Volume 4 3 — Part 3(1/2)
“Shin, how many monsters are within your perception range?”
“Besides the other three that I mentioned earlier, there are more than 20 in total. From what I know, most of them supposedly don’t make big movements, but we can’t be careless because some of them tend to disregard this trend too.”
Shin answered to Rionne, while searching for the white sphere to make sure that this was the correct route.
“It would be nice if the rest of the way goes as smoothly as it has been so far.”
“That, I agree with you.”
It was his honest, true feeling.
“Hmm?”
While repeatedly being transposed for several times, Shin noticed something.
After the battle against Ghillie Wize, the route was gradually approaching the center of Kalkia.
“What’s wrong? Is something funny?”
“No, it’s just that I think we are moving away from the gate.”
The route was completely random. There was a behavioral pattern in which a person could transition near the gate in one go.
Were there any requirements that had to be fulfilled during the race to reach the gate? Or was it that the race’s goal was to reach the center? Shin didn’t know, but since it was a one-way route, they would eventually return to the gate even if they came close to the center.
“Indeed. Well, this area in the Sacred Place is uncharted territory, so it’s a good chance to unravel such a place..”
“Although life is more important than information,” Rionne continued and as she followed behind Shin.
When they passed through the street after being transposed some time ago, they used the shade of a wall and the tree that grew in the garden of a residential building to conceal themselves from the wandering monsters.
Such a small technique was possible; although the alleyway couldn’t be used.
Fortunately, they were not lacking hiding places thanks to a house that hadn’t yet collapsed.
The monsters’ blind spots were exploited, as they went behind buildings, garden fences, and occasionally went against the direction of the route.
However, there were some monsters that noticed them because some of the monsters had a perception ability that didn’t rely on sight, but instead sound or heat.
(It’s hard not being able to use skills thoughtlessly..Hiding!)
Shin activated the skill, without Rionne noticing. It was a non-system skill which fell under magic skills, 【Hiding】.
Though its effect was lower than the 【Hiding】 of support system martial arts skills, it could conceal presences, sound, etc. to a number of people like a party within a fixed range. It was useful using this skill too, as they wouldn’t be discovered by snake or bat type monsters.
‘However, it is difficult as I can’t use the skill with all of my strength,’ Shin thought once again.
Even for an upper class Chosen One, dozens of them didn’t have the skill either when he asked Schnee about it.
He didn’t worry about it at that time, but when being with a person like Rionne, it was not done easily.
Even under normal circumstances, she was interested in him because he was knowledgeable in weapons and titles. If various skills of martial arts or magic that he was able to use were discovered, what kind of questioning would await?
(Why is it when coming to a different world, I have limited play?)
‘If the members Schnee, Tiera, and Wilhelm were here, it wouldn’t be a pain in the ass like this,’ Shin thought while running.
It was a considerably high pace, but as expected from a Chosen One, Rionne didn’t have a shortness of breath and so on. Then, after transposing repeatedly several times; just when Shin thought, ‘can we reach the gate without any troubles?’ a formidable enemy appeared.
“..Is that Gilslay?”
It was a different individual that composed 3-way battles some time ago.
With a level of 684, that Gilslay was the highest level among what he saw in Kalkia. It was not a good opponent to be in conflict with as it had random movement and had no regularity.
Weren’t the small-fry enemies that came out in the beginning of the game slimes? This was a monster that could be classified as a formidable boss character.
The most troublesome thing about this Gilslay was that the monster had exceptionally high fighting power for a slime.
Was it because its gel-like shape was irregular? Almost all physical attacks were ineffective. Furthermore, its body stretched out like a tentacle and struck in the same way as a whip. It thrust like a spear, wrapping around to capture its target, and did so until the attacks broke the opponent’s battle formation.
In addition to the body fluids that secreted from Gilslay’s body, it also had an effect of reducing the durability of weapons and armor. It was known to be a typical time-consuming monster, so the battle was prolonged even longer.
Even if its appearance was about 4 mels of semi-transparent water and steamed bun-like, one should never be careless.
“Slime, huh? But if it’s only huge then there’s no problem. Let’s not stand still, but breakthrough in one go.”
“Ahh!? Hey hey, Rionne, don’t go there!!?”
However, apparently Rionne recognized that the said slime was a small-fry and didn’t stay still.
Did she not hear Shin’s panicky voice that said to restrain herself? She went for the endgame as she closed the distance in one breath by using her strength as an upper class Chosen One.
“*Hmph*!! ――Guah!? What on earth is this?!”
Rionne, who swung down 『Muspelm』 at Gilslay, stopped moving when the bizarre reaction occurred.
If Gilslay was similar to any ordinary slime, it definitely would be defeated if she could destroy its core. However, it couldn’t be easily done as Shin examined the situation. The opponent was a monster whose level exceeded 600. It was not so naive as to overlook the chance of Rionne stopping.
Gilslay immediately moved to counterattack. Did it think that she was not a strong opponent? Rionne’s limbs were restrained by the body that stretched out like tentacles.
Moreover, Rionne was not able to react to the unexpected speed.
“Good grief, I told you so!”
The sounds of Rionne’s protective gears dissolving by the Gilslay’s body fluid was heard.
Since he couldn’t just leave her as she was now, Shin approached the slime brandishing his 『Kakura』.
『Kakura』 had a clad in mallet technique system martial arts skill 【Sandstorm Burst】――A single blow of 『Kakura』 was dyed in a brown aura, and blew away the tentacles that had caught Rionne.
Shin’s current stats were quite restricted, but he somehow managed to deal damage to Gilslay.
Nevertheless, Gilslay didn’t appear to have the physical resistance of its main body as the tentacles became thinner. 【Sandstorm Burst】 was effective against opponents who had high physical defense, so it may have been a good idea to use it.
“We will fall back so don’t move for a moment!”
Attack of the Tentacles
The liberated Rionne was held with one hand by Shin, who jumped back.
With Shin’s leg power, they were able to escape from Gilslay’s attack range in one jump. Tentacles of Gilslay pierced the place where Shin was before just one breath later.
The road they were on used a orichalchum mixture for the pavement. Only the strength of a rampaging middle class Dragon could crack it.
Even so, the tentacles of Gilslay had easily pierced the pavement.
“It penetrated through the orichalcum pavement..”
If it’s Shin’s armor strength, there was no problem receiving any number of attacks, even on his own body. However, knowing the hardness of the pavement, his face was stiff instinctively.
Even though there was no damage, Shin unleashed a single blow and blew out the tentacles. Did the Gislay judge him as a threat? Unlike when it was against Rionne, the Gilslay didn’t go easy.
“Shin, what is that? Is it really a slime?!”
“Calm down first, I’ll explain it to you. That is Gilslay, a monster that is strong at resisting physical attacks. Never confuse that with small-fry slimes from the grassy plains.”
Because it would be a problem if Gilslay charged again, Shin explained briefly what kind of opponent it was to Rionne.
It was indeed troublesome if he plunged into the enemy who didn’t match his power.
“..Sorry, it was careless of me. Even though we are in the Sacred Place.”
“Well, it’s inevitable if you only know about ordinary slimes. Gilslay has a gentle-looking appearance; however, be it slashing or striking, it’s a troublesome opponent since half-hearted attacks are reduced to nothing and have no effect.”
“Ah, it pierced through its body. For my weapon to really be repelled.”
Even though it was a slash without any skill, the attack of 『Muspelm』was repelled.
Looking at Rionne, who nodded seriously, Shin, who for now felt relieved, thought ‘Is this alright?’.
While Rionne was glaring at Gilslay and preparing 『Muspelm』, Shin thought about the plan. It wouldn’t be difficult to separate from Gilslay, as it was a high defense but low agility opponent.
If there was a problem, it lied in its tracking ability.
The monsters who didn’t rely on their five senses could perceive many things such as the opponent’s magic or presence and could pursue them.
Among them, slimes were especially good with this ability. Even if they thought they succeeded in escaping, there were many cases where it actually followed them.
In many places, leaving it alone would lead to more danger. It seemed better to defeat it, Shin concluded.
“This fellow has a considerably high sensing ability. Because we’ve already been targeted, it will chase us for a long time even if we escape. I think I’ll defeat it here, how’s that?”
“I won’t object for my future’s sake, but can you break through that defense, Shin?”
Rionne, who had experienced the firmness of the slime firsthand, had her eyes seem doubtful toward Shin.
The story would have been different if the attribute bestowed upon 『Muspelm』was flame or thunder, but it couldn’t be helped that she said that. Light attributes tended to be very effective against monsters such as undead and ghosts, but it were not very effective towards other monsters.
In other words, since Rionne’s attack was only a physical attack with light attribute, it was ineffective towards Gilslay.
“I’ve got few tricks up my sleeve. I can clear the way to the core, so please destroy the core with your strongest skill. Since the core itself is quite fragile, it should be good to go.”
Generally, monsters with cores were vulnerable to direct attacks on it. It was especially noticeable on the slime group.
It was said that it was the result of balance adjustments for having high defensive power except for the core. So, if given the chance, Shin judged that there would be no problem if it was Rionne’s skill and her weapon’s ability to break the core.
“Shin’s trump card huh? All right then. I’ll leave it to you.”
As if there was no uneasiness, Rionne faced towards the Gilslay.
『Muspelm』was carried on her shoulder and was ready to step up at any time. Rionne would’ve been knocked down by Gilslay if Shin wasn’t there――No, she would have been devoured. The binding force of the tentacles seemed to laugh at Rionne, who resisted desperately. It was frightening just remembering it.
However, with such a strong binding, Shin blew it away with only a single blow, which was why she said she would leave it to Shin.
‘It would be a disgrace as a woman if I didn’t go,’ Rionne thought and let her entire body be filled with power; at the same time, she got rid of idle thoughts from her consciousness.
This world’s mental improvement enhances precision and the power of skills. The original power increased a little, regardless of skills and arts.
Rionne, while waiting for Shin’s signal, prepared the skill that she would unleash.
“I have to meet his expectations.”
Shin took out a card. A blue flame-like pattern was drawn on the surface.
“【Flare Burst】 release!”
Simultaneously with the shout, Shin pointed the card toward Gilslay.
Then as the card tore itself apart, a sphere with a diameter of about 30 cemels appeared.
In the following moment, a heat ray around 1 mel was discharged from the sphere.
The sphere was blue on the outside and white in the center, and charged through the air aiming at Gilslay’s core.
Did it determine that it couldn’t dodge the attack? The Gilslay expand its volume size as the 【Flare Burst】 hit it directly.
There, the heat ray pierced through while scorching the air.
“――!!? ――!!!”
Though the Gilslay desperately withstood it, its body had low resistance to magic by nature from the start. Even if the strengthening by level was taken into account, it wasn’t able to endure the 【Flare Burst】.
When the bluish-white heat ray went off, the figure of Gilslay could be seen with a portion of its body vaporized in the line of fire.
The heat ray didn’t destroy the core, but it was left half exposed.
It may be because a quarter or more of its original volume vanished at once, and the Gilslay didn’t move immediately after receiving the heat ray.
“Now!”
“Leave it to me!!”
Without missing the opportunity, Rionne, who reacted to Shin’s voice, prepared to use 『Muspelm』 and dashed toward Gilslay right away.
Rionne was surprised of the 【Flare Burst】’s power, but since she had to focus on defeating the enemy, she left that thought in the corner of her mind.
With the increased concentration, Rionne’s ability was perfectly demonstrated.
As of now, she arrived at the front of Gilslay quickly, leaving her afterimage as she swung down the 『Muspelm』, and the core was cut in two with little resistance.
“!!?”
Once the weak point of Gilslay was cut right in half, its gel body shook, and its life was ended.
Afterwards, the jewels broke into two and dropped on the ground along with a gel substance.
“Let’s collect the jewels and leave quickly. Other monsters are approaching as they noticed the battle noises.”
“Understood. Please lead the way.”
The jewels, which rolled over the ground, were picked up while running. The two people ran at full speed on the supposed correct route.
“By the way Shin, your language has seemed quite friendly since a while ago.”
“Ah..”
Rionne pointed out as if she just remembered and Shin looked at her with a distorted expression.
His face had “Oops!” clearly written there. Ever since he warned Rionne, who had jumped out recklessly in the spur of the moment towards Gilslay, he had been talking like that without change.
“I wonder if the wall between us disappeared a little, Shin?”
“Ah no, I’m sorry. It’s just, when in battle, my wording becomes rough.”
“Mu! I don’t mind it as is. This is a situation where we must entrust each other’s lives. It’s difficult to cooperate if you’re strangely humbled.”
“Even if you say so, I can’t just talk like this after all..”
In Shin’s mind, in a society where a privileged class such as the royal family and nobles exist, a commoner and the like shouldn’t be talking to them over-familiarly.
“That won’t do. This is the Sacred Place, you know? Anything trivial can cause death. From being modest some time ago, the consequences of it may delay me a bit. If I am killed by my own mistake, then that’s what I deserve. However, if you are put in danger because of my mistake, I’ll not be able to live with it, so dying is not an option. At this time, let’s leave out the strange modesty from each other. You can drop the formalities and just call me Rionne.”
“Well, um..”
Though it was about the problem of wording, before he knew it, it became a serious matter between life or death.
As for the matter of Gilslay, Shin didn’t mean to be especially reserved toward Rionne, but she seemed to interpret so. Still, when it comes to the matter of life or death, he couldn’t decline it without special reason. Before he was aware, it was difficult to continue keeping a distance in that type of atmosphere.
“..Got it. However, I think we should give priority to the royal family in this case, no?”
“Though what you said is also a fair argument, even if only I was left alone, the probability of safely escaping is not high. It’s more meaningful for both of us to be alive. Again, don’t be reserved from now on.”
Words of reluctance didn’t come to Shin’s mind; he accepted Rionne’s condition unwillingly.
The frowned Shin and the joyfully smiling Rionne were indeed opposite.
“This is only temporary until we escape.”
“Mu! Well, there’s no other way.”
He also didn’t forget to make it clear, “I’ll do it since there’s no one here”.
“..Then let me say this while I have the opportunity.”
Because she was slightly annoying, Shin decided to launch a little counterattack.
“I’ve seen them. In various ways.”
“Hmm?”
Did she not understand what Shin was talking about? Rionne looked puzzled.
“Have you look at yourself after being caught by Gilslay?”
“Caught? ――KyaAH!!”
Rionne, who checked her own appearance after Shin’s words, raised a cute voice and crouched down on the spot.
In addition to the equipment that was caught by Gilslay, she finally noticed that it melted her clothes too. Frankly speaking, there were almost no safe places.
Most of her arms and legs were bared, hotpants and so on in a very dangerous state. Only a portion of her body was safe. It was probably thanks to the double equipment of armor that consisted of dragon’s leather and a jacket. It seemed to have prevented her clothes from melting completely.
Although there were holes here and there, given that Rionne was a woman, she had hardly shown it to other people.
The body fluids of Gilslay, which had durability reduction effects, seemed to accomplish its duty well to the last minute.
Was it because it was the body fluids of some fantasy creature? It may be a fortunate blessing in disguise that the skin had no injury. However, Shin was worried about the voice Rionne raised.
“Kyaah?”
“..Don’t look at me.”
“Ahh, sorry..for the time being, put this on.”
The figure of Rionne, which may have been visible and invisible, was very tempting for eyes.
This was embarrassing for Rionne too it seemed, as she was blushing and huddling herself up. Because it couldn’t be helped, Shin let Rionne put on the jacket he wore.
“For now, let’s enter the house over there. It’s bad to stay still here.”
“Okay.”
While Rionne, who was out of order and suddenly became meek, Shin pointed at a relatively decent abandoned house nearby.
Though there were no monsters around, it was better than being outside. Even though it was in the middle of a time-attack race, they were able to enter the isolated house.
Just in case, Shin activated 【Barrier】 without Rionne noticing. Then, an item card was taken out from his chest pocket. Of course, it was actually from the Item Box.
“First of all, change into this. It should be better than what you currently have on.”
The item card was materialized, and presented out to Rionne.
It was the equipment items which had been stored in the Item Box. Because he couldn’t hand over powerful things, the equipment’s rank was low, but since it was strengthened by Shin, it was several times more powerful than those of which were sold in the market, without exception.
What he handed over was a shirt made of rockworm thread, a jacket that used the skin of a black buffalo, and a pair of pants that was made of orb-weaving spider string. As for the appearance, it was a simple plain white shirt, a light brown jacket, and black pants.
“Thank you, do you always have this with you, Shin?”
“Pretty much. There’s a saying, save for a rainy day, save for a time of need, at the place where I’m from.”
Shin said. Just in case Rionne didn’t understand the saying, he made sure to say his hometown.
“It’s a good expression. Still, to possess so many item cards..”
“Acquaintances..Wait, I’m sorry, but I don’t mean to tell you any information about this. It’s sort of an agreement.”
Instead of taking all the responsibility, Shin hinted it as if he obtained it from a personal connection.
“I got it. Not all Chosen Ones are Item Box carriers. I don’t think of trying to pry into you thoughtlessly. It’s just enviable, I think.”
Every item skill were no match compared to the usefulness of an Item Box.
Its carrying capacity was very useful in many fields such as business and military affairs. Rionne was in a preferable direction, since she wasn’t persistent.
“By the way, Shin, though it’s a little rude to ask, I wonder if there are a bit more comfortable clothes that I can borrow?”
“Oh, was it torn anywhere?”
“Well, no? It’s a bit tight.”
“Tight? ..Ah.”
When Shin pondered over Rionne’s words, he noticed the meaning behind those words.
The size of the equipment which Shin handed to Rionne was fitted to Shin’s physique. Because a size adjustment function was not included in low-grade equipment, he deliberately disabled the function so he wasn’t suspected.
However, a problem appeared as the result. Mainly on the chest measurement.
“......”
“Hey, what are you looking at?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Shin had glanced at Rionne’s chest, which seemed to be able to burst out of her shirt at any moment because she buttoned up forcibly.
Furthermore, the bottom half of her chest was pushed up. The top half was left open, so now there was a deep cleavage to look down into. In the case of general mass production of clothes, it may be in the right size until there. However, this time, what Rionne wore was equipment that matched with Shin’s physique.
The size adjustment function was adjusted along the line of the body, so Shin, who was classified as a thin man, had no need for room at the chest at all.
The shirt may have been no problem if it was an average sized shirt, but when a pair of hills that were bigger than the average like Rionne’s, there was not enough to hold it in various ways. Additionally, the length of the sleeves were too long; even the joints of her fingers were covered. Her appearance was sensational, in a different meaning than from a while ago. Rather than it becoming shabby equipment, it became cool to see, but only the fingers were outside the long sleeve.
“I’m sorry but the sizes of the clothes are helpless.”
“Muu! There’s no choice, huh?”
Shin didn’t have the intention to tell the truth at the moment, so he decided to say it was helpless.
The reason was by no means a delight for his eyes if she stayed as is.
“Putting that aside, what was that a while ago?”
“That?”
“When you suddenly went “KyaAH!?” before.”
“Wha!? Such a shameless appearance has been seen! I guess it’s not possible to stay dignified.
Rionne protested, but there was no intimidating feeling while her face was dyed in red.
“Is being shy is a common thing?”
“..It’s a way of speaking when I got mixed up in something.”
Rionne, who heard Shin’s remark, scowled at him lightly.
“Well, because there’s an image that a lady’s maid helps to change the clothes of royal families and nobles, I thought you were fine even if you are seen.”
Because there were such scenes in manga and novels he read before, Shin thought that Rionne would also be so.
“Having a lady’s maid to help change my clothes and having been seen by a man in an improper appearance- there’s no way that it’s the same!”
“You say so but don’t you usually notice when your clothes are in tatters that much? I thought it was certainly so, because you were so dignified to that extent.”
“I was focusing on the fight!”
From the slime’s strength to the power of Shin’s card 【Flare Burst】, she should have had enough to be surprised at; even if her clothes came off completely, it couldn’t be helped.
“Also, I am a woman. I can scream too.”
“I don’t mean that, what I want to say is that you are not feminine. Until now, you had a different image. Look, you don’t feel scared when you fought against Ghillie Wize, right? Therefore you are not really similar to my impression of you.”
Shin didn’t know Rionne that much. However, from her attitude until now, the impression of her was dignified was strong.
“..I have no need to keep up appearances. This tone is my personality. I’m aware that it’s hard to say it’s charming as a woman. I’m a woman whose job is to fight.”
“No wait! Why are you being so down for? If you said you’re not attractive, you will make all the women in the world your enemy!”
Because the story deviated towards a strange direction, in order to change the mood, Shin spoke the lines he heard somewhere.
Of course, that was reality.
Though Shin has seen a lot of beautiful girls, it didn’t feel unnatural to put Rionne along with beauties like Schnee and Tiera.
Rionne was more than beautiful enough, though she didn’t seem aware of it. From Shin’s point of view, he couldn’t understand why she became so servile.
“The ability as a warrior and being of royal lineage. There’s not much I can boast about. Not only am I useless in political marriage, I’m also powerless against enemy monsters.”
“You know, you have looked very down for a while now. What’s the matter?”
After they entered the house to take a rest, her thoughts were too negative.
Shin understood that it was not the type of atmosphere to laugh or make fun of, as he tightened his expression himself.
“It’s the fight just now. I couldn’t even put a scratch.”
Even though it could be said that she was the one that gave the final blow, it seemed to be caused by the fact that she wasn’t able to do almost anything to Gilslay.
“I would say a while ago is the question of compatibility. If you had known the physical attacks didn’t work, it would have been a different battle.”
“It’s certainly so. However, if a similar opponent appeared, there’s nothing I could do. If it was only me alone, this time is..”
Shin was worried about how to speak to Rionne, who was now discouraged.
The problem that resulted in having the power of an upper class Chosen One was that it was likely that she had never fought against such a difficult opponent. However, since they have to act together from now on, he couldn’t leave her as is.
“..Hey Rionne, can’t you use a magic skill? If you can use it, you can fight without being repelled.”
“That’s right. I’m not at my elder sister’s level, but I can use -->>