TL: Thy Unsus
ED: Thy Unsus
“I’ll explain the strategy. We know for sure that there are 10 Black Death Knights approaching us. I’ll say this now: 10 of them at once is impossible.” (Shinjō)
“Then, what should we do?” (Nanami)
I had to make them feel a bit nervous so they didn’t ignore this. While everyone was silent from me basically having threatened them, Mikami jumped in.
“So we need a plan, you mean?” (Mikami)
“I see.” (Nanami)
Nanami and Mikami appeared to have understood what I was saying, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of them.
What I had wanted to say was “If we have a plan then we can win, but if we move carelessly it will be fatal”.
“First of all, we’re going to counter attack. However, we need to protect this door here, in front of the 6th floor’s large room, as a defensive line.” (Shinjō)
I pointed at the middle passage on the 6th floor on the map that Nanami had taken out.
The copy of the map I’d written was standard equipment for Nanami’s group.
“Okay, but why there, Shinjō Wataru-kun?” (Nanami)
“There’s only one path, no detours. This is somewhere they have to pass through. And, there is a gate that you can open and shut with a button. Also, there’s two of them. If we can’t hold them back with the front gate, we can retreat and fall back to the back gate.” (Shinjō)
“I know that we’ll be ambushing them, but using a gate that can open and shut with a button means that we can block them and run away if need be, correct?” (Nanami)
“Nope. Unfortunately, the Black Death Knights are humanoids, so they can press the button and open the gate. The open and shut gate is used to slam the gate down on the monsters’ heads. This deals a surprising amount of damage.” (Shinjō)
“I see. That means we can hold back the enemies while closing the gate with the button.” (Nanami)
“That’s right, the gate that we can shut manually is our ally. The other reason I’ve chosen this place for are the pitfalls that open with switches in front of the large room.” (Shinjō)
“Oh, for dropping them into the pitfalls and dividing them up.” (Nanami)
“You get it, huh? The enemies are coming in a group of 10, and they’ll be on guard. If we can’t deal with one at a time, we have to divide them. Kumiko and I will do that.” (Shinjō)
Kumiko was looking at the map, but she raised her head when I said her name.
“Kumiko and I are the only ones than can run away and drop them down into the pitfalls. It’s a big job after your reconnaissance, but can you do it?” (Shinjō)
“If I refused after you said ‘please risk your life’, I’d be a disgrace of a woman, wouldn’t I? Besides, if I’m with you, then refusing would be all the more disgraceful.” (Kumiko)
“Alright, we’ll drop two here. Actually, let’s make sure to get four. If we do, then there will be six left. Next, we’ll draw them to where the gate closes and trap them there. Two of them side by side will fill the passage. We’ll whittle down and kill the enemies that we can’t stop.” (Shinjō)
When I said “that’s all for the plan” and looked at Nanami, he nodded.
I was the one who thought of the plan, but Nanami Shuichi, the leader, was the one who made the decision.
“Alright, then it’s settled. We’ll go with this. There’s no time to waste, we move now. The only ones that can fight directly against the Black Death Knights are me, Shinjō Wataru-kun, Kujo Kumiko-kun, and Alice Adélaïde Alfonsina……” (Nanami)
“Nanami, call me Ussah.” (Ussah)
Thankfully, she introduced herself while walking.
Nanami’s habit of calling people by their full names made me smile wryly every time.
“Sorry. The three of us and Ussah-kun will be one group, and the other will be Mikami Naotsugu-kun and them?” (Nanami)
“I can’t determine the fine details of the Athlete Corps’ power. If you think you can use them then go ahead, but the passage is narrow, so only two allies and enemies can fight at once.” (Shinjō)
The Athlete Corps struggled against the mustard dragon, so honestly, I didn’t think they’d be much help.
It hadn’t been that long since then, so it wasn’t like they got strong out of nowhere.
“There are 10 enemies. Even if we can divide them there will still be 6, so won’t it be nerve-wracking with only 4 people?” (Nanami)
“Sorry to say this, but if they’re below Mikami in rank, they can’t be put ahead.” (Shinjō)
When I said that, Mikami’s group started making noise behind me. Some of them spoke, “I don’t agree” “What does that guy know” “We can also do it!”.
The Athlete Corps were reasonably strong, so their opposition was about what I expecte-……wait, was that last voice a girl’s?
“What is it!”
“Ah, nothing.” (Shinjō)
When I reflexively turned back, my eyes met with a mannish girl. Now that I looked closer, it really was a woman.
I had thought that everyone in Mikami’s group was a man, but there was a woman, huh? She was a little smaller than those well-built guys around her, but she was wearing firm steel armor, and she was carrying a large, brutal looking, double-edged hatchet. No wonder I hadn’t realized that she was a woman.
She had light brown short hair and her features stood out, but there were women that looked like men because of their beauty. Her features were so sharp that she didn’t look like a woman.
Contrary to this, there were also girlish men in the world, and they in particular tended to act like beautiful woman; it was seriously misleading. If she was a woman, she should avoid going out to the frontlines too much.
“Kizaki, don’t charge at Shinjō.” (Mikami)
“But!” (Kizaki)
Mikami jumped in and saved me.
So the mannish girl’s last name was “Kizaki”, huh? As her appearance suggested, she was strong-willed. It wasn’t just vigor; she had strength, too. She was probably the type that would get mad if you said “women should go to the back”.
“Shinjō is the only one who has actually contended against a Black Death Knight. He’s said that even I can’t have one as an opponent, so do you still plan on insisting that you can do it?” (Nanami)
“Tha-…but, even we can……” (Kizaki)
“Kizaki Akira, Mikami Naotsugu and I have decided to leave the plan to Shinjō Wataru-kun.” (Nanami)
“Then…I will follow directions from Mikami-san and them.” (Kizaki)
Despite saying that, Kizaki Akira was glaring at me with rebellious eyes, and snorted her nose in dissastisfaction.
Akira was a mannish name, it felt kind of nostalgic. If I thought “she’s the opposite of Seki Midori”, it gave me a slightly favorable impression of her.
You think she’d get angry if I said that she had a mannish name? I was a little bothered by it, but I wasn’t bothered by it that badly, so I controlled myself.
Now wasn’t the time for causing discord by teasing the tomboy.
Besides, you couldn’t choose your own name. I didn’t like my name, either; a name was like a brand that your parents put on you.
Kizaki Akira’s way of life may have been narrowed because she was given a mannish name. Let’s not provoke her too much.
“Nanami, there are things that can be done by Mikami’s group, too. They can fire long-distance attacks from behind and things like that. They might even need to buy time for us to retreat in case we high levels can’t handle them alone. I’ll get them to help.” (Shinjō)
I just said that to save them face; I had no intention of fighting so that happened. Mikami was the kind of person to say he could hold them off until the last moment, so the others below his rank couldn’t do anything.
There was a saying, “Little knowledge is the basis of injury”. The Nanami Girls would run away quietly, but the Athlete Corps rashly bragged about their own ability. If they fought, casualties may appear. As long as they grew they would be promising, so I wanted to avoid losing them now.
“You! Shinjō!” (Kizaki)
“What, is there still something?” (Shinjō)
“I’ll help you if you mess up.” (Kizaki)
“Um……well, I’ll make sure to rely on you if that happens.” (Shinjō)
The mannish girl…Akira spoke to me proud-looking while pushing up her thin chin. I struggled to hold back a laugh.
Maybe the Athlete Corps thought that I was proud-looking. I suddenly came in and crashed their party, saying they were second fiddle. I guess they wanted to say something cynical, too?
In the end, the difference of power could only be understood with their own abilities.
We finally arrived at the point where we would wait for the enemy.
“Um, Kurokawa Hotaru-kun and your group……you’ll get in the way in battle, so why don’t you fall back?” (Nanami)
“No way, Nanami-kun……” “We can do it, too!”
Nanami was completely cold when he looked at the 5 girls. They called out to Nanami as they clung to him.
Hmm…they should be usable as support magic personnel, though.
“That’s true. Have them make bomb potions.” (Shinjō)
“Shinjō Wataru-kun, didn’t you say that attack magic wasn’t effective on the Black Death Knights?” (Nanami)
“Bomb potions are a bit different, you see. They deal damage via explosion rather than magic, so it’ll just shave them by how many you throw. If they amass them and throw them in the beginning, they’ll help by shaving the first few.” (Shinjō)
When I said that, Kurokawa and them sat down on the spot and started making bomb potions.
They were desperate to show their usefulness to Nanami and survive.
“You guys really know how to make bomb potions?” (Shinjō)
“MiddleMiddle FlameEeya LightningDin HeatRaa.” (Kurokawa)
“You’ll be using the potion bottles, so make it High level if you can.” (Shinjō)
“But……” (Kurokawa)
“It doesn’t matter if you fail. Use gems if you don’t have enough mana.” (Shinjō)
“……Alright.” (Kurokawa)
“Hou~? You’re being surprisingly compliant.” (Shinjō)
“It’s for protecting Nanami-kun, I’m not doing it for you!” (Kurokawa)
“Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? Yes, of course, you tsundere”……when I muttered those things, I guess she heard me, as she gave me the death stare. Scarrry.
Though angry, Kurokawa and them obediently held onto the gems that I scattered from my rucksack and continued making bomb potions as directed.
A bomb potion was a single attack, and it would use up a potion bottle, something valuable inside of the dungeon. But, now wasn’t the time to be stingy.
All that was left was to make as many high-level recovery potions as we could. The rate of recovery depended on the quality of the potion.
“Wataru-kun, this is useless now. Replace it.” (Kumiko)
“Ah, my bad.” (Shinjō)
The chainmail I had given Kumiko before had cracked, and was now useless.
Kumiko took a new set of steel chainmail armor from the rucksack and put it on. The surface of it dimly glowed bluish-white.
It was pretty good magic armor.
Though it had a usage limit, it had strong defensive support magic on it.
“Thanks for lending me the mantle. This chainmail has a pants part so it’s a bit heavy, but this is magic armor, isn’t it? I think the defense effect is high. Now I just need a shield, right?” (Kumiko)
“You don’t need one. But, you sure are good at holding onto things, huh?” (Shinjō)
Seeing as she could carry heavy equipment, it seemed that she’d gotten her hands on an infinite storage rucksack.
While Kumiko’s Ninja job was an advanced level job, she could handle the role of a thief. As she wouldn’t miss an item, you could call her the “strongest support”.
She thanked me for the mantle beforehand in anticipation that she might trouble me. She really was doing too much.
Her name of “Shuichi Nanami—Female Version” wasn’t just for show. That joke name was something I was just arbitrarily saying, but getting along with others wasn’t exactly my strong suit, so being a little considerate like Kumiko would be helpful.
“What are you making a face like that for……did I say something funny, maybe?” (Kumiko)
“No, you didn’t. I just thought that I was glad that you were here.” (Shinjō)
Being able to replenish equipment here was a big thing; this could still be done in the future.
After all the preparations were finished, Kumiko and I went ahead, leaving behind Nanami and them, who had quietened their breaths in front of the gate.
In the large room, no light was lit so we wouldn’t be noticed by the enemy.
Sinking our bodies into the darkness, we awaited the enemies’『Invasion』.
“Wataru-kun, they’re here……” (Kumiko)
As Kumiko’s eyesight was corrected by her job she could see in the dark, but I couldn’t.
I heard the heavy armor *clank, clank* ringing out in the distance.
I could just barely see the black outlines appearing from the darkness.
“So we really do need light, huh? Kumiko, throw a bomb potion.” (Shinjō)
“You got it!” (Kumiko)
We needed to pull them towards a targeted spot anyway.
Kumiko threw a bomb potion towards the group of enemies.
An explosion occurred in the darkness.
The red flash made the enemies stand out. A large group of Black Death Knights.
I pulled out『Solitude』next to Kumiko as she threw bomb potion after bomb potion, and measured the timing of opening the pitfalls with my hand on the button.
Even though the enemies should have been walking *gashaan, gashaan*, their speed was so fast that it looked like they were moving instantaneously.
I went against that with quick magic.
The enemies’ movements slowed. I opened the pitfalls in the middle of their bunched up group.
“NOWWWW!” (Shinjō)
When I hit the switch, the group of Black Death Knights disappeared.
Not enough. Only four of them fell.
“Wataru-kun!” (Kumiko)
Kumiko screamed.
At the same time as I hit the switch, the enemy was about to attack. Four of them had fallen.
But it wasn’t six of them all at once.
I guess the enemies were discomposed by the surprise attack; only the two in front were able to respond to us.
Still, they were a threat. I stopped a black death sword, but I was ready to receive another blow.
Kumiko jumped in then, holding her ninja sword.
Kumiko appeared to have prepared herself to stop the other Black Death Knight’s slash attack, but she wasn’t strong enough.
“KyAAAaah!!” (Kumiko)
While screaming, she slammed into the wall and went limp.
I stepped back a step and grabbed her body, and ran towards the passage with the gate where Nanami’s group was still waiting.
Slash attacks came at me and nearly grazed me, but they didn’t hit.
I had raised my speed with quick magic, so that was natural. Normally, they would be unforgiving, heavy attacks if they hit, so that was a close call.
“Fuu.” (Shinjō)
“I’m sorry.” (Kumiko)
After we took refuge in the gate room, Kumiko apologized to me.
“Don’t be. Rather, you saved me. You did good.” (Shinjō)
“Kujo Kumiko-kun, I’ll take your place now.” (Nanami)
He switched with Kumiko, who was limp, and Nanami and I waited for them.
The group of Black Death Knights were confused by the surprise bomb potions and the pitfalls, but it seemed they had decided to pursue us; while the *gashaan, gashaan* of the armor rang out, they walked towards us down the passage.
“Eat this one too!” (Shinjō)
I hit the switch, and the gate lowered towards their black helmets.
Making a *clank clank* noise, the gate fell on top of a Black Death Knights’ head as it pulled out its black death sword and rushed at me.
I stopped the slash attack of the enemy with『Solitude』right when it was attacked.
“UOOOHHHH!!” (Shinjō)
I forced back the enemy’s slash attack with raw power.
The enemy had advanced, but they were packed in a long passage, so they couldn’t go forward nor could they fall back. *Thud, thud*, its black head continued to be hit by the heavy iron gate.
“UAAAAAHHH!!” (Nanami)
While screaming next to me, Nanami endured the enemy’s slash attack with the『Large Shield of Holy Iron』he had set up.
I guess it was in pain. The Black Death Knight was thrashing around and knocking its body as *thud, thud* its head continued to be shaved by the gate.
Even I struggled to just hold it back, so how difficult was it for Nanami, someone a rank lower?
Nanami was screaming like his body was creaking, but even so he kept holding shield like he was making a prayer and continued holding back the black demon’s slash attack. The hellish one second stretched, and passed by way too slowly.
“MiddleMiddle StaminaDen SoaringFoi!”
From behind, the Nanami Girls chanted their support magic repeatedly. The defense strengthening made it a tad bit easier.
Even Kurokawa and her group weren’t doing something stupid like casting magic on everyone but me. If we couldn’t hold out here, we would be annihilated.
“UAAHhh!!” (Nanami)
With a *crack* sound, the『Large Shield of Holy Iron』that boasted so much strength cracked to pieces and shattered all-too-soon.
Nanami barely managed to block it with his blacksteel sword, but he didn’t have enough strength to hold back the enemy. Its black death sword continued forward and flung him to the rear as though he was being scooped.
“Nanami!”
“LowLow Radiatefuu Hindrancegol Creationneta!” (Kumiko)
Without a moment’s delay, Kumiko blocked up the entrance with a wall spell.
The Black Death Knight could only go forward and thrashed around with all its might, so the magical transparent wall disappeared instantly, but it gave us a chance to recover.
This time, I served as a wall with Kumiko.
Kumiko really was strong. She was dodging the blows that would absolutely blow her away if she was hit directly by quickly changing where she was.
It was only when the enemy jumped through the gate did she change out with Ussah, who forced it back with her force-filled tornado kick.
I guess I could leave it to them for a bit.
“UOOOOOOOHH!!” (Shinjō)
I concentrated on the one in front of me and kept swinging『Solitude』.
The black armor and helmet collapsed with a *gashaan* noise.
“Haa……” (Shinjō)
This one’s finally died, huh? Though I thought that I was on offense and defense for a while, it felt like forever. How long could we hold out.
Even if I tried to concentrate on my own fight, I couldn’t help but worry about those fighting beside me.
If I was alone, I just had to worry about myself while I attacked and defended. Fighting alone really was best for me.
With that in mind, I sighed. I downed a potion to recover my stamina, which decreased faster than my health.
If it got dangerous then I could put up a magical wall like Kumiko did, but mana wasn’t infinite. I wanted to save as much as I could.
Right when I thought that, the enemy suddenly stopped, turned around, and started going back.
“Eiii!!” (Kumiko)
Kumiko swung both her hands and threw two kunais at their backs as they ran away, and one collapsed with a *gashaan*.
As expected of the Mid-Level Ninja’s training weapon; it killed it by dealing slash level damage, huh? Though Ninja was one of the strongest jobs, it was quite a feat that she brought down a higher rank enemy.
“Nicely done, Kumiko. But, why did the enemy pull back?” (Shinjō)
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.” (Kumiko)
I agreed with Kumiko. This place was a turn for overcoming the enemy, albeit forcibly.
An enemy that had already paid sacrifices wouldn’t know the meaning of retreat at this timing.
Just to be safe, I shut the gate with the button. While I watched the door shut with a *clang clang*, I thought to myself.
Think about what the enemy was thinking. Did they think they couldn’t win, and withdrew for now? There was no detour; the only『Invasion』path for the enemy was breaking through this path.
Did they pull back without knowing that? However, the enemy was on the verge of them all being crushed.
For me, this would be the timing where I wouldn’t retreat no matter the cost…….
“We did it, we won!”
Behind me, a cheer came up. Who said that just now!
After straining yourself so much, anyone would relax themselves if that was said. Not knowing that could prove fatal.
“Idioott, don’t drop your guard yet!” (Shinjō)
I turned my head and shouted. It wasn’t always over!
As if to endorse that unpleasant premonition, the gate in front of me opened with a *clang clang* sound, even though I hadn’t done anything.
TL: Thy Unsus
ED: Thy Unsus
“I’ll explain the strategy. We know for sure that there are 10 Black Death Knights approaching us. I’ll say this now: 10 of them at once is impossible.” (Shinjō)
“Then, what should we do?” (Nanami)
I had to make them feel a bit nervous so they didn’t ignore this. While everyone was silent from me basically having threatened them, Mikami jumped in.
“So we need a plan, you mean?” (Mikami)
“I see.” (Nanami)
Nanami and Mikami appeared to have understood what I was saying, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of them.
What I had wanted to say was “If we have a plan then we can win, but if we move carelessly it will be fatal”.
“First of all, we’re going to counter attack. However, we need to protect this door here, in front of the 6th floor’s large room, as a defensive line.” (Shinjō)
I pointed at the middle passage on the 6th floor on the map that Nanami had taken out.
The copy of the map I’d written was standard equipment for Nanami’s group.
“Okay, but why there, Shinjō Wataru-kun?” (Nanami)
“There’s only one path, no detours. This is somewhere they have to pass through. And, there is a gate that you can open and shut with a button. Also, there’s two of them. If we can’t hold them back with the front gate, we can retreat and fall back to the back gate.” (Shinjō)
“I know that we’ll be ambushing them, but using a gate that can open and shut with a button means that we can block them and run away if need be, correct?” (Nanami)
“Nope. Unfortunately, the Black Death Knights are humanoids, so they can press the button and open the gate. The open and shut gate is used to slam the gate down on the monsters’ heads. This deals a surprising amount of damage.” (Shinjō)
“I see. That means we can hold back the enemies while closing the gate with the button.” (Nanami)
“That’s right, the gate that we can shut manually is our ally. The other reason I’ve chosen this place for are the pitfalls that open with switches in front of the large room.” (Shinjō)
“Oh, for dropping them into the pitfalls and dividing them up.” (Nanami)
“You get it, huh? The enemies are coming in a group of 10, and they’ll be on guard. If we can’t deal with one at a time, we have to divide them. Kumiko and I will do that.” (Shinjō)
Kumiko was looking at the map, but she raised her head when I said her name.
“Kumiko and I are the only ones than can run away and drop them down into the pitfalls. It’s a big job after your reconnaissance, but can you do it?” (Shinjō)
“If I refused after you said ‘please risk your life’, I’d be a disgrace of a woman, wouldn’t I? Besides, if I’m with you, then refusing would be all the more disgraceful.” (Kumiko)
“Alright, we’ll drop two here. Actually, let’s make sure to get four. If we do, then there will be six left. Next, we’ll draw them to where the gate closes and trap them there. Two of them side by side will fill the passage. We’ll whittle down and kill the enemies that we can’t stop.” (Shinjō)
When I said “that’s all for the plan” and looked at Nanami, he nodded.
I was the one who thought of the plan, but Nanami Shuichi, the leader, was the one who made the decision.
“Alright, then it’s settled. We’ll go with this. There’s no time to waste, we move now. The only ones that can fight directly against the Black Death Knights are me, Shinjō Wataru-kun, Kujo Kumiko-kun, and Alice Adélaïde Alfonsina……” (Nanami)
“Nanami, call me Ussah.” (Ussah)
Thankfully, she introduced herself while walking.
Nanami’s habit of calling people by their full names made me smile wryly every time.
“Sorry. The three of us and Ussah-kun will be one group, and the other will be Mikami Naotsugu-kun and them?” (Nanami)
“I can’t determine the fine details of the Athlete Corps’ power. If you think you can use them then go ahead, but the passage is narrow, so only two allies and enemies can fight at once.” (Shinjō)
The Athlete Corps struggled against the mustard dragon, so honestly, I didn’t think they’d be much help.
It hadn’t been that long since then, so it wasn’t like they got strong out of nowhere.
“There are 10 enemies. Even if we can divide them there will still be 6, so won’t it be nerve-wracking with only 4 people?” (Nanami)
“Sorry to say this, but if they’re below Mikami in rank, they can’t be put ahead.” (Shinjō)
When I said that, Mikami’s group started making noise behind me. Some of them spoke, “I don’t agree” “What does that guy know” “We can also do it!”.
The Athlete Corps were reasonably strong, so their opposition was about what I expecte-……wait, was that last voice a girl’s?
“What is it!”
“Ah, nothing.” (Shinjō)
When I reflexively turned back, my eyes met with a mannish girl. Now that I looked closer, it really was a woman.
I had thought that everyone in Mikami’s group was a man, but there was a woman, huh? She was a little smaller than those well-built guys around her, but she was wearing firm steel armor, and she was carrying a large, brutal looking, double-edged hatchet. No wonder I hadn’t realized that she was a woman.
She had light brown short hair and her features stood out, but there were women that looked like men because of their beauty. Her features were so sharp that she didn’t look like a woman.
Contrary to this, there were also girlish men in the world, and they in particular tended to act like beautiful woman; it was seriously misleading. If she was a woman, she should avoid going out to the frontlines too much.
“Kizaki, don’t charge at Shinjō.” (Mikami)
“But!” (Kizaki)
Mikami jumped in and saved me.
So the mannish girl’s last name was “Kizaki”, huh? As her appearance suggested, she was strong-willed. It wasn’t just vigor; she had strength, too. She was probably the type that would get mad if you said “women should go to the back”.
“Shinjō is the only one who has actually contended against a Black Death Knight. He’s said that even I can’t have one as an opponent, so do you still plan on insisting that you can do it?” (Nanami)
“Tha-…but, even we can……” (Kizaki)
“Kizaki Akira, Mikami Naotsugu and I have decided to leave the plan to Shinjō Wataru-kun.” (Nanami)
“Then…I will follow directions from Mikami-san and them.” (Kizaki)
Despite saying that, Kizaki Akira was glaring at me with rebellious eyes, and snorted her nose in dissastisfaction.
Akira was a mannish name, it felt kind of nostalgic. If I thought “she’s the opposite of Seki Midori”, it gave me a slightly favorable impression of her.
You think she’d get angry if I said that she had a mannish name? I was a little bothered by it, but I wasn’t bothered by it that badly, so I controlled myself.
Now wasn’t the time for causing discord by teasing the tomboy.
Besides, you couldn’t choose your own name. I didn’t like my name, either; a name was like a brand that your parents put on you.
Kizaki Akira’s way of life may have been narrowed because she was given a mannish name. Let’s not provoke her too much.
“Nanami, there are things that can be done by Mikami’s group, too. They can fire long-distance attacks from behind and things like that. They might even need to buy time for us to retreat in case we high levels can’t handle them alone. I’ll get them to help.” (Shinjō)
I just said that to save them face; I had no intention of fighting so that happened. Mikami was the kind of person to say he could hold them off until the last moment, so the others below his rank couldn’t do anything.
There was a saying, “Little knowledge is the basis of injury”. The Nanami Girls would run away quietly, but the Athlete Corps rashly bragged about their own ability. If they fought, casualties may appear. As long as they grew they would be promising, so I wanted to avoid losing them now.
“You! Shinjō!” (Kizaki)
“What, is there still something?” (Shinjō)
“I’ll help you if you mess up.” (Kizaki)
“Um……well, I’ll make sure to rely on you if that happens.” (Shinjō)
The mannish girl…Akira spoke to me proud-looking while pushing up her thin chin. I struggled to hold back a laugh.
Maybe the Athlete Corps thought that I was proud-looking. I suddenly came in and crashed their party, saying they were second fiddle. I guess they wanted to say something cynical, too?
In the end, the difference of power could only be understood with their own abilities.
We finally arrived at the point where we would wait for the enemy.
“Um, Kurokawa Hotaru-kun and your group……you’ll get in the way in battle, so why don’t you fall back?” (Nanami)
“No way, Nanami-kun……” “We can do it, too!”
Nanami was completely cold when he looked at the 5 girls. They called out to Nanami as they clung to him.
Hmm…they should be usable as support magic personnel, though.
“That’s true. Have them make bomb potions.” (Shinjō)
“Shinjō Wataru-kun, didn’t you say that attack magic wasn’t effective on the Black Death Knights?” (Nanami)
“Bomb potions are a bit different, you see. They deal damage via explosion rather than magic, so it’ll just shave them by how many you throw. If they amass them and throw them in the beginning, they’ll help by shaving the first few.” (Shinjō)
When I said that, Kurokawa and them sat down on the spot and started making bomb potions.
They were desperate to show their usefulness to Nanami and survive.
“You guys really know how to make bomb potions?” (Shinjō)
“MiddleMiddle FlameEeya LightningDin HeatRaa.” (Kurokawa)
“You’ll be using the potion bottles, so make it High level if you can.” (Shinjō)
“But……” (Kurokawa)
“It doesn’t matter if you fail. Use gems if you don’t have enough mana.” (Shinjō)
“……Alright.” (Kurokawa)
“Hou~? You’re being surprisingly compliant.” (Shinjō)
“It’s for protecting Nanami-kun, I’m not doing it for you!” (Kurokawa)
“Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? Yes, of course, you tsundere”……when I muttered those things, I guess she heard me, as she gave me the death stare. Scarrry.
Though angry, Kurokawa and them obediently held onto the gems that I scattered from my rucksack and continued making bomb potions as directed.
A bomb potion was a single attack, and it would use up a potion bottle, something valuable inside of the dungeon. But, now wasn’t the time to be stingy.
All that was left was to make as many high-level recovery potions as we could. The rate of recovery depended on the quality of the potion.
“Wataru-kun, this is useless now. Replace it.” (Kumiko)
“Ah, my bad.” (Shinjō)
The chainmail I had given Kumiko before had cracked, and was now useless.
Kumiko took a new set of steel chainmail armor from the rucksack and put it on. The surface of it dimly glowed bluish-white.
It was pretty good magic armor.
Though it had a usage limit, it had strong defensive support magic on it.
“Thanks for lending me the mantle. This chainmail has a pants part so it’s a bit heavy, but this is magic armor, isn’t it? I think the defense effect is high. Now I just need a shield, right?” (Kumiko)
“You don’t need one. But, you sure are good at holding onto things, huh?” (Shinjō)
Seeing as she could carry heavy equipment, it seemed that she’d gotten her hands on an infinite storage rucksack.
While Kumiko’s Ninja job was an advanced level job, she could handle the role of a thief. As she wouldn’t miss an item, you could call her the “strongest support”.
She thanked me for the mantle beforehand in anticipation that she might trouble me. She really was doing too much.
Her name of “Shuichi Nanami—Female Version” wasn’t just for show. That joke name was something I was just arbitrarily saying, but getting along with others wasn’t exactly my strong suit, so being a little considerate like Kumiko would be helpful.
“What are you making a face like that for……did I say something funny, maybe?” (Kumiko)
“No, you didn’t. I just thought that I was glad that you were here.” (Shinjō)
Being able to replenish equipment here was a big thing; this could still be done in the future.
After all the preparations were finished, Kumiko and I went ahead, leaving behind Nanami and them, who had quietened their breaths in front of the gate.
In the large room, no light was lit so we wouldn’t be noticed by the enemy.
Sinking our bodies into the darkness, we awaited the enemies’『Invasion』.
“Wataru-kun, they’re here……” (Kumiko)
As Kumiko’s eyesight was corrected by her job she could see in the dark, but I couldn’t.
I heard the heavy armor *clank, clank* ringing out in the distance.
I could just barely see the black outlines appearing from the darkness.
“So we really do need light, huh? Kumiko, throw a bomb potion.” (Shinjō)
“You got it!” (Kumiko)
We needed to pull them towards a targeted spot anyway.
Kumiko threw a bomb potion towards the group of enemies.
An explosion occurred in the darkness.
The red flash made the enemies stand out. A large group of Black Death Knights.
I pulled out『Solitude』next to Kumiko as she threw bomb potion after bomb potion, and measured the timing of opening the pitfalls with my hand on the button.
Even though the enemies should have been walking *gashaan, gashaan*, their speed was so fast that it looked like they were moving instantaneously.
I went against that with quick magic.
The enemies’ movements slowed. I opened the pitfalls in the middle of their bunched up group.
“NOWWWW!” (Shinjō)
When I hit the switch, the group of Black Death Knights disappeared.
Not enough. Only four of them fell.
“Wataru-kun!” (Kumiko)
Kumiko screamed.
At the same time as I hit the switch, the enemy was about to attack. Four of them had fallen.
But it wasn’t six of them all at once.
I guess the enemies were discomposed by the surprise attack; only the two in front were able to respond to us.
Still, they were a threat. I stopped a black death sword, but I was ready to receive another blow.
Kumiko jumped in then, holding her ninja sword.
Kumiko appeared to have prepared herself to stop the other Black Death Knight’s slash attack, but she wasn’t strong enough.
“KyAAAaah!!” (Kumiko)
While screaming, she slammed into the wall and went limp.
I stepped back a step and grabbed her body, and ran towards the passage with the gate where Nanami’s group was still waiting.
Slash attacks came at me and nearly grazed me, but they didn’t hit.
I had raised my speed with quick magic, so that was natural. Normally, they would be unforgiving, heavy attacks if they hit, so that was a close call.
“Fuu.” (Shinjō)
“I’m sorry.” (Kumiko)
After we took refuge in the gate room, Kumiko apologized to me.
“Don’t be. Rather, you saved me. You did good.” (Shinjō)
“Kujo Kumiko-kun, I’ll take your place now.” (Nanami)
He switched with Kumiko, who was limp, and Nanami and I waited for them.
The group of Black Death Knights were confused by the surprise bomb potions and the pitfalls, but it seemed they had decided to pursue us; while the *gashaan, gashaan* of the armor rang out, they walked towards us down the passage.
“Eat this one too!” (Shinjō)
I hit the switch, and the gate lowered towards their black helmets.
Making a *clank clank* noise, the gate fell on top of a Black Death Knights’ head as it pulled out its black death sword and rushed at me.
I stopped the slash attack of the enemy with『Solitude』right when it was attacked.
“UOOOHHHH!!” (Shinjō)
I forced back the enemy’s slash attack with raw power.
The enemy had advanced, but they were packed in a long passage, so they couldn’t go forward nor could they fall back. *Thud, thud*, its black head continued to be hit by the heavy iron gate.
“UAAAAAHHH!!” (Nanami)
While screaming next to me, Nanami endured the enemy’s slash attack with the『Large Shield of Holy Iron』he had set up.
I guess it was in pain. The Black Death Knight was thrashing around and knocking its body as *thud, thud* its head continued to be shaved by the gate.
Even I struggled to just hold it back, so how difficult was it for Nanami, someone a rank lower?
Nanami was screaming like his body was creaking, but even so he kept holding shield like he was making a prayer and continued holding back the black demon’s slash attack. The hellish one second stretched, and passed by way too slowly.
“MiddleMiddle StaminaDen SoaringFoi!”
From behind, the Nanami Girls chanted their support magic repeatedly. The defense strengthening made it a tad bit easier.
Even Kurokawa and her group weren’t doing something stupid like casting magic on everyone but me. If we couldn’t hold out here, we would be annihilated.
“UAAHhh!!” (Nanami)
With a *crack* sound, the『Large Shield of Holy Iron』that boasted so much strength cracked to pieces and shattered all-too-soon.
Nanami barely managed to block it with his blacksteel sword, but he didn’t have enough strength to hold back the enemy. Its black death sword continued forward and flung him to the rear as though he was being scooped.
“Nanami!”
“LowLow Radiatefuu Hindrancegol Creationneta!” (Kumiko)
Without a moment’s delay, Kumiko blocked up the entrance with a wall spell.
The Black Death Knight could only go forward and thrashed around with all its might, so the magical transparent wall disappeared instantly, but it gave us a chance to recover.
This time, I served as a wall with Kumiko.
Kumiko really was strong. She was dodging the blows that would absolutely blow her away if she was hit directly by quickly changing where she was.
It was only when the enemy jumped through the gate did she change out with Ussah, who forced it back with her force-filled tornado kick.
I guess I could leave it to them for a bit.
“UOOOOOOOHH!!” (Shinjō)
I concentrated on the one in front of me and kept swinging『Solitude』.
The black armor and helmet collapsed with a *gashaan* noise.
“Haa……” (Shinjō)
This one’s finally died, huh? Though I thought that I was on offense and defense for a while, it felt like forever. How long could we hold out.
Even if I tried to concentrate on my own fight, I couldn’t help but worry about those fighting beside me.
If I was alone, I just had to worry about myself while I attacked and defended. Fighting alone really was best for me.
With that in mind, I sighed. I downed a potion to recover my stamina, which decreased faster than my health.
If it got dangerous then I could put up a magical wall like Kumiko did, but mana wasn’t infinite. I wanted to save as much as I could.
Right when I thought that, the enemy suddenly stopped, turned around, and started going back.
“Eiii!!” (Kumiko)
Kumiko swung both her hands and threw two kunais at their backs as they ran away, and one collapsed with a *gashaan*.
As expected of the Mid-Level Ninja’s training weapon; it killed it by dealing slash level damage, huh? Though Ninja was one of the strongest jobs, it was quite a feat that she brought down a higher rank enemy.
“Nicely done, Kumiko. But, why did the enemy pull back?” (Shinjō)
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.” (Kumiko)
I agreed with Kumiko. This place was a turn for overcoming the enemy, albeit forcibly.
An enemy that had already paid sacrifices wouldn’t know the meaning of retreat at this timing.
Just to be safe, I shut the gate with the button. While I watched the door shut with a *clang clang*, I thought to myself.
Think about what the enemy was thinking. Did they think they couldn’t win, and withdrew for now? There was no detour; the only『Invasion』path for the enemy was breaking through this path.
Did they pull back without knowing that? However, the enemy was on the verge of them all being crushed.
For me, this would be the timing where I wouldn’t retreat no matter the cost…….
“We did it, we won!”
Behind me, a cheer came up. Who said that just now!
After straining yourself so much, anyone would relax themselves if that was said. Not knowing that could prove fatal.
“Idioott, don’t drop your guard yet!” (Shinjō)
I turned my head and shouted. It wasn’t always over!
As if to endorse that unpleasant premonition, the gate in front of me opened with a *clang clang* sound, even though I hadn’t done anything.
