Chapter 126.1 - Himeno Airi and Nakajima Haruma
TN : The event in this chapter happened before Momokawa joined their team.
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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's combat 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 tongue lacquered 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 『Ignis 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!」
Naturally, what was left after he arrived at Fairy Plaza 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 welcomed 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 relationship, 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!」
「–Kuh!?」
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 『Hi-Walk』.
「Str-strong...」
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 『Ignis 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, 『Slash』, would allow him to land 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!」
「... Yeah, you're right.」
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.
「――Ha~, maybe Haruma-kun has reached the limit of what he can do by himself~.」
After turning tail in front of the boss again, Airi muttered while overlooking the sleeping Haruma with a cold and calculated 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 relationship. Naturally, it had nothing to do with battle. Feeling lonely wasn't enough to make a breakthrough, there was no doubt that they're lacking 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~ .」
But Haruma felt a sense of discomfort 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.」
And yet, for some reason, he prayed that their power wouldn't be enough to defeat the boss.
And then, in case the three combined power was weaker than him, a strength-based relationship would be created with him as the Strongest, and yet—
「ORAA!『SLASH』!」
「URAAA! 『SMASH』!」
Two of the trio, Nakai the 『Warrior』 and Ueda the 『Swordsman』 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 elated feeling of receiving a superpower called vocation.
「Oi, move out from the~re! 『Aqua Bind』!」
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 close combat―― Shimokawa, the 『Hydromancer』 sealed its movement with his 『Aqua 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!」
「This slowpoke is only known to do big attack!」
「You can dodge it with ease because of my support!」
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 class 2-7. But seeing this would convince anyone that their self-confidence in fighting against the boss didn't come from their negligence but their wealth of experience.
Though their overall skills weren't that flashy, they had a weapon called 『Teamwork』. Their friendship that was cultivated in school had bloomed in this another world dungeon.
「HELL YEAH!」
「We crushed the boss!」
「Hu~f, it's no big deal.」
The boss skeleton was felled quite easily with the trio's combination 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, was completely 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!」
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!」
「Hahaha, it's not really that amazing.」
「Well, that might be just how much Himeno-chan was being cornered by the boss.」
「Don't worry, you can rely on us from now on.」
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TN : Is the bi*tch going to ate the trio too, find out next week in your usual shota shaman!