Chapter 85: An Overwhelming Battle, The Girl's Completely Renewed Perception! (Patreon)

Dungeon exploration.

Setbacks were inevitable. Mikoto just hadn't expected the trouble to find her party this soon.

They had reached the Middle Floors. The 13th floor in particular was the difficulty watershed. The first half went without a hitch, but in the second half they ran straight into a Monster Party.

Hellhounds. Almiraj, the rabbit-type, hatchet-wielding stronger Goblins.

Had it been a normal number, the Takemikazuchi Familia had the strength to handle it. With Ouka Kashima and herself, two Lv2 Adventurers, on hand, and with her magic 'Futsu no Mitama,' Mikoto was sure she could have dealt with it.

But she had never imagined her party would run into a Monster Party on the 13th floor of such unprecedented scale.

A few too many Hellhounds, and a party would already have to think about retreating. This one was far beyond that.

As the Familia's vice-captain, Kashima gave the order without hesitation: "There's no way we can handle this many monsters."

"Retreat!"

"Once we're back on the 12th floor, we'll be safe."

In a crisis, Kashima's first priority was naturally the safety of the Familia's members. They were, after all, all companions from his Far East days.

Normally, he and Mikoto, who wielded the gravity magic 'Futsu no Mitama,' would cover the rear. This time, that was clearly out of the question.

"Let's go. This is no situation for us to handle."

"…"

A situation like this would trouble other Adventurers too, and dealing with a Monster Party took at least an Adventurer of Lv3.

The black-haired girl hesitated for a moment. What she could do, it seemed, was warn the Adventurers along the way to evacuate, so this Monster Party wouldn't cost any of them their lives.

And if she did meet unrelated Adventurers, she would use 'Futsu no Mitama' to buy them time to retreat.

Having settled on that, Mikoto drifted toward the rear of the party, buying the rest of the Familia time to escape.

The good news: so far, they hadn't met any unrelated Adventurers.

But when the Familia rounded a corner into a long, straight passage with no side branches, a figure appeared far ahead of them…

A familiar black-haired Adventurer.

The moment she recognized him, Mikoto felt her heart nearly stop. Rozz's delicate features were just that easy to pick out.

But that was the lesser reason. The greater one was her own god, Takemikazuchi!

Dragging a newcomer Adventurer whom the god praised so highly into this senseless disaster? Her conscience told her she could never do that.

Mikoto Yamato looked at Kashima. She warned him bluntly: "That's Rozz up ahead. He's Lord Takemikazuchi's student, and his goddess is on very good terms with Lord Takemikazuchi."

"…Huh?"

At the girl's warning, the tall, sturdy young man looked up and spotted the Adventurer far ahead, completely unaware of the danger bearing down on him.

The student of their own god.

Kashima turned back, his face grim. "Then what do we do?"

Mikoto didn't answer.

Or rather, her movements already did. She drew the katana Zansetsu from her waist and turned to face the monsters.

Before the dark, surging mass of monsters, an unprecedented pressure of death made her hands on Zansetsu tremble faintly.

"You get them out of here. I can use 'Futsu no Mitama' to stall for a bit. I'll just need you to come back for me afterward."

"…Fine."

Truth be told, in a situation like this, she ought to be looking after her own safety first.

Sensing the resolve in Mikoto's voice, Kashima didn't try to drag her away by force. He could only lead the Familia members onward in retreat.

Toward the newcomer Adventurer in the distance, utterly unaware of the crisis, he shouted himself hoarse: "Run! There's a Monster Party!!"

"…"

But Rozz didn't stop. Instead, as the distance closed, Kashima saw the smile spreading across his face.

He could even feel the excitement in that dazzling smile… and an eagerness?

*

Facing a Monster Party of this scale, saying her mood wasn't tense would be a lie. One slip, and she could end up dead right here.

Even so, watching the monsters close in, the black-haired girl didn't back down. Only her trembling hands betrayed her mood.

"Phew."

"I'll win!"

If she could stall long enough with 'Futsu no Mitama,' then once the rest of the Familia was out of danger, she believed Kashima would come back for her.

The girl quickly steadied her mood, gripped the katana Zansetsu in both hands, and swiftly began chanting the gravity spell.

Perhaps the pressure was simply too much…

The din of the Monster Party's roars brought a brief ringing to Mikoto's ears, as if the whole world had been put on mute.

Even her own chanting was inaudible to her, as though the fear in her body's instincts were dragging her into an abyssal swamp.

But just then, a figure flashed past before her eyes, casting a different color over her darkening vision: the white of pure lightning.

Like the cries of countless birds erupting at once.

"Chirp chirp!"

'Mute the world, and listen to the shrill cry of the chidori.'

Mikoto came back to herself and saw Rozz, who should have retreated with Kashima, wrapped from head to toe in pure-white lightning.

Resolutely charging the Monster Party!

She had to admit it: that figure of Rozz's left an impression on Mikoto's heart so deep it could never be erased.

Her eyes were glazed, and she couldn't help murmuring softly.

"This…"

*

The Mana Burst Skill could certainly boost his physical strength, but against a Monster Party's encirclement, its effect might not be fully realized.

A melee free-for-all…

Rather than simply protecting himself, Rozz wanted to seize the initiative, and he'd already decided how to fight in this situation.

The 'Chidori Style.'

The principle was simple enough. On top of Mana Burst, he slightly altered the form of his mental power, using electric current to build offensive and defensive forms.

Even monsters that came near could be paralyzed by the current.

"Not gonna lie, it's like giving up a bit of Mana Burst's power boost in exchange for a fully automatic defense mode."

It had its pros and cons. Against a Monster Party, Rozz found the effect near-perfect, and above all, a trial like this was a rare opportunity.

As the distance closed, he could recognize the faces of the Takemikazuchi Familia members. He just didn't know their names.

And he could hear their hoarse shouts of warning from afar.

"Telling me to retreat?"

Absolutely not!

At Lv1, Rozz really would have had to steer clear of the Monster Party's edge. Now he was curious about his own full-strength combat power.

Where else could he find a leveling spot this good if he left the Dungeon?

Thirty meters or so. At a full sprint, it took only a few breaths for Rozz to plunge headfirst into the swarm, facing the Hellhounds.

He swung his katana without hesitation.

The 'Chidori Blade' effect already coating the blade pushed its killing power and reach to the maximum.

A brilliant arc of light dragged pure-white lightning behind it.

Rozz swept a half-moon slash across the monsters directly ahead. The Hellhounds trying to lunge and bite hadn't even closed in.

The moment their bodies touched the slash, the monsters, whose defenses were never strong to begin with, were cut clean in half. In an instant, severed torsos flew in every direction.

"Splash!"

"@#%##!"

The monsters' roars were endless.

What's more, Rozz, having charged boldly into the very heart of the Monster Party, naturally became the target of every monster at once.

Corpses crumbled into black ash, and in their place countless more monsters surged toward Rozz, trying to wear him down in a war of attrition.

All he could do was keep swinging. And compared with Mana Burst, he could feel it as he held the 'Chidori' state.

His mental power was being drained away, non-stop.

"Not gonna lie, the drain is definitely heavier than Mana Burst, but going full Musou like this and mowing down monsters is so satisfying!"

Sensing a Hellhound behind him, lunging to bite, Rozz relied on the warning from Danger Premonition and didn't spare a thought for his dignity.

He threw himself into a roll toward the front-left, dodging the attack and quickly adjusting his state to face the monsters trying to drown him with sheer numbers.

He raised his left hand, and a chidori swiftly gathered in his palm.

'Chidori Senbon.'

Like a storm of wind and rain, a hail of lightning needles struck every monster closing in from all directions at once.

Compared with the Chidori Blade, this derived attack had limited killing power against the surrounding monsters. But when the fine lightning needles pierced their bodies, the high-voltage current that burst out stiffened the Hellhounds mid-lunge, and their bodies twitched uncontrollably.

What followed was Rozz's clean, crisp slash, the razor-sharp blade tearing the monsters' bodies apart.

"That's it?"

"Why does it feel like a Monster Party isn't as strong as I imagined?"

Rozz's gaze swept the surroundings. Seeing the monsters that no longer dared approach, even backing away, he felt a twinge of disappointment.

He frowned slightly, but his body didn't pause for an instant, and he gave chase to the retreating Hellhounds in a rampage.

Well. After all, back when he first became an Adventurer, the God of Martial Arts Takemikazuchi had helped him a great deal.

Now, having finally become a Lv2 Adventurer, he'd come across members of that god's Familia besieged by monsters while exploring the Dungeon. In a way, this counted as repaying the debt for the guidance he'd received.

"Most importantly…"

"With this many monsters, killing them all should bring in a lot of money!"

*

How had it come to this?

The chant of 'Futsu no Mitama' had been cut off completely. Or rather, the battlefield simply hadn't needed her to step in.

The black-haired girl stood rooted in place, gripping the katana Zansetsu in both hands, gazing at the figure far ahead that had charged into the Monster Party and now moved like a meat grinder on the battlefield.

The Monster Party that could have wiped out her entire Familia party had been reduced, before Rozz, to stray dogs, all equal in the face of death.

An endless variety of fighting methods…

The arcs of electricity leaping across Rozz's body. The lightning needles that defused a crisis the instant monsters swarmed him.

Were these really means an Adventurer could possess?

Especially when she considered that the black-haired youth before her had been an Adventurer for just half a month in total.

"It's… fake."

"This has to be fake, right?"

Mikoto tugged at the corner of her mouth. Her mood was undeniably complicated. It felt as though everything she had come to understand over all those years had been torn to shreds by Rozz.

Truly…

She had even steeled herself to sacrifice herself, to buy her Familia time no matter what, but she'd never imagined things would turn out like this.

An absolute, crushing rout.

All she felt in this fight was ease, as though no matter how many monsters he met, none would ever be a match for Rozz.

"…"

So then, how wide was the gap between them?!

Without even sparring, she could feel a gulf like a chasm between them. Mikoto couldn't stop herself from cursing: "What the hell…"

"He really is a complete and utter monster…"

"…"

Rozz cleaned up the remnants of the battle too. Compared with the stray dogs of the earlier floors, the monsters from the Middle Floors onward not only had ranged attacks, their average intelligence was higher too, and they'd back off in fear when they met an Adventurer they couldn't beat.

Only, their frantic flight was no match for Rozz, now fully empowered in his Mana Burst state.

He cut off the last Hellhound's head.

He watched its body crumble into gray dust, leaving behind nothing but a huge pile of Magic Stones on the ground.

"Done!"

Rozz turned to the Supporter girl behind him, long since used to this. "Lili, I'll leave cleaning up the battlefield to you."

"Mm."

Compared with Rozz's easy smile, Lili's face was dark. Her cold gaze swept over the Adventurers before her. Rozz might not know exactly what had happened.

But after so many years scraping by in Orario, she knew full well that this Monster Party had been led to Rozz by these very Adventurers. If he hadn't been this strong…

Who would have ended up paying for it?

The Supporter girl gripped her backpack straps tight. As she brushed past Kashima, she said coldly: "I think you owe us a reasonable explanation."

"…"

Lili liked Rozz as he was now, a sun with inexhaustible Stamina that gave her an unending supply of energy. And some things she had to do herself.

Anyway… as long as it helped him, she didn't care if she had to play the villain in front of other Adventurers.

"Otherwise…"

"Sorry."

Noticing the heavy warning in the Supporter girl's tone, and with the battle he'd just witnessed still vivid in his mind, Kashima looked mortified. After all, Rozz had been caught up in a Monster Party for no reason, all because of his party.

Even if the outcome was good…

Coming to stand beside Mikoto, Kashima smiled bitterly on his rugged face. He looked at the girl as though a weight had lifted from him.

"Yeah. We should think about how to make it up to them. When it comes down to it… we're the ones who caused this."

*

[Author's Note: PS: Second update. The monthly votes are about to expire, so please, I'm begging for monthly votes, meow~ Fights are really hard to write.]