arc1 · 023-ch23

Episode 23: Boss vs. Kokushi Musou

After camping on the stairs leading to the twenty-fifth floor, the members of Kokushi Musou packed up their tents immediately after breakfast and resumed their exploration.

This time I also woke up early and managed to capture everything—the breakfast and cleanup—perfectly on camera. They're so efficient; maybe I can learn something from this.

Alright, Shinonome-san loaded a magic stone into the drone, and with the charge now full, it was time to depart.

Today's plan was to go straight from the twenty-fifth floor to the thirtieth, defeat the boss, and call it a day. Apparently, from this point onward, only B-rank or higher monsters appear, so even conquering a single floor takes time. According to the schedule, we'd reach the twenty-eighth floor by noon and take a break. After that, we'd challenge the thirtieth floor's boss by evening.

I don't know if things will go according to plan, but I've got all my preparations ready and I'm diving into filming. Umi went to school, but she's supposed to buy ingredients on the way home and make dinner. As always, the thing to have is a capable little sister.

Descending the stairs, Kokushi Musou stepped onto the twenty-fifth floor. I've filmed them many times now, but they look cool no matter when I watch.

From the twenty-fifth floor onward, the battles became quite grueling. Multiple B-rank or higher monsters started appearing at once, so they couldn't just brush them aside easily. Each fight took time, and the fatigue piled up accordingly. I'm fine since I'm just a drone, but the members actually fighting were showing considerable exhaustion.

Still, as expected of Japan's strongest party. They never fell behind against B-rank monsters. After about four hours, they reached the twenty-eighth floor, and another four hours after that, they arrived at the boss room on the thirtieth floor.

"You all did well making it this far. All that's left is to beat the boss. Let's take a short break and go over the strategy."

So the first words out of his mouth in this situation are words of appreciation? I wish every leader in the world would follow his example.

With Shinonome-san at the center, everyone sat in a circle. Each of them pulled out light snacks and drinks, and the strategy meeting began. Since it was a good opportunity, I moved the drone closer so I could hear the meeting's contents.

"First, if the boss here is indeed an Ogre General and Ogre Wizard as our intel suggests..."

Shinonome-san began confirming the strategy he'd prepared beforehand. He had decided on incredibly detailed movements, which surprised me. He was even preparing for the possibility that the information might be wrong. This is something other parties should probably take note of too.

"Alright, shall we get going then?"

The strategy meeting ended, and at Shinonome-san's single word, everyone stood up. Their faces were brimming with confidence, and seeing it made my own spirits rise too. I made sure to film each of them from a low angle.

Just in case—and to guard against a surprise attack—Nishikyo-san opened the door and went inside. I followed from behind Shinonome-san, who was at the rear, with my drone.

"Gaia, this is bad. It's not a General—it's a King!"

No sooner had they entered the room than Nishikyo-san's tense voice came through the microphone.

"A dungeon error, here of all places... But there's no use lamenting. Change of plans—Soraku and Ryuga, somehow hold back the King. While you do that, I'll take out the Wizards one by one. But fighting two at once will take time. Prepare for a long battle."

"Ain't no helpin' it, that's the only way."

"No problem."

"Shizuka, I'm counting on you to support Soraku and Ryuga. Have the magic potions ready to use immediately."

"Got it. You be careful too."

Shinonome-san instantly changed the strategy and conveyed it to everyone. As expected of the leader of Kokushi Musou. However, an Ogre King should be an A+ rank monster. He said it would be a long battle, but would they really be able to defeat it?

But all I can do is film using the drone. Even though it's through the drone, after spending three days eating and sleeping alongside them, I want them to come back alive. With that wish in my heart, I continued filming their battle.

"Alright, let's go!"

With a sharp battle cry, Nishikyo-san charged forward. For some reason, he was heading toward the Wizards.

The Ogre King moved to protect the Wizards, and the two Wizards also began their incantations.

"Stone Lance!"

Above one of the Wizards, a massive stone spear appeared. I see—so the plan was for Nishikyo-san to act as a decoy while Shinonome-san launched a surprise attack on the Ogre Wizard. It's a tactic that can only be used at the very beginning, but it's an incredibly effective surprise attack.

The Stone Lance, which had sacrificed numerical advantage to bet everything on a single strike, missed its mark because the King threw itself in the way to protect the Wizard. I never imagined even monsters had a sense of camaraderie.

"I'm sorry! I missed!"

Shinonome-san shouted loudly toward Nishikyo-san, who was at the very front, and Kitora-san, who was chasing right behind him.

"What're you talkin' about! You wounded the King right at the start! The strategy's a success!"

That's right—even though the Wizard got away, Shinonome-san's Stone Lance had left a significant wound on the King's back.

"From here on, we go as planned! Ryuga, let's coordinate!"

"Understood."

Though they failed to take down the Wizard with the first strike, the formation was now set just as originally planned—Nishikyo-san and Kitora-san facing the King, while Shinonome-san fought the two Wizards.

Even so, their fighting spirit didn't change one bit even when the surprise attack didn't land perfectly. Each of them understood what was necessary to win and eliminated anything wasteful. Switching mental gears must be one of those things.

I wanted to convey all the good points of this party without missing anything. Driven by that feeling, I continued filming.

First was the battle between the Ogre King and the Nishikyo-Kitora pair. Though the King was wounded, it was still A+ rank and a cut above the two of them. Despite Nishikyo-san's boisterous voice, his attacks were becoming more cautious.

Kitora-san was also keeping more distance than usual and seemed to be focusing on hit-and-run tactics.

The Ogre King was equipped with a waist guard, iron armor, and a forehead plate, and was wielding a massive halberd with ease. If you took even a single hit from that halberd, even an A-rank adventurer wouldn't get off scot-free.

Nishikyo-san skillfully parried powerful blows with his spear, while Kitora-san avoided them by maintaining distance. Of course, each and every strike could be fatal, so I'm sure they're being extremely careful, but from what I could see, they seemed to be controlling the battle situation stably.

On the other hand, Shinonome-san's side seemed a bit tougher. Shinonome-san's incantations were faster than the Wizards', but after all, there were two of them. Moreover, since they were releasing magic with perfect timing differences, he couldn't keep up with defensive magic alone. He was forced to move and dodge physically, which was steadily draining Shinonome-san's stamina.

At this rate, he wouldn't be able to take down the Wizards—Shinonome-san's stamina might run out first. That's what I thought watching from the sidelines, and the person in question had probably already realized it long ago. I could see Shinonome-san's expression gradually becoming more strained.

That's when it hit me.

(Huh? My drone can't attack, but the monsters wouldn't know that, right? If I maneuver it skillfully, I might be able to distract the Wizards.)

With that idea in mind, I could no longer just sit back and film this situation in silence.