arc2 · 081-ch81

Chapter 81: Test Run

I safely finished reinforcing Asahi, returned home, and ate the duck soba Mom made for me. Mmm, just delicious.

After finishing my meal, I went back to my room, sat in my chair, and started up Asahi. By the way, this chair was expensive, so no matter how long I sit in it, apparently I never get tired. Grateful.

While watching the screen in front of me, I flew Asahi into the sky. The Yamamoto Electronics factory kept getting smaller and smaller. It does feel a bit heavier, but there doesn't seem to be any particular problem with operation.

I immediately sent Asahi toward the Blue Brick Warehouse Dungeon.

▽▽▽

Thanks to the GPS on Asahi, the information was shared, and I was able to enter the Blue Brick Warehouse Dungeon without issue. First, I headed to the transfer stone. I wanted to test whether Asahi could transfer to the tenth floor that I had registered with Hayate.

(Phew, I'm a bit nervous.)

I slowly approached Asahi toward the transfer stone. Then...

〈Which floor would you like to transfer to? Tenth floor〉

(It came! Even with Asahi, I can go to the floor registered with Hayate!)

Great. It seems that registrations are shared regardless of whether it's Asahi or Hayate. This is huge! Tomorrow's transfer stone registration should be considerably easier! It should also reduce the burden on the Kokushi Musou members.

All right, I'm getting into the groove, so why not test Asahi's additional units here? Actually, let's try hitting a moving monster and see.

I left the transfer stone area once and moved to the first floor. It'd be tough to suddenly fly to the tenth floor, so first I'll practice here on the lower floors. Though I can only fire one shot at a time, so it seems like it'll end quickly.

I'll save the body-slam training for another time. If it breaks, I won't be able to recover it. I want to try out the magic iron body soon, though.

Now, what should I target? Let's start with a Bite Dog. Crowcats are faster, so let's try the slower one first.

I immediately made Asahi ascend. Whoops, better bring out Hayate just in case. Two drones would increase safety too. I summoned Hayate right next to Asahi, and the two of us advanced deeper.

To avoid getting in other parties' way as much as possible, I flew them right against the ceiling. Since there were quite a few low-rank explorers here, I decided to move a bit further in.

Moving in the opposite direction from the stairs to the second floor, people gradually became fewer, and I soon reached a place where no one was around. It looks like I can test to my heart's content here.

First, I had Hayate wait in the sky, and I conducted exploration with Asahi. Then, I found a single Bite Dog wandering a little ways away.

(All right, let's try with that guy!)

I operated Asahi and sent it straight toward the Bite Dog.

"Grrrrr!"

The Bite Dog, noticing Asahi's approach, let out a low growl and entered battle stance. I ignored that and approached Asahi right up close.

(It's coming!)

I read the Bite Dog's movement and performed a sudden ascent right before it lunged. Since leveling up, both my observation skills and reflexes have improved, and I've become able to easily dodge attacks of this level.

Asahi, having dodged the Bite Dog's attack, immediately reversed course and aimed the additional unit's turret at the Bite Dog. The timing would be the moment it landed.

THWACK!

The capture net I fired entangled the Bite Dog's entire body.

"Gyaaain! Gyaa gyaa gyaa!"

The Bite Dog struggled, caught in the net. I watched its condition through the camera while keeping time.

(...Twenty-nine, thirty. All right, I successfully restrained it for thirty seconds!)

It took thirty seconds for the Bite Dog to break free from this net. If I can restrain it this much, my allies should be able to defeat it easily. With higher-rank monsters, the restraint time will probably be shorter, but let's test that another time if there's a chance.

Now, next is the Sticky Bomb.

I set Hayate on the furious Bite Dog, took it to a distant uninhabited area, then cut Hayate's connection. That should make the Bite Dog lose sight of Asahi. Then, I summoned Hayate again and searched for a Crowcat.

(Oh, there there. Let's try with this one.)

I found a single Crowcat right away, so I made Asahi approach rapidly. The other side noticed too, so this time I decided to try using Hayate as well.

First, I approached with Asahi to lure out the Crowcat's attack. Asahi is more high-performance than Hayate, so it easily dodged the Crowcat's attacks. However, unlike Hayate, once it's destroyed it's all over, so it was quite tense.

While lightly dodging, I guided the Crowcat to in front of Hayate.

(Hayate, Flashlight!)

"Gyah!?"

Right when the Crowcat came in front of Hayate, I hit it with the flashlight. The Crowcat's movement stopped from the intense light.

(There! Sticky Bomb!)

Without missing a beat, I fired the Sticky Bomb, and yellow-green liquid rained down on the Crowcat.

"Gyahh! Gya gya gya!"

The Crowcat, covered in sticky liquid from head to toe, was stuck to the ground. It seems to have quite strong adhesive power, so it doesn't look like it'll come off easily.

(All right, rare chance. Let me try having Hayate charge!)

I moved Hayate away once, then had it charge at full speed.

BAM!

"Gyaaa!"

Receiving Hayate's body slam, the Crowcat shrieked. It seems damage was dealt! However, Hayate couldn't withstand the shock and disappeared.

All right, since I can still summon, let's keep testing!

I summoned Hayate again and charged it into the Crowcat. I repeated this over and over. And, on the twentieth body slam, the Crowcat peeled off from the ground due to the shock.

(Damn, couldn't finish it off!)

It costs 20 MP to summon Hayate once. Since I used Flashlight once, even consuming 420 MP, I couldn't even defeat a single F-rank monster. But the Crowcat that ran away had unsteady footsteps. It's a fact that I dealt considerable damage.

(If it's come to this, might as well test till the end.)

While using Asahi to restrain the Crowcat's movement, I had Hayate charge in. As expected, with a moving opponent, I'd get dodged, get counterattacked, or damage wouldn't go in properly even if I hit, so I struggled, but on the forty-second charge, the moment finally came.

【You defeated the Crowcat】

【You have leveled up】

It was the first moment I had defeated a monster solo.