arc2 · 068-ch68
Chapter 68: Himehana's Assistance ②
After slicing up the Ferocious Wolf, Himehana continued deeper with a light, bouncy step. There probably aren't many explorers who can move through the 21st floor of the Tokyo Skyscraper Dungeon this casually. She's really gotten strong, my childhood friend the explorer.
"Oh, found one!"
For some reason Himehana had been skipping along, but it looked like she'd spotted her next prey. That's a Cunning Fox—D-rank. A cunning fox monster, just like the name suggests. Individually they're nothing special, but their difficulty spikes when they're in groups. Three together might rival C-rank.
This time, two Cunning Foxes made their grand entrance. Himehana's C-rank now, so she should be able to handle them solo, but...
"Hey, SS-san! Let's take them down together!"
Hold on—is she actually grinding EXP for me under the guise of "test-cutting"? If that's the case, I feel bad about it. But knowing Himehana, if I brought it up here, she'd probably get all flustered and embarrassed instead. She seems to be having fun, so I'll just play along with what she says.
"Alright, you take the lead this time, Himehana-san. I'll handle support."
"Leave it to me!"
Fired up by my response, Himehana charged at the Cunning Foxes with gusto. She's way too hyped!
"Gyaaah!"
The Cunning Foxes noticed Himehana and let out warning cries. Then they immediately split left and right, trying to sandwich her. Not on my watch—I operated Asahi and Hayate to pincer one of the foxes instead.
Neither drone had any attack power, but the fox froze up warily at the unknown objects. As a result, Himehana ended up in a one-on-one. And if that's the matchup, there's no way a C-rank like her would lose.
"Hyau!"
Himehana kicked the fox aside in a flash, but for some reason she didn't finish it off—instead she sent the Cunning Fox flying toward me. So that's what this is...
I rammed Hayate into the battered Cunning Fox. Hayate, having exceeded its durability limit, vanished. But the Cunning Fox didn't get off easy either—it hit the ground and stopped breathing.
【You defeated a Cunning Fox】
【Level up】
(Wait, I leveled up from just one of them again!? Did the system count that as me landing the killing blow!?)
But no time to be surprised. The other Cunning Fox, which had been wary of the pincer attack, now targeted Asahi now that Hayate was gone and lunged at it. However, Asahi's upgraded mobility was on a completely different level from the Cunning Fox.
Shhk.
With sharp, fluid movements, Asahi dodged the Cunning Fox's consecutive pouncing attacks with ease.
"Come forth, Hayate."
Himehana couldn't hear me, but my whispered words from the manga café booth were answered by Hayate being summoned directly beneath Asahi. Just then, the lunging Cunning Fox swapped positions and came from directly above, so I immediately rocketed Hayate straight up.
Thud.
The Cunning Fox was sent flying by the surprise attack from below. And where it landed, there was Himehana—smiling brightly with her twin swords crossed.
"Haa!"
With that battle cry, her twin swords swung down and slashed the Cunning Fox in a cross pattern.
【You defeated a Cunning Fox】
The setup was reversed from the first one, but I managed to rack up more EXP again. There's no doubt about it—Himehana's been fighting specifically to set up combat support opportunities for me. What a kind, clumsy childhood friend.
But still, I never expected power-leveling like this to actually work. It's possible because high-level Himehana is defeating same-level monsters while I'm able to contribute damage. If this were my actual body, I wouldn't be dealing any damage at all—I'd have died three times over by now. This only works because the drones can kamikaze into things. Maybe the Drone Pilot skill was an incredibly excellent skill after all.
"Himehana-san, thanks. I leveled up because of you. Really appreciate it."
"Oh? You did? I was feeling bad about dragging you along for my test-cutting, but if you leveled up, then I'm glad we came!"
You were the one who set this up in the first place, and now you're pulling off some terrible acting. Man, I'm getting a little choked up here.
I wiped my eyes, chugged the now-lukewarm drink I'd brought, and psyched myself back up. Himehana's giving me this opportunity—I need to grind as much EXP as I can while I've got the chance.
"Now then, you're gonna fight something even stronger, right? I'll support you, so let's keep going!"
"Yeah!"
I beckoned to the ever-cheerful Himehana and we continued deeper. After that, we kept taking down D-rank monsters, and my level climbed to 9. One more level and I'd hit 10.
My Skill Points had been going up by 10 with each level, putting me at 40 now. I still hadn't picked an auxiliary unit yet—I wanted to think it over one more time when I had a chance to sit down and really consider it.
Then, just as we'd advanced to the 23rd floor and started heading back, it appeared.
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed as something rounded the corner—a golem made of rock. Not the Mithril Golem from last time, just a regular one. But it was C-rank. The strongest opponent we'd faced today.
"What do you want to do, Himehana-san?"
Running was always an option, so I figured I'd ask.
"The D-ranks were a little underwhelming. Since a perfect test-cutting opponent showed up, let's fight!"
And there it is—Himehana's raring to go.
"My drones probably can't deal any damage, so I'll try aiming for openings to throw off its balance."
We'd already had eleven drones destroyed by this point. I was on my twelfth Hayate, and I only had 40 MP left. Two more summons and I'd hit zero. I needed to time things carefully.
"Here I go!"
Himehana fearlessly charged at the C-rank Golem. With masterful control of her twin swords, she carved wounds into the golem's hard body with ridiculous ease. Gotta hand it to mithril-forged blades.
But the golem wasn't going down quietly. Its rock body probably couldn't feel pain—it swung at Himehana without any regard for the wounds it was taking.
(There!)
Himehana shot a glance at Hayate, positioned behind the golem. She'd been thinking the same thing I was. It felt great being in sync like that.
I rammed Hayate into the back of the golem as it lunged at Himehana. Already leaning forward, the extra push from behind sent it stumbling. Unfortunately, Hayate was destroyed by that single blow.
The golem lost its balance, but by planting its front foot, it barely managed to stay upright. However, that left it wide open—and Himehana's twin swords came crashing in.
Clang!
The blades came at it from both sides, shearing off one of the golem's arms. While that was happening, I summoned my last Hayate.
Bzzz!
The golem swung its remaining arm wildly, trying to bat Himehana away, but she'd already stepped back. The golem spun like a top. Another opening.
I pushed against the outstretched arm to accelerate the spin further. This time Hayate's durability dropped by ninety percent, but it barely survived without being destroyed.
DOOOM!
Having lost one arm and with its balance already compromised, the golem spun out of control and crashed to the ground. Himehana leaped in and destroyed its head, finishing the golem off.
Then a voice echoed in my mind.
【You defeated a Golem】
【Level up】
【You gained 10 Skill Points】
【You have reached Level 10. Drone Pilot skill is now unlocked】
【You obtained Storage】
【You obtained Auto-Mapping】
It was the announcement I'd been waiting for—I'd finally reached Level 10.