Chapter

arc1 · 021-ch21

Episode 21: Insufficient Ability

One day had passed since the members of Kokushi Musou dove into the Yatsugatake Dungeon. Even though I thought I'd woken up pretty early, the members of Japan's strongest party had already finished their preparations.

I flew the drone and landed it in front of Shinonome-san.

"Ah, right, I need to put in a magic stone as a battery replacement. Is this magic stone okay? Um, I open this here... Alright, it's in!"

Just as explained beforehand, Shinonome-san loaded the magic stone into the drone. Oh, it might have been a pretty good magic stone—the charge instantly jumped to full. This should easily last the whole day.

Now that both sides were ready, it was finally time to start the second day. Today we begin from the sixteenth floor. With Shinonome-san taking the lead, they descend the stairs. After getting a perfect shot of his back, I moved ahead and filmed them emerging from the staircase.

As they stepped from the dim stairs onto the brightly lit floor, the members squinted slightly against the light. Damn, that's so cool.

The members moved forward without hesitation, passing right by the drone. Of course, I made sure to capture their profiles perfectly too.

The first enemy on the sixteenth floor was a B-rank Fierce Centipede. As the name suggested, it was an incredibly ferocious centipede monster. However, despite being called a centipede, its body length easily exceeded four meters. It could burrow into the ground using its powerful jaws. The B-rank rating wasn't just for show.

"Gaia, I'm counting on you!"

"Leave it to me."

Surprisingly, Nishikyo-san—who usually takes the front line—was letting Shinonome-san make the first move. Trusting those words, I focused the camera on Shinonome-san.

"Protect Earth!"

Shinonome-san raised his staff and chanted magic, causing the ground beneath the Fierce Centipede to glow. I see—a strategy to harden the ground and prevent the giant centipede from burrowing. Well thought out.

"Ryuga, let's go!"

"You don't have to tell me."

Immediately, Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san shifted positions to flank the centipede. This time, they were taking it on together. That must mean the centipede is that dangerous.

The Fierce Centipede kept slamming its head against the faintly glowing ground several times, trying to burrow, but apparently decided it was impossible and charged straight at Kitora-san, who wasn't holding a weapon.

"Ha!"

Kitora-san lightly jumped to avoid the centipede's charge. I really wanted to film this in close-up, but my reflexes couldn't keep up, so I'm filming from a slightly pulled-back angle again. Damn, so frustrating. This is one wall that practice alone can't overcome.

If I could raise my level too and improve my physical abilities, would I be able to keep up with these movements? I know it's basically impossible, so I just feel disappointed by my own limits. To film this party, I'm clearly lacking in ability.

Regardless of my internal struggle, a fierce battle was unfolding right before my eyes.

The giant centipede's movement stopped as it tried to pursue Kitora-san. Nishikyo-san had driven his spear through the centipede's rear section, nailing it to the ground.

"Gyaaaaa!"

The centipede twisted its body, forcibly pulling out the spear.

"Ooh, not bad!"

Even with the spear pulled out, Nishikyo-san's composure didn't waver. Impressive. And while the centipede was busy with the spear, Kitora-san had already slipped inside its guard.

"Sei!"

Probably using a skill—it was a straight punch. Kitora-san's glowing fist connected with the centipede's torso, sending its massive body flying as it bent into an L-shape.

"Orya!"

Not just keeping up with the centipede flying at high speed, but actually getting ahead of it, Nishikyo-san thrust his spear at the centipede's head. The giant centipede barely dodged by twisting its body at the last second. This thing's movements were quite something too.

"Earth Lance!"

However, the centipede's threats weren't limited to just those two. Several lances erupted from the ground where it was about to land, impaling the giant centipede. Shinonome-san's magic. To cast another spell while maintaining Protect Earth—truly worthy of an A-rank explorer.

In the end, the Fierce Centipede, now just struggling impaled, had its head pierced through by Nishikyo-san's spear, ending the battle.

Though they fought three-on-one, they ended the battle without taking any damage. Kannami-san didn't get a turn again this time. Of course, that's probably a good thing.

After that, the group continued forward, mowing down C+ rank and B-rank monsters along the way. However, their pace naturally wasn't as fast as before. By the time the twentieth floor was getting close, even they started taking injuries.

"Ouch ouch, Shizuka, heal this for me."

"Fine, fine, hold out your hand already."

Nishikyo-san was the one who got injured most frequently. Well, whenever they find a monster, Nishikyo-san is usually the first to charge in, so it's only natural. Watching Kannami-san heal his injuries while giving off a "good grief" vibe, but doing so with incredible care—the gap made my heart skip a beat.

Is this it? A new type of tsundere? I decided in my heart to absolutely use this scene and made sure to capture it properly.

After about five hours of this and that, they finally reached the twentieth floor. Apparently, they were going to have lunch here before challenging the boss. They spread out a cloth, sat wherever they liked, and while eating solid portable rations, held a strategy meeting for the boss fight.

Since it was a rare opportunity, I landed the drone a little closer to record what kind of strategy Japan's strongest party would devise.

"Now then, as I mentioned beforehand, the twentieth floor's boss is three B-rank Ogres. According to the information, there will be two fighters and one magician. Kitora and I will hold off the two fighters, so Ryuga, please take the magician."

"Understood."

"Leave it to me!"

"Since we don't know the magician's attribute, don't forget to make it use magic first. I'll prepare an Earth Wall, but be careful if it's wind attribute. Due to compatibility, it might pierce through."

"Still, the speed drops considerably, so it's fine!"

"No problem."

"Shizuka, stay in the rear as usual. Just be careful of the magician's magic above all else."

"Don't worry. I can protect myself."

"According to the information, there shouldn't be any problems, but if a dungeon error occurs, I'll change the plan immediately, so please adapt accordingly."

"Got it! Leave it to me!"

"Understood."

"Well then, shall we get going?"

Hmm, the fact that they don't blindly trust the preliminary information is wonderful. They're properly considering unexpected situations too. This is educational. If I get permission, I'd definitely want to use this scene. It would probably be helpful for other explorers too.

Having finished their meal and packed up, they did a bit of stretching before entering the boss room.