kscans

Chapter 277 - An Enjoyable Ordeal

Was it during the main selection round of the Four Pillar War? I remember thinking that I was better suited to fighting monsters than people.

Now, after half a month, having returned, I realized that with even greater conviction.

It's true that Arcadia's 'inhuman PvP' was incredibly fun in many ways, but PvE has a different kind of 'flavor'.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with a reliable partner, challenging a monster so huge you have to look up… This brain-tingling heroic experience was truly irreplaceable.

—And so,

"Let's get fired up, you bugs!!"

"Gah, watch out—!? —Honestly, Haru!"

—in this way, it was no wonder that I, having lost my composure after so long, was being scolded by Sora. No matter what anyone says, it was beyond my control.

I was aware that I had blocked her 'line of fire' by leaning forward with momentum, so I did an upside-down triple twist and raised one hand in an 'I'm sorry' pose.

In my vision, which was a hair's breadth from being a single horizontal line, I managed to catch a glimpse of my angry partner, who—

"Acht!!"

—without a moment's hesitation, fired a volley of magic swords at me.

Of course, it wasn't a punishment or a reprimand born of anger… It was, despite my 'unwell' state, a generous provision of footholds (support).

My body, in the process of dying from activating [Rabbit Rapid, Crimson Brilliant Bullet]. Running through the air, a crimson blade racing—in the boss area's 'great cavern,' facing off against the 'Queen Bug.'

[Gemrant Quintesta, Jewel-Eating Queen]—the giant boss lurking in the lowest level of the [Great Rock-Eating Hive], and an alien queen who enslaves the soldiers.

Its massive body, surely no less than ten meters long, was composed of rock and gems just like the ants, and had undergone a bizarre mutation that deviated greatly from the 'original form' one might imagine.

Its abdomen was excessively bloated, reminiscent of a grub. Although its misshapen 'wings' served as armor to protect it, they couldn't completely cover the abdomen, which was swollen to a bursting point.

The state of its 'legs,' which had abandoned movement, was likely an evolution rather than a regression. Its leg parts, as thick and sturdy as trees and not at all bug-like, were loaded with giant gem warheads, even more menacing than those of the ants, packed tightly together.

It was so transformed that it could only be described as a different creature altogether… Like the locust, I had the impression you were originally a high-agility type—right, Mister Grasshopper?

"Haru!"

"Thanks!!"

No need for details in her call. The moment her voice reached me, I turned my head and saw one of the flying magic swords glowing with a green light.

The queen was laying down an anti-air barrage at the insolent one jumping around above her, but after figuring out the fixed pattern of suppressive fire and periodic targeted shots, it was no longer a threat.

Dodging the gem bullets, each the size of a human head, that came at me with a roar, I placed my foot on one of the designated magic swords—and in that instant, the standby recovery magic (Qualia Veil) enveloped my avatar.

My HP, which had been dwindling due to the overload of [Rabbit Rapid], was restored, and furthermore, the secondary effect of that excellent healing magic, regeneration, offset… well, not completely, but it did reduce the self-inflicted damage.

While cheating the cost of my super-speed maneuvers with my partner's support—there, an opening.

"Sora!"

In response to my voice, Sora, standing in the middle of a massive amount of rubble, raised both hands to her sides—and in the next moment, two giant towers appeared from the void.

"[Schwert Kreis]—"

"[Totsuka no Tsurugi]—"

And me too.

—The brilliance sealed in my scabbard is already at its breaking point.

"[Zwei Riesig]!!"

"[Enrei Kagura]aaa!!"

It was truly an unavoidable guillotine approaching from three directions.

From the left and right, the giant sand swords created by Sora. And from directly above, the great crimson blade drawn from my scabbard swung down simultaneously—

Without a chance to even cry out, the [Gemrant Quintesta] was decapitated and exploded in a grand display of blue phosphorescence.

—The battle lasted for about five minutes. It was terribly anticlimactic… but well, since this was our sixth run, it was to be expected.

"—Haaah…!"

"Good work, Sora. …You about done in?"

Ignoring the results screen, I called out to my partner, who had sat down while dispelling her magic swords. She had been putting on a brave face until around the third run… but the girl, experiencing her first real 'marathon farming,' gave a weak laugh and finally cried out, "I'm at my limit."

—And so it was. The reason I had determined this dungeon crawl to be 'Hell' or 'Super Hell' was not because I was extremely overestimating the dungeon's difficulty.

It was based on the premise of this hellish grinding, a staple of 'hack and slash' games.

…However, no matter how many times we repeated it, I was still getting into it. The tag-team match with my partner was so fun that I was far from fatigued.

A major factor was that the grinding didn't become a simple, repetitive task. Monsters seem to have 'personalities' and 'characters,' and since the enemy changed its tactics with each challenge, the novelty didn't wear off easily.

But well, unfortunately, as for its 'strategy'—

"Haru… you seem to be doing fine."

"Hee hee, the results of my training, perhaps."

—no matter how it changed its form, my lovely partner would instantly mow it down with her 'thousand blades.'

As a result, the boss battle, which was probably intended to be an 'army battle against a fixed artillery boss and its minions,' turned into a one-on-one fight within tens of seconds of starting.

No matter how ridiculously high its durability or how demonic its barrage firepower, we weren't about to fall behind in a one-on-one with an opponent that couldn't move… though my opinion that Sora-san is just too broken hasn't changed.

"Alright… it's getting late, let's call it a day here."

"For today…?"

"Well, that depends. Whether we have seconds will be decided after the loot appraisal results come in."

"…N-no, it's fine. This is part of the fun of the game, right…!"

Well, I don't intend to force her to come along. From what I've been seeing, Sora seemed to be having fun too.

Though she was clearly put off by the boss's slightly gruesome visuals.

"In that case, I'm sorry to ask, but…"

"Ahaha… leave it to me."

Before we wrap up the crawl.

Looking around at the massive number of things that needed to be done, Sora stood up with a rare, slightly exasperated expression.

Every time, the sorting process definitely takes more time than the boss fight. No wonder… As a spectator who possesses neither 'magic release' nor a 'ranged attack with adjustable intensity,' I can only watch in gratitude.

The sight of the girl, her [Dress of El-Clelia] fluttering in the magical wind, raising her hand with a weary yet graceful air, could be described as 'like a painting' without exaggeration.

I'm not staring because I'm captivated—I told myself, fooling no one. As I watched my partner at work beside me, I cooled down my flushed heart.

Remembering the 'later' that was fast approaching… my heart, which had been lightened by the break.

I could feel just a little bit of tension starting to seep back in.