CH 220

Episode 220 – Dangerous Monster

“From here onwards, it’s unexplored territory for us. The floor’s environment won’t change, but it seems that there will be some slight changes in the monsters that appear, so let’s stay focused.” (Lewin)

“It’s okay. I’m in good condition today, so don’t worry.” (Aruna)

“I can see that from here. This time, I’ve pretty much only been following after you guys.” (Lewin)

However, at times when things were going well, it was even more important to concentrate. Letting down our guard was the most dangerous thing we could do, and I was well aware of this from having fought against all kinds of monsters that were stronger than me.

“I’m also feeling super good! I normally can’t concentrate because I’m worried about both of your gazes and the cameras, but today I can think only about the monsters and the Dungeon! Also, in my usual state, I tend to get so preoccupied with what’s in front of me that I start to tunnel-vision… But today I can see everything, and I can maintain a calm train of thought! I think this is all thanks to the potion that Jade-san made for me, and even though I drank it when we started clearing, the effect still hasn’t run out! This potion is really amazing! Jade-san, thank you so much!” (Rosalie)

Following up on Aruna’s remark, Rosalie grabbed onto my hand in an overly excited manner, jumping up and down as she rattled on and on, buzzing with vigor. I was momentarily astonished by her delight, but I eventually nodded and returned a smile.

“I’m glad that the effect is working properly. The Focus Herb Potion boosts your concentration powers, but it’s not that strong of a buff. It’s just that you’re now able to finally show off the strength you always had, so the one who is amazing is actually you, Rosalie-san!” (Lewin)

“Not at all. I had so much trouble trying to get myself to move according to my strengths… Without the potion, I would have stayed the same, so in the end it’s all thanks to you, Jade-san!” (Rosalie)

Seeing how happy she was and how great the effect seemed to be, I felt that giving up my day off to develop this was worth it. In fact, not only Aruna, but also Rosalie could now overwhelm the enemies without support, which greatly increased the party’s stability and reduced the burden on Aruna.

And since the two of them didn’t need any support, I was just in the rear guard, not doing much. The making of the Focus Herb Potion resulted in a positive effect on all three of us, not just Rosalie, so I would say the overall result was a major success.

“Let’s stop there with the praise. We’re still in the middle of clearing, so let’s continue.” (Aruna)

“…That’s true. We can talk more in the review meeting after we finish this attempt, so let’s continue onwards to the 14th layer, our goal for today.” (Lewin)

“Yes! Jade-san, we’ll leave the support to you!” (Rosalie)

After Aruna interrupted our conversation, we exited the Safe Area and resumed clearing the Dungeon. The objective for today was the 14th layer, which was right before the Boss layer.

At this rate, I was pretty sure that we would get there without much trouble, and we might even directly challenge the boss from there… But that decision could wait until we actually made it to the 14th layer.

It would be putting the cart before the horse if we were to try and preserve our strength for the Boss fight and end up getting ourselves into trouble before even getting there. The best course of action would be to not get too worked up and to continue at this pace, and only take on the Boss if we did happen to get there. I steeled myself and descended to the 11th layer, making sure not to lose focus.

Once again back in the formation of the other two in the vanguard and me alone in the rear guard, we descended to the 11th layer and began to carefully search the floor for enemies. This was still an unknown floor for us, but based on what I could see, it didn’t look much different from the 8th or 9th layers.

The monsters that we could confirm were more or less the same, and only one new monster, the Magic Mantis, appeared on the 11th layer. From what I had heard and had seen on the projections, the Magic Mantis excelled in combat ability and could also use Support Magic, which made them rather troublesome to deal with. But that wasn’t all.

After these Magic Mantises were defeated, there was a fixed probability that monsters called Gamura Parasites would appear from within its body and attack. The combat ability of the Gamura Parasites were practically nonexistent. But as a parasite that preyed upon the bodies of its defeated enemies, if it managed to burrow inside a body, there was a high chance that it would lead to death. This made them even more troublesome to deal with than the Magic Mantises themselves. I thought of various measures to prepare for if they did manage to burrow in, but I definitely wanted to safely defeat them without having to get to that point.

“Ugh… There’s a Magic Mantis up ahead. What should we do?” (Rosalie)

Speak of the devil. Just as Rosalie said, the form of a Magic Mantis soon appeared in front of us.

Its compound eyes gleamed ominously with a colorful lustre, and its feelers were wriggling around as if it was searching for prey. Light reflected off of its sharp scythes, which looked as if they could easily slice through wood. The encounter rate wasn’t supposed to be high, but we managed to run into one so soon after descending.

Fortunately, it hadn’t looked in our direction nor noticed our presence yet, so we could still choose to run away… But if we did that and later happened to run into enemies at a bad time, it could come in from behind, so I wanted to defeat it right now.

“It seems to be alone, so let’s defeat it! Rosalie, engage it at close range. Aruna, provide cover for her while staying vigilant of the surroundings. I’ll just focus on dealing with the Gamura Parasites.” (Lewin)

“….Understood. Leave the Magic Mantis to me.” (Rosalie)

“Mhm. I’ll cover you.” (Aruna)

After our brief exchange, Rosalie closed the gap, commencing the fight. Rosalie moved to make the first strike― No, Aruna fired her shot first.

Drawing her sword, the arrow whizzed by Rosalie’s ear at the same time that she moved in to stab the Magic Mantis. The shot was perfectly aimed at the softest part of its abdomen, but due to the distance between them, the Magic Mantis noticed it and defended with its scythe just in the nick of time.

However, thanks to that attack, Rosalie was able to sneak under the Magic Mantis’s guard and unleash an attack at point-blank range. At that range, her sword would be accurate in any stance, since she was standing near the joint connecting to the scythe.

It tried to wave its scythe in a cramped manner, but she blocked it with her buckler and took advantage of that opening to thrust her sword in. The Magic Mantis was forced to try to stop Rosalie, who was conducting herself perfectly so far in this fight. But at the same time, it couldn’t get too distracted by her since it had to also keep a watchful eye on Aruna, who would send arrows flying from mid-range.

The Magic Mantis was stuck so hard between a rock and a hard place to the point that it almost seemed pitiful, and it didn’t have any means of breaking out of the situation. Without even having a chance to use its Support Magic, both of its scythes were lopped off, and it fell to the ground.

We finished our fight against the new monster type, and there were no confirmed sightings of any new enemies around us. I wanted to take a short breather, but it was far better to stay vigilant here.

Rosalie quickly distanced herself from the corpse of the Magic Mantis, trading places with me. I jumped out and took out two round balls made from Balloon Flower out of my holder. The first ball was filled with flour, which by itself was useless. But when used in conjunction with the second ball, which was filled with Bomb Grass, it was incredibly powerful.

However, its power was so great that even I couldn’t control it, so I wanted to avoid using it as much as possible. The Gamura Parasites haven’t appeared yet.

I decided to wait and see with the two balls in my hand, slightly hoping that there would be some. At a part of the abdomen from which several arrows were sticking out, the skin began to bulge and squirm.

This Magic Mantis has Gamura Parasites. The moment I was convinced of that fact, the part of the abdomen that was wriggling was suddenly torn from the inside, and countless string-like Gamura Parasites burst out.

I reflexively wanted to look away from the repulsive sight, but that would be incredibly dangerous to do at this moment. Without averting my gaze in the slightest, I first tossed out the ball filled with flour. The moment the ball that I threw got close to the Magic Mantis’s corpse, I immediately threw the ball with the Bomb Grass in it. In the next instant―

The low, rumbling boom of an explosion blasted out, and a massive pillar of fire rose explosively into the air. My eyes were blinded by the intense flare, and a hot wind rushed past my cheeks. But the pillar of fire was extinguished quickly as the powdery raw materials were burnt through at a rapid pace.

“W-What in the world…” (Aruna)

“M-Magic…?” (Rosalie)

I heard Aruna’s and Rosalie’s voices, which sounded even more astonished than I was at the scene of destruction before us. As for those Gamura Parasites that were wriggling towards us just a moment earlier… not a single one was left in sight.

…I think I might have overdone it a bit.

If I wasn’t careful, that could have easily set the nearby trees on fire and caused a huge disaster. During the experiments, it had produced a smaller pillar of fire, but I still might have put in too much flour. Thinking over the cause of the blunder, I calmed my racing heart and returned to the rear guard position to explain the situation to them.