Chapter

arc2 · 102-ch102

Chapter 102: Aiming for the 30th Floor, Part 4

I flew Asahi right beneath the ceiling, approaching the Vampire Bats. The sound-sensitive Vampire Bats immediately noticed Asahi and came flying our way.

(Yep yep, no matter how high their evasion is, it doesn't matter if they come charging at me themselves)

The Vampire Bats recognized Asahi as an enemy and came charging at it. I guess Asahi looked pretty weak to them. They rushed right over without hesitation.

"Wind Blade Wall!"

I activated Wind Blade Wall at the last possible moment, once I'd drawn them in close enough. The Vampire Bats that had built up too much momentum had their wings diced to pieces by the vortex of wind blades appearing around Asahi, and all three crashed to the ground.

"Huh!? You took down the Vampire Bats that easily!?"

Toomi-san was genuinely surprised when she saw that.

"I want that drone too..."

Kurokage-san, who loves drones, seemed to like Asahi's new feature.

"Right... right!? That's amazing!"

Himehana, you almost called him "Sota" just now, didn't you.

"O flames, gather before me and burn my enemies. Fire Bullet!"

And there we have it—Akatsuki-san was the only one who calmly assessed the situation and moved in to finish off the Vampire Bats.

The dozen or so fire bullets Akatsuki-san launched struck the Vampire Bats flopping around on the ground, blowing their bodies to pieces.

【You defeated the Vampire Bat】

【You have leveled up】

Ooh! As expected of C-rank monsters—all three gave a lot of experience points! And maybe the fact that I'd defeated them together with Akatsuki-san helped too. I think the monsters around here are said to be level thirty or so.

I couldn't measure it precisely, but it seems like they were using the explorers' levels as a reference. Come to think of it, what level is Himehana now? Has she surpassed thirty yet?

Oh, right—was there still an Aqua Wolf left? Since Kureha's fire magic isn't very effective against it, I'll need the vanguard to work hard on that one.

"We've got this!"

The vanguard members apparently understood that too, with Himehana being the first to leap out. Toomi-san immediately followed after her, and Kurokage-san moved to the right while suppressing her presence.

Now, if it's just one Aqua Wolf, the three of them should be able to take it down with ease. I'll learn from my previous mistakes and keep watch on the surroundings instead. I'll send Asahi ahead as is and check whether there are any monsters around the bend in the path.

"An Earth Wolf is heading this way! Kureha-san, can you use magic? It's near where Asahi is flying right now"

Asahi's camera captured the Earth Wolf dashing toward us at full speed. If things continued as they were, it might join up with the others before we could take down the Earth Wolf. So I planned to have Kureha-san launch her magic at a timing when the other side couldn't see us, landing a hit right at the encounter.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'll fire on your signal."

"Then I'll count down. Five, four, three..."

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

"Two, one, now!"

"Fire Ball!"

Kureha-san's Fire Ball exploded right on cue with my signal. I pulled Asahi back to match it.

BOOOOOM!

Kureha-san's Fire Ball, which Himehana had skillfully dodged, directly hit the Earth Wolf that had come bursting around the corner. The Earth Wolf was blown away without resistance. It seemed to still be barely alive, but then Asahi, wrapped in Wind Blade Wall, charged right into it.

Wind Blade Wall is wind element. Against that, the Earth Wolf is earth element. Just as you'd expect, the Earth Wolf's supposedly tough hide was scraped away, and before long it stopped moving.

【You defeated the Earth Wolf】

Good good! Since this was the finishing blow this time, I should be able to get some good experience points!

While Asahi was wearing down the Earth Wolf, it looked like Himehana and the others had also taken down the Aqua Wolf, and the three of them were high-fiving. Of course, Hayate was sure to film the whole thing.

"SS-san, that was a perfect count. Thank you very much."

Here, Kureha-san thanked me with very polite words and a deep bow. But I should be the one thanking her. After all, she's the one letting me earn experience points that would be difficult to get on my own.

"No, Kureha-san, the timing was perfect on your end. I can't really attack, so thank you for dealing such a big chunk of damage."

I said my thanks through Hayate and tried to tilt forward in sort of a bow. It seemed like that got through to Kureha-san, and she bowed again in return.

Kureha-san walked over to where Himehana and the others were picking up the drop items from the Aqua Wolf and Vampire Bats.

"SS-san and Kureha-hane's coordination was perfectly timed. If that Earth Wolf had joined up with them, it might have gotten a bit dangerous. Thank you very much."

Toomi-san, who had finished picking up the Aqua Wolf's magic stones and the Vampire Bats' magic stones and fangs, called out to Kureha-san and Hayate as she approached.

"Yeah, SS-san's directions were good, so I was able to land it well. I'm glad we could defeat it together."

Kureha-san answered modestly. Next to her, for some reason, Himehana had a dissatisfied look on her face. What is this guy doing?

After that, we made sure to pick up the Earth Wolf's magic stones and fur. This fur can be used for armor materials, so it apparently sells for a good price. Since I'm the one carrying the goods, I recorded all the drop items in my notes before storing them away.

"Storage is convenient too. I want that drone too."

Kurokage-san was looking at Hayate with a greedy face again as it stored the drop items away. Of course, I can't give away Asahi or Hayate, but I made sure to film Kurokage-san's greedy face. If I stream this, I get the feeling we'll gain even more fans.

"Then let's keep moving forward."

We collected all the drop items and kept moving. After defeating more C-rank monsters, we advanced smoothly and reached the 27th floor in about four more hours.