arc2 · 101-ch101

Chapter 101: Aiming for the 30th Floor, Part 3

After lunch, the members of Hyakka Ryouran discussed how to deal with the Lightning Wolves based on the information I'd given them.

"Kureha's magic will handle the pre-emptive strike—that's set. The question is what happens after. Since I can keep my distance, I'll take main attacker."

It seemed Toomi-san, the spear wielder, would be the main attacker against the Lightning Wolf as a countermeasure for its paralysis.

"Himehana will be sub-attacker, and I'll prepare paralysis cure potions."

Kurokage-san, whose attack method is the dagger, had apparently given up on being an attacker early on and was committing to support.

"The Lightning Wolf is pretty fast, so I'm worried about whether I can actually hit it."

Akatsuki-san spoke in a slightly insecure voice. The Lightning Wolf isn't that strong in terms of attack power or durability, but it has high agility. She was probably planning to use Fire Bullet since it fires quickly, but there's a good chance it could still dodge.

"If you want, I could stop its movement first?"

I made that suggestion since Akatsuki-san seemed uncertain.

"Huh? You can do that?"

Toomi-san was surprised at my proposal. Kurokage-san and Akatsuki-san hadn't said anything, but they seemed surprised too. For some reason, Himehana had a smug expression on her face though.

"Yeah, I think it's possible. This time we're using a capture net, so once it's caught in the net, it should be restrained for about ten seconds. So please hit it during that time."

"Thank you. If that's the case, I think I can definitely hit it."

Akatsuki-san looked relieved and put a hand to her chest after I explained. Yep, nope, I'm glad I seem like I'm actually going to be useful here. I gotta give it my all in this. Also, I'd asked Toomi-san to handle the follow-up attack after Akatsuki-san's magic hit. Since we only have a limited number of capture nets and sticky bombs, I wanted to deal as much damage as possible in one go.

We'd also decided on what to do just in case it missed, and once our preparations were complete, we headed down to the 25th floor.

"Well then, we're off."

First, I sent Hayate ahead, and had Asahi follow behind it. This time, the plan was to use Hayate as bait and make sure Asahi's capture net lands properly.

The two drones approached the Lightning Wolf. The thunder wolf turned our way, probably having noticed Asahi's drive sound.

"Grrrrr!"

The Lightning Wolf immediately charged at Hayate at full force. Gotta say, it was pretty intimidating. I raised Hayate slightly—it had been flying at eye level—to a position where it would have to jump to reach it.

Crash!

The Lightning Wolf lunged at Hayate. I pulled Hayate back, and it barely avoided the attack by a hair's breadth. Asahi moved ahead in its place.

"Capture net!"

I fired the capture net at the moment it landed, calling out the name as a signal like we'd agreed.

"Gyah!"

Just as I'd aimed, the capture net shot out from Asahi hit the Lightning Wolf dead on.

"O flames, gather before me and burn my enemies to ash. Fire Ball!"

Akatsuki-san had fired a Fire Ball, prioritizing power over speed since she knew she'd definitely hit. The Lightning Wolf, still struggling in the net at that point, couldn't dodge and took a direct hit from the ball of flame.

"Meteor Thrust!"

Without missing a beat, Toomi-san performed a thrust with a sharp step forward. The capture net had burned away from Akatsuki-san's flames, but the Lightning Wolf had taken heavy damage, so it couldn't react to her thrust.

The thrust she delivered was with a larger motion than usual—was that a spear wielder skill? It had exceptional power and pierced right through the Lightning Wolf's torso.

【You defeated the Lightning Wolf】

Ohh, so the capture net does add to contribution points. There's four of them, and it's just auxiliary support, so maybe I won't get that much, but hey, this time I figured the filming was the main thing, so I'm grateful.

"Can I ask you something?"

Just when I was happy about getting experience points, Toomi-san spoke to me in a formal manner. Behind her, Kurokage-san and Akatsuki-san were also standing by. What is this? They couldn't be mad at me for going overboard, could they!?

"Y-yes, what is it?"

I was flustered and couldn't get the words out properly.

"Well, we were genuinely surprised at how easily we defeated it. How many more times can we use that capture net... was it?"

Oh, looks like my worry was for nothing. It seemed they'd realized how useful it was instead.

"Let's see. I brought twenty sticky bombs too, so the capture net can be used nineteen more times. Oh, but I can't reload it myself, so once you use it, you'd need to replace it..."

I said that and placed the capture net capsule in front of her.

"Ah, I'll do it!"

Himehana immediately picked it up and took it toward Asahi. Kurokage-san, who likes drones, must have wanted to do it too—she secretly followed after Himehana.

After that, I was told I could use them freely at my own discretion in emergencies, but when a monster with bad compatibility appeared, Toomi-san would give instructions and wanted me to follow accordingly. Of course, I quickly agreed.

Seriously, being relied on feels this good. My motivation surged even more—I'm gonna do my best!

"Well then, shall we proceed?"

Toomi-san called out, and the other three started moving.

By the way, Himehana had been struggling with reloading the capsule, but she finally managed it with Kurokage-san's help.

While searching for the stairs connecting to the 26th floor, we kept moving forward. Then Kurokage-san suddenly stopped again and signaled with a hand sign to fall back. We complied and retreated slightly.

"There are three Vampire Bats and one Aqua Wolf. Watch the noise."

Kurokage-san reported the monsters she'd found. Right, so there were Vampire Bats. As the name suggests, they're bat-type monsters that suck blood from their targets. They can sense their prey's movements via ultrasound and have high evasion abilities. They're also sensitive to sound, making surprise attacks difficult.

They usually appear on somewhat deeper floors with Dark Wolves, but it seems they showed up surprisingly on the 25th floor.

"Three Vampire Bats, and they're together with an Aqua Wolf that has bad compatibility. We're really unlucky."

Toomi-san frowned, deep in thought. For explorers, a monster that can fly is a threat by itself. Moreover, since it moves fast, there's a high chance it can dodge magic attacks. When you add in the fact that this party has particularly bad compatibility with Aqua Wolves, a leader like her couldn't help but be cautious.

But wait—I was here, wasn't I? I was confident I could easily take down the Vampire Bats.

"Toomi-san, can you leave the Vampire Bats to me? I'll definitely knock them down to the ground, so please finish them off, Toomi-san. In the meantime, can I leave the Aqua Wolf to Kurokage-san and Himehana-san? How does that sound?"

Toomi-san's eyes went wide at my proposal. If this were streamed, the viewers would love it.

"Well, if that's possible, I'd like to ask you to do it."

"Got it. Then I'll go knock down the Vampire Bats, so wait here."

I said that confidently and sent Asahi and Hayate toward the monsters.