139 - - big room strategy

"Wow, there are so many of them. This is a hassle."

As Kugase said, dozens of ants were swarming in the large room.

Here and there, swarms formed by quartz and amber ants, with jade ants in the center, could be seen.

The room was approximately 40 paces deep, and beyond the glittering ants, there was a doorway leading to a passageway ahead.

It would be impossible to pass through without being detected.

In the center of the room, a single thick earthen pillar was standing tall, supporting the high ceiling.

I thought I could hide myself behind it, but upon closer inspection, I found a few ants in the middle of the pillar.

They were probably milky stone ants in disguise, as they were slightly less transparent than the soil.

"This room wasn't this big before ....... It has expanded so much in two and a half months."

In a tone of disgust, the girl from the Soukei tribe describes the discrepancy with her own memory.

In fact, Rummella, who has been instructing us on the correct path, has not looked at any kind of writing until this point.

This is because she has a precise map in her mind.

Not only is Ram Merulla an excellent healer, but she also has the ability to memorize in her brain the exact location she has once seen.

It seems to me that a person who can reach the rank of A at such a young age has the talent to match.

"Is there any way around?"

Thor casually joins in the conversation as he hands everyone a canteen he has taken out of his backpack.

The air is stuffy and the subterranean passageways are quite hot and stuffy.

Rummella, who is dressed in a cool outfit, is no exception. She accepts the water bottle with a small bead of sweat on the top of her nose and replies in a straightforward manner.

"It's a bit of a detour, but I think you can get there from the fork that was there a while ago. But ......"

"Oh, you don't want to get caught in the middle."

The quartz ants, which emit sound waves that interfere with concentration, have an even nastier quality.

When they are about to die, the crystal spines on their backs emit distinctive vibrations.

The sound of their demise can reach other quartz ants nearby and attract new monsters.

In other words, considering the distance, there is a high possibility that the ants in the large room will rush to the rear of Thor and the others who are fighting.

"Are these numbers going to be tough?"

Yes, there are a little too many jade and quartz ants. We still want to save enough firepower to wipe them out.

A beautiful red-haired woman, who was also observing the room, answers Thor's question as he peers into the large room.

The ants, which were mixed with a new species of large and sturdy ants, could no longer be easily disposed of with just Straccia's sword blows or Ninessa's lower branch skill magic.

Of course, a few ants can be dealt with by combining them, but there is no way that they can be pulled out of the room so conveniently.

The magical technique of the Kamieda skill might be able to burn the whole room to ashes, but there was a problem that this technique could not be used so easily.

The upper branch skill does not have dangerous repercussions like the martial arts, but the number of times it can be used is limited to a day at a time.

Moreover, under the spell of the limit, one shot would be the end of the day.

As long as there is still a battle with the master of the labyrinth, we cannot use up our trump card so easily.

Then, how about using the magic technique of the middle branch skill?　If we shoot from here, I think we can cut down a lot."

"But that pillar is a nuisance, isn't it? It's in a bad place.

As it is said, most of the ants are on the other side of the pillar at the back of the room, so it is quite difficult to aim in a straight line from here.

Thor, who had been looking at the pillar while touching the wall for a while, suddenly turned his attention back to the pillar as if an idea had occurred to him.

"No, that pillar could be used in the opposite way.

"Really?　Pops."

"Yeah, it's up to you guys to see if it works."

Ninessa and the others listened to Thor's idea and nodded to each other, their eyes shining.

"Well, I guess I can distract the guards from the pillars."

"Hmmm, if I make myself a clown, it will be an easy job to attract the attention of the ants.

I like it too. It's an interesting way to use it.

"I guess it's not bad, but is that ...... okay?"

"Yes, it is. I'll take care of it if it's bad."

Rummella stared at the face of the lower-ranked adventurer, who gave him a quick and strong answer.

Then, after letting out a deep breath, she burst out laughing in a funny way.

"Good, I'm in."

"Then let's begin. O long root of the great earth tree, I release you from its yoke--.

If there are magic tricks to make monsters heavier, the opposite is also possible.

This has the effect of reducing the target's own weight, and for some people, it is a spell that can make them feel wonderfully light.

Kugase, who has lightened himself and Stratchia, begins to stamp his feet proudly.

This is a sign that he is ready to go.

The red-haired swordsman silently lowers the cheeks of his helmet and takes the two black blades in his hands.

As soon as Ninessa lifts her hand, they run at the same time.

Straccia runs to the right.

Kugase went straight.

And the photosphere moves to the left.

Naturally, the fastest one is Ninessa's Phantom Lantern.

In no time at all, it attracts the attention of the ants on the left side and makes a wide turn around the pillar.

The ball of light, which had been gaining altitude, suddenly burst into flames there.

The milky stone ants clinging to the pillar are blinded and fall to the ground in pieces.

This blindness is the original use of the illusionary light.

A man in black armor runs through the darkened room.

Stratchia, who had gathered the monsters around to the right, stops at the far right end of the pillar, where he can be seen by Thor and the others.

Jade ants immediately react, lowering their shield-shaped heads to surround the swordsman.

Behind them, quartz ants with quivering crystal spines lined up, and a large number of amber ants waited at the feet of the large ants.

Ninessa's red eyes open wide as she waits for her partner, who is in a desperate situation.

"From the tree of liberation, come and consume! Taste a glimpse of the power of the great flame with your own body.

With a heavy chant, the mass of flame is shot out, lightly leaping over the monster's back and landing at Straccia's feet.

Then, with a roar, the flames exploded violently.

The scattered fireballs fall one after another onto the surrounding ants.

The flames land on their new prey, where they flare up again.

Immediately, the back of the room was engulfed in red flames.

Of course, Stratchia, who was in the center of the flames, would have been extinguished by now under normal circumstances.

But the armor made from the master of the labyrinth is not so soft.

The scaled armor of the rotting dragon easily absorbs the heat and glows white for a moment in satisfaction.

Having fulfilled her role as a decoy, Stratchia kicks the ground hard, reaching the earthen walls of the room in an instant.

Taking advantage of her lighter physique, she runs through the wall at once.

The man who has brilliantly broken through the monster's encirclement returns to the passageway as if nothing had happened.

But the big ants will not allow that to happen so easily.

They immediately turn around and try to chase after him.

But for some reason, the man's body refuses to move. No, it is more accurate to say that it cannot move.

At the feet of the jade ants were the remains of amber ants that had melted into mush and spread out on the ground.

Their sticky fluids had stuck to their toes, making it impossible for them to move.

While Straccia successfully keeps the ants glued to the ground, the earth-master is steadily going about her business.

Kugase runs silently across the ground until she reaches the base of the pillar of earth where the guards have disappeared.

Then the girl silently reaches out her hand and summons her magical power.

--

A lump of earth responds to the call, and slowly raises itself up.

A mere clay figure, though powerful, is too fragile and slow to quickly topple the large pillar.

However, if the base of the object has already been heavily cut off, it would be a different story.

In other words, the earth-user girl has created a servant out of the central pillar of earth.

This was Thor's goal.

Raising her fist wide, the clay figure strikes the place where she was born with force.

The support shakes violently, and the vibration shakes the ceiling.

Kugase rushes into the passageway, dodging the falling dirt.

The ants, who can move, seem to have realized what Thor and the others are trying to do, and in a panic, they attach themselves to the clay figures.

However, the huge mass of earth does not stop so easily.

A fist struck again seems to have been the decisive blow.

With a tremendous sound, pieces of earth scatter, and the pillar is half destroyed.　

Next, the part of the ceiling that supported it fell, sending up a cloud of dust.

Then, the hanging earth and sand began to pour down into the room.

After a few seconds, the ceiling finally could not bear its own weight and fell.

There was a loud earth tremor, and a loud cloud of dust was blown into the corridor.

Thor, who was looking at the collapsed room, turns around and speaks to Rummella and the others, who had already evacuated to the back of the room.

"Look, now you don't have to worry about a pincer attack.

"...... Are you really white hard class?　How did you come up with this?"

"If you say so, you guys are pretty good at doing it, too.

They look at each other and smile wryly at each other.

Kugase, who deliberately shrugged his shoulders at this situation, muttered a little happily.

"...... after all, Ram-chan is getting along too."