kscans

Chapter 161 - Giant!

We retraced our steps and this time proceeded down the right-hand path.

"This is a random thought, but why are there skeletons in a royal shelter?"

Nanapon asked as we walked down the dark corridor.

"I have no idea. By that logic, the fact that skeletons appear in the Kunaar Ruins above is also a mystery."

What are those things, really?

"At first, I thought they might be the spirits of the residents of a fallen civilization, but people don't have eight arms, do they..."

"Maybe people in the Frontier actually have eight arms."

"That would make them Ashuras..."

How creepy.

"Just kidding. I think there's little connection between skeletons and humans. They are monsters... you should think of them that way. Otherwise, your attacks will lose their edge."

It's best not to think about it too deeply.

"You're right... I'm sure you'll be fine since you're, well, you, Eleanor-san, but I think I would get scared."

Well, me? That doesn't sound like she means 'brave.'

"It's fine if you can't fight, in the worst-case scenario."

"I'll be fine!"

You don't have to be so tense.

"Are you sure you're fine?"

All you need to do is watch.

"...Ah, you're not worried about me, you just mean you want to reach a higher level than me, don't you."

"There's no need to worry about you. You just need to stay behind me. You'll be one hundred percent safe that way."

"Eleanor-san, you're so cool!"

Yes, yes. Of course, of course. I'll show you my swordsmanship!

As I continued walking in high spirits, a door came into view at the end of the corridor. Unlike the iron door from before, it was a wooden door, though I'm not sure if you could call it ordinary.

"Is this the end of the line?"

"Probably..."

The time... not even an hour has passed. There's no need to go back yet, so we might as well just go for it.

"Well then, let's have our audience with the gold."

I put my hand on the doorknob and pushed the door. It opened with a creaking sound.

The first thing that surprised me upon opening the door was how bright the room was. Just like in the building above and the cavern outside, the walls were glowing.

"It's bright in here."

"It is... and also..."

Nanapon stared straight ahead.

The room was quite large, probably twenty or thirty meters square. And at the far end of the room was a gleaming mass of gold.

"W, what is that?"

"Is that gold?"

Yanagi-san and Maede-san, who knew nothing, were gasping in surprise behind me. I turned to look at the two of them.

"That is what I have been seeking. Gold is most fitting for me. Don't you agree?"

It's the perfect thing for me, the one they call the Golden Witch.

"So that was your objective..."

"How did you know?"

Maede-san asked.

"Heh heh. That's a secret. More importantly, I believe this is the end of the line, but your comrades aren't here."

Well, I knew that from the start.

"Hey, what is that?"

As I was trying to look cool for Yanagi-san and Maede-san, Yoshino-san asked a question.

"That?"

Curious, I turned to look at Yoshino-san, and she was pointing towards the front. At the tip of her finger, there were several things on the ground.

"That's... an ID tag!"

Yanagi-san shouted.

"An ID tag?"

"SDF personnel who go to the Frontier carry an identification card separate from their Status Card. That's what that is."

Huh... What for?

"Yanagi-san, if there are four of those on the ground, does that mean..."

"It would seem so..."

Maede-san and Yanagi-san's faces turned grim.

"Hey? Why would an ID card like that be on the ground? When you die, don't all your belongings, including your equipment, vanish into smoke?"

The four SDF members probably died here. But I don't understand why only their ID cards would be left behind.

"That's something we drop on purpose when we're in a pinch. It's a memento to let our comrades know this area is dangerous and to inform them that we died in the line of duty."

I see. That's logical. So something happened here...

"Should we retrieve those?"

"We should. But it's dangerous. I think we should retreat for now."

"When my gold is right in front of me?"

"Setting aside whether it's yours, that looks like a blatant trap."

Well, it does look like bait.

"Heh heh... I suppose so. Something's going to appear."

The ground around where the ID cards were dropped was unnaturally dented. Those are signs of a battle.

"Eleanor, what's the plan?"

Yoshino-san asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Why do you think we came here?"

"It's dangerous, you know?"

Even this money-grubber becomes cautious when it comes to adventuring. I think that's a very good thing, and it makes her seem reliable.

"You all wait here. I'm going to retrieve the ID cards first."

With that, I took out the Magic Wand from my bag, which I hadn't used at all recently.

"You're going to do it?"

"Of course. Be ready to escape at any time. And please look after Nanaka-san."

"Got it."

Having made my decision, I patted the head of a worried-looking Nanapon and went to retrieve the ID cards.

I walked with the staff in hand until I reached about the halfway point of the room, then crouched down and collected the four notepad-like ID cards.

"Is it about time?"

After picking up the ID cards, I immediately put them in my bag and stood up. Then, the area in front of the pile of gold bars began to glow faintly.

Immediately after, a giant skeleton, at least three meters tall, emerged from the light.

"Oh my?"

Not another skeleton.

"Eleanor! That's a Giant Skeleton!"

Yoshino-san shouted to inform me.

"Hmm."

The skeleton, which seemed to be twice my height, looked down on me. It was apparently a type of skeleton, but it didn't have a sword, and its arms were the normal two.

"You should have gotten a sword from the Eight-Armed Skeleton, you know?"

As I said that, the Giant Skeleton began to move. However, its movements were extremely slow.

"You're slow too, huh..."

As I was inwardly thinking that it was just a weakling with an intimidating appearance, I noticed that power was gathering in the Giant Skeleton's right leg.

"Hmm?"

Immediately after, the Giant Skeleton closed the distance with a speed unimaginable for a skeleton up to this point. The distance between me and the Giant Skeleton became zero in an instant. Then, the Giant Skeleton raised its large right fist.

"Oh my?"

The Giant Skeleton swung its fist down with incredible speed, but I dodged it by jumping to the left.

"Missed me."

When I mocked it a little, the Giant Skeleton swung its left fist down this time. However, I evaded this as well with a backstep. Then, I pointed the tip of my staff at the Giant Skeleton.

"Air Hammer!"

An invisible shockwave was released from the tip of my staff and struck the Giant Skeleton. However, the Giant Skeleton, which took a direct hit from the Air Hammer, was not blown away and only staggered back two or three meters.

"Eleanor! That's not just a Giant Skeleton! A normal Giant Skeleton isn't that fast or sturdy!"

Yoshino-san shouted to inform me again, but since I don't know what a normal Giant Skeleton is in the first place, I don't really care.

"Hmm, this Air Hammer can blow away a regular skeleton, though..."

Although there was some knockback, it didn't seem very effective.

I put the Magic Wand back in my bag and took out my sword.

"In the end, this is what I should rely on."

I may be called a witch, but inside, I'm just a muscle-headed attacker who can't use magic.

When I readied my sword, the Giant Skeleton began to move again. This time it was slow again, but I knew that its weight was on its right foot.

The Giant Skeleton once again closed the distance, raised its fist, and punched.

"Same intelligence, huh..."

It's a skeleton, after all.

I dodged to the left in the same way, but this time it wasn't just a simple dodge. I used the momentum from the jump to swing my sword at the Giant Skeleton's right wrist as it swung down. The Giant Skeleton hastily backstepped to retreat.

But its right fist was still near me.

"You forgot something, didn't you?"

Idiot. Too slow.

This time, before it could do anything, I stepped in and closed the distance to the Giant Skeleton. The Giant Skeleton swung at me horizontally with its left hand in a panic.

"I told you, you're too slow."

I ducked to evade it, then immediately slashed at the Giant Skeleton's left arm after it had finished its swing. The Giant Skeleton tried to retreat to avoid it, but its movements were slow. My sword swung faster than the Giant Skeleton could dodge and cut off its left arm.

After having both its arms cut off, the Giant Skeleton didn't flinch and instead raised its left leg high.

It was trying to stomp me.

"Are you an idiot?"

As the Giant Skeleton raised its left leg, I immediately slashed at its right leg, which was on the ground. The Giant Skeleton, with its left leg raised, couldn't dodge or escape my sword, so its right leg was easily cut, and it lost its balance.

"Bye-bye."

With its posture broken, its head was finally within reach of my sword, so I jumped up a little and swung my sword diagonally at the Giant Skeleton's head. The Giant Skeleton's large head slid off at an angle.

And then, the Giant Skeleton vanished into smoke.

"All bark and no bite."

I put my sword back in my bag and looked at the drop item. In front of me was a purple liquid in a flask.

"Purple?"

What? A level 2 Healing Potion? I don't need this.

I picked up what looked like a potion and used Appraisal on it.

[Healing Potion Lv2]

It really is a level 2 Healing Potion... It's probably rare, but to me, it just looks like 1,100 yen.

"Yoshino-san, you want this?"

I asked Yoshino-san, who was waiting in the back.

"Gimme, gimme!"

Yoshino-san immediately ran over.

"Here, take it. I don't need it anymore."

I handed the level 2 Healing Potion to Yoshino-san.

"Thanks a lot!"

"It's fine. More importantly..."

I looked at the gold bars piled up at the back of the room. The gleam of my darling gold bars hadn't faded at all; they were still shining brightly.

I did it! Hooray!