try various things on his own. <i>Great, powerful people have options. Such luxurious worries.</i>

    Should I try to call him from this ce?

    Can you make a hole, Randou-san?

    A~h, lets see.

    Randou-san replied with a subtle look on her face. It seemed like she didnt want to go near that ce.

    Lets just try it.

    Oooou.

    Lets try it first.

    Randou-san gripped her golden revolver and fired Terra Shield one after another.

    Well, this might be the limit.

    Thisll be enough. Now weve to meddle with the ground.

    With this, now we could continue to dig 30 cm deep with a 1-meter radius from the center into the ground. A shot of Terra Shield could make that much.

    Judging from the way Randou-san used the spell, it seemed she used both the dug soil and her own magical power to create the wall for the magic shield. So the dug soil mustve be a part of the wall.

    Since we dont have to worry about the strength of the wall for now, I want you to prioritize the amount of soil dug.

    And why do you want me to do something like that? Are we going to make a tunnel?

    That will be best if possible, but building a channel might be too difficult.

    Even Yamata no Orochi would die if we destroyed the main core hidden in the mountain. If we could build a tunnel from this safe ce all the way until right below that mountain and ganging up on Yamata no Orochi without being disturbed by gargoyle or Yamata no Orochis head x 8.

    But, judging from Randou-sans expression, it seemed she couldnt make such a tunnel. Such a feat might be possible if she mastered her profession, Geomancer to its limit, but realistically speaking, that would take a really long time.

    Anyhow, our first objective is to dig as deep as possible.

    The heck, Im not going to enter the hole.

    Its a safety zone. It can protect us from Yamata no Orochis beam too.

    The terrain of this ce was a giant, bowl-shaped gentle slope with the rocky mountain that had Yamata no Orochis nest at its center. Since there was no covering at all on the slope in any direction, Yamata no Orochi, with its eight heads, could trigger happy on us with its eyes beam.

    ===

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 Chapter 194.2 - Public Service

    Chapter 194.2 - Public Service

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    ===

    Since the first inspection, around the time when Yamata no Orochi fired its breath attack, I realized that no one could survive its direct attack.

    Fortunately, that guys breath had an extremely low hit rate, lowering the chances of someone getting hit directly, but still, that overwhelming firepower that could literally change the terrain was no joke. Other than Souma-kun, Tendou-kun, and Mei-chan, our strongest vanguard, no one among the rest of us could emerge unscathed from the direct hit(its breath). Me aside, not even Kenzaki Asuna and the Totem Pole Trio could survive that direct hit.

    Meaning that currently, no one could fight as a vanguard to assist our strongest trio.

    Thats why I think we should make a trench for everyone to take shelter during dangerous moments.

    Since its just a roughly dug-out trench, can it really protect someone from that dangerous-looking beam?

    It should as long as it isnt a direct hit right from the front. ording to previous observations, even when that guy was spitting me or thunder, it didnt have a big impact on the soil.

    Though Orochis beam had an overwhelming amount of magical power in it, its pration power didnt seem to be that great. But when were closing in on it, the danger would increase to a whole different level since they would rampage while firing all kinds of elements such as ice, thunder, me, shockwave, and among others that had an even more dangerous range of attack than the beam.

    Nevertheless, even those various elemental attacks only passed over our heads if we were to hide in the trench. I had managed to deduce the pattern of each elemental attack, which was spread like a shockwave while I was being carried by Mei-chan.

    Appearancewise, it might look unreliable, but still, the trench is a solid defense, or should I say that were using the ground itself as our shield, which raises the degree of our safety.

    Hu~mph, as expected of Momokawa, youve been considering several possibilities.

    That was the only way for me, someonecking physical strength, to survive this far. After all, I had to use everything that was at my disposal. Despite my continuous prayers for new cheat skills; the path of a shaman was a tough one.

    And then, I want you to make a bunker right next to the trench.

    What the heck is that?

    Something like a snow hut for children to y with but made of concrete, I want you to build a solid one.

    ss Rep, Randou-san, and Shimokawa were spellcasters who could use their spells to attack from a long distance. And theirmon weakness was their overwhelmingck of physical defense. Naturally, that weakness waspensated by their magic barrier to block a physical attack, but ultimately the one with the vanguard-type vocation such as a swordsman or warrior had a sturdier body.

    Look, building a bunker would be equivalent to enabling the spellcaster to use their long-range attack from a safe ce, right?

    I see now.

    It had yet to be tested if such a feat was possible. But still, we should at least build a bunker that could withstand a direct hit from a breath attack.

    Anyhow, the terrain around the bossir is our enemys home ground. Thats why weve to dig trenches, build bunkers, and employ all kinds of methods to change the terrain to our advantage.

    It was not like our enemy could move from itsir.

    Since our enemy couldnt move from itsir, we could use everything around their to our advantage. Using raid strategy from fictional games would only backfire on us, we had to be realistic.

    Thats why we were going to transform that fes home ground into our home ground. And Randou Kyokous Geomancer power was vital for that.

    We arent in hurry, lets do it carefully, step by step.

    Ye~h.

    Thus began, Randou-sans digging duty, the so-called public service.

    ===

    Oi, its time to go back.

    When the sun dipped into the west, Tendou-kun, who had just smashed one of Yamata no Orochis heads, called out to us who were still busy with the construction job to go back.

    Come to think of it, it was easy to tell the day and night since we were outdoors.

    Okay, lets go back.

    Naah, Randou-san who stretched her body looked like a middle-aged man right now. Though she didnt spend that much magical power thanks to her gargantuan amount of magical power, it seemed to focus on using her skill repeatedly consumed a lot of mental strength. This might be a good chance to train her magic too.

    In fact, while the amount was insignificant, Randou-sans digging art, Terra Shield became more efficient for digging. At this rate, we might be able to finish a round of trench of a considerable depth in the next few days.

    Thanks for the hard work. Im going to stay in this ce.

    Eh, thats seriously overtime, Momokawa.

    Well, this one is my offshoot after all.

    Since I only had to share our vision, I could leave my offshoot right here in this ce. There was no need to share my senses since the offshoot was basically hidden, but I still had to do this.

    However, I definitely didnt wish to restore our senses sharing after a rain. I didnt want to wake up and find myself covered in mud after all. It couldnt be helped, this process was necessary to gain proficiency.

    Now that you remind me about it, you are right.

    Yeah, thats why dont worry about me and go back to the base right away. The hunt seems to be going really well, so expect a lot of delicious dishes.

    The hunting team had already returned with their harvest. And just as I had expected, Souma-kun brought back the best game. At this rate, he should as well change his job to Hunter, right?

    Well then, see you again tomorrow.

    The real me had been waiting in the school tower and yet I was seeing off Randou-san who rode on Alfa and Tendou-kun who was on foot. After they left, only my Twin Shadow remained in this ce.

    Well then, lets observe the night ecology of the boss too.

    I mean, if the boss slept at night too, wouldnt we be able to use that chance to attack at their weakest moment? Though I didnt think it would be that easy, we mightve to change our n if the boss turned out to be weaker at night.

    Yamata no Orochi aside, there were those troublesome gargoyle corps too.

    And speaking of gargoyles, I had one of their corpses by my side, turned into a revenant. This would be put beside me, who was in charge of observation duty. In case a stray gargoyle suddenly attacked me during my night watch duty, it could protect me, or escort me to escape to a safe ce.

    Though Rem would be overloaded if we included Rem the 4th, Minotaur, there was nothing wrong with preparing a good vessel for her.

    Preparing my spare body before Yamata no Orochis subjugation operation aside, perhaps I would have to prepare a lot of spare bodies for Rem in various ces to prevent the worst scenario.

    Now that we had gotten an excellent hunter called Souma-kun by our side, I could use him to gather as many minogoris and living armors as possible. Mass-produced Rem-The Dark Knight wasnt a pipe dream anymore.

    Uhm, when that happens, I should raise Rems processing ability again.

    Thus, I entered a ditch that was too shallow to be called a trench with gargoyle Rem by my side, and looked down at the sunset in the direction of Yamata no Orochis nest.

    Oh dammit, I cant see anything since its too dark here.

    Thus, as soon as night descended, I realized that I couldnt observe anything due to the darkness just by relying on my own eyes as there was absolutely no light at all.

    ===

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 Chapter 195.1 - Night At The School Tower

    Chapter 195.1 - Night At The School Tower

    TN: Ko-Fi Exclusive Project for $10 Supporter Is Avable for Monthly Subscriber <strong>Here</strong>

    ===

    Haah

    The reason he let out a moan as his body immersed in the hot bath was simply that he was Japanese.

    Souma Yuuto seriously considered that fact as he entered the bathtub filled with hot water.

    He really made a huge open-air bath, huh.

    This hot-spring hotel-sized open-air bath was enough for all members of the boys team to enter together. Though he had this experience before during a field trip, the wastnd thaty right on the other side of the steam pped him back to the reality called survival life in the dungeon of another world.

    Nevertheless, it didnt change the fact that entering a hot bath literally healed his weary heart.

    Yo, you seem to have worked your ass off.

    That goes for you too, Ryuuichi.

    Heh, I guess youre right.

    Tendou Ryuuichi had been fighting Yamata no Orochi non-stop from start till the end of the scouting session. His burden was clearly far heavier than Yuuto and Co who only went hunting weak monsters, and the perfect cure for their fatigue was letting their bodies immerse in the hot water.

    Yuuto and Ryuuichi sat side-by-side, enjoying the hot bath in silence amid the Totem Pole Trios merry voices as BGM.

    Is that even allowed?

    Oioi, its toote now that youve entered the bathtub.

    Ryuuichi muttered dumbfoundedly as he heard Yuutos voice.

    Yeah, I mean, it feels like were Completely led by the nose by Momokawa.

    Ryuuichi was the same as always but, Yuutos current expression was that of someone who had submitted to the temptation of the bathtub.

    Dont be so petty.

    It wasnt limited to the wonderful bathtub. Before they took a bath, they had had a meal that could be called a feast from the game they had hunted during the day.

    A lot of meat dishes, dripping with their delicious meat juice, were cooked with exquisitely bnced seasoning and a lot of spice.

    Plenty of soups seasoned with fish sauce in the cauldron, fresh sd served on a tter, and pickled dishes in small bowls.

    And following the sumptuous meal was dessert. Fruit pickled in honey, while there was only a small portion of that, it was distributed equally among the 18 people.

    After Meiko left the group during Reinas incident, Yuuto felt ashamed of himself and wished that Meiko would go back and cook for them. Without Meiko, they had no choice but to go back to eating walnuts despite the abundant edible ingredients in the dungeon. The walnuts might be enough to replenish their nutrition, but they literally were living like cavemen since they had no idea which ingredient was safe to consume.

    Nevertheless, the Totem Pole Trio who lived like cavemen were also speechless when they saw the lineup of dishes which were basically a full course,pletely different from their haphazardly prepared meals.

    Following the sumptuous feast was the hot bath, open-air style.

    Moreover, since the fairy za in the tower wascking the usualwn, Kotaro told everyone that he would prepare soft beddingster.

    That was the most gracious offer. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like their current environment was akin to an illusion or dream-like environment in this dungeon.

    But Momokawa Kotaro had turned that illusion into reality with his vocation.

    Like the bath theyre enjoying right now, it was made with one of his vocations skills called Witchs Kettle. It wasnt just for cooking, the kettle could also be used for various purposes such as smoking or refrigeration.

    Using that ability,bined with the giant kettle made with Kyokos earth magic, filling thepleted kettle with Shimokawas water magic, and heating the water with the kettles special abilitiesThus, the giant open-air bath, which waspleted by thebined force of the three people, was made as pair for the girls too andpleted in literally no time.

    The dishes were also cooked with the Witchs Kettle.

    Yuuto had already heard the rumor about the dishes made by Futaba Meiko as a member of the cooking club, he could rival a professional chef. In addition to her already transcendental cooking skills, her way of freely using the Witchs Kettle as an Omni cookware had greatly shortened the time andbor needed for cooking.

    In addition, she had also worked together with Kotaro and mastered the way of cooking using only the edible local ingredients that could only be found inside the dungeon.

    Weve no choice but to ept the truth. I, or should I say, all of us, wont be able to do the same.

    The Sage Takanashi Kotori who could use alchemy, and Tendou Ryuuichi who could supplement what hecked with King, those two vocations were really useful inbat. But even those two vocations couldnt reproduce afortable living environment like Kotaros vocation did.

    It was a harsh reality that Kotaros vocation was the only one that allowed them to enjoy afortable living environment in the dungeon.

    It wasnt a simple difference of abilities. It was akin to the difference in their disposition.

    Well, hes really a hard-working fe since he went as far as preparing this.

    Said Ryuuichi as he tapped on the floating bucket that was filled with a white towel prepared by Kotaro.

    The white towel was made with Arachnes thread, the bucket was made with Simple Alchemy Formation using the log from the jungle that was prepared by Yamada.

    Moreover, in the corner of the open-air bath was Nuts Bar Soap which was made from fruit that could help them to get rid of stains in their clothes. The soap was closer to a real soap than a mere mix-match of the chopped-up andpressed ingredients.

    The reason Kotaro had prepared even the simplest necessities for daily life might be because of his OCD, or simply to let them know about the versatility of his vocation.

    Kotaro was currently busying himself with selecting monster material that the hunting team had brought back. He would use it in alchemy and take a dip in the bath once he was done with his job.

    He isnt preparing to spend his entire life in this ce, right?

    That guy just got cold feet. He wont be able to calm his mind unless he does something.

    Ryuuichi, you have the experience of partying with Momokawa before, right? Could it be that youre getting along with him?

    The heck, are you trying to say that Im betraying you? Or, could it be that youre jealous of me being able to get along with Momokawa?

    "

    "

    A dumbfounded Yuuto heaved a sigh seeing Ryuuichi ask that question as if he had made a fool of him. Ryuuichi knew that Yuuto wasnt the kind of person who got provoked easily and that too by such cheap provocation.

    So, what actually happened?

    Nothing. He just bribed me with a cigarette then made amotion among the girls and solved their problem In the end, he got kidnapped by a spider right after the boss battle.

    Considering all of that, you seem to take Momokawas side.

    Thats only natural, after all, he even made an In-Charge-of-Tendou-kun.

    Dont you think that Momokawa is simply keeping his guard toward you?

    Coz hes weak. That pipsqueak aint your normal pipsqueak.

    And yet, there was the fact that Momokawa Kotaro had managed to bypass Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuuichi, directly taking control of ss 2-7.

    As for the reason he made such a drastic move, Souma Yuuto already had his own guess in that regard. After the ss meeting, he realized that he wasnt as dissatisfied as he expected.

    Thats what makes him so eerie. The one who killed Reina is Momokawa and yet, the one who took the central role in this operation is also him.

    It was as if everybody in the ss had been dancing on his palm all along.

    In fact, they even obediently followed his order to hunt the prey for their food.

    But no one objected to his order since they knew that it was reasonable.

    Fool, you look like a girl in love with worrying about that now.

    What?

    Judging someone in ordance with what you hear from the other is what girls do. Quit acting like a girl, ask the person himself. Once you learn that hes better, you try to sell a fight. As your childhood friend, Ill at least teach you, an honor student, how to sell a fight.

    Aah, I understand, Im really such a fool. Ill ask you then.

    Oh, shut up!

    But, Ryuuichi was right.

    The fact that Momokawa Kotaro had killed Reina wouldnt change. Yuuto might not be able to forgive Kotaro for the rest of his life, nevertheless, he decided to cooperate with Kotaro and the rest of his ssmates due to the current situation.

    Moreover, he had to see with his own eyes whether Momokawa Kotaro was truly a man worthy of his trust.

    Haah The hot water has hit the spot.

    Souma Yuuto looked up at the night sky as he gave his honest opinion about the open-air bath.

    ===

    Haah

    Himeno Airi dipped herself into the bathtub, her expression was that of someone who was at the bottom of her despair seeing the scenery before her.

    Yup, the open-air bath is perfect.

    We really have to thank Momokawa-kun for this.

    A~h, it feels so go~od.

    Kotori shouldvee faster.

    Before her were the members of Souma harem party starting from Souma Sakura, Kisaragi Ryoukou, Natsukawa Minami, and Kenzaki Asuna. Yes, it was a lineup of the famous beauties of Shiromine High.

    All of them were stark naked as they immersed themselves in the open-air bath.

    It must be some sort of new spell which created the bathtub~

    He~, thats jackpot magic.

    Though its slightly different from normal, he has learnt a new skill.

    ===

    TN: Ill take a break from 13-19 march 2023 for rehabilitation of my neck(due to wrong sleeping posture)

    ===

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 Chapter 195.2 - Night At The School Tower

    Chapter 195.2 - Night At The School Tower

    TN: NEW PROJECT to Rece AKMRe(Since I dont want to experience the same mental torture of tl-ing act 4 of that novel, the project will continue from Act 10 after I finished the original version). Avable in Ko-Fi and Patreon.

    TN: Ko-Fi Exclusive Project for $10 Supporter Is Avable for Monthly Subscriber <strong>Here</strong>

    ===

    Sitting right in front of Souma harem party were the girls, Randou Kyouko and JuryMarybi.

    Their face deviation value could be SLIGHTLY lower than the member of Souma harem party, but the three had the beautiful and mature charm of women in spite of their young age.

    JuryMarybi, boasting a slender and beautiful face, wasparable to that of an amateur model. Small face, long leg, tall back, every single one of their parameters were simply double or triple Airis. And only when theyre naked like this did she realize that their skeletal mold was different from the short Airi.

    And yet, there existed an even more terrifying monster than JuryMarybi, the owner of a tanned and voluptuous, unJapanese-like body that you couldnt believe was owned by a high school student, Randou Kyouko. Her BWH size was overwhelming to the point that it was a literal cheat. Her voluptuous figure, which overflowed with sex appeal, was more Subus-like than Airi, the real subus herself.

    Haah Im in heaven.

    With face that looked like she held back her anger, Airi looked at the scenery of the bathtub before her which was filled with charming women and beautiful girl.

    For someone like her, who had already transformed into a Subus kin, she did have her pride as a woman with skills to charm men. Thats why she hated Reina A Ayase who overthrew her only with her cute face as if thetter was her parents enemy, but then, even after the detestable Reina had died By some sort of twist of fate, she ended up in this ce filled with Reina-like beauty.

    Unlike Reina with her annoying personality, Airi didnt have a grudge against any of the girls before her, but they had literally crushed Airis pride as a woman to pieces.

    Thats just how overwhelming their charms werepared to Airi. Himeno Airi was pretty much aware that she was the ugliest among the girls in this ce.

    Bo-Bottom Literally bottom of the barrel

    If the other girls were tigers or lions, Airis current status was even lower than that of the herbivore, she was the weed itself.

    In addition, without the friendly rtionship of Randou gals or Souma harem party, Airi was the only loner among them.

    Hime-cha~n.

    Ah, Futaba-cha

    The one who called out to Airi, whose heart and soul had already been tattered and on the verge of breaking down, was her only friend even before they were thrown into this dungeon, Futaba Meiko.

    She turned toward the direction of the voice who saved her from that lonely situation, only to see the figure of her best friend who had undergone EARTH SHAKING chancepared to before.

    Shall I wash your back? Its been a while since thest time we did, after all.

    Meiko, whose tone was akin to a girls, during the field trip had an overwhelming presence rivaling that of a dragon, the apex predator of isekai.

    Her slender facial features that disyed her overwhelming mature beauty were alreadyparable to those of the members of Souma harem party.

    And yet, her charm boosted through the roof with her transcendental figure which exceeded even that of Randou Kyouko. She had no idea how those massive pairs of WMD didnt sag as if they could defy thew of gravity. She left wondering if the magic of isekai overturned the sharedmon sense of womens brests too.

    Meiko who was already tall to begin with, and equipped with those WMD-ss pair of tts had alreadypletely transformed into a figure that could even put a gravure model to shame.

    Big bobs, check Big ss, check long legs, check Slender waist, check Shes a fu*king subus too.

    "

    "

    Whats the matter, Hime-chan? Are you okay?

    Uhm, its nothing, Ill wash your back!

    Though her pride as a woman was on the verge of copse, she barely managed to retain her sanity.

    <i> Okay calm down. Futaba Meiko isnt like her old self, a wall of flesh that I can use to hide my own ugliness, but now shes a formidable fortress that can protect my weak self.</i>

    Meiko still treated Airi as her friend. Thats why as long as Airi had Meikos protection, her position in ss 2-7, which was already dwindling to just 18 people, wouldnt be that bad.

    If she became a loner in this kind of situation, she would die for sure. In body and heart. She might snap again just like when she met Reina.

    Im going to wash your back too, Futaba-chan.

    Uhm, fine.

    Thus, Airi decided to keep her friendship with Futaba Meiko who had already transformed both in body and mind.

    ===

    Fu~uh, this is eptable I guess.

    I stuffed Kokkos feathers into a cloth made with spider thread, thuspleting the 1st generation of the quilt.

    Uuh Can Kotori go into the bathtub?

    There you go Takanashi-san, make 18 copies of this quilt. Everyones going to use this tonight, Ill make the 2nd gen after hearing everyones review about the 1st gen.

    Ko-Kotori wants to go bathe too

    Takanashi-san looked toward the sky, a forlorn look on her face, tears trickling down from her big eyes.

    <i>Aah, she cried eh? Souma-kun will definitely misunderstand once he sees this situation.</i>

    Haah, cant be helped, I guess. Okay, were done for today.

    Eh, really!?

    Just kidding, lets keep this up for a while longer since you seem to have a lot of energy left.

    No~! Kotori cant do it anymore~!

    Ah, she escaped.

    <i>Oioi, dont abandon your post right on the first day, Takanashi Kotori.</i>

    Sure enough, we had to work overtime to use alchemy while everyone else was enjoying a hot bath in the bathtub. But we had no choice since both of us were the only ones who could use alchemy. Yeah, this was by no means a ckpanys operation, were healthy school management.

    Haah, thats it for today, I guess.

    Since Takanashi ran away as soon as I told her to work overtime, it was literally impossible to make a copy of the 1st gen of the quilt. And since there was only one of these, I had no choice but to use this myself.

    Nevertheless, since there are many things that I can use at this point, it seems I can experiment with various things.

    While it might be true that the copy magic of Tiny Replication Formation was useful, being able to use Basic Alchemy Formation, the upgraded version of Simple Alchemy Formation was truly a big deal. When it wasbined with Ancient Language Decoding, which allowed her to use high-level alchemy formation in the water fountain of the fairy za, her alchemy would increase by leap and bound. Rather, shes more suitable to make those cool and shy enchanted weapons.

    The uncooperative attitude of the person herself is a huge minus though.

    Despite her awesome alchemy ability, the only thing that Takanashi-san had created so far was restoring the function of our smartphone and upgrading the weapon.

    If it were me, I would have at least prepared camping equipment, change of clothes, an illuminating device, or trap. and most of all

    Why doesnt she create an armor too?

    At this point, we should prioritize our production schedule.

    Speaking of why I created the quilt, well, it was simply because I happened to have surplus materials from the prey hunted by everyone today.

    Moreover, I reckoned that we would stay for a long time in this school tower, so I should at least prepare a nice bed for everyone. Sakurai-kun seemed to have prepared his own sleeping bag too, but considering the fact that we would leave it behind, I shouldnt make them toofortable.

    Well, I guess I should take a break and enter the bath too~

    But tidying up the area around the water fountain, with all kinds of monster materials scattering around, took more time than I expected.

    That neer called Takanashi actually dared to leave the office on time and force her boss to clean up this messy ce by himself. Dammit, I ended upining to myself.

    By the way, thanks for your assistance, Rem, otherwise it would have taken forever for me to tidy up this ce.

    GUGAGA!

    As expected, she was such a loyal servant. By the way, the one who helped me right now was the most reliable version of her, Rem-The Dark Knight, who also acted as my escort.

    Alfa was standing by outside, just in case, to watch the situation outside of the school tower. I have never seen any small fry monster around this area other than gargoyle though.

    And then, after tidying up everything, I only managed to enjoy the bathtub after everyone had left.

    Unlike Takanashi-san, entering with everyone aside, I had zero conspiring ability, or should I say that I was more like an independent action type, thats why I was least concerned about entering the bath alone, but I couldnt help but feel lonely seeing the huge, empty bath. Was this what the people who entered the bathter during the field trip felt?

    As I experienced that kind of Meh feeling, I took off my clothes in the corner of the bathroom with a wall designated as changing room and reached out to my personal bucket Uhm, something other than a towel seemed to have mixed into my bucket.

    When I took it, something like ck pants unfolded on top of my palm.

    <i> Oioi, are you kidding me? Is this bullying or something? I really want to know who that bastard is who slipped these panties into my bucket with a slip of paper tucked in it.</i>

    Thank you for your hard work, Momokawa! This is a reward for you, Kyouko.

    Holy cow, that struck my heartstring Thank you so much, Randou-san.

    I was really moved now seeing someone had shown their appreciation for my hard work. Thank you for the gift, Ill use it to my hearts content.

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 Chapter 196.1 - Rewrite and Kinako

    Chapter 196.1 - Rewrite and Kinako

    TN: NEW PROJECT to Rece AKMRe(Since I dont want to experience the same mental torture of tl-ing act 4 of that novel, the project will continue from Act 10 after I finished the original version). Avable in Ko-Fi and Patreon.

    TN: Ko-Fi Exclusive Project for $10 Supporter Is Avable for Monthly Subscriber <strong>Here</strong>

    ===

    My name is Hayama Relight. I am just a cool and handsome guy you can find anywhere.

    This handsome me suddenly got involved in the ss summoning to another world but Thanks to my transcendentalmunication prowess, I managed to team up with forest bear-san from another world. Currently, we were travelling together in the forest.

    So, let me to introduce my buddy, Kinako the bear.

    Hey Kinako, do you know the road around this area?

    ThiS AreA iS OutSide OUr TerriTorY. ThiS Is The FirSt TimE I haVeE to ThiS PLAce.

    Oioioi, seriously!?

    ThAt WaY Is To EnTer DeePEr InTo ThE FoResT. ThiS WaY iS To LeaVe The ForeSt.

    I see, you never came to this ce but know the direction that leads us to exit.

    Exit? Whats THat? WaTch OuT, ReLighT.

    Hahaha, dont worry about it! Considering the fact that many strong fes live in the deep part of the forest, it means that only small fries live in the shallow part.

    Well, no matter what kind of monster was going toe out, the strongestbi of Kinako and me were invincible And, right at the moment I had those thought,

    BUNGURUDOUGA! GUBOZEBA!

    NBA, NBA!

    Awawa Who in the world are these disgusting fe They sound like bad news

    When we were taking a short break after walking inside the forest for one hour, those guys suddenly appeared.

    The ck fes who looked like humanoid cockroach with dangerous air around them rushed toward us with spears and stone axes simr to the ones used by cavemen.

    Theymunicated in an unknownnguage with disorderly grammar, a single nce at them was enough to convince me thatmunication with them was impossible.

    Our side had Kinako and me, but there were around ten of them <i>Ah, oi, circling around is cheating!</i>

    Goma!

    Go What?

    Theyre goMa. EnEmy. StEp BacK, ReLIght.

    Kinako bared his fangs towards them as he raised a menacing growl.

    Goma, the name of the disgusting-looking ck fes, only had physical strength equal to that of a kid, but they were armed with weapons and always overwhelmed their prey with their number.

    The reason they didnt escape despite Kinakos threatening growl was most likely because they knew that they had a numerical advantage.

    I-I-Ill fight with you!

    ReLiGhT, ItS tOo DaNgeRous.

    Better than you fighting by yourself! I have got your back, Kinako!

    ReLiGht

    Stop worrying about me. Its not like I can escape either since they had already surrounded us.

    ORA, COME AND GET THE PIECE OF ME, FU*KING COCKROACH!!

    I shouted along with Kinakos menacing growl but <i>Fudgeeee, I dont have any weapon at all.</i>

    Damn it, I shouldve picked up a fallen branch or something along the way to be used as a weapon, but it was toote now. I mean having a weapon in this situation was clearly much better than fighting barehanded.

    In short, the only thing that I could barely use as a weapon right now was the school bag that Id always carried with me.

    Since Id literally crammed all of my textbooks, notebooks, and reference books, it was quite heavy to the point that I considered the option of throwing its content but still A filled-up bag was much better than an empty one.

    Those gomas looked very thin and added to the fact that their weapons were rusty, I didnt think they could pierce through this bag of mine. <i>They wont be able, right? Please my bag, I believe in you!</i>

    Gububu, Geburaaaaaaaaa!

    UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, THEY COMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!?

    Finally, the gomas rushed at us.

    Despite being a pipsqueak, seeing them approaching with the edged weapons still scared me shi*less. Even so, I barely managed to brace my legs since I knew from the fluffy feeling on my back that Kinako was fighting with me.

    WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

    I brandished my bag earnestly. Yes, I literally brandished my bag in desperation while raising iprehensible cries and barely managed to prevent the gomas from approaching.

    Guba, gobugura.

    Nbaba!

    Seeing me prepared to fight like a trapped beast, the gomas didnt dare to get close to me Or not, these fu*kers actually had the gall to sneer at me!

    They knew immediately that the strike from my heavy bag wouldnt cause a fatal wound. Thats why those fu*kers were sneering at me, fully aware of my unsightly struggle.

    Y-Yeah, Im not strong like Souma or Tendou, I cant even use magic

    I ran out of breath immediately after swinging my bag wildly. When will these gomase to me? They had been emanating a dangerous air since a while ago.

    But Ive my partner, Kinako! Pipsqueaks like you guys aint gonna beat us!

    PUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Kinako rushed toward the gomas who aimed at me as he raised a deafening roar that shook the forest.

    It seemed those guys were too engrossed in ridiculing me to the point that they failed to realize that Kinako had already defeated theirrades.

    Yes, when they were busy ridiculing me, I had aplished my duty of protecting Kinakos back!

    DO IT, KINAKO!

    PUGUGU, PUNGAAA!

    Appearance-wise, Kinako looks like a certain popr teddy bear on earth, but his power was that of a genuine monster bear, much more powerful than a human.

    His tuffy and thick fur repelled the rusty de of the gomas. And then, Kinako closed in on the gomas immediately and unleashed his deadly ws attack.

    BUGE

    His w strike was so strong that the gomas were literally sent flying till they vanished into the thicket. They might be lightweight creatures, but Kinakos brute strength also yed an important role in this regard.

    A swing of his arm was enough to send those gomas flying to the horizon; one after another they tumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His overwhelming strength had literally twisted their heads as easily as snapping a twig, his ws sharp enough to tear their bellies.

    Kinako had turned the table against the gomas.

    Or rather, Kinako is STRONK, like SUPER STRONK. Kinako was invicible.

    PUGAAAAAAAAAAA!

    After he sent thest of Goma flying, Kinako raised victorious cries.

    You did it, Kinako! Youre number one!

    Pugugugu, yaaay.

    Kinako raised his hands as if celebrating his victory.

    Yup, you really are.

    I was also pping my hands, praising Kinako

    Buguru, goba, unzuruba!

    UWO, THERES ANOTHER ONE!?

    A new goma appeared from behind the thickets.

    It shouted the same filthy groan but this guy seemed to be a head taller than the other gomas that we defeated just then.

    No way, a boss goma.

    Back down Relight, this guy is bad news.

    O-O~h.

    It seemed they were going to decide the victor between them. Yeah, there was no ce for me to enter this battle.

    Be careful, Kinako. That guys spear seems to be much more powerful than the ones held by the other gomas.

    The spear in the hand of that goma boss was clearly much more powerful. It was different from the other gomas whose spear looked like a mere long branch with a knife tied up on its tip, boss gomas spear was entirely a spear. The tip had no rust, and it looked too eerie.

    I had this feeling that the spear could pierce through Kinakos fur.

    Pugugu

    Gobubu

    Both sides were ring at each other, tense air drifting between them.

    I gulped my spit upon witnessing this tense air.

    <i> What would happen in this match?</i>

    GEBURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The goma made its first move!

    It closed in quickly and unleashed the spear, thrusting while raising a warcry!

    PUGU

    Oh crap, the metal tip pierced Kinakos trunk!?

    GURURUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Kinako raised a warcry as he brandished his arm.

    Kinako didnt try to dodge the spear, he received the attack and used that moment to unleash a deadly counter.

    BUGEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Kinakos ws silently tore through the gomas body. Right at its throat, raising a spray of fresh blood as the goma wailed in despair.

    Buuu Gu, gueeeeeeeee

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 Chapter 196.2 - Rewrite and Kinako

    Chapter 196.2 - Rewrite and Kinako

    TN: NEW PROJECT to Rece AKMRe(Since I dont want to experience the same mental torture of tl-ing act 4 of that novel, the project will continue from Act 10 after I finished the original version). Avable in Ko-Fi and Patreon.

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    ===

    Thus, the goma raised a despairing wail as it fell to the ground.

    YAAY, VICTORY!

    No, it was different, we did win the battle, but Kinako got stabbed by that spear!

    Oi, Kinako, are you all right!?

    Relight, Im, all right.

    Nononono, like hell this is all right! Dammit, look, the spear is stuck in your abdomen! Blood! You shed too much blood!?

    Oh craap, the spear had pierced into the area around Kinakos abdomen. The de was clearly stuck in his body. The white fur around his stomach was already dyed red by his own blood.

    Le-Lets treat it immediately!

    Its okay, dont worry.

    Its not all right at all! Look, your wound is bleeding badly, its definitely serious!

    Though Kinako acted like he was unperturbed in order to not make me worry about him, like hell anyone would be fine with a spear stabbed from their side. I mean, if I was in his position, I would cry and wail, and leave something akin tost words.

    Relight, calm down.

    Yeah, right, lets start with first a F*ck, I have nothing like that with me!

    First aid aside, I didnt even have a band-aid!

    Seriously now, what should I do? The first thing you had to do when youre suffering from a bleeding wound was Dammit, I had no idea what to do!

    Kuh, Dam-Dammit all Sorry, Kinako I really am useless

    My wound, will heal, dont worry.

    Kinako said kindly upon seeing me cry due to my sense of helplessness. Dammit, even though youre the one suffering from the pain, youre the one who isforting me instead.

    Dammit I dont want this kind of sympathy

    Even though Kinako bet on his own life to take down the goma boss and ended up getting injured in the process, I, the modern person from a more advanced civilization, could only swing my bag wildly like an idiot, and couldnt even treat his wound.

    Partner, my ass! I was just parasitizing on Kinako<i> Im just a useless parasite Think carefully, what can I do in this situation!</i>

    Wound.

    Blood.

    Suddenly, I heard a mysterious voice.

    I felt so miserable for being a man who could only cry when facing this kind of situation.

    Wound, heal?

    Blood, stop?

    HAH?

    I looked down and saw a lot of dandelion-like nts growing under my feet.

    However, I knew that voice came from those dandelion-like nts.

    Wound, heal?

    Blood, stop?

    What is this guy Some sort of insect?

    When I squatted down and looked at the nts, I saw a tiny, human-shaped pale green light It wasnt an insect.

    The tiny human-shaped light was around 5cms tall. Though it looked really small, upon a closer look, I realized that it had a pair of legs, making it more human-like.

    But thanks to all those shiny green lights on its whole body, it looked like a stickman instead.

    Those two tiny, shining, stickmen were calling out to me from on top of a marijuana-like leaf.

    Wound, heal?

    Blood, stop?

    Are you telling me that I can use that leaf to stop bleeding and heal wounds?

    Somehow, I knew that the nt was a medicinal nt.

    Wound, heal!

    Blood, stop!

    The green stickmanbi suddenly cheered up as if they were really delighted upon knowing that I understood them.

    Sure, let me try it!

    I plucked the marijuana-like leaf beneath my foot.

    The stickmen were clinging to the leaves as if they didnt want to let it go. Rather, it was almost like they got sucked in when they touched my finger <i>Must be just my imagination, right?</i>

    Oh well, lets forget about that for now. Lets try this medicinal nt for now.

    Oi Kinako, show me your wound.

    Okay.

    Kinakos wound was bleeding profusely when I pulled the spear from his abdomen, <i>uwah, that looks really serious.</i>

    I mean, will this medicinal nt-look-alike work on his wound?,,, Oh well, lets try it out first.

    The moment I was about to simply push those leaves to the open wound

    UOOOO!?

    PUGYA!?

    The leaves suddenly released a brilliant light. Within that bright light, I felt like I saw the figure of a stickman jump into Kinakos wound.

    Learned skill:

    Spirit Medicine: You will get assistance from the spirit of the herbs you know.

    Those words appeared in my mind for a moment. Before I could think about what just happened, the shining leaves started showing their effect.

    Relight, amazing Wound, healed.

    Eh, seriously?

    Upon a closer look, it turned out Kinakos wound had already closed up, and he had stopped bleeding.

    Seriously, it really healed with that

    I mean, I thought Kinako was spouting nonsense a while ago due to excessive bleeding but, it turned out the wound had healed for real.

    Maybe this is the power of the Spiritualist.

    Relight, spirit?

    Whats the matter, Kinako? Do you know about the spirit?

    Spirit is everywhere. They exist everywhere although we cant see them.

    They did look vague.

    I feel, the power of green light. The wound healed..

    Ah, are you referring to that stickman?

    The meaning that I somehow heard from the voice of the spirit of the medicinal nt Which exins those ambiguous poems.

    Surely, the phenomenon that happened just now was the spirits lending their power to me.

    Uooo, we did it, Kinako! Thanks a lot, Spirit!

    UsiNg, SpIrit. ReLiGhT, AwESomE.

    Hahaha, we got anotherrade, right?

    I felt relieved, now I could at least have the minimum amount of power to assist Kinako in battle.

    I offered my gratitude to that spirit of medicinal nt with the power of Spiritualist as I wrapped my arm around Kinakos shoulders.

    ===

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 Chapter 197.1 - Exploration Plan

    Chapter 197.1 - Exploration n

    <strong>Act 14: Daily Live in the School Tower</strong>

    The second day of living in the school tower was the same as the previous day, gathering food ingredients and upgrading materials.

    Our current priority was hunting to gather raw materials for equipment and food. Among the usable material in this area, none of them seemed to be suited for Rems upgrade, they were mostly nt or timber with some wreckage from the ruin.

    I decided to start with something that could be made with alchemy immediately.

    Okay, lets deliver the pants.

    The reason everyone looked extremely delighted when I said so was only natural after they lived a harsh survival life for so long in this dungeon.

    I mean, we were literally thrown into this dungeon only wearing the school uniform on our bodies. Our only change of clothes was a jersey.

    Since that was the case, what happened to their pants, shirt, or underwear was something that did not need to be questioned.

    It was naturally hand washed with water from fairy za and fruit soap before reusing the same pants after that. And if a small chance, the said pants were torn

    Well, that matter aside, thanks to thebination of Arachnes spider thread and mine, its possible to mass-produce pants, shirts, and socks. As for the size, it could be adjusted with simple alchemy.

    Nevertheless, adjusting the size for 18 people was truly a tough job. Yeah, as the one responsible for measuring the underwear size of the girls too, I noted down their three sizes too.

    Since Takanashi-san was responsible to adjust the size, I gave the ready-made huge underwear to her along with the adjustment. In regard to bras, I had the experience of making one for Mei-chan before.

    Thus, I was wondering if I should give a few ungrateful bitches, who looked at me with cold piercing gazes when they saw a perfectly made bra in my hand, a sarashi instead.

    [TN: Sarashi; long cloth wrapped around womans br*asts.]

    Haah, nothing can beat a new ite~m.

    We can finally wear socks again.

    Now, we dont have to wear gomas used clothes anymo~re

    The Totem Pole Trio, who had experienced harsh survival life, was truly delighted to wear brand-new underwear. And yes, socks were prone to get dirty easily, after all. Even the US Army suffered a lot during the Vietnam war when they had to walk in muddy marsnd with soppy wet socks.

    Thank you, thank you very much, Momokawa.

    Both are a perfect fit.

    From the way JuryMarybi spoke, it seemed they had two pairs of underwear from the very beginning. As for why they had two pairs of underwear with them, well, it was for an emergency situation I guess.

    However, since Randou-san entrusted her leopard print underwear to Rem, it meant that she wasnt goingmando since she still kept another piece of underwear.

    Wait a minute, since she lent me her ck underwearst night, could it be that currently, Randou-san was<i> I see so that is the reason she is wearing a jersey today.</i>

    Hey Momokawa, can you make a leopard print design?

    It should be possible with simple alchemy, but do you by chance favour underwear with a leopard print design?

    What about you, Momokawa?

    The design is up to your preference. Thats why I think it suits you quite well Randou-san.

    Hehehe~, ri~ght?

    Yeah, thats right. The leopard print underwear suited Randou-san. Understanding ones own charm was the first step to being fashionable. I loved her super erotic style.

    What a relief, Kotaro-kun, everyone is clearly pleased with it.

    Yeah.

    So why am I the only one who got chest wrap

    <i>That should be what you wanted to wear right, Sakura-chan? The look on your face seems like youre unwilling to wear the underwear made by me after all.</i>

    Well then, all that was left to tune was the size of the distributed underwear at the end of the second day. By the time I was done with the job, the sun had already set, and it was already time for dinner.

    Mei-chan, the person in charge of meals started to lead the girls who got appointed as her assistant to mass-produce preserved food. Thats why, for todays dinner, aside from eating the usual menu, were also sampling the first result of sun-dried meat and air-dried meat. I felt some sense of obsession when Mei-chan presented dry fruit too.

    Nheless, the ability to instantly pickle and air dry the preserved food wasnt simple in alchemy, it was thanks to Witchs Kettle. Honestly, I was really d to see that my skill had such an advantage.

    By the way, the ce we used as a dining room, where we ate together, was the fairy za. The reason was that ce was the closest to the water source, the fountain. In that way, we could also directly pick our own drinking water.

    Since there was extra space in this huge fairy za, I assumed that this one was built for gathering many people, I actually wanted to add a table and chair too, but decided to leave it for the following day.

    Thus, I prepared a huge, makeshift low table and everyone was sitting on thewn. Well, this situation was much better since no one could even get a proper meal before.

    Theres something I wanted to tell everyone while we eat I think weve to look for proper equipment starting tomorrow.

    Since there were a lot of monsters and animals living in this dungeon, especially in the beach resort area of the deserted ind, we wouldnt have a problem with food for the time being. After gathering food ingredients for two days, I think we just needed to dispatch enough personnel to maintain our stock of food ingredients.

    The empty treasure chest was an excellent storage container. It could keep even the easily perishable ingredient fresh far longer than the refrigerator.

    As for the other method of storing our food, we could use ss Reps Ice spell in a readily avable roombined with Randou-sans Eternity spell to turn the room into a giant refrigerator. Thus, we had no worries about preserving arge number of ingredients while living in the school tower.

    We need the core of Living Armors ss monster. And treasure chest.

    Basically, the aim is to fight against a strong monster, but weve hardly managed to raise our level beforeing to this ce, thats why I want everyone to do their best to use this chance to raise their level.

    Everyone nodded upon hearing ss Reps exnation. Naturally, everyone but Tendou-kun who went to the side of the water fountain to smoke after he finished his meal.

    Well then, Ill announce the exploration party for tomorrow.

    Thus, I jotted down the partyposition on the ckboard that had already been prepared beforehand.

    Naturally, the ckboard was made with alchemy. It was one size smaller than the one we used in the school but big enough for everyone to see. And the only one who could make a ckboard of this size was Takanashi Kotori.

    It was made from the ck rock scattered in the wastnd. It was a simple lithograph called ckboard, not a real ckboard, just dark enough to be called ckboard. The material for chalk was a pumice-like stone that was also scattered in the wastnd.

    For some reason, I remembered the scene of a painter picking up a stone from the road from a long time ago in Japan.

    Even more important was the partyposition that ss Rep and I wracked our brains over.

    1st Exploration Party

    Captain:Hero Souma Yuuto

    Vice Captain:HealerHimeno Airi

    WarriorNakai Shouta

    Heavy WarriorYamada Genki

    WarriorYoshizaki Maria

    Rem The 3rd

    2nd Exploration Party

    Captain:CyromancerKisaragi Ryouko

    Vice Captain:SaintSouma Sakura

    Twin SwordsmanKenzaki Asuna

    Magic SwordsmanNakajima Haruma

    SwordsmanUeda Youhei

    Rem The 1st ck Knight

    Rem The 4th Minotaurs

    Hunting Team

    Captain:AquamancerShimokawa Junnosuke

    ThiefNatsukawa Minami

    KnightNonomiya Julia

    Rem The 2nd Arachne

    Thats the gist of it but, anybody has questions?

    Something about the bnce seems to be off.

    Hey, are you sure about this partyposition?

    No one literally raised their hands to question us about this partyposition, but they were murmuring among themselves.

    Well, I expected this reaction. Truth was, we made this arrangement to separate people who were in the same party until now. Thats why they felt insecure about this arrangement.

    As for the reason for this arrangement ss Rep, its your turn to exin to them

    ===

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 Chapter 197.2 - Exploration Plan

    Chapter 197.2 - Exploration n

    Okay everybody, be quiet. I understand your feeling of being separated from the party youre in until now, but please dont worry about it. Everyone who has arrived at this ce has already proven their strength.

    Instead, the abilities were rather diverse.

    Dont you all want to move in a group?

    The one asking that question when everyone was busy murmuring to one another was Souma-kun.

    He was asking whether all 13 people mentioned above should just move as one party while the rest stayed in the school tower to finish their assigned job. In terms of efficiency, dividing the exploration team into two parties would be for the best, but it was traded with safety.

    Souma-kun, you think itll be better for everyone to move together as a team, right?

    Nope, I dont mean it in that way.

    Then?

    I just noticed that you could be thinking that we shouldnt move in arge group.

    Exactly.

    Just as I expected from someone with Hero vocation, his intuition was spot on.

    I dont have a sense of danger or crisis avoidance, but I could grasp the situation with reasoning.

    This dungeon, each area seems to have its own level of difficulty.

    I made this hypothesis in ordance with my own experience, Mei-chans observation during the time she was separated from me, and the story of the other ssmates, whether it was the boss or the mobs, they became more and more powerful to the point of just right to be their opponent. Now that all of us had gathered together in one ce, there was a high possibility that there was some sort of system to manage the difficulty level of our dungeon capture.

    It might be the will of the god or the plot of the humans of another world, or maybe it was simply a program left behind in this dungeon. Anyway, any kind of action that went against that might invite unnecessary danger.

    Thats why no matter how many of us are gathered in this ce, I wanted to restrict the member of the party to less than 10, thus came up with 5 for each party.

    So you noticed that too huh, Momokawa.

    Well, I guess everyone else is already pretty much aware of this.

    There was no evidence for this hypothesis, but since everyone was pretty much aware of this matter, they readily agreed with this arrangement.

    Naturally, when it came to waging a battle against Yamata no Orochi, we had to give everything we had.

    And thats how I came up with this team setup, any suggestions?

    Despite the fact that it looks like a messed up formation, I came up with this team setup after considering our partys bnce.

    First was, naturally, deciding the team leader, the one who would be responsible to lead the team. Both Hero Souma and ss Rep had fulfilled the condition to lead the party.

    "

    "

    Uhm, excuse me Momokawa-kun, why am I appointed as the vice-captain?

    <i> Why are you look like youre in heaven, Himeno-san?</i>

    I reckon she could be thinking something along the lines of using her position as the vice-captain of Souma-kuns party to get close to him.

    Its more like because I expect the vice-captain to act as a healer rather than a team lead.

    Sakura and Himeno-san are our precious healers after all. Since each of them is going to be deployed as the rear guard of the exploration party in ordance with the degree of difficulties, I expect them to get a better view of the situation from behind.

    I wanted them to give the signal for retreat when they saw that the team was at a disadvantage situation. It would be better if they secured a path of retreat on top of that. Nevertheless, I had low expectations of both Sakura and Himeno-san to be able to deliver that though.

    But I cant use greater healing magic

    Thats why I put you in Souma-kuns team.

    Himeno-sans real vocation wasnt Healer, I had been long since aware of that after my conversation with Yamajun. As a kin, she had almost zero possibility of learning an even greater healing spell.

    But still, it didnt change the fact that her initial skill, Lesser Heal had an immediate effect.

    Himeno-san would have a thin presence as a healer, but that was exactly the reason I put her into Souma-kuns team.

    Dont worry, Himeno-san. Ill protect you.

    Tha-Thank you Souma-kun.

    <i> Atta boy, Souma-kun.</i>

    The firepower of your rear guard might becking, but the formation of your vanguard is definitely top-notch. This should be enough to beat living-armor-ss opponents.

    Excluding the super ace of the first team, Souma-kun, there were three warriors: Nakai, Yamada, and Mari.

    The second team had three swordsmen: Kenzaki, Ueda, and Nakajima. But even without Souma-kun, the two strongest versions of Rem, The Dark Knight and Minotaurs wouldpensate.

    <i> That should be enough to bnce their war potential.</i>

    Hey, are you sure about appointing me as the captain?

    Shimokawa-kun can at least lead the hunting team, right?

    Hey, thats too sloppy!

    Dont worry Shimokawa-kun, I know that you have got the ability to lead, and your binding skill can show its true worth in hunting.

    Ah, is that so~?

    Even Yamajun had the same evaluation as me, and he literally acted as the party leader after I left their party with Mei-chan.

    At least, he was the same as me in regards to his sensitivity to danger and knew when to retreat, definitely a much better choicepared to Natsukawa-san and Nonomiya-san.

    In this way, I wanted to nurture Shimokawas leadership skills too. There would be no growth if one were only awarded powerful skills.

    But are you really sure about this team setup? Being put in the same team as the one who you cant trust will literally put us in a predicament.

    Sakura-chan only said that since I didnt put her in the same team as her beloved onii-chan, theres a limit to your selfishness you know, Sakura-chan?

    Im serious here, Momokawa!

    <i>What the heck is wrong with this person, I went as far as admonishing you gently like a child. Even if you dont say tha Ah, can you please stop ring daggers at me, ss Rep? Rather, it sounds like Im selling a fight</i>

    I understand your sentiment, Sakura, but were going to fight alongside them after this. Theyre ourrade-in-arms.

    Its not like hes asking you to get along in private, but all of us will be in danger if we cant cooperate with ourrades during the battle.

    One could never tell what would happen in the dungeon nor predict the boss behaviour. And one couldnt always fight in the same team.

    Moreover, weve to split into a few teams when fighting Yamata no Orochi.

    And this team formation is exactly for that reason. You have to get used to it even if youre unwilling.

    Uhm, is Takanashi-san house-sitting also a part of that n? What about Tendou-kun who alwayszes?

    Enough, Sakura. No matter how much you hate it, you still have to use your healing spell when we need it.

    Do you really think Im such a petty person who will cut corners when someone elses life is in jeopardy?

    <i> Bi*ch, you already have a record of not using your healing power even once when Mei-chan fought those gogma.</i>

    Thats enough, Momokawa-kun.

    I have yet to say something.

    The only way to nurture mutual trust is by fighting together as much as possible.

    Haah Whatever! Its just as Ryoko had said, we wont understand unless we show it via action.

    <i>Is this what you call a karma? I mean, Sakura-chans evaluation of me is really that low.</i>

    Momokawa-kun.

    I have nothing to say.

    <i>Could it be that ss Rep had secretly learnt telepathic skills? Sending only a warning isnt that romantic though.</i>

    Anyhow, well try to fight with this team setup for the time being. Since this isnt a fixed thing, I might make some changes along the way, but the point is, everyone has to try to get along with the each other.

    "

    "

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

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 Chapter 198.1 - Clandestine Meeting Room

    Chapter 198.1 - ndestine Meeting Room

    Well then, we began the exploration and raising everyones level starting today. The third day after the start of cohabitation in the school tower was the first step toward the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi. Well, everything starts with trial and error, after all.

    Good grief, when people gathered, troublesome matters tend to increase But humans are the kind of beings that show their greatest potential when acting in a group. The only way to defeat the raid boss, Yamata no Orochi was bybining the power of our vocation. To achieve that, some major adjustments and fine-tuning were needed, right?

    Could it be that Yamata no Orochi is born because of a bug in the difficulty adjustment system?

    <i> Okay, thats it. Lets set that matter aside for now.</i>

    My top priority was to find the best n to subjugate Yamata no Orochi.

    Buuut, the problem is I cant think of any effective n.

    Honestly speaking, as of now, I couldnt get the picture of us defeating that giant, kaijuu-ss boss. Even if our three most powerful vanguard learnt the strongest martial arts and advanced spells, I didnt think it would be enough to defeat that kaijuu.

    ording to mytest observation, there were two great factors that made it impossible for us to subjugate that kaijuu.

    First, the head which we should suppress to prevent it from using indiscriminate breath attacks.

    Second, how to reach that guys core located deep in the rocky mountain.

    Those several heads, even half of them is enough to drive us into the corner, Randou-sans tunnel doesnt seem to work on it either

    "

    "

    <i> Uhm, we should go with blitzkrieg.</i>

    Anyhow, lets focus on upgrading our equipment for now.

    In regard to that matter, the current equipment-in-charge, Takanashi Kotori who was responsible to upgrade the equipment of 18 people, could need some time to finish her job.

    Its still not toote to do trial and error against Yamata no Orochi to find the best n to defeat it after everyone has raised their level, upgraded their equipment to a new and more powerful one, and mastered their skills.

    Moreover, I might be able to upgrade Rem too from the leftover monster materials.

    Lets give my homemade, original ointment to everyone

    Suddenly, I had a sh of inspiration.

    Thanks to the size of this fairy za being much bigger than usual, there was more raw ingredients for my reliable and trustworthy Ointment A. On top of that, we had enough people to make a request to gather the materials in the dungeon I needed.

    And there was Sage with her advanced alchemy.

    Doesnt that mean we can make our own potion?

    Under normal circumstances, Ointment A was already a reliable healing agent. With a bit of improvement, even if we couldnt reproduce the potion, we might be able to create something simr to that.

    Not to mention that we only had two healers in our group, namely Souma Sakura and Himeno Airi. Since Himeno-sans ability as a healer was very weak, we needed an external means to heal our wounds.

    On the other hand, Sakuras healing spell was growing properly and far more powerful but Her personality was unreliable. Meaning, she might not even heal you even if you need a healing spell, besides, she already had a criminal record.

    Under the assumption that theres no healer from the very beginning, I should at least prepare a potion-type ointment.

    Now that I think about it again, the degree of priority of this matter rivaled even the n to upgrade our equipment.

    Hey, Kotori-san, how many days of all-nighters can you pull off?

    PIIII!?

    <i> Ah, she fled!</i>

    The heck, I was just asking, there was no need to run away in tears like that right?

    Kotori-sa~n, you wont finish todays work quota if you flee~

    Since we still had some free time until the return of the exploration teams, whose job was looking for the required monster material, the matter of Kotori-san making the quilt, I wanted to resolve the problem about the item we used for daily life as soon as possible. Things were going to get really busy once we entered the weapon upgrade phase, after all. Just be prepared for all-nighters once we entered that phase.

    Well then, now Im finally alone with Mei-chan.

    Today, ss Rep had also gone out since she belonged to the exploration team. Tendou-kun, along with Randou-san, went to Yamata no Orochis nest. The only ones left in this school tower were me, Mei-chan, and Kotori-san. Since Kotori-san had already started working on the first floor, she wouldnt move until lunch.

    Fufufu, its been a while since it has been just the two of us.

    I felt my rising heartbeat just by imagining Mei-chans reassuring smile. I mean, it felt like a ndestine meeting.

    Well, someone might be nearby~

    That reminds me that ever since we arrived at this area, my eloquence had been going on full throttle to establish my position, there was no moment of respite until now. The matter of ss Rep aside, did she actually resent me for bing the source of hatred for Souma-kun?

    With this, we can at least speak frankly.

    The site of our ndestine meeting was a room on the fifth floor of this school tower.

    The first floor of the school tower in which the teleportation magic circle was located had already be a workshop and armory.

    The second floor was the fairy za. It was also the ce where everyone gathered to have a meal together.

    The third and fourth floors were private rooms. The third floor was allocated to the boys, while the girls used the 4th floor.

    The design of the rooms was almost identical. The only difference was shape and size. Though there was a jail-like stone room without any window at all, the inside was already a mess since I used that room to keep small articles that I made or monster materials.

    Im really happy to be able to talk in private like this.

    Me too, Mei-chan.

    Currently, the only one I could really trust was Mei-chan. On the other hand, I was prepared to die in the most upright manner if she betrayed me. In short, I was simr to Brutus Oh screw that man, he was a back-stabbing bstard.

    [TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Junius_Brutus ]

    The present situation aside, I dont sense any kind of sinister plot.

    Does that mean were going to defeat Yamata no Orochi along with everyone?

    We have no choice, thats the only way to get out of this area after all. What do you think about the current situation, Mei-chan?

    I also think we have to defeat that guy, but that doesnt equal trusting everyone.

    From the way she spoke, it meant that she included her own friend, Himeno-san, in the suspect list. Mei-chan had be really clever after her transformation. Well, considering the shits we went through until this point, I guess it was only natural for our personality to be rather distorted too.

    And it isnt just us, I guess its the same for everyone.

    Even the reckless Totem Pole Trio chose to follow us since it was more profitable for the current condition. Well, at least everyone in my faction felt the same.

    It will be for the better if everyone believes in you, Kotaro-kun.

    Maan, youre overestimating me~

    Surely, we would be more united and stronger than before if everyone followed me just like Mei-chan, but there was a huge pitfall in that kind of situation namely the sess or failure of the n had bepletely dependent on me. In the case that they believed in my n and executed it wlessly, the pressure that I would face when such a n failed would be just Well the downside aside, it didnt seem to be a bad situation since it meant that there were no unstable factors such as Souma sibling.

    Anyhow, I want to gain confidence bit by bit until we find the best n to subjugate Yamata no Orochi. Thats why Mei-chan, I need you to get along with everyone rather than raising your vignce against them.

    Including Souma-kun?

    Yeah, hes the first target.

    Souma Yuuto resented me who murdered his childhood friend Reina. But his hatred didnt extend to Mei-chan who trusted me the most.

    The foremost reason was simple she wasnt involved in Reinas murder, and from Mei-chans ount during her time at the hero party, Souma-kun was the one who truly worried about Mei-chans condition. Not to mention he had a debt of gratitude during the battle against gogma.

    From Souma-kuns perspective, Mei-chan might be someone with whom he wanted to get along with. Frankly speaking, it felt like advanced psychology to make her betray meter on, right?

    But wont that make kid chirp non-stop if I get along with Souma-kun?

    That will be for the best. Since they have no choice but to obey you.

    Though most men wouldnt take womens words lying down Souma Yuuto had a gift of sharp intuition. If someone was jealous of Mei-chan who wanted to get along with Souma-kun, thetter would definitely notice the malice in the formers remark and behaviour.

    And the proof of that was his act of entrusting the Droplet of Life to Mei-chan, ignoring his little sister, Sakuras opposition. Meaning that Souma-kun wasnt a yes-man who would do the bidding of women or Sakura.

    Though he had a strong sense of justice, tenacity, and willpower to carry it on befitting his vocation as the Hero, Souma-kun didnt get swayed by fake and baseless rumors he simply wanted to get along with Mei-chan.

    I see, thats really the case. I have to get along with Souma-kun, but I will kill him when pushes to shove.

    It will be for the best if everything ends peacefully, but I want you to subdue him when pushes to shove.

    When I met him again right after I murdered Reina, Souma-kun himself didnt resent Mei-chan, thus she became my greatest shield back then.

    I mean, had I used Yamada and the Totem Pole Trio as my shield in that situation, they would be cut down for sure. Thats why Mei-chan became a huge deterrent at that time. Naturally, her strength as Berserker was part of that equilibrium.

    But I dont think I can get along with him.

    No need to get along with him for real, just enough to have a normal conversation.

    ===

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 Chapter 198.2 - Clandestine Meeting Room

    Chapter 198.2 - ndestine Meeting Room

    <i> Can you please stop saying it in a way as if I told you to seduce him? Seriously, please stop Mei-chan, Ive no resistance against NTR. It is akin to an instant death spell word for me.</i>

    Just smile at him normally. Moreover, since were going to fight as a group from now on, make sure that you can at least be arade he can trust.

    Sounds right, meaning that I just need to act like before.

    Next, try to get along with everyone aside from Souma-kun. Especially people from our side.

    Uhm understood.

    Thereafter, we did not engage in idle talks during our ndestine meeting on the 5th floor and left once I exined my general idea.

    We returned together to the fairy za on the 2nd floor.

    Mei-chan was on duty, she had to prepare preserved food and lunch. Her current goal was to create preserved food equal to that freeze-dried food.

    Since the path toward the deste ind had already been opened up, gathering food ingredients became much easier resulting in an increase in her cooking repertoire. Freeze-dry was different from fermentation or dried food since it literally sucked the water out of the dish itself, the dish could be enjoyed again simply by adding hot water. If she seeded, we would be able to preserve literally all dishes.

    Considering the future, after we subjugated Yamata no Orochi, there was nothing wrong with mastering theplete method to preserve food.

    Thats why I wanted Mei-chan to seed in her experiment.

    I, on the other hand, had to do my best on doing my job too.

    Well then, Ill sleep on the hammock over there.

    All Rems were currently out but my safety was guaranteed since Mei-chan was nearby.

    Well then, good ni~ght.

    Yeah, good night.

    After looking at Mei-chans smile, I entered the dream world from inside the hammock in the fairy za Or not, my consciousness literally flew toward Yamata no Orochis nest.

    ===

    Morning, Randou-san.

    Uwaa!? Have you woken up, Momokawa!?

    The first thing that I saw when I woke up was the hard soil of the wastnd. Thefort of sleeping was the worst, but the reason Randou-san stood in that ce was simply that it was the best ce to allow me to peek into her mini-skirt.

    Ah, she wore the provided Arachne thread-made underwear. The white color was a perfect match.

    Well then, lets continue our construction job.

    Oooou.

    It looked like she was as listless as ever to start another day of work. But the fact that Randou-san was still using her earth spell so diligently like this made her an ideal working partner.

    This ce was right at the edge of the mortar-shaped valley with Yamata no Orochis nest at its center. That fe barely reacted to our presence at this distance.

    My main job currently involved the daily observation of Yamata no Orochi with Twin Shadow that I had left behind.

    Randou-san had just arrived at this location by riding Alfa from the school tower.

    She went along with Tendou-kun too, but it seemed he didnt feel like challenging Yamata no Orochi today. He just sat nearby, took out a cigarette, and started smoking. I wonder why he came then?

    Momokawa~, building is just impossible~.

    Yeah, that seems to be the case.

    We steadily built the trenches, but the progress of building the bunker was stale.

    Currently, as per Randou-sans current skill in using the intermediate spell of earth attribute, Terra Wall Defence, she could instantly conjure three meters tall and ten meters long wall but Thats it.

    The building aside, not just the wall on four sides, we couldnt even add a ceiling. Whats more, the ease of use aside, we also needed entrance.

    Nevertheless, even if we could conjure a wall, creating a box that allowed people to freelye in and out was a challenge.

    U~hm, is it because the image isnt clear enough? Or else, it simply rtes to the scope of the ability Theres a saying that women have low spatial awareness It isnt solid enough.

    Ah, did you just make fun of me~?

    Say Randou-san, did you love ying with building blocks during your childhood?

    Since I had the habit of eating small things in childhood, my parents never allowed me to y it.

    Have you ever yed with a stic model?

    Why do I get this feeling that youre enjoying this? I did my job properly. Maybe I should start to charge you around 10k yen per day.

    This might have something to do withpatibility~

    The heck, you bully~!?

    No matter how much I thought about it, Randou-san was ill-suited for a construction job. Even without her ability, the matter of like or dislike made a huge difference.

    Take me for example, during my childhood, I loved to y with huge building blocks, my n to build a huge fortress during the break had always been intruded on by the nursery teacher or the time limit.

    And just like your average boy, I also loved to y with that world-famous toy block or stic model. Even after we were thrown into this dungeon, I was more of the production type, and my manufacturing blood had literally gone all out after I got Simple Alchemy Formation.

    But of course, I didnt have the aptitude for that. And the one who had aptitude but crude imagination was Randou-san, the Geomancer.

    Lets try to change our perspective Lets try to create building materials first

    Wait a minu~te, I can make building blocks if I put my thought into it.

    No, it is a waste of our time to create building block I No, wait a minute.

    I mean, who would care if it is just a building block?

    Randou-san, can you make jenga-like brick?

    Haah? Thats a piece of cake.

    Thus, she hoisted her hand in the air and created a brick-sized sandstone in just a second as if it had always been there.

    Chantless, without using either her revolver or cane.

    Maybe Randou-san had already reached the point at which she could create this sandstones brick with ease.

    Can you make another one like this?

    Yes.

    The second piece of brick appeared along with a triumphant look on her face.

    Well, it might be easier if we build it like a building with a building block.

    In the first ce, asking her to create a wall along with the ceiling was a mistake.

    A defensive spell was supposed to be used to create a wall or shield. The exception was Souma Sakuras omnidirectional barrier, the Oracle Field.

    That was an exception among exceptions. Fundamentally speaking, a defensive spell was only for one side, so making a defensive spell on four sides plus the ceiling meant that there were five sides. So creating five sides would take more time. And speaking of increasing the output of magical power equivalent to that of five defensive spell worth was also a waste of effort.

    However, as long as magical power allowed it, using the same five defensive spells in session was easier. In short, invoking four defensive spells in session alone was enough toplete a roofless cubic bunker.

    A~h, I see~

    Rather, its strange that I never realized such simple truth

    Heck, shouldnt that be the first thing that we tried to confirm? I mean, the trench was made by casting Terra Shield repeatedly.

    Not good, I might be in the wrong here for expecting construction to be done in one shot of spell. And the sheer level of difficulty alone was still too much for the current Randou-san.

    Well then, lets start with making coupling construction for pir and wall.

    Haah, another boring activity I bet.

    <i>Too bad Randou-san, you cant escape from this boring job the moment you be Geomancer. Give it up and polish your skill to be the best at this boring job!</i>

    ===

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 Chapter 199.1 - Exploration Team

    Chapter 199.1 - Exploration Team

    The first exploration team led by Souma Yuuto had arrived at the underworld area.

    Ma~n, this ce is dark and gloomy for sure.

    Yeah, its always dark here, and the mist makes it even harder to see the surroundings. Lets advance and be wary about a surprise attack.

    In contrast to the vice leader Himeno who tried to show her weak and frail side, the leader Souma reminded everyone to be careful as they advanced.

    I-Im really scared, Souma-kun Ca-Can I grab your hand?

    Ill be the vanguard since Im the only one who is familiar with this area. Nakai, Yamada, and Himeno-san will follow while Yoshizaki-san will bring up the rear guard.

    Well, its a reasonable tactic I guess.

    OOH!

    Lets go, young man.

    In a in tone, Souma Yuuto doled out those instructions.

    But, it didnt mean that he hadpletely ignored Airis remark.

    Himeno-san, I know that youre scared, but youll be a hindrance during the battle if we join hands. This ce isnt a haunted house, you shouldnt make such kind of jokes in this dangerous ce.

    But of all things, he gave her serious caution, making her feel that being ignored might have been much better.

    Ye-Yes Im sorry

    Airi was seriously going to cry since Yuuto was literally scolding her like a father his daughter.

    Its good that you understand. Himeno-san has the leastbat experience, but itll be fine if you just follow the rest. Dont worry, I wont let any monster hurt you.

    Sou-Souma-kun

    Meanwhile, the other three members of the team thought the same thing <i>Souma Yuuto, you really are</i>

    Thus, the first exploration team led by Souma advanced.

    This area is dominated by werewolf-type monsters. Theyre fast, powerful, and armed with weapons. Thats why please be careful, they really are powerful opponents.

    Yuuto gave his team members a brief exnation about the monsters in the area as they walked into the eerie city shrouded by eternal night.

    In fact, the strength of the werewolf appearing in this area was simply off the chart whenpared to the goma and skeleton, themon monsters in this dungeon. One could even say that the degree of difficulty was much higher than normal in areas.

    Halt. The enemy ising This presence, its the werewolf.

    Eh, seriously, where are they?

    Oi, dont mess with us, Souma. I didnt feel a

    AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    A loud howl resounded.

    Ooh, for real, where are theying from now!?

    Dammit, its hard to see in this darkness.

    The werewolves were rushing from the front rather than using a surprise attack. Though several of their presence could be felt, they used the shadow and the ruined building to hide their figure, waiting for their prey to approach.

    Calm down, there are two on the roof over there, one behind that wall, another two on the right corner, and Yoshizaki-san, be careful with the one that ising from the back.

    Holy cr*p Souma, you even know their positions.

    Even Marie, who was proud of her presence sense as a Warrior, tipped her hat upon discovering the extent of Yuutos presence sense.

    Though she had yet to sense the presenceing from the rear, Maria readied her ck Irons Axe to protect Airi, their healer.

    ORAAA, COME AND GET IT MUTT!

    SEE WHAT I HAVE HERE BA*TARD!

    Though both Yamada and Nakai raised their weapons, Yuuto came out ahead of them.

    You two focus on protecting Himeno-san. Leave them to me.

    Saying so, Yuutos figure vanished Or seemingly vanished, since there was no other expression for it.

    Ground ShrinkHigh-rank skill of Souma-style martial arts. The way it is used to close in the distance without being noticed gives an illusion as if the ground itself has shrunk.

    Both the werewolves and hisrades only saw Yuutos figure vanish from the spot and appear on another spot in the next moment as if he had just teleported over there.

    First is two.

    He ambushed the werewolf who just appeared from the corner of the street.

    In the blink of eye, the two werewolves sumbed under Yuutos shining sword.

    WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    The two werewolves on the roof rushed toward Nakai and Yamada.

    I guess barely within the range.

    de of Holy BloodGranting swords de with powerful purification ability by applying drop of blood of holy lineage to the swords de.

    It was the skill that converted blood into sword, raising the length of the users de, the favorite skill of Drac, the boss of the underworld area. After that skill transformed into the Heros skill, it became de of Holy Blood, a skill that allowed its user to raise the length of their de using the magical power of light instead of their bloodThus, the two poor rushing werewolves got bisected in the air by Yuutos sword.

    Theres only the guy in the back left.

    Upon a closer look, he saw a werewolfing from the back of their formation, rushing at Maria who had already prepared herself..

    As expected, he couldnt use the de of Holy Blood since there were dozens of metres between them, not to mention that hisrades were also inside the range of his sword. The same went for his other ranged attack, hisrade was inside its firing range.

    Yuuto already considered the option of letting Maria deal with that werewolf but Even if her strength was already boosted by her Warrior vocation, Yuuto couldnt bring himself to see the back figure of a girl, facing a monster with a weapon in her hand.

    Lets try it out.

    White Shadow Spear Materializing the magical power of light attribute to form a spear. Can be conjured in any ce with light.

    After a moment of hesitation, Yuuto invoked his spell.

    This was another one of Dracs favorite skills, conjuring a ck spear from his stretched shadow to skewer his foe from below.

    When Yuuto used it, what appeared was a dim white glow instead of a shadow, it passed below the feet of hisrades, crossed Maria, and arrived before the werewolf who was about to be the target of Marias axe.

    At that moment, the spear of light appeared.

    Its color was transparent, beautiful like crystal. And yet, it pierced the steel-like skin of the werewolf as if it was made from tofu.

    Okay, thats everything. The one hiding behind the wall Has already escaped.

    He knew from his previous experience of traversing this area that despite their brutal nature, the werewolf wouldnt fight a battle with no chance of victory. Thus, Yuuto just let thest werewolf escape.

    Thus, the first battle ended with the groupsndslide victory.

    Aw-Awesome, Souma-kun! You killed all of them by yourself!

    Be quiet and stay in your ce, Himeno-san. We dont know when another monster is going to ambush us.

    Yuuto calmly called out to Airi stopping thetter from rushing at him.

    And seeing Yuutos cold, piercing gaze, Airi had no choice but to obey him Or rather, she felt depressed after receiving another reminder from him.

    I got no chance, at all.

    Its not a bad thing, right? Something like this does happen sometimes.

    Despite waiting for the iing monster with a weapon in their hands, both Yamada and Nakai ended up not even getting a chance to swing their weapon and lowered their weapon again with a rather disappointed looks on their faces.

    Is this just me or, were actually useless here?

    Grumbling, Maria also lowered her weapon.

    Well, lets retrieve the core.

    Though the werewolf in this area was under the category of Mob, they would be quite a formidable monster had they appeared outside of this area, making their core quite precious too. Kotaro asked the group to collect as much core as possible, even the smallest bits of it since they could be used as a source of magical power.

    At this point, they were already used to dismantling jobs, thus they could retrieve the monsters cores with ease and continued on, looking for an even more powerful monster.

    ===

    Well then, we will go over there. Shimokawa-kun, Nonomiya-san, please take care of Minami-san.

    Care to exin why Im the only one receiving this childlike treatment!?

    The second exploration team led by the ss Rep and Shimokawas hunting team had arrived in the deste ind area.

    The exploration team, whose main job was to collect monster materials, was advancing following the route drawn by Kotaro. On the other hand, the hunting teams main task was to scout a new area, looking for a new kind of prey, as such they were moving in the opposite direction of the second exploration team.

    With the fairy za which had been used by Kotaro and Meiko for a while, enjoying the time of their life in a tropical country as starting point, both teams headed in opposite directions.

    But I cant help but worry since there are two of Momokawas pawns.

    Sakura told Ryouko as soon as they started walking.

    ===

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 Chapter 199.2 - Exploration Team

    Chapter 199.2 - Exploration Team

    They might look like monsters, but they are good kids. They didnt cause any problems when they were with us back then, after all.

    The shapeshifting curse that Kotaro used, which he called Rem, was looking ahead on the road in front of them. From the fact that Rem looked at Asuna, who was frantically collecting materials for upgrading Rem, it was clear that there was a crack in the rtionship between Rems masters group and Asuna.

    I definitely wont entrust my back to that.

    I know. Since thats the case, lets use them as our vanguard. But since one is going to carry the materials on the way back, the other will stay as a rear guard by then.

    Okay, its not a big deal.

    Doing that means we need to add another person as a vanguard but Will you do it, Asuna?

    I dont mind.

    Nay, I mean we should let a boy take that position, theres two in our group after all.

    Indeed, what do you think, Ueda-kun, Nakajima-kun?

    Well, since Rem is really strong, I think its pretty safe.

    I dont really mind it, I can literally fill in any position.

    Three girls from the same faction, two boys, and two Rems. Thus, it was only natural for the girls to have the upper hand in the negotiation. Both Ueda and Nakajima didnt have any problems with being ced in any position in their team either.

    In that way, the team walked along the white sandy beach with Rem and the boys taking the lead.

    Such fine weather. A great difference from that gloomy city.

    But it doesnt change the fact that were in the middle of a dungeon.

    From time to time, Nakajima Haruma would steal furtive nces at Souma Sakura who was chatting idly.

    It then urred to him that this was the first time he had leeway to see her like that aftering into this dungeon. Though he had no idea what was wrong with her during the ss meeting in which she literally bared her fangs at Momokawa, spewing all kinds of curses toward thetter with an enraged face The aloof figure of Sakura walking along the white sandy beach under the sunlight was truly a sight to behold.

    Compared to Himeno Airi, it was akin to a frog and the moon.

    Or rather, it was still Airis devastating defeat if she was to bepared to any other girl in this ce.

    Well, we aint dreaming, shes the real thing.

    Ueda, who muttered those remarks, had also shot nces at Sakura, from time to time.

    What kind of dream are you talking about?

    Somehow, Haruma couldnt help but ask when his eyes met Ueda.

    A~h, well, have you seen a trap that lets out pink smoke before?

    Uhm, nope, I dont think I have seen one.

    Thats a relief then. That trap makes you see a nice dream, but it will also make you see the worst nightmare once you wake up.

    Wow, thats a terrifying trap for sure.

    But if I suffered from that trap again Please tell Momokawa to wake me up three hourster.

    Why Momokawa-kun though

    [TL: Theyre talking about a mist trap that allows its victim to experience an erotic dream with their crush.]

    But Ueda was unwilling to continue, he just nced at Sakura from time to time with an extremely lewd smile on his face.

    Uhm, Ueda-kun.

    HAH?

    For some reason, I get this feeling that everyone seems to be involved with Momokawa-kun at one point, but what really happened back then?

    Haruma used to think that Momokawa Kotaro was someone with an insignificant presence like him, not standing out and only staying in the corner of the ss.

    However, after many ssmates gathered together in the school tower, the one who became the center of everyones attention was undoubtedly Momokawa Kotaro.

    Souma Yuuto, Sakura, ss Rep, and even the lone wolf Tendou was acknowledging Kotaro. Not to mention he became quite close with Randous girls group, even the Totem Pole Trio was relying on Kotaro.

    Moreover, even Futaba Meiko, who turned into a bombshell after she slimmed down a lot due to extreme dieting that shocked everyone, was following him like a loyal knight.

    And though he sounds like some sort of a dangerous murderer, when he heard the story during the meeting about him killing Reina A Ayase, he still had no idea how Kotaro managed to be the center of attention despite all of those dangerous stories about him.

    As an outsider, Haruma waspletely out of the loop, and by the time he noticed, Kotaro had be the male ss rep who was responsible for the male students, resulting in the current situation exploration and foraging.

    Nevertheless, just like a typical Japanese who goes along with the flow, Haruma wasnt dissatisfied with the current situation. But then, he still wanted to know the details of how Momokawa Kotaro reached his current position.

    Come to think of it, you left us before we reunited with Momokawa..

    Ah,e to think of it, youre right

    Though he didnt fall in love with Airi, he fled since he couldnt stand the feeling of something along the lines of being NTRed and had yet to recover from his trauma.

    I have never expected you would go back with Himeno again though! Hahaha, youre still doing it with that girl, right?

    No, its not like tha Wait, I dont think we can continue this topic!

    Contrary to Haruma was about to reply before he snapped out and reminded Ueda about the girls behind them, Ueda was grinning happily. But then, thetter was apparently sensible enough to not talk in a loud voice.

    Rather than talking about that, I want to know more about Momokawa-kuns story.

    Ahh, Momokawa huh. Well, that guy i Whoops, lets save that forter, weve got apany.

    Swordsman Ueda who had the sharpest sense detected the presence of a monster approaching from ahead.

    Hearing Uedas warning, Rem the Dark Knight and Rem the 2nd, Minotaurs raised their weapons immediately Almost at the same time, several figures jumped from the shore, spraying water.

    ITS JIRA! BE CAREFUL, THERES JAJIRA TOO!

    Jira was a humanoid monster that lived in the water, it was like the bipedal fish version of goma. Since Ueda had visited an area resembling this one before, he had the experience of fighting jira.

    That jajira thingy is kinda like govu in terms of strength eh

    This was Harumas first-time fighting jira, but he had the experience of fighting govu, the stronger version of goma. And not even a fully armed govu could beat the current Haruma in one-on-onebat.

    There were around ten jiras appearing before them, and five of them were jajiras. Not to mention there were another ten behind them.

    Though Haruma wasnt alone, the jiras simply outnumbered his team. Haruma unsheathed his sword, preparing for a tough fight.

    GRRR, GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    MUGUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The one who made the first move as they raised a warcry was Rem.

    Rem The Dark Knight, who wielded a great sword brandished, her weapon toward the barnacle-like crust protecting the jajira. That attack bisected jajiras body, and the residual force killed the jiras around them.

    Rem Minotaur swung down her great axe and bisected the jajira who wielded a turtle shell-like shield.

    The jiras flinched upon witnessing the overwhelming show of power by the two Rems.

    Ooo~, as strong as it appears to be. Okay then, leave the jajiras to Rem, were going to take care of the jiras.

    Ah, uhm

    The battle ended way too fast as Haruma slew the jiras with his sword, he didnt even have the chance to use his magic as a Magic Swordsman.

    Looking at jajiras who ended up in a really miserable state due to their battle against Rems, the corpse of jira was perfectly bisected with a mere sword skill.

    Ah, theres jira behind us too.

    They ended up focusing on the enemy in the front and then turned around upon recalling that there was another enemying from behind.

    This isnt even enough for warming up.

    Good job, Asuna.

    The monster in this ce is weaker than the one in the underworld, huh.

    The flock of jiras that should be nking them from the rear had already been annihted by Asuna. She was wielding a sword d in me, and a sword surrounded by a vortex in her hands, the so-called dual wield.

    Hey, Ueda-kun That seems like an enchanted sword.

    Seriously? Well, no wonder its burning. As expected of the member of Soumas party, even their equipment is really good.

    Ye-Yeah

    Until a while ago, Airi aside, Haruma had never met anyone besides the four Yamada and Totem Pole Trio, but he finally noticed something.

    He had been wondering if he was actually on the weaker side of the group.

    ===

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 Chapter 200.1 - Result of Exploration

    Chapter 200.1 - Result of Exploration

    The hunting team led by Shimokawa advanced without a hitch.

    One man and two women, although the bnce of the party seemed to be off, Julia was actually in a friendly rtionship with Shimokawa. Randous and Higuchis groups were getting along really well with each other.

    And though Natsukawa Minami had no prior friendship with the two, she possessed a bright and friendly persona and could get along with just about anyone. The level of her friendliness was so amazing that even Yokomichi with his harsh attitude couldnt get angry at her.

    Shimokawa-sa~n, where are we~?

    U~hn, this area seems to be pretty deserte~d.

    The Thief Minami, who couldnt use her scouting ability in Soumas party exhibited her full potential on this asion, could find hidden games and detect enemy presence with her sharp intuition and presence detection.

    Even after a while of walking in the forest resembling the jungle of jungle tower area, they had yet to find their main target.

    But ma~n, having an Arachne following is really nerve-wracking after a~ll.

    Kishishi.

    The one who sounded the grumbling-like hiss from behind Julia was Arachne Rem. Arachne Rem was apanying the hunting team as their baggage carrier, and despite knowing very well that she was on their side, Julia who had yet to get used to Rem, was still nervous.

    Eh, whats the matter Nonomiya, are you scared of spider?

    Not actually. Oh thats not the point, what I mean is, this fe is the same one who kidnapped Momokawa back then, thats why I cant help but feel anxious.

    When Kotaro got kidnapped by Arachne in the undergroundke area, the one who received the utmost shock was definitely Ryoko, however, Julia and Maria were pretty shocked too. That moment was the moment they realized just how terrifying a wild monster was, they would use a moment of carelessness to catch their prey.

    Perhaps her first impression of Arachne was the reason Julia was ufortable.

    Rather, the victim of that case himself went and made the very same monster as his ally, he must have the nerve of steel.

    Were talking about Momokawa after all.

    Shimokawas impression of Momokawa was a realist through and through who would work everyone-including his own parents and himself- to the bone. The man called Momokawa Kotaro could even force the most useless piece of trash teammate-namely Reina-to work properly.

    You two, stop.

    The two stopped and raised their vignce the moment they heard Minamis voice.

    Though the two looked like normal high school students when they were chatting a while ago, it didnt change the fact that theyre veteran warriors who survived the harsh baptism of the dungeon until now. They could easily enterbat mode at a moments notice.

    This presence Seems to be goma.

    Seriously, you really can find them everywhere in this dungeon, huh.

    Shimokawa thought that the only humanoid monster in this beach area was jira, but it turned out there was a goma living deep in the forest too.

    What shall we do?

    We can ignore them but Things will get dicey if the other party is loitering inside the forest.

    Exterminate them, should we?

    Yeah. But lets go back if there are too many govus.

    They decided to exterminate the group of gomas they encountered.

    In terms of sense of presence, Minamis ability in that area was far above the gomas. Though the goma had a home advantage, it was but a minuscule advantage.

    The hunting team slowly advanced into the forest while stalking the goma group, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush.

    Five gomas and two govus.

    Piece of cake.

    Lets smash them.

    Finally, the figures of their foes that were detected first by Minami were within their sights. They were convinced that Minami and Julia alone were enough to kill all the gomas. But then, Shimokawa was a little skeptical.

    Anyhow, now that they had confirmed the other partys force, the only thing left was to ambush them without letting their guard down.

    The one who drew the first blood was Minami, she leapt from atop the tree, killing the govu, who looked like the leader of the group, in a single blow.

    Shimokawa and Arachne Rem used that moment to stir up their foes formation as Julia went in for the kill.

    The group of gomas that lost their leader lost their cool due to the sudden interference by the invisible enemy and then got ughtered without getting the chance to fight back.

    Done, now lets continue with our original task.

    No, wait a minute. They mightve brought some drug with them, weve to secure it.

    Drug?

    Minami revealed a look of understanding on her face while Julia seemed to be confused upon hearing Shimokawas statement.

    In Minamis case, she had seen with her own eyes, during the battle in gomas pyramid, how Meiko gained tremendous power-up thanks to the Drug she received from Kotaro. Julia, on the other hand, had never heard of or seen this drug before.

    Andstly, Shimokawa had first-hand experience with the effect of the drug. He had consumed it during the battle against the sacred beast when they tried to save Reina, he still remembered the pain and agony that assailed his body during that time.

    Im against that idea though.

    Surely, that drug is a piece of bad news, but we might need that kind of drug during the final battle against that kaijuu-like boss, you know?

    E~h, that drug sounds dangerous

    Even though each of them had their own opinion, the other two decided to follow Shimowas order, the leader of the group and started looking for the said drug.

    Oh, the leader is the one who brought it, eh?

    Wow, white powder.

    Julia was drawing away upon seeing the white powder that bore a resemnce to opium.

    Its okay. The one we used at that time had been tinkered with by Momokawa, its less potent and dangerous than this one.

    Uwa~, I doubt that though.

    Well, the truth is, it was just a bit addictive when we used it before, so it will be all ri Wait a minute, is that really all right?

    Shimokawa suddenly realized the side effect of the drug, namely drug addiction, upon prolonged usage.

    Wait a minute.

    As Minami stared at the drug in Shimokawas hand with an extremely solemn expression, she took a pinch of the white powder with a resolute look.

    <i>Lick</i>TH-THIS MUST BE!?

    ===

    Before sunset, both the hunting team and the exploration team returned safely to the academy tower.

    Thank you for the hard work everyone~

    Despite that, no one seemed to be tired. Since the main objective was foraging, the mental pressure was much lighter than capturing the area.

    Though you enjoyed the bath ahead of everyone else, your real job is about to begin, Takanashi.

    Well then, everyone, show me the results of todays exploration.

    Uuh Kotori wants to bathe too

    <i> No cant, you have to wait until we are done with our job.</i>

    This was high time to confirm the monster material brought back by Rems who had gone with each team. Lets start with Souma-kuns team first.

    Werewolf Knight Werewolf d in armour. Maybe because they are originally a high-ranking knight wearing high-quality armour.

    Bloody Giant Axe The great axe used by the werewolfs knight. The de is covered in rust since it is smeared with too much blood but is an extremely high-quality weapon. It is enchanted with some sort of magic.

    Rusted Sword The sword used by the werewolf knight, is enchanted with magic too.

    Degraded PotionDegraded version of the potion made by the werewolf, the effect is negligible.

    Bracelet of Strength A bracelet enchanted with reinforcement magic, Force Boost.

    In addition to those weapons, we also got various magic stones as the result of the first teams exploration.

    Though theres nothing to say about its quality, the weapon is enchanted and the quality of the degraded potion is not a bad harvest.

    <i> As expected of Hero, hm.</i> Upon a closer look, the condition of the corpse of the werewolf knight was really good, there was no scratch on its armour, and was killed in one strike. The reason they had brought the corpses back was that their condition was really good.

    Could it be that the reason the condition of the corpses was so good was that Souma-kun soloed them?<i> Cmon dude, we cant afford to let the hero die!</i>

    Well, lets move on to the second exploration team led by ss Rep.

    ===

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 Chapter 200.2 - Result of Exploration

    Chapter 200.2 - Result of Exploration

    Minogori Encassed in Ice Minogori sealed into ice block. Since it is only sealed, theres a chance that it might be still alive. It is a fresh ingredient. Mouth-watering, isnt it?

    Huge Kokko Encasssed in Ice A huge kokko encassed in ice. There are a lot of scars left on its body, was encased in ice right after it died.

    MandragoraLong time no see, all-purpose curse ingredient.

    Though their result seemed to becklusterpared to the first team, the fact that they found mandragora was enough to satisfy me.

    But then, it seemed ss Reps team had quite a lot of trouble when they picked up this mandragora. I mean, it was just as their legend says the scream they raise when you pull them out is enough to knock you out.

    Uhm, it did nothing like that to both Mei-chan and me though.

    Was that simply because of the individual difference? Or, unorthodox vocations such as shaman and berserker had a natural resistance to those kinds of things?

    Well, they might use Sakuras defensive spell and have Asuna pull out the mandragora with sheer grit. Ueda and Nakajima seemed to be useless in this case.

    Mandragora should be growing en masse in one ce, I think itll be much better for me to pick it up in person.

    It seems I would have to join the exploration team sooner orter.

    Lastly, the hunting team. Since their main job was finding ingredients, it was Mei-chans turn this time but

    *Lick*THI-THIS IS! *Lick*, *LickLick*

    Wait a minute, Mei-chan, how much are you nning on licking those drugs?

    It was something retrieved from govu, the gomas white powder which I was already familiar with. And Mei-chan had actually kept licking on that with a shocked look on her face.

    Cou-Could it be, she has actually be a drug addict?

    Kotaro-kun, this is sugar!

    Eh, seriously? Let me see*Lick*

    <i>Thi-This sweetness is definitely that of sugar!</i>

    I thought it was gomas white powder since they had the same colour, but upon a closer look, the colour and luster along with the shape of the grain were clearly different.

    Amazing, isnt this almost simr to normal sugar?

    Yeah, this is definitely granted sugar.

    I had no idea about the difference between sugars such as refined, castor, and granted, but it could be a world of difference to a chef like Mei-chan.

    But then, why was the goma holding onto something like this?

    Isnt it because its delicious?

    Well, finding such refined sugar in this dungeon survival life was akin to a miracle but Even if that wasnt the case, the most important fact was the mystery about how the gomas got their hands on this obviously, manufactured sugar.

    Since the govu carried it during the hunting, it means this sugar is a luxury good only avable to the elite.

    Since the goma, the small fry was holding on to the drug, the sugar was undoubtedly a precious ingredient. Theres a possibility that only the one living on the deste ind has ess to sugar.

    They got it from the direction of the ruined city, huh. From what weve seen, there werent that many food ingredients over there.

    Since thats the case, they could be cultivating sugarcane somewhere.

    No, the most important step is the extraction of sugar from the raw material They might have surprisingly advanced civilization.

    And yet, the gomas who got defeated by the hunting team was no different from the ones we had defeated so far. Rather, theyre obviously poorer than the gomas residing around the gomas pyramid back in the jungle tower.

    Since that was the case, it meant that the gomas in this ce werent the ones with excellent civilization, they could have gotten a hold of this sugar from elsewhere.

    The question is, where did they get this sugar from

    I might have to investigate this matter.

    Sugar, want More Sugar

    Mei-chan who couldnt hide her greed seemingly wanted to charge in and hunt those gomas as soon as possible.

    But well, its not like were going to let her do that. The production of the new equipment was about to begin.

    Well then, with these monster materials, we should be able to make something new based on the prototype.

    .

    Wheres your reply, Takanashi-san?

    Ye~s.

    Her motivation was abysmal. Should I turn this part into a ckpany for real?

    <i>Bless the dungeon, Takanashi-san, we dont have to worry about missing thest train in this ce. Lets add a bed and quilt for a nap in the entrance too. In that way, you can keep doing alchemy outside of break time.</i>

    Lets start with weapons first. After I clean and get rid of the rust with simple alchemy, youll see the item and decide whether we can turn it into an enchanted weapon or not.

    Eh, so that means Kotori can enjoy the hot bath when Momokawa-kun is doing your job, right?

    During that time, feel free to dismantle the werewolf and huge kokko over there.

    Since I had experience fighting against the huge kokko before, I knew that their material was suitable for defensive gear. And though this was my first time seeing the werewolf, I reckoned their hide would be tough. I knew that it wouldnt be as reliable as metal armour, but we might be able to use their hide as clothes or underwear.

    By the way, I would like to dismantle everything so that I wont miss any useful materials.

    Eh? Ko-Kotori do I have to Dismantle them?

    Yeah.

    N-No Impossible

    Takanashi-san looked like she was about to cry as she looked at the corpses of the huge kokko and the blood-stained werewolf.

    Dont worry Takanashi-san. Oh right, Ive prepared the perfect working clothes for you too so that you can go wild during the dismantling process.

    The working clothes I made with spider webs would be soiled very easily thanks to their pure white colour, but still, the quality was superb, and I could prepare as many as I wanted. Thats why one could go wild and dismantle all those wonderful materials.

    NOOO~! KOTORI CANT DO THA~~~T!

    Ah, she ran again.

    <i>Cant be helped. Maybe I should add some sort of shackle on working clothes to prevent her from escaping.</i>

    Mei-chan!

    Whats the matter, Kotaro-kun? Shall I bring Takanashi-san back?

    Let her be. Weve to go back to our station after taking a bath.

    I had to do this, even if I had to to work by myself.

    Ill tell Souma-kun and ss Repter about Takanashi-sans bad working attitude and ask them to do something about it.

    ===

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 Chapter 201.1 - Suggestion Box

    Chapter 201.1 - Suggestion Box

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    That high-pitched scream in the school tower was the first sign of trouble.

    It started from the entrance of the first floor and went all the way up the stairs to the second-floor za.

    Since that ce was the alchemy workshop, I went there immediately.

    Wha-What happened?

    Oh, Momokawa.

    The one to call out was Yamada who was right beside me when I arrived.

    Since the hunting team was about to depart, it seemed a few other ssmates had already gathered in this ce beforehand.

    There was a huge quarrel. Shimokawa seemed to be trying to peek into Takanashis pants from under the stairs.

    Uwa~

    Thats a spell for huge trouble for sure.

    <i> What were you thinking Shimokawa?</i> But then, Takanashi could actually be trying to put a false charge on Shimokawa.

    That malicious Takanashi might even try to create a rift in my faction.

    And no matter how much I wished that it was nothing but mere overthinking on my part, it didnt change the fact that she might be overly conscious of Shimokawa after his previous rape attempt.

    Hey wait a minute, Im innocent, aint seen anything at all!

    LIES! YOU KEEP LOOKING IN MY DIRECTION!

    Well, you saw it right?

    I knew yer feeling, Shimokawa.

    This is nder!

    Takanashi was already wailing like a kid, and the one who stood by her side as she cried was, of course, Kenzaki. She regained her confidence when Mei-chan wasnt around.

    Naka and Ueda, who stood by Shimokawas side, were actually trying to pit their own buddy. Man, thats friendship for ya.

    Oi Momokawa, arent you gonna stop them?

    Nope, its not my turn.

    <i> Yamada-kun, you might think that I would go straight and poke my nose into this matter that has nothing to do with me immediately but I am not the kind of guy with a strong sense of justice nor am I a meddlesome person.</i>

    I was more like amon and curious bystander, but everything changed ever since I came to this fu*king dungeon in which I was forced to make use of everything at my disposal just to survive.

    Even so, I didnt have to act as a mediator in this case.

    Leave this matter to the public moralsmittee.

    As I looked around, the chief of the public moralsmittee, Souma-kun, and his sidekick Randou-san, made their entrance.

    Both of them seemed to have rushed as soon as they heard Takanashis scream.

    Oi, what in the world is happening here?

    Did someone justmit a crime~?

    Souma-kun looked around with a sharp gaze, and Randou-san looked like she was watching an interesting quarrel.

    <i>Randou-san, have you by chance already forgotten the fact that youre the vice chief of the public moralsmittee whose main job is to prevent something like this? Your job isnt just digging a trench you know.</i>

    It really is okay.

    Say that after those two take care of the problem.

    Yamada looked as if he had yet to understand the situation, but I decided to go to my workce and entrust this incident to the duo from the public moralsmittee.

    I mean, there was no meaning in appointing them to their posts if they couldnt even resolve a small incident like this.

    Man, nothing can beat the feeling of dumping the troublesome rtionship problem onto someone else. I must be a genius for even forming the public moralsmittee.

    <i> Well then, make sure this incident settles down peacefully, Souma-kun, Randou-san.</i>

    5 minutester.

    THIS IS BAD, MOMOKAWA-KUN! SHIMOKAWA-KUN IS GOING TO BE KILLED! KOTORI HAS BEEN CRYING NONSTOP AFTER RANDOU-SAN HIT HER! HURRY UP BEFORE THINGS GET OUT OF CONTROL!

    I was being carried away by the nape of my neck by ss Rep who rushed in.

    It seems I chose the wrong person as the public moralsmittee member.

    In short, we wont give punishment for this incident due tock of evidence.

    With ss Rep and me in the lead, we started an emergency ss meeting a trial to judge the suspect Shimokawa, who was suspected of peeping into Takanashis pants.

    The verdict was just as I had expected, he was dered innocent due tock of evidence.

    The crime hemitted was really trivial matter, but it was still impossible to gather evidence. God knows if Shimokawa really did try to peep into Takanashis pants, or if this incident was simply Takanashis plot to persecute Shimokawa.

    Although this matter was truly filled with many uncertainties that couldnt be treated lightly, the silver lining of this incident was the fact that it wasnt such a big deal to the point of being unforgivable. And since this matter was really trivial to the point of a joke, there was no need to dedicate our precious time and manpower just to investigate this incident.

    Its not like we couldnt investigate the truth but this matter was just troublesome and trivial. Even I got tired due to this triviality.

    Let me be honest Souma-kun, youre such a huge disappointment.

    Sorry, my deepest apology.

    After we announced the end of the ss meeting, both ss Rep and I dole out a harsh sermon to the two members of the public moralsmittee.

    Exactly, Souma, you have to get a grip on yourself.

    You too Randou-san, you cant just suddenly go physical like that.

    The reason we held an emergency ss meeting to resolve such a trivial matter was the failure of the public moralsmittees members to act as mediators.

    Souma-kun couldnt stop the enraged Kenzaki nor appease the bawling Takanashi. Randou-san, on the other hand, got really annoyed by Takanashis nonsense cries and almost went to p her in the face.

    Souma-kun, lets be honest, you really think that Shimokawa-kun was peeping right?

    That yes He has a history of almost kidnapping someone, after all.

    I think I understand why you havee to such a conclusion. But doing that as the public moralsmittees chairman is the same as doing injustice to Shimokawa-kun.

    As we had already agreed in the first ss meeting, the crimemitted beforeing to this area would be forgone, or should I say, shelved for now, and everyone had agreed with that.

    Since that was the case, the trial that would be held after this should never bring about those crimes, even as a special case.

    If we did that for todays case, it was only natural for Shimokawa to be a criminal considering his previous rape attempt on Takanashi. Doing that was equal to destroying a new rtionship of trust which had formed after such apromise.

    The loss of mutual trust would lead to a loss of morale.

    Now that many of our ssmates had gathered together, we had to at least trust each other. We were equal under school regtions.

    You just betrayed Shimokawas trust. The one thing the public moralsmittee needs is trust to be impartial when giving the judgment. If not for that, everyone will be unruly.

    Yeah, I understand.

    Make sure you apologize properly to Shimokawa-kunter.

    The only way to resolve this situation was to make peace with Shimokawa-kun with Souma-kun in the lead.

    If Souma-kun as the chief of the public moralsmittee doubted Shimokawa, it was equal to him being a suspect.

    The most important thing was not criminal suspicion, the Bad Guy wasnt just limited to one person.

    Communication between 18 people here was really important.

    Thats why for the case handled by the public moralsmittee, the most important thing wasnt how to judge the criminal, nor who the criminal was, it was how to handle this matter peacefully.

    Otherwise known as Peace is the best principle.

    In this regard, though Randou-san is a bit too radical, she barely got a passing score.

    Ri~ght?

    In regard to the matter of Randou-san pping Takanashi, I could see it as thetter being simply too annoying.

    In fact, the so-called victim kept bawling like some sort of a maniac despite such an important case, not even Randou-san asked for Takanashis exnation. Thus, the situation just spiraled down in a worse direction.

    Ive already said it before, but the most important thing was how to solve a problem peacefully.

    On top of that, an even more important thing was being impartial to both sides.

    On this asion, I learnt that we had a lot of homework. I realized that the peacekeeper and protector of order had to be extremely self-controlled to be able to aplish their jobs.

    Maybe, even if Shimokawa was under such heavy suspicion, if its a situation that could be resolved with a word of apology, he shouldve apologized properly. In short, he had a reason for not doing that.

    However, the act of ying victim like what Takanashi did only looked like she was trying to build a charge on the suspect, namely Shimokawa.

    In that situation, it became unclear whether Shimokawa was really guilty or not. The girl called Takanashi Kotori had been crying non-stop as if Shimokawas deed was a capital offence.

    I think it was all thanks to Randou-sans p that prevented Shimokawas predicament from taking a turn for the worse without any trial.

    I dont actually want to protect Shimokawa though. I just want Takanashi to shut up.

    <i> Still, thanks for a good punch.</i>

    That Takanashi, I doubt I will evere to terms with that girl.

    But I really hope that you stop going physical next time.

    Randou-sans p had stopped Takanashis cries and Kenzakis rage, but since the situation couldnt be handled by the public moralsmittee, ss Rep went to call me in hurry.

    Im reflecti~ng.

    Randou-san didnt seem to be reflecting on her actions.

    Well, I guess I could ask her to stop another round of crying next time.

    For now, Randou-san has to apologize to Takanashi-san for pping her. Naturally, itll be Souma-kuns job to convince Takanashi-san to ept it obediently.

    <i>Tch</i>, aint feel like doing that, cant be helped I guess.

    I understand, Ill at least mediate that matter.

    Anyhow, since the situation isnt bad to the point that I have to reshuffle the member of the public moralsmittee, both of you will do your job as usual. However, I wish you guys get a grip on the situation next time, Im serious.

    <i>And please spare me from having to mediate such a squabble again. Holding ss meetings every day is tiresome</i>

    <i></i>

    Ill make a suggestion box.

    Next day, I made an announcement during the breakfast.

    Everyone was looking at me with a What in the world is this guy talking about? look on their faces.

    Uhm, what is a suggestion box?

    Wait, you dont know what it is, Randou-san?

    I dunno E~h, its normal to not know about it ri~ght?

    Randou-san, whose shoulder got tapped by JuryMary who looked at her as if they pitied her, had finally shut her mouth.

    I had never expected that the student of a famous private school, Shiramine Academy, was actuallypletely clueless about a suggestion box It made me curious about how Randou-san managed to get epted into such a prestigious school. She didnt use the backdoor, right?

    Although it is a suggestion box, it doesnt mean that well put a real box. You can contact Momokawa-kun or me if you have a suggestion or request.

    Yes, it wasnt a real suggestion box, it was your average mailbox.

    Yesterdays incident hadnt been resolved properly, but after a short consultation between ss Rep and me, we decided to make this suggestion box to know of their discontent.

    I thought the problem could be resolved far more easily as long as we talked to the rted party, but the rted party would have a hard time speaking about what was on their mind if seen by others.

    Fortunately, since our smartphones functions such as mail and charging could be used again, thanks to Takanashis effort, we had an alternative way ofmunication. We could offer consultation and suggestions anonymously.

    ss Rep and I vowed to keep the identity of the one who gave the suggestion or consultation anonymous unless the other party wished otherwise. If not, the suggestion box wouldnt serve its purpose.

    ===

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 Chapter 201.2 - Suggestion Box

    Chapter 201.2 - Suggestion Box

    Thats just using your smartphone normally, right?

    So its just like using DM for a private chat.

    Ye~ah, whats wrong with that?

    Even though Natsukawa-san was looking rather disappointed, the others were no different; after all, our method wasnt short of a revolutionary kind.

    It was just as ss Rep had said, the truth was everybodys use of smartphones was limited.

    They had all been kept in the same ce to prevent them from messing with the setting. In short, none shall use a smartphone inside the school tower.

    But then, the smartphone was an indispensable means ofmunication during the exploration.

    At the end of the day, once we were done with the exploration, our smartphones would be returned to safekeeping. Even though we were in the school tower, there wouldnt be useless conversations without smartphones.

    And as for the reason we were implementing this rule despite having the means to recharge our smartphones Was simply to maintain public order.

    Having amunication tool in this kind of situation would only bring in more demerits. If something were to go wrong, someone could use Sakura-chans impatience as a cue to rebel and overthrow me.

    And the portable smartphone was an extremely convenient tool for secret maneuvers.

    Even if I were mistaken, I definitely want to avoid changing this ce into a hotbed for malicious gossip. Even if that nder was a trivial matter, as long as someone felt otherwise, it would turn into a cry for justice. Thereon it would turn into self-righteous conviction, topped by the feeling that everyone was in consensus with the victim.

    Well, the truth was, this policy was one of my ns to prevent anyone from poking too much into others problems.

    Well, feel free to contact us if you have something on your mind. Well do our best to settle the problem before it turns into a huge problem.

    Thus, we started the suggestion box.

    Oh, someone is sending a mail already.

    <i>Quite a discerning eye youve got there, sending an email to me instead of ss Rep.</i>

    Well then, the first person who asked for consultation was

    Dont screw with me, Momokawa!

    What the hell youre thinking about!

    JuryMarybi dissed at me.

    They were the first two visitors. The details of the consultation had to wait until we met again at the designated ce on the fifth floor of the school tower but It turned into something akin to an extortion scene instead.

    What the heck is that in-charge-of-Tendou-kun!

    "

    "

    Doesnt that mean ss Rep can hoard him by herself?

    Well, I had already pretty much guessed what they wanted to talk about from the content of their email.

    O-Okay, calm down, you two.

    Calm down, is it? Were serious here!?

    Being sandwiched between Futaba and Randou sure is good, huh!

    H-Hey, thats ubwoaaaaaaaaaaaa!

    I, who was surrounded by the two, had to endure their harassment until they calmed down. The womens grumbling should being out all at once, right? It was mentally exhausting.

    Then, give us your solution, Momokawa.

    Youre not going to backstab us, ri~ght?

    After the irate duo had calmed down, I could finally exin the situation properly.

    I feel bad for you two, but I have no choice since Tendou-kun always acts on his own course. I mean, both of you shouldve been pretty much aware of ss Reps feelings toward him, right? I made this decision since I know that CLass Rep has been stressed out with a lot of responsibility but She will surely break down if she doesnt have some sort of outlet for her stress.

    We couldnt afford ss Rep having a meltdown in our current situation, that would spell the end of ss 2-7.

    ss Reps job, as a female students ss rep, was the same as me, the male students ss rep, to control our ssmates, especially the members of Souma faction.

    Perhaps they had no idea what kind of catastrophe would ensue if ss Rep was missing, meaning that the one who could soothe the discontent of the Souma faction would be gone too.

    I myself wasnt a charismatic leader either. I coulde up with a method that could benefit everyone but It didnt mean everyone would be willing to agree with me this was the harsh truth I came to realize at this point.

    Thats why ss Reps reputation and track record would be useful in this situation. Not to mention that she had the talent and charisma to lead the others. She had the charm of someone who stood on top.

    And all those qualities were something that was missing in me.

    Thats why ss Rep was an indispensable existence to unite our ss.

    Aint this service a little bit too much?

    What shall we doo~?

    Surely, Tendou-kun spent much more time with ss Rep than with JuryMary Combi.

    But considering all that had happened until now since JuryMary was a member of the normal exploration party, they spent less time in the school tower.

    Well, theres no need to look that disappointed. For better or worse, Tendou-kun and ss Reps rtionship is still the same as when we were in Japan.

    In short, ss Reps main job was to drag the uncooperative Tendou-kun to work with us.

    They have yet to step into lovers territory, and its impossible to reach that state in our current situation.

    Maybe because ss Rep was strangelycking in that regard despite always poking her nose into others business, their rtionship had yet to enter that stage.

    Though their rtionship was quite close to the point where they were literally on one page when we were still in Japan, they had no leeway to fall in love with each other in this dungeon survival life in which we had no idea when we would die.

    With ss Reps strong feelings toward Tendou-kun, it wouldnt do any good if she couldnt shorten her distance from him.

    We had aw that prohibited love rtionships though. But still, I knew that her strong feelings toward him couldnt be stopped with such aw.

    Their rtionship is the same as before. ss Rep wont take the next step, and Tendou-kun doesnt seem to care either.

    I see.

    Well, now that you remind us

    Thats why you can use that opening.

    The matter of Tendou-kuns willingness aside, JuryMary was free to approach him. But still, I guess I needed to make Tendou-kun go with these two.

    Okay, Ill try to include Tendou-kun in the exploration party, thats the only thing that I can do for you two.

    Really?

    At least arrange an even better opportunity.

    I dont think I can help you too much in that regard, we have a rule that prohibits love rtionships after all.

    But I guess these two had yet to understand the situation. Perhaps, I had to give them a bonus.

    But I understand your feelings. Thats why I shall tell you this

    I took a risk by telling them this. Well, there wouldnt be sweet and sour love stories unless I gave them this hope.

    Tendou-kun room is in the corner of the first floor.

    O-Oi.

    Thats

    This is all I can do for you two, its up to you girls as to how you use this piece of information. If two people were to hook up, the ways of dealing with it would be discussed in the next ss meeting.

    This was the biggest piece of information that I could provide them right now.

    Humans are extremely tenacious creatures, we can persist as long as we know there is hope. Even if I knew that these two wouldnt be able to seduce Tendou-kun, I might as well give them hope, it is nothing more than a driving force to live until tomorrow.*

    [*what he means by tomorrow is not just tomorrow, it is a kind of hope that will take them through theing days]

    Well then, JuryMary seemed to be aware of my intention but still epted the snippet I provided, marking the end of our consultation.

    After they left, I remained inside the ndestine room.

    Reason being I had another visitor tonight.

    Well then, Yamada-kun, feel free to speak your mind.

    O-O~h.

    When I looked at Yamada, the one who needed consultation this time with all kinds of preparation, he flinched back for some reason. <i>The heck, I even prepared a beverage for you.</i>

    So, whats the matter?

    I took this chance to ask him about his problem.

    To be honest, I had a bad feeling about this. I mean, this is Yamada we are talking about. The one person who was most infatuated with that Reina, AKA Lolicon-kun.

    If he wanted to talk about how he came to like Kotori-chan this time, I had to warn him to stop since he was literally digging his own grave Basically, I was willing to help others with their problem about their love, but it didnt mean I would pick the case if it smelled like a massive pain in the a*s.

    If he was really here for that kind of consultation, I would stop him at all costs. I was waiting for Yamada to open his mouth while my mind was scouring through all kinds of possibilities.

    Can you make a fishing rod? And the hook too if possible. Well,plete fishing gear if possible.

    Fishing Rod?

    Well, I know that this sounds like a trivial matter since Im going to use it for myself but Please prepare that for me. I will definitely catch a lot of fish for everyone.

    I finally understood what he wanted to do after I stared dumbfoundedly at Yamada-kuns crop cut.

    I understand, leave it to me.

    Oooh, thanks a bunch!

    <i>No man, I want you to forgive me instead for my unfounded suspicion.</i>

    Come to think of it, Yamada did say once before that his hobby was fishing. I heard that he was also in charge of fishing when he awakened and transformed into a survivalist along with the Totem Pole Trio. He had even stated before that he and Yamajun went to a lot of fishing spots back in Japan.

    Thats such a great hobby, Yamada-kun. We wee a big addition to our food storage.

    Thank you for your understanding, Ill be waiting for the fishing rod.

    Yamada didnt beat around the bush and thanked me without reservation.

    Man, this consultation went in apletely different direction, in a good way.

    Well, theres nothing wrong with sending him for solo fishing every once in a while. Well, it is also a good thing to have a hobby that you can enjoy in this dungeon life.

    Since I never go fishing myself, I dont quite understand the details. So, if you can be around to give me pointers when Im making the fishing rod

    Man, I am starting to feel bad seeing how you are willing to go that far for me.

    Dont worry about it, its not big deal. This is a win-win situation for everyone, and Mei-chan will be delighted with the addition of fresh fish too.

    Perhaps I should prepare more fishing rods for those who want to go fishing. I mean, fishing sounds like a breakthrough technology in this kind of situation.

    But since I cant let you go through the dangers of fishing on your own, Ill arrange Rem to go with you.

    That isnt different from fishing by myself, right?

    You want to go fishing by yourself, right? Thats exactly the reason why I will arrange Rem to go with you, she wont talk and you can treat her as decoration.

    Well, youre right Sorry for the retort, Momokawa. And thanks for the arrangement.

    Its exactly because were in this kind of situation that we have to help each other. Ill be waiting to see the fish you catch, Yamada-kun.

    Oh, leave it to me.

    I looked at Yamada as we shook hands, perhaps he was really growing up and bing a better person.

    I wasnt the only one who was awash with the sorrow of Yamajuns death. Yamajun was his best friend, and his death could be a driving force for Yamada-kuns current and future growth.

    ===

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 Chapter 202.1 - Exploring the Desert Area

    Chapter 202.1 - Exploring the Desert Area

    A few days had passed since everyone started running errand missions to gather monster materials in the name of exploration. Thanks to that, we secured enough monster materials for Sage-produced weapon.

    Silver Iron SwordIts originally a rusty long sword; its silvery de is an alloy that looks like silver. Its durability is equal to steel, but its sharpness is on another level altogether since it is enchanted with a magic circle of Sharpness carved on its main body.

    Red AxeAxe with fire attribute, bears a resemnce to my reliable buddy the Red Knife. However, the red axe has higher firepower in livebat. This axe is made by inserting fire magic stone into the bloody axe.

    ck Iron Great Axe A great axe made from heavy and tough metal, simr material to Mei-chans halberd. Though it isnt enchanted with any magical effects, its destructive power and durability can be utilized to its fullest in the hands of the berserker; created with alchemy using the weapons plundered from the living armour in a ruined city.

    Cool CussCuss with ice attribute, made from the good quality short sword looted from jajiras, adding ice magic stone, and the assistance from ss Rep. Its single-edged de is fairly sharp, but its magical power surpasses even red axe; possible to use it as a low-rank ice spell.

    These weapons were equipment for the Totem Pole Trio- Silver Iron Sword for Ueda, Red Axe for Nakai, ck Iron Great Axe for Yamada, and Cool Cuss for Nakajima.

    Since their weaponry was the worst among those gathered in the school tower, they were given priority for a weapon upgrade.

    Combat is a cruel world where the weak die. Not to mention they were weak to the point that they couldnt even bepared with Souma-kun. And thanks to their weakness, they might be the first ones to be killed by small fries if they kept using their poor-quality weapon, just like how red raptor almost got me back then.

    After that, if we wanted to upgrade Souma-kun and Cos weapons, which were already the best weapons created with alchemy at this stage, we needed to be even more careful and have a lot of cores. It would take a lot of time to upgrade their weapons. The matter of creating the specs of the updated weapon was easier and could be done faster. Thats why upgrading the others weapons first would speed up our progress in many areas, including Souma-kun and Cos weapons.

    By the way, those four guys were really delighted when they received a much better weapon than their previous one, I could feel that my stock (in them) had shot through the roof.

    If there was something that I had to say in this matter, Takanashi didnt seem to be too pleased with it. Perhaps because I put aside the upgrade for herrades weapon or her beloved Souma-kuns weapon.

    In my opinion, if Takanashi was willing to go all out, she should be able to create the prototype of another magic item or potion with her current ability. Obviously, she was cutting the corner since it was the weapon of those four.

    <i>Oi Takanashi, I know that you still have some magical power left. Stop acting like youve already run out of magical power.</i>

    Maybe I should make her work for real bit-by-bit.

    O~i, Momokawa I want a wand thou~gh.

    Sorry Shimokawa-kun, we had a hard time gathering the magic stone of water, so your wand has to wait for a while.

    <i>Yeah, I really mean it, sorry Shimokawa, theres nothing we can do about this situation.</i>

    Not to mention that a wand is a rare drop on top of that. We might find a wand if there was an ultra rare, sorcerer-type living armor, or from a treasure chest.

    The first exploration team led by Souma-kun discovered several treasure chests, but the contents were either an enchanted essory or a potion. Not to mention that the effect of the enchanted item wasnt that great.

    But then, since we can make a wand with a lot of magic stones, it might be possible to create an aquamancers wand as long as we keep gathering materials. That is if Takanashi was willing to create it of course.

    Everyone~, attention please~.

    Since we were in the middle of dinner, we were all eating together in the fairy za.

    Thanks to simple alchemy, I could prepare chairs and tables, even a huge round table that was ced beside the water fountain. Unfortunately, I couldnt make a turntable that could be erged like the one in a Chinese restaurant, but a low dining table was okay too.

    Anyhow, this setup felt like the infamous setting of the Knights of the Round Table.

    I think we have to start the exploration of the desert area from tomorrow.

    Up until now, we only focused on coastal areas or underworld areas. Considering the system of the dungeon, there should be a lot of captured areas, but exploring an unknown area was almost apanied by danger.

    Between coastal and underworld areas, the degree of difficulty was absolutely higher for the underworld. With such a difference, I could reckon that the desert area would be a much higher challenge than the underworld area.

    Since the situation in the school tower had yet to stabilize on the first day, we put the exploration of the unknown desert on hold.

    However, now, I think it would be much better for us to explore that area slowly hereon.

    There was a chance that we might be able to snag a useful treasure for the fight against Yamato no Orochi.

    Yeah, sounds good to me.

    Which team is going to explore that area?

    ss Rep agreed, and Souma-kun also asked about theposition of the exploration team for the underworld. Now we could start nning the exploration for real.

    When I looked around, just to be sure, no one seemed to be against this idea. I mean, the ones who could oppose my opinion were Souma-kun and Tendou-kun.

    Since we were all educated students, everyone naturally agreed with democracy, thats how this situation looked like to me, but since my faction had the majority votes, we were almost guaranteed to win if we did vote to decide upon this policy.

    As long as Iid the groundwork beforehand, the result would be almost decided before the ss meeting. Yeah, all hail democracy!

    Since the desert area is an unknown area, we naturally have to send our most powerfulbat force.

    Meaning that it would be the dream teamposition of my imagination.

    Desert Area Exploration Team

    Leader: ShamanMomokawa Kotaro

    Vice-Leader: Cyromancer Kisaragi Ryouko

    HeroSouma Yuuto

    KingTendou Ryuuichi

    Berserker Futaba Meiko

    ThiefNatsukawa Minami

    These six will go to investigate the desert area.

    Wait a minute, why am I not a part of the team?

    Wasnt that because including Sakura would increase the degree of difficulties of the exploration? I mean, I was almost convinced of that fact due to her troublesome personality.

    The Saint vocations healing capabilities did increase our chance of survival, but since the saints personality was a huge minus, there was a high chance that she would turn into a brain-dead character which would potentially cause a disaster.

    Since its an unknown area, we cant exclude Thief Natsukawa-san as the only one who can disarm a trap and has the greatest enemy sense among us. If we go with 7 people in one team, Im afraid itll make it easier for powerful monsters to detect us.

    <i> In short, there aint any seat left for you!</i>

    Dont worry Sakura, were only doing a simple investigation.

    <i> Well then, Ill leave the rest to you, Souma-ku~n.</i>

    Since Momokawa-kun is participating, cant you make an exception and allow me to participate too?

    Without ss Rep, Tendou-kun wont participate.

    Ryuuichi?

    Shut up and stop ring at me. Ill go today.

    Tendou-kun might have had a bored look on his face, but I was really d to know that he was willingly participating in this exploration.

    If he really was unwilling, he would refuse to cooperate for a super selfish reason. Thats why I couldnt really force him to participate if he really was unwilling.

    Hey, is there any meaning in Momokawas participation?

    Randou-san, Im obviously the biggest baggage among these members.

    Thats why Im worrying!

    Ah, youre right, thank you for worrying about me.

    I mean, it was obviously meaningless for a super-duper-baggage character like me to explore an unknown area along with a powerful line-up. And I was aware of that.

    I want to make sure that theres something useful in the new area with my own eyes. Else, how does recing me with Takanashi who has Magical Power Analysis sound to you?

    <i> Wosh!</i>

    Takanashi closed her ears, pretending to be deaf.

    Well, that was the reason I gave Randou-san, but the real reason for my participation was to lead by example since I couldnt just rest on mypel in our base when I ordered everyone to go out on dangerous missions. No one was voicing their dissatisfaction for now though.

    It sounds absurd, but the stingy woman was a vengeful creature. The situation would worsen if the other party had a really bad personality. Even if nothing happened, a certain bitch almost made someone into a scoundrel without being able to provide proof.

    Moreover, if push came to shove someday, I could use the entrance transfer magic circle. This was my counter-n if someday, Takanashi decided to dispose of me.

    Well, since the members of the team have already been decided, we will start the exploration tomorrow. The other exploration team will take a break. As for the hunting team, Randou-san will join the hunting team as a temporary member. Since we had a lot of jobs to do, Takanashi-san had to keep doing her job, <i>and Dont you dare to skip your work when Im not here.</i>

    The next morning, the six members of the desert area exploration team departed for the desert for the first time.

    U~hm, its desert no matter how I look at it.

    The sea of sand spans endlessly until the horizon, the sunlight that shines upon it. Definitely the temte scenery of the desert no matter how you looked at it. I could even see the silhouette of the pyramid look alike from afar.

    Hey, this is definitely outdoor, right? Or are we actually still inside the dungeon?

    It seems were still inside the dungeon.

    Agreed. This ce seems to be really vast though.

    The vastest area weve visited until now.

    Since Mei-chan, Souma-kun, and Natsukawa-san, who had sharp sense said so, this ce was undoubtedly inside the dungeon. It would take a lot of effort to truly capture this area, but we only came for a light stroll this time.

    Oi, lets go already.

    Wait Ryuuichi, dont go by yourself!

    As expected of the in-charge-of-Tendou-kun, bringing her was the right decision.

    Shall we start from that pyramid-like building over there?

    That building was sticking like a sore thumb, but there was a possibility we would find nothing in there. We departed from the fairy za of the desert which looked like a small shrine, walking straight toward the pyramid.

    Our formation ced Natsukawa-san as our vanguard and right behind was Souma-kun and Tendou-kun, the strongest duo. Then, you had ss Rep and I as rear-guard, and at the end of the formation were Rem-The Dark Knight and Mei-chan. I mean, wow, this formation was truly the strongest and safest. Definitely the safest formation.

    The sunlight is too strong, and walking on the sand is tough. Maybe we should prepare equipment specialized for the desert when we visit this ce again.

    Yup, walking under the constant zing sun in this desert with only our school uniform and shoes was tough. <i>Another job for you, Takanashi-chan.</i>

    Speaking of desert equipment, I would like to get boots, a robe or hat We arrived at the pyramid while I was musing over the matter. What a relief to know that the pyramid wasnt an illusion.

    The pyramid was smaller than I expected. And it had no sphinx.

    The four-sided structure, which had already worn out from the weather, was definitely that of a pyramid. Not that I had ever visited Egypt and seen the real one.

    Lets walk around the pyramid to find its entrance.

    Dont bother with that, Momokawa. Look, a wee party for us.

    Everyone, something ising from the pyramid!

    Natsukawa screamed to warn us along with the appearance of the humanoid from the pyramid.

    Uwaa, its a mummy.

    "

    "

    Truly desert-like monster.

    Yup, mummies were a staple monster for desert areas in many ssic RPGs. They could be the subspecies of zombies or skeletons.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint

    <strong>The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read <strong>10 Advance releases for $10</strong> by Clicking the Image Below and Be My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 202.2 - Exploring the Desert Area

    Chapter 202.2 - Exploring the Desert Area

    The mummies had dirty bandage-like clothes coiling around their bodies. Although their appearance barely reached the passing mark as horror movie props, they would be sitting ducks upon enteringbat due to theck of a protector. Not to mention that they were bare-handed too.

    I could pretty much tell from their figure and movement that they were just your average Joe. Their only merit was their superior numbers.

    <i>Tch</i>, troublesome fe.

    Tendou-kun raised his hand and fired three huge fireballs. The explosion sted away the mummies.

    The heck, you seem to be all fired up, Ryuuichi.

    Im not. Oi Natsukawa, the entrance is around this side, right? Lets get going already.

    Y-Ye~sh

    Owing to the fact that I had some leeway in giving orders, the mummies were defeated from the moment they showed up until finding the entrance. The entire process was very smooth, thats why a party with strong members was truly the best party.

    On the other hand, it felt like I had nothing to do at this kind of party.

    Lets get going.

    The discovered entrance opened to the outside. It wasnt a gate or door and was already open from the very beginning, more like one of the stone bs that acted as a gate was already gone.

    It felt as if there was no intention to hide the entrance. It was a pyramid and yet didnt prohibit any intruder from entering the building.

    It feels like theres nothing inside.

    Natsukawa-san, who went inside and used all her senses to detect traps or ambush, reported back with a rather disappointed look on her face.

    When we followed her lead and went inside, there really was nothing. It was just a vast spacecking the air of the tomb of a king. This pyramid was just for show.

    This might be just the entrance. The real deal might be hidden underground, right?

    The entrance of the magnificent temple-like pyramid was a letdown, but there was a huge staircase on both sides of the entrance hall leading underground.

    The real thing might start after we stepped underground.

    Which stairs shall we choose?

    Natsukawa-san, your call.

    U~h, thats too much expectation.

    As a result of pointless worrying while strangely having a sense of responsibility, Natsukawa-san chose the stair on the right side of the entrance from our perspective.

    U~hm, there really is nothing But dont you think it feels like a cave?

    After confirming the safety of the stairs, we went down the long staircase, this ce felt like thebination of both a natural cave and a stone dungeon.

    This ce kinda reminds me of an insect cave.

    Theres a ce like that, eh? I kinda missed it.

    We had fought at rock spider boss, Yokomichis, disgusting entrance before getting caught inside a monster house-like trap. Our party would have been annihted for sure had Souma-kun note to save us back then, but my impression of those events was rather unimpressive because Asuna had pushed me out of the teleportation ring.

    But, there are a lot of traces in this ce suggesting that it is not entirely a natural cave. It seems to have been dug out by a monster.

    Uhm, it feels like A tunnel?

    Maybe they even mined coal.

    I bet theyre mining fantasy-esque metal such as mithril.

    Well, whether it was a Mithril mine or some other, we would know the answer once we got in there.

    The natural stone pirs had obvious traces of being reinforced all over the ce. There was also a small, shining white panel every once in a while. And just as we advanced slowly into the man-made dungeon tunnel The first one to notice something unusual was Natsukawa-san.

    There might be a monster ahead. Theres only one but Its huge and seems to be OP too.

    Natsukawa then looked silently at us as if seeking our opinion.

    Not as big as Yamata no Orochi, right?

    Well, that one is a special case.

    Then lets go. This partyposition is the strongest.

    Natsukawa-san looked at me as if asking me if it was really okay to go with a seemingly easy-going decision, however, if that fe was an extremely dangerous one that could insta-kill all of us, none would survive fighting that guy anyway.

    Lets go, Natsukawa-san. Dont worry, we will win this fight.

    Leave it to me, Souma-kun!

    Mei-chan then whispered to me as we saw Natsukawa-san getting all fired up thanks to Souma-kuns refreshing-hunk smile.

    When pushes to shove, Ill carry you to escape.

    <i>Yup, never forget to prepare an escape route. Mei-chan truly understands me the most.</i>

    <i>Well, now that there is no problem with my self-protection measure, lets follow Natsukawa-san to see the so-called OP monster.</i>

    After walking for a while, I could finally feel the presence of that monster.

    <i> CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHBAMBAMBAM</i>

    There was an ominous noise akin to breaking something tough.

    We will be arriving at a spacious hall at the end of this tunnel, the monster has been waiting in there.

    Natsukawa-san whispered.

    I had already confirmed the direction with apass magic circle note, the area ahead of us wasnt the boss room. It was just a venue that kept a powerful monster, something like an extra boss.

    Leave the timing for rushing to me.

    She might have already been prepared. Natukawa-san spoke to Souma-kun and then went toward the za.

    Unexpectedly, the battle had yet to begin when we entered the venue.

    The said monster kept eating without even noticing our arrival.

    Kotaro-kun, what kind of thing is that guy eating right now?

    I knew the reason Mei-chan asked that question none of us knew what kind of thing the monster was chomping right now.

    The monster who was standing by in the za was a glowing minotaur.

    It had a pair of splendid horns and a physique rivaling that of a Gogma. Its behind that was facing toward us looked like a cows behind no matter how you looked at it. <i>Welp, that tail looks so delicious.</i>

    And upon a closer look, it was not that its flesh was glowing; the glow came from the crystalline shell covering its entire body. Overall, it looked like a huge neon light in this za.

    The crystal minotaur, abbreviated as crystaur, was shoving its head onto the wall.

    Yes, that guy didnt eat grass or meat, it was eating the frigging WALL. <i>Is that wall a delicacy for them? How does it taste?</i>

    I see, this fe ate magic stone.

    Welp, I had gotten too captivated by the crystal I forgot that upon a closer look, the surface of the rock was filled with glowing light akin to a starry night sky.

    The ensemble of red, blue, and yellow was definitely stone containing magical power, otherwise known as Magic Stone, which we became familiar with recently.

    And the thing that crystasaur ate was none other than the magic stone on the wall.

    Oi, are you done observing that monster already?

    Ah, my bad Tendou-kun, please wait for a while.

    Finish it quickly.

    Tendou-kun drew his kings sword from the golden magic circle. A thick magical power overflowed from his body, it was very obvious that he was itching to fight the crystasaur.

    At that moment, the crystasaur which waspletely engrossed in its meal until now had finally snapped.

    Hero, King, and Berserker assembled together. When such an assembly emitted its killing intent, even the dullest monster would notice them.

    Fuu GRRR, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    The crystasaur then raised a warcry that shook the entire room, its ruby-like eyes glowing with ominous color.

    And thus, the battle began.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint

    <strong>The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read <strong>10 Advance releases for $10</strong> by Clicking the Image Below and Be My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 203.1 - Light Stone

    Chapter 203.1 - Light Stone

    The crystasaur was really powerful.

    In short, it was an extremely tough opponent with a tough and shiny outer shell which might be a result of eating the crystals. Thebination of tough body and hard armour made it an even more troublesome enemy than the armour bear.

    However, its true forte came from the fact that it could use three attributes: fire, ice, and thunder.

    It could breathe fire from its mouth, conjure icicles from the ceiling and drop them down on us, or unleash a punch with sparks around its fists. And depending on the situation, it could also conjure defensive spells such as creating a wall of ice or fire.

    This fesbat prowess was definitely even higher than the boss monster I had met so far.

    And that OP crystasaur was currently rolling around on the floor in an extremely miserable condition.

    There you go, Kotaro-kun. One glowing beef has been defeated.

    Yup, it had been defeated. It literally became a living punching bag for our strongest trio. Even I couldnt help but pity the poor fe.

    As expected, Ryuuichi and Futaba-sansbi can reduce such an OP monster to such a miserable state.

    Well, aint that bad for a mere sandbag.

    Such was the nonchnt conversation between our great king and the hero-sama.

    This crystasaur was obviously a mid-boss-like monster whose strength surpassed your average boss monster. You might say that this fe was really unlucky to meet our strongest trio of all people.

    The crystasaur rampaged around by making full use of its huge frame and mastery of three attributes, fighting against thebo attack of our strongest trio resulting in the crushing of its glowing shell, heavy bleeding, and gut cutting open. Its prided crystal armour shattered into pieces, one of its arms was chopped off and the horn broken. And the moment crystasaur tried to escape after realizing that it was nothing more than a tough sandbag for the trio, ss Reps Ice Alma Shield blocked its path of retreat, cornering it all together.

    Thanks to its overflowing life force, the poor guy ended up having to spend thest moment of his life in such a miserable state. Looking from the side, it looked like a scene of bullying.

    <i> Or rather, what did I do in this battle against crystasaur?</i>

    Youre with me right, Natsukawa-san?

    I-Im scouting properly!

    <i> Well, I get yer feeling girl.</i> The result of those three working together was a miserable end for our foe.

    It didnt mean that I doubted Natsukawa-sansbat capabilities, but if she was to bepared with the strongest trio The difference was simply hopeless.

    Uhm, I guess everyones growth rate is different from each other, and that difference only widened the further we went into the dungeon.

    By the way, thank you for the hard work. This fe will be a good material.

    I mean, finding a premium item right off the bat was kinda like a good omen.

    Tough flesh, durable crystal shell that contained magical power, and huge core. This crystasaur was definitely a walking treasure chest.

    Previously, my tension soared to a whole new level upon seeing the premium four-armed minotaurs and yet, it turned out there was an even more premium existence I guess we could just go back as it was after inspecting the crystasaur.

    However, this guy aside, the thing that I was most worried about was the magic stone that the fe ate like a snack.

    Maybe, this ce is the ce to mine magic stone.

    You can say that. Theres a lot of magic stone buried inside the wall, after all, there must be a vein somewhere in this area.

    Since there was a magic stone vein, it might be produced naturally inside the dungeon, or else, it got purified by the dungeon. Well honestly speaking, I didnt care what it was.

    The most important matter was the fact that we could mine a lot of magic stones in this area.

    Lets continue a bit more. Be careful, if my hunch is right, we will meet flocks of crystasaurs.

    At worst, we would stumble into their dining hall. But if we could mine arge amount of magic stone <i>Fufufu</i>, an experiment in the creation of magic tools was akin to a dreame true!

    <i> Congrats Kotori-chan, your workload just got increased. I wont let you to sleep tonight, babey~.</i>

    .

    ..

    Magic stone, it is just Light Stone.

    Humph.

    Well then, the glowing stone that got eaten by the monster and got enhanced inside its body, lets call it Crystte.

    I see.

    When we brought back the corpse of crystasaur as the haul from todays exploration, all of a sudden, Takanashi spoke about the option for using our harvest.

    Suddenly, I felt that she was simr to an NPC who would give you additional information after you met certain conditions in many famous RPG games, but it seems she just recalled the information mail a while ago.

    Thanks to her vocation, Sage, Takanashi seems to receive a lot of emails. Maybe we should write that down.

    So, this is the natural magic stone that we picked up from the mining area, or should I call it light stone instead?

    U~hm

    I showed the multicolored light stones which we picked up randomly from the mine.

    Their colour, lustre, and shine were clearly inferiorpared with the one we got from killing monsters. It felt like they were mere ore.

    But then, as long as it was usable, I had no problem with using it though

    The shine is too weak, almost no shine at all, but it might be possible to use alchemy to process them if we have a lot more.

    Well then, Ill leave the matter of processing the light ore with alchemy to you then.

    But, Kotori doesnt think that Kotori can do that.

    No problem, lets raise your mastery with a special training menu. How does morning training sound to you?

    Kotori will do the alchemy process!

    <i>This bi*ch, you should have said that you can do that from the very beginning, we ended up wasting a lot of time.</i>

    <i>Lets give Kotori these light stones as sample,</i> I still had a lot of things to do.

    Crystte, huh This is a rare one.

    This crystasaur was undoubtedly a minotaur with crystte. Since it literally ate light stone, it used the magical power inside the light stone and purified the light stone to create a hard outer shell in the form of crystte on its body.

    Its a nice haul but Far from enough to upgrade the 4th.

    It was mainly because of me.

    My goal was for Rem to have overwhelming power.

    Currently, the minotaurs and the dark knight were the two most powerful incarnations of Rem. I should be able to exhibit more power if I focus the upgrade on these two.

    Using Arachne, Alfa, gargoyle, and the others at the same time was kinda a bit too much for the current me, but well, since Rem was created to adapt to any kind of situation, there was a low possibility of them getting annihted in the battle. But then, I shouldnt let my guard down despite the low possibility and do my best to upgrade Rem for any unforeseen circumstances.

    But if I keep using all of them at this pace, I guess Ill be able to have enough power to control all of them at the same time.

    If possible, I wanted all the current Rems to grow up and be even stronger for the time when we had to face Yamata no Orochi.

    Even a steady step, one at a time, would be wee. So, there was no need to hurry for now.

    Lets strengthen the 4th again this time. The thing we need the most right now is mining.

    Knowing the importance of mining the light stone under the pyramid, I had to make sure that the mining went ording to the n. However, I doubt the boys could be used as miners. It was a boring and tedious job, I was afraid it would drop their morale instead.

    Though the matter of mining seemed to be easy at nce, it was in fact a boring and tedious job, not to mention it was heavybour too, and this kind of job was perfect for Rem.

    Perhaps I have to use the dark knight, minotaurs, and then gargoyle in turn.

    Thatposition shouldplete the automated mining mechanism. If we add a skeleton toon or high zombie toon, it should be even more perfect.

    Though Rem was a part of the exploration team, it shouldnt be a big deal if we rece her with another ssmate.

    Lets send Takanashi who started showing signs ofzing around and force her to gather the ingredients.

    While were at it, lets also use this chance to rotate the members of each team. Lets make a rotation system to ensure that some of us get to stay in the tower for a break. Ill pass this proposal to ss Rep soon.

    Well then, now we have a steady supply of light stone, I guess its time to start experimenting with disposable magic tools.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint

    <strong>The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read <strong>10 Advance releases for $10</strong> by Clicking the Image Below and Be My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 203.2 - Light Stone

    Chapter 203.2 - Light Stone

    Following Kotarou''s suggestion, only one exploration team would be deployed from now on.

    So this was what todays team looked like

    CaptainHero Souma Yuuto

    Vice CaptainHealerHimeno Airi

    GeomancerRandou Kyouko

    SwordsmanUeda Youhei

    Heavy WarriorYamada Genki

    Magic SwordsmanNakajima Haruma

    Now what they needed the most wasbat experience, even Randou Kyouko who was engaged in a construction job around the nest of Yamato No Orochi was deployed for the exploration.

    Today''s main goal is to gather the core. It''ll take some time, but I hope you strip the carcass of all the monsters that you defeat.

    That''s damn troublesome~

    Though Ueda was the only one whoined upon hearing Yuuto''s order, it was obvious from the expressions of the other members that they felt the same way. Everyone was reluctant to do the dismantling job.

    But still, everyone who survived this far could dismantle monster corpses to pick their core.

    No~, I can''t do something like tha~t.

    Himeno Airi was the only one who tantly refused to do the job in front of the corpse of the werewolf.

    Suma-ku~n!

    Himeno-san, everybody has done the same thing

    Just shut up and do it already, Himeno!

    HYAAA!?

    Seeing Airi acting like that, Kyouko pped her butt with a rather annoyed look on her face.

    Airi cried out in an unruly manner as her butt got pped out of nowhere.

    U~~h

    Airi red daggers at Kyouko who orded her such unreasonable treatment.

    What''s the matter? Got a problem with it?

    I-It''s nothing I''ll do it

    Maybe because she felt the unsurpassable wall between them, Airi could only shrink back when Kyouko red back at her.

    Randou-san, I think you went a bit over the top just now.

    Souma, the other reason I''m included here is that you''re too soft on women.

    Yeah

    Even Yuuto had never expected that Kyouko would retort so harshly.

    Despite having such an intermezzo, the team managed to gather quite a lot of core.

    Their current hunting ground was the underworld, but maybe because they had been exploring this ce for several days, the team had already gotten used to fighting the werewolf.

    With Souma Yuuto as the center of their team, the rest of the team had also raised their vignce to protect Airi, the weakest of them.

    After some trial and error, they found out that this was the best formation to deal with the pack of werewolves or other monsters that mixed in.

    But then, they let their guard down since they were starting to get used to this formation.

    They forgot that this formation relied heavily on the power of the Hero.

    Hey, Souma.

    During the lunch break, they entered the building that resembled a huge stone chapel to take a break. The one who spoke first was Kyouko.

    We literally have nothing to do since we came to this area.

    Including the first battle, the team had already fought four battles so far.

    Soon after that, every member, aside from Yuuto, had defeated about three werewolves. The other monster was dealt with by Yuuto.

    That''s not true, Randou-san. It''s because you guys are behind me that I can fight with some leeway.

    Don''t make us babysit Himeno just because you love fighting.

    O-Oi, calm down, Randou.

    Yuuto received a harshint from Kyouko right on the face. Ueda, who rather agreed with her opinion, had to calm her down to prevent an undesired situation.

    Seeing how the situation took a sudden turn, the others such as Airi, Yamada, and Nakajima couldn''t do anything but hold their breaths.

    Surely, I fought the monster more than you guys, but this is the safe

    I know that you can beat them with ease, but look this isn''t the situation for that.

    An ufortable silence drifted among them.

    Safety first, there was nothing wrong with that n.

    However, one shouldn''t avoid danger to be stronger.

    But we have to ensure safety first. That''s why I will protect everyone.

    Souma, are you by chance misunderstanding something here?

    What?

    We don''t need and never want your protection.

    Then I won''t save you Was something that shoulde out naturally in this situation, but Souma Yuuto wasn''t the kind of man who would say something like that.

    Rather, Yuuto was bewildered. He had no idea why Kyouko said that they didn''t need his protection.

    Randou, aren''t you a bit too harsh on him? I mean, it can''t be helped that Souma is taking care of most of the monsters since he''s the strongest among us.

    That''s why I''m telling him that we won''t be stronger with this kind of fight. I want to be stronger, stronger to the point that I don''t need to be protected by Souma.

    Don''t be so reckless. Fighting in the dungeon means risking your life for real, no need to take such a risk.

    And that''s exactly the reason you''re chosen as the leader of this team. You''re not our guardian, don''t go protect us at your own convenience!

    Yuuto couldn''t refute those words.

    In short, he didn''t believe in the strength of his team members.

    Including Sakura and the other girls in his team until now, he had only met the other after arriving at the school tower, and despite all the aggression disyed during the ss meeting, some clearly held a grudge against him.

    So when he had to lead a partyprising of such a member, deep inside his heart, Yuuto didn''t trust hisrade.

    You''re right, it''s my fault for not believing in everyone''s power.

    Well, from Souma''s perspective, we might be just small fry though.

    No, I won''t go that far

    However, their current job was to do their best to shorten the huge gap in their powers as soon as possible.

    It wasn''t for a lofty ambition to be strongest or something along that line, it was simply because they had to at least reach his level to survive the uing battle against the giant monster called Yamata no Orochi.

    It was a battle in which they couldn''t rely on a single strong yer. Everyone had to polish their power since the uing battle was the kind in which they had to rely on each other. Thus, they had to clear many requirements such as reaching the minimum level of power.

    In this case, you can at least take an example from Momokawa, he knows how to whip others into shape.

    That''s a bit Or so I wanted to say, but I think I know what you mean. Let''s change ourbat formation.

    As expected, even Yuuto had no choice but to give in after being cornered that far by Kyouko.

    It was exactly as he said, he knew what Kyouko was trying to tell him.

    But just like with Meikos case, he couldn''t help but feel a rather unpleasant premonition considering Momokawa Kotaro''s influence was so strong even when the person himself didn''t participate.

    As though that guy has some sort of curse that draws in people to fight.

 Chapter 204.1 - The Secret of Sugar

    Chapter 204.1 - The Secret of Sugar

    In the blink of an eye, one week had passed since living in the school tower.

    So far, aside from the Takanashi pants incident, there was no other particr incident. The life necessities had already been gathered enough, the same went for raw materials.

    Regarding our meals, ever since Yamada went out fishing, we decided to go out regrly to the beach area with a fixed hunting team. We would get tired of meat if we kept having it for our meals, and since we''re Japanese, we naturally love fish.

    Moreover, under Mei-chan''s suggestion, we started pseudo-animal husbandry.

    Catching birds like dodos or chickens in the resort area was for their eggs.

    Moreover, by catching jaja in the historical ruin, we could get fresh milk with milker.

    The fairy za of the resort area was surrounded by a man-made fortress. It was a perfect ce for us to keep the jaja and sea chicken.

    Chairman of animal husbandry: Futaba Meiko

    Vice chairman of animal husbandry: Yamada Genki

    The job of the newly formed animal husbandrymittee was to look after the livestock.

    The reason Mei-chan was chosen as the chairman was that she was the only one who had knowledge of rearing animals.

    As for Yamada, it was simply because he often went to the resort area to fish with his newly gained fishing pole during his free time.

    And while I was wondering if it was okay to leave this matter to Yamada, he turned out to be quite enthusiastic about it.

    Since we were only using one exploration team now, we could divide the manpower for the other jobs properly to further increase the quality of our life in the school tower while at the same time getting proper rest.

    After various twists and turns, everyone finally started to get used to this life of cohabitation.

    And speaking of our real problem at hand, it would be researching the safest way to subjugate Yamata no Orochi, and the fact that Takanashi''s work was progressing at snail''s pace.

    Regarding Yamata no Orochi, I stationed my Twin Shadow to keep a watch on it 24/7, but surprisingly enough, it didn''t move at all from its ce.

    It kept itself shut inside its nest 24/7 and never came out at all, not even for a stroll. It seemed it wouldn''te out of its nest unless a foreign enemy like us approached it.

    Instead, the gargoyles were ying all around the wastnd. We met them along the way to the rocky mountain.

    On the other hand, these gargoyles didn''t have any special meaning at all, they''re just a wandering mob. Aside from them, there were no other living creatures in this wastnd. I did spot some bugs, but that didn''t count okay.

    Those gargoyles just wandered around on a whim with no particr reason; my shadow was discovered just the other day.

    I realized when I woke up in the morning that my connection with my shadow had been severed. It seemed my shadow was killed when I was asleep.

    For mining the light stone in the desert area, I might have to pull out Gargoyle Rem from guard duty. The gargoyle I left over there might get discovered sooner orter.

    Well, it wasn''t a big deal even if she got destroyed since I could just send another gargoyle.

    But I guess I wouldn''t find anything important even if I kept observing the mine.

    I tried to see just to be sure, but there really was nothing interesting.

    The result of my observation was zilch. On the other hand, there was no problem on Yamata no Orochi''s side. Just like during the jungle tower, we would be in deep shit if flocks of gargoyles attacked the school tower.

    Thus, because there was no particr problem, we had some leeway for now.

    Everyone in the ss was smiling happily as they enjoyed the after-meal dessert.

    Three days after Mei-chan prepared her special dessert, in other words, today, our dining table had be very rich.

    The menu was yogurt honey made from jaja milk topped with various kinds of edible fruit.

    U~hm, delicious! Sweets are the best!

    I''m not too fond of sweets, but I''m really grateful for partaking such a valuable food.

    Unlike the ss Rep who ate elegantly, Natsukawa-san ate the sweets with a beaming smile on her face. Even so, the chef was really happy to see Natsukawa-san eating happily.

    Yup, girls love sweets after all.

    Even Souma Sakura was smiling happily as if her usual hysteria was a mere illusion, and Randou-san and Co were also enjoying the sweets.

    Well, it''s not like the girls were the only ones who enjoyed the sweets.

    A~h, sweets are the be~st.

    Mere honey can actually produce such a sweet taste.

    Well, this sweetness is normal.

    So yummy.

    The Totem Pole Trio was chattering as they enjoyed the dessert. Yamada waspletely focused on the dessert, it was such a warm sight.

    Even Tendou-kun was sitting properly to eat along with us.

    Man, the power of sweets united our hearts. The sweets tasted even sweeter than usual because of this harsh dungeon life.

    I had been eating the sweets since Mei-chan made them for the first time back in the resort area, but only now did I realize that it was quite a luxury in this kind of ce.

    Fuu, I guess this dessert was the perfect way to end the day.

    Amidst such euphoria

    Kotaro-kun,e here.

    Mei-chan whispered to me with an extremely serious look on her face.

    Okay, let''s go out for now.

    Mei-chan''s expression was like the one that she wore whenever a monster raided our camp, or when fighting against powerful foes. In short, this was no joking matter, an emergency beyond an emergency.

    I braced myself, preparing for the worst situation as I followed Mei-chan to leave the dining room.

    Whats the matter, Mei-chan?

    We are running out of honey.

    I had literally prepared for the worst when Mei-chan called me.

    And yet, the situation turned out to be far more serious than I expected.

    Unsweetened dessert wasn''t dessert.

    And the only thing that could satisfy our sweet tooth was the honey. We needed something sweet which was different from fruits.

    How much is left?

    Not enough to make enough desserts for everyone.

    The heck, not even one week

    When everyone in the school tower gathered in the ss meeting, Mei-chan disyed her full prowess as the lunch-in-charge and prepared honey dango during dinner the next day.

    Today would be the third day, the day for serving honey yogurt, but maybe everyone had already guessed when they saw the sweet that came out.

    But, even Shimokawa, part of the hunting team, had not found it.

    He and his team had yet to find a beehive since the start of the hunt.

    In short, the honey we used now was the one I had stocked up before. Rather, the one I found long before arriving in this area.

    Just in case, I can prepare just mine and Kotaro-kun''s portion.

    What a bad girl you are, Futaba.

    Not as bad as you, Shaman-sama.

    Currently, Mei-chan had hidden the honey using the potion bottle and ced it inside the treasure box which had always been carried by Arachne Rem. In the worst situation, it would onlyst for half a month for both of us.

    Anyhow, everyone is enjoying the dessert, so let''s start a full-blown exploration of beehive from tomorrow.

    And don''t forget to gather the fruits whose sweetness is on par with honey.

    When it came to the hunting team, I reckoned we should send two teams for foraging the fruit. Naturally, Takanashi had a mountain of alchemy-rted jobs waiting for her. But the sweets couldn''t wait until we stocked enough.

    Thus,e the next day, every one of us, the members of sses 2-7 gathered in the resort area.

    Now let''s go! FOR TOMORROW SWEETS!

    The one who bravely led us was Natsukawa-san.

    She had the sweetest tooth among us. Thus, she was even more fired uppared to normal dungeon capture.

    May it be a good harvest.

    Yeah, it''s morefortable than the usual hunting.

    The fruit hunt was left to Shimokawa''s hunting team.

    Since today''s teamposition was disregarding all kinds of bnce, everyone went with their usual team.

    Totem Pole Trio, Yamada, Nakajima, and Himeno, were basically back to their old team.

 Chapter 204.2 - The Secret of Sugar

    Chapter 204.2 - The Secret of Sugar

    On the other hand, the beehive hunting team was the worst harem teamposed of the Souma siblings, ss Rep, Natsukawa-san, and Kenzaki. Mei-chan and my Twin Shadow were also a part of this team.

    Well, I don''t think hundreds life would be enough if I really joined that line-up in the flesh. <i>Isn''t it about time that I work on this problem?</i>

    By the way, the Tendou Yankee team was standing by in our base.

    Good grief, when I gave those Yankees some leeway, they Ugh!?

    Randou-san! Can you please stop ying pranks when I''m operating my shadow!?

    Ahaha, my ba~d.

    This gal wasn''t reflecting on her actions at all.

    When controlling my Twin Shadow, my real body was lying down on a handmade hammock in the fairy za like someone taking an afternoon nap, but I ended up receiving a surprise attack from the gal with too much free time. Fortunately, we were not in the middle ofbat. Not that I could make any contribution to the Souma siblings party.

    Any problem, Kotaro-kun?

    No, no problem here. The fairy za is just kinda getting rather noisy.

    I see, I thought Randou-san pulled a prank again on you.

    <i> Uwaa~, that''s scary Mei-chan.</i> She could actually guess that much just by a momentary pause of my control.

    Maybe I should take Randou-san a bit more seriously.

    No problem on my side. Rather, what about Rem?

    Kua~

    When my shadow was riding on Alfa and she replied with a bark.

    What did she say, Kotaro-kun?

    Uhm, it seems she has already found the beehive.

    To search for the whereabouts of the beehive this time, I tamed the flock of wild birds using Echo. Naturally, the flock was led by bird-type Rem into the forest of the resort area.

    Natsukawa-san''s scouting ability was top-notch, but she was alone. She could not match Rem''s bird squad in terms of mobility and range whenbing around a vast area from the sky.

    The beehive is over here!

    Are you sure, Natsukawa-san?

    Yeah, let''s go already!

    <i> Man, never expected that Rem''s bird squad would be defeated by Natsukawa-san. I guess her sense as a Thief isn''t just for show.</i>

    Thus, following the lead of our vanguard, Souma-kun, to enter the forest, I once again marveled at the ability of vocation.

    It''s a goma!

    The one who screamed from the other side of the thicket was Souma-kun.

    Those guys again.

    Come to think of it, we still had no idea where the gomas in this area got their sugar from.

    Rather, they are already dead.

    Yup, it''s just their corpse.

    I thought they were going to charge at us as soon as they saw Souma-kun, but it turned out Souma-kun just found their corpses.

    They might have been attacked by a raptor.

    No, this might be

    A~h! T-The beehive

    Natsukawa-san''s despaired cries interrupted my analysis.

    Ahead of her shocked state was the crumbled beehive with its sticky honey dripping down.

    I see, those guys are collecting honey too eh.

    The state of the beehive was thest evidence I needed to confirm my hypothesis after seeing the tragic state of the goma corpses. They were not lynched to death, they were stung to death by the bees.

    It showed that the goma society had low awareness of goma rights. They might simply poke at the hive when they wanted to harvest the honey,pletely ignoring the safety of the worker.

    The hive did have honeybees guarding it, but it boasted a sizeparable to a true ho. Thus, they could easily kill the gomas.

    Judging from the state of the corpse, the attack happened no longer than yesterday. Since the corpse had yet to rot, the attack might have taken cest morning.

    Though more than half of the nest had copsed, the queen was alive, and that''s why the bees kept flying around happily.

    However, I didn''t think we could harvest a lot of honey from the remaining half of the hive.

    Dammit Those fu*king gomas

    <i>Uwaa,</i><i>this is the first time I heard Natsukawa-san cursing under her breath. She must be very pissed off right now.</i>

    How dare they do this to my honey!

    It''s my honey to be exact.

    Mei-chan, no need topete with her in that.

    Though not as resentful as Natsukawa-san, Mei-chan was also pissed off after knowing that those gomas had snatched our precious honey.

    The grudge of foo- I mean, the grudge of sweets was deep-seated.

    There, there, look the queen is still alive, meaning that we can harvest the honey againter.

    IS THAT TRUE! I don''t know how to take care of them!

    Kotaro-kun, actually beekeeping is a bit

    It''s not like I wanted to do beekeeping for real either bu Wait a minute

    Maybe I have to try this.

    I ced the Summoner''s Skull into the Fool''s Canes pedestal.

    At first, I was nning to use skeletons to charge toward the beehive and harvest the honey like before, but I suddenly had a sh of inspiration.

    Echo

    In short, as long as I could tame the queen bee, it would be equal to the ability to create the beehive in the most suitable ce.

    Aww-Awesome, Kotaro-kun! You''re a genius!

    You did it Momokawa-kun! That''s truly a brilliant idea!

    I put even more effort upon seeing both Mei-chan and Natsukawa-san praising me non-stop.

    Maan, thank god it went exactly as I expected.

    It just suddenly urred to me that if Echo was working on the bird, it meant that it would also work on the bees. Those honeybees might be huge, but they were not monsters.

    By controlling the queen bee, I could take the surviving worker bees to the new nest.

    To be exact, right by the side of the fairy za.

    +++

    In short, making them stay in that ce was equal to real beekeeping.

    In that way, we could harvest honey any time we wanted.

    We had to regte the amount of harvesting for recycling the beehive, but it was possible to harvest a lot of them by harvesting bit by bit.

    You alwayse up with all kinds of strange ideas eh, Momokawa-kun.

    As expected, the curse to manipte someone against their will is

    .

    Contrary to the overjoyed duo, ss Rep seemed to be creeped out by this method.

    <i> Rather, can you stop connecting this with brainwashing ability please? I''m tired of Kenzaki''s nonsense already.</i>

    <i>I mean, this ain''t even a damn curse, this is summon skill. If you want toin, find Azuma-kun in heaven, if he entered heaven, that is.</i>

    Summon skill is great after all. It''s really convenient and has various kinds of practical applications.

    Though I was not under suspicion for now, thanks to beekeeping, we might be able to raise our efficiency in terms ofbat or searching for enemies. This simple function turned out to be the most useful among the skull series. Thank you Azuma-kun, your skull was truly useful.

    Well then, sessfully taming the queen bee is an unexpected harvest but We can''t get our original harvest, the honey.

    It was still a mystery how Natsukawa-san detected this broken beehive faster than Rem. The honey in this ce had already been snatched by the gomas.

    Kotaro-kun, shall we go and destroy those gomas to prevent them from destroying another beehive?

    I mean, they''re a bane for the other beehives!!

    In short, this will be a crusade for honey, isn''t it?

    <i>Ooh, that''s scary girls. Human appetite is really scary.</i>

    The honey is gone since those gomas ate them.

    We have to save the honey, even if it is just one drop

    Yes, just imagining them eating honey is enough to piss me off.

    Well, it is gomas after all. It doesn''t really matter even if they were gone from the ecosystem.

    Oi Momokawa, since we''re going to look for the base of the gomas, are we going to raid their base as well?

    Nope, we will see the situation.

    If there was a huge goma settlement on par with the size of the pyramid settlement which Souma party encountered back then, we couldn''t just raid them recklessly without an appropriate n. That said, I wouldn''t hestitant to raid the vige if we found out that they had a secret weapon that might be useful in a battle against Yamata no Orochi Risking our lives just for the honey sounds like a stupid idea.

    If it was only a small settlement, our team alone was enough to subjugate it, but that''s all.

    I''m curious about the origin of their sugar. I think this is something that we have to investigate.

    Perhaps I should use this chance to investigate the gomas who inhabit this resort area to learn more about their race.

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 Chapter 205.1 - Gomas Pioneering Village

    Chapter 205.1 - Goma''s Pioneering Vige

    This is their settlement, huh.

    The very day, we found the goma settlement in the resort area. We found them pretty easily using Rem bird and her force.

    It was located rather deep in the forest. It was a clear plot ofnd which was clearly manmade, or rather goma made.

    At the center of their settlement was a stone tower which could be found in many parts of the dungeon. The gomas had erected a crude-looking tent around that tower.

    Their settlement was surrounded by crude, wooden fences which seemingly were going to fall down from mere breeze.

    At nce, the scale of this settlement isn''t that big. So there might be no gogma in there.

    Are we going to raid them now?

    The one who asked this question was Souma-kun. Perhaps he felt that the berserker and the thief behind him were already itching to wreak havoc on the gomas who dared to steal their honey.

    No, let''s observe them for a while. I also want to know the source of their sugar.

    Observe? What do you mean by "observe"?

    I''ll infiltrate into their settlement.

    No, that''s too dangerous, Kotaro-kun!

    Worry not, this is my body double after all.

    There was no problem even if I were found out by them. Even if my Twin Shadow died, I would only lose my magical power.

    But still, you have to be careful.

    I will do my best to investigate the matter as much as possible.

    I mean, this is kinda like a sub-quest after all.

    That''s why let''s end today''s exploration.

    Th-The honey is

    I''ll try to find out where they have kept the honey.

    Well, since the gomas were stupid and never thought about the future, I doubt if any of them left though. However, I had to tell that to Natsukawa-san for now.

    I understand. Be careful, Kotaro-kun.

    I''ll do my best.

    Thus began my solo covert mission.

    Everyone parted, and I, who was only apanied by Rem bird''s squad, went deeper into the goma settlement. Since it was my shadow, I wouldn''t get tired no matter how much I ran, it was really convenient to move non-stop.

    Fortunately, the quest didn''t fail midway due to the monster''s ambush. If I got ambushed by a raptor here, that would be the end of today''s exploration.

    Just right, the sun is setting.

    When I arrived at the location that allowed me to a full view of the settlement, the sky had already been dyed crimson due to sunset. Though I knew that we were inside the dungeon, I still couldn''t help but marvel at the extremely realistic graphics in the sky.

    Time for lunch.

    I returned my consciousness to my real body while bidding my time until the sun hadpletely set,

    After my consciousness came back to my real body, I felt like someone who had just gotten out of a VR game. This kind of realistic VR-like operation had yet to exist in Japan though.

    Well, now that my stomach is full, time to go back to work.

    Iy down under the shade of a tree and reactivated the shadow. By the time returned to my shadow, I was surrounded by total darkness.

    The silver lining is the fact that they''re not nocturnal.

    I had pretty much understood that gomas'' lifecycle was the same as humans during the capture of gomas fortress back then. Thus, I could easily sneak in when they were sleeping.

    <i> Since they arecking manpower, I should be able to do this.</i>

    I wish I could use archer''s skull during this kind of time though.

    But I couldn''t afford the possibility of losing that cane. It was one of a kind item with a lot of possibilities thanks to my skull collection.

    <i> Well, let''s give up on using that for now.</i>

    Do your guard job properly.

    Since the trees around the vige were already felled, there was no ce for me to hide. The patrol guard would instantly discover my shadow if I snuck in during the day.

    Currently, I was crawling along the meadow which had a lot of weeds, and bit by bit, approached the vige.

    I could guess the position of the gate of the fortress from the position of the watch fire. There were few guards protecting that ce. The other ce only had patrolling sentries since the area they had to cover was too big.

    Okay, infiltration isplete.

    I crossed the crudely made wooden fence and sessfully infiltrated the settlement. Size-wise, this fence seemed to be specialized tobat raptor. Thus, I could easily conjure adder with ckhair bind to cross over the fence.

    Let''s start from that tower.

    That tower must be the centre of this settlement. A splendid stone building would automatically be made into the centre of their settlement for those stupid gomas could only make this sorry excuse of a tent. That''s what happened with the goma castle, and goma pyramid after all.

    This tower was visibly smaller than the goma castle, just a three-storied building.

    Apparently, the size of the ruins around the settlement was an indication of strength and the scale of the gomas'' settlement. The goma castle from back then had one gogma, but the giant pyramid castle that was even bigger in scale had four heavenly king-like gogmas led by a quartet of armed gogmas.

    Gogma aside, even a single govu can instakill my shadow.

    My real body could already deal with the likes of govus, but still, my shadow could only use the lite version of rotten bog and ckhair bind. It would be defeated once it got discovered.

    Whoops, let''s not set a g here

    When I was crawling on the ground, passing by the tent used by those gomas to sleep which was separated into blocks, I unexpectedly stumbled upon a sentry who wanted to finish his business, and a govu nheless.

    Rather, this guy just came He had yet to find me, s, I might be discovered if I moved right now.

    My current posture was rather unsuitable for crawling backward. I had to take shelter before he found me.

    <i>Whoops, is this the end of shadow agent Momokawa Kotaro?</i>

    Rem, please.

    ChirpChirpChirp!

    In the end, I asked Rem to create a diversion.

    Rem bird took off; the crow whose territory should be around the garbage dump was flying without any interruption on top of the walking govu.

    Bugo!? Gubura!

    This guy would never have expected a midnight raid from a bird.

    He then whinged his arm around while cursing in rage.

    <i> Oi, stop screaming like that.</i>

    Chirp Chirp.

    MUGAA! GEBURU, GONGAAA!

    Thanks to Rem''s skillful aggro skill, the enraged govu was chasing after Rem bird. I used that chance to run in the opposite direction.

    Those gomas were truly idiotic for chasing after a bird in the middle of the fricking night.

    But I''ve used up my card. I have to arrive at the tower in one go.

    That was thest of Rem Bird that I brought with me.

    The fool''s cane fitted with the Summoner''s Skull was entrusted to Mei-chan who went back into the school tower, thus rendering me incapable of taming any more birds.

    Now, it was time to do the rest with my guts!

    Huff, managed to arrive somehow.

    The door of the tower was wide open, or rather, it didn''t even have a door, to begin with. And since those stupid gomas had no technology to allow them to create a door, there was no door for their houses either.

    There was only one torch at the entrance, and no guards were stationed around it. <i>What a lucky coincidence!</i>

    I entered the tower expecting the gomas to have set up some sort of trap near the entrance. s, the raid into the tower went without a hitch.

    Well then, the inside of the tower is

    I see, it''s an altar.

    It looked the same as a normal fairy za. Instead of a water fountain, there was a stone pedestal at its centre. The pedestal had a huge tombstone-like lithograph in the middle.

    On the altar was a magic circle, a reallyplicated one with worm-like writing on it. Though a circr shape was the basis for a magic circle, this one''s shape was closer to an ellipse.

    In addition, this magic circle was glowing with an ominous, crimson colour.

    It isn''t the ancientnguage, and the shape ispletely different from ourpass note This might be gomas'' magic circle.

    Considering the fact that the magical power made the magic circle glow, there must be a set of conditions to activate the magic circle. Nevertheless, since this was the first time I had seen this kind of magic circle, this must be the goma''s original magic circle.

    Naturally, I had no idea about the function of this magic circle or its effect since I had no skills to decipher it. <i>Something could happen if I tried to touch it, so, let''s not act hastily.</i>

    The glow makes it easier for me to see the inside of the tower.

    I expected the inside of the tower to be covered in total darkness, but there was enough illumination thanks to the glowing lithograph. The illumination was equal to a small light bulb.

    It''s a mess. They might use this tower for their storage too.

    Inside the four rooms in the tower were various kinds of pots and craters of various sizes. With the exception of the altar, the goods literally kept inside these four rooms were a perfect hiding ce for me.

    <i> Anyway, let''s see what I can find here for now.</i>

    U~hm, it''s filled with junk.

    Well, just as expected, there was nothing in there.

    Even the content of the box was a junk item. Monster bones or crudely made leather. They might have dispatched their troops to the ruined city to gather these materials, thus this room ended up being filled with useless items.

    And aside from junk items, they made preserved food too. I found a lot of dried fruit in this room too.

    Oh, is this the honey?

    When I tried to look at the small pot, I found out that it was filled with a golden-coloured sweet, viscous liquid AKA honey.

    The amount was so-so. Now that we have found this honey, let''s hide it somewhere. Let''s use the old wooden box that seems to be neglected for years.

    Fuaaah It''s already thiste, huh?

    A while after exploring the inside of the tower and regaining the honey, I felt that it was about time to take a break. Seeing that I had nothing else to do, I had to let my main body sleep properly to make sure that I was in top shape tomorrow.

    I slipped myself into a big box to hide. Somehow it felt like I was an octopus stuffed inside an ice box.

    The next on the to-do list was observing the situation in the goma settlement during the day.

    Morni~ng.

    The gomas were early risers.

    After I woke up in the school tower, put my appearance in order, had breakfast, and scolded Takanashi who waszing around during working hours like usual, I entered my avatar hidden in goma settlement. By then, the gomas had long since started their activities.

    Okay, it seems they rarelye to this tower.

    The reason might be rted to that altar. Meaning that the gomas wouldn''t enter the tower so casually.

    This was the centre of their settlement. Moreover, they rarely came to this ce, not to mention that there were several small windows along the wall making this ce the ideal ce for observation.

    I began moving carefully inside the tower which became brighter after dawn in order to not rouse any suspicion from the gomas outside and started observing the settlement from the windows.

    It''s been a while since I did this kind of ecological survey since before soloing the basilisk.

    One could say that gomas were the most familiar monsters to us.

    Though there was a slight difference between the small fry monster that each ssmate encountered during our opening battle, everyone had at least encountered gomas once before.

    And despite being present in almost every part of the dungeon, there was very little information known about gomas. For us, gomas were small fries that we could kill on the spot upon encounter, thus no one had actually bothered about learning more about them.

    However, despite being treated like the weakest small fry akin to goblins in the RPG game, they were still native creatures of this world. In short, they had their own lifestyle.

    Hu~m, they are unexpectedly living normally.

    The gomas in the settlement were shouting an unknown onomatopeia as they passed around. There was a parent goma, and children gomas as well.

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 Chapter 205.2 - Gomas Pioneering Village

    Chapter 205.2 - Goma''s Pioneering Vige

    There was a ce simr to a joint kitchen in a few locations of the settlement; several female gomas were gathered in there, cooking something. The little gomas around them could be their children; they were either frolicking with each other or ying something like a game of tag.

    So that''s what their females look like.

    The difference between the male and female goma was really obvious.

    The one who we always met and killed in the field was a male goma. Going out and hunting outside of the vige was the job of the male.

    In short, the reason we didn''t see their female counterparts was simply because we never came to their settlement. That''s why this was the first time I understood the difference between male and female.

    Simply put, the differencey in their bellies.

    The beer belly really stood out.

    Some were so swollen that they were bigger than normal. Though it could happen if they were pregnant, their bellies were obviously bigger than their male counterparts even outside of the pregnant state.

    Aside from that, their face, che$t, and butt weren''t that different from the male. However, it was easy to tell them apart just by taking a nce at their belly.

    Does that mean they''re using the size of the belly as a standard of beauty?

    I saw their male counterparts every now and then walking gleefully while touching the belly of the female goma.

    I kinda understand their reason though, I mean, the faces of those gomas were fugly. The male goma''s action might be equal to a human male when ying with womans t!ts. <i>But man, they look even more uglier than usual when doing that.</i>

    Instead of che$t or butt, the female belly was the symbol of sex appeal. Well, that might be their instinct telling them that a bigger belly meant that the female could give birth to more children in the future.

    Hu~umh, so it means that the female boss is the one with the biggest belly.

    Upon looking outside from the entrance of the tower, I saw the male gomas lining up near the gate, prepared to go hunting.

    There were three govus in that team, the one in the middle being the one with the biggest head and d in metal armour. It was really obvious from his equipment that the guy was the leader of this settlement.

    Around that guy were a couple of female gomas who were cuddling up to him.

    Both females obviously had a bigger belly than the other female gomas. Converted to t!ts size, they were akin to a woman with G-cup and above, a transcendence beauty.

    And that armoured govu then rubbed at those two G-cup bellies with a lecherous face. That lecherous face erased all doubts the belly of the female goma is equal to a womans t!ts.

    That fu*king goma is actually enjoying harem with big t!ts Unforgivable, normie, just explode.

    The goma hunting team departed from the settlement as I red enviously at them.

    With that, most of the males had already left the settlement. Unfortunately, some remained to defend the settlement. The ones remaining in the settlement were a govu at the main gate and a goma each at important sites on the settlement.

    Now, I had confirmed that there were three govus in this settlement, three went out to hunt-including the armoured govu-, one stayed behind to defend the settlement. Even the one attacked by the high-zombie in the ruined city had seven govus Meaning that this was simr to the frontier vige.

    Suppressing the settlement is easy. But

    <i> Let''s use this chance to gain more insight into the goma-ecology.</i>

    I quickly recovered the honey as Natsukawa-san urged me to, but I told her to wait for one more day. This was a rare opportunity to observe the goma-ecology after all.

    I mean, since it looked like we were going to keep meeting gomas in the future, we should use this chance to get more information about them. In that way, even if a really strong gogma appeared in the future, we could work around and use the female goma as the hostage.

    In the end, she agreed to let me continue my observation for one more day.

    It might be just one additional day, but I got a lot of information just from this one-day observation.

    First, regarding the goma-reproduction.

    The settlement was just a hamlet with a total poption of 200, but there were at least two female gomas who gave birth to child gomas just on this day alone.

    I didn''t see the first one since it was located in the blind spot of this tower, but I saw the second one properly.

    So those guys were born in the form of an egg, huh

    I was really shocked to know that our bad neighbour was oviparity.

    The thing that female goma, who raised a hoarse and squalid voice, gave birth to was a softball-sized egg. Five or six of them came out at once.

    Because they were the weakest monsters, they had a high fertility rate. It seems giving birth to five eggs at once was a normal thing for them. That was what I thought at first, but I knewter that the number of eggs was more than five.

    After the egg came out, the baby goma inside broke the shell immediately.

    The just-born goma looked really repulsive.

    However, some eggs didn''t break.

    Two of the five eggs didn''t break. One of them did crack, though. s, the baby goma inside seemed to have given up early on.

    I thought the adult goma would help that baby by cracking the shell but

    Well, that trivial matter aside, the gomas had also raised livestock.

    Right by the side of the fence, there was another pond surrounded by a fence. The pond looked like a muddy puddle instead of a clear pond.

    I saw a few frogs with pig-like faces being raised there.

    The food scrap thrown over there became the food for those pigfrogs. Meaning, they were raised as livestock.

    After looking at one female goma taking out one of the pigfrogs from there, I was convinced that they were raised for their meat.

    And speaking of food scrap, the baby goma who failed to be born was also included in there, meaning that they were just the perfect feed for the pigfrogs.

    Two eggs failed to be born among the five. If two female gomas give birth to an average number of that egg every day There''s an additional 6 gomas every day.

    <i>Man, that is a terrifying birthrate, Japanese should feel ashamed of themselves.</i>

    Assuming that one among those six managed to reach adulthood, their poption would literally double in just one year.

    The reason these gomas existed in almost all parts of this dungeon was simply because of overpoption. And since there were many strong monsters out there, they could calmly use the corpse of their failed babies as a feeder for their livestock.

    They appeared almost anywhere in this dungeon despite being small fry, attacking anything in sight, only to get the table turned on them. Seeing their fertility rate, I guess it really wasn''t a big deal if they often sold a quarrel.

    We have to crush these guys here, otherwise there''ll be fiercepetition for food in this resort area.

    We are going to be screwed if these guys multiplied rapidly in this resort area while we were preparing for the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi. It''s not like they posed a serious threat to the members of the school tower, but an eyesore was an eyesore, we had to get rid of them sooner orter anyway.

    Kill the gomas, show no mercy to them.

    Now that I had made the decision, the one-day observation should be plenty enough.

    Raid them tomorrow night after theyve fallen asleep I''ll use the rest of today to observe this area.

    And just as I was about to enter the vase which I used as my hiding ce yesterday

    GURUBA! ZEN, GADARAGA!

    A flock of gomas entered in session from the entrance.

    Darn, they found me, eh."

    That was what I thought, but then I realized that they were just wanting to use the altar.

    Thus, I decided to take a peek from my hiding ce.

    The four govus are Their top brass, huh.

    Standing in front of the altar, leading the other three was the armoured govu.

    He ced a small vase, pelt, and basket of core on the altar it kinda reminded me of an offering.

    After cing all those offerings on the altar, the boss govu knelt.

    Kneeling diagonally behind him was a female goma with a big belly (big-brea$ted in human terms). <i>What happened to the other big-bellied-chan? Was that mean female goma his legal wife?</i>

    Behind the couple were the other three govus, and further behind were gomas wearing fairly nice clothes.

    Oumaaa!

    The boss govu shouted.

    Ouma!

    Oumaa!

    The others then followed the boss govu, shouting the same words.

    They were shouting "Ouma". Properly speaking, the way gomas spoke looked like they were shouting something, and yet, this was the first time they spoke something like a proper noun.

    This "Ouma" thingy sounded like the name of the god they revered.

    When I was looking at them in admiration over their devotion to their faith

    The magic circle is Moving?

    Yes, it was moving for sure. The magic circle''s red light glowed brighter and brighter while wriggling on the stone altar.

    <i> What in the hell is happening here? It isn''t a prayer ceremony, what in the world is that magic circle doing!?</i>

    OUMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And then, right as their shout resounded inside the tower Another thing appeared right on top of the altar.

    Zebu, gura, aburadaaaa

    That was a goma. The thing projected on the lithograph was the figure of another goma.

    I see, this altar was something like an LCD screen, it made it possible tomunicate with other ces.

    Is that, the king of gomas?

    Appearance-wise, the goma on the screen was outfitted with an attire that I had never seen before.

    <i> Is that a wig? Or real hair?</i> He had long hair and a beard. And yet, his figure was tall and thin with obvious deep wrinkles on his face as if he were the hermit version of goma.

    However, his shiny, golden crown was adorned with gems, and the pure white robe was the exact definition of a poor king.

    UGOGOO OUMA!

    The boss govu and his subordinates along with the others were prostrating with an unmistakable tensed look on their faces before the lithograph that disyed the goma king.

    I had no idea what they were talking about, but there was an obvious difference in both of their social standing.

    Zagara, bedabu, goruruboga.

    The goma king, who epted the revere as if it was a natural thing, started talking about something.

    Aah, I saw a temte of a long and boring speech here.

    That face it was simr to the face of the chairman of Shiromine Academy when he gave a long-winded and boring speech in front of us, the elite students.

    Yeah, I really hate that ugly look on that old man''s face that is filled with satisfaction as an influential figure.

    So, while I was thinking about other things as I ignored the long-winded and boring speech, not to mention it sound like a random scream, of the goma king, the speech finally came to an end.

    Gufu, buruga, zedo.

    With that finish, the lithograph glowed in red colour again.

    What happened was obvious once the glow receeded.

    Nboo, guba! Oo~ma!

    The extremely delighted boss govu yelled upon seeing the small vase appear in front of the lithograph That vase was obviously different from the offering.

    Gubara!

    Zebaaa!

    Ouma!

    The other guys were also raising a scream.

    The offering before the lithograph had vanished, reced by a white vase.

    I see, it''s some sort of transaction, huh.

    Perhaps, the content of that vase was

    Nba~!

    The boss govu who shouted delightfully put his finger into the white vase and licked his finger after he took it out.

    That''s the birthce of sugar, huh.

    With myst question answered, the valuable observation of goma-ecology hade to an end.

    <i>Thank you very much. This is truly a nice settlement. That''s why we will wipe it out from the map. </i>

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 206.1 - Tragedy

    Chapter 206.1 - Tragedy

    Fuuh, this vige is finally on the right track.

    I muttered calmly as I looked across the tiny yet lively vige.

    At first, there were only a few dozen people, but now the number had already increased by over ten times. The men were valiant and energetic. The women were raising and protecting the children, the vige, and the house with a smile on their faces.

    This vige was built by us, the young and energetic generation. I was right, this forest was rich, with an abundance of resources, and there was a huge ruin too. It was and filled with possibilities.

    Naturally, there was a reason such a ce was entrusted to me.

    Thank you, I''ve managed toe this far because of you.

    What are you talking about, honey? You''re the one who did the hard lifting.

    Hearing my wife say those words with an affectionate smile on her face made me feel like the luckiest husband in the world.

    As you see, she was a transcendence beauty who was wasted on me, not to mention that her stomach was huge. Whether it was now or before, the figure of her bulging stomach swaying around as she walked was a feast for sore eyes for many men.

    However, that beauty had already be my wife. I''ll kill anyone who dared to make a move and her and feed them to the pigfrogs.

    Good grief, I had a lot of worries ever since I married the most beautiful woman in the capital.

    No, it isn''t just me, everybody did their best to build this vige too.

    The pioneering went ording to the n.

    In addition to its abundance, this area had no such thing as a demon, dragon, or powerful beast. The jiras seemed to im the seashore as their territory but Well, a sh with them had to wait until after we conquered the forest. We didn''t have to go to the sea for the time being, so the battle against jiras had to be set aside for now.

    The most important thing was to cherish our current happiness.

    Fufufu, the ability to lead everyone is exactly what a chief needs.

    If Ouma-sama''s daughter herself said so, I can''t help but feel proud.

    In fact, she was the daughter of the king of gomas who ruled this kingdom. That''s why there was no way to hide her regal air, beauty, and grace which literally overflowed from her.

    I was nothing more than a warrior in the royal castle of our capital and yet, fate had me falling in love with her Though various things happened after that, Ouma-sama had finally given his blessing and ordered me to start pioneering a vige in this new area.

    The current me is nothing more than the boss of a small turf, but soon I''ll conquer the forest and be its big boss.

    Yes, it should be a simple matter for you.

    Knowing that she trusted my ability was the best thing I could hope for.

    Though she had to abandon the morous life in the capital to live in a destitute pioneering vige like this, she neverined to me. Perhaps, there was no other woman like her in this world.

    I love you.

    I love you too.

    <i> Kuuh, she is so adorable. It''s decided, I''ll definitely fertilize the egg in her huge stomach tonight!</i>

    Hey, you two don''t just flirt around.

    Geh, you''re back, huh.

    And just when a good atmosphere had been created between us, my second wife appeared.

    What''s the matter, don''t want me toe?

    Nope, I won''t go that far

    Humph, since it''s a woman''s duty to give birth to a lot of eggs, you better be prepared for that.

    Good grief, you have no elegance at all.

    She had an inseparable rtionship with me since we were childhood friends. Half of my brothers became feeds for pigfrogs, the other half was either killed by beast or died in battle with the other race. Thus, she was the only one who got along with me for a really long time.

    Moreover, she loved me so much, to the point that she was willing to follow me toe to this pioneering vige. s, I was really grateful since her bing my second wife had, in fact, increased the prestige of an upstart like me.

    Despite her rough, male-like personality, her huge stomach rivaled my first wifes. Many men respected me who was waited upon by these two beauties with huge stomachs.

    Well, even if she had a small stomach, I would still take her as my wife. I mean, I really couldn''t think of a life without her by my side, and there was no way I could see her by the side of other men.

    Honey, I''m your No.1 you know?

    Humph, I''ll give birth to more eggs than you!

    They pulled each of my arms while having such a quarrel and made me rub their huge stomach.

    What a pair of hopeless girls you are.

    Good grief, it seems both of them wouldn''t let me sleep tonight The moment I thought so.

    E-ENEMY ATTACK!

    ENEMY ATTAAACK!

    Those shouts broke the serene evening of the vige.

    WHO THE HELL IS ATTACKING AT THIS KIND OF TIME!?

    I grabbed my weapon immediately. Both my wives had also started moving in a hurry and equipped me with my armour and arm gear.

    Both of you, be prepared to take the children to escape.

    Yes!

    Well then, I''m off.

    I jumped out of the tent as I said my farewell.

    THOSE AS*HOLES SET THE VILLAGE ON FIRE!

    The moment I left the tent, I noticed that the vige was as bright as day. The tents in the vige had already been set on fire at several ces, the screams of the residents resounding along the huge mes.

    They even ambushed us as we tried to escape!

    The most important facility of the vige was the tower that was situated right at the centre. Even its entrance had been set aze. Though the solid ruin made of stone wouldn''t be affected by the mes, the fire made it impossible for us to take refuge in it.

    OI, WHERE''S THE ENEMY!

    BOSS!

    OVER THERE!

    The guys nearby gathered around as soon as they saw me.

    It seemed the battle had begun right at the entrance gate of the vige. In addition to the bellowing roar, I also felt the presence of a strongman in the air.

    I led my subordinates, rushing towards the entrance gate.

    Just as I had expected, our enemy was

    BUGEGEGEGE! GOMABIGAGOBURU!(AHAHAHAHA! KILL THOSE GOMA VERMINS!)

    The human

    The one who let out the atrociousugh along with iprehensible words was a human.

    This was the first time I saw a human in person, but no doubt about it, they were bipedal monsters with an atrocious and ugly appearance. Looking at them alone was enough to incite my wrath.

    However, I was no longer an inexperienced goma but a govu veteran. I knew that I had to cool my head to deal with this situation.

    Upon a closer look, I realized that the human was a petite female. However, the knives in her hands moved fluidly, creating a rain of blood as she danced among myrades.

    Her knife skill was swift and deadly. Even I had no idea whether I could win against her in a one-on-one or not.

    BAJIGIRU, GOBOZEEEEEEEEEEEE!(HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY HONEEEEEEEEY!)

    The female human turned into a gale as she ran while raising a bestial roar <i>Oh crap, she is aiming for me!</i>

    DAMN HUMAAAAAAAN!

    OBAAGURUGAA!(SO IT''S YOUUUUUU!)

    I barely thwarted her attack with my sword. As expected of the sword I gained from the demon armour. It easily repelled her knife.

    She wasn''t that powerful, but her dreadful speed allowed her to kill us by attacking our vital spot.

    I did hear that human warriors were powerful, s, I had never expected for them to be this strong No, I had heard in the capital that among those evil humans, there was one who received a special power from that disgusting God of Chaos.

    Meaning that this female knife-wielder was that.

    But that''s why it''s worthwhile to eat her!

    Gomas would gain incredible power by eating humans. Eating this powerful female human could allow me to evolve into a gogma in one go.

    If that was the case, this might be the god''s trial for me. I would be stronger by oveing this trial!

    WE''VE ADVANTAGE IN TERMS OF NUMBER! SURROUND HER, DON''T LET HER ESCAPE!!

    DOVA, UNBAAAAAAA!(OUT OF MY WAY, YOU SMALL FRIES!)

    With the power of our cooperation honed during our daily hunt, myrades started to surround the knife-wielding human. Some of them could die, but we had to kill her at all costs

    GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    UWAAA! I-IT''S MAGIC!

    The arrow of ice and light rained incessantly on myrades, scattering them around.

    The magic arrow flew from the other side of the fence.

    KUH, THERE''S A HIDDEN HUMAN SORCERER TOO!

    <i> This is bad!</i> Light and ice meant that there were two other humans. We were already having our hands full dealing with the knife-wielder, add to that the covering fire from sorcerers was something beyond what this vige could handle.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 206.2 - Tragedy

    Chapter 206.2 - Tragedy

    DAGUBA, ZORUBADOGI(Natsukawa-san, don''t jump out on your own, that''s too dangerous.)

    Just as I was thinking about evacuating this ce, another human appeared.

    That guy swinging his dazzling sword of light was ying myrades in one sh.

    It was such a beautiful sh, and yet, I knew that he had yet to go all out.

    This guy was a monster.

    Govu elite of the capital, no, maybe not even a gogma general could hope to match him. I, who was still a govu, couldn''t even hope to see the bottom of his power.

    Nba, zo~ma(Ah, Souma-kun)

    Baju, goguba, momo, degoruga(Rest assured, Momokawa has already secured the honey).

    He was talking carefreely to the knife-wielder. Perhaps because he was in a really advantageous situation and strong on top of that he hadn''t even unleashed his killing intent on me as if to say that he could easily kill me with a simple swing of his sword.

    <i> Dammit, just how much are these fi*thy humans going to look down upon me</i>

    Boss, use this chance to escape from this ce.

    When I was about to rush at them in anger, a govu stood before me.

    He was my best friend who had apanied me all the way from the capital. Except for my childhood friend, he was the one who knew me the longest.

    In fact, he was the vice chief of this vige.

    Are you telling me, a chief to escape first!

    It''s exactly because you''re the chief that you have to escape first! And you''re entrusted with Ouma-sama''s daughter on top of that.

    Kuh!

    You have to protect her no matter what. That''s your mission.

    But you guys will

    Don''t worry about us. We will try to buy time before following you.

    <i> You idiot, stop trying to spit such lies to me. Quit acting tough, ain''t yer hand trembling from fear already!</i>

    Sorry, we will survive and restore this vige.

    Yeah, I''ll leave the rest to you, buddy.

    I turned around and ran as I held back my tears.

    Buga, bogudogura!(Ah, the boss-like guy has escaped!)

    Bedouda, momo, zogara(Leave that one to Momokawa)

    I heard myrades'' warcries amidst the human''s bored voice. Even so, I didn''t look back. I still had my mission. As a chief, no, as a man, I should never waste their sacrifice.

    Guys, are you okay?

    Honey!

    What happened outside? Has the enemy already been defeated?

    Upon returning to my tent, both my wives asked me anxiously while carrying our kids. They had already brought a minimum amount of luggage, ready to escape from this ce.

    Terrifying human raid. We have to escape, we can''t defeat them.

    Eh, human!?

    But, where are we escape to?

    Anywhere, we have to at least leave this vige first!

    It was a race against time.

    s, I definitely couldn''t let go of one thing, namely the pot of sugar that I received from Ouma-sama a few days ago. I tied it onto my waist. <i>Okay, the preparation isplete.</i>

    Okay, let''s go!

    The first thing we had to do after we left our tent was look for an escape route.

    Those humans had already upied the main gate, but there was a second entrance to this vige.

    So we were heading to that ce, but

    DOUBA! GORUZEA!(Oraoraora, DIEDIEDIE!)

    BIGU, ZABARAGUA!(KILL THEM ALL!)

    GORUGYABARA, MOMO, JANDOGA(Man, this is already a genocide, Momokawa ain''t joking)

    The humans with sword, axe, and water magic entered from the second entrance. Around them were the corpses of the armed men who got ughtered by them Moreover, the corpses of women and children who tried to escape were also scattered around them.

    Kuh, that human went that far, huh.

    Ah, that''s

    Though I got flustered upon seeing another three humans raid the vige from another direction, my children and wives were both despaired by this situation.

    Naturally, they would have never imagined such a cruel spectacle to exist. I mean, our peaceful vige had suddenly turned into hell on Earth.

    Now listen to me, grit your teeth and run as fast as you can, don''t let them catch you.

    Though crying, my wives nodded gantly. The same went for my children. What brave children they are! They gritted their teeth in response.

    Let''s go, we''re going to the back entrance.

    The only escape route left was the small backdoor that wouldn''t normally be used normally.

    I led my family to that ce.

    GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    HEELP! I DON''T WANT TO DIEEEEEEEE!

    STOOOP! SPARE MY CHIIIIIIIIIILD!

    Such maddening screams resounded throughout the vige.

    There seemed to be more humans than I met. All of them were equipped with the finest weapons on par with the ones used by the elite of the capital. They ughtered every single goma they met, sparing none.

    Whether it was the fighting male, or the escaping female, even the innocent children were not spared from their cruelty. They killed everything in sight like a cold-blooded killer.

    We did it, there''s no human at the backdoor entrance!

    The backdoor entrance was made right next to the marsnd we used to breed pigfrog. Since it was located in a rather deste ce, those humans might have thought that no one would use this ce as an escape route. Or anyone who tried to use this way had already been in long before they arrived.

    Now, listen carefully. You must never let go of my hands. We''re going to traverse animal trails in the forest right after this. You mustn''t stray from the trail if you don''t want to get lost in the forest.

    After leaving from the backdoor entrance, we who managed to escape from the vige that had already turned into hell on earth forced our way through the dark forest.

    I used cante magic which I learnt after retiring from my post as a warrior in the capital to light our path as we ran in the forest.

    The forest was wrapped in an eerie silence as if themotion in the vige a while ago was an illusion.

    If only all of this was a mere nightma

    AAAH, GUGIGA(Ah, they really came)

    !?

    Something akin to a specter had already been waiting for us ahead of the animal trail.

    It was a small human. Perhaps a child. Obviously much shorterpared to the other humans who attacked the vige.

    Though every human who raided the vige released terrifying pressure, I couldn''t feel such pressure from the human child before me.

    Gyaba, gongerua(As expected, they used this route to escape)

    I''ll kill that human. We will run as fast as we can after I kill this human.

    There was only one human here. I just had to kill that guy and escape before the other humans caught up to us.

    <i> Calm down, no need to worry, there''s still hope.</i>

    H-Honey

    Don''t worry, that short human won''t be able to defeat me.

    I ced the cante on my hips and drew my sword.

    That shorty only had a cane with a skull on its tip and didnt even take a stance.

    <i>How dare that human underestimate me!</i><i>Feeling ted because the raid in the vige seeded, eh? That vanity will cost your life.</i>

    HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    I rushed forward, closing in the distance at once.

    I raised my sword overhead and loaded my magical power into it.

    I swung my sword down, unleashing martial arts while raising a warcr

    AH!?

    M-My leg Something caught my leg!

    The moment I noticed that my body that had rushed at full speed lost its bnce, and tumbled straight to the ground. The martial arts that I was about to unleash had also gotten canceled.

    Guuu!

    The moment I fell forward, I came to a realization. This human had already set a trap in this dark forest.

    The thing that tripped my foot was long, hard, and ck simr to human hair.

    Dammit!

    Pugya~(Pugya~)

    When I tried to stand up to regain my stance, the short human sneered while pointing at me.

    The next moment, I felt heaven and earth get overturned.

    FUDGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    My body stumbled again, not falling like before. Rather, the ground got away from me Did my feet got pulled up!?

    An arachne

    I finally noticed it after I got suspended in the air.

    The thing that coiled around my body was solid, white spider thread. And the owner of that thread had already been waiting atop the tree, they had the lower body of a spider and upper half of human. The arachne.

    L-Let go of me!

    Why did an arachne appear now of all time? No, there should be no arachne in this forest. Even if they did live here, they should be living in the ruine <i>No, something is amiss.</i>

    <i> This arachne seems familiar.</i>

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 206.3 - Tragedy

    Chapter 206.3 - Tragedy

    <i>I see,</i><i>that the shorty isn''t a mere child, he is a monster user!</i>

    Zorubu, remu, dzudabava(Rem, catch this guy)

    Shaaaaaaa.

    When The shorty said something to the arachne on top of the tree, thetter obediently replied. Yes, the arachne had been put under his control.

    We were screwed, I couldn''t do anything if I ended up caught in spiderweb like this. I couldn''t break free from the thread that entangled my body.

    And yet, the ground was right before my face. If only my feet was on the ground

    YOU LOT RUN! RUN AWAAAAY!

    THIS BAS*ARD OF HUMAN, HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO MY FATHER!

    At that moment, my son moved.

    He was the first son between me and my childhood friend.

    It seems he wanted to save me after seeing me hung upside-down. Maybe his anger toward the human had awakened his ancient goma instinct.

    My son raised a warcry and ran straight, wielding the knife that I gave him in his hand

    DIE, HUMAGEH!?

    My son crashed against the wall and fell to the ground. A ck wall appeared out of nowhere before me.

    Or not, that was an axe. A huge, axe with a ck de. My son crashed right on to it.

    Momo, bazabugeruda(Be careful, Kotaro-kun)

    <i>What the heck</i> That big human was the owner of that ck axe. Their physic resembled that of a govu, but the powerful presence emanating from them rivaled that of a gogma.

    They were a monster, like that human who wielded the sword of light.

    The reason they were standing by right beside the shorty Was by no means a trap. This was a carefully nned ambush.

    A~h, zongorobagido(A~h, just kill those goma brats)

    O-Ouch, what is thi OGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

    The axe wielder trampled down my son underfoot as if they had crushed mere bugs. Their feet literally trampled on his head.

    My sons scream stopped along with the sound akin to a crushed fruit. Yes, stopped because his head was crushed.

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    I screamed at the top of my lungs, and yet as if the scene of my dear son trampled to death right before me wasn''t cruel enough, I had to witness another.

    The one who screamed even louder in the forest was the mother of my son.

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! LIES, THIS MUST BE A LIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    She rushed to the corpse of her son whose head had been reduced to smidgens of stains on the ground while raising heartrending cries,

    Guba, zorudagia(We don''t need the female either, kill her)

    Thus, her body got sliced in two by the ck axe right before she reached her son.

    Since it wasn''t a strike with the body of the axe de, the axe''s sharpness added to its massive weight, raised its killing power, and bisected my childhood friend in half vertically.

    A-Aaaah

    I was at a loss for words. I lost both my wife and son in just a moment.

    Everything happened so fast as if I was witnessing a nightmare.

    However, I snapped out of my daze the moment the bisected body of my wife rolled in front of me. Mixed with dark red entrails there was a round

    Buge, dabagugizudo(Geh, that egg is gross)

    That was the fruit of love between me and her. They were the new life that should have been born after this.

    The egg rolled out from her cleaved stomach.

    N, zobabigo Giruda(Uhn?  It became a fetus?)

    The shortys cold gaze was on the wriggling little flesh drenched in her blood.

    N-No way, that''s no that child Is blessed!

    The blessed child that was born without the eggshell was a natural-born govu. They were so rare that even in the capital only one was born in a year. Since he was born as a govu, his growth rate was iparable to that of your average goma. He would be a gogma upon reaching adulthood.

    To think that blessed child born between her and me, who received a blessing from god Was the greatest blessing for goma. s, it dropped me into an even greater despair.

    The fact that the child inside the torn stomach known by humans was nothing but a nightmare for me as a father.

    Yet, I had no idea that this was only the beginning of a true nightmare.

    Damagure, zoa Ginburudoa(It''s a child instead of an egg huh That''s worrying indeed)

    The shorty grumbled about something. Naturally, there was no way I could understand a human''s remark.

    But then, soon enough, I finally understood what the human was going to do.

    Rem(Rem)

    In a single word, his word sent a chill running down my spine as he looked at my beloved wife.

    S-Stop STOP! SPARE MY WIFE~!

    At that moment, a huge ck armour helmet appeared behind her.

    It was the powerful and terrifying demon of armor helmet who appeared once in a while in the ruin. Naturally, it was not supposed to appear in this kind of ce. That guy was also familiar with humans, simr to arachne.

    KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    She raised a loud shout the moment she saw the ck armour helmet And got caught.

    The rugged steel hand mercilessly grabbed her beautiful face.

    NOOOOOOOOOOO! SAVE ME, DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    And yet, I couldn''t do anything but scream as I watched them. No matter how much I tried to muster my strength, I couldn''t free myself from the spiderweb.

    I couldn''t do anything other than being hung upside down.

    Then, the arm of the armour helmet grabbed her big stomach

    GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And tore it, much too easily.

    Several lumps of meat dropped out apanied by her wail of despair.

    Her guts dropped on the ground like a waterfall along with her egg that smashed as it fell on the ground. None left, all of our children were smashed before they were born.

    M-My My child

    She murmured while blowing a bloody bubble from her mouth as the light vanished from her eyes.

    Dead. My beloved wife The daughter of Ouma-sama, the princess of the kingdom had

    Giaba, zendagobu(That''s all the egg, huh)

    The human turned away from the corpse of my wife, havingpletely lost interest in her corpse. The next moment, the armored helmet cast away her corpse to the shrub as if it were trash.

    Momo, goragerubuu(Kotaro-kun, the kids managed to escape though)

    By the time we arrived at this point, the children had already left. It was by mere coincidence that everyone scattered around.

    <i>That''s right, please, even if it''s just one of you, please survive</i>

    Joba, gonguruzeba(Don''t worry, the high zombie will take care of them)

    The shorty twined the cane with skull decoration in his hand, then a magic circle appeared as he raised a terrifying scream. Then, from within the magic circle came the repulsive demonic corpse.

    There were seven of them. The exact number of my kids who managed to escape from this ce.

    KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    OAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The dead familiar then ran into the forest in great spirit. The result of this game of tag was obvious when considering the legs of the kids with the dead familiar who had endless stamina.

    The cries of my children reveberated inside the forest along with the roar of the dead familiar.

    Zaba, buguzondagia, garuda(Well then, it seems the vige has also been taken care of, let''s go back)

    Juba, govu, gizuda(What are you going to do to that govu?)

    <i>This is too much.</i>

    <i> This despair is too much.</i>

    My heart couldn''t take it anymore. How did this happen? Where did I go wrong? What kind of sin did wemit to bring us such suffering?

    The short and tall humans were pointing at me while talking about something.

    <i>Honestly, I don''t care anymore, kill me. Please just kill me.</i>

    Giva, donvarugoga(That guy will be ab rat for poison experiment).

    <i> Kill me, just kill me now!</i>

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 207.1 - Snatched Item

    Chapter 207.1 - Snatched Item

    Natsukawa-san, is the honey that was snatched after massacring the goma delicious?

    It''s sweet!

    Natsukawa Minami who ate fairy nuts soaked in the honey that we got from ughtering the entire goma vige replied with a face full of smiles.

    The one who was most eager to do this operation was none other than her, and also the most delighted upon seeding. Perhaps that was the delight derived from plundering using her Thief vocation.

    Not just Natsukawa-san, everyone was equally delighted by Mei-chan''s new sweets menu made from the stolen honey.

    Raiding a peaceful goma vige to rob their precious honey, the creature called human was truly a cruel one.

    Well, it didn''t really matter since those gomas were really gross. It wouldn''t hurt my conscience even if we yed their children.

    But, they might be simr to humans in some regard.

    I had predicted that the boss would escape by himself from the vige. That was why I had no idea where he would run to if wepletely blockaded their escape route.

    I had grasped the structure of the vige after observing from the tower. That was why I could find that small, backdoor-like entrance in the pig frog farm and predicted their escape route.

    And just as I had expected, the boss govu escaped alone with his family while sacrificing the other gomas in the vige.

    I asked Rem Arachne to catch him and forced him to watch his wives and children get in right before his eyes. The female goma raised a strange scream when Mei-chan crushed the head of the first goma kid that rushed toward us.

    From her reaction, I could guess that gomas had a deep sense of affection for their family.

    But of course, why should I care about that? They were just humanoid monsters, pests that should be eliminated, and we were lucky since we secured materials.

    We could literally plunder without care whileughing like a mob from the end of the century if the target was goma.

    Well, that was good training.

    Today''s raid could serve as rehearsal for the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi.

    Everyone had gotten used to exploration but, today was the first time everybody truly cooperated with each other.

    Mobilizing all 18 students tobat Yamata no Orochi without any rehearsal was a literal suicide. We had to get used to raid battles, not party battles.

    And since everyone''s coordination was better than my initial expectation, we managed to kill all the gomas in that vige. Since everybody was already used tobat, the gomas in that vige were literally sitting ducks.

    My biggest concern did not materialize, but I discovered another problem instead.

    We need a way tomunicate with each other.

    The teamwork in one party was good, but we had a problem with coordination between parties.

    During today''s raid, the first party was spearheaded by Natsukawa-san who rushed straight to the vige gate. The second party was led by Shimokawa who blocked the other entrance. And I led the third party to ambush anyone who came out from the secret passage.

    In short, we used three teams in today''s operation.

    However, there was next to nomunication between the first, second, and third parties. Though it was possible to contact them using our smartphones, we couldn''t do that during thebat.

    Since today''s operation went without a hitch, we proceeded in ordance with our main n. But things could easily go south if that goma king would send his troop through teleportation.

    Naturally, my double was keeping a watch on the goma altar in case something unexpected happened so that I could tell everyone to retreat at once.

    Fortunately, my worries ended up as mere worries, but I really wanted to gather more information about the other party. I mean, literally, anything could happen during the subjugation of Yamato no Orochi.

    But still, none of us has something like telepathy ability huh.

    Smartphones were much better, but we should prepare a bettermunication method.

    Anyway, the next step was to devise a much better and fastermunication line between different teams in real-time.

    Well, we had no other harvest from today''s raid other than honey and sugar.

    Sakura-chan, Himeno-san, you twoe with me after this.

    What are you scheming this time?

    Eh, why me Momokawa-kun?

    Stop making that disgusted face, you two are the only ones in our group.

    They were tantly showing their wariness.

    And their expression was just like the one they showed when they saw the student from Kuromine High while walking in the city.

    If you think I''m doing something suspicious, feel free to bring along your beloved big brother or your boyfriend.

    Today was a holiday, after all, so no one went out for exploration. That was why I let them bring along someone. Not that I was trying to hide this.

    Can''t be helped then, I''ll go with you.

    Yes Big Brother, please do so.

    It''s much safer if Souma-kun is with us!

    <i> Would you be really okay if Nakajima-kun isn''ting with us, Himeno-san? I mean, she has the same face as the dull protagonist of ro manga when flirting with another man.</i>

    <i>Oh, whatever. If Nakajima-kun himself didn''t say anything, it means that only the three of them would go with me.</i>

    Let''s get going.

    By the way, we were going from the fairy za of the school tower to the fairy za of the resort area. It was the ce we used as the starting point for yesterday''s raid.

    We had already looted everything from the goma vige and brought them back to the school tower, that was why there was nothing left in this ce. But we had left behind our most important catch in this ce.

    There we go, Lab Rat No.1, until Lab Rat No.3.

    We had held the boss govu and two gomas in this ce.

    They were confined within a pseudo jail that was created with Randou-san''s earth magic.

    Uh, this is

    It was obvious at a nce that the goma inside was already in a half-dead state, even the govu who had the most stamina among them looked dead tired. Naturally, they weren''t just exhausted, they were bleeding too. Most of the blood was simply because they had vomited blood rather than from their wound.

    Why are you doing such an inhuman thing?

    Goma isn''t a human, to begin with, so it''s not inhuman.

    But now that you show us this, it''s honestly making me feel awful.

    It''s not like I''m doing this because I like it either.

    We had no choice but to conduct experiments using monsters.

    Since this wasn''t a game, we couldn''t confirm the effect and damage with numbers. Even the exnation about our skill was in the form of vor text, a wacky one in my case.

    I don''t care about what you want to say, but I want you to use healing magic on these fes.

    Haah?

    W-Why should I do that?

    That was a natural question I guess, why should she use healing on a monster?

    So that we can use them again after we have healed them.

    I won''t do such a repulsive act.

    Me too

    Well, I''m not doing this for myself, I''m doing this for you two.

    That was what I wanted to say but both of them were unwilling to hear me anymore.

    Souma-kun.

    Got it, let me hear your reason for doing this.

    He was equally unwilling to do this, but he was at least willing to hear me out for now. <i>Damn, what a model student you are.</i>

    I want them to train their healing magic.

    Train? It should be enough to let them use it during battle right?

    That is that, this is this.

    Using healing magic inbat was a practical experience and also an integral part of their training.

    However, it didn''t mean that their skill was only used duringbat. Rather, they wouldn''t have the chance to use it after we upgraded our equipment and skills since they were bound to suffer from minor injuries.

    No wound = No healing magic. And no healing magic meant that they wouldn''t be able to raise their skill experience.

    Especially Himeno-san whose healing magic is close to useless.

    T-That''s

    Otherwise, your skill should''ve been upgraded a long time ago.

    Guh!

    <i> Did she react that way because her skill level is really low? Or, maybe because she wasn''t a Healer anymore.</i>

    Well, it didn''t really matter. Even if Himeno-san was kin, since she still had her Lesser Heal, it meant that the skill could still be stronger.

    If it''s goma, we can hurt them as much as we want. In that way, we can use healing on them again and again.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 207.2 - Snatched Item

    Chapter 207.2 - Snatched Item

    That really is the worst experiment.

    <i>Listen properly, Sakura-chan.</i>

    Since we don''t have to risk ourselves to inflict deep wounds, you can find the limit of your healing far more easily. Things such as reconnecting torn-off limbs, growing a new limb, stopping the bleeding I want you two to have a deeper understanding of your own abilities.

    This is too inhuman.

    We can conduct poison and healing experiments at the same time, this is a revolutionary idea, like hitting two birds with one stone.

    Sakura''s cold gaze was piercing into my confident eyes.

    <i>Are you convinced now?</i>

    Sakura, let''s do as he says.

    Nii-san!!

    Healing magic is our lifeline. We have to depend on your magic when pushes to shove.

    S-Souma-kun, I

    Himeno-san, shut up for a moment.

    <i>Souma-kun is in the middle of persuading Sakura right now, give them their own space.</i>

    There''s no way we can defeat Yamata no Orochi unscathed. That''s why we have to raise our healing ability too.

    I understand. Sure enough, we have to depend on my healing when pushes to shove.

    That''s right. The method to raise your ability is a bit of a problem but Just endure it for now.

    Can''t be helped then, if even Nii-san says so, I''ve no choice but to agree.

    Well, best rega~rds.

    How about showing a bit of gratitude here, Momokawa!

    The one who said "I''ll do it" was Sakura-chan herself. Just how conceited was she for wanting someone else to thank her for her own decision?

    I''ll prepare poison to test on them. I''ll call you when they needplete recovery.

    With this, we secured gomab rat.

    Honestly speaking, I don''t think that poison would work on Yamata no Orochi, and improving those twos healing abilities wouldn''t go as easily as it seems. s, we had no choice but to do what we could do.

    We had time, resources, and manpower. Leaving everything to the will of god wasn''t my style.

    Hey, Takanashi-san.

    Uhm, wha~t?

    When I called out to the sage-sama stationed near the entrance, she didn''t even try to hide her displeasure.

    Ah, don''t stop your hand, keep listening as you did your job.

    U~hm.

    Thus, she continued the alchemy of fusing the light stone with a vexed face. Since this ce was the one ce that worked far behind schedule, I couldn''t afford to let her dy the work even further.

    Can you read this?

    I ca~n''t.

    Look properly.

    E~h

    And don''t stop your hands.

    Momokawa-kun, Kotori will go there if you''re disturbing her work!

    Never expected her to get angry.

    Good grief, youth these days. How many years ago was such a phrase used?

    Well, if you can read it, you would understand at a nce.

    I looked at the note that I showed to her.

    The thing written in there was the magic circle of the gomas.

    That altar wasn''t something that came naturally from the dungeon, it was obviously written by the goma. The surface of the main lithograph used to carve the magic circle was obviously polished and leveled, because the other surface was still rough. And then, including the pedestal, the ornaments around such as bone, pelt, and flower were obviously handmade.

    Maybe that goma king, otherwise known as Ouma, had already created amunication magic tool for gomas.

    Just that alone was enough evidence to prove the ability of Ouma. Since he invented apletely different mage craft, his alchemy skill could be on par or higher than that of Takanashi.

    His real ability was still unknown, but I should keep this matter in mind since the magic circle on that altar was truly a source of worry.

    Since it was a new magic circle that I saw for the first time, I drew the magic circle in detail in my notebook, just in case. I drew this magic circle on the table in the fairy za while my shadow was looking at the magic circle in the tower.

    There were two pictures of the goma magic circle: the initial state, and the state when it was used formunication with Ouma.

    When I showed both the magic circles to that sage-sama who was working in the fairy za, the answer I got was literally a snappy remark.

    So this really is a goma magic system,pletely different from the one used by us.

    In the first ce, my curse itself was a strange one, I doubt it used the same system as the other sorcery system.

    As for the Hinagiku-style curse, I noticed due to its name it resembled themon sorcery system. As for Ruinhilde-sama''s curse system, its name was rather poetic. Even the vour of their text was a bit

    Yup, no need to forcefully use this if this is useless.

    However, when Ipared it with the note I used for learning the ancientnguage that was left behind by Yamajun, I noticed that some letters written in goma magic circle resembled some letters in the ancientnguage.

    Moreover, I sincerely asked Kotori about the trantion of ancientnguage and secretly transcribed the alchemy formation used by her.

    Such a casual manner might be unbing for the research of ancientnguage, but since I havee to familiarize myself with that nowadays, I have begun to get used to it. Moreover, I discovered several simrities in the letter used in goma magic circle.

    Perhaps both gomas and humans use the same ancientnguage as their source to create their own magic system.

    If that were the case, as long as I could see the difference and simrities in goma magic circle, I might be able to read the goma''s enigmatic letter.

    Nevertheless, since I didn''t have ancientnguage decoding skills, I had a long way to go before I could really understand their meaning.

    Yup, deciphering thenguage is impossible, after all

    I mean, just looking at these mysterious moon runes alone was enough to make me feel slee

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 208.1 - Liquor 1

    Chapter 208.1 - Liquor 1

    I think it''s time to make liquor.

    Liquor huh I think that''s a nice idea.

    Mei-chan readily agreed with a smile on her face when I tried to make that suggestion during one of our idle chatter inside the ndestine room.

    Since how my deciphering the ancientnguage hardly made any progress, I felt the need for a change of pace.

    I''ve already considered that option.

    We were fooling around like idiots in the resort area of the deserted ind without caring a sh*t about dungeon capture, but we still couldn''t brew liquor. Starting with honey, lemon, we only went as far as making juice with avable fruits.

    Now that we have more people, there might be a demand for it.

    Yeah, some high school students have already tasted sake before adulthood after all.

    The adults would be enraged if they heard our remark, s, they would have also drunk liquor once or twice during their high school era. They might have used excuses such as, "It''s just barley juice".

    As for me, Ive unfortunately never drunk any liquor.

    Somehow, I had been uselessly serious in that regard. It was more because I had no interest in such things though. In my case, I rather use my money to buy a light novel than waste it on buying liquor.

    Well, even if I tried to buy it, the cashier would stop me due to my appearance. And I don''t think excuses such as, "I''m running an errand" would work either, right?

    I see, that''s great, Kotaro-kun.

    It wasn''t a big deal though. The hurdle of garnering praise from Mei-chan was too low, it was like I was being spoiled by her.

    What about you, Mei-chan?

    I have tasted it A little bit.

    A~h, you can''t handle it, huh!

    Yo-You''re mistaken. I just heard that there''s delicious sake and also a lot of foodbut we don''t know if it''ll be delicious without sake!

    <i>Is she referring to the snack that goes well with sake? Is she referring to those marriage thingies? There are too many difficult words rted to wine*.</i>

    [*TN: Marriage here is a wine-rted term]

    Meaning that you understand the taste of liquor.

    Whether it was delicious or not, the judgment was not up to me who had never had any liquor. In the first ce, my childish tongue might not even be able to tell the taste of delicious liquor.

    The world of liquor is deep, I''m just a beginner.

    <i>Meaning, you''re pretty much addicted to that profound world while still a high school student. As expected of Mei-chan, always surpassing my expectation.</i>

    s, you have far more experience and knowledge in that field than me, I''ll leave the sake brewing to you, Mei-chan.

    Okay, but I''ve no experience in making liquor, so don''t expect too much okay.

    And then, exactly two hours after Mei-chan said that

    I''ve made it. This is liquor.

    She brought back a reddish-purple liquid in a cup.

    It had the sweetness of the fruit which blended perfectly with the bitter aftertaste. But, it wasn''t just bitter, there was a kind of unique aftertaste mixed between a sour and astringent taste.

    Honestly, it wasn''t that tasty.

    That was my first impression of wine.

    How can you make wine so easily?

    Since there was no rice or wheat in this dungeon, the only avable material for liquor was fruit. And even with those fruits, we should be limited to making cider. s, the representative of the fruit liquor wasn''t cassis orange It was wine.

    To begin with, we could harvest grape-like fruit in the resort area. Since the one we found over there was dubbed by Mei-chan as yamabudou (crimson glory vein [grape]), I decided to call it yamabudou too.

    The Witch''s Kettle is really convenient.

    Even I, the owner of the skill, could only marvel at Mei-chan''s remark since I could only use it, not utilizing it as skillfully as Mei-chan.

    I''m really d that I learnt how to control fermentation during the experiment in making fish sauce.

    I had no idea it could be used like that though

    Fermentation is a phenomenon that won''t happen without yeast and yet It was possible to elerate fermentation by making the yeast more active. Honestly, I had no idea if I could replicate such a feat.

    I guess this was the huge difference between Mei-chan who understood the fermentation process word-by-word and me who only knew how to make simple stew or grilled dish. I couldn''t replicate her feat without proper understanding. In short, it was simr to magic.

    This is it, the fermentation might be enough!

    This is awesome, Mei-chan, you can use the kettle way better than me.

    Mei-chan was in a good mood since her liquor brewing turned out pretty well. <i>Okay then, it''s not like I''m going to get drunk from wine tasting anyway.</i>

    Next is white wine, sweet and salty vour And cider made from apple-like fruit

    Since Mei-chan had already turned into pro-liquor-maker-mode, I quickly made another new kettle for her. This was the only thing I could do for her. Futaba liquor maker was open for business.

    The night quickly turned into a tasting assembly.

    Come in, three drunken musketeers!

    Three drunken musketeers?

    Self-proimed as one of the thugs in the school, since you smoke you surely drink too, Tendou Ryuuichi!

    Oh shut up already, Momokawa.

    Tendou-kun was properly perched in his seat, albeit fed up.

    One of the girls has surely tasted liquor before, Randou Kyouko!

    Eh, how did I end up in this ce too? Momokawa, are you by chance drunk?

    I''m not drunk. I''ve a skill called Vessel of Poisonthat negates the effects of poison. Too ba~d, I''m not dead dru~nk!

    Woow, this guy is drunk for sure.

    Ah, stop shaking my shoulders, Randou-san. My head is spinning.

    Perhaps my Vessel of Poison stopped alcohol poisoning, but it didn''t prevent me from getting drunk. Wine, surprisingly, has a high degree of alcohol.

    Since Mei-chan and I had sampled all the prototypes that we were going to drink tonight, the total amount sampled was quite a lot.

    And since you two have a boyfriend in college, you naturally would have had a taste of liquor too right, JuryMary!

    You''re starting to spout nonsense now!

    I''ve told you right!

    <i>Eh, are they just making an appeal to Tendou-kun? Trying to impress him as innocent girls who have never associated with men before, huh?</i>

    What''s with that look?

    Don''t look down on us, Momokawa~

    I was just telling the truth, but perhaps because they guessed it would give a bad impression, JuryMarybi sandwiched me between them. Honestly, it felt like I was about to ascend to heaven.

    A~h, please stop, dear custome~r, please sto~p, a~h, dear cursome~r.

    Shut up~.

    This drunkard.

    Let go of him slowly, who do you think will look after him if he vomits?

    Worry not, I shall not stoop to a disgrace such as vomiting during my first time drinking liquor. It was so close just now, but that was absolutely just my imagination.

    Anyhow, call the three drunken musketeers.

    The three is actually four though.

    Why are they called three instead of four then?

    D''Artagnan, the protagonist isn''t a part of the three musketeers.

    <i> I-I see</i> That was embarrassing since I only vaguely remember the content of the movie I saw in my childhood. It''s something like the four heavenly kings is actuallyposed of five people it was a rare event, but it did exist.

    Anyway, the four I called this time were members of Tendou Yankee team.

    It was only for a short time, but they did take good care of me during that time. That''s why I wanted to keep a good rtionship with them after this and chose them as the first ones to taste the finished product.

    Looking at the current Momokawa, he''s definitely drunk right now. Well, since that''s the case, toriaezu nama*!

    [*TN: catchphrase when drinking in Izakaya, means beer please!]

    Cassis Orange for me.

    Fuzzy Navel for me.

    Mei-chan, four orders for red wine~.

    I ignored the orders of our dear customers to finish the sampling quickly.

    Since we had prepared everything, we treated our quartet of three musketeers with a lot of red wine made from yamabudou.

    And by the way, we were not in the dining room but the ndestine room on the 5th floor of the school tower. We kept the fact that we were brewing liquor a secret for the time being. The public moralmittee would definitely make a ruckus about this, not to mention that the vice-president of the saidmittee was a member of the quartet of three musketeers too.

    Don''t expect too much from its taste, this is a trial product after all.

    After giving them a reminder, the four of them then tasted the wine in their cup.

    Ah, Tendou-kun was the only one who sniffed before drinking it.

    Yeah, it''s not that delicious. s, being able to make it this far under this condition is amazing in its own way, right?

    I heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Tendou-kun''s praise.

    It seems he did have the experience of wine tasting.

    Well, you would all have different opinions, right?

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 208.2 - Liquor 1

    Chapter 208.2 - Liquor 1

    Yeah, it''s been a long time since I have had liquor.

    JuryMarybi had also given their best review.

    Rather, they normally drank liquor.

    Uwe~, this is unappetizi~ng.

    Sorry, maybe this isn''t up to Randou-san''s pte.

    This is the first time I have had liquor though.

    It''s okay, there''s no need to make such clumsy appeal just because you''re the vice-rep of public moralsmittee.

    This is really my first time drinking liquor!

    <i> Whoops, sorry Randou-san, I thought you''d tasted liquor before just because you''re a gal. Sorry for judging you by appearance The other three are really proper examples of truant though.</i>

    Since there''s a sweet version, try it too.

    There are many types of liquors. The sweet kinds were made so that even people who couldn''t handle the taste of liquor could drink them. Randou-san perhaps belonged to those kinds of people.

    Since it was a long awaited liquor time, there might exist liquor that fit Randou-san''s taste. Our avable liquors didn''t have that much option yet.

    Ah, this one is tasty. I like this one.

    I prefer this one. Wine with salty vour.

    JuryMarybi, who kept sampling the wine, had finally found the one that suited their pte.

    Since their figure was tall and well developed, they could be mistaken as an OL or college student as long as they didn''t wear their jersey.

    What about you, Tendou-kun? Is this up to your pte?

    This A brandy, huh. You can make this too eh, not bad Futaba.

    Seeing Tendou-kun''s rather dissatisfied look after sampling the wine, Mei-chan offered him the brandy that had a high percentage of alcohol content due to the distition process. Man, that was rock.

    Brandy made by distilling wine. And since the base was wine, it was possible to make brandy by using the distition function of the kettle. Mei-chan seemed to be rather fussy about the percentage of maturity, but that matter still needed some trial and error.

    ording to Mei-chan, the brandy had around 40~50% of alcohol. I tried mouthful of that.

    Delicious. it''s been a while since I have felt like drinking liquor.

    Tendou-kun was smiling happily while looking at the amber coloured brandy in his cup.

    It seems he preferred the taste of brandy.

    Mei-chan, it seems everyone likes it, our liquor making n is a huge sess.

    Yes, I never expected that it''d go really well.

    Momokawa~, I still think that drinking liquor is bad thou~gh.

    Randou-san, this honey lemon is my treat.

    Those who aren''t good with liquor should drink non-alcoholic beverages.

    And then, three dayster

    Mei-chan developed various recipes for liquor aside from doing her duty of preparing meals for everybody. The alcoholic beverage was developed at a rapid pace.

    Just as expected, the speed of production rose at an abnormal pace thanks to the Witch''s Kettle. In fact, even the part that would take the most time could be reduced to less than one second, that''s why the progress of liquor making was advanced at an abnormal pace.

    Come in, three drunken musketeers!

    Three drunken musketeers?

    It''s just Totem Pole Trio though.

    Oi, don''t call us Trio.

    Can you stop treating us like some sort of package?

    Treat us as individuals.

    Today too, we choose the line up that we could get along with. The reason we didn''t invite Yamada was that the baseball club didn''t allow their members to drink liquor. Or should I say that the baseball club just wanted to avoid the scandal thates with illegal drinking.

    That matter aside, since we couldn''t gather too many people, the trio would do for now.

    Another four people again, Kotaro-kun?

    <i> I''ve told you it''s a trio. Who is D''Artagnan this time?</i>

    Sweet aroma detected.

    Woah, Natsukawa?

    Since when did

    Did she start stalking us?

    Good grief, the Totem Pole Trio was too careless. You wouldn''t be able to survive the harsh survival life in that way you know?

    Perhaps she really detected it with her sharp sense of smell.

    What are you doing in this kind of ce, Momokawa-kun? Call me too if you have some sweets to spare!

    <i> Damn, this impudent thief.</i>

    It seems Natsukawa-san really dide along the way by following the sweet smell.

    We''re not sampling desserts though. Well, since you managed toe here by yourself, will you participate too, Natsukawa-san?

    How suspicious. Depending on the situation, I might need to report about this matter to Ryouko-chan.

    Damn, and she didn''t look like a vignt type of person thanks to her carefree attitude.

    Well, seeing that she came to this ce on her own by following the sweet smell, there was no need to make her withdraw and tell that person.

    In fact, we had prepared a sweet kind of liquor for today.

    Well then, let''s start with the staple one

    It was the first, most georgeous trial product from red wine.

    There was already a huge improvementpared to the first trial version. I think the best part about Mei-chan was her tenacity in pursuing that delicacy rather than the developing and improving the brewing method.

    What do you think?

    So it''s wine.

    I don''t really understand the vour of wine~.

    We have only drunk beer before.

    Just as I had expected. Both Tendou-kun and Mei-chan had rather peculiar taste and knowledge about liquor tasting, and I really shouldn''t use the two as the standard. We were still minors after all.

    Though your reaction is subtle, you still emptied your cup, eh?

    It doesn''t feel super tasty though

    How should I say, is this how you feel when it seeps into a tired body?

    Liquor sure is amazing.

    I see, the body was craving for it. It was indeed a dandy luxurious good for associating with each other.

    One thing led to another, the trio was forced to fight against the monster in the dungeon with their lives on the line. And no matter how much they adapted to such a lifestyle, they were bound to umte some sort of stress.

    And liquor was just the right thing for them to vent.

    Rather, this is definitely liquor! We can''t drink liquor!

    Whoops, someone raised their voice amid this merry atmosphere.

    And that person turned out to be our thief. She was an unexpectedly straightforward one despite being a thief.

    Well, calm down now, Natsukawa-san.

    But we are minors!

    I know that. Still, look at those three.

    There, I saw the bombshell beauty, Mei-chan was pouring liquor to the trio who was drinking happily and asked for a second helping with a smile on her face.

    Well, you won''t be able to find a girl like Mei-chan to pour you liquor even if you searched the entirety of Japan. This was the best situation Drinking liquor.

    I think we need this liquor to cure our exhausted body and mind.

    You''re making kind of a sloven face though.

    Drunk already.

    Those guys kept drinking like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, this was taste sampling, so they couldn''t drink as much as they wanted to. Their intoxication might vanish in one shot if we gave them a bill right now.

    How about you try it too, Natsukawa-san?

    Muu~h.

    She didn''t take the wine even when I offered it to her. <i>Quite a stubborn one, huh.</i>

    Could it be that the wine isn''t up to your pte? Then, how about you try this one?

    Mei-chan, who came from behind, didn''t offer the amber or purplish red spirit, but rather a clear bright yellow liquor that I was familiar with.

    It was the usual honey lemon that I was used to drinking but

    It''s mead.

    Eh, mead!?

    <i> Lure, hook, sink.</i> Well, the smell that Natsukawa-san followed might be the sweet smell of the mead.

    This was truly a sweet liquor that even my childish tongue could drink easily.

    We-Well, since it''s something that was painstakingly made by Futaba-san, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to sample a sip or two.

    Hell yeah, she fell for our trick.

    As expected, Natsukawa-san, with her sweet tooth, wouldn''t be able to refuse this.

    Okay, here you go.

    Le-Let''s dig in!

    Natsukawa-san was about to take a sip of mead with a mixed expression of anxiety and hope, but right at that very moment

    Stop right there, Momokawa-kun!

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 209.1 - Liquor 2

    Chapter 209.1 - Liquor 2

    Stop right there, Momokawa-kun!

    Crap, the police areing! Everyone run for your life!

    Can you stop messing around and exin the situation instead?

    Said ss Rep, literally told me to cut the chit-chat and get to the point.

    This smell, is it liquor? Good grief, drinking liquor secretly eh?

    <i> Oops, Souma-kun ising too.</i> This guy was a real police.

    Just for your information, it''s not like we''re trying to drink in secret, you know? I intend to announce to everyone about the liquor by tomorrow.

    It took Mei-chan a few days toplete all the preparations. It was going to be introduced as the next luxurious good after sweets. Yes, this wasn''t drinking in secret, this was thest sampling event.

    You should''ve consulted about this matter beforehand.

    I had the feeling that this would be stopped at the development stage if I were to consult.

    I''ve no idea what were you talking about just now, but do you have something else to say?

    I''m sorry.

    I was really sorry for advancing my n without prior consultation.

    But, I think something like liquor is still okay, right?

    In fact, there was already some demand for it. Both ss Rep and I were looking at the Totem Pole Trio who were drinking wine as we proceeded with our negotiation. <i>Ah, they dragged Souma-kun too.</i>

    Some want to drink it. The problem is we''re still minors, we shouldn''t drink liquor.

    I''m against this n too. This might be a cause for trouble.

    Oops, Souma-kun, you speak as if you''ve experienced the trouble caused by liquor already.

    <i>Has he already had liquor before too?</i>

    Well, various things are bound to happen when I''m hanging out with Ryuuichi.

    Eh, wait a minute, I''ve never heard about that!

    C-Calm down ss Rep, that''s an old story And you should stop too, Momokawa! Do you think you can still drink in this kind of situation!!

    Man, nothing beats watching a person in trouble while enjoying the taste of liquor. Mei-chan''s homemade mead was the best.

    Anyway, I can''t allow the act of drinking liquor. And Minami, put down your cup, please.

    U~H, my sweets.

    In the end, Natsukawa-san, who didn''t even get the chance to taste the mead, ced back the cup on the table looking extremely mortified.

    Good grief, even you are trying to drink.

    Easy now, Natsukawa-san did try to stop us. At first, she had no intention of drinking.

    But then, your devil''s whisper dragged her into participating in your little party.

    That''s mean Ryoko-chan, you make it sound like I''m a victim of swindling!

    <i> Yeah, stop making me look like a swindler.</i>

    You guys, stop drinking already!

    ss Rep pointed at the trio who were drinking with the mood of watching the unfolding police drama.

    Thi-This much should be fine a''ight

    This is necessary sce for us.

    Yeah, drinking liquor is just fi~ne.

    In spite of their rebellious remark, they did ce their cups back on the table, it looked like they were overpowered by ss Rep''s aura.

    Everyone feels the same fatigue and stress. You shouldn''t rely on something like liquor as escapism.

    Since no adult is going to stop you guys in this ce, you have no choice but to make the best decision by yourself. You will easily lose control of yourself under the influence of alcohol.

    ss Rep and Souma-kun vehemently opposed the drinking liquor faction.

    Well then, the fight has only just begun.

    And ended immediately. The matter of increasing the members of the pro-liquor faction was going well, I reckoned it should be all right to bring this matter to the ss meeting but I had no choice but to convince these two first.

    If it was these two, they would at least lend their ears.

    The reason for my conviction was simple: ss Rep didn''t bring Sakura-chan to raid this ce.

    But still, we have already made the liquor, and there is demand for it, not to mention that some already know about this matter. I don''t think the ones who already know will back down after knowing that you guys banned liquor.

    That''s why I am telling you to stop at once.

    Yes, it''s still not toote.

    I think that''s pretty much impossible. For your information, this isn''t a nasty-tasting liquor. It''s sweet and tasty, making you want more.

    No, it''s dangerous.

    I''ve no intention of going all the way till we''re dead drunk. It''s going to be a huge trouble if we''re dead drunk, after all.

    So you have limited the amount of liquor, is it? But still, it''s up to our own self-restraint.

    We will thoroughly control the amount of liquor. I want everyone to drink at least one cup.

    But still

    Both of us argued*, and we both had some logic behind our stand.

    [*ss Rep and I]

    That''s why I wanted us to keep voicing our reason while probing the others bottom line.

    Hey, how about ss Rep and Souma-kun try a cup instead?

    And then, Mei-chan, with an angelic smile on her face, entered the fray as if reading the air.

    Futaba-san, we''ll be putting the cart before the horse if we try it now.

    We''ll be setting a bad example if we drink liquor.

    Liquor isn''t poison. It''s a tool to get along with each other. Since I''ve made delicious ones, I want everyone to taste them.

    Said Mei-chan with a pure, angelic smile devoid of any ill will. A smile that I couldn''t make anymore.

    Even ss Rep and Souma-kun were starting to look troubled once Mei-chan begged them to try with such a pure-hearted smile.

    Since I would be put in a disadvantageous situation if I kept arguing with them, let''s bet on Mei-chan''s skill this time.

    I want you two to try it out first. As for whether you''re going to allow it or not, I''ll leave that matter to your judgment.

    Momokawa-kun Do you really mean it?

    In short, I gave up trying to convince the two.

    I let them drink. If they felt the liquor was tasty, that would be enough to at least soften them a little bit.

    But still, I trusted Mei-chan. Although it was only a few days, I knew that she did her best to enhance the quality of the liquor in thest few days.

    Thus, I want her to seed.

    I understand, I''ll drink it. Are you with me, ss Rep?

    Yes, I''m willing to do this.

    The die was cast.

    Both of them received the cups containing wine from Mei-chan and took a sip from them.

    I see, this is definitely a tasty one. It''s a good wine.

    Said Souma-kun after properly drinking a mouthful.

    But, I still can''t give my permission. Even if you managed to make it this far, drinking this every day is a bit

    Gimme another cup.

    The one who interrupted Souma-kun midway was none other than ss Rep herself, she even raised her cup, asking for a second helping.

    ss Rep?

    Futaba-san, another cup, please.

    ss Rep, what are you saying?

    Okay, here you go.

    Thanks.

    And then, ss Rep drank the second cup heartily. How she drank reminded me of an old man drinking a cold beer after showering. It was wine instead of beer in this case though.

    Puhaa, it''s delicious!

    ss Rep said loudly with a flushed face.

    She was drunk. ss Rep turned out to have a poor alcohol tolerance.

    Another one!

    ss Rep, that''s enough. You''re already drunk.

    Haah? Shut your mouth, Yuuto!

    !!??

    Even Souma-kun was at a loss for words upon seeing ss Rep''s sudden change of attitude.

    Honestly, I also couldn''t say anything upon seeing her sudden change.

    Okay, here you go.

    Mei-chan, who was seemingly the only one who understood what happened to ss Rep, just smiled kindly without a hint of surprise. <i>How can she stay calm in this kind of situation</i>

    Oi Momokawa!

    Yes!

    <i> Cr*p, her next target is me.</i>

    Hehehe~, this liquor Iz goodh, nice jobz Momokawa~

    Said ss Rep as she sat and patted my head with a flushed face while drinking her third cup.

    I got my long-awaited approval for liquor <i>s, this feels wrong.</i><i>Yes, this kind of ss Rep isn''t the real ss Rep.</i>

    Thank you very much.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 209.2 - Liquor 2

    Chapter 209.2 - Liquor 2

    Still, you''re talking a bit too much! You know what I mean, right!? RIGHT!?

    Yes ma''am, my sincerest apologies!

    I mean seriously, don''t rile them up, dammit! Who do you think is gonna wipe your a*seter!?

    I''m sorry! I''m sorry!

    Don''t give me that cr*p. I wouldn''t be this troubled if only youd settle things in a more peaceful way! Make some medicine for my stomach, NOW!

    O-Oi, ss Rep, calm down! Seriously, calm down, please!

    Unable to see ss Rep''s outburst anymore, Souma-kun finally intervened.

    Souma-kun grabbed ss Rep, who was making a mess of my hair, by her wrist to stop her.

    Yuuto, do you really think that you''re in the position to say that, haaah! The main reason for all of my trouble is YOU!

    Eh, me?

    WHO ELSE!? YOU HAREM PROTAGONIST BA*TARD!

    Wa-wait a minute, ss Rep, I''m no

    DON''T SPEAK ANYMORE YOU DAMN HERO!

    <i>Good, now that her target move toward Souma-kun, I shall use this chance to e</i>

    Stop right there, Momokawa!

    <i>Dammit, I am caught!</i>

    I was caught by the nape of my neck, unable to resist.

    <i> Dammit, this drunk ss Rep is bad news.</i>

    Natsukawa-san, hurry up and call Sakura-chan and Tendou-kun!

    HAH!?

    I shouted at Natsukawa-san who was flustered by the sudden change in her best friend''s attitude.

    Make it fast! Only those two can stop this drunk ss Rep!

    Ah, you''re right!

    Natsukawa-san dashed out of the room like a certain blue hedgehog as soon as she snapped from her confusion.

    The current me was too powerless to stop ss Rep. That''s why I should at least stop the rampaging ss Rep along with Souma-kun.

    When I nced at Souma-kun, he nodded in agreement. I had never expected that we woulde to understand each other in this way.

    I understand, I wronged you, ss Rep.

    Sorry for always causing nothing but trouble for you, ss Rep.

    Oh shut up already, you hypocrite!

    <i>Cra-Crap, we might not be able to hold her back for too long, please Natsukawa-san, be quick!</i>

    Gimme another cup!

    Okay, here you go.

    <i>Mei-chan NO! Seriously, please stop giving her liquor! We''re toast!</i>

    Oioi, who in the hell is making this ruckus?

    Right at this moment, Tendou-kun appeared with his usual listless face.

    <i> Hell yeah, our meat shield has arrived! Victory is ours!</i>

    Momokawa! It''s you again!

    Following right behind him was Sakura-chan.

    The way she wasining to me as soon as she saw this situation might make anyone think that she was into me. But thest thing I wanted was to get entangled with thisndmine of a woman.

    Souma-kun, Tendou-kun, I''ll leave ss Rep in your care!

    Ryuuichi, quickly!

    Good grief, what in the hell are you guys doing

    Tendou-kun looked dumbfounded, it was his response to our SOS call. <i>I mean seriously, this isn''t the time to be dumbfounded, help us quickly.</i>

    Sakura-chan, use detoxify now!

    Ha-Hah? Why should I do what Momokawa''s sa

    Sakura, just do as Momokawa says now!

    Oh right, almost forgot about this bitch, honestly, I''m fed up with you, hysterical woman who always screams like a mad woman!

    WA!?

    The unexpected insult that came from the most unexpected person left Sakura at a loss for words.

    Always being so petty while we''re fighting for our life! Stop making trouble for us with your hysterics, dammit! Especially when Momokawa is right!

    Wha-What are you talking about, Ryo-

    Calm down Sakura. ss Rep is just drunk!

    Well, I think she just spat out her bottled-up frustration, right? I think it is normal for someone to vent their frustration when they are drunk.

    I know already Momokawa, don''t say anything anymore.

    Saying that means that Souma-kun also understands the situation.

    Ryuuichi, Sakura, quickly! You two are the only ones who can save ss Rep!

    <i>Ah, that sounds a bit like a heroic remark.</i>

    Though it sounds like the act of trying to save the heroine in a pinch, the heroine was the one who was rampaging around herself.

    Haah, yeah, it''s hard to see her like this.

    This situation is really unavoidable

    And yet, those two looked rather reluctant, or felt that this situation was unavoidable.

    Uooi, Ryuuichi, pour some liquor for me for all the trouble youve caused me before.

    Be quiet, Ryouko, else, you''re going to regret itter.

    Tendou-kun caught ss Rep''s arm while looking at her as if he felt sorry for her. Souma-kun had also caught the other arm.

    Sakura-chan, now!

    Collect Remove(Detoxification)

    The invoked detoxification spell hit ss Rep right on the face.

    ss Rep''s body was glowing with a pale, halo-like glow.

    <i>Good job Sakura-chan. Now that you''re done with your job, go away from this ce.</i>

    U-U~h

    Amidst everyone''s attentive look, ss Rep was looking around with a flushed face.

    Both her arms had already been released by Tendou-kun and Souma-kun.

    Eh, I I feel like I drank something like liquor just now.

    Ryouko, it''s time to go back to your room and sleep.

    Eh, Ryuuichi? When did you Or rather, did I ju

    Juste already.

    Eh, wait, what are you doing!

    Despite herints, her voice was tinged with happiness. The reason being, Tendou-kun forcefully lifted her into a princess-carry.

    Yeah, it was truly picturesque. Not that I could afford to do something like that.

    Let me down, Ryuuichi!

    Just shut up and let me carry you.

    Thus, Tendou-kun brought ss Rep to leave the ndestine room while having a lovers spat with her.

    Momokawa You better exin to me what in the world was happening just then.

    Said Sakura-chan while ring at me after the disturbance had settled.

    I looked right back into the fierce eyes of the saint that I''d already gotten used to and said

    Thanks, Sakura-chan. As expected of Saint.

    My gratitude to her.

    Honestly, it was truly dangerous this time. That''s just how much I got cornered.

    Yeah Sakura, you really saved our skin just now, thanks a lot.

    Thanks Sakura-chan! Thank you for saving Kyouko-chan!

    Thanks Souma-san.

    Said Natsukawa-san right after Souma-kun who had also barely crossed the dangerous bridge along with us. And Mei-chan followed after me.

    Thanks.

    Thanks.

    Tha~nks!

    The Totem Pole Trio also thanked her in turn.

    Everyone in this ce was now raising praise for the saint. Everyone was surrounding Sakura-chan, pping their hands together like a prayer as they thanked her.

    Wha-What is happening here

    As for me, I was looking at Sakura-chan who was troubled by the strange air around her.

    In the end, liquor got banned on the surface. Thus, I only offered it to those we deemed needy.

    I mean, some of us were light drinkers, after all. This failure somehow made me feel like I had grown into an adult.

 Chapter 210.1 - Training 1

    Chapter 210.1 - Training 1

    Yes, I want to use this chance to let everyone train properly.

    It was a brand new day. After breakfast, everybody was left speechless for a while when I announced that.

    Then, Souma-kun, I''ll leave the rest to you~

    Wait, exnation please.

    Well, I thought you understood since none of you asked.

    Like hell we can understand what you mean with such short notice. In the first ce, deciding that at your own convenience is

    Ofte, Souma-kun''s remark sounded like a mother-inw who tries to me the son-inw for literally everything. Well, if all it took was to hear his scoldings in exchange for him not showing his hatred for me, it was a cheap price to pay.

    E~h, in short, I want Souma-kun to teach everyone, especially the vanguard, Souma-style skill.

    Ha~h? Why should I learn tha~t?

    Why must I be taught by Souma~

    The ones cribbing were Warrior Nakai and Swordsman Ueda, the owner of the vanguard-type vocation. The rear guard-type, Aquamancer Shimokawa, was looking at the spectacle, nonchntly as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

    Though no one said it, everyone had pretty much the same puzzled look on their face.

    Well, no one would take the initiative to ask for a martial arts lesson unless they''re interested in learning one. As for me, please spare me from such torture, I''m not built for such activity. To humankind, happiness is all about how much one can escape pain.

    Then, let me ask a question, have you two felt that you have be stronger these days?

    Tha-That Well

    Like hell we''ve be stronger when we haven''t learnt new skills.

    A prime example of an excuse, but it was correct if it was seen from the nature of his vocation.

    Even in ssic RPG games, your character''s stats wouldn''t rise unless you leveled up. Suppose that you need 100 exp to level up to the next level, your stats would stay the same whether you have 1 exp or 99 exp. Raising one level is equal to raising one''s stats, so unless there is no clear indication of bing stronger, they learn new skills during the leveling process.

    Regarding vocation, excluding the proficiency of the learned skill, you can''t expect a drastic increase in strength unless you learn a new skill. And yourbat potential would be maxed unless you learn a new skill That is how it seems to be if we only see the vocation side.

    You gained morebat experience during the exploration, but since you haven''t learned a new skill, I feel that there''s nothing wrong with using other means.

    I see, and that method is training oneself.

    And speaking of training, the first thing that came into my mind was martial arts, and when it came to martial arts, it was Souma-kun.

    In the first ce, humans learnbat ability not just from one or two training sessions. Train your body, train your skill, train your mind. That''s how humans be stronger.

    The strange thing here was the vocation system which allowed you to gain power like pulling a lottery. Such a thing should be impossible in ordance with thews of physics back on Earth, but nothing is impossible in this other world that is dominated by the logic of magic.

    Realistically speaking, if people with the same vocations fight, one is a martial artist expert while the other is a noob, the former will surely win the fight.

    It was already proven before by Heavy Warrior Yamada who despite having the same vocation as Sugino, being a martial artist, could easily disarm the former.

    Some might say it was a surprise attack, but even if they fought fair and square, the chance of Yamada winning was infinitely close to zero.

    That''s why since we have a convenient teacher called Souma-kun, let''s have him teach everyone.

    E~h, seriously

    Something like special traini~ng.

    At the same time, it''ll also serve as a way to train your guts.

    Though I''m troubled since you said it out of nowhere It''s undoubtedly a good idea. I''ll do my best to train everyone.

    Souma-kun also agreed with my n. Maybe he would have made this suggestion in the near future even if I hadn''t spoken about this.

    Well, I knew that martial arts wasn''t something that you could learn in one day but still, that''s where the vocation came into y. I mean, despite being self-taught, Mei-chan''s vocation allowed her to grow to the point that she could beat the crap out of Asuna.

    Even if they didn''t learn a new skill, the training might be a cue in gaining the new skill.

    Seeing that the requirement to get new skills for each vocation was really random, we might as well try everything at our disposal.

    Well, as for the ones with sorcery-type vocation, you guys will have alchemy training with me.

    Haah, I''ve never heard about such a thing!

    <i> Coz this is the first time I have ever said it.</i>

    Shimokawa, who had rxed his attitude since he didn''t have to participate in Souma''s special training, was the one who shouted first upon hearing my remark. "Dude, do you really think that I''m gonna let you off?".

    I was going to be troubled if the owner of a sorcerer-type vocation became a NEET, so I''d take them to have fun death march alchemy with me.

    The truth is, Takanashi-san, the equipment in charge''s working pace is really slow, and our progress in this part is really dyed.

    Mu~h, that''s a nder, Kotori does her best!

    That sounds like a groundless excuse though.

    Okay Momokawa-kun, that''s enough.

    Good grief, I would have made her spit the truth if not for ss Rep''s sudden interruption.

    Kotori''s working speed aside, we are undoubtedlycking people who can use alchemy. Preparing weapons for all of us by herself will undoubtedly take a lot of time.

    I want the efficiency in alchemy to be raised a bit, and even if it doesnt happen, being able to use alchemy alone is already quite useful.

    That''s why thank you very much, Hinagiku-san. The Shaman''s Skull was definitely the best one of the fool''s cane. The second best was owned by the Summoner''s Skull.

    Dude, I don''t have alchemy magic.

    That''s why we have to have everyone try to see who can learn it.

    Since it was a sorcery-type vocation, there was prejudice that all they could learn was magic-type skill but It wasn''t like the possibility was zero for them to learn the other kind of skill.

    Moreover, though it was a little bit different, I used other non-shaman-like skills too. In short, it was fundamentally possible to use abilities outside one''s vocation in this world.

    I mean this kind of stuff wasn''t a rarity in RPG games either, warrior types often learn buff magic, right?

    That''s why I want to use this chance to find out if there''s someone among our sorcery-type members who can learn alchemy or healing magic.

    I think that''s impossible thou~gh.

    I-I don''t think I have the confidence either~

    Both Himeno and Shimokawa were equally unwilling to do this.<i> Well, I already knew that things wouldn''t go as I wanted from the very beginning, but don''t think you''re going to be spared just because you can''t learn anything.</i>

    I don''t think it''ll be smooth sailing either, but we can at least gain some sort of result from that. And since we''re still a far cry from being able to safely subjugate Yamata no Orochi, I want our group to have as much skill as possible before that.

    Yeah, I agree with Momokawa-kun, the only thing we can do right now is try as many things as possible. There''s no need to be in a hurry since we have all the time in the world.

    Thus, after everyone consented, we started our special training and experiment immediately.

    ===

    For the time being, let''s start with 500 times.

    E~h, that much? Are you telling us to persevere with our willpower?

    I think the first thing to do is beat that rotten nature of yours.

    No way, I still can''t beat Tendou-kun in that regard.

    And so, I looked at everyone who had started their practice swing, albeit reluctantly, while engaging in a light banter with Master Souma.

    Souma dojo''s student were Berserker Mei-chan, Thief Natsukawa, SwordsmanUeda, WarriorNakaim Heavy WarriorYamada, Magic SwordsmanNakajima, KnightNonomiya, and WarriorYoshizaki

    For some reason, I got included as the 9th one.

    Basic is important. Especially in martial arts.

    I know. I''ll also confirm the routine ability by swinging the sword periodically.

    Thus, I started swinging my wooden sword as well.

    My poorly built, thin arms already felt that the light wooden sword weighed a ton after swinging it a few dozen times but As expected, my Twin Shadow had unlimited stamina.

    The reason I participated in this training was by no means to learn Souma-style sword art. It was to see if I could master the control of Twin Shadow by doing this.

    Since my offshoot couldn''t feel tired or pain, I tried to raise my agility in controlling it with this kind of training.

    Yup, a simple action can be executed more easily, after all, I don''t think there''ll be a problem even if the consciousness switched.

    Momokawa-kun, are you sure that you''re really all right?

    Yeah, the training over there has only just begun. Everyone is practice-swinging right now.

    Well, I know that you''re training to control your offshoot, but I still can''t help but worry looking at you staring in a daze like that.

    Perhaps because I looked like a dazed idiot when I controlled my offshoot. Well, I guess I need to close my eyes when I control my offshoot next time.

 Chapter 210.2 - Training 1

    Chapter 210.2 - Training 1

    Unfortunately though, since the control was perfectly synchronized with me, my offshoot''s eyes would be in sync with my real eyes.

    Well then, let''s start our alchemy training.

    On my real body''s side, we were about to start alchemy training with the other sorcerer-type members.

    The sorcerer-type members were as follows, Cyromancer- ss Rep, Geomancer- Randou, Aquamancer- Shimokawa, Healer- Himeno, Saint- Sakura, and Tendou-kun who was looking at us while smoking his cigarettes.

    In fact, I knew that Tendou-kun had learned sorcery-type skills too. Simply put, he was truly a cheat-like character.

    Well then, everyone, take a look at this. This is the most basic Simple Alchemy Formation.

    I drew a huge Simple Alchemy Formation on the ckboard near the entrance.

    Now that I''m looking at it again, even that simple one is already prettyplicated.

    Are you telling me this magic circle is gonna pop out of nowhere when you learn the skill? Ain''t that kinda unfair?

    I don''t have that much confidence in my memorization skill.

    The biggest advantage of having alchemy skills was the fact that you could draw the transmutation circle with machine-like precision using magic. It would be something along a magic circle of light.

    When I used Shaman''s Skull, I could also make Simple Alchemy Formation in one shot.

    Still, it''ll show its effect by drawing the magic circle itself.

    In the first ce, the first magic circle that I had wasn''t Simple Alchemy Formation, it was the Eye of Hexagram which was an original idea of mine.

    It was something that I made to subjugate the basilisk and to make a trap for the red raptor. It was rarely used after that. Since it needed a lot of preparation, it wasn''t suitable for livebat.

    Nevertheless, it was by no means a breakthrough since its effect was negligible. It was obvious since I didn''t get the skill that allowed me to use it by the means of skill from god.

    That''s why I want everyone to draw the basic alchemy formation and try to activate it.

    Fortunately, we had a lot of notebooks and writing material.

    Even the notebook filled with writing could be restored like a newly bought one and then duplicated using duplication formation. In short, we wouldn''t run out of notebooks.

    Ha~, it feels like a really long time since thest time we sat writing on the desk like this.

    I''m really bad at this kind of thing oka~y, so I might fall asleep immediately

    Come to think of it, Randou-san''s literal ability was the lowest in our ss.

    Still, I wanted her to do her best right now since our lives depended on this.

    While my real body was starting the Simple Alchemy Formation''s training, my offshoot on Souma dojo''s side had only finished the practice swing and started the next training.

    As expected, everyone can arrive at this result solely depending on the power of their vocation. Since that''s the case, you don''t mind if we jump straight into training for livebat, right?

    Said Souma-kun with a satisfied look on his face upon seeing everyone''s high potential.

    When ites to martial arts, the first thing a noob should do is build a suitable physique to withstand the match. It starts with various training such as running, muscle training, etc, etc.

    However, the problem is that those training sessions are too boring. I mean, I definitely wouldn''t want to run even if they paid me to do that. Marathon is pure torture.

    Still, it''s just as Souma-kun had said, we who were experiencing dungeon capture- or should I say the vanguard- already had a suitable build forbat without having to undergo basic training.

    Though it wasrgely attributed to the power of their vocation, the receiver themselves developed it to suit their own individual style.

    First, let''s start with the basic skill.

    Wait a frigging minute!

    The one who interrupted wasn''t me but Ueda.

    Is Souma''s swordcraft really that better than us?

    What do you mean?

    You''re strong, no doubt about that. Still, that strength must being from your Hero vocation. We can also be as strong as you if we can use that sword of light of yours.

    <i> I see</i>. Though it looked like a remark of a temte, the small fry viin who was jealous of the power of vocation and irritated due to false charges, seemingly went to get his a*s kicked on the next page. Ueda''s statement was quite rational.

    In short, Souma-kun''s strength might not purelye from Souma-style sword art, but from his Hero vocation. I mean, it''s not like the Souma-style''s secret sword in Japan was something that allowed you to create a literal beam saber.

    Since you say that, I only need to prove that by winning against you with pure sword skill, Ueda.

    Heh, my Swordsman vocation isn''t just for show.

    <i> Hou, it seems he has something like pride as a swordsman. Ueda turns out you have such a romantic side.</i>

    Well, sure enough. If it''s a match using a wooden sword, even if we can''t defeat you, you won''t be able to defeat us that easily either.

    Said Nakai as he rode on the wave created by Ueda.

    What are you going to do, Souma-kun? You should say something like "I''m gonna beat yer a*ses with Cross Calibur" to such cheeky small fries, right?

    Like hell I''m going to do that. I''m not such a petty person.

    Someone who will use his full power to kill a weak opponent when pissed off.

    Guh Momokawa, you had to say that now?

    <i> Yup, I was the one who experienced it firsthand after all. The experience of you trying to kill this small and weak me with everything you got.</i>

    Please be quiet for a moment, Momokawa.

    Said Souma-kun as he faced Ueda and Co while massaging the bridge of his nose, apparently trying his best to suppress his rage.

    Ueda, I understand your feelings. Someone who takes up the sword will naturally have that kind of feeling.

    Hee, trying to put some air, huh.

    Since that''s the case, let''s have a match. A pure swordsmanship match without using the power of vocation. Whatever the result, if you feel that learning martial arts isn''t worth your time, I won''t force you to participate.

    Ooh, good choice, Souma. Now show me the extent of your skill.

    <i> Ooh, what an interesting development.</i> A bit like Shonen manga if I must say. With things turning like this, Ueda had no choice but to grit his teeth.

    Souma-style and Swordsman vocation''s skill. I wonder who''d win the match if the two different sides shed.

    Despite my curiosity, Souma-kun and Ueda had different base statuses from the very beginning. Even without reinforcement-type martial arts or reinforcement spells, Souma-kun who had undergone martial arts training had a higher physical strength. Since both sides already had different base stats, this match wouldn''t be a match of pure skill.

    If there is anyone else who has doubts about my skill, you''re free to challenge me.

    Dered Souma-kun. Perhaps he felt it was his duty to prove his skill to everyone as their master. <i>Man, what a serious person.</i>

    On the other hand, Mei-chan who was watching the exchange from the corner didn''t seem to be interested in this particr matter. Even so, she still looked in my direction.

    It was just an eye contact, the trantion was as follows.

    What should I do, Kotaro-kun? Should I kick his a*s?

    Maybe she got all fired up upon hearing the word "match" since it made her recall her duel with Asuna. <i>What a belligerent girl.</i>

    No, just follow Souma-kun''s teaching in this situation.

    Mei-chan''s style was the rampaging kind with the overwhelming physical strength she had gained from being a berserker. So, learning Souma-style might allow her to make an even sharper and more sophisticated move, enhancing herbat prowess even further.

    You''ve said it. I''ll go first then!

    Sure. Come at me, I''m ready.

    Thus began a swordsmanship match with the "Master" seat on the line.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 211.1 - Training 2

    Chapter 211.1 - Training 2

    Well then, the swordsmanship match between the Hero Souma Yuuto and the Swordsman Ueda had begun.

    Both sides were facing each other, setting their sword in front of them It was the moment of truth.

    Uwa~, Souma-kun is stro~ong.

    And ended in a matter of seconds.

    The match went as follows Ueda rushed first. As one would expect from the owner of Swordsman vocation, his downward swing was sharp.

    Souma-kun, who saw through his opponent''s aim, retreated half-step, or not, he just leaned back a bit and dodged Ueda''s sh by a paper-thin margin.

    However, Ueda''s experience couldn''t be underestimated either. He quickly switched his move from sh to thrust. His thrust aiming for Souma-kun''s abdomen hit the air That moment, Souma-kun unleashed his counter.

    Souma-kun''s wooden sword stopped right before hitting Ueda''s forehead.

    Ueda on the other hand was still maintaining his thrusting posture.

    It was obvious to everyone who the victor of this match was.

    Da-Dammit

    Are you convinced now?

    Well, fine. I admit that you''re so damn strong, Souma.

    This is the power of Souma-style. Ueda, you''re quite skilled yourself. I''m sure that you''ll be even stronger with proper training.

    Hee, I''ll be waiting for that.

    Said Ueda meekly, this match seemed to have convinced him of Souma-kun''s strength.

    I''m surprised to see him easily admit defeat.

    Not everyone likes to use sophistry like you.

    Shut up Momokawa. This is something that only a swordsman understands.

    Whoops, my verbal slip ended up like pouring cold water onto the warm atmosphere created after the refreshing match. I swear that it wasn''t intentional. I just wanted to say that if Ueda couldn''t ept his defeat, I would have, along with ss Rep, interceded.

    My bad, that was a good match.

    You''re being shameless now, Momokawa.

    I''m not. I''m just in awe seeing how Ueda changed his attack midway from downward sh to thrust. Could it be that youd expected Souma-kun to dodge your sh and prepared the thrust from the very beginning?

    Ye-Yeah, something like that.

    Unexpectedly, Momokawa has sharp observation huh.

    Hehehe, praise me.

    I really love this part of Souma-kun. If he were to praise someone, he would really mean it. It was something that I wanted his little sister to learn.

    Well then, anyone else who wants a match with me?

    I think everyone should take a go.

    Agreed. I''ve been itching to try the technique of Souma-style since a while ago.

    Okay! I''m next.

    Mei-chan, no.

    Yeah, let''s stop it, Futaba-san.

    E~h, why thou~gh?

    <i> Coz I have a really bad feeling about this.</i>

    The one thing that everyone had to understand now was how powerful Souma-style was in the absence of skill. In Mei-chan''s case, she might ovee the skill gap with her brute force.

    Can''t be helped then, I''m next.

    The one who offered himself next was Ueda''s buddy, Nakai.

    Perhaps because Mei-chan really wanted to fight Souma-kun, she looked rather reluctant when she handed over the chance to challenge Souma-kun to Nakai.

    Sure. Come what may, I''m ready.

    Don''t underestimate Warrior. We can use the sword just as fine as a swordsman.

    In this way, the match against Souma-style had begun.

    Naturally, almost everyone got one-shotted.

    I see, this kind of unexpected development happened, huh.

    On one side was Master Souma who trained his pupils with zealed passion, on the other was my real body that I led to learn alchemy. Everybody was finally done with drawing perfect Simple Alchemy Formation and ready to invoke it.

    Now the problem would be when activating that alchemy formation.

    But well, this can be considered as half sessful, right?

    Inde I mean, maybe.

    In regard to alchemy, it seems the effect depends on each individuals attribute.

    This was one of the rarest moments where I agreed with Sakura-chan''s opinion. Well, considering the result, everyone would most likely agree with her.

    The result was, everyone seeded in activating the formation. No one gave the reaction I wanted to see. The reason? Well, maybe because everyone had their own attribute.

    The result of the invoked alchemy was varied, it waspletely dependent on their own attribute.

    Freezing Alchemy FormationAlchemy for ice attribute.

    Water Alchemy FormationAlchemy for water attribute.

    Iron Ore Alchemy FormationAlchemy for earth attribute, increased effect of alchemy when used on minerals.

    Light Alchemy FormationAlchemy for light attribute, can add tiny bits of light spirit.

    Everyone ended up having their own alchemy path.

    Rather, everyone learn a new skill like it''s no big deal.

    It might be possible to learn it anytime if this kind of chance always exists.

    We''ve been sorcerers for quite a while, after all. Perhaps we have simply fulfilled the learning condition along the way.

    Surely, I had such an experience too. I got this feeling that I would''ve learnt it quickly had I used my Fool''s Cane much earlier.

    Excuse me~, my alchemy formation looks like a normal one with no special effects.

    No way, even if it''s just Himeno-san who can invoke the Simple Alchemy Formation, it''s a big deal. You''re ready to use the asset.

    For some reason, Himeno-san could invoke the normal Simple Alchemy Formation just like me.

    Perhaps because she was quite unremarkable and was not biased towards any attribute. Or maybe this was the trait of her being aHealer, or Kin, or both.

    I still had some doubts as to whether Himeno-san was truly a Kin or whatever, but being able to sessfully activate alchemy formation meant that her ability wasn''t that much different from us. This training might instantly turn into a witch trial if she needed fresh blood to invoke alchemy formation though.

    That''s why I felt relieved since such internal trouble was the one thing I wanted to avoid at all costs in our current situation.

    Whichever the case, seeing that Himeno-san could use Simple Alchemy Formation meant that it was time to put her into a working environment immediately. <i>Let her learn by working. Yup, time to make a working shift for her.</i>

    Well then, everyone, now let''s confirm everything that each of your alchemy formations can do. Himeno-san''s first job is to separate the impurities in the light stone thats already been mined a bit too much over there.

    Eh, uhm, what should I d

    You have to start with trial and error, ask me if there''s something that you don''t understand. Well then, let''s start with ss Reps cool sounding''s Freezing Alchemy Formation.

    Please don''t phrase it as if its only trait is having a cool name. I kinda get why it feels like that though.

    As expected, I was also curious about what a unique alchemy skill such as Freezing Alchemy Formation could do.

    Thus, we tried the freezing alchemy on the prepared material while having such expectations.

    Uhm, this is seriously only making it cool

    That was the only thing that came to my mind upon seeing the result of the experiment; even ss Rep ended up looking dejected by this result.

    Well, sometimes things like this happen, so cheer up, ss Rep.

    Don''t beat around the bush, just tell me the truth, Momokawa.

    Maan, I''m looking forward to seeing if the others also have the same trash skill as ss Rep.

    My joy was doubled or tripled since I had also experienced the same kind of frustration with my shaman vocation in the early stage.

    Well, the next one please prepare yourself.

    M-My Water Alchemy Formation ain''t trash skill!

    Looking at the sad result of ss Rep''s skill, Shimokawa invoked his Water Alchemy Formation with a slightly nervous look on his face.

    And the result was

    I see, in the case of liquids, the degree of freedom is quite high.

    Still, it ain''t supposed to be used just to separate water and salt from seawater.

    The trait of water alchemy was to freely separate the mixture inside the water body.

    Just as Shimokawa had said, he could use this on seawater to separate the freshwater, salt, and other minerals in literally a second. This kind ofponent separation was something that the Simple Alchemy Formation couldn''t achieve.

    Though the Witch Kettle could get the salt from seawater, that was still through the evaporation process inside the kettle.

    In that aspect, water alchemy could literally separate water from salt without such a process. In short, its fortey in the point where it could directly manipte the material.

    Meaning that we could extract any material that we had no idea about from the liquid without having to make it go through a rigorous process such as centrifuging, distilling, freezing, or heating.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 211.2 - Training 2

    Chapter 211.2 - Training 2

    Okay, Shimokawa will be put in charge of the potion.

    Haah?

    I will entrust our precious supply of true potion, which is already few in number, for the sake of research to analyze what iscking from our bootleg potion, and calcte what we need to add to achieve the same result.

    The heck, like hell I can do something like that.

    It''s not a problem of whether you can do this or not. It''s something that you have to do.

    Man, my research of making a bootleg potion that had reached the bottleneck could finally resume.

    Bootleg potion was something that could be found in the ruins of the underworld, something that the werewolves carried with them. Though we managed to gather a few of them, maybe because they were bootleg, they had almost lost their effect. But if we managed to reverse-engineer those bootleg potions, we would have more lifelines.

    In my opinion, each member should carry a potion with them. When push came to shove, a potion that could literally heal any kind of wound was the best lifeline I could ask for.

    Well, you''re right, I should at least try it for now.

    Said Shimokawa listlessly as he went to the warehouse where we kept the potion.

    Well then, next is the most anticipated Iron Ore Alchemy.

    Nay, I think this one has the same in effect though.

    That can''t be true, Randou-san. Since the vour text had already said Alchemy Reinforcement, then it can definitely enhance the base material.

    The effect might be insignificant since it was still the basic one. But, since this was the reinforcement type that none of us could learn about, I couldn''t help but look forward to the future growth of this skill.

    Uhm, here we go~, Iron Ore Alchemy Formation!

    And so, the Iron Ore Alchemy Formation which could be invoked by firing the golden revolver revealed its effect along with the orange light.

    The target was a normal iron sword that you could find everywhere. It should be easier to see the effect of iron ore alchemy by observing the changes taking ce on this iron sword, or steel sword, not that I cared which one.

    And then, along with the glow of the alchemy formation, the iron sword changed into

    A lump of iron

    Told ya~

    Though it was her doing, Randou-san acted as if it was someone elses problem.

    The thing left on top of the glowing alchemy formation was a small lump of iron, the target of alchemy itself was already gone, leaving behind only its hilt. It seems only the de part was considered as the target of alchemy.

    There''s no change in both its appearance and weight.

    Not even a special power could be felt when I touched it. It seems all it did was turn the de into a lump of iron but This could be done with Simple Alchemy Formation too.

    Randou-san, could it be that you imagined a lump of iron or some other strong image when you invoked your skill?

    Eh, what does that mean? I don''t understand.

    What I mean is, alchemy is transforming something in ordance to the image you have in your mind, you know?

    U~hm, I see.

    Sorry, it seems my exnation isnt enough.

    Ah, don''t mind it, Momokawa.

    Why did shefort me instead? I mean, this result must have something to do with the image, but, well, that was unfortunately the very thing that Randou-san sucked at. Perhaps she really did invoke the alchemy formation without thinking about anything.

    Meaning that the result would be a lump of iron if she invoked her alchemy without any consideration.

    Maybe you justck imagination.

    Still, that iron is quite sparkly.

    The one who interrupted was the most unexpected person, Tendou-kun. Despite what he said about him happening to be in this ce and having no interest at all, didn''t he actually just want to stay in the group?

    What do you mean by sparkly, Tendou-kun?

    It''s troubleso~me.

    ss Rep.

    Ryuuichi?

    Tch, okay, okay, stop ring at me already.

    Yup, appointing ss Rep as in-charge-of-Tendou-kun was the best decision, after all.

    In short, it has a magical power in it. Just like those light stones.

    In short, it''ll be more sparkly if it contains more magical power.

    Since there is no prization, its luminosity is around 1 point.

    Wait a minute, the difference between attribute and attributeless magical power aside, do you mean there''s a way to measure the amount of magical power?

    Spare me from exining the details, you can ask Takanashi for that.

    TA~KA~NA~SHI!

    ss Rep barely managed to stop me who was about to scold the sloppy employee who couldn''t even perform the standard operation of "Report-Contact-And- Consultant". She actually had the gall to not give me such information and even sought Takanashi for the necessary information instead of me.

    At this point, I had finallye to appreciate the importance middle management yed in an organization. By the way, after everyone learned their own, unique alchemy, the number of staff stationed in the alchemy workshop at the entrance of the academy tower suddenly rose to unprecedented numbers. Meaning that we needed to restructure the entire organization.

    Well then, let me hear the report, managing director.

    Who''s managing director?

    Oops, I suddenly got carried away and started to talk like the president of apany from a certain gambling manga.

    For the time being, everything goes as per your expectation, Momokawa-kun.

    In this world, you could find many minerals that resembled the one you found on Earth, such as the previous iron ore. On the other hand, this world had special minerals that didn''t exist on Earth, namely materials that contained magical powers such as the Light Ore.

    Though iron ore itself didn''t contain magical power, it would contain magical power after being refined into steel.

    In short, it was possible to load magical power into iron ore by adding light stone when using alchemy on iron ore. Since you normally used light stone to enchant iron ore so that it contains magical power, the degree of the magical power contained within was graded with Luminousity. In addition, the metal containing magical power was called the universal name, Light Iron.

    Combining alchemy, iron ore, and light stone to create light iron was the basic of the basic, and yet, Randou-san''s Iron Ore Alchemy Formation could actually achieve the result without light stone.

    In short, it''s possible to create light iron without light stone with earth magic.

    Yeah, to put it simply, can we hail it as a godly skill?

    I wonder about that. It might be versatile, but the amount of magical power inside the ore itself isn''t that much.

    This might be rted to the quality of the metal, but even at best, it''ll only reach luminosity 2.

    Luminousity level was graded from 1~5.

    Luminosity 1 was enough to catalyze the invocation of low-tier spells. When ites to luminosity 2, it can be used to shoot low-tier spells as it was. A mid-tier spell in level 3, and an advance-tier spell in level 4, in ordance to the amount of magical power in them.

    As for level 5, since there was no upper limit for the magical power contained within, it was assumed to have enough magical power to cast a non-stop advance-tier spell or Yamata no Orochi''s breath. In short, any amount that surpassed level 4 was included in level 5.

    But if we train this gal, luminosity 3 or 4 isn''t a pipe dream.

    It seems to be extremely convenient magic since it can endow magical power, has some effect in smithing, and can normally alchemize light stone.

    Hey, why do I feel that both of you seem to know my magic better than me?

    That''s because there was the result of various experiments with Iron Ore Alchemy Formation right before us. We had confirmed the result but still, Randou-san really should have more self-assertion about her own power.

    Intelligence isn''t my forte, after all, teach me please, Momokawa.

    Sure.

    <i>Well, we all have our weaknesses. Leave the investigation about the effect of the spell to ss Rep and me. I''ll think of a way to enhance her area of expertise instead.</i>

    Lastly, I''ll check the Light Alchemy Formation which seemingly is only capable of glowing, just to be sure, okay?

    It seems you always try to piss me off at every opportunity

    Thus, the effect of Sakura-chan''s Light Alchemy Formation that she invoked with throbbing vein on her temple was

    Look! It is glowing!

    Thi-This isn''t mere glow, it seems there''s Lux Elemental(Light Spirit) dwelling within this glow

    Calm down Sakura. It doesn''t really matter even if your aptitude in alchemy is low.

    Their iffy ability aside, this would definitely raise the production rate of our workshop.

    With this, we were finally on the right track to prepare the equipment to subjugate Yamata no Orochi.

    Now then Sakura-chan, go to that corner to make an electric torch.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 212.1 - The Effect of Training 1

    Chapter 212.1 - The Effect of Training 1

    Three days after the start of the training. Today too, the voices of high-spirited pupils resounded in Souma dojo.

    Guhaa, ouch!?

    Gu, uwooo Damn, monster

    Both Ueda and Nakai were rolling on the dry wastnd.

    Yeah, that''s cruel.

    Well, the one who made them end up in that state was our berserker, Mei-chan.

    Fuhahaha, Mei-chan is strong.

    Yeah, even those two are getting stronger at breakneck speed

    Master Souma had also deduced that both Ueda and Nakai had be much stronger in just three days after taking lessons in Souma dojo. That might be the effect of their vocation rather than their talent.

    In fact, the other disciples such as Yamada or Natsukawa-san''s abilities were growing normally.

    By the way, the said two persons weren''t here right now.

    Yamada was currently taking care of Jaja in the resort area as the animal husbandrymittee.

    Natsukawa-san went out to look for the new honey.

    Though I couldn''t deny the importance of training, we couldn''t neglect the job of maintaining our standard of living either.

    Anyway, everybody who was in the middle of learning Souma-style''s skill to the level where it could be used in actualbat was definitely much stronger than three days ago.

    But, Master Souma seemed to have mixed feelings since Mei-chan didn''t use the Souma-style technique.

    Yup, the berserker''s power is truly exceptional after all.

    Don''t you feel like the situation isn''t enough to force Mei-chan to use the technique?

    Yeah, and that''s what makes her even more terrifying.

    Mei-chan taking the training course wasn''t for show either.

    In the dojo, everybody received basic lessons on Souma-style, or should I say basic lessons for all martial arts. Everything from the way to hold your sword, move your body, even the way to adjust your breathing, and much more.

    Such teachings could only exist due to the long history of Souma-style. Previously, everybody moved around by relying entirely on their vocation, but their movements had vastly improved now after having learnt the proper basic.

    It was only three days and yet, Mei-chan had learnt every basic she could learn from Master Souma. However, she didn''t use any of those techniques while sparring with Ueda and Nakai.

    Well, Futaba-san was already strong to begin with. But even if her strength is special, the others are by no means weak.

    Yeah, it''s a really good thing that the fruit of their training has be apparent immediately.

    Yeah, and the one who grows the most is

    Futaba-san, let me be your opponent!

    Eh? Sure

    Mei-chan was currently wearing her jersey and wielding a made-to-order great sword-sized wooden sword. The one who challenged her was a dual-wielding wooden sword, Nakajima Haruma.

    A match against Nakajima eh, interesting.

    It''s going to be a short game.

    The one who showed tremendous growth under Souma-kun''s tutge was none other than the Magic Swordsman Nakajima.

    O~h, looks a bit like Kenzaki.

    It''s already on the level where he seems to be training in that style for years. He''s clearly talented.

    Looking at Nakajima wielding two swords with both hands, the style that Souma-kun chose for Nakajima was Kenzaki-style swordsmanship instead of Souma-style.

    Back in Japan, Kenzaki-style was just as famous as Souma-style. There was no need to hesitate which to choose as long as it could make them stronger. We just needed to see if the style was suitable for the said person or not.

    And Souma-kun''s insight was spot on, Nakajima Haruma was indeed more suited for Kenzaki-style.

    HAAAH!

    Nakajima closed in the distance swiftly as he raised a war cry.

    Mei-chan on the other hand didn''t move at all, just maintaining her stance However, she had already swung her wooden great sword to her side before I noticed.

    And the sound of her swing cutting the air, which was akin to the sound of a jet engine, came a momentter. That swing should be strong enough to insta-kill anyone if it hit their head.

    Gu, uuuh!?

    Nakajima seemed to have a hard time receiving the casual swing from Mei-chan.

    Yes, Nakajima caught the blow.

    Awesome, he managed to catch Mei-chan''s blow from the front!

    That''s Kenzaki-style, Ovey Receive. It''s already splendid enough even though he learnt it just recently.

    Nakajima crossed his two swords to catch Mei-chan''s blow. This technique wasn''t as simple as merely catching the blow by following the wooden sword''s trajectory. If it were that simple, he would be sent flying like Ueda and Nakai due to Mei-chan''s overwhelming power.

    Perhaps it was defensive arts that warded off the power too.

    I had heard that in a dual-wield that used "Tachi(Long sword)" and "Kodachi(Short Sword)", thetter was used mainly for defense. And when it came to dual wield, the one thing I was most familiar with was the setting in action game which allowed its user to have a faster attack rate. s, in reality, it might be a style that puts a strong emphasis on defense.

    Still, it seems he can''tpletely defend against it.

    That''s a really high requirement. Being able to stop a blow is already good enough.

    The thing is, the Ovey Receive was a defensive skill of Kenzaki-style that catches the blow, and then using that moment unleashes a counter.

    And yet, Nakajima seemed to have already done his best just by maintaining his stance. He managed to stop Mei-chan''s blow, s, he was put in a condition in which he couldn''t unleash a counter.

    Kuh!

    After exposing his weakness like that, Nakajima had no choice but to make a hasty retreat.

    Mei-chan who should be able to chase after him to unleash another blow stayed still, it seemed she chose to ignore him. Well, this was a mockbat after all. It would be better if both sides were pulling out each others'' potential.

    Her power is simply off the charts So this is the Berserker huh.

    Amazing, Nakajima-kun. I''d not expected that youd manage to catch the blow.

    Hahaha, this might be the fruit of our training.

    I''ll use more power in the next blow.

    Said Mei-chan carefreely while raising her wooden sword overhead.

    Futaba-san is taking a stance.

    Are you sure about this, Nakajima-kun? You''ll die if you fail to receive this, you know?

    It seems the person himself who was facing the berserker understood the situation best.

    Nakajima''s face paled upon seeing Mei-chan raise her sword, albeit using only one hand.

    But I have to do this.

    Me too.

    He had a frightened look on his face, obviously feeling the danger for his life. However, that frightened look stayed only for a few seconds before being reced with the resolute eyes of a swordsman.

    How is he going to attack?

    Maybe he can''t receive another attack head-on. So his next choice could be dodging the swing from above andnding a counter.

    The upper stance that raised the sword straight above was meant to be swung down as it was. Since her next move was exceedingly simple, it gave Nakajima-kun a way to deal with her.

    But the one who raised her sword was preparing a literal killing move. Was this the reproduction of Satsuma''s Jigen-style which said "Kill the enemy in the first strike"? The person called Satsuma Hayato seemed to be a real Berserker.

    Fuuh!

    After ring at each other for a while, Nakajima made the first move after he let out a breath.

    He closed in quickly, his speed was so fast that it left an afterimage.

    Facing that, Mei-chan''s sword had already swung down.

    !?

    <i>He dodged it!</i>

    The wooden sword swung down by Mei-chan hit the air.

    Nakajima Tilted his body, and managed to dodge the first strike, though it came with a crumbled stance.

    Mei-chan had already finished her swing. Nakajima on the other hand still held his swords aloof even though his body was nting to the side.

    Nakajima still had enough time tond two blows on Mei-chan''s body before copsing from bad posture.

    <i>Did Nakajima just win!?</i>

    GUWAAA~!

    The next moment, Nakajima''s body was blown away.

    Rather, the ground literally split open.

    So, Souma-style has a skill that can create a shockwave by striking the ground with a sword.

    There''s no such skill Yes, there''s no such skill, but such a feat might be possible with a boost from vocation.

    Said Master Souma with a troubled face.

    To be honest, I too had never expected Mei-chan could send Nakajima flying with a shockwave created by the strike of her sword.

    Shockwave generated from martial arts does exist, huh.

    No, she isn''t using martial arts. She created that shockwave with brute force.

    A feat that is achieved when one attains extreme strength.

    Maybe, Mei-chan had no intention of hitting Nakajima-kun from the very beginning. Thus, she hit the ground to create a shockwave to disturb Nakajima''s bnce. So, it didn''t really matter even if he managed to dodge the attack.

    Guh It''s my loss.

    U~hm, thank you for the match, I think?

    After expressing her gratitude for the match, Mei-chan returned to us.

    Kotaro-kun, I wo~n.

    Yeah, the gap in the abilities is way too much to the point that it can''t even be called practice anymore.

    E~h, I did my best though.

    Yeah, Mei-chan did her best, s, our priority was to let everyone''s power grow by leaps and bounds.

    But, seeing that no one was heavily injured in this match, this might also be a good learning experience for her.

    As for me, I was happy that Nakajima''s talent was blossoming, s, it also meant that Kenzaki''s leadership ability wasn''t something to be trifled with.

    In the first ce, Kenzaki came from a family that taught swordsmanship for a long time like Souma-kun, meaning that she used to teach her junior.

    Upon a closer look, Kenzaki went over to Nakajima right after the match and patted his shoulder, giving him praise for his hard work. Though she looked at me as if I were trash, the current her was looking at Nakajima with the eyes of a teacher trying to protect the growth of her disciple.

    <i>Nevertheless, why are you blushing like a maiden in love, Nakajima-kun? We banned love rtionships, you know? You should be satisfied with Himeno-san alone.</i>

    Kotaro-ku~n.

    A~h, yeah, I''m really happy that Mei-chan is bing stronger too~

    She called out to me who was looking at Nakajima, maybe because she wanted to be pampered. For some reason, it felt as if she was a huge, adorable dog.

    Okay then, it''s my turn.

    Shall I be your opponent?

    Spare me from someone who might kill me by ident during a match, please.

    I had tried to participate in a match yesterday and got my Twin Shadow annihted in one blow.

    My bad, I still can''t control the urge in my heart.

    You don''t seem to reflect at all, you kno~w?

    The essence of Souma-style was to not let ones heart be swayed by hatred and anger. Yeah, it seemed to be a little bit too much for the current Souma-kun. The crime of killing Reina was heavy.

    But still, I think our rtionship had gotten much better than before since we only exchanged some banter every now and then.

    Ooh, it''s Momokawa, eh? Then I''ll be his opponent.

    Fufufu, sure, Ueda-kun.

    Swordsman Ueda got beaten ck and blue by Mei-chan, but he recovered fairly quickly. He was in high spirits upon seeing an opponent whom he could easily win.

    You can hardly lose against Momokawa.

    I wonder about that.

    I readied the short sword in both of my hands. Among those who learnt Souma-style, I was the only one allowed to wield a dual short sword.

    Well, this was a dual wield, and not at the same time.

    Yes, these short swords were the most suitable weapons to be used with ckhair Bind.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 212.2 - The Effect of Training 1

    Chapter 212.2 - The Effect of Training 1

    I''ll show you the power of Momokawa''s flying sword style!

    ===

    Nakajima Haruma was looking dumbfoundedly at the match between Swordsman Ueda against Shaman Momokawa.

    Momokawa-kun seems to be using a different skill. Don''t you think that it looks like a sickle-chain?

    It seems to be moving fairly well, but it''s just street performance all right. The attack is way too monotone. Ueda might be able to see through it in a while.

    The one who replied curtly was Kenzaki Asuna, his master in swordsmanship.

    Her standing figure looked so gant, and charming. Her clear, long-slit eyes were looking straight at the match between Ueda and Momokawa as she stated her honest opinion.

    In fact, Ueda had already charged towards the two short swords that were moving around due to the ck feeler.

    He saw through Momokawa''s attack. He parried the iing short sword, dodged, and quickly closed in the distance between him and his opponent.

    Ah!?

    Said Momokawa as he rolled on the ground due to Ueda''s attack. The victor had been decided.

    Wow, it really happened like you said, Kanzaki-san.

    Ueda''s victory was obvious even from Nakajima''s perspective. But he had no idea that Ueda had also managed to grasp the timing of Momokawa''s attack.

    This is a matter of experience. s, you''ve talent in this regard, Nakajima. I''m sure that you can achieve the same result even faster.

    I-I hope so.

    Nakajima was trying to hide his embarrassment Or not, he was clearly embarrassed.

    He had never expected to receive such praise.

    Not to mention the one who did that was a beauty like Kenzaki Asuna, thus his cheeks were blushing.

    At this point, he wasn''t an innocent virgin anymore. s The difference between Himeno Airi and Kenzaki Asuna as women was akin to heaven and earth. And the beauty was ying a huge role in this regard.

    Haah

    Thus, he calmed himself while heaving a deep sigh.

    What''s the matter, Nakajima?

    N-No, it''s nothing I was just thinking about going to train again since I''ve gotten enough rest!

    You just faced off against that Futaba, don''t overdo yourself.

    The fact that he saw a shadow cast on Asuna''s face when she mentioned Meiko didn''t escape from Haruma''s attentive eyes.

    Nakajima already knew about the duel between Kenzaki Asuna and Futaba Meiko. Asuna, who got crushed so thoroughly before the overwhelming power of the Berserker, had been traumatized ever since.

    Nevertheless, since Nakajima was nothing more than a mere third party who wasn''t present back then, he didn''t understand Asuna''s feelings.

    Though Meiko had transformed into a slim beauty with enormous breasts that put an AV actress and gravure model to shame, her gentle air was still the same as before. Always smiling, and the food she cooked was delicious. Though he knew that the Berserker had a truly overwhelming power, he couldn''t imagine Meiko as someone who would resort to such a barbaric method.

    And there were many other things to think about Asuna.

    As Twin Swordsman, or rather, as a swordsman of Kenzaki style, she was overwhelmingly powerful. Previously, he had no idea about this as he only stood on the side as a bystander. But now that he had received her training, he realized that she was really powerful.

    She wasn''t just strong. Every single word she said had weight behind and belief that she was strong.

    That''s why he really couldn''t connect such a figure with a frail girl.

    Nevertheless, Asuna herself had obviously put some distance between her and Futaba Meiko; the former had never challenged thetter for a match either.

    I''m okay. Not injured either.

    He wasn''t injured, but he was by no means okay.

    His arms had paralyzed when he received Meiko''s attack with Ovey Receive. It was already a miracle that he didn''t let go of the sword in his hands.

    The numbness had finally gone during their conversation.

    I have to be stronger. I still have much to learn from you, Kenzaki-san, I can''t rest on mypel yet.

    Yeah You''re right.

    Seeing her student''s enthusiasm, even the master couldn''t bear to stop him. Asuna nodded, inwardly satisfied.

    I''ve been wavering ever since I lost to Futaba back then. But I started to recognize my inexperience after teaching you. Thanks.

    Eh? Well, Shouldn''t I be the one to say that instead!?

    It''sforting to see you earnestly learning Kenzaki style.

    Nakajima''s heartbeat rose a notch upon hearing her earnest gratitude which literally came out of nowhere.

    Not to mention Asuna''s smiling face when she said those words to him was really cha

    Haah, I really am falling in love.

    Murmured Nakajima that night lying in bed in his room.

    Everyone got their own private room on the third floor of the school tower where the male dormitory was located. Soon enough, he realized that he was really at ease when he stayed in his private room.

    And relieved at the same time since he had lost the opportunity to do <i>THAT</i> with Airi.

    Whether sleeping or walking, the person who currently upied his mind was none other than Asuna.

    This was the first time he was so conscious of someone. Not to mention that such a beauty guided him personally in the way of sword. Also, he felt grateful to Momokawa Kotaro for this.

    Naturally, he also didn''t pull a punch when it came to his training, he tackled it with a serious attitude. He naturally focused on both in body and mind when he stood before Asuna, his master.

    Nakajima felt that he became stronger under proper guidance. He improved by leaps and bounds in just three days. Though part of it was due to his talent, he realized that his Magic Swordsman vocation yed a role in this regard too.

    Nevertheless, bing stronger by training had be a new source of motivation for Nakajima. Whether it was his swordcraft orbat skill, Nakajima''s train of thought was obviously undergoing a transformation.

    And despite beingpletely focused on his training, Asuna''s beauty and sex appeal often came from unexpected directions and were a great distraction to his training.

    Though there was no exposure since she wore a jersey, the bead of sweat on her skin, her long and glossy ck hair, and the scent that wafted from her, all of those had distracted Nakajima''s mind. Compared to his time with Airi, Asuna''s charm was something that he couldn''t go against. And yet, the person herself didn''t seem to be aware of her womanly charm.

    She might be closing her distance with him because he was her disciple. It was literally impossible to hate her when she treated him like this.

    The ban of love rtionship Turned out to be much better than I thought.

    Though the rule that Momokawa came up with for their cohabitation had limited their freedom to some extent, it proved to be quite useful in this situation. Without that rule, Nakajima would have slipped and confessed to Asuna.

    Our only choice now is to be stronger, defeat Yamata no Orochi, and escape from this dungeon.

    Everything else could start after that. He felt that he might be able to truly face his feelings after they escaped from this annoying dungeon that trapped them.

    That''s why he did his best to suppress his feelings for Asuna until the time was ripe And just when he was about to fall asleep.

    Uhm?

    He felt someone''s presence.

    After training in Kenzaki-style, the thing that improved wasn''t just limited to his swordcraft, his sense of presence had enhanced as well.

    At this moment, he sensed someone''s presence outside of his room.

    He thought that it might be one of his mates who went to the toilet. In the end, Momokawa had prepared toilets for all the people. The maintenance of which was left to each personnel. So if one needed to do their business, they had to go to the bathroom.

    Or not, this isn''t man''s presence.

    Even if it was just in the form of presence, he knew that it was the presence of a woman.

    This ce was the male dorm, a forbidden garden for the women. Emergency aside, it wasn''t a ce where a girl could walk by herself in the middle of the night.

    Could it be Airi.

    If it was her, she would surely do a night prowl on the boy who became her target.

    Her target might be Souma or Tendou, the reason was to curry their favour. Either way, Nakajima didn''t find the notion detestable.

    He didn''t care about whom she slept with any longer, but he didn''t want to destroy the cohabitation with her frivolous attitude.

    Now wasn''t toote to remind her.

    Driven by such a feeling, Nakajima opened the door of his room and confirmed the figure of the woman who walking in the corridor.

    ~~~~~!??

    And then, he found out that the woman was none other than Kenzaki Asuna and not Himeno Airi.

    In the dimly lit corridor, he saw the sexy figure of Asuna d in pajamas go into Souma Yuuto''s room.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 213.2 - The Effect of Training 2

    Chapter 213.2 - The Effect of Training 2

    Her reply waspletely different from Himeno and Shimokawa''s. As expected of a diligent person, she wouldn''t flinch even if her superior asked about the progress of her job.

    Rather, the current me might only be able to produce the density of ice crystal with Freezing Alchemy Formation.

    U~hm, this looks like the crystallization of magical power.

    The thing that ss Rep showed me was a palm-sized crystal.

    The colorless and transparent crystal was glowing with a pale blue light.

    Maybe because it was made with alchemy formation, the appearance and shape of the crystal were really splendid and trendy.

    Ice Crystal That was the name of the crystallization of ice magical power.

    So, what can this thing be used for?

    I still have no idea at this stage. We might know after a few more experiments.

    At first, I thought that Freezing Alchemy Formation could only be used to sh freeze something. s, it could actually be used to make this crystal.

    Perhaps we could make this crystal by gathering a lot of light stones.

    Even though it had a higher density of magical power than the natural light stone, it turned out that the density was even higher than the one produced with Takanashi''s alchemy.

    Just as I had expected, when it was made by someone who specialized in that attribute, the quality seemed to be higher than the one made by the Sage.

    It was as if she had shown her worth as a cyromancer by creating the ice crystal, however, she had yet to learn what it was for.

    The only one who could extract magical power from this crystal was ss Rep, its creator. Nothing happened when I rasped the ice crystal and shouted Ice Sagitta. It wasn''t an all-purpose item that allowed anyone who held it to use ice magic.

    However, it didn''t change the fact that it was a high-quality crystal of magical power. I wanted to think of another way to use it aside from using it for ice attribute equipment.

    Rather, even if it was useless, we might need to make a crystal of water attribute from Shimokawa''s Water Alchemy Formation, and a crystal of light attribute from SakurasLight Alchemy Formation. I would try to verify this matter after they were done with their jobs.

    Well then, I''ll be working on trying to find out the way to use the ice crystal.

    Maan, I prefer ss Rep supervising our employees though.

    Employee is a bit

    Be it an employee orborer, it won''t change the fact that they''re working in the entrance workshop.

    Surely, we do look like employees.

    After having distributed the jobs, everybody had been already, pretty much, allocated to their own job.

    Now then, let me introduce the member I arranged to work on the entrance workshop!

    Sage Takanashi Kotori. In charge of the production of all equipment, the most senior employee. Though her alchemy skill was the highest, the person herself always had low motivation to do her job properly.

    Healer Himeno Airi. Though she could only use Simple Alchemy Formation, she did her best during the initial manufacturing process of the ore.

    However, I wish she could do more. I mean, I hope shed learnt about various things since I had high expectations for this new employee.

    Aquamancer Shimokawa Junnosuke. It was nice to have a male employee since I could scold him without having to hold back. I had to use the carrot and stick method since the person loves to y truant for the effect of Water Alchemy Formation was too important for us. His job was to create potions.

    Geomancer Randou Kyouko. Though she wasn''t too motivated, she ended up being the first one to finish her assigned job. She must be a humble genius.

    I had heard that such cases often happened in Japan where apetent worker received the same treatment as the ipetent one. They did three times the workloadpared to the other workers yet were paid the same sry.

    Naturally, such cases wouldn''t happen in ourpany. Your job ends as long as you finish the daily quota, and you can spend the rest of the dayzing around. The only problem was the fact that they got no sry,petent or not<i>.</i>

    <i>Maybe I should prepare a bonus for such a diligent worker.</i>

    Cyromancer Kisaragi Ryouko. Though we still had no idea of how to use Freezing Alchemy Formation, further research might prove it was an important material. Yet, I rather have her supervise the four workers in the workshop over her research so that they could work more efficiently. I mean, I couldn''t supervise everyone.

    The Saint Souma Sakura. Well, honestly I almost forgot about this one For now, I entrusted her with the development of a lighting tool with her Light Alchemy Formation. Since the core n to defeat Yamata no Orochi was in the giant cave beneath that huge rocky mountain, we might need illumination magic tools when weunched an attack straight into its core.

    Well, the lighting wouldn''t be a problem as long as Sakura used a light spirit when inside that cave though.

    The priority for the lighting tool wasn''t that high, as such, I tended to avoid her. In this situation, ss Rep could do a better job than me.

    And then, there was my loyal servant, ydol Rem who mined the light ore non-stop.

    After the founding of Souma dojo, the hunting unit whose main job was to gather monster material was suspended. That''s why the Rem-Dark Knight, Rem-Arachne, and Rem-Mino had reced the hunting team for now. With the addition of skeletons and high zombies, their hunting team became much bigger. It was thanks to Rem and Co. that we got a steady supply of light ore while staying cooped up inside the school tower.

    Andstly, there was me, Shaman Momokawa Kotarou, the self-proimed CEO who decided the policy of the workshop.

    The priority and the type of weapon to be made first, the supply of the material, and the employee request. On top of having to make a decision, I could use Simple Alchemy Formation too.

    I had no intention to do all of that by myself. s, no one willingly voiced their opinion. In that situation, the parliamentary system could deliver a more urate judgment in exchange for some brawl. In our situation, we would be screwed if no one raised their opinion. My raison d''etre was to not waste our time with useless meetings.

    Thus, we made the entrance of the school tower a workshop to manufacture our equipment.

    In the first ce, we didn''t even have the prototype of a weapon that could be used in a fight against Yamata no Orochi. s I realized that we had more and more options right now. For me, the image in my mind became much clearer as we got more options.

    We were still far away from our goal, s, we had no choice but to rely on our vocation.

    Everything went very well, at least for now.

    We had yet to get stuck. Though the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi was still far away, everyone was currently doing everything they could to increase our chances.

    In the first ce, the fact that there was not a single quarrel so far was a wonderful thing.

    The reason for that might be because everyone had grown up after so many ups and downs in the dungeon, or the effect of their vocation on their mental state. Naturally, there was also the fact that they were Japanese, so they had a sense of mission to work together to achieve our goal, various aspectsing together, allowing our cohabitation to continue without a hitch.

    It felt as if the gears were meshing together quite nicely.

    Thus, I thought that this environment would continue s I might have ended up gging myself.

    On the evening of that day, a problem urred.

    Oi Kanzaki, are you really sleeping with Souma!?

    <i>Gimme a break already, Shimokawa </i>

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 214.1 - Violation of The Prohibition of Love Relationship

    Chapter 214.1 - Vition of The Prohibition of Love Rtionship

    Well then, let''s start the ss meeting.

    We had no choice but to hold a ss meeting!

    To be honest, I wanted to hit the bed right after the delicious dinner, s, seeing that a problem had urred, we had to resolve it immediately through a ss meeting.

    ss Rep, how''s the preparation?

    Sorry, give me a bit more time

    Even ss Rep was at her wit''s end, her face pale.

    Yup, I could rte to her feelings though. I mean, I felt the same as her, I Didn''t want to get involved in this troublesome mess of a situation.

    It was only during this kind of situation that I felt the position of ss representative troublesome since one had to solve the problem immediately. Now I had learnt of another troublesome side to being a ss representative. And this was only the beginning of the steep hardship in the name of ss representative

    Momokawa, stop trying to escape from reality. Start the meeting immediately.

    <i>This fu*ker, just who do you think has caused this problem? Its Kenzaki, dammit.</i>

    Well, now that everyone is present, let''s start with exining the situation.

    <i>Well, since everyone is already here, to begin with, no need to call them.</i>

    By the way, what I meant by everyone was everyone but Tendou-kun.

    Ain''t gonna get myself involved in that silly lover''s spat. I''m hitting the bed.

    He straight out voiced his rejection of participating in the ss meeting.

    <i>Tendou-kun, you''ve made the wisest decision in this ss.</i>

    The reason for todays ss meeting is that we have a report about someone viting the school regtions.

    So~, what''s the topic?

    Last night, Kenzaki Asuna was caught red-handed visiting Souma Yuuto''s room.

    Eh, seriously!?

    Humph, Souma turned out to be that kind of person too.

    Rather, Kenzaki was the one visiting him, right?

    Perhaps because this was the first time Randou-san and Co had heard about this matter, they discussed the topic with a curious look on their face. Yup, this was the kind of topic gals loved.

    Well, the gals team, who was purely curious about this matter, was actually among the best reactions. I mean, they were only interested in this matter as a topic for conversation and nothing more than that.

    The real problem was

    Lies! Where''s the proof for tha

    Oka~y, be quiet please~

    <i>Calm down Sakura-chan, we are about to unveil the truth.</i>

    We have an eye-witness. Now please tell us the details, Nakajima-kun.

    <i>Oops, there you go, ss Rep is finally kicking up the high gear.</i>

    I thought she would dump this troublesome matter onto someone else and watch from the side as the judgment was made. s, since she wore an expression like the model from a headache medicinemercial, I guess it was against her nature not to follow this case until the end.

    Uhm, it happenedst night when I was about to go to the toilet

    Thus, the eyewitness, Nakajima Haruma gave his testimony.

    Albeit, his testimony could be rounded up in a single sentence.

    I saw Kenzaki-san enter Souma''s room.

    <i>Yup, guilty.</i>

    The defendant, Kenzaki Asuna, would be banished for breaking the love ban rule. It''s decided, the adjourning court will Or so I wanted to say. I hoped things would proceed as easily as that, but

    Sneaking into a man''s room during the night ain''t equal to night crawling!

    Why it''s just this bast*rd Souma~!

    So this is the true face of our public moralmittee''s chief!

    Can you please stopbeling him as some sort of scumbag! Jeering at every chance you get, shame on you!

    Asuna-chan isn''t bad! I''ve never said you do bad things!

    The Totem Pole Trio said what I wanted to say. Sakura and Takanashi followed after as if reminding me that they were buddies.

    Be quie~t,

    <i>I understand the feelings of each side, but please get over this useless quarrel already. Depending on the situation, I could kick you guys out for interrupting our deliberation. And Sakura-chan would be the first one to get kicked out.</i>

    Nakajima-kun is still in the middle of giving his testimony, please don''t interrupt him.

    <i>Ah, no need to hear his testimony anymore. Oh, I should at least look as if I am listening to his full testimony seriously.</i>

    Do you remember the exact time back then?

    Nope, I don''t. But considering everyone had already returned to their room and hit the bed, I think it happened around an hour after everyone usually goes back to their room.

    Meaning that she had waited until around the time everyone went to sleep.

    At least, excuses such as "I forgot to say something" wouldn''t work if she visited during that time frame.

    Does that mean weve confirmed it really was Kanzaki-san and not another male?

    The passage might be dim, but it isn''t dark to the point that you can mistake a boy for a girl. It''s pretty easy to tell, after all.

    How easy was it?

    Uhm It''s her pajamas, but shes lightly dressed.

    At that moment, the Totem Pole Trio and Yamada made a gulping sound.

    Are you really sure that it''s Souma-kun''s room?

    I can hardly mistake it since it''s the room in the corner.

    But of course~. Things were going to be even more chaotic had she entered the wrong room.

    Had Kanzaki entered my room by mistake, I would have screamed ASSASSIN!, and deployed Rem, who I had assigned as my bodyguard, while Mei-chan woulde to my rescue around 5 minutester, ready to ughter Kanzaki.

    I had already attacheddybug-Rem to Mei-chan for this kind of emergency situation. She was undetected since it was a tinydybug and could warn Mei-chan in case my life was in danger.

    From Nakajima-kun''s perspective, he does have a reason for using the two of breaking the rule. Thank you for the testimony, Nakajima-kun.

    N-No, I don''t think it''s such a big de

    It''s a big deal, like hell I''m gonna think otherwise after hearing your testimony!

    Have you conveyed that to Shimokawa already?

    I just wanted to ask for his opinion in this regard.

    If you spoke of such a sensitive matter to Shimokawa, it would naturally spread in the blink of an eye. I knew at least that much.

    Or was it because I understood Shimokawa''s personality? If that were the case

    Well then, now it''s time to confirm the truth from the defendant.

    I shot a piercing cold gaze at Kenzaki Asuna.

    .

    Did she get startled by my gaze just now? Or, did she get scared of the disdainful and inquisitive gazes from everybody?

    That can''t be true, right? I mean, the scariest thing for her might be execution by Futaba Meiko.

    We had yet to decide the punishment for breaking the rule. In short, a word from me could get Mei-chan to use eithershing or spanking.

    Well, things weren''t that simple, but that Kenzaki bitch was finally trembling in fear.

    Whats the matter, Asuna? Do you have an objection?

    .

    Hmm, perhaps you''re prepared to get agitated for exercising your silence.

    Momokawa-kun, please quit it for now.

    <i>Can''t be helped I guess.</i> I wanted to use this opportunity to vent my daily frustration, but it seems I couldn''t do that this time.

    Please stop it. I''ll speak for her instead.

    <i>Whoops, here we go.</i> Souma-kun spoke up for Asuna who was trembling like a newborn fawn.

    Nakajima is right, Asuna came to my roomst night.

    Are you confessing your sin?

    I And Asuna, we''re notmitting any sin.

    But you slept with her, right?

    Wait, I admit that I slept with Asuna but Not in the way you imagined, we were just sleeping normally. That''s all.

    So that means Kenzaki-san will sleep with the other boys starting today, but hey, there''s no problem since they won''t do anything hanky-panky, right?

    Momokawa, you!

    Well, we can use that as punishment for this kind of situation.

    Momokawa, you really are the worst!

    And just as I had expected, Sakura-chan was mad. However, from another point of view, this was fair judgment, from the boys side, that is.

    Souma-kun, I really think that you should choose your words more carefully if you want to protect Kenzaki-san. I mean, you''re also viting the rule.

    He might have been able to salvage the situation had he said that he had admonished Kenzaki when she came to his room and sent her back to hers.

    And yet, Souma-kun didn''t do that.

    Stop screwing around! I won''t forgive nonsense nder of my dear big brother!

    I don''t care. In fact, it should not be just between the two of us. It should be up to everyone to decide, right? If you want to defend these two, you have to convince everyone that they''re innocent.

    Yes, this wasn''t like back then when we had just arrived in this area.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 214.2 - Violation of The Prohibition of Love Relationship

    Chapter 214.2 - Vition of The Prohibition of Love Rtionship

    <i>Currently, there are 18 people in this area including you and I. And my faction has more votes. Be it violence or speech, Sakura, you won''t be able to control the situ</i><i>ation by yourself anymore.</i>

    All hail democracy.

    Calm down, Sakura. In this regard, even Yuuto-kun''s exnation won''t do justice. And no ones gonna heed you either just because you''re being hysteric.

    <i>Are you defending her now, ss Rep?</i>

    Tch, the fact that ss Rep would keep her cool was something that I didn''t take into ount to Well, it was not that I wanted to harass the Souma sibling and Kenzaki in this kind of situation either.

    It would be unbearable if everything that had been on track for thest few days were to crumble just because of this. In the first ce, we finally had the chance to subjugate Yamata no Orochi after 18 of us gathered in this ce. I had no intention of letting them die, even if it was Sakura, my most vehement opposition.

    That''s why I nned to settle this night crawling case peacefully.

    Asuna Is at fault for saying that she has been sleeping with Yuuto-kun since a while ago. I mean, there''s the whole thing about "sleeping together".

    The heck, what kind of service is that?

    You can''t me the third party who heard those words for having some sort of misunderstanding.

    Does it have any other meaning aside from doing lewd things?

    If that''s the case, can I sleep with Kenzaki to~~?

    Just fess up already~

    Mocked Ueda, and Nakai who had one-sided love towards Asuna were filled with anger and jealousy. <i>And Randou-san, please stop looking like you''re enjoying afternoon drama.</i>

    As I''ve exined before, Asuna lost the duel against Futaba-san a while ago.

    Aah, the one when she had a dispute with Momokawa?

    Yeah.

    So Momokawa caused a problem too.

    <i>Oh shut up already, Shimokawa. I''ll make you suffer with four hours of overtime tomorrow, using my authority as male ss rep.</i>

    Even after she lost, the duel didn''t end with mere surrender or stopping right before hitting. Asuna suffered grievous injuries back then.

    Yup, even I backed away since she was literally left in an extremely ragged state, with a face that barely maintained her dignified appearance due to all the bumps and bruises on it. The reason her face was back to normal with no scars left was simply because I had applied my ointment immediately. Thinking about it now, I should''ve left a scar or two back then.

    That event has left a deep-seated trauma in Asuna''s heart. Yuuto-kun is the only one who can cure her anxiety.

    <i>Is that equal to giving them permission to sleep together?</i>

    Gu, gigigi Souma Yuuto

    Crap, it felt like I could see killing intent leaking out of Nakai. If he did his best to be stronger, he should be able to d himself in a red aura like Mei-chan.

    That''s why I''m telling you that we just slept together without any ulterior motive. It''s something that Asuna needs right now.

    Otherwise, Sakura-chan wouldn''t even give her permission.

    In addition, I tipped my hat on Souma-kun who really managed to rein himself from trying to do anything funny to Kenzaki in such a situation! <i>Hey Kenzaki, you really didn''t hope for something to happen, right?</i>

    Uhm, its just as he said

    That sounds like ame excuse!

    Well, you remember that we have the love ban rule, right? And aren''t there other people around? Shouldn''t they refrain from doing such a thing?

    It''s up to you whether you want to lend a helping hand to the extremely traumatized Asuna-chan, isn''t it? If it was a friend, they would ept the fact that she slept with Souma-kun, however, they would be merciless if it was someone else.

    Please, Asuna is going to break down unless I do this!

    Seeing everyone''s negative response, ss Rep pleaded sincerely.

    But, that''s it.

    This was the limit of what the honest and good-natured ss Rep.

    <i>ss Rep, the first thing you need to realize when asking something of someone isn''t to leave it at the mercy of the human heart You have to offer benefits.</i>

    Well then, since everyone has pretty much gotten the gist of the situation, I think we have to make a wise decision in regard to the punishment of the first offender of the schoolw. It''s definitely not something that can be decided on the spur.

    The one thing we needed the most was time.

    Forgiving Asuna under these circumstances was impossible. In fact, there was no way she would be forgiven. Both her trauma and sleeping together were her fault, to begin with.

    Since the time is just right, let''s conclude the meeting for today. I want everyone to cool themselves first and think about what''s best to do in this kind of situation. This will be a precedence for the next vitor, after all.

    Thus, I closed the ss meeting after I gave them an appropriate reason that everyone could ept.

    In fact, this was the right time when one usually hit the bed. There was no nonsense in idle chat until midnight since there was still a mountain of jobs to be done in the entrance workshop.

    In this way, since the nature of their crime had been cleared up, everyone could at least ept it for the time being and disperse without a fuss.

    Since I was already tired of this nonsense too, the one thing I wanted the most right now was to hit the bed right away But, let''s say onest thing before that.

    ss Rep, Suma-kun.

    I called them secretly; only three of us were in this ce now.

    I''ll persuade everyone, one by one tomorrow.

    ss Rep didn''t seem to see thising. And Souma-kun looked like he had just epted a wicked punishment.

    In negotiation, we would be at a disadvantage situation if we faced them all at once.

    They might agree much more easily if we persuaded them one by one and switch sides, with a little benefit added of course.

    Those who agreed to punish Asuna were the Totem Pole Trio and people from my faction. Persuading them was my job, not ss Rep and Souma-kun''s.

    I want to ask you a favour.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 215.1 - Individual Interview

    Chapter 215.1 - Individual Interview

    The ce was the 5th floor of the school tower. The spacious and vacant room was the perfect ce for having secret talks.

    By the way I want to talk to you about the item we discussed before, Shimokawa-kun.

    Ha~h, I have a bad feeling about this.

    This was the persuasion phase for the people who insisted on punishing Asuna in the matter of her night crawling to make them willing to go easy with her punishment. The first person was Shimokawa. As long as I managed to cajole him first, he wouldn''t be able to cause disturbanceter.

    I had no idea if he understood my intention or not, but his face when I called out to him the first thing in the morning was definitely not a cheery one.

    <i>I don''t think I am such a cruel person though. I only want to bribe him.</i>

    I want you to honestly answer what I''m going to ask you now. Worry not, we''re the only ones in this ce.

    Im just wondering if youre wiretapped when asking the question.

    And despite his words, it seemed he was ready to listen to me. <i>What a good guy.</i>

    Recently, it''s been umting, right?

    Haah?

    You know, the pervy things.

    He looked dumbfounded by the sudden change of topic. <i>The heck, ain''t that a literal bull''s eye?</i>

    Frankly speaking, it''s harder to hold it back when you''re partying with some babes than when you''re partying only with men, right?

    Well, can''t deny that.

    It seems that Shimokawa and Co had been enjoying a happy survival life with his group after we got separated until we reunited in this area. It was a tough experience for them, s, there was no particr stumbling block either, the men in the party got along with each other since there was no girl in their party.

    We''ve been holding back too and yet, when that Souma-kun

    I won''t go as far as Nakai, but who won''t be pissed off when someone else slept with a woman in that kind of situation?

    As fellow men, I know how you feel.

    You on the other hand don''t seem to care about this matter.

    I''m speaking as a male-ss rep after all. I can''t get emotional when making a decision.

    Lies, I bet you only did so since Kenzaki''s bo*bs ain''t big enough.

    Tehepero~

    My fetish was revealed when we had a boy talk with Yamajun.

    Rest assured, I won''t allow the same thing to happen in the future.

    But you do know that not everyone is willing to forgive them, right?

    I know. That''s why I''ve to prepare apensation if I want to make them let bygones be bygones, right?

    Oioioi, you''re not joking right, ss Rep-sama?

    Well, the thing is, it''s the ss rep''s duty to take care of this kind of scandal. That''s why I offered you this gift as proof of my sincerity.

    Yes, there was no way the other would just forgive Kenzaki. Even if they vowed that they wouldn''t sleep together again in the future, they definitely enjoyed the benefit of sleeping together.

    That''s why, for those who had Nothing, I had no choice but to think about something to rece their nothingness.

    Naturally, our Japanese values were nothing more than a bullshi*t the moment we transferred into this dungeon. This case wasn''t so simple that money alone was enough to settle it.

    And since this matter rted to erotica, something that we couldn''t get in this ce even with money, the solution to this problem was also erotica. In short, fight erotica with erotica.

    I will bribe you with a piece of panties.

    Wha-What

    You''re fine with the one used by Takanashi-san, right?

    No way, is that even possible!?

    At least, I can guarantee that it''s used by the person herself. However, I want you to know that itcks hygiene since it''s been worn until recently.

    Mo-Momokawa, you What a man you are

    Naturally, this will turn into a huge scandal if this matter is ever exposed. The management and use of it must be under strict control. Naturally, it mustn''t leave your room no matter what.

    Momokawa Are you sure about this?

    This is something you need right now, and I''ve the authority to give you at least this.

    I understand, I''ll take your offer, Momokawa.

    Thanks Shimokawa, I knew that you''d take my side.

    We shook hands to mark the end of our negotiation.

    Just as I had expected, Shimokawa was a man who would prioritize profit.

    Now then, next is Ueda-kun, let''s persuade him together.

    Oh, leave it to me.

    As long as I managed to persuade Ueda, persuading Nakai, who received the greatest damage from this since he adored Asuna, would be a piece of cake.

    But man, how can you make such an offer?

    Noments about that.

    Even with my authority, it was literally impossible for me to get the freshly worn panties. But, I did manage to snatch the freshly worn panties of the said person.

    And that was in fact the trial product.

    With the improvement of our daily life, the spider thread underwear that Arachne-Rem and I made was used by everyone in the ss. Since I had to make some minor adjustments to everybody''s size, I knew the size of everyone including Takanashi. However I needed to create a prototype before adjusting the size.

    Naturally, I really was trying to improve the quality of the product, but I kept those prototypes for times like this the time when I needed to appease the boys. Thus. I kept those panties inside the item box all this time.

    I had never expected that the time for using that trump card woulde this fast. Ah this was better than making a request without offering anything in return.

    ===

    Hah, what do you want to talk about, Momokawa-kun?

    Nakajima Haruma asked with a slightly vignt look on his face.

    Since Id managed to convince Shimokawa, the negotiation with Ueda and Nakai went very well. By the way, Yamada had also agreed when I bribed him with panties.

    When it was Nakajima-kun''s turn, he had to face five of us, but I stepped in just in case to provide him with another perspective.

    Coz Nakajima-kun is in love with Kenzaki-san.

    Eh?

    Though he didn''t react as expected, that bluff, on the other hand, backfired on him.

    Eh, no, it''s not as you think

    Don''t try to hide it. We might have a love ban rule, but it doesn''t mean that the rule bans you from falling in love.

    In short, they were free to keep their feelings. That''s why there was nothing wrong with me having a naughty and wild fantasy about Randou-san and Mei-chan every single night. Regarding the real panties that Randou-san gave me, I might feel guilty once they found out about it.

    Well, Kenzaki-san is a beauty with an outstanding style, after all Himeno-san is definitely no match for her, right?

    Speaking of beautiful faces, that must be the biggest weapon out there since Himeno had to go as far as using her body to make the boys do her bidding while a beautiful face alone was enough to have the same boys go head over heels.

    In the case of love, I would like the other party to follow it through till the end. s, it didn''t change the fact that their instincts needed some form of liberation. Even more so when the targets were beauty.

    That''s, well, that''s right

    That was a half-hearted reply.

    Still, this guy wasn''t really honest about his own feelings. Especially with the murky feeling called jealousy which made him tell the others about this matter.

    Nakajima-kun, I''ll cooperate with you if youve really fallen in love with Kenzaki-san.

    .

    Oh, he couldn''t say anything in his defence. Man, never expected for him to get cold feet. <i>You''re a cautious person, after all. And youck self-confidence. Just like me.</i>

    If your answer is no then I Will use this chance to make the rtionship between Souma-kun and Kenzaki-san official.

    Eh!? What about the love ban rule!?

    <i>Whoops, that was a dramatic reaction.</i>

    Even though he didn''t move when I offered him a carrot, he leapt at once when I showed him the stick.

    It didn''t mean that I wanted to matchmake Souma X Kenzaki, but it was possible to do that with my authority, and that was enough as a bluff to be used on Nakajima-kun.

    I did decide on the love ban rule, but it doesn''t mean that I''m going to force you to suppress your feelings either.

    The power of love was something else, after all. I even saw Sugino-kun and Sakurai-kun''s way of life, and how they stayed true to their feelings until the end.

    Not to mention that there''s a story about Kenzaki-san and Souma-kun''s betrothal after their duel in the 1st year. Souma-kun didn''t seem to go all out against Kenzaki-san back then, however, that showed the difference between their abilities.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 213.1 - The Effect of Training 2

    Chapter 213.1 - The Effect of Training 2

    Dammiiit Swordsman vocation isn''t just for show, eh

    I lost. Got beat up so thoroughly. Did he by chance have some sort of grudge against me? I don''t remember ever doing something cruel to Ueda though.

    My shadow could use the flying-sword style with ckhair Bind. I could easily win against a goma, but could I afford to block or dodge against someone with Swordsman vocation? I mean, it felt as if the other party had seen through my moves.

    Rather, it feels like there''s an insurmountable wall between me and the vanguard job like a swordsman.

    If I had to fight Ueda for real, I would definitely avoid a frontal sh. Instead, I would use poison, trap, or Rems to beat him up.

    That is how a shaman is supposed to fight after all. I wasn''t born to wield the sword.

    I guess I really have no talent for swords, I guess I have to keep sword training to a minimum.

    Well then, seeing that martial arts training barely had any effect on me, now let''s see what the real me would do at the entrance workshop after some training with everyone.

    What are you doing, Himeno-san? Your hand has stopped moving!

    So-Sorry M-My hands kinda itchy

    Sorry about that, but you have to find a way to prevent your hand from feeling itchy yourself.

    Bu-But

    Okay, here you go, this ointment should do the job.

    As the only one who had learnt Simple Alchemy Formation among the batch of new employees, Himeno-san was left with the simple job of smelting the ore; the light ore mined by Rems in the desert area.

    Having said that, sorting with alchemy was a simple job since she only had to separate the sand and other sediments from the ore. Direct maniption of theponent was impossible with elemental alchemy. Ergo, if the difference between theponents could be seen with the naked eye, it was possible to transform and separate them.

    In addition, removing impurities in this way, before the material was used by the Sage Takanashi for advanced alchemy, would make a better quality finished product. That said, Himeno-san''s job was really important.

    Next was Shimokawa-kun who was struggling with his bootleg potion project.

    Shimokawa-ku~n, how''s the situation on your side~?

    Geh, Momokawa

    <i>Whats with that tant displeasure? I just asked about your progress. Did you happen to ck off?</i>

    My side is fine, don''t worry about it.

    Is that so~? Is it just my imagination that the mixture seems to be the same as yesterday?

    Eh?

    <i>Shimokawa-kun, if you want to lie, you should stick through until the end.</i>

    Well, not that it would deceive me since I had already memorized thebination ratio and the prototype of the raw materials.

    Shouldn''t you try differentbinations this time?

    B-But still, figuring out the exact measurements of the ingredients is really taxing you see. Ain''t something you can do for hours.

    Surely, alchemy is mentally taxing.

    Right!

    That''s why, since you can''t employ it in session, you should use the down time between experiments. I mean, you''ve already done a few experiments so far.

    The clue to recreating a bootleg potion lies in magical power and medicinal nts.

    Firstly, potion was a magical restorative medicine. If those effects happened because of magic, then it was only natural to think that it contained magical power.

    In addition, ording to the Sage Takanashi''s test, the magical power contained within the bootleg potion was far less than the one in the real potion.

    On the other hand, the bootleg potion would bepleted as long as it contained magical power.

    Though the treasure chest was currently transformed into an all-purpose storage, you needed magical power to open and close the box. If someone asks whether magical power can be imbued into the bootleg potion, the answer is NO.

    To begin with, the treasure chest had some sort of mechanism that absorbed magical powers to allow it to function properly. Bootleg potion on the other hand was a substance that had lost its magical power.

    To imbue something with magical power, the first requirement was to have an enchantment skill like Souma Sakura''s Holy Enchant. And to imbue magical power into specific material, we had to use the enchantment magic specific to that.

    Not to mention that we had to study thebination of the medicinal nts at the same time as looking for a way to imbue magical power into bootleg potion.

    Another result of theparison between potions was that the bootleg potion not onlycked magical power but some of its main ingredients were also missing. This was something that we found out thanks to Shimokawa''s Water Alchemy Formation.

    We had no idea which ingredient was missing. Not that it would help us any further even if we found out what was missing.

    However, if my guess was right, the missing ingredient should be something that increases the potency of the potion; it was something to heal wounds after all. And the only thing I know that had the said effect was medicinal nts.

    The current most prominent candidate was the material for Ointment A, namely fakelion, the leaf of fairy walnut, andstly the white flower from the flower bed.

    The other medicinal herbs were wildflower and mandragora. Each of those medicinal herbs was included in water alchemy to create the bootleg potion.

    We kept experimenting bybining those ingredients, using trial and error until the ratios of the ingredients were as close as possible to the real potion.

    That''s why even if thebination with water alchemy was the same as yesterday, it wasn''t a meaningless effort.

    Have you tried otherbinations? What about the report of the result of your experiment? That''s the thing we need right now.

    Sorry.

    Shimokawa-kun, you know that this isnt the kind of job where just doing it is enough, right? Especially when ites to research-rted jobs like this, it''ll be meaningless unless you have a result.

    Yes, you''re right, I''m reflecting on that.

    Then Ill be expecting the report of todays experiment by noon.

    Eh, noon is just around the corner though

    Finish it after lunch. I''ll tell Mei-chan to pick it up.

    N-No way

    Good grief, our lunch was actually dyed due to a single person''s mistake. Did he think that the person in charge of our meal had that kind of leeway? Better let him learn from this mistake.

    Well, looking at the overall result, Shimokawa''s research did advance.

    In the first ce, recreating a perfect potion with a bootleg potion was pretty much impossible with our current skill. s, I got this feeling that it was possible to achieve the same level as my handmade ointment.

    Though the final effect might be inferior to Ointment A, being able to achieve an instant effect was enough for this bootleg potion.

    <i>Well do your best, you just need a bit more Shimokawa. Though you look like you''re about to die, please do that after youvepleted your research.</i>

    Momokawa~

    Ah, Randou-san.

    Randou-san called out to me just when I was thinking about the situation in the next post.

    I''ve too much free time~

    Said Randou-san as she slumped on top of piles of white pelt.

    Though her pose allowed me to see her panties had she worn her school uniform, she was, unfortunately, wearing her jersey in the workshop. s, even the jersey wasn''t enough to hide her sexy curves.

    Sorry, the new batch of materials will arrive soon

    I want it faste~r.

    All right, my bad for that. I''ll contact the merchant to deliver it as fast as possible.

    Geez, they can actually take their time though.

    Though I had no idea what she really wanted, I had no choice but to offer my apologies since it was my fault that she ended up having too much free time.

    Randou-san''s job was, naturally, purifying light iron using Iron Ore Alchemy Formation.

    The product of her job was fine material that could be used to upgrade our weapon. As against a simple te created using just iron, the one made with iron imbued with magical power was much more powerful and durable. Thus, we, naturally, needed light iron that was imbued with magical power to create an enchanted weapon.

    As such, a part of Randou-san''s research room was filled with mined light iron and junk weapons we got from humanoid monsters such as werewolves or govus.

    s, Randou-san used up her stock of light ore pretty quickly.

    Around her were heaps of light iron material that was waiting to be delivered to the manufacturer.

    In terms of job speed, Randou-san is really fast.

    Ain''t this pretty normal?

    If this was the normal speed, then Takanashi wasn''t working at all.

    My bad, I''ll think about your next job.

    Ka~y, gimme a call if you need my help.

    I felt a sense of defeat upon listening to hernguid voice. She was simply too talented in this line of job.

    Rather, shouldn''t I just appoint her as the maker of our equipment?

    No, let''s not forget that shecked the imagination to do that, she could struggle to no end if I entrusted her that job. There must be a more suitable job for her.

    Well, let''s stow this matter forter.

    How''s the situation on ss Rep''s side?

    Well, it took me three days to understand this ability of mine.

 Chapter 215.2 - Individual Interview

    Chapter 215.2 - Individual Interview

    At a nce, Souma-kun, who didn''ty his hand on Kenzaki-san, might seem like he didn''t regard her as a woman. However, in my opinion, the reason he didn''t do that was simply because he had indomitable willpower.

    Still, if Souma-kun became Kenzakispanion for life He might only give his best to Kenzaki alone.

    But if Nakajima-kun is really in love with Kenzaki, my n of marrying her off to Souma-kun might be a huge scar in your heart. I mean, I wanted to make sure that no one is scarred because of this incident.

    <i>That''s why I''m asking you, Nakajima.</i>

    <i> Right now, at this very moment, you''re going to decide whether you want to make Kenzaki yours or forget about her forever.</i>

    <i>If you keep your silence even after I said that, it means that your desire for her was only so much.</i>

    Such iplete desire was the most troublesome thing. You had no courage to reach out to her, yet you didn''t want to give up on her either. In the end, what was left for you in that situation was dissatisfaction, and such a negative emotion wasn''t a good thing in a stable environment like a school tower.

    That''s why you had to make a decision in this ce.

    <i>Will he decide to get Kenzaki? Will he decide to make her his woman?</i>

    <i>Please Kenzaki, I''m betting on your charms to make sure that there''s a g of love for Nakajima!</i>

    Momokawa-kun, are you really going to give your full cooperation?

    Within possible range. I can at least put you in the same party as Kenzaki, and make sure that she doesn''t get into the same party as Souma-kun.

    Love was something that you had to have together. Long distance rtionship? Can you even eat that?

    I''ll do my best to make sure you and Kenzaki-san are ced in the same party. As for how to use that opportunity, it''s up to you.

    In the worst situation, I could go as far as threatening Kenzaki, but I wouldn''t cross the bottom line just for Nakajima. Nor did I have the responsibility to do that. All I could do was use barely legal means, including giving him her panties.

    How is it? If you''re not in for this, I will call Souma-kun and Kenzaki-san after this

    Love you.

    He suddenly confessed.

    <i>However, I wish your target wasn''t me. I would be troubled if Mei-chan saw this and had some sort of misunderstanding.</i>

    I''m in love with Kenzaki-san. I''m serious.

    So you exposed them since you''re jealous of Souma-kun?

    Indeed, you''re absolutely right. I know that the news will spread like wildfire as long as I tell Shimokawa-kun about this.

    But you didnt expect that he would scream right there.

    To be honest, I know that I''m doing the worst thing as a man But I can''t suppress this feeling of mine.

    Nakajima spoke with an extremely emotional face, to the point of crying.

    Even in this restrained environment, it didn''t stop him from falling in love. And yet, he ended up witnessing the girl he took a liking to enter the room of another man That was definitely an NTR development. It was an instant death spell had I been put in his position.

    Hu~m, I see, I understand.

    I''m serious I''m in love with her Hopelessly in love with her

    I understand, thank you for telling me your true intention.

    With this, we cleared Nakajima.

    Since I managed to persuade the person with the most twisted feeling, this matter was as good as settled.

    ===

    Well then, following everyone''s agreement in this matter, the defendant of this case, Kenzaki Asuna, will be pardoned.

    I dered during the ss meeting to put an end to this stupid case as soon as possible.

    Instantly, the crowd dissipated into a heated discussion, but the backdoor deal had been made so that Kenzaki would be pardoned in the end. In short, the trial had already been rigged from the very beginning. Everything had already been prepared even before the trial.

    This judgment is made solely because everyone is very kind-hearted. Kenzaki-san, I hope you''re reflecting on your action with this.

    Yes.

    <i>Why the heck are you looking dejected instead? You ain''t a damn heroine! You''re the main culprit of this damn incident.</i>

    Oh well, the traumatized Kenzaki Asuna could be treated as someone with a deep emotional scar. But she should''ve at least looked guilty, right?

    Well then, I hope that someone will take care of Kenzaki-san after this.

    Yeah, and be careful so that this kind of thing won''t happen again.

    Humph, I''ll take care of her even without you saying so.

    Since I didn''t have even an ounce of hope that Kenzaki would reflect on her mistake, let''s dump the whole trouble onto her own friend. And since we had no idea when that b*tch Kenzaki would do night crawling again, let''s observe her more carefully this time. The only way to do that was to dump the responsibility onto Souma''s harem.

    For now, let''s prescribe a sleeping drug for her. She just needs to drink it and lie on her bed.

    No suspicious dru-

    Thank you Momokawa-kun. I''ll have to ask you to create the drug.

    Sakura-chan was trying to argue with me again, s, ss Rep readily epted my idea.

    This sleeping drug was made from the light purple flower growing in the fairy za.

    Though it wasn''t so potent to the point that one would copse immediately with a sniff, it was a pretty good sleeping inducer. I mean, if there was such powerful sleeping-inducing material, I would''ve used it a long time ago.

    I don''t think this method would be of much help to Kenzaki though. Anyhow, Kenzaki would at least settle down once she drank the drug.

    And here is a medicine, or when you get stomach ache.

    Thanks, Momokawa-kun. I''ll make the best use of it Gulp.

    ss Rep swigged the stomach medicine that I prescribed for her.

    The stomach medicine was an idental product I created during one of my experiments.

    Natsukawa-san found a rare medicinal nt, and Shimokawa used another method of his Water Alchemy Formation andpleted the drug.

    We could only secure a little of it due to limited ingredients, not that it was a big deal since only one person needed it.

    ss Rep, the safety dose for this stomach medicine is once per day.

    Well then, this will conclude this incident, but just in case Anything else I need to hear?

    Since it was literally a case closed right after the meeting had begun, there was still some time left until we announced the decision. This meeting was held after dinner just like yesterday, and since there was quite some time left before going to bed, I might as well use this opportunity to ask everyone about some trivial matter.

    Yes, Kotarou-kun.

    Okay, Mei-chan.

    The first one to raise their hand was unexpectedly none other than Mei-chan.

    This wasn''t a drill. Mei-chan herself had no opinion regarding this ss meeting.

    Meaning that she had something to say in this ss meeting, however, I could only guess that.

    Our stock of honey is decreasing. This is just a possibility, but I think someone among us has been secretly snacking on it.

    Just to be sure Mei-chan, it''s not because you''re licking it in the name of experiment, right?

    E~h, Kotaro-kun is so crue~l!(monotone)

    Jokes aside. The portion for Mei-chan hadn''t even been included in the stock to begin with. It was deducted as a necessary expense for our chef.

    Yes. Okay the~n, everyone shut your eyes please~. Sensei won''t be angry so those whore secretly snacking on the honey may raise their ha~nd.

    Naturally, no one raised their hand, or shut their eyes.

    I mean not even elementary school students would fall for this trick. If one didn''t confess their sin when asked to confess obediently for the first time, that child might grow into an adult who wouldn''t confess their sin in the future either.

    It can''t be helped then. I originally wouldve given some amnesty if the culprit confessed obediently for their sin but Everyone but Natsukawa-san may leave this ce.

    Wa-Wait a minute!? Why me!?

    Why I wonder.

    ce your hand onto that average-sized chest of yours and ask the same question to yourself.

    You''re mistaken, I''m innocent you know!?

    Natsukawa-san, I''ll hear the details at the police station.

    Th-The culprit isn''t me~~~!

    After that, only Mei-chan, ss Rep, and I were left behind; we started to examine Natsukawa-san.

    So-Sorry I can''t fight against my impulse

    SO IT REALLY WAS YOU~!

    Actually, I was just bluffing and yet, it turned out I had hit the jackpot immediately.

    Sorry, Minami has always been fond of sweets since childhood.

    ss Rep was apologizing like a parent.

    I mean, this was certainly a scene of a mother apologizing for her child who was caught red-handed shoplifting.

    Well then, let''s settle this with money.

    Hiii!!

    I''ll ask her to refrain from eating honey in the future.

    Tha-That''s too cruel Ryouko-chan! I, I might die without my daily dose of sweets!

    ss Rep, Natsukawa-san doesn''t seem to be reflecting on her crime.

    Sorry, I''ll try to persuade her!

    Well, that sounded like a fool''s errand though.

    I mean it was obvious even to an outsider like me that Natsukawa-san was truly a sweet love, even so, I had no idea that she was, in fact, a sweets junkie. Forcefully cutting her off from sweets could backfire.

    I mean I was sure that Natsukawa-san loved sweets as much as I loved big b*obs. It was already her instinct, or should I say, identity.

    Well then, Natsukawa-san, I''ll give you two choices you either eat fewer sweets like ss Rep said, or eat more sweets than everyone by making a deal with me.

    WA!? NO, DON''T BE FOOLED BY HIM MINAMI, THAT''S A DEVIL''S CONTRACT!

    Momokawa-kun Is that true?

    At the very least, I''ll supply Minami-san with sweets to the point that she doesn''t have to secretly snack on them.

    DON''T LISTEN TO HIM MINAMI! THAT''S DEVIL WHISPER!!

    Deal.

    Thank you for your patronage.

    Thus, I shook hands with Natsukawa-san as ss Rep looked on from the side with a perplexed face.

    As a result, I got an unexpected insider.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 216.1 - The Ability of Key Player

    Chapter 216.1 - The Ability of Key yer

    Come to think of it, this was my first time visiting the Underworld. Though it was everyone''s first time visiting the desert area, for an area that had been captured, I simply had no reason to visit it.

    There were various preparations needed, however, I wasn''t mainly focusing on dungeon capture in this case.

    Since this was my first debut in this underworld, I wanted to check the fruit of my training in Souma dojo. Naturally, it wasn''t just me, every pupil of the dojo came along as well.

    I saw itFull Thrust!

    Nonomiya-san''s sharp spear pierced through the ck werewolf.

    The sharp spearhead slipped past the werewolf''s fangs and pierced into thetter''s cranium. It was a critical hit.

    Too slowHeavy Smash!

    Yoshizaki-san on the other hand brandished her axe and chopped the werewolfs torso with ease.

    The werewolf''s body was covered by a steel te and yet, her attack pierced until more than half of its torso scattered its entrails and made the te look like nothing more than a piece of paper. It was a fatal wound.

    Yeah, victory!

    Have we be stronger?

    It wasn''t a self-praise, Yoshizaki-san had really be stronger. Even from an amateur perspective like mine, it was obvious that her moves had be sharper and deadlier than before.

    Both of you, good job. Youve definitely be stronger.

    And, Master Souma had also recognized their growth.

    The ck-haired werewolf knight we fought this time was stronger than a living armour. The living armour triumph in terms of defense, but in terms ofbat capabilities and tactics, it was andslide victory for the werewolves.

    If it was the two of them when they just arrived in the school tower, I doubt they could defeat the werewolf knight even if they worked together. And since the current them could single-handedly defeat the said werewolf, they were obviously much stronger than before.

    Is learning Souma-style really that useful?

    Saa?

    Dunno.

    Both of you have mastered it to the unconscious level.

    <i>That''s what I''m going to leave at.</i>

    I''m serious, both of them are the type that remember with their body instead of their brain. This kind of genius is people who use this unconsciously.

    I see, the exact opposite of my type.

    It was almost hrious as to how inept I was in regards to swordcraft. Even Master Souma was left dumbfounded by my inability in that regard.

    But, doesn''t that make Nakajima really awesome?

    Yeah, never expected he would be that powerful.

    And the one who stood out the most after training was none other than Nakajima Haruma.

    He currently fought against the werewolf knight along with JuryMarybi. But he wasn''t facing just one, he fought two werewolves at the same time.

    VOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Nakajima managed to dodge the great axe brandished by the werewolf before him by a whisker as he exhaled his breath.

    VOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The other werewolf came from behind, lunging its spear at his back.

    And yet, he dodged the spear tip with a dance-like movement as if he had eyes on his back.

    Okay, now.

    After dodging the previous two attacks, a werewolf knight stood readying its halberd.

    VO!

    VOGAAA!

    The two werewolf knights, who should have stabbed Nakajima''s back by now, moved immediately Or so it was supposed to be.

    Their feet, all the way to the ankles, were frozen.

    Nakajima dodged their clumsy attack while unleashing a counter. He froze their feet with the ice magic of Cool Cuss in his left hand.

    His magical power was only enough to ce it as a low-rank magical power, and it was only enough to freeze the feet of the werewolves, stopping them for a moment before they broke free with their brute force.

    However, that momentary gap was all Nakajima needed to turn the table against his foes.

    Kenzaki StyleWild CleavingCamellia

    The glowing swords drew an arc in the air. The Sword of Silver Iron in his right hand drew silver arcs, while the Cool Cuss in his left hand light blue arcs; it was an attack akin to a storm of shes.

    Gu Gobaaaaaaa!

    The werewolf knights fell to the ground as their bodies got covered in sh wounds.

    The sh wounds might look trivial but were by no means your average sh. Upon a closer look, it was obvious that the shes were only cutting the joints or the thin part of the armour.

    All of Nakajima''s shes were only aimed at their vital spots.

    Moreover, it was against an opponent who was equipped with a halberd that had superior reach, and a high-ranked one on top of that.

    And once he defeated the werewolf knight, the other two werewolves were just bonus. Nakajima easily yed both of the werewolves at the same time.

    Splendid, Nakajima.

    Well, it''s thanks to Asuna-san''s teaching.

    That isn''t true. The way youve been able to handle Wild CleavingCamellia so easily in such a short period of time is proof of your talent. Puff your chest proudly, you''re already a splendid swordsman of Kenzaki style.

    Kenzaki-san, youre embarrassing me with your praise, but Thank you.

    There was no ce for me to praise him since he had already received all the praise I wanted to express.

    Kenzaki Asuna didnt spare words when praising Nakajima with the face of a proper teacher as if her unsightly act from before had never happened.

    On the contrary, Nakajima, who caused the previousmotion, was smiling gleefully upon receiving the praise.

    Well, shall I pray for their happiness? I wouldn''t care even if they get married immediately. After we left this dungeon, that is.

    U~h Souma-kun, I hear that Haruma-kun has been treating me coldlytely

    I-I see Maybe, I can''t say anything about it since it''s a problem between you two.

    Looking from the side, Nakajima x Kenzaki coupling had created a nice air around them. Thus, Himeno, who became impatient when her Spare-kun kept a distance from her, approached Souma-kun.

    Oi, Momokawa

    Since Souma-kun is the leader and Himeno-san the vice leader. I suggest that you two start your discussion.

    <i>How cowardly of you for trying to rely on me only in this kind of situation, Souma-kun.</i>

    <i>Make sure that you treat her nicely regardless of what her face deviation index score is, okay.</i>

    Well then, it''s harvest time~.

    Since we had defeated the werewolf knights, now it was the time to scavenge their corpses.

    This ce was located on the outskirts of the Underworld. Dracs room, the boss who got defeated by Souma-kun, was in the centre of the city. The stone building became rather sparse around this ce, and continuing would lead us to the thick, overgrown forest.

    And despite being the outskirts, elite enemies such as werewolf knights would pop out from this ce. If I had to pinpoint what stood out in this ce, it would be the small fortress-like building.

    Maybe this ce was a garrison, and that fortress was made for the werewolf knights.

    In most RPG games, we might be able to find something in such an area.

    Is that so~?

    Seems to be an empty fortress thou~gh.

    I shot a sidelong nce at JuryMarybi who repliedzily after finishing their duties and decided to go into the fortress along with Rem.

    By the way, todays partyposition was:

    LeaderSouma Yuuto

    Vice LeaderHimeno Airi

    Nonomiya Julia

    Yoshizaki Maria

    Nakajima Haruma

    Kenzaki Asuna

    Momokawa Kotaro(Tein Shadow)

    Rem-Dark Knight

    Minotaurs

    The group was as such. The reason I used my Twin Shadow was for one, safety, and the other to increase my proficiency.

    I could finally reach the point where I could control my alter ego and real body at the same time. I had no idea if that was influenced by training in Souma-style though.

    Moreover, maybe because they often used to apany the exploration team, now both Rem-Dark Knight and Rem-Minotaurs could be used at the same time. The control of my Rem was getting better and better.

    Today''s objective was to confirm the results of the martial arts training, exploration was not our main priority. If we''re lucky, we might be able to secure another treasure box.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 216.2 - The Ability of Key Player

    Chapter 216.2 - The Ability of Key yer

    Who knows, the fortress could be an entrance to the hidden area of the dungeon ri~ght?

    Uhm, it''s empty

    See~

    I''ve told you~.

    <i> Bastard, there is only a dpidated and dusty fortress left.</i>

    There was no treasure chest, secret entrance, or anything else that caught my attention. It was just a temple-like room filled with junk and broken furniture. Nothing like the ruin of the city.

    Here I expected to find somethi~ng.

    You''ve too much expectation, Momokawa.

    We can''t find anything, not even a coin.

    Perhaps it was hidden very carefully, to the point that not even Natsukawa-san could find it. No, since Souma-kun possessed the same detection skill as Natsukawa-san, maybe there really was nothing here since he didn''t say anything.

    By the way, Souma-kun was still with Himeno-san.

    He~y, can''t we leave already? There''s nothing to be found here after all.

    Shall we try to fight that armoured bastard next?

    JuryMarybi, who had already decided on their next target, moved forward as they pped my rear.

    When I sat down on a dusty sandbag-like thing and brushed it, the white dust-like flour scattered in the air.

    Eh, wait a minute, what kind of flour is this?

    Who knows!

    Though they were not that curious, that wasn''t the case for me.

    At least, I knew that this was not mere dust or white sand, it was genuine white flour.

    Perhaps the sack was filled with some sort of dangerous white flour.

    The fortress in the outskirts was a suitable ce to hide that kind of thing after all. And it was tightly guarded. Could it be that We had hit the jackpot?

    LickThi-This is!?

    And then, the moment I tried to lick it, I found the missing piece of the puzzle.

    EVERYONE, LET''S BRING THIS SACK BACK WITH US IMMEDIATELY! BRING THEM ALL!

    No, that''s impossible.

    Do you know just how many sacks are gathering dust in this ce?

    Ah, you''re right. But let''s bring some back, as much as possible.

    Turns out we had really hit the jackpot. This was a huge discovery.

    I had to go back and tell Mei-chan that we had found the wheat flour.

    ===

    The next day after we found the wheat flour in the fortress located on the outskirts of the Underworld that we thought as an emergency provision.

    We were visiting the familiar resort area today.

    Blue sea, white sandy beach.

    UGYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    And loud cry.

    This guy seems to be quite lively to be able to shout like that.

    The one who raised the bitter wail was the govu we caught as an experimental subject. The one that I suspected to be the chief of gomas vige that we destroyed during the night raid.

    We kept repeating the cycle of inflicting wounds and healing him again ever since we captured him as the subject of healing experiments.

    A human would go mad if forced to experience this kind of treatment. However, since we literally forced-fed him, he was barely kept alive. Maybe his survival instinct had forced him to stay alive rather thanmit suicide to escape from this hell.

    Anyhow, he was a convenient experimental subject. That''s why I wanted him to stay alive for a while longer.

    So, how are you doing, Himeno-san?

    U-Uhm I think My healing spell has be much better than before.

    Maybe because this inhuman experiment was a bit too much for a girl, Himeno-san replied with a pale face.

    I want your healing spell to at least have the same effect as this lite potion.

    The govu became the experimental subject for Himeno and Sakura''s healing spell, and guinea pig for Shimokawa''s bootleg potion.

    I received a report from Shimokawa just the other day that he had managed to develop a bootleg potion with satisfying healing properties, thuspleting the first phase of the bootleg potion''s development n.

    Its name was Lite Potion.

    Its healing property was less than half of the potion, but it had an advantage in terms of number and a satisfying healing property.

    Even if they suffered a lot of wounds during battle, first aid treatment with a lite potion would allow them to return to the battlefield immediately.

    Yeah, that''s good enough.

    Gububuu Mugoooo

    I poured the lite potion on the wound on govu''s abdomen and observed the healing process.

    The blue liquid hardened and closed the wound immediately while glowing like a potion. It was something like a magical power that covered the wound rather than turning it into clumps.

    It would stop the bleeding since it closed the wound with magical power, but the stopper would be gone once it ran out of magical power. That''s why it had to be paired with a proper healing property to really heal the wound.

    Though the potion could heal the wound immediately, the lite potion could only temporarily stop the bleeding. It was less efficient than Ointment A. Combining them mightpensate for each other''s weakness.

    The wound could be healed by using both Ointment A and this lite potion. The real potion had to be kept as thest resort.

    Well then, Himeno-san do your best with this training.

    Uu~h, this guy''s unpleasant scream keeps ringing in my head.

    If his scream is bothering you, just crush his throat. It would be restored to normal with your spell anyway.

    Uwa~, you really are a psychopath, Momokawa-kun.

    <i> Cruel, is it? I just gave you the simplest solution for this guy''s scream though.</i>

    Himeno-san, your sympathy is wasted on this goma.

    It''s not sympathy, I just feel that we''re going too far.

    It was a statement that ruined the mood.

    Surely, giving humanoid, albeit imperfect, treatment like this was a bit over the top. The said govu already had one leg in the grave. We cast healing spells on him, but it didn''t mean that it wouldpletely heal his wound.

    If he were reced with a human, this experiment would turn into the worst torture.

    Himeno-san, you won''t think this is a cruel treatment had you witnessed this guy eating your ssmate.

    Eh Have you seen one of our ssmates getting eaten by goma?

    I am not sure if it''s Satou-san or Shinohara-san, but you''ll certainly resent the gomas once you witness how they ate her.

    Surely, the reason for my hatred for gomas was because I saw what they did to Satou-san''s corpse. Although I still couldn''t ascertain myself, it wasn''t that far from that reason.

    They might be small fry, but it doesn''t change the fact that they''re humanoid monsters. Am I clear here? They''re enemies of humankind. That''s why treat them like some sort of cockroach.

    You''re right about them being akin to a cockroach but

    <i> Even if you''re not convinced, you''ve to do your job.</i>

    Even if we managed to develop the lite potion, we needed to pay attention to the preparation for healing spells too because we could encounter a situation in which we couldn''t use the potion during battle.

    And the fact that we only had Sakura as our proper healer was one of my major concerns. Having an untrustworthy person handle such an important matter was the worst thing to do as a manager.

    Though we were still within the safety margin thanks to the lite potion, I wanted Himeno-san to raise her healing spell proficiency to increase that safety margin Though that seemingly was impossible since she wasn''t a Healer anymore.

    That''s why, do your best.

    Uee Lesser Heal.

    Thus, Himeno-san started to train her healing spell on the wounded govu, albeit reluctantly.

    I stood behind her to see the effect of her spell while sorting out the gathered ingredients and medicinal herbs around the vicinity and appraising their effect.

    Just like that, I spent two hours in this ce.

    O~i, Momokawa~

    Ah, the hunting team has returned.

    The experimental site of govu was right beside the fairy za of the resort area which happened to be the main area used by the hunting team.

    The ones who returned were the Totem Pole Trio and Natsukawa-san.

    With ss Rep, Yamada, and Arachne Rem following behind.

    Oi Momokawa, can you take a look at this guy?

    Said Yamada as he pointed at the prey dragged by Arachne.

    The said prey was rampaging relentlessly against the thread of Arachne Rem that coiled around them.

    Living raptor, huh. It''s quite big, and lively.

    Of course it is, capturing it alive is quite a headache.

    Thank you very much for your good performance.

    What I needed right now was a raptor. While I had Alfa as my main mount, I did want another vehicle.

    I mean, a vehicle to be used for another purpose.

    Well since everyone is back, let''s wait for Mei-chan to finish baking her bread.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 217.1 - Protector

    Chapter 217.1 - Protector

    An armored form.

    I muttered while looking at the helmet armor before me.

    The entire armor shone a silver color. Though it was not as rustic and huge as the living armor, the armor that protected the whole body wasplete along with a helmet and gauntlet.

    This trial version of full body armor had finally beenpleted through everyone''s hard work.

    The exploration team gathered the needed metals, Rem mined the light ore while Himeno-san did the preparation job for all those materials with the simple alchemy formation. Then both materials werebined with Randou-san''s iron ore alchemy resulting in the Silver Iron.

    Then thepleted materials were made into armor by Sage Takanashi under the strict supervision of ss Rep. As expected, she couldn''t y hooky under ss Rep''s watch and managed to finish the set of armor. I mean, that bitch truly yed hooky all this time, huh.

    Fu~h, so tire~d, Kotori can''t work anymo~re.

    Thank you for your hard work, Takanashi-san. You may enter the bath ahead of time.

    Really!? Yaay!

    Coz once you''re done, we''re going to work on improving the quality of this set of armor.

    Kotori is already tire~d!

    Kotori screeched and escaped, pretending to not hear my order.

    Not that it would save her since I could ask ss Rep to drag her backter.

    I rather start by trying this armor than worrying about that shitty sage.

    Momokawa, your attitude towards Takanashi is even worse than your attitude towards Reina-chan.

    The hell you''re talking about, Ueda? This kind of treatment is still within the category of whitepany.

    Though she did often make me want to kill her off just like Reina.

    So, how do you feel after wearing it?

    After wepleted the armor, the first thing to do was try the armor. It might bepleted but its ease of use had to be verified as well.

    And the one to get the honor to try this trial version was the Swordsman Ueda.

    It''s cool andfortable but a bit too heavy.

    It''s natural for an armor to be heavy, right?

    To be honest, I felt that I might be better off without armor. I mean, this weight is slowing me down.

    I see, this armor did raise the defense of its wearer, but its weight was a huge minus.

    Shall we try to make a lightweight version?

    There''s a limit to that too. To begin with, we''re used to fighting with nothing but our uniform, that''s why we''re more used to dodging an attack than receiving it.

    I see, so you ended up getting used to that kind ofbat style.

    Well, there''s that fact too. But, won''t it work better if you only make armor for our arms and legs?

    What if I add a helmet?

    That''s fine too, but wearing a head protector hinders my ability to grasp presence for some reason.

    So your senses be keener in exchange for exposing your head.

    Something along that way. Apparently, the same goes for the others.

    <i>Uhm, thanks for the good review. This will make it easier for us to make the upgraded version.</i>

    Maan, never expected that the helmet and armor were going to be useless.

    Can''t be helped, ain''t cha? Wait, won''t it be better if we give this armor to Yamada?

    Ah right, there''s that way too.

    The Heavy Warrior Yamada was the only one prioritizing defence over evasion. This full set armor which simply raised his defence could work better for him.

    That''s a relief. With this, the full set armor made with everyonesbined blood and tears, except that s*itty Takanashi, wouldn''t be wasted.

    ===

    The next day, I called Natsukawa-san to be our model.

    Thanks to our clear cooperative rtionship which we had arranged before, I could ask her for something like this without hesitation.

    What do you think, Natsukawa-san?

    Uhm, a bit too stiff.

    The one she wore right now wasn''t metal armor, it was equipment made from the fur and pelt of a monster.

    The item I prepared was a coat that covered the entire body, a vest that protected the upper half of the body, gloves, socks, etc, etc.

    I made this item during my spare time. Though my simple alchemy formation had a lesser degree of freedom while using light iron, the same could not be said about the monster material. It felt the same as when I wore clothes made of spider thread.

    What about the movement?

    It''s okay though I think there''s still room for improvement.

    I see, it means that this part only needs a bit of tinkering.

    Leather equipment offered less protectionpared to the full-set metal armor. But the natural resistance of the monster left in their fur or pelt could reduce the damage from thunder or fire.

    So far, we had already confirmed that Yamata no Orochi could use fire, thunder, and ice breath. Though no one had said it until now, having one more resistance against those attributes was better than nothing.

    Maybe it''ll be much better if the equipment has a cute design.

    I''ll consult about that with Randou-san.

    Since I had made it, I put more emphasis on drawing out the best parts of the materials. To put it simply, it looked like barbarian attire. And Natsukawa-san, who wore a thick leather jacket with fire resistance properties, looked like a real thief.

    Then do something about this bad thief-like attire.

    Not that you can find a good thief to begin with.

    Like a good yakuza, it was kind of a contradiction. Don''t be an ouw, don''t seek justice, don''t be naive.

    Anyhow, make it cuter for the next one! And the same goes for the innerwear.

    I see, that''s a blind spot since I only focus on outerwear.

    I should be able to make plenty of innerwear with thin materials. Rem, who mined in the desert area, brought back the hide of a yellow-colored electric rat; it could work for innerwear.

    ===

    And then, after repeated trial and error, I finally made enough protectors for everyone.

    Silver Iron Gauntlet-Armor: Silver iron is used for a protector, to be able to fully utilize with other weapons such as a sword. Since everyone can equip the gauntlet without having to worry about it hindering their movement, it is avable for all vanguard.

    Silver Iron Small Shield: A buckler made from silver iron to be held with the left hand. Ueda''s equipment. The armor is a hindrance due to its weight, however, since he has no problem in using the small shield, this shield is made for added protection.

    Silver Iron Round Shield: Round shield made from silver iron to be held with left hand. Nakai''s equipment. For the same reason as Ueda, this shield is made so he can use normal shields thanks to his strength.

    Silver Iron Big Shield: Tower shield made from silver iron. Yamada''s equipment. This tower shield is the most suitable equipment for heavy warriors like Yamada who put more emphasis on defense. It is the second toughest shield after Mei-chan''s tower shield.

    Silver Iron Metal Helmet: Modified version of the helmet from the trial version of full body armor, adjusted to be used by Yamada. Though part of it has been removed to increase mobility, the bulky armor boasts an overwhelming weight and defense. Since the full te armour is going to be worn by Yamada, he will be the most conspicuous one among the rest of the ssmates.

    ck Iron Gauntlet-Armor: Though it is heavier than silver iron, the armor and gauntlet made from ck iron are extremely sturdy. It is the equipment for Mei-chan who boasts the greatest strength among us. For the sake of her mobility, we have only equipped her limbs with armor. Nevertheless, the design makes her look like a badass viin thanks to her spiky armor. It is the most suitable equipment for a berserker.

    Wolf Vest: Vest made from the pelt of a ck-furred werewolf knight. Armor might hinder movement but there is no such problem with a vest. It offers enough protection and resistance against all attributes. The white fur on the cor part is made per Randou-san''s design. It is nice matching armor for Ueda, Nakai, and Shimokawa.

    Cowhide Jacket: Jacket made from minogori''s leather. Its performance rivals that of a wolf vest. Equipment for JuryMarybi.

    Vandead Down: Down jacket made from Giant Kokko''s feather. Though its defensive properties aregging behind the wolf and cowhide, it offers a stronger resistance against all attributes. Since it is an extremely lightweight equipment, it is the exclusive equipment for Thief Natsukawa-san whose lifeline is her speed. After some discussion with Randou-san, we designed to make its wearer look like some sort of a female thug.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 217.2 - Protector

    Chapter 217.2 - Protector

    Grand Boar Coat: A coat made from the pelt of the wild boar that can use earth magic called Earth Boar that was caught by Shimokawa and Co during their survival travelling in the resort area before reaching the school tower. Since it raises proficiency when using earth attribute spells, it bes exclusive equipment for Randou-san. And since it is an exclusive coat for her, Randou-san has gotten all fired up with its design. Thanks to that, it has be an extremely fashionable coat that Randou-san is satisfied with. As a result, it has be a luxurious item due to all the other materials invested when making it.

    Ghillie Suit-Wastnd Style: The third iteration of my handmade ghillie suit series, Ghillie Suit Mk 3. Ites with a mantle that can create a hue to adapt to Yamata no Orochi''s nest. s, I will not be the one who would be wearing this, it would be Takanashi. Since sage ispletely useless inbat, I made this equipment to hide her from the gargoyle. The person herself is clearly reluctant to wear this, but hey, does she even want to fight in the frontline against Yamata no Orochi?

    Ice Veil Robe: Just like the coat exclusively for Randou-san, this robe is made for the spellcaster of the robe''s attribute. Meaning, this robe is the exclusive robe for ss Rep, the cyromancer. It isn''t made from the monster of ice attribute. The Ice Crystal that she created using her Freezing Alchemy turned out to be an excellent material that raises her proficiency in using ice spells.

    Leather Boots: Until how long do you think we would be using our indoor shoes? Thus, these shoes had to be made as soon as possible. It took quite a lot of time to make this since we werecking the materials. We had no problem with leather since we could use all the monster''s hide for that, the problem was theck of rubber which was used for the shoe sole. We only managed to get the rubber after we found a Trent-like monster nt that looked like a rubber tree. Thereafter, we asked Takanashi to refine the rubber with her alchemy. And just as expected of the sage, her level of alchemy is on a whole different level. In this way, we made our long-awaited new shoes.

    Leather Glove: The demand for this one was rtively lowpared to shoes, some still asked for gloves. It''s not like I need to wield a sword, but it is necessary to protect my delicate skin during the experiments. s, my skill with alchemy isn''t good enough to make this, I could finally use Takanashi to make this item.

    Shaman''s Exclusive GloveCursed HexaExclusive equipment rings a nice bell in my ears. Using my status as male ss rep, I made exclusive equipment for myself. Though it still uses leather as its base, it is the thimble type that I yearned for when in elementary school. Moreover, there is a hexagram embroidered on the back of the glove. With this, I can finally use my curse with my hand as the starting point.

    Toughness Shirt: Shirt made from tough pelt which softened to the point that it can be used as underwear. Despite being underwear, it actually raises its wearer''s defense a little bit. Equipment for everyone.

    Crystal Shirt: Shirt made from the glowing pelt of Crystasaurs, a rare monster we encountered during the first expedition in the desert area. Defense aside, it raises proficiency in various parameters rted to magical power. Since it is a one-of-a-kind material, we could make enough for everyone. Thus, it is given to all the members of the spellcaster vocation who are particrly weak in terms of defense.

    That is the summary of our equipment.

    Those without exclusive equipment were equipped with essories with great performance. As for who had to equip what, it was discussed during the ssroom meeting to prevent anyone from bing dissatisfiedter.

    Nevertheless, not everyone is equal, some tend to get favorable treatment depending on their role during the battle and ability. For example, the exploration team that had miraculously brought back the Droplet of Life that they found during one of their explorations.

    After a long discussion, we decided to give this magic item with cheat-like healing capabilities to Souma-kun. Well, that was only natural I guess since he was the core of our strategy. As for me, I wanted Mei-chan to keep that item but that would be selfish.

    Anyway, now that everyone got their equipment, theirbat potential was naturally raised to a new level.

    Maybe it''s time to do the first trial challenge

    It took quite a while, but we finally cleared the minimum clearance for challenging the Yamata no Orochi, raising everyone''sbat potential. So it was the right time for trial and error.

    Is what I think, what do you all say?

    Bring it on.

    Yeah, I agree. This is the right moment for a trial challenge.

    Do as you like.

    The ones who agreed with me were ss Rep, Souma-kun, and Tendou-kun.

    This wasn''t a ss meeting, it was a private discussion between the four of us. I gathered the representatives of the group in the ss beforehand to ask for their opinions before the real meeting. Since this was a private meeting, we naturally used the fifth floor of the school tower.

    From Souma-kun''s perspective, can every vanguard in the ss handle the head of Yamata no Orochi?

    Hardly, if they have to fight by themselves. Give two or more than three just to be safe.

    Great, when we tried to fight Yamata no Orochi after arriving in this area, everyone was overwhelmed at once. Meaning that we made some progresspared to back then.

    But that''s only if they''re facing just one head. When two or more heads appear, they have to shift their focus on avoiding the breath attack that''s being fired randomly.

    Well, I guess two heads is an overkill.

    Even if we managed to create lite potion for emergency treatment, that breath attack was instant death. We would be nothing more than bloody stains on the ground if those gigantic heads fell above us, and those breath attacks would instantly reduce us to cinder.

    That''s why Momokawa-kun, do you think we can win this?

    We can''t.

    ss Rep didn''t say anything upon hearing my curt reply. Souma-kun seemed to have lost his cool and almostshed at me Before he retained hisposure at thest moment and opened his mouth to ask me.

    Exin the reason, Momokawa.

    After cohabitating with Souma-kun in the school tower, it seemed he had gained some resistance against my words.

    The him from before would flip out and maybe pounce on me and try to kill me immediately.

    Because this is just the bare minimum preparation to fight Yamata no Orochi. I''ve yet to find the sure-kill way to subjugate Yamata no Orochi. That''s why I said this is just a trial challenge.

    Since this wasn''t an RPG game with a proper method to defeat the super boss, we had to figure it out ourselves via trial and error. That''s why we had to take a wait-and-see approach.

    Fortunately, Yamata no Orochi didn''t move an inch from its nest. In fact, it had yet to move until now. ording to my observation so far with my shadow, it was eerily silent.

    It hadn''t transformed into a boss. Meaning, it was waiting for us.

    Our goal is to see how much we can do in our current situation. And then look for a way to temporarily subjugate it. Even if we fight it, we will only observe it. In short, we''re conducting field training.

    I see, that makes sense.

    I also want to analyze that fe.

    Do as you like.

    Great, I managed to get everyone''s approval.

    Then, let''s depart tomorrow.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 218.1 - Relight and Spirit of Fire

    Chapter 218.1 - Relight and Spirit of Fire

    Though I''ve been wondering what would have happened when those atrocious gomas attacked me, we somehow managed to beat their boss and heal Kinako''s wound with the power of spirit.

    We took our booty after andslide victory against them.

    What do you think of my new equipment, Kinako!

    I was wielding the iron spear used by the boss goma before.

    Spear had the pathetic image of being the weapon of small fry in a game or manga. However, it was the most suitable weapon for neers. The reason was its long handle whose reach gave absolute advantage to a neer.

    I read in a manga that a sword user had to be at least three times more skilled than a spear user to defeat thetter. In short, a spear was an overpowering weapon in reality. It''s not like themon infantry used a spear for show!

    So, what do you think would happen when I equipped such a powerful weapon? It might double or raise mybat prowess even further.

    Hah! Yah!

    <i>Look at this sharp thrust of mine!</i>

    The tip of the spear that I lunged at the leaf that was fluttering down from the tree easily pierced it like a piece of paper.

    Yeah, that''s impossible right

    Relight, stroong.

    Right You see it, right! This is my true power. You''re not the only cool one here, Kinako.

    I fluffed Kinako''s chest whileughing with him.

    <i>Man, weapons are the best. It can make all the boys fired up.</i>

    Still, this goma fe kinda feels like a goblin in an RPG game.

    Atrocious monster with an ugly appearance who came in swarms and equipped themselves with nothing but crude weapons. A small fry among small fries who only gave you one gold coin and 3 EXP upon defeating them, but their equipment was a heaven-sent for me who only had a textbook and bag with me.

    They even have water with them.

    I found water inside the leather pouch hung on the boss goma''s waist. These guys seemed to have no problem with drinking muddy water, but I was surprised to find that the content was clear water. I cleaned its nozzle though.

    Though Ipletely forgot about it due to the heat during the battle, now that I had calmed down, I recalled my thirst.

    I took a break and drank the water from the leather pouch.

    Perhaps I had to secure a steady supply of water after I came out of this forest. That was my top priority.

    Since I''mpletely unprepared for survival life I might get lucky to be able to get the equipment from these gomas who happen to be in this forest.

    And just when I thought that it would be another boring day with a boring lesson, all of us were suddenly thrown into this forest.

    I barely secured minimum survival equipment from these gomas.

    Aside from the spear, the boss goma was also equipped with a knife. And it wasn''t the weenie knife often used by Kuro-high''s thugs. It was arge one with a ~30 cm long de.

    It was a good knife whose quality rivaled that of an iron spear. Since it had no rust on its de, it seemed the boss goma maintained the knife regrly.

    <i>Thanks a lot, dude, now I''ll make full use of your knife. Though I can use my hand to pick a fakelion, a knife would serve as a safety measure.</i>

    Still, this guy sure brought some really nice things along. And what kind of stone is this?

    I found various things tucked inside the boss goma''s bag.

    Kinako, who was looking at the loot with me, sniffed at the white crystal-like stone.

    Lick,lick This is salt!

    Seriously, this is salt? You mean, the fabled rock salt?

    I tried to lick it as a test, and it indeed tasted salty.

    <i>They even carry something like this.</i>

    Kinako, do you happen to know if this fruit or berry is edible?

    U~hm Relight shouldn''t eat this.

    The heck, it''s inedible.

    When I wondered why they were carrying such things with them, I realized that it might be used for something other than cooking, or perhaps it was lethal for humans but safe for gomas.

    You can eat this. This is fairy walnut.

    Fairy walnut? Wow, that''s an adorable name.

    The one that Kinako showed to Relight was something that bore a resemnce to a walnut, unfortunately, its husk was huge.

    I tried to eat the walnut It tasted like your normal nut.

    Hey, what is this white powder-like thing? Is this recovery agent

    PUGAAAAAAAAAN!

    Kinako suddenly barked at me and struck at the pouch containing white powder in my hand.

    WOAAH, THAT''S DANGEROUS DUDE!?

    Dangerous! Relight, that thing is dangerous!

    Eh, seriously Something like poison?

    Bad powder. Makes you crazy. Dangerous.

    O-O~h.

    Kinako warned me sternly this time. It seemed this white powder was really a piece of bad news.

    <i>Anyway, let''s throw away such hazardous materials.</i>

    Just like that, after inspecting the loot from the goma while heeding Kinakos advice, we decided to keep the things we needed and dispose of those that we didn''t need.

    Yup, this is it for the time being. Let''s go, Kinako.

    After putting everything in order, we departed for our next destination.

    Though my hands felt heavier than before since I held a spear in my hand, having a weapon to protect myself was more reassuring than not having it at all.

    I already knew that a dangerous fe like goma was wandering in this forest. Thus, I cast aside the mood of walking in this forest as if it were mere hiking and raised my vignce like that of a trained warrior.

    Huff Huff Dam-Dammit, I''m so damn tired

    Because my luggage had increased as had my nervousness. And the worst of all, my physical strength was really limited, I was already out of breath.

    <i> Dammit, I have to me myziness for skipping the basketball club training</i>

    Gogogo, Relight. Just a bit more.

    Y-Yea Wait, what do you mean by "Just a bit more"?

    Look, river.

    Kinako pushed aside the thicket and showed me the river before us.

    Oooh, it''s a river.

    Relight, rest here today.

    Seriously? It''s still pretty bright, you know? Shall we go a bit further?

    No. Relight, mustn''t, force himself to walk inside the forest.

    Guh, y-you realize it, huh

    Merciless, I waspletely a deadweight for Kinako. He ended up worrying about me.

    Meal, prepare. Right away.

    Ah,e to think of it, I''m quite famished.

    I had only eaten walnut a while ago.

    I had burnt more calories walking in the forest than I had consumed. That was the reason why I was famished.

    Yeah, I''ll leave our meal to you..

    Leave it to me.

    Said Kinako as he walked towards the river.

    I couldn''t see any animals or rather no one around us. It was truly a quiet environment with only the sound of a small stream around us.

    When Kinako entered the river, he looked really big.

    While I was pondering about that, Kinako had already sat in the middle of the river, and then his arm shed!

    The next moment, the surface of the river exploded.

    Before I noticed, I saw a huge fish pping nonstop right below my feet, gasping for water.

    Kinako, you''re awesome!

    I was deeply moved to see the exact spectacle of a brown bear catching a salmon in the river.

    ===

    Well then, while waiting for Kinako to finish his fishing brown bear style, I started preparing for a bonfire.

    The fish that Kinako caught was salmon-look alike Ayu-look alike, huge goldfish-look alike. Though it seemed like an edible fish, there was no way I could eat it raw. I would be in huge trouble if there was a parasite in it, right?

    Still, you never know what might be useful for you.

    I held a simple silver Zippo in my hand.

    I only have the lighter, I do not smoke. I just carry it with me since it looks cool.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 218.2 - Relight and Spirit of Fire

    Chapter 218.2 - Relight and Spirit of Fire

    Well, not that I can make fire if I keep rubbing a pole of wood non-stop.

    All hail civilization.

    Since I had already gathered the branches around this area, the preparation for the bonfire waspleted.

    <i> Let''s ignite the small branch first!</i>

    Ah, dammit, why won''t it buOuch!?

    Dammit, it seems I underestimated the art of making fire.

    If I keep lighting the branch for a long time, the fuel of the lighter might run out quickly. It would be better if I managed to ignite it quickly.

    Is this the pattern where I should start by burning the paper first?

    <i> Tch, can''t be helped.</i>

    <i> Let''s sacrifice one of the loose leaves to build a fire!</i>

    Yeah, good job, keep burning like tha

    I threw the burnt paper and yet again, it burned out immediately.

    The fire transferred to the twig, s, it didn''t get bigger.

    Cr*p, this is more hardcore than I thought.

    I thought building a bonfire was a piece of cake with my lighter, s, it seems I had really underestimated its difficulties.

    <i> No, wait a minute, take a breath first, calm down.</i> I''m pretty much aware of the reason for that. The twig that ignited first was too big.

    Ah right, fallen leaves, I''ve to fill it with fallen leaves!

    It was literally everywhere and easier to be used to ignite than a twig.

    Thus, I ran around the riverside to gather the fallen leaves. However, since it still had some moisture from the ground, I could hardly find any dry leaves around.

    Dammit, ain''t this already evening!

    Well, this much should be enough, I mean, the sun had already set by the time I gathered this much.

    Cr*p, at this rate, we''ll be surrounded by total darkness when nightes. The one thing I could do right now was use the smartphone battery. But it had to be saved for thest moment, this wasn''t the time to use it.

    Okay, calm down first, I''ll definitely make a bonfire this time.

    I ripped the second paper from the loose leaves and lit it up with a lighter.

    <i> Sshh!</i><i>That''s the sound of a spark And it died.</i>

    Fudge.

    <i> Ssh! Ssh!</i>

    The spark only stayed for a short while before itpletely died.

    Fudge It''s out of fuel

    <i> Ar-Are you kidding me?!</i> I actually used up the fuel for making the bonfire.

    In the end, my biggest failure was actually using the lighter to make a bonfire rather Making a bonfire is impossible for a civilized man

    Se-Seriously, what should I do now?

    If I failed to make a bonfire, I wouldn''t be able to eat the fish caught by Kinako. Should I just eat the raw fish while preparing for the worst situation due to parasites? I mean, do I really have no choice but to eat sashimi?

    NUAAAAAAAAAAAA, WAIT, I BEG YOU PLEASE! PLEASE BURN A WHILE LONGER! JUST ONE MORE TIME PLEASE!?

    In the end, the fire went off, leaving only the spark from the ignition stone.

    <i> Dammit I''m screwed</i> This lighter was already useless.

    Hi

    At that moment, what I saw was not a spark or fire, it was something else.

    Need fire?

    It was a human stick-like figure glowing red that came out from the nozzle of the lighter.

    Ah, are you by chance, the so-called spirit of fire!?

    Fire, bu~rn.

    Bu~rn.

    Fi~re~

    The glowing human stick-like figure simr to the one I saw on the medicinal nt cast a fire-like red glow and shouted like an arsonist.

    Was this the reason the fire wouldn''te out?

    I beseech you, Spirit of Fire-sama! Please light the fire for this lowly greenhorn of survival life!

    Thus, I abandoned my pride as a modern and civilized human and bowed before the Spirit of Fire-sama And their answer was

    Mera~

    Mera~~~a!

    When the spirit raised a "Hurrah" like cheer, a dim me lit up on the silent lighter.

    Ooo, yeah, you did it! Thank youuWAAAAAAAAH!?

    The next moment, the small fire turned into a fireball and flew up.

    <i> That was a close call.</i> My face was so close to the fire a moment ago!

    Though the fireball startled me, the ce itnded was exactly the lump of twigs that I had prepared.

    Thus, after a grueling attempt, the bonfire was created with just a single fireball.

    The flying fireball is dangerous but thanks a lot.

    When I closed the lid of the lighter after expressing my gratitude, the spirit of the fire had also vanished as if they were sucked inside the lighter.

    <i> Wait, could it be that you are living in there?</i>

    ===

    Thus, I skewered the ayu-like fish and baked it by the side of the bonfire. It continued to crackle until it was well-cooked.

    Ouch, it''s hot! It''s hot but delicious!

    I only used simple rock salt for seasoning for its oily white meat, but perhaps because it was freshly caught, it really tasted delicious.

    Maan, this cool survival lifestyle was something that I had always been yearning for. As expected of me, I passed through the trial with a breeze.

    Though I could only start grilling the fish in the evening after the Spirit of Fire lit up the bonfire, I suffered quite a lot before that. I had to start with preparing the skewer before grilling the fish.

    And once I got the branch for the skewer, the process of skewering the fish itself was the next big challenge.

    And once the grilling began, I had a hard time controlling the fire. And despite the fancy words, all I did was change the distance between the fish and the bonfire.

    After the end of the gruesome process, the delicious aroma of the fish wafted. However, the area around the bone was still raw. Turns out, grilling fish until it waspletely well-cooked was a hardcore job I had only grilled one fish so far. When I was about to prepare the second, the sun hadpletely set, and we were surrounded by total darkness.

    Haa, maybe I just barely prepared a proper meal.

    Although it couldn''t be called a substitute, I should have eaten the bento for lunch. Better than letting it rot for nothing. Let''s eat it while it''s still edible.

    Too bad I couldn''t get rice in this forest.

    This was the first time I ate the rice sprinkled with fried egg that I should get bored with very carefully, enjoying every single bite of it.

    It wasn''t just rice. I honestly had no idea if I could even get another chance to eat this bento box again.

    Especially this main dish, the fried bean curd

    Pu~, Krr

    Oh, what''s the matter, Kinako? Are you curious about its taste? You must be curious, right?

    As I savored the fried bean curd that might be thest one I tasted, Kinako who ate the raw fish was looking at me with undisguised greed.

    That meal, looks delicious, Relight.

    Well, this is thest meal that I brought from Japan. You can even call it the Last Supper.

    Looks delicious.

    Right? It''s super delicious Do you want to try it too, Kinako?

    No, Relight. Important. Last meal.

    Ah, you''re absolutely right Still, it''s better to enjoy this together, Kinako!

    I scraped my desire to monopolize thest bite of Japanese food, stabbed one of the fried bean curds with my chopstick, and offered it to Kinako.

    No, Relight!

    Don''t worry about it! This is the only way for me to repay what you''ve done for me, Kinako.

    Kinako had already saved my hide so many times in just one day.

    My heart was about to break when I was left alone in the forest.

    Yet, Kinako came and apanied me.

    We got attacked by a horde of gomas.

    But once again, Kinako beat our attackers.

    Even the fish for our dinner this time.

    Kinako was the one who caught the fish for us.

    Yes, I wouldn''t be able to do anything without Kinako, I would have died for sure if I were by myself. I might not have even survived the first day.

    And yet, how could a useless baggage like me eat deliciously by myself?

    I''m weak. Humans are weak and are at the mercy of the mother of nature. I might end up bing a piece of baggage for you tomorrow, not to mention that my leg is also pretty weak.

    Relight, don''t worry, about that.

    Don''t worry Kinako. I fully understand just how useless I am.

    Dammit, I couldn''t help but want to cry admitting my weakness.

    I mean, now I had fully realized just how useless I was.

    That''s why since this is thest fried bean curd I want to share it with you.

    Relight

    Look, you want to have a taste, eat up!

    Kinako seemed to be trying to hold his desire for a while now, however, there was a strong appetizing aroma emanating from the fried bean curd that was reheated on the bonfire.

    Kinako''s drool was like a waterfall.

    I wouldn''t say it was improper. I mean, raw food was the norm for a bear like Kinako, that''s why the taste of cooked meat would be like something from another dimension for him.

    Thank you, Relight.

    Don''t worry, you''re my best friend, right?

    Thus, Kinako ate the fried bean curd.

    Puu! Pu, Puu, SO TASTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

    Hahahaha, I told you it''s delicious right!

    Delicious! ASTY! SUPERB!!!

    Okay, another one!

    NMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Yeah, it''s super tasty. Yup, eating together made the meal feel much tastier.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 219.1 - Joint Exercise I

    Chapter 219.1 - Joint Exercise I

    The proposal of a joint exercise against Yamata No Orochi that I brought up was approved during the ss meeting.

    We decided to take a one-day break to prepare and rest our bodies and departed the next morning.

    Normally, I would straddle on Alpha, driving her until the goal, but I was walking with everyone today. We walked for two hours, passing by a valley and wastnd.

    No gargoyle bothered us along the way, thus we arrived at our destination without any fight.

    Thi-This is

    Your another big construction project eh, Momokawa-kun?

    Upon arriving at Yamata no Orochis nest, everybodyfrom Souma-kun and ss Rep, looked really perplexed.

    Yup, it''s the result of Randou-san and my hard work.

    We arrived at a bunker that was constructed over a trench dug in the mortar-shaped nest.

    Well, since it was literally a huge field, digging a trench in one full circle wasn''t an easy job. I don''t think I would have been able to finish it in my entire life without Randou-san''s cheat-like earth spell. Honestly, I had no idea how much money would be needed to finish thisrge-scale construction job if it was done manually.

    Let''s enter the base first.

    Once we left the ravine, we arrived at the biggest bunker of all that was big enough for everybody, providing an overview of the entire nest.

    Appearance-wise, it looked like a brown, one-floor bungalow-like structure. It was a new construction that would be hailed as a tofu building in a sandbox game.

    Though Randou-san had a good sense of fashion, the same couldn''t be said for her sense of architecture.

    Oi Momokawa, what kind of national g is this?

    As you can see, it''s Japan''s navy g.

    Yes, our national g, Japan''s national g, was good and simple. The soul of the empire of Japan would burn your soul erected on top of the pole that stood on top of the bunker.

    C''mon, that''s over the top.

    Haah, so it''s just a piece of art.

    Said Souma-kun as he heaved a sigh.

    Thus, in the unartistic, tofu-shaped building which was only decorated with our national g, I told everyone, in ordance with my observation until now, that the breath attack wouldn''t be able to reach this ce. This ce would also provide us with a much-needed, solid barricade when avoiding the rush from the gargoyle.

    Naturally, since this ce was a frontline base, it also served as a vault for food and spare weapons, it was also a temporary shelter for the injured members.

    Since the exploration team secured an empty treasure box, medical supplies such as lite potion that had been made beforehand could be stored in the treasure box for an extended period of time.

    In addition, this ce could also be used for briefings before the battle. I had prepared a ckboard and chair for that beforehand.

    Well then, I''ll exin todays operation.

    The detailed content of today''s operation would be exined in this ce. They might forget if I exin during the ss meeting. The reason I used this chance was to get the maximum attention from everyone.

    Firstly, without the three aces, a formationposed of vanguard and rear guard has to deal with one head.

    The Hero Souma Yuuto, the King Tendou Ryuuichi, the Berserker Futaba Meiko, we would confirm just how far our strongest trio could handle one head. If we suddenly challenged them with those three, we would be in trouble if Yamata no Orochi suddenly turned the table against us.

    The vanguard will be assigned to the three parties, each responsible for protecting the rear guard.

    1st Party:

    Twin SwordsmanKenzaki Asuna

    Magic SwordsmanNakajima Haruma

    Saint Souma Sakura

    2nd Party

    ThiefNatsukawa Minami

    SwordsmanUeda Youhei

    WarriorNakai Shouta

    AquamancerShimokawa Junnosuke

    3rd Party

    KnightNonomiya Julia

    WarriorYoshizaki Maria

    Heavy WarriorYamada Genki

    CyromancerKisaragi Ryouko

    That was the partyposition.

    The first party only had two vanguards, Kenzaki whose strength was almostparable to our ace, and Nakajima who showed growth by leap and bound during training. After that, there''s the problematic Sakura-chan, but her skill was top-notch. She was Kenzakis friend, and since she regarded Nakajima as a serious student, that girl would surely protect him properly.

    The Second party had the trusted member of Totem Pole Trio, paired with Natsukawa-san who got along with them during the hunting and exploration.

    The third party had JuryMarybi. Although Yamada looked a bit strange in this party, hisbat potential was top-notch. As a tank, Yamada, who was suitable for every partyposition, had more value as a vanguard than Kenzaki. With ss Rep working as the rear guard, this party could easily be the best party.

    The first party takes the front, the second takes the right wing, and the third the left wing. It''s a formation under the assumption that we always surround the head.

    I mean, our opponent might have a huge size, but it didn''t change the fact that it was only one head. It would be left in a defenseless state if it tried to attack us by biting or butting its head.

    The problem was how much the party could handle the head''s attack. In that regard, the Heavy Warrior Yamada could handle the attack much better. That was the one thing that we had to be wary of the most in this operation.

    Retreat to the trench as soon as things go south.

    The trench was built right outside the reaction line of Yamata no Orochi and gargoyle. The trench was dug full circle around the nest. From there, it was divided equally by eight trenches in different directions that headed straight to the center of the nest.

    The rear line expanded, making this base a better choice for the starting line of the operation. That''s why I had built it in a way that everyone would eventually reach this base point just by jumping into the trench.

    By the way, the depth of the trench is 2 metres. That''s why it''ll be safe from Yamata no Orochis head butt and mowing down attacks. And as long as it''s not a direct hit from its breath attack, the trench is way safer than above the ground.

    However, since there was no roof along the trench, it was vulnerable to the gargoyle attack from the air. That''s why it wasn''tpletely safe from the enemy''s attack. And yet, the trench offered a much better protection than the open field.

    The spellcaster will act as rear guard and release their spell from the trench.

    Since the depth of the trench was around 2 meters, I had prepared solid scaffolding too. It was around 1.2 meters tall. The scaffolding used for the SDF firing squad was around that height. We used firing spells instead of rifles though.

    After that, as you can see, I''ve prepared bunkers at various locations.

    I built this bunker smaller than the one at the base, halfway through the eight-directional trench that connected the rear line from the front line.

    I''ve prepared medical supplies and spare weapons in those bunkers. Return to the bunker in case you need to resupply.

    Naturally, in case they couldn''t run until the base, they could stay temporarily in the bunker. In that way, they had to wait for the rescue team toe and save them.

    Anyhow, this was the limit of the construction within the nest.

    Later on, I would use the result of today''s operation to upgrade the functions of the trench and bunker.

    Any questions?

    O~i Momokawa, you ain''t gonna use Rem?

    Shimokawa asked while raising his hand.

    Well, it makes sense since normally, I would assign one Rem to each team.

    Rem has another job today, that''s why she won''t participate in this operation.

    What kind of job?

    Don''t worry about it for now, I''ll exin it when we reach the third phase of Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n.

    No one would understand even if I told them at this point.

    I mean, knowing that our opponent wouldn''t move from its ce, we could return to this ce which functioned as a frontline base. We had a lot of things to do.

    Hey, what should we do if things get dangerous?

    You either run towards Souma-kun and Co or retreat. Remember, this is just testing the waters, that''s why don''t act recklessly.

    Everyone was listening attentively, even Natsukawa-san asked fairly logical questions. She originally didn''t really care about such trivial matters, but it seemed her intuition as a thief was working this time.

    U~hm, What about me? What should I do?

    I also have nothing to do~

    Said Himeno-san and Randou-san who were not included in any party.

    Randou-san will act as rear guard for the second party. Randou-san for the third.

    Speaking of Randou-san, she would y a big role in the third phase, that''s why she wouldn''t y a big role in today''s operation. As for Himeno-san, well it wouldn''t change the situation no matter where I put her. Officially, I appointed her as the rear guard of the second party though.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 219.2 - Joint Exercise I

    Chapter 219.2 - Joint Exercise I

    If there are no other questions, I''ll continue the briefing.

    It seemed no one questioned my decision to not assign some people to other parties.

    But whatever. Let''s defeat the first head for now.

    Once we defeat the first head, the second and third head will appear. That''s why withdraw from the frontline as soon as you defeat them.

    That fu*ker could regenerate its body like there''s no tomorrow after all. Nothing good woulde from consecutive boss battles.

    The one that was suitable as the sparring partner for our current lineup was the first head without its breath. We had to withdraw immediately once they entered their next phase.

    But I think it''ll be much better if we collect the chopped-up head to be used as material.

    Eh, are you going to eat Yamata No rochi!?

    It''s a material Mei-chan, not an ingredient.

    I mean, even my pharmacy intuition was screaming Absolutely inedible you kno~w.

    Since that head is something made with magic, isn''t it supposed to disappear?

    As expected of Souma-kun, he asked the question that I had been waiting for.

    Souma-kun had already fought Yamata no Orochi twice and had managed to behead its head a few times in those two battles. Here the question was, where did those freshly severed gigantic snake heads go?

    That''s right. It seems Yamata no Orochi''s flesh is maintained with a gargantuan amount of magical power, and its severed body would vanish right away once it got separated from the main body.

    The decapitated body vanished after some time. The same case happened when ss Rep erected a huge ice wall, it would crumble very easily or melt immediately due to the atmospheric temperature when it got too far from her.

    Since this was a material created with magical power, it seems that it would copse more easily in proportion to the magical power that formed it.

    That was the reason Yamata no Orochis head vanished faster than the crumbling earth wall.

    However, there was a magic that could stop this copse phenomenon.

    That''s where we''ll use Randou-san''s Eternity.

    ===

    The first field exercise ended up far too easily, which was a letdown.

    One of Yamata no Orochis heads diligently weed us once we approached its nest, making it an easy job for our vanguard. From my perspective, even though it was the first time the other vanguard fought the head, they severed it without a hitch. Perhaps everybody''s growth had exceeded my prediction.

    The third party got beaten a lot while maintaining the hate that got spread to all the parties. Without a sure kill technique like Souma-kun''s giant sword of light, the martial arts the vanguards learnt might look like a scratchpared to Orochi''s huge body. Even so, they steadily build up damage.

    And then, the tattered head finally stopped moving and fell to the ground like a million sacks of potatoes.

    Now it was Souma-kun, Mei-chan, and Randou-san''s turn to do their job.

    Souma-kun cut from the right with his Ceoss Calibur, and Mei-chan from the left with her Rupture. Thetter''s attack sent that train-sized head flying in the air like a pro-batter.

    Randou-san cast Eternity the moment she confirmed the head had already been severed.

    And then, after early confirmation that her magic did it job,

    RETRE~~~~~AT!

    The vanguards retreated immediately while carrying the freshly decapitated head with them.

    All Rems were deployed to carry the severed head. Souma-kun and Mei-chan had also lent their strengths to carry the head. ss Rep froze the ground to make it easier to drag the head.

    Everyone in the ss was working together to drag Orochis giant head. We managed to drag it along the freezing ground all the way to the safety line.

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    By the time Yamata no Orochi''s two new heads appeared along with that roar, we were already at a safe distance. Too bad, I had no business with you guys.

    YEAH, MISSION COMPLETE!

    If this was a game, this would be an SSS grade.

    Orochi''s severed head maintained its form but The dispersion of magical power still happened.

    Randou-san, have you used Eternity properly?

    I''ve used it on this, but I guess it''s impossible to preserve everything.

    It seemed Randou-san had realized that she couldn''tpletely preserve a huge head of this size.

    How much can you preserve?

    This has already shrunk a lot. Don''t get your hopes up, Momokawa.

    It can''t be helped, we have to make sure that we can preserve even a piece of scale, that''s enough for now.

    I mean, Yamata no Orochis severed head was kinda like a freebie. I just thought that it would be a nice idea to get an infinite source of boss monster''s material, but the reality was harsh.

    Well then, we''ll challenge it with two parties after a short break.

    I already knew that three parties could defeat one head with ease. Later, I wanted to confirm whether we could suppress the head or defeat it with our current war potential.

    Naturally, doing so would also allow us to get more experience in fighting this boss.

    Is it safe?

    Well, don''t we just have to somehow do it?

    We be stronger after all.

    Ueda and Hoshizaki didn''t seem to be too eager to do this.

    The other didn''t seem to be too eager either.

    It seems they realized that despite defeating one head a while ago, the fact that they were literally unscathed must be appreciated. And thanks to the variousbinations of party members, the exploration party did a good job of raising everyone''s cooperation.

    Feel free to tell me if you feel ufortable with the partyposition.

    It''s fine.

    This partyposition was something that Iposed with bnce in mind. That''s why no oneined.

    Since no one was injured or exhausted, we should conduct the next exercise immediately.

    And Randou-san, I''ve another job for you.

    E~h, what kind of job is that?

    Digging trench.

    Aga~in?

    <i> Oh please don''t say that.</i>

    The trench we dug until now was barely within the limit of the safety line, the trench we would dig hereon was outside of the safety line.

    Yes, the second phase of our tactic, digging a trench toward the rocky mountain where Yamata no Orochi hid itself to bypass the gargoyles, starts today.

    In fact, I wanted to create a tunnel. s, such a feat might be impossible for Randou-san. That was the reason we dug a trench. If we made it deeper, it would be safer than running on the ground.

    We would dig a trench toward the mountain while the others distracted Yamata no Orochi.

    Its true body was hidden within the mountain. Eventually, we had to go in there. The reason we dug this trench was to pave the way to get in there.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 220.1 - Joint Exercise II

    Chapter 220.1 - Joint Exercise II

    The gargoyle is so damn annoying.

    The second phase of our tactic. We tried to hit the head with two parties and build a trench all the way up to the mountain while Orochi was distracted and only scored 75 out of 100 points with the first part being sessful while thetter only half-sessful.

    As expected, the gargoyles started to rush at us as we dug the trench.

    Around 300 meters until the mountain.

    It is so close, yet feels so far. It was the distance that I could cross quickly with a sprint.

    We can''t get any closer. I want to at least reach a distance of 50 meters.

    We could try this over and over until we were done.

    Well then, next is thebination of the 1st and 3rd party. The 2nd party will act as Randou-san''s escort while she digs the trench.

    So, with my next iteration, we managed to crush the 1st head with ease and when the 2nd and 3rd heads came out, they found out that we, the trespassers, had long since gone. This should reset the battle count.

    SHIGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The gargoyles raised a piercing loud warcry.

    Currently, we reached around 230 meters from the mountain.

    Momokawa, those guys areing! Shall we fight back?

    Keep digging Randou-san! Hey, what are you doing? Shoot them down!

    This is our limit, Momokawa.

    There''re too many of the~m!

    Tch, the escort Shimokawa, and even Natsukawa-san were already whining about the current situation. So this was the limit of stopping the army of gargoyles with this line-up.

    Tch, here I thought we could at least hit a distance of 200 meters.

    Thus, Mei-chan carried me back as we retreated, I cursed at our enemy while enjoying the supple sensation of her bo*bs.

    Oh whatever, we could do this again as long as our stamina and magical power remained.

    Now, it was time for the 2nd and 3rd party to fight the head. We dug the trench while the 1st party acted as our escort.

    SHIGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    We heard the war cry of the gargoyle,

    GUOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Yamata no Orochis dangerous low growl reached my ears.

    OI MOMOKAWA! THAT SNAKE IS HEADING TO THIS PLACE FOR SOME REASON!

    Dammit, so that damn Orochi will react once we reach this distance EVERYONE HURRY UP, WE''RE LEAVING THIS PLACE! THE 1ST PARTY WON''T BE ABLE TO STOP THE HEAD ON THEIR OWN, SOUMA-KUN, BUY TIME FOR EVERYONE!

    Can''t be helped. Ryuuichi, gimme a hand.

    Oh, right when I''ve time to spare.

    That''s our reliable trump card for you.

    Upon entering the 200-meter mark from the mountain, Yamata no Orochi, who engaged against the 2nd and 3rd party, changed its target to us who were closer to the mountain. Meaning that it was actually keeping a tab on our movement too.

    The 2nd and 3rd party couldn''t cope with the sudden change of the situation. They couldn''t deal with the onught of the head and the gargoyle at the same time.

    For this situation, Souma-kun and Tendou-kun would take care of the head while buying us time to retreat to a safe distance.

    Though there was no damage on our side, the same couldn''t be said for the trench that we dug.

    Shall we try again, Momokawa-kun?

    No, that''s enough for today.

    We managed to dig a trench until 190 meters away. It was already plenty of information that Orochi reacted to within 200 meters range.

    Moreover, the best harvest of this field exercise was the fact that all three parties could cope with the head regardless of thebination. Well, the fact that we needed two parties for that was homework forter though.

    We will take a break tomorrow and enter the 3rd phase the day after tomorrow.

    Meaning that we would challenge Yamata no Orochi again after full recovery.

    The 3rd phase is to have the three parties handle three heads at once.

    After crushing the first head, another two heads woulde out for sure. Since the first head would recover with their cheat-like recovery ability, it meant that the three parties would''ve to fight three heads at the same time.

    The objective is to find a way to seal the recovery of the crushed head. For that, I''ll have ss Rep seal the crushed head in the ice.

    Okay, I''ll try.

    The recovery ability of the head resembled that of Hydra from Greek myth.

    The famous tactic to seal Hydra''s recovery ability was by burning the cross section with fire s The same tactic wouldn''t work for Yamata no Orochi. This had already been proven by Tendou-kun when he used the fire ability he got from a smander to burn the cross-section.

    Since fire didn''t work, let''s freeze it, and that was the perfect job for ss Rep. Though I doubt this method would work, we still had to try it.

    Momokawa~, do I have to dig again?

    No, Randou-san will cover the crushed head.

    Are you sure?

    Sure.

    <i>What''s with that strange gap?</i>

    Aah, it seems I didn''t exin my tactic properly. Well, not that I would exin to thest detail.

    In addition, the other objective of the 3rd phase is to find another route to the mountain, it''s a scouting job.

    Wait a minute, even if you call it a scouting job, you know that our life will be in danger the closer we get to the mountain.

    That''s why do your best, Souma-kun, I know you can do it.

    ME!?

    Who else then? You think our reliable scout, Natsukawa-san, can do that?

    Im-Impossible, that''s absolutely impossible!

    Momokawa, you should go.

    How cruel of you Souma-kun, you''re telling a weak shaman to go to enemy base!

    You have your twin shadow for that, right? Or Rem''s spare body, right?

    Dammit, nothing flies past your observation.

    He was correct. My Twin Shadow and Rem, who could freely change her vessel with ydoll, were the best for this job.

    Since everyone had be stronger, we had a lot of living armor-grade material for her spare armor. Spec-wise, it wasn''t that much different from Minotaur or Dark Knight, her main powerhouse avatar.

    We have to go looking for a cave or opening that leads all the way to its main body from that mountain. And the other objective is to find a clue to subjugate Orochi.

    Yeah, there''s no way we can take everyone into its main body.

    I still had no idea whether we could aim for its main body from the mountain. Only an idiot wouldunch an all-out-like suicide attack.

    But what if there is nothing in there?

    Then it''s time to revise our tactic.

    It was already good enough as long as we could find a cave that went inside. Only then could we truly make a subjugation n.

    In case we found nothing inside, then we had no choice but to think of another n. Namely asking Randou-san to dig again.

    There''s no problem with me going to the mountain, but everyone has to be careful too since the 2nd and 3rd heads are more vicious and brutal than the 1st head.

    Their safety was guaranteed by our three aces though. Our three aces had no problem dealing with the 2nd phase of Orochi.

    Let''s go.

    ===

    Ready for sortie!

    GUGAGA, GOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Upon a closer look, Rems, who replied vigorously, spare bodies were a truly splendid lineup of monsters.

    The first on the line was a spare dark knight. It was made with the same material as the original, namely the living armor. Since it was made with the same materials, it should have the same ability as the original model. However, perhaps because there were hidden parameters like proficiency, the original model of Rem-Dark Knight had a better performance during the field test.

    The original second form was the Arachne model, but we could hardly find an Arachne since they were pretty rare monsters. Now that the exploration party wasposed of a strong line-up, perhaps not even an arachne would dare to get close to us.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox18 too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 220.2 - Joint Exercise II

    Chapter 220.2 - Joint Exercise II

    The gargoyle is so damn annoying.

    The second phase of our tactic. We tried to hit the head with two parties and build a trench all the way up to the mountain while Orochi was distracted and only scored 75 out of 100 points with the first part being sessful while thetter only half-sessful.

    As expected, the gargoyles started to rush at us as we dug the trench.

    Around 300 meters until the mountain.

    It is so close, yet feels so far. It was the distance that I could cross quickly with a sprint.

    We can''t get any closer. I want to at least reach a distance of 50 meters.

    We could try this over and over until we were done.

    Well then, next is thebination of the 1st and 3rd party. The 2nd party will act as Randou-san''s escort while she digs the trench.

    So, with my next iteration, we managed to crush the 1st head with ease and when the 2nd and 3rd heads came out, they found out that we, the trespassers, had long since gone. This should reset the battle count.

    SHIGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The gargoyles raised a piercing loud warcry.

    Currently, we reached around 230 meters from the mountain.

    Momokawa, those guys areing! Shall we fight back?

    Keep digging Randou-san! Hey, what are you doing? Shoot them down!

    This is our limit, Momokawa.

    There''re too many of the~m!

    Tch, the escort Shimokawa, and even Natsukawa-san were already whining about the current situation. So this was the limit of stopping the army of gargoyles with this line-up.

    Tch, here I thought we could at least hit a distance of 200 meters.

    Thus, Mei-chan carried me back as we retreated, I cursed at our enemy while enjoying the supple sensation of her bo*bs.

    Oh whatever, we could do this again as long as our stamina and magical power remained.

    Now, it was time for the 2nd and 3rd party to fight the head. We dug the trench while the 1st party acted as our escort.

    SHIGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    We heard the war cry of the gargoyle,

    GUOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Yamata no Orochis dangerous low growl reached my ears.

    OI MOMOKAWA! THAT SNAKE IS HEADING TO THIS PLACE FOR SOME REASON!

    Dammit, so that damn Orochi will react once we reach this distance EVERYONE HURRY UP, WE''RE LEAVING THIS PLACE! THE 1ST PARTY WON''T BE ABLE TO STOP THE HEAD ON THEIR OWN, SOUMA-KUN, BUY TIME FOR EVERYONE!

    Can''t be helped. Ryuuichi, gimme a hand.

    Oh, right when I''ve time to spare.

    That''s our reliable trump card for you.

    Upon entering the 200-meter mark from the mountain, Yamata no Orochi, who engaged against the 2nd and 3rd party, changed its target to us who were closer to the mountain. Meaning that it was actually keeping a tab on our movement too.

    The 2nd and 3rd party couldn''t cope with the sudden change of the situation. They couldn''t deal with the onught of the head and the gargoyle at the same time.

    For this situation, Souma-kun and Tendou-kun would take care of the head while buying us time to retreat to a safe distance.

    Though there was no damage on our side, the same couldn''t be said for the trench that we dug.

    Shall we try again, Momokawa-kun?

    No, that''s enough for today.

    We managed to dig a trench until 190 meters away. It was already plenty of information that Orochi reacted to within 200 meters range.

    Moreover, the best harvest of this field exercise was the fact that all three parties could cope with the head regardless of thebination. Well, the fact that we needed two parties for that was homework forter though.

    We will take a break tomorrow and enter the 3rd phase the day after tomorrow.

    Meaning that we would challenge Yamata no Orochi again after full recovery.

    The 3rd phase is to have the three parties handle three heads at once.

    After crushing the first head, another two heads woulde out for sure. Since the first head would recover with their cheat-like recovery ability, it meant that the three parties would''ve to fight three heads at the same time.

    The objective is to find a way to seal the recovery of the crushed head. For that, I''ll have ss Rep seal the crushed head in the ice.

    Okay, I''ll try.

    The recovery ability of the head resembled that of Hydra from Greek myth.

    The famous tactic to seal Hydra''s recovery ability was by burning the cross section with fire s The same tactic wouldn''t work for Yamata no Orochi. This had already been proven by Tendou-kun when he used the fire ability he got from a smander to burn the cross-section.

    Since fire didn''t work, let''s freeze it, and that was the perfect job for ss Rep. Though I doubt this method would work, we still had to try it.

    Momokawa~, do I have to dig again?

    No, Randou-san will cover the crushed head.

    Are you sure?

    Sure.

    <i>What''s with that strange gap?</i>

    Aah, it seems I didn''t exin my tactic properly. Well, not that I would exin to thest detail.

    In addition, the other objective of the 3rd phase is to find another route to the mountain, it''s a scouting job.

    Wait a minute, even if you call it a scouting job, you know that our life will be in danger the closer we get to the mountain.

    That''s why do your best, Souma-kun, I know you can do it.

    ME!?

    Who else then? You think our reliable scout, Natsukawa-san, can do that?

    Im-Impossible, that''s absolutely impossible!

    Momokawa, you should go.

    How cruel of you Souma-kun, you''re telling a weak shaman to go to enemy base!

    You have your twin shadow for that, right? Or Rem''s spare body, right?

    Dammit, nothing flies past your observation.

    He was correct. My Twin Shadow and Rem, who could freely change her vessel with ydoll, were the best for this job.

    Since everyone had be stronger, we had a lot of living armor-grade material for her spare armor. Spec-wise, it wasn''t that much different from Minotaur or Dark Knight, her main powerhouse avatar.

    We have to go looking for a cave or opening that leads all the way to its main body from that mountain. And the other objective is to find a clue to subjugate Orochi.

    Yeah, there''s no way we can take everyone into its main body.

    I still had no idea whether we could aim for its main body from the mountain. Only an idiot wouldunch an all-out-like suicide attack.

    But what if there is nothing in there?

    Then it''s time to revise our tactic.

    It was already good enough as long as we could find a cave that went inside. Only then could we truly make a subjugation n.

    In case we found nothing inside, then we had no choice but to think of another n. Namely asking Randou-san to dig again.

    There''s no problem with me going to the mountain, but everyone has to be careful too since the 2nd and 3rd heads are more vicious and brutal than the 1st head.

    Their safety was guaranteed by our three aces though. Our three aces had no problem dealing with the 2nd phase of Orochi.

    Let''s go.

    ===

    Ready for sortie!

    GUGAGA, GOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Upon a closer look, Rems, who replied vigorously, spare bodies were a truly splendid lineup of monsters.

    The first on the line was a spare dark knight. It was made with the same material as the original, namely the living armor. Since it was made with the same materials, it should have the same ability as the original model. However, perhaps because there were hidden parameters like proficiency, the original model of Rem-Dark Knight had a better performance during the field test.

    The original second form was the Arachne model, but we could hardly find an Arachne since they were pretty rare monsters. Now that the exploration party wasposed of a strong line-up, perhaps not even Arachne would dare to get close to us.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 221.1 - The Result of Field Exercise

    Chapter 221.1 - The Result of Field Exercise

    After that, we kept dispatching the suicide squad for almost one week before deciding to end the field exercise. I actually wanted to try a bit longer, unfortunately we were running out of spare bodies for Rem.

    All right then everyone, thank you for your participation in the field exercise~

    After the field exercise ended without anyone dying, we returned to the School Tower and held a ss meeting.

    Everyone replied lifelessly when I called out their name. It seems they were really exhausted. I mean we had been fighting every day this week.

    We managed to fight Yamata no Orochis head and at least got used to its pattern.

    At least huh.

    It ain''t that simple, Momokawa~

    Those guys are seriously bad news.

    Following ss Rep''s lifeless remark were Ueda and Nonomiya-san. The other vanguard was also having the same look on their faces.

    Your so-called second phase, three heads are the limit.

    Said Souma-kun sinctly.

    Even after the vanguard went all out, the second phase was their limit. Upon entering the third phase, the number of the heads would increase to five, and their breath attack would be unlocked, making it even harder to cope with them.

    Well, I did see everyone running desperately toward the shelter from the breath attack when I was in the middle of scouting the path. Turns out that digging a trench was the right choice. It saved our vanguard''s as*es a number of times when they needed protection from breath attacks.

    What about your side, Momokawa-kun?

    Unfortunately, I couldn''t find anything that resembled a cave.

    As if that wasn''t bad enough, the gargoyles became more and more troublesome the closer we were to the center, not to mention that there was the gargoyle''s giant variant And though no one called for it, Yamata no Orochis head was instantly moving its target to me.

    The mountain is tough. It''s already troublesome enough to fight that many gargoyles, and yet, the head itself will set me as its target once I enter the mountain.

    Yup, the Yamata no Orochi has be more vignt as we get closer to its main body.

    In the first ce, its game-like behavior in which there was only one head first, followed by three, then five plus breaths was problematic by itself. I mean, since it''s a living creature, why not take out all eight heads at once?

    We cannot break through from the mountain.

    Said ss Rep dispiritedly.

    Though she already knew that it was pretty much impossible, she couldn''t help but feel really dejected when having to acknowledge it in reality.

    There might be a low chance of that, however, we had yet to scour the entire mountain. We had to prepare for the next field exercise and scouting again.

    How''s the result of your analysis, Takanashi-san?

    I actually wanted to say it myself, but since I knew that bit*h wouldn''t say anything if I werent the one asking, I left that job to Souma-kun. This was the result of my casual arrangement.

    U~hm, let''s see After looking at it from up close, I know the detailed position of its real body.

    Where''s the exact location?

    I asked while drawing the entire mountain and Yamata no Orochi on the ckboard.

    Right in the center of its body. I think it''s right below the huge stone pir on top of the mountain.

    I see, the position was a coincidence with my original assumption.

    Is there some sort of opening that leads to its real body somewhere in the mountain?

    I suppressed my urge to ask my questions all at once and urged Souma-kun to ask one by one instead.

    Its real body is covered by a giant shell. That''s why even if there''s a cave or opening leading to it, it''s a dead end.

    <i>Takanashi ba*tard, you should have said that first, I wasted an entire week just to find a cave that doesn''t exist!</i> This bi*ch definitely wouldn''t have told us this had it not been for Souma-kun asking her.

    That was a really close call.

    In short, the rock mountain is something like a second shell of Orochi''s main body.

    Yes, something like that.

    I pondered while drawing additional pictures on the ckboard, but its defense was tougher than my imagination.

    If it were just a mere rock, Randou-san could dig it out with her spell. Unfortunately Since the main body had a shell, part of the monster, it meant that earth magic might not work on it.

    What shall we do, Momokawa?

    Can we really beat this guy?

    Upon re-evaluation, we were all awed by Yamata no Orochis might yet again.

    That was the reason everyone sounded anxious. We had upgraded our equipment, and everyone had clearly be stronger than before, that''s why they felt anxious upon knowing the result of this exercise.

    As expected, perhaps we have no choice but to beat the head and aim for its true body from below.

    Woah, calm down Souma-kun. It''s not like I was not expecting this kind of result from this field exercise. First of all, it''s a good thing that we can confirm everyone''s growth from the fact that they can hold out against three heads in the second phase.

    But that''s not enough to beat that monster.

    That''s why we have to think of a subjugation method using the results of this exercise. Since everyone has been fighting for thest week, let''s take a break tomorrow.

    Everyone was tired and depressed. Nothing good woulde from thinking of a n in this kind of situation.

    Yes, let''s take a break for now and think about the next n after that.

    Everyone had been working hard enough.

    But that wasn''t the case for me.

    Though it was a good thing that everyone had hope, it was all about keeping our morale high. I had to find a clue to subjugate Yamata no Orochi as soon as possible

    The next day, I was working with y in the corner of the entrance workshop.

    I mean the 1/144 scale model of Yamata no Orochi. I had seen that monster''s face every day during the field exercise, to the point that it was etched in my memory. The head aside, I even remembered the shape of the mountain.

    Though making a 3D model like this seemed like a waste of time since I remembered its appearance, I wanted some sort of change of pace for the time being Working on making the y model while making a subjugation n based on the information from the first field exercise.

    I have loved ying with y ever since I was a kid. That''s why I was confident with my skills. And my confidence only grew as I obtained alchemy skills

    Ooh, what a realistic model.

    Before I realized it, I had made a splendid, 3D model of Yamata no Orochi. If I baked it using the witch''s kettle, it would turn into aplete y statue.

    I''ve been too focused on the y doll and forgot to think about the n.

    Never mind, let''s just take it as a nice change of pace.

    I arranged the 18 pieces that represented us around the Yamata no Orochi figurine. The pieces were made as freebies though. I modeled ourselves as chess pieces. The size of the pieces varied depending on the individual strength.

    It''s not the kind of opponent that we can fight head-on. And we can''t find a breakthrough into the mountain either

    We couldn''t reach our enemys weakness even if we gathered our war potential at one point. To reach our target, we had to fight that giant monster and pierce through its tough shell along with the bedrock formation of the rocky mountain. Perhaps not even Souma-kuns sword of light could pierce through that. Well, his power might be awakened in a pinch.

    Even if his attack managed to shave the bedrock, it wouldn''t pierce the shell.

    A thick shell protected Yamata no Orochi. Well, there was no way the shell of such a giant creature would be as thin as paper.

    Its thickness might range from a few meters to dozens of meters.

    I looked at the huge, bluish-white scale on the palm of my hand in a sour mood.

    This scale was one of the materials we secured from the severed Orochi heads by using Eternity.

    In the end, all that was left from those huge, severed heads were a few pieces of this scale preserved with Eternity. I mean, this showed just how much that fe''s body depended on magical power.

    However, the remaining Yamata no Orochi material was really tough. It wasparable to the toughness of a smander''s and Thunder T-rex''s scale. It was excellent material, but the amount wasn''t worth the effort that everyone put together.

    In addition, ording to Takanashi''s analysis, the toughness of the main body wasparable to its scale.

    The more I know about that monster, the harder it seems to defeat it.

    Well, it might not be as tough as its head. Currently, only our three aces can bisect Yamata no Orochi with ease.

    Perhaps we ought to find the weakest spot of its she No, how about finding the part that isn''t protected by shell instead?

    <i>But does that monster really have such a convenient weak point? If it did, Takanashi should''ve found it much earlier.</i>

    Maybe we can smash this shell with dynamite.

    Simple brute force is the best. The value of Yamata no Orochis armor couldn''t bepared to the one in the movies. In short, maybe not even a barrage of missiles could leave a scratch on its shell.

    Dammit, at least give us a hint as to whether it''s weak against ice or fire.

    Only shitty games would include useless elements such as invincible armor. At this rate, we had no choice but to strengthen our side to adapt our tactic against Orochi.

    It might even have a short invincible mode or a gimmick such as the ability to melt itself the moment it receives concentrated fi

    Wait a minute Can I melt this?

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

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    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 221.2 - The Result of Field Exercise

    Chapter 221.2 - The Result of Field Exercise

    The attack using natural elements such as fire, thunder, or ice aside, what would happen if I tried to melt it with acid?

    Come to think of it, I hadn''t tried that yet.

    Rotten Bog

    I tried to throw the scale into a mini bog that I made with my skill.

    A whileter, the mini bog started bubbling like boiling water As if telling me that it works.

    Does that mean we can melt the scale with this method!?

    Even if acid can melt the scale, it couldn''t be called as weak point. I mean, the regeneration of the scale seemed to be higher than its melting rate.

    This might be the most efficient way avable for us to destroy the shell.

    It''s just like when I''m making preparations to subjugate the basilisk, we just need to make the magic circle And there''s no problem with the offering either

    This might be possible.

    I might be able to drill a hole through the thick shell and bedrock to arrive at the core of the main body in one go. In that situation, Souma-kun''s sword of light could hit the target.

    No wait a minute, calm down, don''t get ahead of yourself. Even if I manage to create a hole with Rotten Bog''s ceremony I have to go there in person.

    Though my shadow could use ckhair Bind and the lesser version of Rotten Bog, I had to be personally present if I had to use ceremony with offering.

    I could invoke it as long as it was within my line of sight just like during the subjugation battle against the red raptor. All my shadow could do was draw the magic circle and prepare the offering.

    Once we go into the rocky mountain, withdrawing from it isn''t a simple matter.

    After challenging Orochi time and time again, I knew that burrowing inside wasn''t a realistic option. As the one who scouted that ce, I knew how unrealistic this n was.

    This is an extremely dangerous n. Even if I deploy all the Rems and took others as escorts, defeat is imminent

    Our only advantage against Yamata no Orochi was the fact that it never moved from its original ce, allowing us to attack at our own discretion. We could attempt the challenge as much as we wanted as long as we didn''t die.

    But we were done for if we died. Losing even one of our potential would reduce our strength forever. Yamata no Orochi could regenerate its lost head no matter how many times we beheaded it, but we couldn''t replenish our ssmate.

    If we were to go with this n, someone would eventually die along the way.

    This was the kind of risky n that I didn''t want to use. Since I had to invoke the ceremony myself, I had no choice but to risk the lives of those who went with me.

    But, there''s no other way to remove its shell

    Now that I knew the risk, I had to focus on the method to minimize the risk. Let''s do our best and pray so that the n goes without a hitch.

    Men do what they can and await the verdict of heaven.

    Those words sounded good, but from my perspective, theycked crisis management. But I had no choice but to do my best when we had limited options. [TL: Momokawa forgot that "Men do their best and await the verdict of heaven" also included crisis management, including spare ns.]

    Okay, let''s shelve this for now.

    At this rate, I might as well consider if this n was viable or not. I mustn''t limit myself to such a n, there must be other alternatives.

    Come to think of it, we still needed a countermeasure for the eight heads.

    We had to find a way to seal the head that regenerated like there was no tomorrow and attack the core of the main body while it was rendered powerless.

    From the result of our field training, the vanguard parties could handle up to three heads while our aces could handle up to five. But just because we managed to contain Orochis head, it didn''t mean that we could win against it.

    Even if we divided the heads into five and three, our vanguard party and aces had to do their best to contain them.

    Not to mention that they started using breath upon entering Phase 3 when five heads had appeared. In that situation, even the rage of attack of three heads would change. On the other hand, a single death of our members would tip the delicate bnce of the battle.

    Rather, is it going to unleash even more troublesome gimmicks once all the eight heads appear?

    In the first ce, five heads was the limit of our aces. Once all of its eight heads appeared, it would be an untrodden territory.

    If it were the boss of an action game, this phase would be the time when a new motion scene was added, making it more aggressive along with additional new attacks. As if the breath attack wasn''t bad enough, this phase of Yamata no Orochi might have a super deadly AOE finishing attack that could literally wipe out our vanguard party.

    And since this was apletely new attack, the vanguard party might not be able to do anything against it. In short, the party might be annihted. And GAME OVER.

    Dammit, this guy is too tough Man, that''s reality for ya~

    I was really dumbfounded upon realizing the severity of our situation and closed my eyes for a while. Ah, I started cooking another n.

    <i>Calm down now, this is a mind game.</i> Since this was a reality, it was possible to use an out-of-the-box method that was impossible to use in a game.

    If this were a game, a yer would have no choice but to watch as the boss unleashed its full power and fought them head-on.

    But since this was reality, we could literally beat them with minimum effort. I mean the sore loser often said cliched lines such as I''m not serious yet, right?

    There''s no need to face the full-powered Yamata no Orochi. We mustn''t let all of the eight heads appear.

    We had to stop it at the third phase when only five heads appeared. Its power might get stronger along with the increasing number of heads.

    Meaning that we have to seal the three heads just to be safe.

    We had topletely seal its movement. The vanguard party shouldn''t fight and only do their best to prolong the battle. I had to consider that Orochi would unleash some sort of finishing move once all of its eight heads appeared together.

    One head needs around 5 minutes topletely recover. But, that fe can recover in 2~3 minutes at the earliest.

    Currently, we had yet to reach the point where we managed to corner Orochi until it was forced to move its head during recovery. But once its head recovered enough, it would be pretty much ready to enter the fray again.

    After crushing one head, we have to crush two heads of the second phase within a minute. Then we have to keep attacking the three heads That sounds impossible.

    Defeating the head as fast as possible might be easier said than done in our current situation. In the first ce, defeating one head was already troublesome enough.

    It might be possible if we went all out, however, the vanguard parties would be too exhausted to defeat the two heads that would appear within a minute.

    But we couldn''t let it go beyond the third Phase. As long as we incapacitated three heads at the start of the third phase, we only needed to fight three heads for the rest of the battle by keeping on beating them ck and blue. s, those three heads would unleash breath attacks as soon as they appeared.

    We wouldn''t be able to decapitate its head in that state.

    Moreover, the three aces had to keep beating the three heads that were beaten ck and blue during the second Phase, which sounded like a superhuman feat. If they ever stopped from doing that, the beaten-up head would then recover to its former glory.

    It was obvious that the beaten-up head would eventually recover as our vanguards would be busy battling against the rest of the heads.

    In the first ce, such a n is not realistic

    I mean, no matter how powerful their vocation was, their stamina was limited. The same went for their weapon.

    In anticipation of a long battle, I should incorporate rotations and breaks into the n. Even with that, it didn''t mean that all 18 members were ready to be dispatched at any moment.

    Even if I can dissolve the shell with Rotten Bog, it''d take quite a long time to do so.

    In that situation, the battle would definitely turn into a battle of attrition.

    s, the battle would only be more and more difficult as time passed. It woulde to the point where we might barely get any time to rest.

    In that situation, we have to find a way to seal the three heads rather than have three people fight them non-stop.

    <i>Seriously man, the "To-do list" keeps getting bigger and bigger the more I think about it.</i>

    Haah, dammit, I can''t find a breakthrough at all

    <i>Should I create another distraction to escape from reality? How about adding colours to Yamata no Orochi? Or should I make an erotic figurine instead? I have Mei-chan and Randou-san as ideal busty models, after all.</i>

    Maybe I can make a living off making figurines once I''m back in Japan.

    <i>Dolls are the best. It is no big deal even if they couldn''t move. But as long I kept honing my ski</i>

    That''s right, we just need to immobilize them.

    The premise of defeating them was impossible to begin with.

    Rather, fighting against Yamata no Orochi by decapitating its heads that could regenerate like there was no tomorrow was a foolish errand.

    Keep their heads alive without injuring them. Then we just need to seal their movement Yeah, it''s seal.

    By seal, I naturally didn''t mean something like a huge rock or jar.

    We just needed to make sure that they couldn''t move.

    Even Yamata no Orochi, in Japanese myth, got its movement sealed after drinking too much sake.

    Naturally, I wouldn''t use alcohol on this Yamato no Orochi, nor would it work on that monster. Even if we did prepare a lot of liquor, I''m sure that monster wouldn''t even spare a nce at it.

    Anyhow, the seal here was something that kept Orochi''s head from moving around.

    Naturally, we wouldn''t be able to seal every single head. That''s why we had to at least seal three of the heads.

    We might need to spare some manpower to maintain the seal. Obviously, we couldn''t spare three It had to be one, or two at most. The two spellcasters could take turns while recovering their magical power.

    Sealing three heads and maintaining the number to five would buy us long enough time.

    If we could reduce the number of people needed to maintain this state, we could use them to attack the main body in the mountain.

    However, was it really possible to invoke a really long ceremony While maintaining the stalemate in the battlefield?

    Oh screw that. We can do it. It might be barely possible. Now we can try to de No, we can defintiely defeat Yamata no Orochi with this method.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 222.1 - Yamata no Orochis Subjugation Plan

    Chapter 222.1 - Yamata no Orochi''s Subjugation n

    I want to hear everyone''s opinion after I exin Yamata no Orochis subjugation n.

    I drafted a n after thinking for an entire night and announced that I''d hold a ss meeting after breakfast. I had to set the direction early on to avoid any dy.

    I was well aware of the demerits of such a rushed n. s, that was literally the only and easiest way to pierce the tough scale.

    This might be inevitable but still, I have to say that I''m at my wit''s end.

    It''s by no means a perfect n though. Not to mention it looks quite dangerous. However, I think this is the best n for the current situation.

    It''s not a big deal, tell us the n.

    Everyone, right from Souma-kun, was ready to listen to my n. If they were that keen to hear it, I had no choice but to tell them.

    The gist of the n is we climb on the top of the mountain, drill a hole right to that monster''s core, and destroy it with direct attack.

    <i>Please spare me the disappointment of as if I have let you down with a n that anyone cane up with. Because the only way to implement this n is by trial and error.</i>

    ording to Takanashi-san''s Magical Power Analysis, Yamata no Orochi still has a thick bedrock on top of its thick shell and core.

    I kept exining while drawing simple pictures that described Yamata no Orochis details on the ck board.

    The rockyer is simply made of rock. That''s why Randou-san should be able to dig it out with her earth magic.

    I had done a small experiment during the field training with the piece of rock from the mountain to see if Randou-san could manipte its shape with her earth magic.

    As long as the outer crust wasn''t connected to Yamata no Orochi''s magical power, it was possible to control.

    The biggest problem is this outer crust.

    This ce had the same quality as Orochi''s shell. I guess everyone in the vanguard team already knew just how tough Orochi''s scale was.

    Our greatest weapon and magic can''t even leave a scratch on that monster''s shell.

    s, there was no need to crush it with a single blow. We could drill a hole bit by bit, slowly but steadily.

    ording to my experiment, my Rotten Bog can melt the shell.

    We will invoke the Rotten Bog''s full spellplete with a magic circle and offering to drill a hole through Yamata no Orochi''s shell in ce of an excavator.

    We can directly attack the true body core as long as we manage to drill a hole through its shell. Once we seed, we will fire the most powerful attack magic to destroy it.

    I see, true enough, we have to drill a hole through the shell to break the core but How long will it take you to drill the hole?

    I can''t say for sure how long it will take until we have enough experiments but, it could take around 5~10 minutes.

    I couldn''t say the minimum estimate since the shell seemed to be quite thick and melting might take quite some time.

    I wanted to find another way to raise the firepower of Rotten Bog aside from using magic circle and offering, but I still had no idea how long it would take.

    Eight heads is the limit of the currentbat potential.

    I understand. I''ll exin how to restrain the head next

    From the result of the battle against Yamata no Orochi so far, I had confirmed the ce they woulde out from.

    When looking from above, the rocky mountain, in fact, had a circr shape; it was ideal to be divided into eight parts for the eight heads toe out. That''s why it had no blindspot no matter which route we took to approach it.

    Moreover, ording to my observation, the eight caves from which the heads came out were the only passage leading to the center of the mountain.

    Each head only had one cave from which it came. However, since its neck was super long, it had no problem reaching the battlefield on the opposite side of the mountain.

    That''s why we had no choice but to fight all the eight heads no matter which ce we chose in the beginning.

    I think our defeat is inevitable once all the eight heads appear together. When that happens, I get this feeling that they''re going to use their Ultimate Attack. That''s why we have to make sure all the eight heads do note out.

    Not that we could fight all the eight heads even without their ultimate attack.

    We have to seal the movements of three heads.

    But the head will regenerate immediately even if we chop it off.

    Our goal isn''t killing them, it''s to stop them from moving around with minimal wounds. In short, restraining them.

    Is that even possible? I mean, such a huge monster.

    I mean, the heads keep growing forever no matter how much we cut them off, that''s why I think we have to think of a way to seal its movement.

    Naturally, I understood ss Reps worry, we were talking about stopping a train-sized giant serpent after all. It wasn''t a simple matter of course, realistically speaking, anyone who tried to stop a running train got sent to Isekai instead.

    Thanks to Yamata no Orochi''s recovery ability, trying to give it damage is a fool''s errand. That''s why sealing its movement is the best choice we have.

    I see Pinning it on the ground with my ice magic is much better than firing ice magic on it, makes sense.

    You''re correct, ss Rep. This n revolves around sealing the heads with ss Rep''s ice magic.

    But still, I can''t do it by myself. I don''t even know if it''s possible to pin one head in ice magic.

    That''s why let''s try the other magic too. The first candidate is Randou-san''s earth magic.

    Eh, my-what? Sorry, but I haven''t been paying attention.

    <i> You must''ve heard the n properly right! I mean, your eyes have always been following me.</i>

    We will cover the head with earth magic.

    Or sew Yamata no Orochi''s head to the ground. Or dig a hole in the ground to bury the head. We had to try every single possibility.

    Aside from magic, Ive also included the option of using something like steel wire to seal the head.

    We had no problem with procuring the metal for making the steel. The amount of material we looted from monsters weapons and armor should be enough for that. Even in the desert area, where we mined light ore, we could get metal such as iron ore.

    The next on the list is weakening its power with poison.

    The strongest candidate was SpiFrog''s Paralysis Poison. It was an extremely potent paralysis poison that not even a gogma could resist. No need to kill it, all we needed to do was weaken its power to maintain the stalemate.

    However, I only had a really small amount of this poison. It was definitely far from enough given Yamata no Orochi''s gigantic size. Its meager quantity was the bottleneck of this method.

    Just in case, I''ll prepare as many poisons as possible. I''ll even throw in Red Fever as a bonus.

    Naturally, it''s preferable to give as much damage as possible within the permissible range.

    The head might be able to break free from the restraint, that''s why we have to keep it in a weakened state as long as possible. There are three physical ways to seal the movement of the head namely earth magic, ice magic, and steel wire. Orochi could easily tear every single one of them if it were rampaging like a wild horse.

    As long as we can seal three heads, we can buy the time with direct confrontation against five heads. We can barely do that with our current state.

    Ooo, nice idea Momokawa!

    Shall we try this method immediately?

    Finally a possibility.

    Though the Totem Pole Trio was as optimistic as ever, some people didn''t feel the same way.

    I highly doubt it''ll be as easy as you say I mean, we might even have a hard time with just sealing one head due to its enormous size.

    Yes, sealing three heads is still a pipe dream for now.

    Both Nakajima and Kenzaki were of the same opinion. Behind them, Himeno was hatefully ring at thetter.

    But still, they were right about that. That''s why we had no choice but to do trial and error in that regard to raise our proficiency.

    Kotaro-kun.

    Mei-chan showed the most dissatisfied expression.

    At this point, Kotaro-kun, you''ll enter directly into the mountain, right?

    Correct.

    I had to invoke the ceremony, after all.

    I''m against this n. This n is way too dangerous.

    The same goes for everyone who participates in this n.

    Once you get in there, you won''t be able to escape. This is a suicidal mission, and youve always failed during the field exercise.

    My shadow and Rem''s sacrificial squad had always been annihted no matter how many times I tried. Since they were disposable, to begin with, it was the truth that all of them were annihted.

    Surely, going into the rocky mountain, the enemy turf, is more dangerous than fighting the head outside. But we have no choice but to do that.

    To defeat the kaiju called Yamata no Orochi, we had to take such a risk. Since our war potential stayed the same, we couldn''t afford to lose more. We couldn''t avoid this path, this was something that we had to do.

    That''s why I''ve to go. As much as I hate things like self-sacrifice, I''ve no choice but to do it since I''m the one who suggested this n. I have to say my power is necessary to break the shell.

    Well, I might hesitate to appoint myself to do the most dangerous job if this n was suggested by another person. I mean, since they had the gall to suggest such a dangerous n, they should be prepared to take the most dangerous job instead of appointing others to do that. If that person refused to take the job, a brawl was an eventuality.

    That''s why, since I was the one who came up with this n and understood the risk, I had to do the most dangerous job.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 222.2 - Yamata no Orochis Subjugation Plan

    Chapter 222.2 - Yamata no Orochi''s Subjugation n

    I didn''t want to die yet. I would do my best to make sure that the n seeded, and survive. I didn''t want to die yet, nor was I prepared for that.

    If that''s the case, I w

    Yes, that''s why you''ve to protect me, Mei-chan.

    Pulling out the Berserker, one of our three aces from the frontline would leave a huge impact on the frontline.

    However, since I went to the most dangerous ce, I should''ve at least given the privilege to choose the most reliable escort.

    I see No problem. I''ll protect you without fail, Kotaro-kun.

    Well, Randou-san is a must addition to this mission though.

    Wait a minute, I''ve never heard about this.

    Uhm I should''ve exined properly a while ago, Randou-san.

    I was the only one capable of breaking the shell. But, we had to do something about the bulky bedrock before that.

    And Randou-san was the only one among us who could break through the bedrock.

    Tha-That''s impossible, I can''t go to such an overcrowded ce.

    Don''t worry, Mei-chan and the other bodyguards will protect us during the process.

    Obviously, I would go with my real body. At that point, mobilizing the full force of REM series was a matter of course.

    Naturally, that wasn''t everything.

    During the time it takes for us to bore a hole into the shell, we will be under heavy attack right in the center of the enemy''s turf. We need another card aside from Mei-chan.

    My remarks stirred everyone.

    That was natural. Not just Mei-chan, everybody here already knew what happened to my shadow who went up the rocky mountain. The chance of returning alive during our field exercise was 0%.

    No sane person would volunteer to go to such a dangerous ce. That was the reason for their restlessness.

    First is Shimokawa-kun.

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

    As if they had already coordinated beforehand, Ueda and Nakai caught Shimokawa who was trying to escape from this ce from both sides. As expected of the inseparable Totem Pole Trio.

    Wh-Wh-Why me, Momokawa!? I mean, you know that spellcasters like us will die from one bite of those gargoyles, right!?

    <i>Don''t boast about our paper-like defense like that. Unfo</i><i>rtunately, it was the spellcaster''s fate to have a paper-like defense.</i>

    Because we need your power to hide us in the middle of the enemy''s turf.

    The only thing I can do is use the mist to hide us, you kno~~w!

    Correct. And that''s already good enough, Shimokawa.

    I mean, we were talking about countless gargoyles who would rush at once the moment they found us Meaning that we just needed to make sure they couldn''t find us.

    After arriving at the foot of the mountain, you have to cover us with your Aqua Mist until we reach the digging point. In that way, we just need to dispatch those gargoyles that are blocking our path.

    I mean, no matter how powerful Mei-chan was, she would eventually be defeated in the war of attrition.

    However, if she just had to take care of the gargoyles that were blocking our path, she could take down a hundred or two without breaking a sweat.

    ording to my observation, the gargoyles don''t actively call theirrades. They only rush the moment they see their peers rush at a certain ce. In short, they''re not cooperating with each other. They won''t move unless they see their peers move first.

    When our scouting party moved in, the faraway gargoyles wouldn''t rush at us. Maybe they wouldn''t even be able to see or hear the sound of us fighting the gargoyles blocking our path.

    In that way, they wouldn''t rush from all directions and attack like frenzied bees, only those who noticed our presence would rush at us. Rather, they only attacked anyone who came before them, their train of thought was akin to that of a zombie.

    That''s why we should be able to minimize the number of gargoyles rushing at us by using Aqua Mist.

    Ser-Seriously?

    Yeah. I mean, I''m not suicidal either. I won''t ask you if I think this n is impossible.

    A~h, dammit I understand, I''ll go.

    Do your best, Shimokawa!

    I''ll pray for your safe return!

    Dammit, being encouraged by you guys makes me lose even more motivation instead.

    Well then, since Shimokawa has already agreed to join the suicide squad, let''s move on to the next one.

    WAIT A MINUTE! DID YOU JUST SAY SUICIDE SQUAD!?

    <i> Oh shut up already, Shimokawa, you''re ruining the atmosphere here.</i>

    I want to ask Yamada-kun to act as an escort.

    M-Me But, oh right, this kind of job suits me the most.

    Ooh, never expected that Yamada would readily agree to this n. <i>Since when did this boy grow into such a splendid man?</i>

    Thank you. It seems you already know your duty.

    My Heavy Warrior vocation is the best choice for protecting one ce. I''m your shield and armor.

    Yamada was really cool. One wouldn''t expect that he was in fact a lolicon who got caught in the honey trap of that cloud bastard from his stoic atmosphere just now.

    That''s right. We can leave many gargoyles with the mist, but the number of those that block our path isn''t insignificant either, not to mention the big type. I think the high defensive power of the vanguard is the key to this n.

    Ou, understood. I''ll do my job.

    Thanks a lot, Yamada. I ended up pping my hands due to how reliable his reply was. Everyone followed after. <i>The heck, now we really look like a suicide squad.</i>

    And then, there''s onest member I want to go with us no matter what. That person is

    Everyone gulped. They held their breaths, waiting for me to say thest name of the person who got the short end of the stick.

    Souma Sakura. You are thest key of this n.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 223.1 - Sealing Spear

    Chapter 223.1 - Sealing Spear

    BRAKADOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    Along with a loud breaking sound, Yamata no Orochi raised its giant head while scattering a cloud of dust and ice.

    Haah The n that I came up with easily got crushed with brute force.

    The hell you''re talking about, Momokawa!

    HURRY UP!

    After Randou-san and ss Rep quickly jumped into the trench, Mei-chan also carried me to escape from that ce.

    Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n began, one of which was sealing the monster''s three heads. Today, we experimented by trying to seal one head during the 1st phase, both Randou-san and ss Rep were working together to use ice and earth magic. s both the magics got smashed to pieces with simple brute force.

    Thus, we regrouped in the frontline headquarters for an emergency meeting.

    Well, the cause of our failure was obvious though. I had already expected that Orochi''s brute force could easily ovee the restriction of both magics.

    Momokawa-kun, this one was a failure too.

    Wait a minute, ss Rep, it''s still too early to give up.

    I agree with ss Re~p. I''ve done my best to make it more durable and this is the result.

    Yup, I knew that she did her best. None of them were cutting the corner.

    We tried our best to tie down Orochi''s head to the ground with ice and earth magic. Everything went smoothly thanks to the support from the vanguard party s

    Even though it was weakened due to the paralysis poison, it broke the binding the moment the poison''s effect wore out.

    We have to make a stronger binding method.

    It''s impossible, I tell you~

    ss Rep looked at her ice cane with a troubled face. Randou-san was just as unenthusiastic, sitting slovenly with her legs spread out. Ah, I can se

    How about we make a stronger cane?

    Commonly known as Takanashi''s slot.

    This was the stabler version, but when we tried to enhance the weapon to its limit by using the ability of the Sage in this shitty real-world game, the weapon ended up breaking.

    Our sess rate will go down even further if we lose this.

    The ice cane was ss Rep''s beloved cane.

    Realistically speaking, it strengthened the ice crystal to another level but it would be akin to a slot game if we tried to strengthen the cane any further.

    I guess I have to ask Tendou to enhance this one too~

    Randou-san had no problem with upgrading her weapon, however, Tendou-kun wasn''t a specialist in this area. When it came to the limit of weapon enhancement, it should be on a simr level as Takanashi. Let''s ask Randou-san to confirm that.

    But I get this feeling that it can''t be strengthened any further.

    Uhm, I see. So we can''t use a convenient way

    Kotaro-kun, I think you should use something long, sharp, and hard to pierce the head and seal the movement of something long and slippery.

    That''s for cooking right?

    Yeah, when handling eel, I usually use steel piercing to pierce the gills under their eyes.

    Yamata no Orochi''s size was a million ti No, wait a minute, if we managed to pull it off, we could literally seal its movement.

    It would be fun to see what would happen if it recovered with a foreign substance in its body. Would the foreign substance get destroyed? Or would it recover with that foreign substance still stabbed through its body?

    Mei-chan, let''s try that n.

    Seriously? Yaay.

    Mei-chan smiled happily when I decided to try her n. Man, I wanted to protect such an angelic smile. Ironically, I was the one who always got protected by her.

    Well, that is truly an out-of-the-box idea. Thanks for that suggestion.

    I mean, my original n met a huge setback. If we took our time to think of a n, we might someday arrive with an eel-like treatment n but, it was a really huge breakthrough when such an inspiration came out right away.

    The saying about two heads better than one was true. Since I wasn''t perfect or a genius, I wouldn''t be able toe up with such a method by myself. It was a precious suggestion from another person. I mean, another person meant another perspective.

    Meaning that we need to change the ce to pierce. Randou-san, can you make Terra Kris Sagitta with the image you used when you pierced the zombie for the first time?

    BRAKADOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    Along with a loud breaking sound, Yamata no Orochi raised its giant head while scattering a cloud of dust and ice.

    Okay, that''s plenty enough results! Everyone retreat!

    We raced to the nearby trench and I shouted loudly Bye-bye, head of the 1st phase that has always been used as our guinea pig. See yater.

    Thanks to Mei-chan''s genius idea, we finally found a proper way to seal the head.

    Okay everyone, p your hands. People would lose motivation if they didn''t receive the necessary praise. That''s why praise them for their job.

    I''m the one who worked the hardest though.

    Yes, Randou-san has also done her best in this regard.

    Thanks to her for using Terra Kris Sagita as a pir when she built the bunker. She had now be more proficient in using attack magic vertically.

    Your training progressed quite nicely too, ss Rep.

    Yeah, my training is progressing pretty well with a concrete goal.

    We couldn''t rely on the whimsical god to receive new magic, so we might as well utilize the avable magic in another way. Maybe it was only a matter of time before ss Rep learnt a magic that allowed her to shoot giant icicles by instinct.

    Momokawa~, praise me too~

    Geez, okay, okay, just don''t be a hindrance~

    Maybe because she wanted me to pay attention to her, Randou-san kept messing up with my hair. <i>This praise-hungry gal.</i>

    I''ve always been in your care, Randou-san. You''re the most reliable spellcaster, including when we made the bunker.

    Hehehe~, ri~ght?

    I wanted her to stop tousling my hair after I gave her the praise she deserved. Yet, she kept going.

    Well, since we were glued together, I could feel her boobs pressing the back of my head. At this rate, I wi <i>Oh cr*p, Mei-chan is ring daggers at us, let''s stop it, I''m not that suicidal.</i>

    Anyhow, thanks to the overly reliable Randou-san, we had no problem in achieving this step.

    The real thing in Momokawa-kun''s n was to have Randou-san dig the bedrock of the rocky mountain, right? I can''t help but worry since it means that she can''t maintain the seal.

    Yeah, that was the biggest hole in this n.

    ording to the n, we start with sealing three heads first. If even one of these seals was destroyed, then it meant that we shouldn''t continue and retreat to the nearby bunker.

    We would only go into the rocky mountain once we had confirmed that all three heads had been sealed. In short, Randou-san''s first job was sealing the three heads, before she joined us and climbed the mountain.

    Once we climbed the mountain, ss Rep was the only one with magic that could be used for sealing. Honestly, this was another hole in my n since it left room for too much anxiety.

    Most of all, I can''t use Eternity.

    Yeah, that''s another stumbling block.

    After ss Rep and Randou-san nailed Yamata no Orochi''s head to the ground with ice and rock, Randou-san had to cast Eternity to maintain the material form of the rock and ice without magical power.

    But if this nail that had Eternity cast on it was destroyed, we couldn''t make another one in Randou-san''s absence.

    In that situation, ss Rep wouldn''t have a choice but to keep firing her ice spear to maintain the seal. And she could onlyst around five minutes when doing that.

    ss Rep, can you somehow learn that skill?

    Sorry but when ites to magic other than ice attribute I have to gain some sort of clue but

    It seems one needed some sort of talent to use magic outside of their expertise. At this point, Randou-san didn''t just seem to have a breakthrough in earth attribute, and that other attribute was Eternity-like magic.

    Uhm, I hope we have another person who can use that but

    But the majority of spellcasters will go with you, Momokawa-kun.

    Yup, that was another ring hole.

    Spellcaster was already a rare ss to begin with. Including Randou-san and Shimokawa, the other spellcaster, Souma Sakura would go with us too. The vanguard who fought the eight heads would be in a desperate situation that they had to fight without any covering fire from the rear guard.

    Because we need them to enter the rocky mountain.

    We have no leeway to change the formation. Since that''s the case, we''ve to prepare an alternative for Eternity or u

    Oi, you forgot that there''s another person who can use Eternity.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 223.2 - Sealing Spear

    Chapter 223.2 - Sealing Spear

    I had never expected that Tendou-kun, of all people, would suddenly interrupt the conversation.

    Seeing both ss Rep and me at our wit''s end, the tsundere thug sent an unexpected lifeboat.

    Could it be that you can use it, Tendou-kun?

    Nope, I can''t.

    I mean, I wouldn''t be too surprised if his whatever goes vocation, King suddenly allowed him to use that magic. However, I had absolutely no idea about this.

    Then who among us can use that magic?

    Takanashi. I heard from her before that she can use Eternity.

    TAKANASHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

    I was mighty pissed off since that shi*ty sage hid her ability from me again, but since it solved the main problem ofcking the user of Eternity, I''ll let her off just this once. Moreover, I had just the right job for her during the subjugation of Yamata no Orochi.

    Now the Sage Takanashi, who got the seat of honor to stand at the frontline along with ss Rep, was

    Impossible, that''s absolutely impossible, Kotori will die for sure!

    <i>I don''t care about your whining, its ss Rep and Souma-kun''s job to persuade you.</i>

    I was pondering over the details regarding the subjugation n of Yamata no Orochi amid Takanashis whining that resounded at the entrance of the workshop like BGM.

    Maybe we should use an anchor-shaped arrow and then tie it with rope.

    I think the n would work much better if we prepared something like this before, just in case.

    Since Yamata no Orochi looked like a giant snake, restraining its head with a chain was far from enough. It might be possible if our opponent was a beast with limbs though.

    For the sealing tool of ice and rock, maybe we should crucify it by stabbing the arrow from above its head.

    However, it was practically impossible for both of them to create a giant stake. Even if it was possible, we had a problem with how to drive them through Orochi''s head. Even if we became Superman due to vocation, it didn''t mean that we''re omnipotent.

    Since we''re racing against time, it''s pretty much impossible to make a stake of that size and drive them in within the allotted time.

    In that case, it would be more practical if we made them in the form of a spear, or should we call it ance in this case, made ording to standardized size and easy to drive in.

    But it was only as long as an ordinarynce, it was far from enough to pierce through the head and nail Orochi to the ground.

    How about preparing both? Thence for piercing the head and the stake for the ground, we will connect them with chains.

    Though I doubt such a method would work, it was within the possible range.

    Moreover, if we prepared an anchor that had already been buried in the ground beforehand, we just needed to stab the head with ance. We could mobilize our vanguard and have them impale the ground with the prepared stuff beforehand.

    However, considering its size, we might not be able to prepare that much.

    Meaning that we need to gather quite a lot of metals. At least it was reassuring to know that we could use just any iron, making it easier to gather. We could also expect mining resources from the desert area.

    Maybe we need around ten to twenty to seal one head of Yamata no Orochi Himeno-san, can you make three hundred ironnces with alchemy by yourself?

    Don''t screw with me, that''s impossible!

    O-Ou. I guess I pushed the thing too far since all Himeno-san had done as ofte was manufacture material with simple alchemy formation in the workshop or level her healing magic with govu in the testing site.

    Not to mention that her keeper-kun waspletely enamored with a new woman Perhaps, Himeno-san''s stress level had reached the bottleneck. We needed an urgent reformation of the working environment.

    Well, that''s asking a bit too much indeed.

    You can actually help me out, Momokawa-kun.

    I wish I could do that s, I''m just as busy as you.

    I mean, I couldn''t use my shadow to invoke simple alchemy formation. Even my real body waspletely locked inside the workshop.

    But I knew that I couldn''t tell her that at this time. Thanks to the umtion of fatigue, Himeno-san''s eyes were really scary right now.

    I don''t care who it is, just allocate more manpower. What about Randou-san, she''s more skilled than me, right?

    Since Randou-san is the key yer for the seal, I want her to focus on raising her skills right now.

    Surely, Randou-san''s biggest selling point was her vocation and skills which was really useful for manufacturing. But she already had a lot on her te. Not to mention that she was the key yer in the sealing n.

    I''m all alone, this is already my limit. You want 300nces, right? Sure, I''ll give you in a hundred years.

    Notnce, chain and anchor to nail the chain on the ground.

    Meaning that it wasn''t 300, it was 300 sets.

    We might not be able to finish it even after we turn into adults, you know?

    Said Himeno-san, light vanishing from her eyes. <i>Well yeah, definitely cant afford to wait for five years.</i>

    But I guess we need to increase the number ofborers.

    There was also another thing that I wanted to make aside from anchor sets

    We''re facing a serious shortage of spellcasters.

    Maybe I ought to try to see if the vanguard could use simple alchemy formation too. If it didn''t work, it would be a real waste of time.

    Ahe to think of it, there''s Nakajima-kun.

    What about Haruma-kun?

    Since his vocation is Magic Swordsman, he''s supposed to have an aptitude for spellcaster despite being a vanguard.

    Moreover, Himeno-san was quite irritated whenever she saw him getting smitten by Kenzaki you know? Honestly, I was very willing to shut my eyes and let them flirt as long as it could raise thepletion rate of our n, regardless of Nakajima''s wish.

    Humph, I see, that''s absolutely right I''ll leave the arrangement of that matter to you, Momokawa-kun.

    Leave it to me, Himeno-san. And make sure you guide the neer properly, okay.

    <i>Nakajima, I don''t care even if you''re getting all fired up with your new love, but make sure you take care of your ex. Our current motto is "Everyone should get along with each other", after all. </i>

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 224.1 - Decoding

    Chapter 224.1 - Decoding

    ¡¸Let''s do our best, Haruma-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, uhm¡­ Yeah¡­¡¹

    Though Nakajima-kun felt quite ufortable upon seeing Himeno-san smiling ear to ear, he had no choice but to huddle together in the corner of the entrance workshop.

    ¡¸Man, not only is Nakajima-kun talented in swordcraft but also in alchemy. Such a wonderful all-rounder.¡¹

    Concerning the result of the test, Nakajima managed to invoke ¡ºSimple Alchemy Formation¡». And since he seeded, he was officially forced to work in our Entrance Workshop as a new hire.

    ¡¸Uhm, Momokawa-kun¡­ I''m a member of the exploration team.¡¹

    ¡¸This job is our current top priority.¡¹

    The exploration team had long since departed to procure material for binding Orichi''s movement. The vanguard party which had already been training under the guidance of Master Souma had also departed along with the exploration team to gainbat experience and be even stronger.

    I wanted him to participate to gain experience too, but the n wouldn''t reachpletion unless we were done on this side.¡¸Well then Himeno-san, I''ll leave Nakajima-kun in your care.¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    Nakajima eyed me resentfully as if I had betrayed him. On the contrary, he should have thanked me for cing Souma-kun and Kenzaki in different teams.

    Well then, now it was time for this third wheel to leave this couple.

    And today''s n is¡­

    ¡¸I''ve a request for both of you.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ve got a bad feeling about this.¡¹

    ¡¸Yu~p, I want to escape if possible~¡¹

    I invited our main employee Shimokawa and ¡®liaison officer¡¯ ss Rep. In fact, Takanashi was the most suitable person for this job, however, her non-cooperative attitude was a huge minus.

    ¡¸Don''t you think that your opinion about me is a bit too harsh?¡¹

    ¡¸ce your hand on your heart and ask yourself about your daily deeds.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, your request has always been over the top.¡¹

    <i> Really? I was actually assigning jobs in ordance with everyone''s aptitude though.</i>

    ¡¸Rest assured. I called you today just to have some exchange of opinion.¡¹

    I showed them some documents.

    ¡¸Is this¡­ The document about ancientnguage?¡¹

    ¡¸Yea~h, I seem to have seen these letters before.¡¹

    It was a document from a note of Yamajun''s ancientnguage, a document that I recorded from the ancientnguage on the water fountain and entrance workshop that was deciphered by Takanashi.

    Andstly, the goma''s letter that I transcribed from goma''s lithograph back in the goma vige.

    ¡¸Amazing, you recorded all of this?¡¹

    ¡¸But how to read this? I can''t read this without the deciphering skill.¡¹

    It was exactly as Shimokawa had said, even after gathering documents of ancientnguage, I still couldn''t read it.

    ¡¸It''s not that I want to discuss the ancientnguage here, but you can''t help but be curious since it is used in magic circles. That''s why I think we might be able to strengthen the magic circle if we managed to decipher part of the ancientnguage.¡¹

    Today''s goal was to enhance the ¡ºHexagram¡», and develop a more powerful version of it.

    Breaking the shell of Yamata no Orochi with ¡ºRotten Bog¡» was the crux of its subjugation n.

    ¡¸Enhancing the effect of ¡ºRotten Bog¡» will shorten the time needed toplete our n.¡¹

    Rather, I had serious doubts if my current rotten bog was strong enough to melt Orochi''s shell.

    ¡¸Surely, breaking the shell of Orochi is the biggest stumbling block in this n.¡¹

    ¡¸Oioi, don''t screw with me Momokawa, I''m on your side, all right.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s exactly the reason why I''m seeking your cooperation as a fellow spellcaster to develop an enhanced magic circle.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m willing to help, of course, but¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t ask me, dude. I mean, I know nothing about magic circles, they juste out when I use magic.¡¹

    Yup, honestly speaking, we still had no idea about the inner workings of our vocation.

    ¡¸Anyhow, let''s start by making a list of every magic circle that you can use.¡¹

    Now was the time to delve even deeper into the mystery of magic circles ¨D¨D Naturally, I knew that it couldn''t bepleted in one day.

    The road to enhancing the magic circle was long.

    ¡¸¨D¨DOur follower, Momokawa Kotaro.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s an honor to meet you after a long time, Ruinhilde-sama.¡¹

    Yup, it was quite a long time since thest time I was invited into Ruinhilde-sama God Space-Time. Thest time was when she gave me the¡º99 Soul¡».

    And since I''ve been invited again, it means that I would get¡­ A new curse!

    ¡¸Which do you need to defeat the giant eight-headed serpent? Brute force? Wisdom of a coward? Or prayer for a miracle?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, everything I guess.¡¹

    I want to expand our choices in regard to war potential. I want information to fill the gap in the subjugation n. Naturally, I wouldn''t hesitate to ept the blessing of god either.

    Rather, she seemed to know that I was facing the challenge to take down Yamata no Orochi.

    ¡¸Greed is Thy provision. Thus, I shall grant Thee wish in order for Thee to move forward.¡¹

    So, it isn''t as simple as it''ll be given as long as I ask. The god realm seems to have had a hard time too.

    ¡¸I''m currentlycking so many things. So, I''ll appreciate anything given to me.¡¹

    ¡¸Excellent, now Thee has taken another step forward. Not knowing that Thee has been heading toward the abyss ahead of Thee.¡¹

    <i> Eh, that remark sounds ominous for some reason. Did Imit a fatal mistake somewhere?</i>

    ¡¸Thee have been racking Thee''s brain. Because Thee is a coward.¡¹

    ¡¸I just think that everyone is too reckless though.¡¹

    ¡¸No need to feel embarrassed about Thee''s own cowardice.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, there''s no "Continue" option in reality, after all, it''s "Game Over" once you''re dead.¡¹

    This chicken y was the real safest subjugation n. We would gather information and track records while standing behind the safety margin. Betting everything in a single fight was simply beyond reckless n.

    ¡¸Exactly, there''s wisdom at the end of umting knowledge. And that wisdom is the thing that enables you to take another step forward and arrive at the Divine Truth.¡¹

    <i> Does that mean I had to do my best to gain more knowledge?</i> That was indeed my duty back in school¡­ But now wasn''t the time for that. What I needed the most right now was useful knowledge. Or a cheat code to insta-kill Yamata no Orochi.

    ¡¸s, does Thee already know that the truth isn''t just conceived in heaven.¡¹

    <i> Honestly, I have no idea at all. Nor do I know what you''re talking about.</i>

    ¡¸Keep going and Thee shall arrive at the truth. Ahead is a path that will lead to a deep, and dark abyss untouched by light.¡¹

    Ha~h, now I couldn''t help but get more and more anxious since she seemed to be hinting at some sort of an unpleasant g!

    <i> Are you sure that I can proceed on the right track, Ruinhilde-sama? Does that mean I have no choice but to grope in the darkness since I am a shaman?</i>

    ¡¸I shall grant thee a new curse.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹

    All right, I couldn''t care anymore at this point. I mean, since we''re already in the abyss anyway, let''s push forward.

    ¡¸Prejudice, not ignorance is to be abhorred. Enlighten and unravel the outside principle¨D¨D¡¹

    <i>Here ites</i>, her usual, sharp bone fingers pierced through my forehead.

    It would be better if it killed me right away. s, I knew that this kind of process was the way Ruinhilde-sama bestowed a new curse to me.

    ¡¸R-Read¡­ Read!¡¹

    The morning after I got the new curse from Ruinhilde-sama, I quickly confirmed its effect.

    ¡ºOuw Decoding¡»: That was the word that was considered taboo and lost from history. Demon Race letter, Evil Godnguage, Devil Knowledge. Even now, not a single soul knows why they''re considered taboo.

    Though something feels off about the vor of the above text, it was a trivial matter since I could use this to decipher goma letters.

    ¡¸I see, it''s surprisingly just normal writing.¡¹

    My new skill allowed me to read a few sentences in the lithograph magic circle in the Goma vige.

    It kinda felt like the effect of ¡ºAncient Language Decoding-Beginner¡» that only allowed its user to read several sentences. Though I couldn''t read the densely packed letters in the center of the magic circle, it was possible to read the letters on the edge of the circle.

    The content was divided into three parts.

    The first is, "All Hail Our Great God!", a literal prayer to god.

    They''re gomas and yet they actually had the gall to steal the sentence from the Bible.

    The second was the magical power circuit.

    ¡ºConvergence¡», ¡ºDistribution¡», ¡ºResistance¡», ¡ºFusion¡», ¡ºRipple¡», ¡ºIntersection¡», ¡ºPararrel¡».

    It seems that the magic circle wouldn''t work effectively with just one of them, it would only work if the effect of the smaller magic circle wasbined. In short, the magic circle was like a machine, it needed many smaller gears and parts for it to work.

    Of course, if some part was mismatched, the magic circle wouldn''t work.

    Even when I tried to read the letter there was many technical jargon such as ¡ºNjaba¡» or ¡ºDagoba¡» which sounded like goma''s yelling.

    ===

    THE NEW PROJECT:

    <strong>Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint</strong>

    The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 224.2 - Decoding

    Chapter 224.2 - Decoding

    I had no clear idea about its effect, but I knew that each had a specific effect on magical power. When I tried to circte my magical power, it was indeed moving as I wished. In the Convergence part, it gathered a lot of magical power, which then scattered in Dispersed part.

    And then the third one was a description of how to connect the magical power''s circuit.

    In the lithograph magic circle, the circuits such as Convergence and Dispersion looked like they were connected with a certain pattern. But, there were parts that weren''t connected. It was like wiring an electric circuit with no electricity flowing in, in this case, magical power.

    For this reason, circuits such as Convergence often apanied Connect to Dispersion from here, The connection was made with patterns and sometimes not, so the pattern of the magic circle itself might have another meaning.

    I can decode it to some extent but This isn''t enough.

    Though I could decipher parts of it thanks to my Ouw Decoding, it didn''t mean that I could use the goma''s Lithograph. Nothing happened when I injected my magical power.

    Well, only a few could use it even with Simple Alchemy Formation, this magic circle definitely included some sort of requirement such as aptitude.

    How should I use this new skill, Ruinhilde-sama

    I couldn''t really do anything since I could only decipher part of it. Even when I tried to write Convergence or Dispersion, all it did was make the magical power flow in, and yet, it had no enhancement effect. <i>How should I use this skill, dude?</i>Cr*p, it seems Ive gotten another useless curse.

    The undisputably most useless curse, the Red Fever-sama, had abandoned that title after I found out that it was actually a splendid skill that invalidated all kinds of buffs.

    Could it be that the Ouw Decoding would reign as the new king of the useless curses that lost their previous ruler? This might be the beginning of a new era.

    How''s the new curse, Momokawa-kun?

    Considering the timing, it must be a really awesome one, right?

    Welp, I messed up now, I got too excited with the new curse and ended up boasting to ss Rep and Shimokawa. Now I could easily imagine their dejection and disappointment if I told them that this wasn''t the one we needed.

    I-I''m still confirming the effects.

    Is that so? Usually, I know its effects immediately after I get it though.

    Coz Shaman has a unique pattern.

    Whatever, I''m waiting in anticipation, Momokawa!

    Leave it to me. It should be a really useful one as long as I can master it.

    <i>Damn, their expectation is weighty.</i>

    Perhaps I really have no choice but to dispel my doubt by dismantling the magic circle. I had yet to determine whether it would bear fruit or not though.

    Haa~h Why isn''t the effect known immediately

    I was at a loss since I really had no idea how to use my new curse properly. Maybe it would be much better if I hadn''t gotten a new curse at all, unfortunately I kept looking for a way to utilize the Ouw Decoding in spite of having no expectation from it.

    ===

    And then, on the evening of that day, a miracle from God or Curse happened.

    Curse Alchemy FormationCarve the basics of alchemy formation with your own magical power. Now it''s time to look into the abyss of taboo.

    Hinagiku-san''s skull had awakened a new skill.

    The one that brought about the miracle wasn''t Ruinhilde-sama, it was the God of Shamanism from Hinagiku-san''s side.

    Meaning that I''m already following Hinagiku''s School of shamanism

    I blurted such disrespectful remarks toward Ruinhilde-sama when I felt relieved.

    The reason was simply because this skill was the skill that Id always wanted to get since a long time ago, the upgraded version of my Simple Alchemy Formation.

    The reason I''m convinced that Hinagiku-san had learned the upgraded version of the Simple Alchemy Formation was due to the existence of the Poisonous Smoke Bullet.

    When I could use Simple Alchemy Formation, I got Poison Arrow. And yet, I couldn''t make Poisonous Smoke Bullet.

    It was a really nice magic item that scattered poisonous smoke once thrown. I couldn''t create it with Simple Alchemy Formation. I tried every single method I coulde up with, but unfortunately, I still couldn''t make it.

    Thus, I concluded that Hinagiku-san must have gained the upgraded version of alchemy.

    And this was definitely her most favored skill.

    T-This is truly a wonderful skill!

    Frankly speaking, now I could create magic items too. To be exact, now I could include Core as the ingredient.

    As expected, I knew it was a really amazing device just by seeing the ck Horn Bow And the smoke bullet alone.

    When I could use core, my alchemy skills became more diverse as I could enhance the materials as I wished. Maybe the magical power in the core was some kind of enchanting spell.

    That''s why, the ck Horn Bow wasn''t just a merebination of the big horn of a monster, it was also wonderful as a bow.

    My beloved smoke bullet had a structure that allowed it to explode upon soft impact.

    If Hinagiku-san were alive, we wouldn''t have to rely on Takanashi alone

    Only now did I understand that she was a precious person with an extremely high alchemy skill. Why did we have to lose such precious personnel Well, I guess it was a matter of luck, some die while others survive.

    Thank you Hinagiku-san. I''ll utilize this Curse Alchemy Formation in your ce.

    This alchemy skill alone allowed me to reduce my dependence on Takanashi''s assistance. I could create the ideal equipment in ordance with my n too.

    Well then, I might''ve to work overtime for a while after this.

    Now it was time for a happy death march with every staff member working in the entrance workshop. Let''s ask Mei-chan to make supper for us too.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<Really fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(.~)</strong>

    <strong>(~.)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(.~)</strong>

 Chapter 225.1 - Trust Problem

    Chapter 225.1 - Trust Problem

    ¡¸Firstly, what do you think a core is?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, a lump of magical power inside a monster''s body?¡¹

    After dinner, Mei-chan and I visited the entrance workshop which was already deserted.

    Overtime was on holiday. I mean Takanashi bawled which resulted in Sakura storming angrily into the workshop and ss Reping forward to scold me.

    Since it was getting annoying, I invited Mei-chan for a ndestine meeting. Though there was a love ban rule, no rules were saying that a pair of opposite genders couldn''t meet with just the two of them.

    ¡¸Then why is there a core in the monster''s body?¡¹

    ¡¸Because it has magical power?¡¹

    Mei-chan''s answer was correct, everyone including me understood this.

    However, the moment I got the ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡» I had gained more in-depth knowledge about the core.¡¸Core is the crystalization of magical power, but it''s not just magical power.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. In short, the magical power of the core is the purest form of magical power.¡¹

    In RPG games, MP could be defined with MP gauge, however, the same couldn''t be said for the magical power of this world.

    ¡¸Magical power changes in ordance to attribute. That''s why there are various types of magical power.¡¹

    In the case of using fire attribute magic, one didn''t simply consume magical power to invoke the spell. The user of fire attribute spell could use their spell since they had fire attribute magical power.

    ¡¸When using a certain attribute of magic, think that the step is to convert the pure magical power in the core into the said attribute of magical power.¡¹

    In short, different vocations, in this case, ¡ºCyromancer¡» and ¡ºGeomancer¡», the owner of those vocations could automatically convert the pure magical power in their body into their respective attribute.

    That''s why even if I drew the magic circle for ¡ºIce Sagita¡» and chanted its aria, I wouldn''t be able to invoke the spell since I didn''t have the necessary magical power.

    On the other hand, I could invoke that spell as long as I had the necessary magical power. The reason I could use ¡ºAir Sagita¡» could be because the cane had inscribed a magic form to convert pure magical power into wind magical power.

    ¡¸So, what kind of attribute is that pure magical power?¡¹

    ¡¸Since it can be transformed into all kinds of attributes, it could be the most basic form of magical power.¡¹

    But that was where its valuesy.

    No matter how much magical power of wind attribute that I had, it was meaningless since I couldn''t use sorcery. But if pure magical power turned into the most suited attribute for me, that part alone could be used as energy.

    ¡¸Since the core is a literal lump of this pure magical power, let''s call it ¡ºPurma¡» for convenience''s sake, could have a simr function with teleportation magic.¡¹

    Perhaps this Purma was a state which made it easier to be used for magic. I think there was nothing strange about an ancient magic institution using this Purma as its energy source.

    ¡¸Well, since I can''t read the ancientnguage nor move the equipment in the ancient ruin, I can''t have a more in-depth understanding of Purma but ¨D¨D Now I have another way of using the core.¡¹

    Rather, it was already possible to begin with.

    ¡¸For what?¡¹

    ¡¸Literally everything.¡¹

    I mean Purma was a literal all-epassing source of energy that could be converted to any kind of attribute whether it was my curse, elemental attribute, or martial arts.

    In fact, even the weapon without Purma was starting to transform into another kind of attribute called life force.

    ¡¸In short, we can literally enhance our skill by drawing the Purma inside the core, it also allows us to recover our magical power and stamina.¡¹

    ¡¸But, I don''t think having a core will give a significant change to the weapon''s firepower.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s simply because there''s no method to draw the energy from inside the core.¡¹

    I mean just having it to boost magical power by consuming the core without realizing it was already a bug in the system.

    The only way to consume it was when using the teleportation circle.

    In short, there must be a method to draw magical power from the core hidden somewhere in the teleportation circle.

    ¡¸I can make a weapon with the core using my ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡».¡¹

    I only did a little experiment with it today, but I noticed that it was possible.

    For now, I made Poison Smoke Bullet by following the example of a great pioneer called Hinagiku-san. It might be small in size, but you would be surprised by what it can do when I add a core to itsposition.

    ¡¸And we''re notcking core either since everyone has gathered a lot of it during exploration. It¡¯s now time to utilize all the core equipment.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s a relief, meaning that we don''t have to rely on Takanashi anymore.¡¹

    Even if that one could make something, if she were azy bone, it was the same as casting pearl before swine.

    Now that I had a certain level of craft skill, the amount of work that should be entrusted to Takanashi had also decreased.

    ¡¸I can''t help but feel anxious since I still have to ask Takanashi.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I mean can we even trust her?¡¹

    ¡¸The one that can''t be trusted after Sakura.¡¹

    In short, she was the second one we had to watch out the most for.

    ¡¸Is it going to be all right?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, it''s not like we''re going to leave our backs to them during the battle.¡¹

    Currently, my biggest worry was Sakura who had enlisted as one of the suicide squad members who would go into the rocky mountain to destroy the core. She might use the chaos during the battle to shoot me in the back with a light arrow.

    ¡¸The sess rate of this n has risen tremendously thanks to this ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡».¡¹

    But now, it was time to focus on the creation of sealing equipment.

    We should be able to raise the pration ability of the magic by using the core. In short, we have to increase the size of the ice and earth spear to be able to pierce Orochi¡¯s head.

    And using the magical power in the core should lessen the burden on the caster.

    After looking at both Randou-san and ss Rep''s battle during the field test, I knew that there was a huge gap between the two''s magical powers. Namely, Randou-san''s magical power simply dwarfed ss Rep''s.

    She didn''t seem to be tired at all even when she kept using ¡ºTerra Kris Sagita¡» back when I just met her. Nor did she look exhausted even after a tiring day of digging a trench. On the other hand, she tended to lose her stamina and focus before she ran out of magical power.

    Nevertheless, I don''t think that ss Rep''s magical power was low either. It seemed she grew properly as she fought as the ¡ºCyromancer¡», not to mention that her amount of magical power wasn''t that low either. In short, Randou-san was simply the abnormal one.

    Once the subjugation n started for real, ss Rep had to maintain the seal by herself. It would be a war of attrition, that''s why I had to prepare something in case she ran out of magical power along the way.

    The best magic item I could hope for in that situation was the kind that could raise her firepower while reducing the consumption of her magical power.

    ¡¸Not to mention that I have to prepare a cane for Shimokawa-kun too.¡¹

    Even though we had gathered quite a lot of Lightstone of water attribute, that bi*ch Takanashi hadn''t done anything to prepare water attribute cane for Shimokawa. It seems she still had a grudge against him for trying to kidnap her. It was obvious that she wanted to kill him by not preparing proper equipment for him.

    But since I still thought of him as my importantrade-in-arm, I will prepare the best set of equipment for him. We would be on the same team during the operation after all.

    ¡¸Come to think of it, Himeno-san doesn''t have a cane either¡­ I guess I have to work on it right away.¡¹

    ¡¸Please do so, Himeno-chan has been doing her best after all.¡¹

    <i> Sorry for postponing your equipment because you''re the weakest whether ites to fighting power or support, Himeno-san.</i>

    Still, Mei-chan was right, she had been improvingtely after she did her best.

    I mean, I had never expected that forcing the use of healing magic on govu would allow her to learn new magic¡­

    ¡¸Next is developing a potion that can restore magical power.¡¹

    Regarding the development of the lite potion, it had already been confirmed that it could restore stamina.

    However, we werecking the type that restored magical power. Without that, the one who ran out of magical power during the battle had to rest to recover.

    I had no doubt that Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation battle would turn into a battle of attrition. With ss Rep leading the sealing team, and me leading the breaking of the shell, there was undoubtedly a huge consumption of magical power during the process of breaking the shell with¡ºRotten Bog¡».

    I knew that I had an above-average amount of magical power, but I knew it wasn''t as much as Randou-san''s. I mean I''ve copsed before due to the depletion of my magical power after forcefully creating Rem. That''s why I shouldn''t get overconfident with the amount of my magical power.

    ¡¸I also have to create grenades as a counter-measure against gargoyles and prepare my equipment¡­ Ah, feel free to tell me if you need additional equipment, Mei-chan.¡¹

    <i> I would make one for you even if I have to embezzle the core.</i> I had already sorted the fine-quality core for my use.

    ¡¸Thanks, you are amazing, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    <i>Man, it sure feels great hearing Mei-chan''s unreserved praise for me.</i> It felt as if my heart was purified. Rather, the reason I called her alone was so that I could boast to her about my ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡».

    ¡¸I can''t say that this is a wless n. I want to do everything I can and prepare for emergencies.¡¹

    No one wanted to die after all. But there was a possibility that someone might die during the operation. Yamata no Orochi was a giant raid boss after all.

    ¡¸Mei-chan is special after all. You''re more important than anyone else.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re also more important to me than anyone else, Kotaro-kun. That''s why I''ll protect you without fail.¡¹

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<¡ªReally fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 225.2 - Trust Problem

    Chapter 225.2 - Trust Problem

    Yeah, what a wonderful rtionship of trust. As expected of my most reliable partner¡­ As much as I was annoyed by it, I had to force myself to stay as her partner without crossing the line. I really wished that I hadn''t proposed the ban on love rtionships. I mean, the current atmosphere was really perfect, right?

    ¡¸Kotaro-kun, once this fight has e¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸Stop Mei-chan, don''t say another word, you almost jinxed us.¡¹

    I stopped her in a trice since she almost said the F word that was globally known as the death g.

    ¡¸There''s something I want to ask before that.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, what is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s about the matter after this battle. Once we reach the deepest part of the dungeon¨D¨D I''ve already been contemting about the three people who can escape.¡¹

    This was the reason I wanted to talk in private with her on the 5th floor of the school tower, the ndestine room.

    In most situations, the other party was the one who invited me, but today I was the one who invited her.¡¸The matter rted to Souma-kun I guess.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Why did you choose Sakura as the main member of the infiltration party?¡¹

    It didn''t seem to be aint. Though I had expected her to say something about this.

    ¡¸It''s just as I exined to everyone though?¡¹

    As a member of the infiltration squad, I chose to destroy the core of Orochi, Souma Sakura''s job was to destroy the core. Randou-san would shave the bedrock, and I would make a hole in the shell. Thus, shooting the flesh and destroying the core was the most appropriate job for Sakura who had advanced magic.

    There was no problem in terms of firepower. And her attack could pierce the flesh for sure. In the first ce, we needed a long-range attack to destroy the core after I made a hole through the shell.

    ¡¸Other than finishing off Orochi, Sakura-chan also has the all-purpose ¡ºOracle Field¡». That defensive magic will protect us during the excavation process.¡¹

    Naturally, she had to use healing when push came to shove.

    Though there was the option of retreating in the worst-case scenario, we wouldn''t have this option during the real operation. In the most critical battle where every second counts, Sakura''s healing ability to heal injuries would show its true value.

    ¡¸And this is something that the person herself agreed to.¡¹

    Surprisingly, Sakura readily epted her role when I nominated her. I expected her to flip the table and curse angrily at me, but maybe she realized that resistance was futile when everyone readily epted their role yet she alone rejected it.

    ¡¸I know that¡­ But still¡­¡¹

    ¡¸So what do want me to hear now?¡¹

    My theory was correct, Sakura herself epted her role. She wasn''t stingy at all.

    <i> If only my rtionship with her didn''t get strained.</i>

    ¡¸Momokawa, I never expected that you would choose Sakura to carry such an important role.¡¹

    ¡¸I agree that I can''t get along with Sakura-chan, but the most important thing we need right now is to aplish this n. Just as I exined before, she''s the most suitable person for this.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that this isn''t the time to worry about such a Love-Hate rtionship. But if it''s you, you should be able toe up with another method without having to use Sakura''s power.¡¹

    ¡¸You''re overestimating me. The power of ¡ºSaint¡» is formidable. It''s unique and irreceable.¡¹

    ¡¸But still, you''re the kind of man who won''t entrust his back to those that you can''t trust.¡¹

    <i> Yup, that''s absolutely correct, Souma-kun.</i>

    Although we came to the point of being able to talk normally, it didn''t change the fact that I was his target of revenge. Though I knew that he wasn''t the kind of person who would stab me in the back due to his extremely good nature¡­ Souma-kun understood me the best.

    <i> Or should I call it the intuition of a hero?</i>

    The fact that Souma Yuuto pointed out was absolutely correct. Yes, I didn''t choose Sakura solely based on her ability. Naturally, I was telling the truth when I said that her power as saint was the key to the subjugation battle, but I was deliberately hiding my other reason.

    Namely, the fact that she was a hostage.

    ¡¸Man this is getting troublesome since I really mean it but¨D¨D¡¹

    I mean, properly speaking, given a choice, I wouldn''t take Sakura with me. I mean, the infiltration party would surely get into a hellish battle. Who knows when she would shoot me in the back with her arrow of light during the ensuing chaos.

    Nevertheless, the only reason I could willingly take that ticking time bomb along with me was to ensure that our n seeded.

    I couldn''t just give up in the middle for personal reasons because losing even one person would make it literally impossible for us to defeat Yamata no Orochi.

    That''s just how formidable that monster was. That was the reason I gave my best shot, but I couldn''t rely on luck either.

    The problem being I had no idea if the others felt the same way as me or not. That wasn''t something I could say or ask them.

    That was the reason why I couldn''t back down in this regard. If I lost my guts here, everyone would surely follow suit.

    Now, let''s analyze the scenario where I¡¯d exclude Sakura from the infiltration party.

    Though the subjugation n could go ording to the n in the beginning, if Yamata no Orochi suddenly showed its ace in the hole, breaking the seal, and appearing in itsplete form with eight heads, unleashing a barrage of finishing moves, some of our vanguard could die but¨D¨D What would that girl, Souma Sakura say under such a circumstance?

    ¡¸Momokawa''s n has failed. Let''s retreat, Big Brother.¡¹

    I''m sure that was what that woman would say.

    If even one person was killed during the battle, she would definitely use it as a reason to retreat. And that would make everyone even more anxious.

    What would Souma-kun do in that kind of situation?

    Would he believe me and hold the ground? Or retreat since he judged that the n had failed?

    If he chose to retreat, it meant that he would leave the infiltration party behind. Meaning that we would be left to die.

    The problem was the fact that all members of the infiltration party were¨D¨D Composed of people who happened to be perfect for him to do that.

    The first on the list was, of course, me. Sakura surely wanted to kill me without having to dirty her hands. Heck, she might even thank god for that.

    Next was Mei-chan. Dangerousbat force that was capable of killing her or herrade if she wanted to. This was a golden chance to kill her.

    [TL: Unfortunately for Momokawa, Sakura is just as good-natured as her brother, with hysteria.]

    Then we have Shimokawa. <i>Sex offender die.</i>

    Randou-san was a gal whose attitude was uneptable, Yamada was a mob. There was no problem for her even if they died.

    From Sakura''s perspective, she wouldn''t have any problem even if all the members of the infiltration party died. She might feel refreshed instead.

    That was the reason the one who was most likely going to shout that the n had failed first was Souma Sakura.

    Someone might die during the fight against Yamata no Orochi. Nevertheless, as long as someone kept fighting without giving up it would surely lead to victory¨D¨D And the one who might crush that chance of victory was none other than Sakura and not Orochi. And I might be the only one who realized that the cause of our defeat might be our own ally instead of our enemy.

    This was the reason I had to prevent withdrawal.

    No one should abandon the fight midway.

    <i> That''s why Souma Sakura, you''re a hostage. No matter what happens along the way, I won''t allow you to stop this subjugation operation at all costs. Yes, you''re the only one I won''t allow to hinder this operation.</i>

    ¡¸¨D¨D Souma-kun, I know that you''re worried about your little sister, but we cannot make an exception, you know?¡¹

    ¡¸¡­.¡¹

    It seems he understood that. Otherwise, he wouldn''te all the way to talk with me.

    ¡¸It''s not just me, everyone else is also risking their life in this operation.¡¹

    ¡¸I know, but still, I¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Moreover, try to imagine what would happen if I told everyone that Sakura-chan won''t participate in the infiltration party now. Even if that''s possible, it''s only for your own convenience, not Sakura-chan¡¯s or everyone else''s.¡¹

    Sakura aside, I wouldn''t give anyone preferential treatment. I might lose their trust if I did that. And if I saw someone else doing that, I would rebel for sure.

    ¡¸Souma-kun, this matter has been decided during the ss meeting. If you disagree with it, then you shoulde up with a better n than mine. I''m open to a better alternative n, no one wants to die after all.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ The reason I told you this is because I still don''t believe you.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that.¡¹

    Rather, it would be even scarier if he suddenly trusted me, the man who killed his childhood friend, in this short span of time.

    ¡¸But I have no choice but to trust you now. That''s why please don''t breach my trust, Momokawa.¡¹

    ¡¸I have no intention to force everyone to their death either. I''ll do my best to ensure the sess of the operation and return with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸Please look after Sakura for me.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m the one who should say that. And though she epted it obediently, I''m sure Sakura-chan is just as anxious.¡¹

    Make sure to warn her to not lose her temper and suddenly shoot me in the back.

    ¡¸Rather than summoning me, you should talk with Sakura-chan in private right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Never expected those words toe from you¡­ But, I guess you''re right.¡¹

    Souma-kun smiled wryly as if he had given up and left the room.

    ¡¸As expected, if I have to lie, I have to lie throughout.¡¹

    Properly speaking, if I told him that Sakura was a hostage since I couldn''t trust that pair of siblings, the situation might worsen instead.

    Not that I would tell them.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<¡ªReally fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 226.1 - Rare Monster Material

    Chapter 226.1 - Rare Monster Material

    A group of fiveposed of Himeno, Yamada, and Totem Pole Trio was walking in the forest of the resort area.

    ¡¸Oi, when will we arrive?¡¹

    ¡¸Be quiet, just a bit more.¡¹

    The reason Ueda asked that question to Yamada who walked in the front as a vanguard wasn''t that the former was tired, he was just nitpicking.

    ¡¸Guys, no one will me us even if we''rezing around, right?¡¹

    ¡¸The heck, don''t speak nonsense, Airi.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m serious. I''ve not had enough rest after that horrible training session of healing magic.¡¹

    ¡¸Honestly, that''s downright horrible. Even I started to pity that govu.¡¹

    Near the fairy za where the teleportation circle of this area was located was a cruel testing ground for gomas who were used as guinea pigs for the poison concocted by Momokawa and targets for training healing magic.When Yamada just arrived in this area with Totem Pole Trio, Airi used that chance to talk to them.

    It was a secret that four of them secretly shuddered upon seeing Airi calmly greeting them as if it were not a big deal with writhing gomas as the background.

    ¡¸Why though? Momokawa had told us to gather a lot of core?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, I will get his permission.¡¹

    The one who replied was Yamada who led the party.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just fishing, don''t need that guy¡¯s permission.¡¹

    ¡¸Not really, I do that a lot.¡¹

    With his fishing skills, Yamada had stocked a lot of marine products.

    Though he had a friendly rtionship with Totem Pole Trio, it didn''t mean that the four of them were always together.

    Especially after Yamajun''s death, he often secluded himself at the fishing spot. For him, fishing was the only way to maintain his state of mind.

    Even excluding that fact, he felt really proud when he saw the fish caught by him being served for lunch. So once Yamada said that he wanted to go fishing, no one stopped him.

    ¡¸I usually did that alone, but a certain someone asked me to bring someone along when leaving the za.¡¹

    The one who said that was Kotaro. Though he knew that it was rare for a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡» like Yamada to fall into a predicament, there was always a "WHAT IF".

    That''s why when he told Kotaro that he wanted to go to a different fishing spot today, thetter told him to bring apanion.

    ¡¸So the trio is escort.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, don''t call us trio.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you stop treating us like some sort of package?¡¹

    ¡¸Treat us as individuals.¡¹

    The party went deep into the forest while chattering lightly and joking with each other.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWe have arrived.¡¹

    Right aftering out from the bushes, they arrived at theke.

    ¡¸Heeh, such a beautifulke.¡¹

    Airi gave her honest praise.

    The sereneke in the middle of the forest looked really elegant.

    On the other side of the shore was a pack of Jaja drinking the water from theke.

    It was truly a tranquil spectacle.

    ¡¸I found thiske during the previous exploration. That''s why I want to try fishing in this ce at least once.¡¹

    ¡¸You found a really nice ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, when I was on your team, huh? Come to think of it, there''s such ake.¡¹

    ¡¸There''s certain air around this ce. Does this ce by chance have a boss-ss monster?¡¹

    They prepared fishing with Yamada in the first of the list.

    Though they came as escort, the Totem Pole Trio participated in the activity too. After receiving survival lessons from Kotaro, they desperately learnt fishing and were now already considered master of fishing.

    Even more so since the fishing gear they used right now, the rod, the string, the hook, and the bait were custom-made by Kotaro.

    ¡¸I''ve never fished tho~ugh¡¹

    ¡¸Can''t be helped then, I''ll teach you how to fish along the way.¡¹

    ¡¸Ain''t got anything else to do anywa~y.¡¹

    ¡¸Here, use my spare rod.¡¹

    ¡¸ Quiet dudes, you guys are scaring the fish. The vignt fish will escape you know.¡¹

    And then, one hour after the start of peaceful fishing¡­

    While the Totem Pole Trio was enjoying themselves with Airi in the center, Yamada was the only one taking fishing seriously.

    His intuition as a survivalist angler was whispering to him. There was a boss-ss monster in thiske.

    Earth''smon sense didn''t apply in theke of another world. What kind of fish in this ce or what kind of food they ate, he had to rely on his experience.

    Yamada did trial and error such as changing his location or changing his bait as the insect prepared by Kotaro.

    And then, when he changed the bait with shrimp-looking worm¨D¨D

    ¡¸IT''S COMING! A BIG ONE! THIS ONE IS REALLY HUGE!¡¹

    Yamada got really excited.

    He felt that the one that bit the bait and hook was a really big fish.

    And it was really powerful to the point that even a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡» like Yamada got dragged in.

    If the rod and string weren''t made by Kotaro, it might have already broken instantly.

    ¡¸Oi Yamada, are you okay!?¡¹

    ¡¸A big one bit the hook.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously dude, is that the boss!?¡¹

    ¡¸Help me! This fe is really strong!¡¹

    Unwilling to let go of the big prey that finally bit the hook, the Totem Pole Trio rushed to help Yamada immediately.

    The four men then worked together to stop the rampage of the fish under the water and pulled it back to the shore.

    ¡¸GUYS, MATCH MY TIMING!¡¹

    ¡¸ROGER!¡¹

    ¡¸Ready when you are!¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me, Yamada!¡¹

    ¡¸You can do it, everyone!¡¹

    Airi''s cheering added some heat to the climax of the fishing.

    As if waiting for that moment, Yamada then raised his voice.

    ¡¸PULL IT NOW!¡¹

    Giant water sprayed in the air along with the shout of the men.

    Something big rampaging around, broke the surface of theke.

    SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

    The one that raised a shrill yet muffled cry was a horse.

    Though it had a horn on its forehead was akin to that of a unicorn. The said horn was twisted and glowing in purple color, giving it an ominous appearance. It had ashen, long hairs, but its limbs were covered in green scales.

    It had fins in ce of a tail and mane, it looked like a chimera beast thatbined fish and horse.

    ¡¸Wha-What the heck is this¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Horse monster inside theke should be called Kelpie.¡¹

    Though Yamada was really bewildered when he found out that he had fished a horse instead of fish, Shimokawa who realized that the horse was a monster warned everyone immediately.

    ¡¸Oi, this fe might be a rare monster, all right?¡¹

    ¡¸Hee, then we cannot let it go for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯sing towards us instead of escaping! It seems to be really pissed off!¡¹

    The Kelpie thatnded on the shore tore the hook that caught inside its mouth while raising rough nasal breathing, then looked at Yamada who was holding the pole. Even Airi whockedbat experience realized that the Kelpie was pissed off.

    ¡¸Tch, ain''t have any choice I guess.¡¹

    Yamada threw his pole and readied his ¡ºck Iron Great Axe¡», the Totem Pole Trio followed suit and readied their weapon too. Even Airi raised her arms, preparing to fire her ¡ºLux Sagita¡» at the moment of notice.

    ¡¸Don''t let go of your catch ever¨D¨D EVERYONE LET''S GOO!!¡¹

    ====

    ¡¸A~h, I''m so damn busy.¡¹

    My entrance workshop was as busy as ever today. I had to prepare various sealing equipment for Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n.

    That was the reason the exploration team was also moving around to collect various materials. Moreover, I wished that they find more rare monster materials such as Crystasaurs instead of small fry monsters.

    I wanted to have at least 7 bloss-ss big core.

    Boss core wasn''t just big, the measurement of its magical power in ordance to its glow was 4 cand. The quality was clearly different from the core of other monsters.

    The boss might pop up again after it gets defeated. s, it would take quite some time for that to happen.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<¡ªReally fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 226.2 - Rare Monster Material

    Chapter 226.2 - Rare Monster Material

    Since everyone was teleporting to each area from this fairy square, this ce became some sort of a hub. Not to mention that the distance toward the boss room was quite far.

    Just in case, when we tried to check the closest boss room, the boss had yet to respawn.

    The long distance and ourck of information about the time needed for respawn of the boss made it quite inefficient.

    Thus, we had no choice but to aim for rare monsters instead. They were not boss yet had power rivaling that of boss monsters, and they could be found anywhere. Finding them was hard, but it was much more efficient than waiting for the boss monster to respawn.

    In fact, we had already found and defeated Crystasaurs and a monster that looked like the general of living armor.

    And though it was mere coincidence, the Yamada party encountered and defeated Kelpie when fishing at theke. This fe also had a boss quality core, it was an unexpected haul. Due to that battle, everyone became tattered and slimey.

    Now we had four big cores.

    Crystasaurs that we found first, the second one that we foundter, from Living General and Kelpie,bined was four.

    Takanashi could use alchemy tobine those cores and increase their size to their limit. In short, no amount of cores from small fries could match one big core of a boss-rank monster.In terms of intensity, which is defined as cand, even if we processed a core of 1 cand with alchemy, we could only raise them to 2 cands at most. In the case of a core with the intensity of 2 cands, the maximum improvement was 3 cands. Even if we could raise it to 4 cands by fusing 3 cores, fusing it itself was impossible.

    ording to Takanashi, it was possible with advanced alchemy but¡­ I doubt she was telling the truth.

    ¡¸A~h, so busy~.¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun, since you seem free,e help us!¡¹

    ¡¸He won''t hear you, such workload¡­ I should''ve been with Kenzaki-san in the hunting team right now and yet¡­¡¹

    It was Nakajima, he had a forlorn look due to a mountain of jobs before him and a furious Himeno.

    Since any kind of material had to go through first processing, their job was really simple, but seemingly there was no end to it.

    <i> I mean, Himeno, you already skipped yesterday''s healing magic training session to y at theke, right? I know about it. Since you feel refreshed after having some fun, you might as well do your job properly.</i>

    ¡¸Impossible, I''m just as busy as you two~.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t screw with me! Help us already, it won''t end at this rate!¡¹

    ¡¸My skill is going to get dull if I don''t fight¡­ I''ll get another lesson from Kenzaki-san but¡­¡¹

    From the looks of it, it seems both of them were really overwhelmed by the amount of the work.

    Behind those two were heaps of mined light stones, and various corpses of monsters in huge quantities.

    After removing impurities from the light stones with simple alchemy formation, it was then sorted by the intensity of light and attribute.

    The corpse of the monster was dismantled into various parts such as viscera, core, horn, talon, shell, scale, and skin by their respective attributes.

    Though both of them were wearing work clothes made from spider thread woven by me, the white clothes had already be very dirty with grime and blood. And this was their third clothes already.

    I, on the other hand, was lying down elegantly, designing a new magic item while drinking honey lemon from the ss in my hand.

    It couldn''t be helped, thanks to ¡ºCurse ALchemy Formation¡» my dream expanded without limit.

    ¡¸Hohohoho, nothing beats drinking refreshing honey lemon while looking at the lowly dailyborer.¡¹

    ¡¸DAMN CAPITALIST, GO TO HELL!¡¹

    ¡¸Whoop, just kidding. I''ll help you guys.¡¹

    Himeno, who got cornered, might have been identally enlightened to developmunism.

    Maybe she was the type that would finish her job properly when entrusted with one. It felt like she was about to blow her fuse before the workload was clearly beyond her limit. The workload was so much to the point that she couldn''t even flirt with Nakajima.

    ¡¸Then get yer ass here.¡¹

    ¡¸Let''s begin with tidying everything.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t screw with me! Do you think we have that kind of leisure with today''s quota!?¡¹

    The one who decided the said quota was me though. Well, it didn''t really matter since I wasn''t a stingy boss who would me his workers for no reason.

    ¡¸Well, at least it''s impossible to work properly with many things scattered all over the ce. So let''s use this chance to calm down.¡¹

    I mean, the workshop looked as if an artist was in a hurry and started with the material before him.

    If it were me, I would begin with sorting the materials. Using Rem, of course.

    ¡¸Then, maybe we have to call Randou-san. Her training seems to be going well. And should we call Takanashi too? She might be cking off anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸Such thing¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸If you can gather people that easily, you should have done that from the beginning!¡¹

    <i> My bad Himeno-san. I mean, I''m a ss rep too.</i>

    <i> You said the nice thing, I have the power to mobilize personnel.</i>

    ¡¸Okay then Himeno-san will be tidying the materials scattered around. Nakajima-kun tidy the light stone. Leave the unused materials and trash to Rem.¡¹

    <i> Now, let''s call the diligent Randou-san and the truant bi*ch Takanashi</i>.

    And just when I was about to call them, the teleportation circle at the entrance workshop glowed.

    <i> Who returned I wonder.</i>

    ¡¸Wee back, Tendou-kun. How''s the catch?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, I hunted down something that you''ll like. See¨D¨D¡ºDeath Stalker¡»¡¹

    Tendou-kun held his right hand aloft, deploying a golden magic circle, and dropped a giant scorpion monster from within. To be exact, the upper half was humanoid like that of Arachne.

    Its thorny ck carapace reflected a dangerous purple light. Its humanoid upper half was also d in a bulky carapace which reminded me of the living armor.

    And yet, both of its hands were a pair of giant scissors.

    The tip of their long tail that got cut from its root was akin to a huge, scorching spear.

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOOH, THIS IS A REALLY NICE MATERIAL, AND POISONOUS TOO!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, its poison is really something else. Anyone who gets poisoned by this fe will die for sure.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks a lot Tendou-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Now I''m going to sleep, too tired after fighting this fe.¡¹

    ¡¸Mei-chan is in the dining room, grab some beverage from her.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll show my face over there.¡¹

    Tendou-kun walked away as he replied, waving his handzily.

    ¡¸Wait, Tendou-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸We will go with you~.¡¹

    JuryMary Combi followed him. It had been a while since they were teamed up, that might be the reason why they were all fired up.

    ¡¸The bath has already been warmed up, you may use it anytime you want.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸You''ll be an ideal wife.¡¹

    Well, the one who wanted a wife was me though. I mean, it was like a dream to make my wife make me choose from a bath, meal, and her.

    ¡¸Thank you for the hard work, ss Rep, Natsukawa-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I''m really exhausted. And Ryuuichi is always acting on his own convenience.¡¹

    ¡¸NAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, I''m tired of scorpi~on.¡¹

    The duo who appearedst, Natsukawa-san and ss Rep, looked a bit too exhausted.

    ¡¸You mean Death Stalker? It seems you managed to get quite high-quality material, thanks a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸We met one deep in the mine. It''s so strong that its strength might rival a boss ss enemy.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhi~, honey lemon is sho swee~t.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait Natsukawa-san, that''s mine!¡¹

    <i> Why are you drinking it at your own convenience?</i>

    Geez, even though her portion of sweets was prepared in ordance with the contract, I felt Natsukawa-san became less and less reserved toward me after signing the contract.

    And like a drug addict, she became more and more dependent on honey. If I gave her sweet now, she might step into the path of no return.

    ¡¸Do you want to take a bath first or have a meal?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you. You really are sensible in this regard, Momokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸You''ll be a good wife.¡¹

    ¡¸ I heard the same praise a while ago.¡¹

    Since all the girls in our ss became stronger in their respective vocations, I noticed that they went further and further from acquiring domestic skills. At least, the person I asked to explore the desert area was more suited for subjugating monsters than cooking.

    ¡¸Oh right, Himeno-san, can you prepare the bath and meal instead of me from now on?¡¹

    ¡¸I-I''m already really busy as it is.¡¹

    ¡¸E~h, I think this kind of chore will boost your girl''s power through the roof and give you have more homey feel.¡¹

    ¡¸Enough already¡­ Whether it''s a girl''s power or face, I even lost to Momokawa-kun¡­ Once I finish this job I wi¡ª¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I''m just teasing you Himeno-san. Anyhow, let''s dismantle this Death Stalker first.¡¹

    With that, we gathered the five big cores. Our preparation had gradually entered its final stage.

    The day for the decisive battle against Yamata no Orochi was also drawing closer and closer.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<¡ªReally fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 227.1 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    Chapter 227.1 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    When it came to magic items, the first thing that came to my mind was the ¡ºDroplet of Life¡». However, there were various RPG-esque items. After I was separated from Souma''s party, they seemed to get such items from the pce.

    For example, something that had a protection effect, the ¡ºGuard Ring¡», something that increased speed, ¡ºOrnamental Feather of Speed¡», something that prevented fear, ¡ºMedal of Bravery¡», and many others. Still, the ¡ºDroplet of Life¡» that could instantly heal even mortal wounds was the most conspicuous one.

    The effect of magic items was naturally iparable to the power of vocation. Even if the current Mei-chan was equipped with the ¡ºBracelet of Strength¡», the change was insignificant. And the ¡ºOrnamental Feather of Speed¡» was useless for those who mastered the ¡ºHigh Walk¡».

    However, it was really useful for those who were physically weak like me, its reinforcement effect was something that I needed.

    ¡¸HAHAHA, So this is how those Pay-to-Win yers feel when they equip their cash item!¡¹

    I couldn''t stopughing before numerous items piled up in front of me.

    Well, since this wasn''t the strongest equipment, it really couldn''t be called pay-to-win either.

    These magic items were the harvest from previous exploration. It turned out we might be able to find the treasure chest that we missed if we explored the area that had been cleared before.

    Thanks to that, we now had enough to distribute it to two per person and still had some surplus of useless magic items since its effects were canceled by the effect of other items.And gathered here were those useless items. Thus, there was no problem even if I monopolized the items.

    There could beints if I got to choose first and equip the magic item to me. That was the reason I waited for everyone to get their share before taking the rest with me.

    ¡¸First is strength! Strength means POWER!¡¹

    ¡ºBracelet of Strength¡»£º The bracelet is enchanted with reinforcement magic, ¡ºForce Boost¡».

    Quite literally the bracelet enhances my arm''s strength. Just like when Ooyama used ¡ºForce Boost¡».

    ¡¸This is awesome. I''ve be twice as strong as before.¡¹

    I tried to lift various materials scattered across the workshop to check the effect of the item and found out that I could lift a 50 kg object with ease.

    Not on the level of superhuman, but this was the level achievable as long as someone trained their muscle strength. But since it allowed even my scrawny arms to generate this much power, its effect was truly amazing.

    ¡¸I guess this is the kind that enhances STR by number instead of percentage.¡¹

    In the game, there were two kinds of enhancement¡ª the type that raised my base stats in ordance to percentage such as 10% or 20%, and the type that directly added fixed numbers such as STR+10 or +100.

    Since even someone with poor base stats like me could gain such a visible effect meant that this was the item that raised stats ording to fixed numbers. That might be the reason the effect seemed to be really significant to me, yet insignificant to Mei-chan.

    ¡¸So the effect is really insignificant for those who are already strong, to begin with.¡¹

    Thanks to that though I could get enough boost for my trash stats, meaning that those small fries wouldn''t be able to defeat me that easily anymore.

    ¡¸Next is defense. I hate pain after all!¡¹

    ¡ºGuard Ring¡»£ºA ring which has the same effect as martial art ¡ºGuard¡» when invoked.

    I''ve proven this guy''s effect. It was hard enough to withstand a punch or thrown rock.

    It wouldn''t be enough to stop martial arts, but it was enough to protect me from the ws of the gargoyle. They were the most annoying obstacles due to their sheer number.

    ¡¸And most of all, I''m not fast enough!¡¹

    ¡ºOrnamental Feather of Speed¡»: Enable faster running speed as if invoking ¡ºHigh Walk¡».

    Movement speed was important. When push came to shove, the ability to escape was vital.

    This item allowed me to run as fast as Usain Bolt and enhanced my jumping power too.

    Maybe I should try to do some parkour in the ruined city area.

    ¡¸Next is my body.¡¹

    ¡ºVital Bracelet¡»: Bracelet that reinforces physical strength and stamina.

    I couldn''t check its effect since I had no idea what this "Physical Strength" was, but it might allow me to survive a critical hit. It would be better if it could also suppress pain, but beggars can''t choose.

    The effect on stamina was pretty neat. This item allowed me to run a full marathon at full speed.

    ¡¸Man, doesn''t this mean the current me is the peak of humankind?¡¹

    My power, speed, and stamina alone rose until I reached the peak of humankind.

    Unfortunately, the specs of such a peak were trash in this other world. It was just as strong as govu.

    ¡¸That''s enough to tell me just how amazing the boost from vocation is. And they''re actually stronger than me¡­¡¹

    Both Ueda and Nakai had already disyed power that broke the limit of humankind, and JuryMary Combi was actually much stronger than both of them.

    And then, the three aces were even stronger than those vanguard with superhuman stats.

    Well, no need to cry over spilt milk. I mean, I still have my curse and life force!

    ¡¸With this, I cleared the bare minimum requirement for base specs.¡¹

    That rocky mountain is steep. I might not be able to climb it if I try it with my base specs.

    ¡¸I''m d that my specs boosted at thest minute.¡¹

    It''s not like a magic item would exhibit its effect as long as you wore it. Just like in the game, it had various restrictions¡­ Rather, it might be a problem withpatibility or abination of items that cancel each other.

    For example, even if someone equipped the same magic item, the effect wouldn''t ovep, only one of them would win. Various magic items hadpatibility, when equipped together, they were either ineffective or less effective.

    That''s why one needed to equip a necessary amount of magic items andbinations whose effects wouldn''t interfere with each other.

    In my case, I didn''t have to worry about the kind or number of magic items equipped to me.

    I equipped the most magic item among my ssmates. I equipped 4 at once.

    ¡¸If only I can raise the skill level of my alchemy a little more, I might be able to modify the magic item.¡¹

    Unfortunately, the current me wouldn''t be able to do that. I might end up destroying them if I messed up.

    ¡¸I only made one cane, let''s try that.¡¹

    After trial and error using ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡» and ¡ºOuw Decoding¡», I finally managed to create a new cane.

    Its name was ¡ºAir Launcher¡».

    Shape-wise, it looked more like a bazookauncher than a cane.

    It had a mechanism tounch a bullet which was powered by a wind gem. It could shoot ¡ºAir Sagita¡» too.

    Since I could now produce my own bullet series such as smoke ball, I thought that I should make full use of it. Since I am not an archer, the hit rate, if I use it, wouldn''t be that high. So this cane was useless in realbat.

    I couldn''t afford to throw it with my hand¡­ And I had no confidence in the control of my shoulder.

    Thus, I was wondering if I could use wind gem to fire ¡ºAir Sagita¡» and load it into the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡» tounch wind magic like a grenadeuncher, and started working with that concept.

    I ended up wasting one cane which I got from the treasure chest, but I managed toplete this cane.

    It looked like auncher no matter how you looked at it, but essentially it was still the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡» thatpressed air and fired it.

    A shaman like me couldn''t make full use of the wind attribute cane. But if it was invoked via the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡», it would enable me to fire ¡ºAir Sagita¡» as a curse.

    It made me wonder whether it was a glitch in thew, but I had no choice but to use the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡» to use magic.

    Anyhow, I offered my deepest gratitude to Ruinhilde-sama''s extremely generous judgment in recognizing thisuncher as the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡».

    The ¡ºOuw Decoding¡» was really useful when it came to regting the output of wind pressure and fire it.

    I tried to take apart all the parts of the magic circle which I decoded from goma''s magic circle. Then, I put it together again to see their effect through trial and error.

    As a result, I managed to adjust the wind pressure and had it fired at the size of a tennis ball.

    In this way, I could fire a grenade at a faraway ce with ease.

    Yes, Hinagiku-san stopped creating the poisonous smoke bullet, but I made a real bullet that exploded.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Tsuke Ojisan no Isekai Press Manyuuki~Sono Mono, Zen Shuzoku(Yuusha to Maou mo Fukumu) ni Tsukeshi, Sekai wo Sukutta Saikyou Musuo no Harem Ou Nari~<¡ªReally fun but suggested to read when you''re alone so that other won''t mistake you for mentally handicapped</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

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 Chapter 227.2 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    Chapter 227.2 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    The ingredients were fire light stone and several cores. So even without fire attribute magic, it would explode upon the slightest impact.

    The effect would change depending on the materials; it would spew cold air if we used ice magic stone, and scattered countless electric sparks if I used thunder.

    As long as I had the ingredients, I could mass-produce low-rank spells.

    However, since I needed attack power right now, I could only use fire and thunder.

    ¡¸I have the materials but, there''s a limit to how many bullets I can bring with me¡­ Well, that''s enough for now.¡¹

    I had to cut the weight even further to prevent it from bing a hindrance when we were on the move. I''ve prepared to load the spare on Rem though.

    Launcher could be slung on my shoulder, I could carry the bullet with a pouch, and I''d even made a backpack to store the rest.

    I was fully prepared. The next thing to do was remodel Rem who would be our main force.

    ¡¸Well, that can wait for tomorrow.¡¹Once I snapped out, I realized that I was the only one left in the workshop.

    Since I was the only one left in the entrance workshop, it meant that the others had already taken a bath and slept in their room.

    What a tragedy, my employees had no backbone at all.

    ¡¸Momokawa~, are you you still over there~?¡¹

    Randou-san suddenly appeared in the workshop when I was tidying up the ce.

    ¡¸I just finished it now. I''ll take a bath and hit the bed after this.¡¹

    ¡¸You must be exhausted. Shall I wash your back?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, are you sure!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    Though I bit the bait immediately, I realized that couldn''t be true. It was too good to be true.

    ¡¸I want to do that, but it''s not like doing that is breaking the rule either.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I''m the vice chief of the public moralmittee. I am the rule.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop abusing your power, please.¡¹

    She didn''t have that kind of authority either. I mean the job of the vice chief of the public moralmittee wasn''t to make a rule, it was to make sure that no one broke the rules. She should know the legitive, executive, and judicial powers, right?

    ¡¸Too bad, it''s a rare chance, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks for the offer though.¡¹

    Honestly speaking, without any particr topic like this put me at ease. Not to mention that she went as far as looking up for me in this ce.

    Man, it was really nice to have someone worrying about you.

    ¡¸Are you sure that you''re not overworking yourself, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸Nope, it''s just the usual.¡¹

    It wasn''t a bluff. I might''ve been working overtimetely, but both my sleeping time and meal time were guaranteed.

    ¡¸In the end, you''re the one who makes the n and executes it. That''s why I thought that you might feel some sort of responsibility for that.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay. I''m really grateful that you''re worrying about me.¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Your answer sounds like an old man.¡¹

    E~h, ain''t that a rather cruel evaluation? I thought I was replying properly.

    ¡¸Well, I''m not that smart after all, so I don''t know the extent of your n but¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸At least try to deny it please!¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, my bad, I just get along with the flow.¡¹

    I mean, Randou-san having the lowest academic ability in the ss wasn''t a secret either¡­ She was also the only person I''d ever seen with a red mark¡­

    Well, maybe I should at least say ¡¸That''s not true¡¹ even if it was only an empty talk.

    Thanks to my blunder, my cheeks became her toy.

    ¡¸Anyhow, I can''t help worrying that you might copse from exhaustion.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, this is not a big deal. This is also my hobby by the way.¡¹

    I mean the excellent crafting skill called ¡ºCurse Alchemy Formation¡» was very interesting.

    ¡¸I, on the other hand, am not that strong nor helpful.¡¹

    ¡¸That''s only your imagination. Randou-san''s ability is powerful, and it''s also the cornerstone of our n.¡¹

    I mean, her ability to instantly transform the terrain and make a castle out of nowhere was something that no one was capable of.

    ¡¸Even that, I still need you to teach me the method.¡¹

    I had to teach her since she had never done that before.

    Her vocation, the ¡ºGeomancer¡» couldn''t exhibit its forte because the ownercked the imagination to use it. Honestly speaking, I think that Randou-san was the best spellcaster among the ssmates.

    ¡¸I have other things I can do aside from earth magic.¡¹

    ¡¸You were fired by Mei-chan and banned from entering the kitchen just the other day, right?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s not because I can''t cook for sure. But, it convinces me that I can''t ever beat her in terms of cooking.¡¹

    Maybe Randou-san''s girl power was on a normal level, Mei-chan was simply a maestro.

    ¡¸Hey, Momokawa.¡¹

    Radou-san beckoned to me toe to her.

    When I walked closer to her, she suddenly looked around as if to confirm for thest time that there was no one around.

    And then¨D¨D She hugged me.

    ¡¸You cane to my room if you feel like it.¡¹

    Whispered into my ears, kissed my cheek, and let go of me before I could react to her.

    ¡¸Wh, WA!?¡¹

    By the time I snapped out, she had already let go of her embrace.

    ¡¸One round should be enough!¡¹

    ¡¸O-One round, of wha¡ª¡¹

    That one round, was she referring to one shot?

    ¡¸Well then, g''nite Momokawa.¡¹

    After toying with my feelings, Randou-san left with an impish smile on her face.

    ¡¸¡­ Dammit, who''s the idiot that suggested the love ban rule?¡¹

    [TL: It''s you]

    I couldn''t sleep properly that night since my imagination went wild.

    Had Randou-san by chance changed her vocation to ¡ºSubus¡» before I knew it?

    <i>Seriously, just what does she want to do by making me restless like this? Does she love me or like me¨D¨D</i>

    But well, that had to wait until we managed to get out of this dungeon.

    That was another reason to beat Yamata no Orochi as soon as possible, it was so that I could experience the springtime of youth as soon as possible.

    ====

    Before I noticed, a month had almost psed since the cohabitation life in the school tower. Time passed by in the blink of an eye, though it wasrgely due to the fact that we had so many things to do.

    I was sure that my Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n had be a more feasible goal for everyonepared to the first day. I felt that I had no choice but to be aware that the day of the decisive battle was inching closer and closer with each passing day. And everyone''s mood seemed to be affected by that too.

    ¡¸Finally, everything is ready.¡¹

    The keyponent of Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n was upying the workshop.

    Himeno-san hadpleted 150 sets of anchors that originally should have been done by the next five years.

    The original n was to nail 100 anchors into each head,, but since it was too hard to achieve, we reduced the number tohalf, 50 anchors.

    ording to my n, we would drive therge, barbed harpoon into the head, the chain that extended from the handle connected to the stake would be nailed into the ground. Every single one of them was painstakingly made with alchemy. The crystallization of our effort.

    Since the restrain operation had to be done as fast as possible, the stake had to be driven in beforehand. During the n, the vanguard had to guide the head toward the prepared location.

    Well, as long as it was up to the phase before we climbed the rocky mountain, we could still afford to do trial and error as much as possible.

    ¡¸That''s why tomorrow''s performance would decide our direction¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, there you are, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    Mei-chan appeared at the entrance workshop, it seemed she was already done with washing the dishes.

    It was ominous to call itst supper, but tonight''s meal was more gorgeous than usual. It seemed Mei-chan had made various preparations for this day. She used a generous amount of sugar to make a luxurious dessert to make aplete full-course meal.

    Thanks for the food, it was very delicious. Everyone had been doing their best to gather the food ingredients too, after all.

    ¡¸Are you nervous?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, everyone is betting their life on this n after all.¡¹

    I felt the weight of responsibility weighing on my shoulders. I mean, I''m just your average dude, not a cruel and ruthless character who could use others without batting their eyes.

    ¡¸But, we have no choice but to do what we can do for now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I believe in you, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸I believe in you too, Mei-chan. That''s why if pushes to shove¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me. I''ll do anything and everything to save you, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    Mei-chan had the energy and determination to carry out my order, no matter how outrageous the said order was. That''s why I could trust her.

    Even if I showed my back to Sakura, Mei-chan would stay by my side to protect me. In a millionth chance she tried to kill me, she would split in half along with her barrier of light.

    ¡¸Hey, Kotaro-kun. It might sound presumptuous to say this on the eve of battle, but¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Fine, I''m all ears.¡¹

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

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 Chapter 227.3 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    Chapter 227.3 - Night Before Decisive Battle

    Since it sounds like a death g if she said something along the lines of "After the end of this battle", let''s hear her for now.

    ¡¸If someone dies and the n fails, let''s escape, just the two of us.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I don''t think I can do that¡­¡¹

    Even if someone died during the operation, I would be regarded as fulfilling my duty as long as we defeated Yamata no Orochi. But I could do nothing if someone died and the n had failed.

    ¡¸If someone dies and the n fails, maybe not even I could recover from that.¡¹

    ¡¸They can''t just put all the me on you, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸I won''t be able to escape from criticism as long as someone among us is dead.¡¹

    There wouldn''t be such a problem since I had exined the risk, and everyone had agreed to take this n even after that. This was a matter of emotion.

    And that might be the reason Mei-chan was tempting me to escape together.¡¸I''ll stay by your side regardless of the result. I''ll clear up the escape route for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks, it''s really reassuring to hear you saying that.¡¹

    Though my line might sound fishy, that was the best reply I could give Mei-chan and my true feelings.

    That was even more reason for me to do my best to keep everyone alive, including that nagging Sakura.

    But if even that failed, I wouldn''t go as far asmitting Harakiri. I did my best for everyone but, spare me from the death penalty, please.

    ¡¸But don''t worry about it, everything will be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Though not all of us managed to reach this area, many of our ssmates managed to reach this ce.¡¹

    If this n doesn''t work, we might not be able to defeat Orochi no matter what. Though it sounds embarrassing for me to say this, I think we''re well prepared.

    ¡¸This is the only time all of us can go all out. Everyone can fight with such hope in their heart, thus today is the first andst¨D¨D So we have to kick that Yamata no Orochi on the a*s.¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D So, you seem to be wanting to talk about something, Takanashi-san¡¹

    ¡¸Since you secretly called us to discuss that matter, it must be a really important matter right?¡¹

    School Tower, 5th Floor, ndestine Meeting Room.

    Three people gathered in this room; two were the Souma siblings who Takanashi Kotori called.

    ¡¸Uhm¡­¡¹

    It must be a very difficult topic since Takanashi Kotori had a troubled look on her youthful face.

    ¡¸Don''t worry, only Sakura and I havee to this ce. No one is eavesdropping on this conversation either.¡¹

    ¡¸You may talk Kotori. Let us hear the thing you want to tell us.¡¹

    The siblings smiled upon looking at Takanashi Kotori, looking around anxiously like a kid.

    Following a few seconds of silence, she finally opened her mouth.

    ¡¸Y-You see, I know that it seems wrong to say this at this kind of timing but¨D¨D¡¹

    Tomorrow was the D-Day of the Yamata no Orochi subjugation n.

    Everyone''s morale and spirit were sky-high and fully equipped. They were in the best condition to carry out the n.

    ¡¸Momokawa-kun¨D¨D Is hiding something.¡¹

    ¡¸So there''s something that he has hidden from us.¡¹

    ¡¸No doubt about it, that Momokawa is always up to no good, after all.¡¹

    ¡¸No! I don''t mean that¡­ I just feel that he might hide something that might potentially kill¡­ Everyone.¡¹

    The smile vanished from the siblings¡¯ faces hearing Takanashi''s desperate plea.

    They didn''t truly believe that Momokawa Kotaro was theirrade.

    Sakura aside, Yuuto had always been observing Momokawa Kotaro''s every single action.

    ¡¸I don''t think he will backstab us at this kind of timing but¡­¡¹

    He was a sworn enemy who killed Yuuto''s childhood friend, Reina.

    However, Yuuto also couldn''t deny the fact that it was thanks to Kotaro that the ss was united, making preparations, subjugation ns, and training until they were ready to face the mighty raid boss, Yamata no Orochi.

    There was no doubt about Kotaro''s effort in this regard.

    ¡¸If Momokawa really tries to backstab us, I don''t think that he''s stupid enough to do that at a crucial moment like this.¡¹

    Sakura believed that Kotaro really did his best preparing to defeat Yamata no Orochi.

    So no matter how wicked or ambitious Kotaro was, he had to defeat the boss monster that couldn''t be defeated with nothing but raw power and correct tactics. And the youth called Kotaro definitelycked the power to do that.

    ¡¸But! But¡­ I''ve got a really bad feeling about this¡­¡¹

    ¡¸I know how you feel, Takanashi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I agree with you, so calm down. We''re on your side, Kotori.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, thanks, Souma-kun, Sakura-chan¡­ But, this bad feeling isn''t just Kotori''s imagination, I think ites from my vocation, the ¡ºSage¡».¡¹

    ¡¸Are you by chance, awakening some sort of precognition skill?¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, I don''t think it has that kind of amazing power! Nor it''s a foresight either but¡­ I just know that something is about to go wrong. I think Momokawa is trying to backstab us or something along that way¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Kotori¡­¡¹

    Even Sakura wasn''t stupid enough to blindly believe in Takanashi''s remark

    The reason being Sakura was the one who was most wary of Kotaro among the ssmates and always harsh on thetter.

    Ironically, that was even more reason for her to believe that Kotaro wasn''t a stupid person who would betray them at such a crucial moment.

    Because all the preparation work he did until now was the real deal.

    ¡¸I understand your worries, Takanashi-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Big Brother, do you believe in Kotori?¡¹

    ¡¸I don''t think Momokawa is going to betray us at this point but¡­ Since Takanashi-san told us to be very careful of him, I guess there''s nothing wrong with being prepared.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry for saying something like this without any evidence Souma-kun¡­ But, Kotori is happy that you''re willing to hear her.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I do agree that Momokawa is a dangerous fe. That''s why I''ll observe him properly.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Don''t worry, Kotori. Since I''ll participate in his team for tomorrow''s operation, I''ll make sure that he won''t do something fishy.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, thanks Sakura-chan.¡¹

    Maybe because she finally could let go of her worries, Kotori''s usual smile returned to her face.

    ¡¸But, Takanashi-san, keep this a secret between us.¡¹

    ¡¸Of course, telling this to everyone will only cause unnecessary unrest.¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay. It''s enough as long as both of you believe in Kotori.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, leave the matter of Momokawa to us.¡¹

    Thus, without any other topic for conversation, they dispersed.

    After that Kotori left the ndestine room and returned to her own room.

    The Souma siblings waited in silence.

    ¡¸What do you think, Big Brother?¡¹

    ¡¸Let''s just do as Takanashi-san had told us.¡¹

    Though he couldn''t imagine that Kotaro would betray them at this time, he had no choice but to keep his vignce.

    Realistically speaking, that was his only choice.

    ¡¸You''re, right¡­¡¹

    ¡¸What do you think, Sakura?¡¹

    ¡¸Naturally, I''m also anxious about this matter.¡¹

    It was obvious that she was shaken after being told that the night before the decisive battle. Not to mention that the other party was Kotaro, an extremely problematic individual for the pair of siblings.

    ¡¸For the time being, let''s just do as per our original n.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. Everyone is risking their life after all¡­ I will destroy the core for sure.¡¹

    Kotaro''s Yamata no Orochi subjugation n must remain undisturbed.

    The preparation they did so far had united everyone in the ss. At this point, it was literally impossible to make a change in the n.

    They were prepared¨D¨D Or so it was supposed to be s, doubt formed in the hearts of the siblings.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

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 Chapter 228.1 - Relight And Various Spirit 1

    Chapter 228.1 - Relight And Various Spirit 1

    Gaogao!

    A stray dog with red fur charged at us, baring its fangs and letting out a war cry.

    ¡¸WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?¡¹

    I wielded my spear in desperation. Well "desperate" was an understatement, all I could do was thrust blindly.

    Luckily, one of those noob thrust lodged into the body of the red dog.

    It yelped in pain and quickly backed away.

    But, I wasn''t out of danger yet.

    GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    A chill ran down my spine at the deafening roar. Another red dog, evenrger than the first, rushed toward me.¡¸DAMN YOU BOSS DOG BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!¡¹

    But even the bigger boss red dog didn''t dare to approach me thanks to my spear.

    My meager skill aside, this spear itself had a sharp iron spear tip. Its sharp edge raised the vignce of the boss dog, it didn''t dare to leap at me and just growled menacingly. Or maybe, it was waiting for me to make a slip.

    GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    That moment, the boss dog opened its muzzle and spit fire from its mouth!

    <i>Dammit, this fe is a fire-breathing dog huh!?</i>

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA¨D¨DEh, it''s not hot?¡¹

    The fire wasn''t an illusion, I mean, the boss dog did spat fire toward me and yet, strangely enough, it didn''t feel hot at all.

    Well, I felt a strange heat on my chest.

    ¡¸Mera~¡¹

    ¡¸Bora~¡¹

    Those childlike voices came out from the zippo lighter in my chest pocket.

    The Zippo, glowing a bright red as if it had an LED installed, had be the dwelling ce of the fire spirit.

    ¡¸Co-Could it be that you guys are the ones who protected me?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    I couldn''t get a proper answer, but it seemed they really were the ones who protected me from the fire.

    I see, since they were spirits of fire, they could manipte the fire, or extinguish it altogether.

    ¡¸Thank you, guys! As expected, spirits are friends!¡¹

    GAOGAO, DOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Maybe because it realized that its me breath got nullified, the boss dog roared angrily.

    It then closed in the distance between us, baring its fangs to bite at my windpipe!

    Oh no, the spirit wouldn''t be able to protect me from a direct physical attack!

    ¡¸PUNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    At that moment, a strong, hairy arm brimming with wild power cut in from the side.

    The hand that had sharp and glittering ws on it punched straight into the boss dog''s cheek, sending it flying to the side.

    ¡¸KINAKO!¡¹

    ¡¸Leave the rest to me, Relight.¡¹

    After defeating the pack of red dogs, Kinako rushed at once to help me.

    ¡¸Maan, that''s my bear buddy for you.¡¹

    It''s been three days since I''ve been wandering in the forest with Kinako.

    I''d gotten used to this kind of lifestyle before I noticed.

    Or so I thought. In fact, I didn''t be stronger, I was more suited for a support position.

    ¡¸¨D¨DPuhaa! Cold water is the best. Do you want some too, Kinako?¡¹

    ¡¸Gimme some.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, open your mouth.¡¹

    ¡¸A~h.¡¹

    I turned the leather bag that I took from Boss Goma upside down, pouring its contents into Kinako''s mouth.

    Thus, the cold water inside poured out at once.

    The amount of water was obviously far above the capacity of the bag.

    ¡¸Wate~r¡¹

    ¡¸Pou~r¡¹

    The secret naturally lies in the spirit.

    Just like the case with the fire spirit in my lighter, the water spirit dwelled in the leather bag before I knew it.

    They looked like blue-colored, neon stick men and were the reason I could live without having to worry about drinking water.

    And for some reason, the longer I walked in the forest with Kinako, the more spirits came to offer their assistance.

    At this point, I''d finally came to understand the power of my ¡ºSpiritualist¡» vocation.

    Though I might have an easier time traveling if I had a vocation that used sword or magic, I might eventually die from hunger and thirst. Even if I managed to find something to eat or drink, it might cause stomach ache, or kill me due to powerful poison.

    I remember watching a TV program before which exined that the secret of survival life was only to eat something that you know was safe.

    At this point, the spirit had provided me with an almost inexhaustible supply of drinking water, and Kinako had taught me about what was safe to eat. I might be the most blessed person in this survival environment.

    ¡¸Thanks for the hard work today, Kinako.¡¹

    ¡¸Puga~, it''s not a big deal.¡¹

    ¡¸The battle against a pack of red dogs was a fierce one for sure. I mean, you''re injured during that battle too. Come ¡®ere, I''ll wash your body.¡¹

    ¡¸Thanks, Relight.¡¹

    We decided to camp on the riverside and prepared to cross the river at night.

    Kinako, who loved to clean itself despite being a wild bear, was really delighted when I washed its body. I mean, its hands couldn''t reach its back.

    And when their hair got soiled by blood during the battle, I would wash it clean to express my gratitude for protecting me. At this point, all I could do was desperately swing my spear just to protect myself. The day when I stood side-by-side and fought along with Kinako was still a faraway dream.

    ¡¸Relight, I(ore), will catch fish.¡¹

    [TL: now it''s confirmed that Kinako is a male, so I''ll use "He" from this point]

    ¡¸Then I''ll gather edible nuts and fruits around this area.¡¹

    Thanks to Kinako I knew which fruit or nut was edible and delicious, well not that much but, at least it was edible. I mean, edible ingredients were important during this kind of time.

    ¡¸GriLLed FIsh¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹

    Thus, I took charge of cooking.

    Well, the said cooking is just sprinkling salt and grilling the fish though.

    Still, Kinako had apparently taken a liking to warm grilled fish seasoned with salt over raw fish. By the way, his preference for grilled fish was rare. It put me at ease when he said that he liked the one that grilled rare.

    The current me hadn''t been able to master the grilling skill yet.

    ¡¸Puga~, YUmMy! Grilled fish, So YummY!¡¹

    ¡¸That''s a relief. Since the fish had a strange appearance I have no idea if I grilled it in the right way.¡¹

    ¡¸Relight, gRilLed, FisH, AweSome. And YuMmy.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it''ll taste even better if we have more voring though.¡¹

    ¡¸KaRAaGe!¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, like karaage. I''ll make one for you someday, a lot of karaage until we are full.¡¹

    ¡¸Pugaa! KarAge, YeAh!¡¹

    ¡¸Kinako, your wild pose is really cool.¡¹

    I took out my smartphone from my pocket and took a picture of Kinako in that pose.

    <i>Let''s take a picture of the two of us too.</i>

    ¡¸Survival live, 3rd day. Today¡¯s meal is also delicious!¡¹

    I took a selfie arm-in-arm with Kinako and saved the picture in my phone.

    Since it was a precious moment, I also added the record of our everyday lives.

    The reason I wasted my smartphone battery which shouldn''t be able to be recharged in this kind of situation was simply because there was no need to recharge it anymore.

    ¡¸Hey guys, howdy?¡¹

    ¡¸Biribiri~¡¹

    ¡¸Peka~¡¹

    Spirits glowing in white and purple color crawled up from the screen of my smartphone.

    The white one was the spirit of light, and the purple one was the spirit of thunder.

    Both spirits seemed to be residing in the smartphone since the smartphone was powered by electricity and could produce light.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

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 Chapter 228.2 - Relight And Various Spirits 1

    Chapter 228.2 - Relight And Various Spirits 1

    It was thanks to them that the battery of my smartphone had always been fully charged, the illumination itself surpassed that of a shlight.

    My smartphone which crossed over with me from modern day Japan had evolved with the power of spirit.

    ¡¸Shall we y a bit before we hit the bed?¡¹

    Since I had infinite battery, I could y my favorite game forever! The globally popr puzzle game where you erase and stack the heads of the world''s most popr figures was also a big hit with me.

    Though I had no idea why I got an inte connection when this world was supposed to have none of that was stuffed in the backburner of my mind as I yed the game.

    Anyhow, ying wasn''t just for me, it was also for the spirits.

    For some reason, they became really happy and even started to dance when I yed the game.

    Thus, ying games every day was my token of appreciation for letting me use my smartphone even in another world.

    Maybe because Kinako had also be curious, he peeked at the screen of my smartphone. It was a bit of a hindrance when he tried to tap the screen every once in a while with his ws though.¡¸¨D¨DIt''s already thiste. Shall we hit the bed?¡¹

    ¡¸G''nite, RelIght.¡¹

    ¡¸G''nite, Kinako.¡¹

    Thus, I was having another pleasant sleep thanks to Kinako''s fluffy body and hair.

    The next morning.

    After finishing our preparation, we walked along the riverside in great spirits.

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    The forest shook along with that roar.

    Both, goma and the red dog, had a loud roar. But, the one who roared just now was clearly on a whole different level. Its voice alone was enough to make me wonder just how big the size of the owner of that roar was.

    My body was paralyzed on the spot due to the effect of that roar.

    ¡¸Relight, HiDE! NOw!¡¹

    Seeing me stiffened, Kinako scolded me before he lifted me to get away from that ce.

    Just when I was wondering what in the world would happen, the thicket we were using to hide ourselves was also stirred by strong wind. Then that guy appeared in the sky along with a typhoon-like gale.

    ¡¸Y-You must be kidding me¡­ A freaking dragon!?¡¹

    A bright red dragon swooped down toward the riverside while pping its wings.

    It was our camping ground. The remnant of our bonfire got blown away by the pping.

    <i> Could it be that we are its prey?</i>¨D¨D But I heaved a sigh of relief as that notion turned out to be wrong when I saw that dragon suddenly poke its muzzle into the river and drink the water with gusto.

    ¡¸Thank goodness, it just came to drink water.¡¹

    ¡¸Be CaRefUl Relight. We''Re GoinG To DiE if It FounD Us.¡¹

    Kinako was trembling from head to toe. Even his rabbit ears which stood proud in normal situations were lying t on his head due to how terrified he was.

    This was my first time seeing Kinako so terrified. I guess that was only natural when encountering a dragon. It was a kaijuu that fought toe to toe with Godzi.

    Grrr¨D¨D

    Suddenly, the dragon raised its face from the surface of the river and looked around as if scanning its surroundings.

    <i> Oh crap, we''ve been discovered!</i>

    ¡¸¡­.¡¹

    ¡¸Pugugu¡­¡¹

    Kinako and I couldn''t do anything but hug each other in fear.

    <i> Please, don''t let it find our location.</i>

    As if sneering at my desperate plea, the dragon turned its face, sniffing toward the shrub we were hiding at.

    <i> Oh crap¡­ Did it¡­ Find us for real?</i>

    ¡¸Hide~?¡¹

    ¡¸Lu~rk?¡¹

    At that moment, the familiar voice of the spirit sounded in my head.

    Just when I was wondering where they were, they suddenly appeared before me.

    They''re green spirits. They were different from the medicinal nt spirit who I was indebted to in the beginning.

    It seems they were the spirit of the grass that formed this shrub.

    ¡¸¡­ Please hide us.¡¹

    I pleaded with a trembling voice.

    And then, the shrub suddenly moved slowly as if trying to cover Kinako and me.

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    And then, the next moment¨D¨D The red dragon pped its wings again to take off, the wind pressure from its wings mowing down the shrub we were using to hide.

    ¡¸Tha-That was a close call¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Yaay.¡¹

    ¡¸Man, I really thought it found us for a moment.¡¹

    ¡¸It dId FiNd us.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸It FoUnD Us. BuT, The GrEeN SpIrIt Gathered. And The DrAgoN, StoPpEd TrYing To EaT us.¡¹

    ¡¸Seriously? Meaning that it really was going to eat us had it not been for the protection of the spirit.¡¹

    Man, we were really saved by hair''s breadth.

    Haah, I''m really d that I was a spiritualist.

    ¡¸Thank you very much, guys. You really saved our bacon just now¨D¨D That''s why I''m going to rely on you guys too next time!¡¹

    Thanks to that dragon I was being reminded again that this ce was truly another world.

    And this forest was a super dangerous forest teeming with monsters that not even Kinako could defeat.

    That was even more reason for me to be very careful after this.

    ¡¸¨D¨DReliGhT, You''Re ToO TenSe.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, I mean¡­¡¹

    After the encounter with the dragon, I suddenly got really scared of this forest.

    The thing that we had to be wary about wasn''t just the dragon, Kinako had already told me that there were more big monsters.

    Both of us, human and bear, weren''t at the top of the food chain in this forest of another world. This forest was bad news.

    Ah right, since Kinako was only as strong as your average bear, he might have been living with his pack before. I mean, some monsters did hunt with their pack.

    ¡¸Aah, I already miss the city, at this point, I don''t even care if it''s just a vige.¡¹

    Safety was a luxury that triumphed over everythi¨D¨D

    ¡¸RELIghT! TheRe''S SOmEthINg OveR TheRe!¡¹

    ¡¸WEEEEEEEEEH!?¡¹

    Kinako red at the thicket, ready for battle.

    I readied my spear, lowering my height as much as possible.

    Please, whateveres out from behind the thicket, I wish it was a goma or something as weak as goma!

    ¡¸¡­ Let''s Go.¡¹

    Kinako readied himself, then stepped into the thicket where "Something" was hiding.

    Then, beyond the thicket was,

    ¡¸"Wi~mp"¡­¡¹

    A dog.

    ¡¸If it isn''t just a red dog.¡¹

    ¡¸DoG, WeAK. ReAllY, WeAk.¡¹

    From Kinako''s perspective, a pack of red dogs was no different from a small fry¡­ I mean,pared to the one lying injured here.

    ¡¸Surely, this fe looks really thin, and weak.¡¹

    Moreover, dogs were supposed to be moving in packs, and yet, this little one was left alone behind the thicket.

    What was the reason? Was this dog by chance a lone wolf like Kinako who chose to leave his pack?

    ¡¸Ah, ThiS FelLA''s FeEt is InJUrED!!¡¹

    Though I failed to notice immediately since the color of its fur was red, upon a closer look, its hind legs were covered in blood clots. The blood had coagted, and this wound didn''t seem to be something that happened today or yesterday.

    ¡¸Could it be that you are¡­ Abandoned by your pack?¡¹

    ¡¸LeT''S Go ReliGHt. ThiS Fe Isn''T a Threat To US.¡¹

    Kinako, who judged that the dog wasn''t a threat, tugged at my sleeve, urging me to leave.

    But I couldn''t move from there.

    ¡¸Whi~ne¡­ Whi~ne¡­.¡¹

    This fe might die if I left him on his own. The end of the injured wild animal was obvious.

    The dog didn''t have arade to care for it. Since it wasn''t a wound that healed by licking, there was no other way but to abandon it.

    Maybe it wasn''t that its pack was cold-hearted. It was just thew of the jungle.

    But man¡­ Humans were the ones who ignored na?ve emotions such as pity or cruelty.

    ¡¸Wait here, Kinako. I''m going to save this fe!¡¹

    What¡¯s more, I had the power to heal this fe''s wound.

    In that case, there was nothing wrong with healing this fe!

    ¡¸ReLiGht, WhY?¡¹

    ¡¸Call it pity I guess!¡¹

    ¡¸ThAt FeLLa MighT RuSh at YoU if You HeaL That FellA. It''S Too DanGerOUs.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll be relying on you to protect me when that happens, Kinako!¡¹

    I took out the marijuana-like leaf that I gathered along the way as I gave that extremely selfish reply.

    I stuffed the leaves into my emptied lunch box and,

    ¡¸The wOuNd, HeAlE~d?¡¹

    ¡¸ThE BlEEding, STOppe~d?¡¹

    Then the spirit residing in those leaves released the effect of the leaves immediately as if they were eagerly waiting for that.

    ¡¸Yeah, I have a request for you guys! Please heal this fe!¡¹

    Then, I applied the leaves that were glowing green onto the wound of the dog.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 229.1 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    Chapter 229.1 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    ¡¸Yelp, Yelp!¡¹

    ¡¸Buhahaha, oi stop it! It''s ticklish.¡¹

    The red dog puppy was licking my face as its tail waved around.

    ¡¸This puppy became like this as soon as it healed.¡¹

    The red dog started darting around, barking happily once its wound recovered.

    It had been one day since I found this puppy in the forest.

    Just as expected of the recovery power of the medicinal herb''s spirit. Or maybe this fe''s resilient life force. Well, it seems that the bird meat caught by Kinako was quite effective too.

    Anyway, the red dog had recovered.

    And now, this fe who was jumping around me was sticking out his tongue from his fangless mouth. There was no hostility at all. Perhaps this fe got attached to me quickly since he knew that I saved his life.¡¸Well, you''re quite an adorable puppy, ain''t ya?¡¹

    ¡¸Woof!¡¹

    I had alsoe to like this fe pretty quickly.

    Man, this puppy was truly an adorable one for sure.

    ¡¸ReLIghT, SToP yINg ArOUnD And StArt CooKing.¡¹

    ¡¸Hehehe, what''s matter Kinako, are you jealous?¡¹

    ¡¸I''M NoT.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry buddy, but rest assured, you''re the fluffiest one here!¡¹

    ¡¸HumpH.¡¹

    After saying that, Kinako went to fish on the riverside.

    Well, I couldn''t keep dilly-dallying either. Kinako was right, time to prepare the meal.

    ¡¸Woof, woof!¡¹

    ¡¸I have something to do, so wait over here like a good child okay¡­ That reminds me that I haven''t given you a name yet.¡¹

    I mean, this fe was the same as us, chased out from the forest. In short, he was our new travelpanion.

    ¡¸U~hm, let see¡­¡¹

    He might look like an adorable puppy with red hair right now but could grow like his big and ferocious red dog peers.

    In that case, I needed a cool name for him. Definitely not an adorable name like its current appearance.

    ¡¸Okay, your name is Beniwo!¡¹

    ¡¸Yelp, yelp! Woof!¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, do you like it? Man, I must be a genius in giving a name.¡¹

    It seems this fe liked the name Beniwo. He ran around my legs while swinging its tail.

    ¡¸Now listen, you''re not a stray anymore. You''re ourrade, that''s why best regards.¡¹

    ¡¸Woof, woof! MasTEr! Woof, woof!¡¹

    ¡¸Ooh, have you already epted us as yourrade? You noticed when I called you after all.¡¹

    I mean, I did hear Beniqo say ¡¸Master¡¹ when I hugged him.

    Maybe I started to understand the dog''snguage one of these days. It''s just like how I could talk with Kinako.

    Rather, I couldn''t help but notice that Kinako''s speech seemed to be more and more fluent as ofte.

    Oh, whatever. It must be proof of the bond between Kinako and me.

    ¡¸Okay then Beniwo, I''ll make sure to understand you as soon as possible.¡¹

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    Hahaha, such an adorable puppy.

    ===

    In theing days, I realized that our newrade, the red dog Beniwo, wasn''t just a mere adorable puppy.

    ¡¸Master! Woof, woof, woof!¡¹

    When I woke up in the morning thanks to Beniwo''s lively bark, I saw him rolling around before me in high spirits.

    ¡¸A~h, morning Beniwo~¡­ You''ve been quite lively since the morning.¡¹

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    Beniwo spat out something from his muzzle in front of me who was still half asleep.

    <i> Oioioi, did he start to rebel against his Master?</i>

    However, upon a closer look, I realized that the thing he spat out was a sparrow-like bird.

    ¡¸Did you, catch this for me?¡¹

    ¡¸Woof, woof, PrEy!¡¹

    ¡¸I see, that''s amazing Beniwo! Good job!¡¹

    ¡¸Hehehehe, awooo!¡¹

    When I pet him, Beniwo rubbed his body to my feet while wagging his tail happily. Such a spoiled puppy. So adorable.

    Since Beniwo did a really great job in catching this prey, it was only natural to give him a gift, so I plucked the sparrow-like bird''s feathers and gave them to Beniwo to eat.

    Oh, it seemed that Beniwo didn''t catch this sparrow by mere coincidence.

    When we walked in the forest, he followed behind us happily and then went away to somewhere every once in a while¨D¨D Only to return with prey like a small bird or a small rat.

    Finally, when we were preparing for camping, he returned with a hare.

    It was green, had short ears, and horns on its forehead, definitely like a hare or rabbit.

    ¡¸Beniwo, you''re awesome.¡¹

    ¡¸Woof, woof!¡¹

    ¡¸Pugugugu, HoRnEd RaBbiT, Is FaSt. HaRd To CatCh.¡¹

    Even Kinako acknowledged Beniwo''s hunting skills.

    Kinako was ill-suited for catching small and nimble animals such as small birds, rats, or rabbits. Even if he caught one, the amount of meat was far from enough for Kinako''s huge body. The cost-performance ratio was too poor.

    That''s why Kinako''s prey was mainly freshwater fish or medium-sized game such as deer.

    Unfortunately, as we went deeper, we never met the deer-like animal called Jaja which had be the main prey of Kinako and his kin.

    ¡¸I''ll prepare this rabbit, let''s share it among the three of us.¡¹

    Anyhow, it was thanks to Beniwo that we could get meat that was unobtainable with only Kinako and me. I mean, it was tough to only have fish as your meal.

    Being able to eat meat even just a little bit was kinda like a wish to do a little better tomorrow.

    ===

    Still, why did the puppy-like Beniwo who could hunt his prey like nothing, was abandoned by his pack? I got the answer to that question upon our second encounter with goma.

    ¡¸Okay, those gomas areing! We won''t fall behind this time!¡¹

    I was equipped with nothing but a school bag during the previous encounter.

    But the current me was different from before, look at this splendid iron spear. I got this from your boss. I''m different from small fries like you who are only equipped with crudely made stone spears and stone axes!

    So, I readied my beloved spear and brandished it! And smash them, or so I thought since by the next moment, a wooden arrow stuck right by my nk.

    Yes, it was an arrow.

    ¡¸You coward, bow and arrow is cheating!¡¹

    They''re cheating! I mean, ranged weapons were cheating!

    Dammit, if you''re a man, you should fight with a closebat weapon dammit!

    ¡¸Bugugu, gubera!¡¹

    ¡¸Abuda, gozuba!¡¹

    ¡¸Nua~! Stop the bo~w!¡¹

    A few gomas were standing behind the one who wielded a spear and axe, sniping us from a safe distance. Since they kept firing arrows at me, I had no choice but to hide behind the tree.

    Darn, this ain''t the time to fight with a spear!

    Their bow and arrow were crudely made, and their aim was shitty. But it still hurt like hell when their arrow hit me. This was reality, not a game. A single hit from their arrow might send me to the afterlife.

    ¡¸UGRRRRRRRRR, WOOFWOOF!¡¹

    ¡¸AH, BENIWO!?¡¹

    Just when I was musing about how idiotic my overconfidence almost cost me my life, Beniwo barked like an adult dog despite being a puppy and then rushed at once toward the gomas.

    ¡¸GUBAA!¡¹

    ¡¸DAGOBUN!¡¹

    Beniwo closed in quickly, running past the goma who brandished their weapon, heading straight toward the goma archer behind.

    ¡¸WOOF WOOF! BOAN!¡¹

    Opened his muzzle as if baring his fangs, and then spit fire from his mouth.

    ¡¸EH, BENIWO CAN SPIT FIRE!?¡¹

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 229.2 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    Chapter 229.2 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    It was still fresh in my memories that the boss of the red dog that we defeated before could spit fire too.

    And yet, the fire spat by Beniqo was bigger, and the emission time was much longer than the red dog boss.

    ¡¸ABABABA!? GUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The goma archer couldn''t dodge the me and was instantly covered in me. Now they were not in the condition to shoot their arrow again.

    ¡¸Co-Cool¡­¡¹

    Beniwo moved on to the next goma archer immediately.

    And then, when I looked at Beniwo spitting their fire again, I realized something.

    ¡¸AH, FIRE SPIRIT!¡¹

    I saw the fire spirit sitting together on top of Beniwo''s head.I see now, the reason Beniwo''s fire breath had so much firepower was because of the fire spirit assisting it.

    But, why are the fire spirits helping Beniwo? ¡­ Do they by chance prefer canines over felines?

    ¡¸UBA! NDOUBA!¡¹

    ¡¸WOOPSIE, NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR WITHOUT YER ARROW!¡¹

    I readied my iron spear and thrust it toward the goma''s shabby-looking equipment.

    <i> My weapon is longer. That''s why victory is mine!</i>

    ¡¸UWOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    I, who gotpletely absorbed into lunging my spear, stabbed right in the stomach of the gom¨D¨D Bleargh. Though imperfect, I just killed a humanoid monster. It couldn''t be helped that I felt this nauseating feeling¡­

    ¡¸Woof woof!¡¹

    I mean, I couldn''t afford to be left behind, not when even the small Beniwo also did his best. I refuse to be a good-for-nothing master!

    ¡¸ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    ¡¸PUGUGU, RELighT, EnOUgH.¡¹

    When I was swinging my spear around, facing two gomas before me, Kinako who had already dealt with the main force of goma finished one of them in no time, with a single swing of his arm.

    ¡¸Good job everyone.¡¹

    Then, he picked a pebble at his feet and threw it to finish off the other one while Beniwo rushed to thest goma archer and finished them off.

    <i> Eh, Kinako can throw stones as projectiles too¡­</i> Then, what was that theory about the sole advantage that humans had over other creatures was the fact that they could use projectile weapons?

    ¡¸Haah¡­ As expected, I shouldn''t lose my cool during the fight¡­ Thank you Kinako, Beniwo. I really can''t do anything without both of you.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''T WoRrY ReLigHT. We''Re ComRaDe.¡¹

    ¡¸MAstEr! Whiine!¡¹

    ¡¸I see¡­ You''re the best, dudes!¡¹

    One week had psed since the party that was overly reliant on Kinako and Beniwo had formed.

    It might be just one week, but it was truly an important week.

    I, whose role was reduced to a weak and helpless kid, had already ustomed to this slightly imperfect survival life while relying on the power of the spirits, Kinako, and Beniwo.

    It had already be an everyday routine that we fought back the being called monsters such as goma who came to attack us.

    Beniwo would create disturbance in the enemy''s rank with his mobility and fire breath while Kinako would act as our main DPS. Andstly, there was me who had to do my best to protect myself from harm. With our outstanding cooperation, the goma party was no match for us.

    We beat the monsters that came for us, save for the seemingly overpowering monsters such as the dragon-type; we hid while quaking in fear when we met one¨D¨D In such a way, we''re advancing in the forest.

    ¡¸But man, the forest looks the same from my perspective.¡¹

    <i> Just how big is this forest? Would I really reach human habitat after Ie out of this forest?</i>

    At that time, even I couldn''t help but want to see another scenery.

    ¡¸Uhm, Is that by chance¡­ A BUILDING!?¡­ ¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, RelIGht!¡¹

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    I saw a man-made building. The linear structure made from stone was clearly not something that was formed by nature.

    It had already been invaded by the forest just like the historic ruins often found in Southeast Asia.

    I mean it was clearly a ruin no matter how you looked at it, however, I couldn''t help but run in its direction. After all, it was the first building I¡¯d seen ever since arriving in this world.

    And then, I immediately realized just how careless I was.

    <b><i> Boooooooooo¡­ Baaaaaaaaaaaa¡­</i></b>

    A heavy, ominous sound resounded, rather, it sounded like a cry.

    My body floated from the ground the moment that sound resounded in the entire region.

    ¡¸UWAAA! W-WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT GUY!?¡¹

    The thing that fell from above was a snake, or not, maybe it was ivy.

    The green ivy wrapped itself around my body, lifting me up in the air.

    <i> A trap?¨D¨D No, this feels like I was caught directly by a monster.</i>

    ¡¸THE HECK, IT''S A HUGE MONSTER TREE!¡¹

    I could finally see the figure of that fe after its ivy raised me up high in the air.

    It was a giant tree that had taken root on the ruin.

    But, the middle of the tree''s trunk had a shape resembling that of a human''s face, with a slit on the mouth part. Its creepy cries resounded from that mouth.

    ¡¸Treant! RelIGht, WAtCh OuT!¡¹

    ¡¸S-SAVE ME! KINAKO!¡¹

    I couldn''t do anything but ask Kinako and Beniwo to save me.

    Kinako then bravely confronted the huge monster tree called treant. s¡­

    ¡¸PUGAA!¡¹

    Treant plucked out its thick root from the ground and brandished it toward Kinako.

    Kinako, swinging his ws, tore one root after another. s¡­ He got outnumbered.

    ¡¸Dammit, maybe this monster is stronger than Kinako¡­¡¹

    To put it simply, treant with its tree shape was bigger than Kinako. Even if Kinako managed to reach its trunk, could his brute power alone be enough to defeat the monster?

    Maybe Kinako ended up having to fight an unwinnable battle because the baggage of the party got captured by the monster.

    ¡¸Dammit, it''s my fault¡­¡¹

    Beniwo, who followed Kinako, hurled me breath. Unfortunately ¨D¨D he couldn''t hit the main body since the root kept springing from the ground to block it.

    Beniwo''s me could somehow reduce the ivy that wrapped around me and the root that was attacking Kinako.

    We were clearlycking the firepower to finish off treant.

    ¡¸Wha-What should I do¡­ At this rate, all of us are gonna¡­¡¹

    The word "Annihted" flitted through my mind for a brief moment.

    ¡¸Don''t screw with me¡­ Why do all of us have to die because of my fault¡­¡¹

    Why were Beniwo and Kinako trying desperately to save a deadweight like me?

    Why were they acting like idiots which would end with all of us dying here?

    Yes, both of them should be able to survive if they just left me. Kinako was already a lone wolf, to begin with, and Beniwo could already hunt on his own.

    I, on the other hand, was only baggage to them. Barely surviving in this forest thanks to them.

    And yet, they regarded me as theirrade, going as far as risking their life to save me.

    In that case, that was enough for me¡­ I''m not going to let them die a stupid death along with me.

    ¡¸¨D¨DDammit!¡¹

    And yet, I couldn''t even gather my courage to shout ¡¸Just ignore me and save yourself¡¹.

    <i> Aah dammit, c''mon my brilliant mind, think of a way to escape from this situation!</i>

    <i> Think of a way so that the three of us can surpass this predicament.</i>

    <i> There must be something that I can do as the spiritualist¨D¨D</i>

    ¡¸ReLIghT!¡¹

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨DGET AWAY YOU TWO! I''M ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING DANGEROUS!¡¹

    <i> I can do this, I''ll do this.</i> I only had one n in my mind.

    Let''s make this big tree bastard regret the fact that it didn''t kill me immediately!

    ¡¸Okay, first is this¡­ Ah no, this is a water pouch¡­¡¹

    By the time I got caught by the ivy, I had let go of my spear.

    Though I let go of my weapon, I still had my school bag. Inside it were items that I plundered from the goma that I defeated.

    And among the items was the oil¨D¨D Used for the torch.

    ¡¸DUMP IT ALL!¡¹

    I turned my bag upside-down, pouring out the oil inside onto treant''s trunk. It might be far from enough to burn this monster, but better to try than not.

    ¡¸SINCE YOU''Re A TREE, FIRE SHOULD WORK AGAINST YOU!¡¹

    Then I ignited the oil. HERE WE COME, ART IS EXPLOSION!

    ¡¸SPIRIT OF FIRE! BURN THIS GUY!¡¹

    ¡¸FIREUUUUUUUUP!¡¹

    ¡¸BWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!¡¹

    Responding to my shout, the fire spirits in my lighter fired themselves up to make the biggest possible fire.

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 229.3 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    Chapter 229.3 - Relight And Various Spirits 2

    The lighter in my hand shone red as if performing a light dance, forming a huge fireball, and went toward the face of the treant. This was aplete magic attack of fire attribute.

    BOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    The treant''s huge trunk shook as it raised an ominous wail.

    It was effective. My attack burned its face, which definitely dealt a huge damage.

    ¡¸N-NOW!¡¹

    I burnt the ivy coiling around my body with the lighter in my hand. I did it really carefully this time since I would be in trouble if I got burnt too.

    ¡¸Hell ye¨D¨DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?¡¹

    Naturally, I fell down once I was freed from the ivy that coiling around me.<i> Are you kidding me, just how many meters am I from the ground?</i> I might be able to survive falling from a two-story mansion height but,

    ¡¸Ouch¡­¡¹The dull pain and shock were more than I expected uponnding on the ground.

    But, since none of my bones were broken, I was pretty much safe.

    That was a cheap price to be able to escape from that perilous situation. I had to use this chance to escape while the treant was still writhing in pa¨D¨D

    ¡¸RelIghT WatCh OuT!¡¹

    "BAM", Kinako''s shout was suppressed by the loud and heavy sound

    ¡¸T-THAT WAS A CLOSE CALL!?¡¹

    Treant¡¯s thick branch moving like an arm, struck the ground right by my side.

    Were they aiming for me? Or was it just a desperate attack? If that attack hit me, its terrifying forcebined with its weight would definitely turn me into mined meat.

    The branch then rose up and tried to smash me again.

    The thick branch was raised over my head along with a grating sound¨D¨D Dammit, this one wouldn''t miss its target for sure!

    ¡¸Bzzt Bzzt¡¹

    ¡¸Jiggle Jiggle¡¹

    Those voices came from the thunder spirit residing in my smartphone.

    I quickly took out the smartphone in my pocket in one smooth motion.

    Somehow, I knew that they called me. They told me to use them.

    Thus, I chose to believe them. Since I''m a spiritualist, it was only natural for me to believe in them, the spirits.

    ¡¸¨D¨DTAKE THIS!!¡¹

    KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    A dazzling sh of light filled my field of vision along with a loud sound.

    It was as if there was a lightning strike right before me¨D¨D Which in fact was really a lightning strike.

    ¡¸D-Did I¡­ Defeat it?¡¹

    Upon a closer look, the treant had turned ck, and the upper half of the face on its trunk got smashed along with the upper half of the trunk. It looked like a tree that had just been struck by a thunderbolt.

    ¡¸Thank you guys.¡¹

    ¡¸Kyuu~¡¹

    The purplish figure of the electric spirits who replied with a rather exhausted voice became fainter before they disappeared. At the same time, the electric source of my smartphone turned off too.

    It seems they had over-exerted themselves and had to take a rest for a while.

    ¡¸Master!¡¹

    ¡¸RelIGht! AwESome! YoU BEat ThaT TreaNt!¡¹

    Kinako and Beniwo rushed at once toward me.

    ¡¸The spirit saved my *ss again today.¡¹

    ¡¸AmaZinG, USinG PoWeR of SPiriT, is ReallY StrOng.¡¹

    Yeah, the power of spirits was really amazing. Despite their tiny size, they could create such congration and summon thunder strikes.

    ¡¸MasTeR! WooF!¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay Beniwo, I''m unscathed.¡¹

    My leg was just a bit numb when Inded on the ground. I could still walk, and my leg would recover in a minute.

    ¡¸But hey, want to take a peek inside?¡¹

    Kinako nodded in agreement, I mean we had defeated the treant that upied the outer side of the ruin, meaning it was time to explore this ruin.

    ===

    ¡¸Wo~w, it''s a real ruin¡­¡¹

    From up close, the stone building that used to be the nest of the treant was actually a really borate building. There were letters-like patterns carved on the wall, it wasn''t just a mere stone building, there was a technological aspect too, an borate one on top of that.

    ¡¸There is nothing inside¡­ Except for descending stairs.¡¹

    This building might be just the entrance.

    It was empty inside with only stairs leading to the underground.

    ¡¸This is kinda like a piece of bad news, but¡­ Shall we take a peek?¡¹

    Since there was no other choice but to continue, anyone would naturally be curious, right?

    I mean, this looked like a dungeon in an RPG. We might even find a treasure box at the end of these stairs.

    ¡¸RelIGht, Be CaRefuL.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    We descended the staircase.

    At the end of the gloomy staircase illuminated with glowing white wall was,

    ¡¸¡­ Bright. What kind of ce is this? A park?¡¹

    We arrived in a spacious room that could be mistaken for a park or garden.

    The whole area was covered with green grass, rows of trees lined up neatly on the sides, and flower bedsposed of various flowers in one corner.

    And then, in the middle of the room was a water fountain with a statue of a naked woman with wings on her back, resembling that of a fairy.

    ¡¸It''S FaiRY''s TeRriToRY!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, it''s what?¡¹

    ¡¸FaiRy''s TeRrItoRy, We Can''t GeT AnY CloSeR. It''S DanGerOUs.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, sUch daNgerous plAce rEally exiSts in tHis kiNd of Ce?¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ But, We''LL Be AlRIgHt WiTh RelIghT.¡¹

    ¡¸So, you''ll be fine with whatever choice¡¹

    I had no idea about the basis for his evaluation, but well, since Kinako said it was safe, maybe it was really safe.

    ¡¸Fairy, sounds like therade of spirit, right? What do you guys think about that?¡¹

    I tried to ask but, the spirits in my lighter, sk, and the others didn''t say anything. This was the first time I saw them really quiet¡­ Maybe the spirits kept their silence since this was the turf of the fairy.

    Could it be that the so-called fairy was¡­ A bad news?

    And when I was looking at the tranquil hall while pondering about such things.

    ¡¸UOO, TOO BRIGHT!?¡¹

    A blinding white light appeared out of nowhere.

    That light wasn''t a mere light either, that light came from some sort of drawing on the ground.

    <i> That kind of looks like a magic circle, does it?</i>

    When I was still surprised by the magical phenomenon that I saw for the first time, the dazzling light receded.

    And once the glowing light had vanished,

    ¡¸Aah, you are¨D¨D¡¹

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 230.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle I

    Chapter 230.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle I

    <b>Act 15: Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle</b>

    The time hade. Today was the day we were going to execute the Yamata no Orochi subjugation n for real.

    We, 18 students of sses 2-7, recovered enough and had all of our equipment ready.

    We gathered in the front-line headquarters, looking at the gargoyle resting on the rocky mountain.

    ¡¸¨D¨DEveryone, are you ready?¡¹

    Everyone replied in unison, albeit with a slightly strained voice upon being asked by ss Rep.

    ¡¸Okay then, let''s go. Let''s defeat Yamata no Orochi and most importantly, survive with everyone!¡¹

    The one who gave the motivational speech wasn''t me, it was Souma-kun. Well, this was indeed the job of the hero.

    ¡ª"OOOH!" Everyone shouted as the subjugation nmenced.Firstly, everyone moved together in the eastern direction, the right side of the front-line headquarters.

    As long as we were marching in two-column formation inside the trench, the gargoyle wouldn''te to disturb us.

    This part went ording to the practice without a hitch. There was no need for ss Rep and me to interfere, everyone was already aware of their duty and moved ordingly. That''s a co-op y for you.

    ¡¸Everyone get ready. Mei-chan, ready whenever you are.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, see youter, Kotaro-kun.¡¹

    The first vanguard of Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation was my guardian deity, ¡ºBerserker¡» Futaba Meiko.

    Mei-chan leapt out lightly from the trench and ran straight toward the rocky mountain that became Orochi''s nest.

    GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    And it appeared immediately.

    The one who got beaten up the most by us this far, the 1st head. The 1st phase, one head.

    The moment this fe made his appearance, everyone started running out from the trench at once.

    Because Mei-chan was the one in the lead, Orochi''s 1st head was locked onto her opening its maw as it rushed toward her.

    Maybe because it wanted to swallow her whole along with the ground beneath her feet, Orochi''s head was closing in toward Mei-chan as its scale shaving the ground beneath it. It almost looked like the scene of a human about to be overrun by an electric train.

    s, the one standing before them ain''t a normal human. She was a superwoman,with the power of berserker.

    ¡¸Haaaa¨D¨D¡ºMighty Strike¡»!¡¹

    Mei-chan leapt up as she put her ck tower shield forward, and used the momenttum of her jump tond a strike on Orochi''s nose with her martial arts.

    ¡ºMighty Strike¡»: Otherwise known as shield bash. Raising the striking power when attacking with shield. It seems she learnt this skill before she realized it.

    The power that used the spring power of her entire muscle exploded, and stopped Orochi''s charge.

    Just how much power was packed behind that strike to be able to stop that charge, even smash a few scales around Orochi''s nose?

    But that was all it did. The other party suffered almost no damage from bleeding.

    Orochi''s head that collided with ¡ºMighty Strike¡» was stunned for a few seconds¨D¨D But, those few seconds were enough time for us.

    ¡¸NOW, THE FIRST HEAD!¡¹

    ¡¸That''s obvious, ain''t need you to tell us about that.¡¹

    The ones who approached Orochi from the sides were ¡ºHero¡» Souma Yuuto and ¡ºKing¡» Tendou Ryuuichi.

    The shining holy sword in the former¡¯s hand was truly befitting the name of the hero while the king was holding a bulky and massive ck sword befitting his title.

    Their timing was perfect. As expected of childhood friends and bosom buddies.

    ¡¸Torn to shred, ¡ºNero Lightning¡»¡¹

    ¡¸Devour it, ¡ºNether Vortex¡»¡¹

    Souma-kun fired a blinding white godly sh.

    Tendou-kun created an eerie vortex of darkness.

    Each magic and weapon struck at Orochi from both sides in a sh.

    GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    As expected, even Orochi was howling in pain upon receiving simultaneous big skill from both of our aces.

    There was a huge wound on the right side of the head from the brilliant sh, the left side on the other hand was gouged as if the meat was twisted before being torn up by force.

    You could say that the only way for Orochi to take the damage was by giving it a critical wound.

    But, this fe would recover immediately after that. So we couldn''t afford to stop the attack for the time being.

    That was why we had to use this opening.

    ¡¸Minami, it''s your turn!¡¹

    ¡¸Kenzaki, don''t mess up!¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me, Ryouko-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸Be quiet Randou, you''ll disturb us.¡¹

    The one who made the next move as they passed the king and hero who just unleashed a big skill was ¡ºThief¡» Natsukawa Minami and ¡ºTwin Swordsman¡» Kenzaki Asuna.

    They had been chosen to execute the n''s next step on Orochi who had already been on the verge of death simply because of their speed.

    The thing they held in their hands wasn''t their weapon.

    In Natsukawa-san''s hands was a two-metre-long icence that glowed with pale blue light.

    On Kenzaki''s side was anothernce around the same size made from metal.

    ¡ºSealing Lance?Frozen¡»£ºLance made from ¡ºIce Crystal¡», crystallization of advanced ice attribute made with ss Rep''s ¡ºFreezing Alchemy Formation¡». But, its real worth was when she invoked her ice magic into the icence.

    ¡ºSealing Lance?ck Gold¡»£ºLance with a golden pattern made on its body as a result of Tendou-kun''s alchemy on ultra-pure earth attribute light ore made with Randou-san''s ¡ºIron Ore Alchemy Formation¡». This one also showed its true power when Randou-san invoked her magic with it.

    Both Kenzaki and Natsukawa who held sealingnce in their hands were running like a gale toward the head of Orochi who had lost the power to even lift its own head.

    Natsukawa-san''s target was the crown of the head, right above the eyes. Kenzaki''s target was right behind the nose to shut Orochi''s mouth, that was our previous arrangement.

    It took a few dozens of seconds before Orochi recovered.

    The duo had plenty of time to nail thence with their full power.

    ¡¸RYOKO-CHAN, I DID IT!¡¹

    ¡¸Randou, you cannot miss this!¡¹

    After confirming that bothnces were nailed properly, ss Rep and Randou-san ran toward Orochi with their enchanted weapon in hand.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºIce Fortis Sagita(Freezing Spear)¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºTerra Fortis Sagita(Rock Spear)¡»¡¹

    Both invoked advanced rank magic.

    It was their strongest spell at this point but, its power raised even further due to the effect of the sealingnce.

    The magic circle that became the starting point of the spell was right on top of the sealingnce.

    A giant, freezing icicle appeared from the magic circle of ¡ºce Fortis Sagita(freezing spear)¡»

    <b><i>CRASH! </i></b>

    Along with a loud breaking sound, the ¡ºSealing Lance?Frozen¡» increased in size. It became twice as big as before.

    That was only natural since the ice crystal that became the material for the ¡ºSealing Lance?Frozen¡» was more than enough for ss Rep to cast ¡ºIce Fortis Sagita(freezing spear)¡» a few more times.

    And that amount of magical power was put into the invoked attack magic.

    The same could be said for Randou-san, she could cast a few more ¡ºTerra Fortis Sagita(Rock Spear)¡» without breaking a sweat. Not to mention that it wasn''t a rock, it was jet-ck steel that was nailed into Orochi''s head.

    <i>Okay, everything¡¯s been perfect so far.</i>

    In short, a sealingnce was a disposable item made to enhance the effect of magic.

    Both ss Rep and Randou-san had splendid offensive magic but, their spell was too small to nail train-sized Orochi''s head on the ground.

    Not to mention that both of them couldn''t use such powerful skills in session. Thus, the head might have fully recovered if they were to use their skill normally.

    That''s why we needed to nail the head to the ground first.

    We had done many experiments to see if we could strengthen the spell with the prototype of the sealingnce, but the quality couldn''t bepared with the real thing. The down side was the fact that it took a lot of time and materials to make sealingnce. And yet, they kept breaking upon use, making them pretty much a disposable weapon. Thus, we couldn''t do too many tests.

    Though the small prototype worked really well, I was still skeptical whether the real thing would work just as well but¡­ It turned out to be baseless worry.

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR¡­¡­

    <strong>===</strong>

    <strong>THE NEW PROJECT:</strong>

    <strong>Knight''s Chivalry <¡ª A Wholesome story!!!</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Advance Chapter Avable in Fox too!~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~</strong>You Can Read<strong> Advance releases </strong>by Bing My Patron<strong>~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

    <strong>(~¡¯.¡¯)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(¡®.¡¯~)</strong>

 Chapter 230.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle I

    Chapter 230.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle I

    Orochi raised a wail akin to a crushed frog when its head got nailed to the ground with steel and ice.

    The two sealingnces pierced the ground from above that huge head as advanced rank magic. The icence pierced through Orochi''s crown of head, while the ironnce sewed its lower jaw and upper jaw, sealing Orochi''s maw.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºEternity¡»!¡¹

    The lynchpin thatpleted this n was ¡ºEternity¡» which unleashed immediately, a magic that converted objects made from magic into corporeal form.

    ¡¸Sealingnce sess! Bring in the anchor!¡¹

    ¡¸HERE WE GO GUYS, IT''S YOUR TURN!¡¹

    ¡¸OOOOOOOOH!¡¹

    The vanguard led by Ueda raised warcries, and they started running toward the head that got crucified with two sealingnces.

    They picked up ance, or rather, a giant harpoon that was ced along the way. The harpoon with thick chains connected on its top made a deep sound as it dragged along the ground.Himeno-san did her best to create those anchors.

    Since we had already ced the anchor in this ce beforehand, all that left was stabbing the harpoon into the head toplete this part.

    We even marked the sealing point to drive in the harpoon beforehand.

    ¡¸30 seconds until the next heades!¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa, ye ve driver!¡¹

    ¡¸We''re doing it!¡¹

    Despite theirints, JuryMary drove in the harpoon with fluidbination upon hearing my reminder about the time for the next head to appear.

    Jury''s role was to stab the harpoon, and Mary would drive in that anchor with shaman brand sledgehammer. Since the harpoon had a huge barb, pulling it out wouldn''t be that easy.

    After driving that harpoon into Orochi''s left eye, JuryMary moved on to the next point to drive in another anchor.

    The right eye side was left to Ueda and Nakai.

    In another ce, Nakajima was working together with Yamada to nail the anchor.

    <i>Great, so far it is going ording to the n.</i>

    Thanks to our repeated practice, after defeating the first head, we could calcte the 2nd phase where the second and third heads appeared.

    The estimated time was 45 seconds.

    We had to drive in the main sealingnce within 15 seconds and use the rest of the time to drive in the secondary restriction with the rest of the time.

    At the same time, the other members would prepare themselves for the 2nd phase.

    The next step of the n was pretty much the same as the subjugation n of a giant monster-type super boss in RPG games. As long as we understood the behavior of our opponent, we could defeat them with timing and countermeasures.

    Well, if Masaru were alive, we wouldn''t waste so much time toe up with a subjugation n and countermeasure. Regret onlyes after we lose someone.

    ¡¸10 seconds to go¨D¨D¡¹

    SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!

    <i>Tch</i>, it was only at this moment they appeared earlier!

    Three seconds earlier than the previous record. Two heads appeared from the rocky mountain while raising a cloud of dust.

    Maybe they got pissed off since the 1st head got insta killed. Well, we should be the ones to get pissed off by its cheat-like ability though.

    ¡¸Souma-kun, Tendou-kun, it''s your turn!¡¹

    The next vanguard was the top two, the King and the Hero.

    The gist was the same as before, cornered one head until it was on the brink of death with powerful skill, then nail the sealingnce and anchor into their head.

    ¡¸¡ºNero Lightning¡»!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºNether Vortex¡»!¡¹

    The 2nd head got beaten up to a pulp by thebination attack of light and darkness.

    Without wasting any moment, Natsukawa-san and Kenzaki rushed toward the 2nd head with sealingnces in their hands.

    By the way, the one who gave them the two sealingnces was Himeno-san, escorted by Sakura.

    By the way, though the sealing operation waspleted without a hitch, two heads appeared in this 2nd phase.

    That''s why if we focused our attack on one head, the other head wouldn''t stay still either.

    ¡¸¡ºWAR¨D¨D CRY¡»!¡¹

    The one whose roar shook the ground was none other than Mei-chan.

    The 3rd head was moving to save the 2nd head, but it suddenly turned around and charged toward Mei-chan, maybe because it felt threatened by her presence.

    ¡ºWarcry¡»£ºA roar to attract the monster''s attention. Though it was really useful hate-gathering support skill for a tank in MMORPG, I had never expected that such a skill woulde in a package with ¡ºBerserker¡» in this world. I mean, not even Yamata no Orochi could ignore Mei-chan when she roared while using this skill.

    ¡¸COME HERE!¡¹

    The 2rd head rushed toward Mei-chan who was fully prepared with her shield and halberd.

    Okay, she managed to attract their attention. Mei-chan could divert their attention for a few seconds.

    <i>Oi Sakura, do your job and give Mei-chan some covering fire. You''re the only one avable for that job now!</i>

    ¡¸RAISE THE SEALING SPEED OF THE 2ND HEAD! WE DON''T KNOW HOW LONG MEI-CHAN CAN ATTRACT THEIR ATTENTION!¡¹

    Who knows when the capricious 3rd head would go back to the 2nd head? Even if the sealing spear was materialized with ¡ºEternity¡», it could be destroyed if another head crashed against the sealed head.

    We invested a lot of materials to create a sealingnce, but we didn''t prepare enough spare.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºIce Fortis Sagita(Freezing Spear)¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºTerra Fortis Sagita(Rock Spear)¡»¡¹

    Great, the 2nd head had been sealed with a sealingnce. The position was perfect too. Now it was time to fix it even further with an anchor.

    ¡¸ss Rep, Randou-san, give Mei-chan covering fire!¡¹

    ¡¸My ¡ºEternity¡» is¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸Takanashi, bring two! The 3rd head is heading toward the 1st head, prepare concentration fire!¡¹

    Simply put, Randou-san was supposed to apply her ¡ºEternity¡» on her own iron spear, but there was a change of n.

    To think that bastard''s 3rd head wasing toward the 1st head who got sealed first instead of the 2nd head.

    But, this was within the margin of error.

    ¡¸HIMENO, ICE TO UEDA, IRON TO JURY! NATSUKAWA, KENZAKI, ATTACK THE THIRD HEAD, AND USE POISON!¡¹

    We need a certain level of firepower to incapacitate the head.

    With covering fire from ss Rep and Randou, Natsukawa and Kenzaki could securely incapacitate the 3rd head.

    ¡¸Eh!? Where''s Ueda-kun and Nonomiya-san!?¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, over here, hurry up!¡¹

    ¡¸RUN HIMENO RUN!¡¹

    Though Himeno-san got flustered by the sudden change of n, all she had to do was hand over the spear to them.

    They had been trained to stab the spear in all kinds of situations.

    ¡¸Haah, as expected, only Souma-kun and Tendou-kun can beat one head without a hitch.¡¹

    Both of them are already heading to their next post. That''s why we had to seal the 3rd head without their support.

    But since the 1st and 2nd head had already been sealed, the 3rd head had been literally checkmated.

    Once we were done sealing the 2nd head, the 3rd head would be at our mercy. If it was just one head, the vanguard could handle them without Mei-chan''s assistance.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    Mei-chan''s huge halberd created a local storm as she pulverized the 3rd head. Her attack smashed their scales, ripped their meat, and definitely caused damage to the head.

    With support from the spellcaster, the members of the anchor team plus Natsukawa and Kenzaki could join the fight against the 3rd head.

    As for the said 3rd head, forget about worrying about the other head, they were already beaten ck and blue.

    ¡¸Enough with the beating! Move to sealing formation!¡¹

    At this point, there was no need to change the n.

    Thus, Natsukawa and Kenzaki held the sealingnce in their hand again, and the anchor team already prepared to nail the anchor spear and chain toplete the sealing.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºIce Fortis Sagita(Freezing Spear)¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºTerra Fortis Sagita(Rock Spear)¡»¡¹

    With a loud explosion, the 3rd sealingnce exploded safely, and the 3rd head sewed to the ground without a hitch.

    Yamata No Orochi''s 2nd phase had ended, with all three heads nailed on the ground.

    The moment we entered the 3rd phase, it would start using breath attack.

    ¡¸1st phase of the n waspleted without a hitch! Be prepared for the 2nd phase!¡¹

    And then when everyone was running to their posts¨D¨D

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    A loud roar resounded, the signal for the appearance of the 4th and 5th head.

    But, since we have three heads sealed over here, they wouldn''te out from this side.

    ¡¸Nice timing, Souma-kun, Tendou-kun.¡¹

    Those two had already been circling around to the other side to control the head the moment they made their appearance.

    Their job was to prevent the other head of Orochi from approaching the area where the three heads were sealed. The n was to fight the remaining five heads on the opposite side of this ce.

    And, it''s time for the infiltration team to make their move.

 Chapter 231.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle II

    Chapter 231.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle II

    ¡¸¨D¨DI''ve been waiting for you two.¡¹

    My ¡ºTwin Shadow¡» greeted the King and Hero duo who arrived at their designated spot at tremendous speed.

    The n to subjugate Yamata no Orochi was divided into three main phases.

    The 1st phase was climbing to the peak of the rocky mountain to destroy Orochi''s main body, its core.

    The 2nd phase was making the east side the ce to seal the first three heads.

    Andstly, the 3rd phase was on this side, making the west side the sealing ce.

    The remaining five heads would be gathered on this side. Meaning that this ce was about to turn into a stormy battlefield with breath attacksing out like there was no tomorrow.

    Meaning that after this ce turned into a battlefield, I had prepared my offshoot created with ¡ºTwin Shadow¡» to givemand from afar. As long as my offshoot was there, both the vanguard and infiltration teams could monitor each other''s progress.

    In the worst case, when we had to evacuate from the rocky mountain, Souma-kun and Co could provide a backup for us.¡¸How''s the progress of the sealing, Momokawa?¡¹

    ¡¸We''re hammering thence right now.¡¹

    ¡¸So the 3rd head got sealed too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, do your best, it''s a race against time.¡¹

    Souma-kun nodded and ran out in haste. Tendou-kun was following sluggishly.

    I left the timing of the west side to both of them. Right after the 3rd head was sealed, this duo would ensure that the rest of the heads would appear from this side.

    If we got the timing wrong, the rest of the heads would appear on the sealing site in the 3rd phase. When that happens, this n could be considered as failed.

    That was the reason I let both of them go all out from the very beginning.

    ¡¸¡ºAzure zing me¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºRed Breath¡»¡¹

    ¡ºAzure zing me¡»: The advanced fire attribute magic learnt by Souma-kun. The azure me was really hot. Well, it might be because the color was blue or maybe because it was the effect of the hero, its firepower was no joke. The ¡ºMagic Swordsman¡» Nakajima was left in tears upon seeing such an overwhelming firepower.

    ¡ºRed Breath¡»: It was Tendou-kun''s favourite magic, I had no idea if this was a projectile type or explosion magic though. It seems he learned this magic after defeating the fire dragon AKA the smander. Firepower aside, it was user-friendly too. He could be using a ck greatsword right now, but it seemed this magic was more powerful when I saw him using this magic with a red greatsword during our first encounter. That''s why he changed his greatsword to the red one for now.

    +++

    The duo''s magic gathered at the tip of their swords and then unleashed toward the rocky mountain.

    Their magic drew two colored trails¨D¨D And hit the mountain.

    Exploded before transforming into crimson radiance and vivid blue me.

    ¡¸Fufufu,e out now, idiots.¡¹

    The explosion awakened the gargoyles followed by two heads that came out while raising a roar. Those two heads were heads no. 4 & 5.

    Well, we''d already noted beforehand that they would appear on this side without fail once we attacked this side. It truly had a game AI-like pattern. Without that, we might not be able to subjugate this bastard.

    ¡¸It''s going to be a pain in the ass if we let them use their breath. Let''s crush ¡®em swiftly, Yuuto.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, let''s go Ryuuichi.¡¹

    As expected, Tendou-kun was truly reliable when push came to shove.

    But man, seeing them like this, I had to agree that Souma-kun''s best partner was Tendou-kun and vice versa.

    The difference was pretty obvious between when they fought with their party and when they fought together. Maybe because Souma-kun would definitely protect hisrade, and despite what he said, Tendou-kun wouldn''t really abandon his party either.

    For both of them, their party members were nothing but shackles. That''s why they were always very careful in their presence.

    But, such limitation didn''t apply when Souma-kun and Tendou-kun fought together. There was no need for them to worry about the other party since both parties acknowledged each other''s strengths.

    Since there was no need for them to protect their party, they could go all out. Focusing only on the enemy before them.

    And yet, their movements were still in sync.

    I''ve seen both Souma-kun and Tendou-kun fight until now. ording to my observation, they were strongest not when they fought in a party or solo, but when they fought together.

    Seeing this fight, why were Sakura-chan and ss Rep, the two girls closest to the duo not dating already? That way the world would be at peace a lot faster.

    I watched the duo''s brilliant tag battle while thinking about such stupid things.

    Suma-kun overwhelmed the 4th head with his extremely swift strike that sometimes weaved with magic and shed with the sword of light.

    Meanwhile, Tendou-kun literally brute forced the 5h head with his exploding fireballbined with abination attack of the greatsword that transformed between red and ck.

    Souma-kun was superior in terms of speed. He also had the ability to jump thrice in the air, giving him an aerial advantage.

    Tendou-kun was superior in terms of power. The force contained within every single swing of his great sword was truly overwhelming. Not to mention that he was also protected by the ck scales that covered him until his shoulders. Could he actually stop Orochi''s tackle in that state regardless of the difference between their weight?

    In that way, both of them overwhelmed the two Orochi heads without allowing thetter to use their breath attack.

    Whenever Orochi''s throat shone red or blue, it meant that it was about to use its breath. <i>Whoever created this monster, you have my gratitude for such an obvious trait.</i>

    The 4th and 5th head''s throats were shining red and blue respectively, meaning that they were about to use breath, but, Souma-kun cleverly used that opening to unleash a deadly attack, while Tendou-kun suppressed the breath with overwhelming firepower right before it fired.

    Depending on the circumstance, both of them would switch out their opponent after unleashing an attack that stopped the other party''s breath, a truly marvelousbination. They were in perfect sync.

    ¡¸It''s about time to beat them down.¡¹

    Both of them seemed to agree with me.

    Souma-kun readied his sword in an iai stance, Tendou-kun raised his great sword high above his head.

    A powerful skill left a huge opening. During the 1st phase, their sole duty was to unleash powerful skill, they could raise the curtain of battle without hesitation.

    But now that each of them had to handle one Orochi''s head at a time, they couldn''t carelessly unleash powerful skill.

    That''s why I left the timing to them to use their powerful skill.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºNero Lightning¡»¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºNether Vortex¡»¡¹

    A shining sword of light bisected Orochi''s huge head.

    A vortex of darkness pierced Orochi''s crown, breaking its scale from above.

    Both the hero and the king strikes crushed the head of the giant monster.

    ¡¸Fuh, finally can catch some breath.¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t let your guard down, they''re about toe out soon.¡¹

    Both of them sheathed their swords while heaving a sigh as Orochi, who lost its head, fell to the ground.

    Once the head was killed, it would take at least 5 minutes for it to be healed. Even if we attacked while it was regenerating, it wouldn''t be that effective.

    Since its current state was simr to that of a corpse, attacking it during this time was a fool''s errand.

    ¡¸Do you need a potion?¡¹

    ¡¸Ain''t need one.¡¹

    ¡¸Water is enough, we''re not injured after all.¡¹

    After Tendou-kun finished one cigarette and Souma-kun drank a bottle of water, Yamata no Orochi finished regenerating.

    RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    Thest head appeared, standing taller than the previous one.

    ¡¸Finally,e out huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, from here on¡­ Finally feels like a real challenge.¡¹

    ¡¸This fe really has five heads.¡¹

    The one that appeared while roaring to heaven was three heads.

    Yamata no Orochi''s 6th, 7th, and 8th heads.

    Finally, all of the eight heads were out. This was the reason we were evacuating during the field training due to the danger involved.

    That''s why this was the 3rd phase that no one had ever experienced.

    ¡¸But, we''re fully prepared.¡¹

    The first three heads had already been sealed. Now that all the eight heads hade out, we had to make sure we wouldn''t confront eight heads at the same time.

    ¡¸Three have been sealed, and two are in the middle of recovery. Only three left, but you can''t afford to let your guard down.¡¹

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

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 Chapter 231.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle II

    Chapter 231.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle II

    Maybe Orochi was truly pissed off right now since we managed to crush five of its heads in session. Its roar was even louder than usual.

    And naturally, the three heads had finished charging for a breath attack.

    The throats of the three heads were glowing red, blue, and purple respectively, and their muzzle opened wide, ready to unleash their breath.

    ¡¸Leave the right one to me.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll take the left one then.¡¹

    Both Souma-kun and Tendou-kun moved together towards their respective positions without being flustered to stop the iing breath attack.

    But, even with that, they could only stop one each.

    Three heads prepared to fire breath.

    Meaning that the eight heads, the one positioned in the center could fire its breath unhindered.Ominous purple light could be seen from the opened maw of the head in the center, and the next moment¨D¨D

    ¡¸Kenzaki style¨D¨D¡ºHundred Falling Petals¡»¡¹

    Kenzaki appeared out of nowhere while spinning in the air, striking the cheek of the 8th head while scattering brilliant shes.

    The Kenzaki style, whatever its name, was a technique that unleashed consecutive strikes while spinning hundreds of times in the air. It wasn''t the kind of technique that could be used by your average Joe earthling. That was definitely your own original technique.

    I held back from retorting, but when that technique was unleashed by adept ¡ºTwin Swordsman¡», I had to admit that it was truly a terrifying technique.

    Orochi''s head got sent upward as blood sttered from its gouged cheek. And then, when its muzzle faced the ceiling, a gigantic purple-colored breath scattered countless sparks towards the ceiling.

    ¡¸As expected of Asuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry Souma. I almost can''t make it in time.¡¹

    Kenzaki said to Souma-kun as soon as shended on the ground, as the breath attacks fired the background looked really splendid from my position.

    <i>You be really lively when Mei-chan isn''t around eh?</i>

    ¡¸Tendou-ku~n!¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll be your backup!¡¹

    Coming after Kenzaki was JuryMarybi but,

    ¡¸Nuaah, finally arrived.¡¹

    ¡¸Dammit, that''s too far.¡¹

    Even further behind were Ueda and Nakai andstly,

    ¡¸Huff, huff, huuff¡­¡¹

    Himeno-san who was seemingly about to take herst breath.

    ¡¸Okay, everyone has gathered.¡¹

    ¡¸The only thing left to do is buy time.¡¹

    We gathered everyone avable to fight the five heads.

    Even if there were only five heads, things didn''t look pretty good when all of them could fire their breath at any given moment.

    But, we had plenty of leeway if it was only against three heads.

    Especially Souma-kun and Tendou-kun who did a really great job in knocking out two of the five heads. In this way, as long as we could keep two of the five heads in the state of resuscitation, we could theoretically buy as much time as we could.

    Until we, the infiltration team destroyed Yamata no Orochi''s core, its real body.

    ¡¸The real thing begins from here¨D¨D¡¹

    ===

    ¡¸¨D¨DThe real thing begins from here. From this point on, retreat won''t be as easy as before.¡¹

    In the first stage of the n in which all we had to do was seal the head, we could retreat immediately in case of failure.

    Even during the second stage of the n when all heads had alreadye out, it was still possible for everyone to retreat immediately.

    But the third stage was climbing onto the rocky mountain. Meaning that we had no choice but to defeat Yamata no Orochi once and for all.

    We had to bepletely prepared, and that went for everyone and me. We would even use Goma''s drug in case that wasn''t enough.

    ¡¸Everyone is already present right?¡¹

    After sealing the 3rd head, we, the infiltration team gathered at once in the trench.

    Currently, there were Mei-chan, Randou-san, Shimokawa, Yamada, and Sakura-chan.

    Included in our team was Rem 1st form ¡ºDark Knight¡», Rem 2nd form ¡ºArachne¡», Rem 3rd form ¡ºAlfa¡», and Rem 4th form ¡ºMinotaurs¡».

    ¡¸Are you ready?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    The only one who nodded calmly was Mei-chan. The others obviously couldn''t hide their anxiety. I guess the same went for me.

    I have rushed ahead to my death countless times with my ¡ºTwin Shadow¡», but I couldn''t help but get cold feet when it came to the real deal.

    But, I had to go. I''m not alone. As long as myrade was with me, I could definitely do this. We will ovee this crisis.

    That''s why please let the difficulty adjustment of this raid boss be beatable!

    ¡¸Shimokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Ro-Roger¨D¨D¡ºIce Mist¡»!¡¹

    The ¡ºAquamancer¡» Shimokawa released water mist like usual.

    The thick mist covered our surroundings immediately, covering our field of view with white color.

    The gargoyles residing in the rocky mountain would rush to attack us the moment they saw us. That was the reason we were using a smoke screen from the get-go.

    Moreover, even by some off-chance, I wanted to avoid being detected by Orochi''s head along the way.

    We could have some leeway during the practice, but they would attack us as soon as we stepped on the mountain. Even if everyone was working to stop them, we should consider the "What if" scenario.

    In fact, this ¡ºIce Mist¡» was improved a bit for today''s operation. It was obvious when I touched it since it felt warm.

    The mist was just the usual mist, the modified version had a temperature. Shimokawa was working hard in order to control its temperature. Now one shot of spell from him would allow us to have a nice hot bath.

    As for the reason we were raising the temperature of the mist, it was to deceive the heat sensor.

    Yamata no Orochi was a snake after all. It might have eight train-sized heads, but its appearance was obviously that of a snake.

    That''s why it might have a pit organ in its nose just like that of a snake.

    And speaking of the pit organ, it is an organ of the snake that detects heat. It isn''t the sense of smell, sound, or color, but the sixth sense that enables it to sense the change in temperature like a thermograph.

    It seems that the majority of snakes are nocturnal creatures, that''s why as long as they had their pit organ, they wouldn''t have any problem detecting rats even in the dark night.

    Speaking of Yamata no Orochi, we humans might look like mice to it. It might be able to find us easily if it had a pit organ.

    I''ve tried to confirm that and the result was almost positive, this guy has an organ to sense temperature. In addition, it might be able to sense magical power too.

    Temperature or magical power, it might be one of the two.

    That''s why I came up with the idea of masking our temperature with this thermal protector called ¡ºIce Mist¡»

    ¡¸Okay, let''s get going.¡¹

    Our infiltration team walked in the trench while being shrouded by the mist.

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 Chapter 232.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle III

    Chapter 232.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle III

    After trial and error using my twin shadow, we found the best route toward the rocky mountain.

    Since even my shadow and Rem''s spare body could reach the rocky mountain without a hitch, we should be able to reach that mountain too.

    ¡¸Ora~,get re~ctk¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºLux Sagita¡»¡¹

    The gargoyles who happened to slip into the mist were mostly killed by Randou-san or Sakura-chan. It felt really nice to see those small fries get ughtered with a long-distance attack.

    ¡¸Hee, with this cane, even I can kill those gargoyles in one strike¨D¨D¡ºAqua Sagita¡»¡¹

    Yup, even Shimokawa with his moderate skill could y an active role in this.

    The magic of water attribute might not have powerful offensive spells, but as long as the user has the right cane, they can take down gargoyles in one hit with a low-rank spell.

    ¡ºKelpie Rod¡»: A long cane made with Kelpie materials subjugated in theke. Their horn was the organ to manipte the water attribute magical power; their skin and bone had excellent conductivity of magical power. This was the magic cane of water attribute that Shimokawa had been waiting for.Since we made the best use of the entire materials, a tennis ball-sized water ball formed on the pointed tip of Kelpie''s horn, which then released as high-pressure water like aser, something simr to a water jet.

    The water jet pierced through the chest of the iing gargoyles and cut their wings as it was.

    Though the spell could pierce a gargoyle''s stone-like body, it couldn''t bisect them. But, it had enough power to cut through their thin wings.

    That attack couldn''t finish off the gargoyle, but making them lose their flight ability was the same as killing them.

    Thanks to the trio of spellcaster''s anti-air spell, we arrived at the rocky mountain without a hitch.

    By the way, we walked in two lines with the following arrangement.

    In the lead, Shimokawa?Dark Knight. Behind him was Randou?Yamada. In the third row was me mounted on Alfa and Mei-chan. In the fourth row was Arachne. Andstly, Sakura?Minotaurs.

    Sakura-chan made a really displeased face when I assigned the Minotaurs as her bodyguard, but it couldn''t be helped since the only one who could be sacrificed in this mission was Rem whose body could be reced. Mei-chan and Yamada were irreceable.

    ¡¸Be very careful from this point since the gargoyles might attack us from the ground too.¡¹

    ¡¸Uhm, understood.¡¹

    ¡¸My turn hase, eh.¡¹

    The three spellcasters, to keep the iing enemy at bay, were enough on the way to the rocky mountain. However, from this point on, we needed Mei-chan and Yamada as vanguard due to the overwhelming number of our potential enemies.

    We stepped firmly on the nted ground and began our ascend.

    We stepped into the gargoyle nest, they would attack en masse once we were discovered.

    ¡¸Tch, can they actually see us? Their number keeps increasing!¡¹

    Said Shimokawa as he bisected the body of a gargoyle who rushed toward us while screaming loudly.

    ¡¸Well, their number is actually less than usual. The smoke screen is working.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you kidding me, this kind of raid is LESS THAN USUAL¡­¡¹

    ¡¸GUGAAAN!¡¹

    Rem the Dark Knight brandished her great sword to kill the gargoyle who was creeping on the ground with its four legs. Yup, this guy was the fastest when creeping on four legs on the ground. When on the ground, they moved like monkeys.

    The chance of our vanguard encountering the wandering gargoyles increased as we walked.

    Though the surrounding area was enshrouded by Shimokawa''s mist, the density of the gargoyle did rise the closer we were to the peak.

    ¡¸Momokawa~, how far are we from the to~p?¡¹

    ¡¸Just a bit more.¡¹

    Randou-sanined as she adjusted her slightly erratic breath. It seems I had to let her ride Alfa.

    ¡¸Are we really heading in the right direction?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s okay, just follow thendmark.¡¹

    I had left markings along the shortest route toward the summit.

    Once upon a time, I had an extremely tough experience of beating a mountain-sized monster where I had to ride a car and ended up losing along the way since I didn''t know the direction. I thought that slip could be faulted to the developer since the guiding beacon didn''t function properly even though there was a special route.

    That was by no means because I had a poor sense of direction, but it didn''t mean that I had great intuition or sense of direction either. I mean, everyone would lose their way if they walked around unfamiliar environments for the first time.

    And this rocky mountain of Yamata no Orochi was exactly that kind of ce.

    Even though we only needed to reach the summit, there was some ce that was simply blocked since it was literally a steep cliff, and the most dangerous ce of all was the ce with giant tree-like stone on which the density of the gargoyle was simply overwhelming.

    Thus, I marked the shortest route to the summit while making sure that we stayed away from such suicidal spots. Honestly, it was truly a thrilling experience to mark the ce with paint as far as possible as Rem''s spare body fell one by one back then, it was a race against time.

    Ah, this was the ce where I left a mark as the lower body of my clone got eaten by the gargoyle.

    ¡¸We are about to arrive. Get ready, Randou-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Oooou.¡¹

    Despite her half-hearted reply, she always did her job perfectly.

    When it came to earth magic, Randou-san had never betrayed my expectations.

    She did well during our training. Thus, I knew that she would have no problem finishing her job.

    ¡¸¨D¨DOkay, we have arrived.¡¹

    The huge "X" mark painted on the ground indicated our goal.

    Right below this mark was the source of Yamata no Orochi''s endless life force, its real body.

    ¡¸Shimokawa-kun!¡¹

    ¡¸I''m gonna spread it, everyone gather around me!¡¹

    Shimokawa raised his Kelpie Rod to manipte the ¡ºIce Mist¡».

    We took an encamped position with mist surrounding us. Since we were only staying in one ce without being able to escape, we wanted to avoid the big gargoyle, at least staying vignt to guarantee our safety.

    The inside of the white mist cleared up, revealing the dreary surface of the summit of the rocky mountain.

    By using the Kelpie Rod, the ¡ºIce Mist¡» could be spread as far as 500 meters in diameter. Thus, the area around the summit was surrounded by the mist.

    The only ce visible inside the dense mist the size of a gymnasium was the ce where we should dig.

    And once the mist around this area got dispelled, it revealed the crowd of gargoyles who had already been nesting in this ce, all of them ring at once toward us.

    ¡¸Everyone get ready! Let''s take over this ce first!¡¹

    Mei-chan didn''t waste a single moment to plunge into the crowd of the gargoyles while raising a war cry.

    Her brandished halberd hit the ground along with a loud explosive sound. The sheer might of her attack killed a few gargoyles at once, shredding them to pieces. It seems she used martial arts, ¡ºRupture¡», to create a shockwave.

    ¡¸Don''t forget about me!¡¹

    Though less powerful than Mei-chan, Yamada''s defense was truly remarkable. He worked together with Dark Knight and Minotaur Rem to kill one gargoyle after another.

    ¡¸Momokawa, you should at least join the fight too.¡¹

    ¡¸I''m already giving my all here~¡¹

    Theck of shaman''s firepower became more evident during this situation. And since I was being surrounded by my allies, I couldn''t use my ¡ºRotten Bog¡» either.

    The only thing I could do in this situation was harass the gargoyles with ¡ºck Hair Bind¡»bined with ¡ºPoison¡». Thank you Hinagiku-san.

    On the other hand, as much as I hate to say this, Sakura-chan didn''t stay idle either, she sniped one gargoyle after another.

    <i> Eh, did she just shoot through three gargoyles at once with one arrow? Ain''t that like a super transcendental skill? How sly, why do such skills have to be given to Sakura-chan?</i>

    ¡¸¡­ I hope I can get ¡ºSaint¡» skull.¡¹

    ¡¸Were you by chance just thinking something really shady just now!?¡¹

    ¡¸They might be just a small fry but you can''t let your guard down against them, Sakura-chan.¡¹

    Yup, we took control of this ce. We met no problem since our party had both vanguard and rear guard. We had enough power to eliminate your average gargoyle at once.

    ¡¸How''s your fare, Randou-san?¡¹

    ¡¸Ready at yourmand.¡¹

    Great, making her adjust her breathing during the upation battle was a correct choice after all. Now everything had finally fallen into the proper ce.

    Everyone was safe and sound when we gathered around the mark for the digging spot.

    ¡¸Okay then, she is yours.¡¹

    ¡¸Sure thing, behold my true power¨D¨D¡ºTera Rampart Defense¡»¡¹

    The spell she used was an advanced rank of earth magic.

    Randou-san fired in all directions with her golden revolver emitting a magic circle.

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 Chapter 232.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle III

    Chapter 232.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle III

    RUMBLEEEEEEEEEE!

    Arge earthen wall rose up surrounding us along with some tremors. The reason for the tremor was that it was around half a meter thick.

    <i> Uhm, this slow-forming formation kinda reminds me of her first ¡ºTerra Kris Sagita(Rock Lance)¡»</i>

    In the first ce, magic didn''t always show immediate effect.

    The reason Randou-san''s magic invocation was so slow was simply because it consumed a lot of magical power to form. She only needed a small amount of magical power tounch ¡ºTerra Sagita¡» at high speed like that of a bullet.

    Thanks to the revolver made by Tendou-kun, she seemed to be able to control her magical power in those parts, but when she infused a lot of her magical power, the manifestation couldn''t be done instantly due to their sheer size.

    Meaning that she went all out when invoking this ¡ºTerra Rampart Defense¡».

    ¡¸GYAGYAO!¡¹

    ¡¸GAGYaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡¹The gargoyles were rushing toward us, maybe they detected our presence. Or maybe because there were too many of them around us, their number was close to innumerable after all.

    ¡¸The shelter has beenpleted, defend it with your all!¡¹

    The first point was to build a shelter to ensure the safety of our excavation.

    The design was simr to that of a bunker. It took quite a lot of time since we made it bigger than the bunker to ensure our freedom of movement.

    Randou-san had undergone intense training to build the strongest possible shelter within the shortest amount of time.

    Firstly, she built each of the four side of the wall with ¡ºTerra Rampart Defence¡». Though it took quite a long timepared to building four sides of walls at once, the overall time needed to build the shelter was shorter and consumed less magical power than when she built all four sides in one go.

    Randou-san had to be really focused on invoking her spell during the process. That''s why everyone had to protect her during the process.

    The one who acted as protector by her side was Sakura-chan who could use ¡ºOracle Field¡» to protect Randou-san from unexpected ambush. Since the barrier could be expanded to protect several people at once, it also acted as ourst line of defense. That''s why we stopped erecting barriers around ourselves.

    Standing around her was Shimokawa, Arachne Rem, and me who acted as the rear guard.

    We were supporting the vanguard like usual.

    Lastly, our vanguard wasposed of Mei-chan, Yamada, Rem-Dark Knight, and Minotaurs Rem were raising a killing spree on the gargoyles who headed toward us. Since I had gotten down from Alfa, she was free to kill the enemy too.

    We only finished half of the wall. We needed to hang in there for another minute.

    But the number of gargoyles didn''t increase either. Well, thanks to that our vanguard could still fight with some leeway. The effect of Shimokawa''s mist was obvious. Bringing him along with us turned out to be right.

    ¡¸Don''t let your guard down, another batch ising!¡¹

    Shimokawa raised his cane to fire water jet into the sky while rousing everyone''s vignce.

    Though imperfect, the flying gargoyles proved to be a really annoying opponent due to their number.

    If our opponents were just gomas, all we needed was a wall to keep them at bay. But no amount of wall could stop the flying monsters.

    I could see the silhouette of the gargoyles falling down from above the mist as their wings fluttered in the air.

    ¡¸Those sneaky ba*tards!¡¹

    ¡¸We can barely cope with their air raid.¡¹

    Yes, we were having a hard time knocking down the gargoyle in the air. Well, I doubt that something like anti-aircraft gun would work on them.

    My weakest genre was FPS where you had to aim at the airborne enemies. That''s why I looked up to people who aced y pigeon shooting.

    ¡¸Nevertheless, since they''re overcrowded¨D¨D¡¹

    Shimokawa was getting flustered seeing the number of shadows in the sky above us.

    I released my beloved weapon, the ¡ºFool''s Cane¡», mounting it on my shoulder, preparing tounch its¡ºAir Launcher¡» function.

    The thing I used as ammo was a grenade made from firelight ore.

    ¡¸GOOOOOOOOOOO!!¡¹

    Crimson flower bloomed along with a loud explosion that erased my warcry.

    ¡¸Oo~h, it hit them right in the face.¡¹

    ¡¸WOAAAH, IT''S HOT AIN''T CHA, MOMOKAWA!?¡¹

    A single grenade killed a lot of gargoyles, but their smashed body that got heated up ended up raining down upon us.

    ¡¸Sorry Shimokawa-kun, I''ll be very careful next time.¡¹

    ¡¸Why are ya the only one who got protected!?¡¹

    Maan, Arachne Rem immediately moved to protect me from the falling hot splinter. Since Arachne Rem was in charge of carrying our luggage, she carried our spare weapon too.

    She was quick-witted and took out a shield to protect me the moment she saw the rain of hot splinter.

    <i> Yup, loyal servants are the best after all.</i>

    ¡¸What are you talking about? Good grief, even though they''re weak enemy¡­ ¡ºLux Sagita¡».¡¹

    Sakura-chan shot down one gargoyle after another with her bow and exterminated the descending gargoyle with a magic st.

    This damn ¡ºSaint¡» was unexpectedly equipped with powerful offensive magic.

    ¡¸¨D¨D Huff~, the wall is do~ne.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, move on to the next one.¡¹

    ¡¸Ye~h.¡¹

    Thepleted ¡ºTerra Rampart Defence¡» formed a splendid 5-meter tall wall around us.

    I wished she could finish the ceiling as fast as possible, but since we needed to erect a pir to support the ceiling of the gymnasium side, making it stronger. Since it was an amateur design, the strength of the ceiling would becking without the support from the pir.

    ¡¸¡ºTerra Kris Sagita¡»¡¹

    The one used to build a pir was one of her earliest skills, ¡ºTerra Kris Sagita¡».

    But the current Randou-san was much stronger than she was back then, and thanks to the assistance from her revolver, her skill materialized faster than before.

    Befitting of true offensive magic, a thick and bulky rock pir rose at once as if it wanted to pierce the sky.

    Ah, the gargoyle who happened to descend got struck by the rising pir.

    ¡¸Vanguard gather around us, you have to deal with the enemy that is falling from above.¡¹

    Since we''d already erected a wall on four sides, those walls were more than enough to hold back the enemy on the ground. Meaning that we only needed to worry about the gargoyles who swooped down from above.

    The rear guard''s main job was to intercept the air raid.

    I was a little anxious, but then Rem-Dark Knight changed her weapon to a ck horn bow, raising the number of anti-air personnel. Being able to handle both close-range and long-range weapons was Rem''s biggest trait.

    ¡¸Oi, I''m going to close the ceili~ng!!¡¹

    Randou-san shouted while pointing her revolver above.

    After she erected the pir, She moved on creating thest piece of the shelter, the bunker.

    ¡¸¡ºTerra Alma Shield¡»¡¹

    The ceiling was made using intermediate-rank defensive skills.

    As expected, it seemed that forming something away from its source was different from when forming it close to its source. That''s why making it part by part was the optimum solution.

    We have to be very careful when making the ceiling to prevent it from falling due to incidents.

    ¡¸Haa~h, they''re such a hindrance!¡¹

    Maybe because they knew that their only way to attack us was about to be blocked, the number of gargoyles in the sky increased at once. Even Randou-san started to shoot them with ¡ºTerra Sagita¡» when they got in her way.

    ¡¸Just a bit more, do your best!¡¹

    ¡¸Already doing my best here!¡¹

    Just one piece of ceiling in the middle that needed to be closed and the shelter would bepleted.

    The gargoyles were rushing ahead toward the only hole left.

    ¡¸Grenade!¡¹

    After shouting an FPS-like warning, I fired a grenade when those guys formed flocks.

    ¡¸WOAAAAAAAAH, NOT THIS AGAIN!¡¹

    Despite Shimokawa''s cries, the effect of the grenade was imminent. It felt good to blow those pests in one go.

    ¡¸RANDOU-SAN NOW!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºTERRA ALMA SHIELD¡»!¡¹

    The stone ceiling formed at once the moment she pulled the trigger¨D¨D Andpleted it in one go.

    ¡¸SAKURA-CHAN ILLUMINATION!¡¹

    ¡¸Noisy, I''m doing that¡­ ¡ºLux Elemental Summon¡»¡¹

    Once all sides were closed, it was only natural that the inside of the shelter was dark.

    Sakura-chan''s light spirit was truly convenient in this kind of situation. I still remember how useful it was when we were exploring the insect cavern in the past.

    Not to mention that we needed to avoid kindling fire in this kind of enclosed environment. We would be aughing stock if we ended up dying due tock of oxygen.

    ¡¸Ha~~~h, so tire~d.¡¹

    ¡¸Good job Randou-san.¡¹

    Said Randou-san as she plopped sloppily on the ground. I knew that she deserved a break after finishing such arge construction but¡­

    ¡¸Now prepare for the excavation.¡¹

    ¡¸Huff¡­ Can''t be helpe~d.¡¹

    Randou-san stood upzily as she took the bottle containing honey lemon that I offered to her as minimal appreciation for her previous work. Since ss Rep cooled it with her spell, it was still ice cool.

    ¡¸Bwaah, not bad ain''t cha¡¹

    Randou-san walked to the center of the shelter with a revolver in one hand, chugging half a bottle at once.

    Well then, all that was left was burrowing at once.

    The natural bedrockyer was left to Randou-san. And the hard shell of Yamata no Orochi beneath this was up to me.

    Honestly, I had no idea how long it would take to drill through this shell. Everything from this point was something that we couldn''t verify beforehand.

    I was both confident and anxious at the same time. Well, my feeling was more inclined to the anxious side, but seeing that we reached this far, there was no going back anymore. The only thing we could do was move forward.

    This would mark the start of the 4th stage of Yamata no Orochi''s subjugation n, and also the longest one.

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 Chapter 233.1 - Yamata No Orochi Subjugation Battle IV

    Chapter 233.1 - Yamata No Orochi Subjugation Battle IV

    ¡¸¨D¨DThe instation of the magic circle for excavation has beenpleted!¡¹

    A magic circle, about 3 meters in diameter, spread on the ttened ground below us. We weren''t writing the formation, we justid out the readymade one on the ground. I mean, making it from scratch would take a whole lot of time.

    So we chose this method, otherwise known as the scroll method.

    All we needed was to spread a magic circle that had already been drawn on a huge cloth and spread it on the ground. This was the n to reduce the time needed toplete the n as much as possible.

    ¡¸Is this really going to work?¡¹

    Said Sakura-chan without even trying to hide her suspicion.

    That was because this was the first time I showed her this handmade scroll of mine. <i>Well, like hell I''m going to show my magic item to someone like you. That''s like giving free information to your potential enemy.</i>

    ¡¸He''s not bringing it for no reason. This ain''t charm.¡¹

    The one who guaranteed its effect was none other than Randou-san herself, the one who dug it.We did numerous experiments with drawing magic circles while building a bunker.

    The best magic circle design was the one that glowed in orange light simr to the sh of the muzzle of Randou-san''s revolver.

    I took a picture of the most ideal magic circle with my smartphone and then copied it on the cloth.

    The thing was what kind of magic circle would appear when invoking a spell, its effect, or its meaning¨D¨D none of the users was aware of it. And since my ¡ºHexagram Formation¡» only worked on curses, I also couldn''t understand it either.

    But then, I realized that we didn''t actually need to make it too powerful, it was enough as long as the spell was strengthened even just a bit.

    Thus, after copying the earth magic circle, I used ¡ºOuw Decoding¡» to add various kinds of effects by trial and error¨D¨D And somehowpleted this earth magic for excavation.

    The magic used was intermediate rank defense magic, ¡ºTerra Alma Shield¡».

    It was the leading candidate spell for construction jobs since that spell was truly a great help when building a bunker. Randou-san''s expertise in this magic rose rapidly after she started using it for construction jobs.

    This means that using this magic to dig a hole with the assistance of a magic circle would allow her to dig an even deeper hole.

    The only problem was the number of shots of this magic that she needed to dig all the way to the shell of Yamata no Orochi.

    ¡¸Momokawa, I''m ready.¡¹

    ¡¸Do it, Randou-san.¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºTerra Alma Shield¡»!¡¹

    She pointed her revolver toward the magic circle and started the excavation job.

    ¡¸OI MOMOKAWA, WE''RE ALSO WORKING ON THIS PART!¡¹

    ¡¸Roger that, I''ll be there in a second.¡¹

    After being called by Shimokawa, I looked around for a few seconds and saw that everyone was starting to do their assigned job.

    They pasted scrolls on the ceiling and the wall.

    But, it wasn''t earth magic circle, it was the ¡ºHexagram¡» that I was familiar with.

    ¡¸Rot away in the water of rotten red¨D¨D¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    Though I used the full aria¡­ The bog didn''t appear anywhere else.

    It was only natural that the bog didn''t appear. It was because I set the bog to appear on the other side of the wall and ceiling instead of on this side.

    ¡¸Good job Shimokawa-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay, here we go old pals¨D¨D¡ºAcid Shield¡»¡¹

    The spell that I invoked for the scroll that was pasted on the wall by Shimokawa was ourmemorative first fusion spell, the ¡ºAcid Shield¡».

    It was something that I came with during the operation to keep Reina''s sacred beast at bay. In the end, it couldn''t give significant damage to the sacred beast, but both Water Shield and ¡ºRotten Bog¡» were still working just fine.

    That''s why I thought that this fusion spell might be able to buy us some time against those flock of gargoyles.

    ¡¸Can you feel the situation?¡¹

    ¡¸They''re swarming outside. Those idiots are plunging themselves to death into the bog.¡¹

    This seemed to be working wonders against zombie-like gargoyles who could only charge ahead.

    Though I knew that Randou-san''s ¡ºTerra Rampart Defence¡» was really tough, nick and chips would appear if it kept receiving non-stop onught from the gargoyles. And it might have broken if the big one was attacking it.

    Randou-san could fix it, of course, but now that she was focusing on digging, we shouldn''t waste her effort on another job.

    Thus, I came up with the n to create another hindrance on the side of the wall that was facing outside.

    ¡¸Shimokawa-kun, keep it up.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, leave it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸The others can take a break for the time being.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you sure?¡¹

    ¡¸This is going to be a long battle after all. We should preserve our magical power and stamina as much as possible while we can.¡¹

    So far, everything had gone ording to n.

    But I still had no idea whether Yamata no Orochi would really let us drill a hole all the way into their real body, their core. I hope that we can deal with any unexpected situation with our current lineup but¡­ Since the part about this waspletely unknown territory, I could only pray that everything would work just fine for us. Please bless us with your divine protection of the curse, Ruinhilde-sama.

    ¡¸Momokawa, how''s the situation on Big Brother''s side?¡¹

    Sakura-chan suddenly asked during our break time.

    The only one who knew the situation on Souma-kun and Co''s side was me who used my shadow as amunication ry.

    Since I knew that everyone was really busy fighting outside, no one would be stupid enough to contact us just because Sakura-chan was worrying about her big brother.

    ¡¸Yeah, Souma-kun is leading everyone to beat the cr*p of Orochi''s head. Well, no need to worry, he''s almost unsca¨D¨DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! S-SOUMA-KUUUUUUUUUUUN!?¡¹

    ¡¸EH!!? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO Big BROTHER!?¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone is safe and sound, they''re taking turns replenishing their body fluids right now.¡¹

    ¡¸MOMOKAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡¹

    <i> -Calm downss, that was a joke to break the tension.</i>

    <i> Good grief, this saint is riddled withndmines. Her holy attribute is truly questionable.</i>

    ¡¸Momokawa, this ain''t the time to make that kind of joke.¡¹

    Yamada said with a rather dumbfounded face.

    ¡¸Humph, it''s exactly at this kind of moment that we need some jokes to break the tension and regain ourposure.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ll be convinced if you''re not saying those words while hiding behind Futaba-san.¡¹

    I mean look, that bitch Sakura is already knocking an arrow of light on her bow.

    Like hell, I could survive if she suddenly went trigger-happy.

    ¡¸Don''t worry Yamada-kun. Protecting Kotaro-un is my job.¡¹

    ¡¸Please choose your job more carefully.¡¹

    <i> Uneptable, Mei-chan is my guardian deity after all.</i>

    Moreover, even if I couldn''t see her wonderful bo*bs from behind, her delicious bu*t was showing its majesty before me. It was the huge but* that bounced me up from the copsing ssroom.

    ¡¸¡­ So, the situation on Ryouko''s side?¡¹

    ¡¸Aren''t you curious about your BIG BROTHER?¡¹

    ¡¸Enough, just answer my question!¡¹

    <i> Sure thing. Well since I''m also curious about the situation on ss Rep''s side, let''s try to contact her.</i>

    Since I didn''t have enough power left to create another shadow, I had to use my smartphone to contact her.

    The recipient was Takanashi Kotori.

    Though I had my doubts about whether she would function properly as a ry personnel, I had no choice since she was the only avable personnel during the sealing operation.

    I dialed Kotori''s number which just got registered the other day with my outdated phone.

    <b><i> Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrrr¨D¨D</i></b>

    <i> That bitch better not hang up on me.</i>

    I should''ve told her during the training that she had to answer the phone within two rings.

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 Chapter 233.2 - Yamata No Orochi Subjugation Battle IV

    Chapter 233.2 - Yamata No Orochi Subjugation Battle IV

    After Yuuto and Co headed east to face the remaining five heads, there were only four people left at the sealing site.

    ¡¸Guh, as expected, the real thing is really exhausting.¨D¨D¡ºIce Fortis Sagita(Freezing Spear)¡»¡¹

    The cornerstone of the sealing operation, Kisaragi Ryouko AKA ss Rep unleashed another advanced rank spell to reinforce the ice sealing spear that started creaking.

    Though the three heads were sewn on the ground to seal their movements, every single one of them kept trying to break their binding thanks to their almost infinite source of power.

    If they were left unattended, they would break the seal in five minutes.

    ¡¸Minami, I''m done with this one, now to the 3rd head!¡¹

    ¡¸Roger that, Ryouko-chan!¡¹

    The one moving freely and dexterously was her best friend, Natsukawa Minami.

    Her duty was to inflict more damage to the head that was about to recover to dy their recovery.Even if their target was immobile, since most of the vanguard was dealing with the other five heads, Ryouko and Co had to keep inflicting injury to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd head to prevent them from recovering.

    That''s why Minami received an exclusive weapon to aplish this job.

    ¡¸There, there, be a good kid!¡¹

    She ran toward the 3rd head like a gale and held two kodachis in her hands with a reverse grip.

    The one in her right hand had ck and purple color.

    The one in her left had a rather gaudy design with gold lines drawn on the ck de.

    ¡ºDeath Stinger¡»: A short sword made from the extremely poisonous tip of the tail of a huge and poisonous scorpion-like monster, the ¡ºDeath Stalker¡». A scratch from it was enough to incapacitate its target due to the extremely powerful neurotoxin within.

    ¡ºYellow Paralizer¡»: Knife whose de istched with ¡ºSpiFrog''s Paralysis Poison¡», made from abination of yellow frog and Arachne''s poison. Thanks to the alchemy, the de could release paralysis poison depending on the magical power of its user.

    Both des weretched with powerful paralysis poison. Both were powerful weapons that specialized in neutralizing the enemies rather than killing them.

    Since it was made from extremely poisonous materials, Takanashi Kotori was forced to make it, regardless of her cries, under the strict supervision of Kotaro.

    Minami wielded those dangerous short swords as if they were her own limbs and delivered a stab into Orochi''s head.

    Since it had extremely troublesome power and mobility, Minami kept injecting paralysis poison into Orochi''s head to keep it incapacitated.

    ¡¸Yup, it''s paralyzed! Nakajima-kun, I''ll leave the 1st head to you~!¡¹

    ¡¸Roger.¡¹

    The other person who was selected to keep the three sealed heads at bay was Nakajima Haruma.

    He was a dual-wield user just like Minami. But unlike Minami who wielded her knives by relying entirely on her instincts, he learned the proper orthodox dual-wield from Kenzaki Style which had been around for hundreds of years.

    Though the ¡ºSilver Iron Sword¡» in his right hand could only fire magic, it was plenty enough for a user of Kenzaki style like him who was relying on the sword.

    ¡¸Kenzaki Style¨D¨D¡ºTwin Cleave¡»¡¹

    Two consecutive attacks with two swords.

    The first attack unleashed with the silver iron sword smashed the scales that were about to regenerate again.

    And the second strike followed right below that ce with the sword in his left hand.

    ¡ºCool Cuss EX¡»: The enchanted sword made by adding the ice crystal made by ss Rep into its material to increase the power of the ice attribute.

    The attack from magic swordsman Haruma maintained the ice seal for a while longer.

    The reason he was chosen to help Minami maintain the seal was because of his power as the magic swordsman and his dual wield.

    ¡¸Please take care of the ironnce too, Nakajima-kun!¡¹

    Yuuma nodded upon hearing Ryouko''s instruction and headed toward the steel sealingnce that had already started to crack.

    ¡ºTerra Fortis Sagita¡» used by Kyouko couldn''t be maintained by Ryouko since it was made from earth attributes.

    Though the giant ck ironnce was far tougher than Ryouko''s icence, it almost reached its limit.

    The only one who could maintain thence was Haruma, the magic swordsman who could use multiple attributes.

    He returned his silver-iron sword back into its sheath and drew another sword.

    ¡ºKurotetsumaru¡»: A sword made by Takanashi using the same material used to create the ¡ºSealing Lance?ck Iron¡». Though this ck katana was really heavy, the earth magic invoked with this katana would be powerful enough to turn into metal.

    ¡¸HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA¨D¨D¡ºTERRA BLAST¡»!¡¹

    It wasn''t a range attack with low-rank offense earth magic, it was a stabbing attack from point-nk range.

    By spending twice the amount of magical power than normal ¡ºTerra st¡», the thorn he unleashed transformed into ck iron.

    And then, as long as there was ck iron made by simr earth magic near ¡ºSealing Lance?ck Iron¡», thetter would absorb the magic to repair itself.

    This effect wouldn''t be possible without Kotori''s enchantment, and special trait granted by Ryuuichi''s ability. It was a special effect that was added after Kotaro begged Ryuuichi, much to thetter''s annoyance, finally added the special effect because it was necessary.

    The ¡ºTerra st¡» of ck iron fired by Haruma finally got absorbed by the sealingnce, restoring the crackednce that pierced into Orochi''s meat.

    ¡¸Huff¡­ It''s still fine for now but¡­ The magic consumption is quite intense.¡¹

    This was the first time Haruma had participated in such a long battle.

    Haruma had been using ¡ºCool Cuss EX¡» and ¡ºKurotetsumaru¡» until he became adept in using both for the sake of this operation during his dungeon exploration, but when it came to the battle of attrition, he could finally see the limit of her magical power.

    ¡¸But, I have no choice but to do this¡­ I have to aplish this job even if Kenzaki-san doesn''t see me!¡¹

    There was a dissatisfaction with the fact that he wasn''t assigned to the same unit as Asuna in this subjugation battle of Yamata no Orochi but, because the enemy was too powerful, no one could afford to cut the corner.

    Thus, Harma ended up jumping around between three heads along with Minami and continued doing his job to ease the burden of the other team.

    ¡¸Oh no, the 2nd head almost recovered! Everyone suppress at once!¡¹

    And naturally, Ryouko who was in charge ofmand in the sealing site was mustering and focusing on her magical power that kept decreasing with time, in order to prolong the sealing time even by a second.

    ¡¸¡­.¡¹

    Takanashi Kotori was looking at the trio who fought desperately to prolong the sealing.

    Yes, she was just looking.

    She had no job left after applying ¡ºEternity¡» to the sealing spear that pierced the three heads.

    Or giving things such as potion or water to the trio who returned temporarily to replenish their water.

    She just looked at the trio''s fight while sitting on the chair built in the western bunker.

    Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrrr¨D¨D

    Suddenly, her smartphone started to ring.

    She took the phone out of her pocket immediately, and the moment she saw the name ¡ºMomoba*tard¡» disyed on the disy, her finger stopped mid-air.

    Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrr, Prrrrrrrr¨D¨D

    After a long time, Kotori finally tapped the screen, albeit with a reluctant face.

    ¡¸Geez, don''t call Kotori when she''s so busy, Momokawa-kun!¡¹

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 Chapter 234.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle V

    Chapter 234.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle V

    East of Yamata no Orochi''s nest.

    This ce was the most intense battlefield against five heads for the other ssmates.

    ¡¸The 4th head is charging its breath! JuryMary stop them! The 6th head is about to recover in 30 seconds!¡¹

    Momokawa''s scream resounded along with the piercing roar on the battlefield.

    ¡¸DAMMIT, MAKE IT IN TIME!¡¹

    ¡¸ORAORAORAAAAAAAAAAA¡ºHEAVY SMASH¡»!¡¹

    JuryMary Combi struck the side of the head of the 4th head that started to gather an ominous glow in its mouth with its respective martial art.

    The moment the head nted upward, the bright red me breath got unleashed upward.

    Breath attack was Yamata no Orochi''s killing move that couldn''t be controlled even by the Orochi themselves. Thus the only way to stop it was by forcing them to release their breath to the sky by hitting Orochi''s head.But, the head had to be attacked at the correct time. It was a tough challenge that rarely seeded.

    ¡¸THE 7TH HEAD''S BREATH INCOMING! DODGE AT ALL COST!¡¹

    The 7th head opened its maw and fired a huge lightning pir as countless electric sparks surrounded its jaws.

    A torrent of the enormous magical power of thunder left scorched marks on the ground along with a blinding sh and loud explosion rivaling dozens of thunderbolts.

    The breath only stopped around 10 secondster.

    ¡¸ANY CASUALTY!?¡¹

    ¡¸EVERYONE IS SAFE!?¡¹

    Souma Yuuto quickly replied after making sure that everyone was safe.

    Though no one got hit by the breath attack, their formation was disturbed due to the said breath attack. And even if they managed to avoid a direct hit, the aftershock alone left tingling pain on their skin.

    ¡¸THE 4TH AND THE 7TH ARE ENTERING COOL DOWN! 5TH IS CHARGING! TENDOU, TAKE CARE OF THAT ONE WITH KENZAKI!¡¹

    Though none of them replied, Ryuuchi and Asuna rushed as fast as they could to deal with the 5th head attack.

    ¡¸UEDA COME BACK, YOUR SWORD IS ABOUT TO REACH ITS LIMIT! NAKAI GET SOME TREATMENT FOR YOUR SCRATCHES!¡¹

    ¡¸BOTH OF YOU FALL BACK, I''LL FILL IN FOR YOU!¡¹

    ¡¸MY BAD!¡¹

    ¡¸TAKE CARE SOUMA!¡¹

    Seeing Yuuto running to deal with the 8th head by himself with his sword of light, Ueda and Nakai retreated to the trench where Kotaro had been waiting for them.

    ¡¸Ueda, your pace in changing weapons is too fast, use your next weapon more carefully.¡¹

    ¡¸That snake scale is tough as hell.¡¹

    Ueda had received the new ¡ºSilver Iron Sword¡» from Kotaro, he dumped his cracked sword on the ground, then sheathed his new sword into the scabbard hanging on his waist.

    ¡¸Nakai, you take too much damage. Since we have a limited number of shields, better not switch it with a new one.¡¹

    ¡¸The shock wave of the breath is too damn strong. Didn''t make it in time to dodge it.¡¹

    Kotaro sprayed the uncorked potion on Nakai who had just taken off his ¡ºWolf Vest¡».

    ¡¸Tell JuryMary that it''s time for them to resupply. Once you have done that, regroup with Kenzaki to stop the 6th head. It''s already revived.¡¹

    ¡¸Roge~r.¡¹

    ¡¸Geez, you''re such a ve driver, Momokawa.¡¹

    Despite their exhaustion, both Ueda and Nakai rushed toward the battlefield immediately.

    ¡¸Dammit, we can really barely hold on.¡¹

    Kotaro cursed under his breath upon seeing this situation.

    They managed to somehow keep the five heads at bay with the current lineup, but the battle was really tricky and the party barely held their ground.

    At first, he intended to entrust the battle to the fighters but¡­ It turned out the party had a hard time seeing the condition of each of the five heads and attacked them at appropriate timing.

    Though they gained the upper hand when the 8th head appeared, they slowly lost that advantage as the battle went on.

    When all five heads could move, they could only do their best to dodge the breath attack.

    He realized that it was a mistake to leave the baton ofmander to Souma Yuuto.

    While it was true that he contributed the most in this battle as an ace and understood the movements of everyone in the party, telling him to give appropriate orders while watching the state of each of the five heads of Orochi was a tall order.

    Thus, Kotaro decided to take back the baton of themander and took charge of the formation on the battlefield.

    Because his ¡ºTwin Shadow¡» was ced in the trench to contact the party, he was the only one with the leeway to see everyone on the battlefield.

    Though it was an unexpected situation, he had memorised all of Yamata No Orochi''s attack patterns thanks to the field exercise. He had noted everything, from the movement pattern before using the breath attack, its charging time, its cooldown, regeneration time, etc, etc.

    Thus, he could act as an impromptumander for them.

    ¡¸We can still keep them at bay for the time being but¡­¡¹

    The heads starting from the 4th until the 8th, not even in the game had we experienced such a mind-boggling rush of remembering each pattern and giving appropriate instruction on time.

    From giving out short but precise orders to numbering each head, and calling his ssmates¡­ He gave only the necessary instructions to the necessary person as fast as possible while making it as simple as possible. Even then, he was racing against time to give instruction.

    Kotaro himself believed that the reason he could give such precisest-minute instruction was simply because his senses were heightened during the battle which enabled him to see the situation.

    But, soon enough, he wouldn''t have such leeway either.

    ¡¸I might not be able to give instructions once the shell has been broken¡­¡¹

    Kotaro had to continue using his curse to break Yamata no Orochi''s shell. Naturally, the stronger the curse he used, the more brain capacity he needed for that.

    The information processing in his brain already doubled.

    At this point, it wouldn''t be strange if he suddenly copsed with a nosebleed due to overexerting his brain.

    The blood vessels in his brain might rupture before he runs out of magical power.

    ¡¸¨D¨DStill, I have no choice but to do this.¡¹

    Because he knew that the infiltration team in the middle of the mountain would be annihted for sure unless he supported the raid team here.

    Though he had a sense of responsibility since everyone''s life depended on his n, never had he expected their life topletely depend on hismand in the battlefield too.

    It was truly an unexpected situation.

    ¡¸Bring it on. I''ll make sure that we seed no matter what¨D¨D¡¹

    ===

    ¡¸¨D¨DUwoo, my ¡ºTerra Alma Shield¡» can''t dig anymore! WE REACHED THE SHELL!¡¹

    At that moment, Randou-san''s magic had finally pierced the bedrock.

    The hole dug with ¡ºTerra Alma Shield¡» was dug vertically like that of a water well.

    The hole had a diameter of 2 meters. It was big enough for humans to pass.

    But the hole wasn''t just dug, the inside was reinforced to the point that it became as tough as concrete.

    We did so bypressing the excavated soil and stone to harden the surrounding. In this way, we didn''t have to waste our time removing the excavated soil since it was directly used to reinforce the wall of the hole.

    ¡¸Okay, my turn hase.¡¹

    ¡¸Kotaro-kun¡­ Be very careful.¡¹

    Said Mei-chan to me as if a mother seeing off her son to the battlefield.

    ¡¸Don''t worry, I''ve practiced the art ofnding.¡¹

    I replied to her while equipping the lifeline around my body.

    After this, I would go to the bottom of the hole dug by Randou-san to invoke ¡ºRotten Bog¡».

    ¡¸Are you really sure about this?¡¹

    ¡¸I can afford that much.¡¹

    When I peeked into the hole, it was so deep that I couldn''t see its bottom.

    Yeah, deeper than I thought, in fact, I was already getting cold feet just by seeing this seemingly bottomless hole.

    But, I hade prepared. This wasn''t the time to back down.

    ¡¸Oi, this like super deep you know? Are you really sure about this?¡¹

    ¡¸Be careful, Momokawa.¡¹

    Shimokawa and Yamada bid their goodbyes to me who was about to descend into the hole.

    ¡¸Get down quickly. Don''t forget that Big Brother and Co are betting their life to buy time for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Shimokawa-kun, Yamada-kun, watch over Sakura-chan; make sure she doesn''t do anything suspicious.¡¹

    ¡¸I WON''T! GO IN QUICKLY!¡¹

    I stepped into the hole without being able to erase my suspicion toward Sakura-chan.

    ¡¸Here wee or nothing. I''ll leave the rest to you, Mei-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹

    Mei-chan nodded while holding on to my lifeline.

    The way to descend was by using a pulley like the one used in the well. Even if it were not Mei-chan, Rem, and Yamada could pull the pulley for me.

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 Chapter 234.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle V

    Chapter 234.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle V

    The pulley was made with my own alchemy brought by Arachne. The frame of the pulley was made bybining a steel rod using Randou-san''s magic.

    The assembling works were done without a hitch.

    Afterward, they just needed to lower the bucket I rode in toward the bottom of the well.

    ¡¸Gulp¡­¡¹

    But just as expected, I couldn''t help but break into a cold sweat as the bucket was lowered dozens of meters below the ground.

    In the worst case that the bucket fell, the lifeline that tied up around my waist would prevent me from crashing straight to the bottom but¡­ Honestly, I wouldn''t do this if Mei-chan wasn''t the one holding my safety lifeline.

    I waspletely hanging in the air, but the burden on my body wasn''t that big since the rope that was tied to my body was connected to the vest-like gear that was strapped on my body.

    It was a gear used in spy movies when they came down from the air duct to prevent them from touching the floor.

    Naturally, the vest was personally made by me.I made every piece of gear that was directly rted to my safety with my own hands instead of relying on Takanashi Kotori.

    The issue of whether she wanted to kill me or not aside, I wanted to be spared from having to wear safety gear made by that capricious bi*ch.

    Around halfway to the bottom, I was enveloped by total darkness.

    Even with Sakura-chan''s light spirit floating above me, it barely had any effect in this situation.

    That''s why I made Cantera in anticipation of that.

    Honestly, Sakura-chan''s ¡ºLight Alchemy Formation¡» was a disappointment but, there was nothing more useful than this cantera if it''s only limited to making illumination. Anyhow, all we needed to do was put ¡ºTiny Light Spirit¡» into the cantera to make it shine bright white light.

    I finally reached the bottom of the well by relying on the illumination of tiny light spirits in the cantera.

    ¡¸I''ve arrive~d!¡¹

    I screamed as loud as I could so that the people above knew that I had already reached the bottom.

    The depth of the hole was around 30 metres. When I looked up, its height was around a ten ten-story building.

    Fortunately, my voice might have been able to reach the people above without having to use the tool that I brought with me.

    ¡¸WE WILL SEND THE LUGGAGE DOWN KOTARO-KU~N!¡¹

    ¡¸ROGE~R!¡¹

    A treasure chest tied up with rope came down along with Mei-chan''s voice.

    All the tools that I needed were crammed into this treasure box.

    ¡¸I''LL START THE PREPARATION TO MELT THE SHELL! TAKE CARE OF THE DEFENSE ABOVE!¡¹

    ¡¸YEAH, LEAVE IT TO ME!¡¹

    The defense would stabilize as long as Mei-chan and Randou-san returned to assist the defense. There was no need for me to worry about them.

    Now it was the time for me to do my job. This part was also the biggest issue in my n.

    In the first ce, I doubt that ¡ºRotten Bog¡» alone was enough to tear through the thick shell. And I had no choice but to do the actual field test after we arrived this far.

    There was a limit to how much I could confirm with a sample of the scale. That was the reason for my doubt.

    Not that I was being pessimistic, but if I couldn''t destroy the shell, I doubt anyone else could.

    ¡¸Ruinhilde-sama¡­ Grant me power¡­¡¹

    I recited a prayer before I took the challenge.

    The human already did everything. All that was left was leaving it all to the mercy of god.

    ¡¸First is the scroll.¡¹

    I spread open the giant scroll on the pale blue shell at the bottom of the hole which I assume was Yamata no Orochi¡¯s shell.

    It wasn''t ¡ºHexagram Formation¡»''s scroll.

    Crammed inside a huge water droplet-shaped formation was thebination of a goma and ancient letter.

    Honestly, even I had no idea what was written inside the thing I chose to function as a magic circle with its cement and word.

    In that way, all that was left was trial and error before I decided on the one with the best effect.

    This magic circle was exclusive for the ¡ºRotten Bog¡», the deployment area was constant and it was solely focused on making a deeper hole.

    I call it ¡ºBottomless Abyss¡».

    It would keep drilling deeper and deeper as long as I had magical power.

    ¡¸Since I want to finish this in one shot, I''ve prepared the best offering.¡¹

    ¡ºCore of Death Stalker¡»: ording to its name, this was the big core of a death stalker, a giant monster living in the desert area that came to attack Tendou-kun. The color of the core was purplish-red and had the effect of adding poison magic.

    ¡ºGiant Poison nd of Yellow Frog¡»: Poison nd of the frog that has the paralysis poison of SpiFrog. Collected from the biggest specimen we could find, extremely poisonous.

    ¡ºMandragora of Various ces ¡»: Mandragora growing in various ces such as the Desert, Ruined Pce, the Underworld, Resort Area. Since I had no idea whether they had different effects depending on the ce they grew or not since we had limited specimens, I decided to dump everything.

    ¡º4th Stomach of Crystasaurs¡»: I know that cow has four stomachs, but I had not expected that the minotaurs had four too, and the same went for its sub-species, the crystasaur. I mean, this fe must have a really strong digestive ability since it ate light ore like cracker.

    ¡ºKelpie''s Big Fin¡»: From Kelpie that appeared by chance when fishing on theke. Though the horn had already been used for Shimokawa''s cane, the big fin that grew on its horse body could be used for the offering. It wasn''t for water magic, I wanted it to have an effect rted to liquid.

    ¡ºFreshly Severed Head of Govu¡»: The head of the govu who seemed like the vige chief of goma vige that we destroyed to gain control over sugar and honey. I ambushed that guy on their secret route to catch him. It must''ve cursed me even after death since I killed its wives and children before its very eyes. Moreover, since it became guinea pig for my poison and Himeno-san''s healing magic every day¡­ Its grudge literally shot through the roof, which made it an extremely suitable offering, thus I killed it with my own hand this morning. And even the ugly face of the govu became even uglier as it showed the expression of pain and hatred that I''d never seen before, even now, its tears of blood had yet to dry. Poor guy¡­

    Thus I arranged the best possible offering on top of ¡ºBottomless Abyss¡».

    +++

    Thus, I roared as I invoked my sorcery.

    That said, I''d done everything I had to do.

    ¡¸This shell, is yourst line of defense¡­ It''s checkmate!¡¹

    I raised my right hand which was covered with ¡ºShaman Exclusive Glove,¡¸Curse The Hex¡¹¡». As soon as I activated the ¡ºHexagram Formation¡» embroidered on the glove, blood gushed forth from the palm of my hand.

    And it wasn''t just your usual blood, it was the fresh blood of a shaman.

    ¡¸Inheriting The Meaningless Trial. And Unfortunate Fate. If You''re Chosen By Fate, Carve It With Your Own Feet¨D¨D¡ºck Blood¡»¡¹

    Man, it''s been a really long time since I used this aria.

    This was a sorcery that enhanced the effect when casting ¡ºRotten Bog¡». I''ve used it properly without forgetting about it.

    And then, when a droplet of the ¡ºck Blood¡» dropped into the ¡ºBottomless Abyss¡», creating a ripple.

    ¡¸Rot away in the water of rotten red¨D¨D¡ºRotten Bog¡»¡¹

    I''m not done yet, I invoked another sorcery to enhance it even further.

    The blood-like poisonous pool then boiled up as it overflowed from the magic circle, it spread into a circle and swallowed the offering.

    The diameter was around 1 meter.

    It was smaller than usual. But it certainly was digging deeper and deeper into Yamata no Orochi''s shell with uncanny efficiency.

    And the depth it reached right after its invocation was¨D¨D

    ¡¸Around 1 meter eh¡­ Dammit, this is going to take a lot of time¡­¡¹

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 Chapter 235.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Unforeseen Situation

    Chapter 235.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Unforeseen Situation

    Fifteen minutes had psed since Kotaro descended to the bottom of the hole and started drilling the shell.

    ¡¸A~h, my bad, I can''t do this anymore.¡¹

    Said Kyouko, drenched in cold sweat, pulled the trigger of her golden revolver.

    She constantly repaired the earth defense spell that looked like it was on the verge of breaking.

    To her horror, there was more than one path she had to repair.

    She had to fix every side of the wall along with the ceiling. A loud roaring sound of impact from the outside could be heard from the cracked ces.

    ¡¸Dammit, the mist not gonna work if those fes were this ferocious.¡¹

    That sound could be heard every time the gargoyle had almost managed to break the wall. And those noises ended up calling theirrades, the n started spiraling out of control.

    Not to mention that they had no way to fight back except with Shimokawa''s ¡ºAcid Shield¡», and the situation had only been worsened by seconds.But, even this situation had already been included in Kotaro''s prediction. In the ce where it was possible to intercept, everyone would do their usual job. He decided on this ce because this ce would give them more advantage in terms of keeping the gargoyles at bay.

    In short, the situation in which the gargoyles managed to destroy the wall had already been included in the n.

    ¡¸HURRY UP MOMOKAWA!¡¹

    ¡¸Calm down Souma-san. I''ll exercise my right to stop you even by force if you''re trying to disturb Kotaro''s job.¡¹

    The matter of them being besieged by a gargoyle army from all sides had been anticipated, but it was actually predicted to happen in the final phase of the n.

    Had it been ording to his n, by the time this happened when they were still drilling the shell, the n might have failed.

    If even one gargoyle interrupted Kotaro who invoked the spell in the bottom of the hole, it could be said that the n had failed. Once they lost the only way to pierce Yamata no Orochi''s shell, it only meant that they wouldn''t have another way to pierce Yamata no Orochi''s defense with its'' invincible defense.

    They would fail, and there was no need to say what was going to happen to the infiltration team who got stranded right in the middle of the enemy''s crowd.

    ¡¸I won''t do that. But, this situation will affect the sess of our n.¡¹

    ¡¸You still don''t get it, huh? The one to decide that isn''t you.¡¹

    Meiko replied as she red back at Sakura.

    When she was a staff in charge of everyone''s meal, she would look at everyone with a warm smile on her face as they ate the meal she cooked. The expression on the current Meiko was the exact opposite of that gentle Meiko, but everyone knew that once that smile disappeared from her face, Meiko would turn into an extremely dangerous berserker.

    And the Meiko that transformed into a ¡ºBerserker¡» was a cold and ruthless person.

    ¡¸CO-COME TO THINK OF IT! I SUDDENLY FEEL FAMISHED!¡¹

    Shimokawa, who saw the tension between Meiko and Sakura was about to turn into a fight that would spell doom for their entire n, suddenly shouted loudly so that everyone could hear his voice.

    We had no time for internal conflict. We were surrounded from all sides.

    ¡¸Yeah. It can''t be helped, we''re going to risk our lives after this.¡¹

    Even the thickheaded Yamada realized that he couldn''t allow the situation to worsen and agreed with Shimokawa.

    ¡¸Quit it already, Souma.¡¹

    ¡¸I''ve never said that I don''t trust Momokawa''s n. It just¨D¨D¡¹

    She just thought that some part of his n might have gone wrong.

    <i> No, that is also wrong.</i>

    It wasn''t like everything would go ording to the n.

    But she couldn''t erase her doubt after Kotori said ¡¸Momokawa Kotaro might betray us¡¹.

    ¡¸Oi, I beg you to quit already, this ain''t the time to spout such nonsense! Yamada is absolutely right, we don''t have any choice but to buy time for Momokawa!¡¹

    ¡¸The wall might break anytime soon. Guys grab your weapons.¡¹

    Thus, everyone started to ignore Sakura who started to act like a hysterical woman and stood around the well to intercept any monster that came through the broken wall.

    The next moment, even Sakura had no choice but to draw her bow to shoot down any enemy that mighte from the broken wall.

    Thus, an eerie silence descended in that space.

    The space was dominated by the scream of the gargoyle and the sound of them banging on the wall and roof from outside. But the inside was strangely quiet.

    The end of the eerie silence wasing literally out of nowhere.

    RATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLE!

    One part of the wall broke along with a piercing sound.

    The one who broke the wall was a gargoyle whose size was at least three times bigger than the normal gargoyle. The wings that were supposed to grow from its back were reced with a pair of arms as if to emphasize its being specialized in attack.

    This was the gargoyle that Kotaro dubbed as ¡ºBig Type¡».

    It destroyed part of the wall with a charging attack that made full use of its huge frame.

    The giant gargoyle that rolled on the ground raised its body immediately and opened its mouth to roar upon seeing the figure of the human hidden in the building,

    ¡¸HAAAH!¡¹

    Only to get its body bisected by the berserker right before it raised a voice.

    The ax de of the berserker''s halberd split the big gargoyle''s body in half from the crown of its head all the way to its crotch, killing thetter in a single blow.

    ¡¸RANDOU-SAN!¡¹

    ¡¸¡ºTerra Shield¡»¡¹

    Kyouko patched the hole in the wall immediately.

    The rest of the gargoyles tried to rush into the hole in the wall however, the hole was patched up immediately.

    Naturally, that was only a stopgap measure, not a real solution to their problem.

    Meiko moved immediately to the ce that was seemingly going to break next and swung her halberd again.

    ¡¸Randou-san, I''ll block this ce! Please deal with the big hole over there!¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me!¡¹

    The moment Shimokawa used his water shield to prevent one or two small-scale breakthroughs, a huge crevice formed on the opposite side.

    Meiko''s reaction was dyed on this one. This time, two big gargoyles broke through the wall along with a rattling sound.

    ¡¸IT''S MY TURN! REM, LET''S GO!¡¹

    ¡¸BUMOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    The ones who dealt with it were Yamada and Rem the 4th, Minotaurs.

    Though they couldn''t instakill big type like Meiko, they had no problem in defeating them in one-on-onebat.

    And while the 4th and Yamada were dealing with those two gargoyles, Rem the 3rd, and Alfa cleaned up the one that had been sneaking behind the two with their ws, fangs, and tail.

    ¡¸I NEED 20 SECONDS TO SEAL SUCH A BIG HOLE! DO SOMETHING TO PROP THE CEILING IN THE MEANTIME!¡¹

    Kyouko shouted while telling everyone the current condition.

    The hole in the wall that got torn up forcefully by two big gargoyles was too big to be sealed with one shot of ¡ºTerra Shield¡».

    And while she did her best to seal that big hole, the ceiling that had been rattling since a while ago would copse for sure.

    And only a few of them could deal with airborne foes.

    ¡¸¨D¨D¡ºLux Kris Sagita¡»¡¹

    Suddenly, Sakura unleashed her intermediate offensive magic with her ¡ºSaint Harmonic Bow¡».

    A beam of light tore the darkness, and pierced the skull of the enemy who broke the ceiling.

    The one who destroyed the ceiling wasn''t your average gargoyle either, it was another big gargoyle. It had an eerie appearance like abination of a bat with the beak of a bird.

    And the moment that beak glowing with crimson light broke the ceiling and peeked out, Sakura''s ¡ºLux Kris Sagita(Brilliant Arrow)¡» pierced that beak.

    The light arrow broke the tough beak and pierced its head, instantly killing the gargoyle.

    The corpse of the gargoyle fell weakly and sealed the hole at the same time, it was a blessing in disguise since that coincidence bought more time for them.

    ¡¸DID ITS CORPSE GET STUCK!?¡¹

    ¡¸IGNORE IT FOR NOW, JUST SEAL IT UP LIKE THAT!¡¹

    Only then did Kyouko realize that Sakura''s remark made sense, they had no leeway to get rid of the corpse that got stuck in the hole. And unexpectedly, the sealing process went without a hitch, sealing everything except the beak.

    ¡¸Next one¡­¡¹

    ¡¸FUTABA, TAKE CARE OF THE WALL OVER THERE!¡¹

    ¡¸Roger that, Randou-san.¡¹

    Meiko readied her halberd as she headed toward the wall pointed out by Kyouko.

    They managed to seal the hole. The ssmates were working together really nicely, everyone exhibited their forte to their fullest.

    But, they would eventually reach their limit.

    It was only a matter of time before they reached their limit.

    Even Meiko shuddered, imagining such a never-ending battle.

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 Chapter 235.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Unforeseen Situation

    Chapter 235.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Unforeseen Situation

    ¡¸Don''t worry¡­ I''ll protect this ce to bitter end.¡¹

    She promised so even if she was the only surviving member, knowing very well that Kotaro had also done his best to drill the shell.

    That''s why she couldn''t afford to back down.

    Different from when she was in her uncontroble berserk state, the current Meiko felt as if she was brimming with omnipotent power¨D¨D But even as shepletely focused on defense, there was another battlefield.

    Since the entire surrounding had turned into a battlefield, it was only a matter of time before their defence breached.

    GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    At that moment, the war cry of Yamata no Orochi came from the cracked ceiling.

    Not to mention that it wasn''t just the roar of a single giant serpent''s head, there were three heads roaring at the same time.

    And then, three kinds of lights shone brightly from outside of the wall along with a roar¨D¨D Right at Meiko''s ce.¡¸Orochi''s breath¡­ OH NO, THAT DIRECTION, COULD IT BE!?¡¹

    Meiko immediately guessed the direction of that light, which couldn''t be missed no matter what.

    The breath headed toward the western battlefield.

    In short, the three sealed heads had fired their breaths to the sky¨D¨D Meaning that the seal had been broken.

    ===

    Countless cracks ran along the sealingnce of steel and ice before it got smashed to pieces.

    But, the three heads were still sewed on the ground, unable to move an inch.

    ¡¸KOTORI! HOW''S THE SITUATION ON MOMOKAWA-KUN''S SIDE!¡¹

    ¡¸MOMOKAWA HAS ALREADY BEEN DRILLING THE SHELL! BUT IT SEEMS IT''LL TAKE SOME TIME!¡¹

    Ryouko felt dizzy upon hearing the report from Kotori who replied with a smartphone in her hand.

    ¡¸It''ll be all right¡­ Keep going, all is well.¡¹

    Though they had to keep their job to maintain the seal, it was almost impossible for the n to go smoothly.

    Kotaro had finally started drilling the shell. Meaning that their victory was guaranteed as long as he managed to break the shell.

    ¡¸MINAMI! NAKAJIMA-KUN! THE DRILLING OF THE SHELL HAS BEGUN! DO YOUR BEST, JUST A BIT MORE!¡¹

    ¡¸Roge~r, Ryouko-chan!¡¹

    ¡¸Roger that, ss Rep!¡¹

    Minami and Haruma replied with a lively voice while swinging their weapons.

    ¡¸It seems both of you still have some stamina left. The problem is my magical power¡­¡¹

    The consumption of Ryouko''s magical power¡ºIce Fortis Sagita¡»had been really intense since the start of the battle.

    Though she had been drinking MP potion during the downtime to recover some of her magical power, the consumption of magical power was too intense.

    All they needed was to buy as much time as possible. Even Ryouko''s cloudy mind couldn''te up with a solution due to the mental fatigue after overusing magic.

    ¡¸I beg you Momokawa-kun. Please seed before my magical power exhausts¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨DRYOUKO-CHAN!¡¹

    Ryouko was suddenly taken aback and raised her face upon hearing Minami''s exhausted voice.

    ¡¸What''s the matter, Minami?¡¹

    ¡¸The head feels funny for some reason!¡¹

    Despite what she said, there seemed to be nothing wrong with her physical condition.

    Though there were cracks in the sealingnce, it wasn''t enough to break in one struggle.

    Even the head of the giant serpent could barely move.

    ¡¸I don''t know which part of me feels funny though.¡¹

    ¡¸In short¨D¨D DEYAAAH!¡¹

    Minami stabbed the ¡ºDeath Stinger¡» in her right hand till the base of its de. And sure enough, the de that was coated in poison sunk easily into the flesh under the tough scale.

    ¡¸As I thought, itcks the fleshy response!¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean bycks the fleshy response?¡¹

    ¡¸ss Rep, I agree with Natsukawa-san. I also felt theck of response when I shed at it with my sword.¡¹

    With both vanguards reporting the same thing, Ryouko ended up pondering about this matter while invoking the next ¡ºIce Fortis Sagita¡».

    ¡¸Lack of response, does that mean its flesh became softer? Or we simplyck the damage.¡¹

    But, even when she looked at the three heads, they looked the same as before.

    ¡¸What in the world is actually happening here¨D¨D¡ºIce Fortis Sagita¡».¡¹

    She used her magic to reinforce the most tattered sealingnce in the 1st head for the Xth time while pondering about such a thing.

    The cracks on the sealingnce closed up for the time being and thence firmly held Orochi''s head again.

    ¡¸¨D¨DWhat the, is this reallyck of response!?¡¹

    The moment Ryouko used her magic, she also felt the out-of-feel sensation described by herrades.

    Though she didn''t use weapons like Minami and Co, she also felt something like a response whenever her spell hit her enemy.

    When her ice spear struck a fatal wound on the goma, or when her spell got repelled by the tough skin of the boss, the response she felt just now was different from those two.

    Ryouko thought that such a phenomenon might happen because the spell still maintained some sort of connection with its caster but¨D¨D The response she felt just now felt as if it hit a mere corpse.

    ¡¸I''m sure that I stabbed the head and yet¡­ Could it be!?¡¹

    Just when she came with a possibility, something strange happened.

    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ¨D¨D

    The 3rd head suddenly vibrated.

    ¡¸WOAAAAAAAAAAAH!?¡¹

    Minami who stabbed the top of the neck got startled and jumped down immediately when she felt the flesh beneath her vibrating. Haruma on the other hand was vigntly watching the head that was making a different move from before and retreated immediately.

    ¡¸The heck, they are already perfectly recovered¡­¡¹

    <i> The question is why do we feel something off when attacking them?</i>

    The reason was simply that they were literally just hitting a corpse.

    That was the reason why Minami''s poisonous sword and Haruma''s magic sword weren''t really effective.

    The reason Ryouko''s magic didn''t work was simply because the sealingnce didn''t pierce Yamata no Orochi.

    Naturally, appearance-wise, the three heads were the same as before.

    The reason: the change happened inside of the head.

    CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE!

    A huge crack spreads from the back of the three heads along with a loud crackling sound.

    Then, a slippery, huge white frame broke out¨D¨D From inside the scale and carapace.

    ¡¸You gotta be kidding me¡­ It¡¯s shedding its skin.¡¹

    ¡¸To think that it used such a method to break free from the sealing spear.¡¹

    Haruma and Minami were raising their heads, looking at the new Orochi''s head that was just shedding its skin with a shocked face.

    Maybe because it was just shedding its skin, the color of the new head was paler, softer, and covered in mucus.

    The part that got thrown out wasn''t just the scale and skin, some flesh was also sacrificed, thus the new pale head was one size smaller than the old head.

    The skull part was entirely abandoned. The new head had a sharper angle, and was made under the old head that couldn''t move due to the sealingnce, thus it was smaller.

    The white head that just shed its skin was visibly smaller, thinner, softer, and weaker.

    But, the three heads had regained their freedom, and opened their jaws, eachpressed a bright red, blue, and yellow glowing light.

    ¡¸MINAMI! HARUMA-KUN! RUUUUN!¡¹

    The next moment, a torrent of light exploded. The three heads unleashed their breaths as if it were their first cry.

    The three breaths gouged the ground in their wake and rose up to the sky.

    The three pirs of light allowed the other ssmates who were fighting on other battlefields to know that the seal on the three heads had been broken.

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 Chapter 236.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Collapse

    Chapter 236.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Copse

    ¡¸THE SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN!¡¹

    Yuuto looked at the three pirs of lights rising to the sky from the other side of the mountain. That sign alone had convinced him that the three sealed heads had already been set free.

    ¡¸Are ss Rep and Co going to be all right?¡¹

    Though he was worrying about the safety of his ssmates for a moment, his focus instantly returned to the continuation of the n right away.

    ¡¸Man, ain''t that like a bad news!?¡¹

    ¡¸If all the eight heads are present, we''re toast!¡¹

    ¡¸Ueda, Nakai, calm down! Don''t let your guard down before your enemy.¡¹

    Everyone knew from the moment they saw the pir of lights on the west side that Orochi''s sealed head had already broken free.

    Though both Ueda and Nakai couldn''t hide their agitation during the battle, they realized that Yuuto was right, this wasn''t the time to worry about that side.Not when their side just barely managed to hold back the five heads. A little bit of carelessness was all Orochi needed to tip the bnce.

    ¡¸What shall we do now, Souma? The breaking of the seal means that guy''s n has failed you know.¡¹

    Said Asuna whonded by Yuuto''s side right after she unleashed mid-airbo on the head of Orochi.

    Surely, Momokawa Kotaro''s subjugation n wasposed of three phases: sealing the three heads, keeping the five heads at bay, and destroying Orochi''s core. Lacking any of the three meant the n was a failure.

    Everyone knew very well just how difficult it was. But they agreed since this n was the n that had the greatest chance of sess.

    ¡¸Yuuto, we should withdraw.¡¹

    ¡¸Like hell we can do that. What''s gonna happen to Sakura and Co over there.¡¹

    ¡¸We can retreat with everyone as long as we assist them.¡¹

    Properly speaking, there''s no retreat n for the squad that infiltrates into the mountain.

    In fact, with all eight heads present, they might have a hard time in retreating safely.

    But, if they decided to abandon the n and use their full force to save the raid team¡­

    ¡¸No, we have to hold our ground here.¡¹

    ¡¸It''ll be toote if there''s a victim! We can still make it in time, Yuuto!¡¹

    Should they continue with the original n even after the seal got destroyed?

    Or bet everything so that everyone can return alive?

    This was an important choice that might affect the life or death of his ssmates. There was no time to hesitate.

    ¡¸No need to do as Momokawa said in this situation. We can still do this again. As expected, Souma, you should have led everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¨D¨D¡¹

    He didn''t doubt Kotaro''s n. Yuuto himself knew very well that Kotaro''s n was the best n for them.

    But he couldn''t help but hesitate upon hearing Asuna''s remark.

    He unconsciously thought that his duty to keep his ssmate safe was pushed on Kotaro. Properly speaking, he should be the one who bears that weight.

    ¡¸I, can''t protect everyone¡­¡¹

    He might even forget such simple things.

    Otherwise, he might even forget the reason he got the ¡ºHero¡» vocation or its power.

    ¡¸That''s right, Souma. Please protect me, and everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¡­¡¹

    He had to do something, choosing the best option to save everyone under this condition.

    At that moment, he gained a sh of inspiration.

    ¡¸EVERYONE RE¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨DContinue with the n.¡¹

    An order came down that interrupted Yuuto''s train of thought.

    ¡¸I repeat, continue with the n. The seal of the three heads has been destroyed, but we''re just one step away from breaking the shell.¡¹

    Kotaro''s offshoot walked out from the trench and gave such an order.

    ¡¸Please hold on for a while longer!¡¹

    ¡¸Momokawa, you.¡¹

    ¡¸Please, Souma-kun.¡¹

    It goes without saying that Kotaro''s offshoot then exploded into ck mist as he finished those words.

    He canceled his own skill. That''s just how much he focused on drilling the shell with his curse.

    ¡¸SOUMA, ARE YOU STILL GOING TO DO AS HE SAYS!¡¹

    ¡¸¡­ Asuna, I, by no means, trust him. But, we can''t ignore the possibility of sess.¡¹

    Because he knew that Kotaro was the kind of man who wouldn''t hestitate to shout ¡¸Save me!¡¹ if the situation was truly hopeless.

    He didn''t have the pride of the strong, nor was the kind of person who would fuss over a victory. He was a coward, timid, and the worst shaman but¨D¨D Even that coward had yet to give up.

    Knowing that how could he allow himself, a hero, to give up?

    ¡¸Snap it out Yuuto. This one is getting all fired up. It''s about to do something.¡¹

    Ryuuichi fired a destructive st with fire magic towards Orochi''s head and bared its fangs while shouting at his buddy.

    ¡¸Ah,ing right up, Ryuuichi. Hold on everyone, just a bit more until the core is destroyed! We might''ve to face eight heads in the end, but we have to stand our ground here!¡¹

    He made his choice.

    ¡¸ROGER THAT, DAMN IT, BRING IT ON!¡¹

    ¡¸OU, I''LL SHOW THEM THE GUTS OF THE WARRIOR!¡¹

    ¡¸Like hell we will back down when Tendou-kun is still fighting.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I''ll do night crawling once we have won this fight.¡¹

    ¡¸E-Everyone, do your best!¡¹

    And his ssmates seemed to be fully prepared for a more difficult battle of attrition.

    Though both Ueda and Naki were pretty beaten up, they still raised their weapons, JuryMary didn''t stop despite their erratic breathing, And even Himeno Airi was firing her ¡ºLux Sagita¡».

    Continue with the n.

    ¡¸Souma¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Asuna, I won''t tell you to trust Momokawa. But, please trust me.¡¹

    Yuuto rushed toward the enemies after saying those words.

    He had no hesitation in continuing the fight.

    ¡¸There''s no time to hesitate. Let''s go all out¨D¨D¡ºCross Calibur¡».¡¹

    The hero''s sword glowing brightly, it grewrger, and brighter.

    Yuuto''s duty in this n was to keep the five heads at bay, not to defeat the enemy quickly.

    If it were just to beat the enemy that keeps regenerating non-stop, he just needed to minimize his output enough to do the job for a long time. Now that he didn''t have to hold back any longer, he could finally go all out. Thus, he never used ¡ºNero Lightning¡» he used to speedily defeat the 1st and 2nd heads before sealing them.

    But if they were so close to defeating them, there was no need to hold back anymore.

    Not to mention that Yamata no Orochi could unleash its full power when all eight heads were together. Definitely not the kind of opponent that he could beat while holding back.

    ¡¸Beat them up before the three heads head to this ce!¡¹

    ¡¸Ou, time to go all out, eh.¡¹

    Just like Yuuto, Ryuuichi had also prepared to go all out.

    The two aces wielded their sword, then decapitated one Orochi''s head after another starting from the closest.

    ¡¸HELL YEAH, WE CAN''T AFFORD TO LOSE AGAINST THEM!¡¹

    ¡¸Just a bit more.¡¹

    Ueda and Nakai mustered thest of their stamina.

    On the other hand, JuryMary had already been rushing toward another head.

    ¡¸Momokawa is seriously saying tha~t!¡¹

    ¡¸Just a while longer!¡¹

    They thrust their weapon in desperation while shouting at the top of their lungs.

    The morale was high. No one was giving up.

    ¡¸Yuuto, neers are joining the fray.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, I can see from here but¡­ There are only two heads.¡¹

    Two heads of Orochi came from both sides of the rocky mountain.

    The heads were smaller in size and had pale color.

    Though they had no idea how the three heads were destroying the seal, they knew that the seal might have weakened.

    ¡¸The other head might be heading toward Momokawa''s ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Yup, that''s what happened.¡¹

    ¡¸We can''t do anything about that.¡¹

    ¡¸Kuh, Sakura¡­¡¹

    ¡¸Don''t worry. They have Futaba over there, one head won''t be a big deal for her.¡¹

    It could be said that Kotaro''s side was lucky that not all heads were heading toward their party.

    The ¡ºBerserker¡» Futaba Meiko could handle one head with ease. The situation wasn''t as hopeless as they expected.

    ¡¸I''ll take care of the right head, Ryuuichi will take care of the left one.¡¹

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 Chapter 236.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Collapse

    Chapter 236.2 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Copse

    ¡¸That white head looks more fragile than the normal one. We can take it easy.¡¹

    Yuuto and Ryuuichi dashed forward to intercept the heads that came from the sides of the rocky mountain.

    Naturally, there was no way the heads would miss the small figure of the two humans that made a beeline toward them¨D¨D Or so it was supposed to be, yet they ignored them for some reason.

    ¡¸What the¡­ Where are they aiming to?¡¹

    As if to say where the biggest threat was, the white head looked up while raising a roar.

    Yamata no Orochi''sbat pattern was pretty simple.

    It just attacked opponents on sight, searching for the opponent that went into hiding, targeting the weak, and luring them in.

    It would target the opponent that hit itst.

    It would keep dishing out one attack after another without a moment of dy to the opponent before them.It used powerful attacks including breath, but all of those were simple attack patterns.

    That''s why both Yuuto and Ryuuichi had a bad premonition upon seeing Orochi''s mysterious pattern at such a time.

    Rather, it wasn''t a mere premonition, it had almost be a reality.

    ¡¸OH NO!¡¹

    Yuuto followed his instinct and retreated at once.

    He turned around and got away from the white head as fast as he could.

    ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

    It wasn''t just its mouth, Orochi''s head fired a breath attack as its entire body glowed.

    The breath that fired from its mouth toward the sky was in the shape of a shining pale sphere.

    The spherical breath broke the cloud in the sky, stopped for a moment¨D¨D Then sent down countless rain of light like incessant downpour.

    ¡¸Tch, AOE attack huh!?¡¹

    That attack was akin to vast number of ¡ºLux Sagita¡» bombardment.

    And that attack didn''t just aim at Yuuto and Co. The downpour of lux sagita bombarded over a vast area.

    The area that received the most lux sagita was right below the light sphere, and the number decreased the further away from the sphere.

    Had Yuuto kept charging forward a moment ago, he would have been bombarded with countless lux sagita and might have been incapacitated immediately.

    ¡¸The number is too overwhelming¨D¨D¡ºLux Shield¡»¡¹

    He wasn''t directly under the sphere of light, but even with that Yuuto couldn''t fully dodge the downpour of the light arrow.

    He tried to get away as far as possible while using the defensive skill that he rarely used in normal situations to protect him from the downpour of light arrow, and taking down the rest of the arrow in the gap.

    ¡¸¨D¨DSup Yuuto, you managed to get away too eh?¡¹

    ¡¸It used an attack that we have never seen before. Maybe this is what happens when all the eight heads are present.¡¹

    The sphere of light kept firing light arrows.

    This new skill prevented Ryuuichi from slipping through the gap between the light arrow that came down like a downpour to decapitate the head..

    Naturally, Orochi''s head that fired the light arrow was also exposed to the downpour, but there wasn''t even a scratch on its scales since the light arrow was weaker than its scale.

    But the same couldn''t be said for the human with vocation, the light arrow could still wound him. Unless the other party was a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡» who specialized in defence, normal humans wouldn''t get away unscathed if they took an attack from light arrow with their flesh.

    And no one present was a ¡ºHeavy Warrior¡».

    ¡¸Dammit, at this rate everyone is going to¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!¡¹

    A grief filled scream resounded for the first time since the battle began.

    When Yuuto looked at the source of the scream, he saw Ueda copse on the ground

    ¡¸GO YUUTO! LEAVE THEM TO ME!¡¹

    Being told to take care of the rear by Ryuuichi, Yuuto ran toward his fallenrade.

    ¡¸UEDA! HANG IN THERE!¡¹

    ¡¸N-Nakai¡­ Guh, this hurts like hell¡­¡¹

    Nakai, who arrived faster than Yuuto, called out to Ueda.

    Orochi''s head approaching from behind although covered in wounds was filled with fighting spirit.

    ¡¸NAKAI BRING UEDA BACK TO THE BUNKER! HIMENO-SAN WILL HEAL HIM!¡¹

    ¡¸M-My bad¨D¨D Let''s move on, Ueda! Can you walk on your own!?¡¹

    ¡¸It''s so damn¡­ Painful¡­¡¹

    Yuuto saw that Ueda had been hit by a light arrow on his leg and shoulder.

    It was a small wound that could be healed with a potion or healing magic, but serious enough to incapacitate him for the rest of the battle.

    Simply put, Ueda should be skilled enough to dodge the light arrow at this distance.

    Yet he couldn''t dodge the arrow, he had a hard time coping with the attack of Orochi''s head.

    He had been able to dodge Orochi''s head, but couldn''t dodge the iing light arrow.

    ¡¸Dammit¨D¨D¡¹

    Not to mention that even Yuuto himself had a hard time dodging the downpour of rain.

    Nakai, who escorted Ueda to retreat, wouldn''t be able to return immediately.

    Before he noticed, he was already facing two Orochi''s heads at once.

    The head that he crushed back then revived immediately.

    ¡¸N-Not good, can''t let them attack¡­¡¹

    Two aside, even one of them was already troublesome. But he wouldn''t let them attack at all cost.

    As if it had tracking ability, the light arrow chased after him, grazing his uniform. Rather, he had already forgotten how much light arrow had grazed his school uniform.

    He was forced to focus solely on defense.

    But his buddy, Ryuuichi had already been suffering under a much fiercer attack.

    ¡¸You guys can''t fight anymore. Back down.¡¹

    ¡¸D-Don''t worry, we can still fight!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, we''re not do¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸You''re just a hindrance. BACK DOWN!¡¹

    Ryuuichi shouted as he stopped the charge of Orochi''s head from the front.

    Behind him was the figure of the duo Julia-Maria injured by a light arrow just like Ueda.

    They kept wielding their weapons and had yet to give up, but they were obviously forcing themselves, they were out ofmission too.

    ¡¸UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    +++

    Ryuuichi unleashed a fierce attack toward another head as he raised a warcry, distracting the two heads by himself.

    Julia and Maria held back their tears as they retreated until the trench.

    ¡¸With this, only Ryuuichi, I and¨D¨D¡¹

    ¡¸¨D¨DKenzaki style, ¡ºWild Cleaving?Camellia¡»¡¹

    And another person, Kenzaki Asuna who kept fighting Orochi even under such a situation.

    She had trained in swordsmanship since her childhood wasn''t just for a show. Four people were already too exhausted to continue the fight, and as expected, one head was already too much for them.

    But, that wasn''t the case for Yuuto and Ryuuichi.

    Even though both of them could singlehandedly surpress the head without the assistance of theirrades, their stamina was about to reach its limit.

    ¡¸Kenzaki style¨D¨D¡¹

    She boldly closed in even when an arrow of light grazed her skin.

    But, maybe because her focus was disturbed for a moment, or because she hit her limit, or maybe because the umtion of small damage finally bore its fangs¨D¨D Asuna''s martial art failed to execute perfectly.

    ¡¸WA!?¡¹

    To be exact, her sh could only manage to graze the scale instead of decapitating the head.

    Such fatal blunder was the perfect chance for a counter.

    ¡¸ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!¡¹

    A body blow, or headbutt to be exact. Yamata no Orochi shook its giant head, sending Asuna flying in the air.

    Asuna''s body was blown in the air by a super heavy, almost impossible to dodge ramming attack then rolled on the ground.

    ¡¸U¡­ GUH¡­¡¹

    Asuna shook her head, trying to stand up immediately; fortunately, no light arrow hit them.

    But, even after she managed to slip through the indiscriminate attack, she was by no means safe from a direct attack that was directly targeting her.

    Asuna raised her face again, only to see one of Orochi''s head was already staring before her with a lump of crimson light in its mouth.

    ¡¸ASUNA, RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!¡¹

    Yuuto shouted as he rushed toward Asuna who was just standing dumbfoundedly in her ce.

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 Chapter 237.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Final Phase I

    Chapter 237.1 - Yamata no Orochi Subjugation Battle?Final Phase I

    ¡¸ASUNA, RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!¡¹

    But I knew that even if I shouted like tha Asuna wouldn''t move fast enough to get away from the range of attack.

    The breath was strong enough to evaporate everything that got hit directly by it.

    Asuna would die for sure if she received a direct hit from that zing red vortex. It wouldn''t even take 10 seconds till the attack was unleashed.

    And the current me wasn''t strong enough to save her either.

    ¡¸UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¹

    But I still ran.

    I invoked both ¡ºGrand Walker¡» and ¡ºGround Shrink¡» , I ran with my full power toward Asuna until it felt like the muscles of my legs were about to be torn.

    I barely arrived in time, but I had no way to cope with this situation.Even his defense magic wouldn''tst more than three seconds before a breath attack.

    Perhaps I should take Asuna out of the range¨D¨D No, that was impossible.

    Yamata no Orochi''s breath had a big range. It had a vast range of attacks, but it could be dodged since it didn''t have the precise aim¡­ But the head was clearly aiming at Asuna.

    This attack wouldn''t miss its target for sure. Unavoidable attack.

    My sixth sense warned me that I wouldn''t survive an attack of that scale.

    The sixth sense that had been sharpened by the training of Souma style ever since my childhood, and boosted by my ¡ºHero¡» vocation, told me of my own certain demise if I took such attack head-on.

    That''s why it kept ringing non-stop in my head, warned me unceasingly as I charged toward the unavoidable deadly breath attack.

    It kept telling me that was dangerous. And I''m going to die.

    I had no way to block the breath attack. I would die. My current action of jumping in front of a breath attack was akin to suicide.

    Whether I made it in time or not, Asuna would die for sure.

    Asuna would die, and I would be killed in the most stupid way too, without a corpse. Nothing would be left¨D¨D I wouldn''t be able to protect anything.

    ¡¸But still¨D¨D¡¹

    I couldn''t abandon myrade even if I knew that I couldn''t save them in time.

    Kenzaki Asuna was my friend, maybe more than just a friend.

    I wouldn''t let her die, not under my watch.

    That''s why please make it in time.

    Even if a certain death was approaching, Asuna was still alive right now.

    When I found Reina, she was already dead.

    I couldn''t protect Reina. I couldn''t be there for her, to protect her when she died¡­ Even though she was my cherished childhood friend.

    But not this time!

    ¡¸¨D¨DI''ll protect you for sure this time!¡¹

    I ran.

    The breath had already been fired, and the gigantic red vortex of magical power was fast approaching.

    As if to serve as ast warning¨D¨D Another step and you''re dead.

    <i> What should I do?</i>

    ¡¸ASUNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡¹

    He reached out with his left hand toward her¨D¨D And that hand shone with a brilliant silvery light.

    WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

    There was a blinding light before me. And the thunderous sound prevented me from hearing anything.

    My body shook, and I lost sensation.

    <i> Did I get blown away, standing in my ce, or be dust?</i>

    But I should''ve arrived at Asuna''s ce, to protect her¨D¨D

    ¡¸I am¨D¨D Still alive.¡¹

    ¡¸S-Souma, you¡­¡¹

    <i> Alive. We are alive, for some reason.</i>

    Asuna was quite surprised, but I guess the same went for me.

    ¡¸¡­ What''s this shield?¡¹

    ¡¸UWOOOOOO, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?¡¹

    I only noticed after hearing Asuna''s exmation.

    There was something like a shining silver shield attached to my left arm.

    Second Unique Skill.

    ¡ºSeraphic Aegis(Star Shield of Heaven)¡»: Hero shield, within sealed the divine protection of star that protects the heaven.

    Exnations flowed into my brain as usual. This shield was the newly awakened power of the hero.

    ¡¸It''s a unique skill that should be on the same level as ¡ºCross Calibur¡»¡¹

    The name of my first unique skill was ¡ºCross Calibur¡». Skill other than that was ssified as acquired skill and growth skill. And the name of my second unique skill was ¡ºSeraphic Aegis¡».

    No matter how I looked at it, this was clearly different from your average skill, this was the exclusive skill of the hero.

    ¡¸This shield can block breath, eh.¡¹

    ¡¸Such powerful defensive power¡­ But when did you learn such an amazing skill?¡¹

    ¡¸Maybe it was invoked right before the breath hit us.¡¹

    ¡¸What? So you''re jumping in without thinking about anything!?¡¹

    Asuna waspletely bbergasted as if she had just seen the most idiotic creature. Unfortunately, she was right on the money.

    ¡¸M-My body just won''t move on its'' own¡­¡¹

    ¡¸YOU FOOL! AIN''T THAT JUST PLAIN SUICIDE!¡¹

    ¡¸But I couldn''t abandon you. All I thought was I wanted to protect Asuna back then.¡¹

    ¡¸Wha-What are you talking about? Now isn''t the time to say something like that¡­¡¹

    Asuna turned away bashfully as if she could feel my honest feelings. Maybe it was just my imagination that her cheeks were flushed due to the light that was shing around us.

    ¡¸I agree that I did something really stupid, but I have no regrets. And that stupidity saved Asuna.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, right. You really saved my life this time. Thank you very much, Souma¡­ I''ll return this debt of gratitude¡­¡¹

    ¡¸That matter aside, I got the power to resist its breath. This is the chance tomence a counterattack. Can you stand, Asuna?¡¹

    ¡¸O-Of course! It''s thanks to you that I''m unscathed.¡¹

    ¡¸Great, let''s go¨D¨D¡¹

    ====

    ¡¸¨D¨DThis is bad.¡¹

    I was hit by a sense of despair since the melting rate was much slower than I expected.

    I knew that Mei-chan was fighting a desperate defensive battle right above this well. The gargoyles seemed to have managed to break the wall and enter the fortress.

    They wouldn''t be able to fight for too long.

    I was saved, but since the shell didn''t melt that easily, we ended up in a pretty precarious situation.

    ¡¸Dammit, I''ll be screwed for sure if we fail.¡¹

    I was responsible for the distribution of the personnel for this n. I wouldn''t have any excuse left if we failed here.

    I might be burned on stake like that of witch trial, or shaman''s trial in my case.

    ¡¸Dammit, for me to be so mentally pressured like this is just¡­¡¹

    I single-mindedly focused my attention on ¡ºRotten Bog¡» while pressured by anxiety and impatience.

    I could create a deep and extremely powerful bog thanks to the best offering¨D¨D But even with that, it would still take a lot of time to melt Yamata No Orochi''s shell.

    I''d been on the three meters mark, which made me wonder just how many meters were left to dig.

    ¡¸If it''s as thick as bedrock, then I won''t be able to finish this until the evening.¡¹

    This was a critical moment where every second counted, and yet I could still talk carefreely like this.

    But there was really no other way but to use ¡ºRotten Bog¡» to drill Orochi''s shell.

    Maybe it was my fault for not melting it fast enough. Or everyone''s fault for not being able to buy more time. Or the fault of this damn shell for being so thick.

    I even started to think about who should be responsible for this.

    Man, I must be really cornered by anxiety this time.

    ¡¸All that is left is how much time the people above can buy for me.¡¹

    I''ve said again and again that there is no going back, but depending on the situation, we would face total annihtion if we didn''t retreat when we needed to.

    I shifted my attention a bit to see the situation on the eastern battlefield where the five heads were suppressed.

    ¡¸¡­.¡¹

    My offshoot woke up, peeping from the trench to see the situation on the battlefield.

    After I started my part of the excavation job, I turned off the control with this offshoot to focus on my job¡­ But the situation on the battlefield was the same as before.

    At a nce, all was well and there were no casualties. Everyone was doing their best in their aforementioned position.

    But they were surely starting to get pushed back. Orochi''s head didn''t have to worry about their stamina.

    Just as I had expected, the bnce tipped against us since thest time I saw the situation on the battlefield.

    <strong>===</strong>

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