arc2 · 114-ch114
Chapter 114: Sato Fisheries Co., Ltd. ③
The four of them, having made it through the first battle on the fifteenth floor without a scratch, continued progressing steadily afterward — sometimes fighting, sometimes avoiding combat. I got plenty of combat footage, and experience points were trickling in little by little.
At one point on the nineteenth floor, four Ferocious Wolves showed up, and the vanguard let one slip through — a bit of a scare. But I calmly captured it with the Capture Net, and when we got through without incident, they thanked me like crazy. I mean, I'm getting paid for the combat support option, so they really didn't need to be that grateful.
Progressing like that for another five hours, the four of them finally reached the twentieth floor.
"First of all, SS-san, thank you for getting us here safely."
Right after arriving in front of the boss room, Ounabara-san suddenly thanked me. We hadn't even defeated the boss yet.
"No, no, you signed up for the full option package. I just did my job. I think the reason we made it here safely is because each of you is individually skilled, and your coordination was excellent."
With these four's ability, they probably could've cleared it even without me, so I told them that honestly.
"Even so. On the way here, zero surprise attacks from enemies, the shortest possible travel time, and almost no injuries. Plus, I still have more than half my magic power remaining. I've never had such a smooth expedition before. All of this is thanks to you, SS-san."
It's not like being thanked feels bad, but when I get praised too much, my back starts to itch or something. Kinda uncomfortable.
"I'll gratefully accept those words. There's still the boss left, so let's see this through to the end properly."
Ounabara-san nodded at my words and returned to the other three to begin their strategy meeting.
"Let's review the characteristics of each attribute wolf."
Ounabara-san proposed it first, and the four of them went over the traits of each attribute wolf together. Then they reviewed their tactics against each type. In particular, if a Lightning Wolf or Aqua Wolf showed up — both of which have resistance to water magic — Ounabara-san's water magic would become useless, so they were carefully going over how to handle those matchups.
They were also covering what to do in case of a Dungeon Error. Apparently, after watching Kokushi Musou's video, they always make sure to discuss it. Thinking that that stream was proving useful in situations like this made me a little happy.
All the discussions and the break ended, and the moment came. Leader Ounabara-san stood up, and the other three followed suit.
The four explorers, filled with determination. Got a great shot.
"Well then, I'm going to check what the boss is, so could you open the door a little?"
""""Huh?""""
My words left all four of them with blank expressions. Huh? Had I not told them? That I could check the boss's attribute with Hayate.
"Sorry. I forgot to mention it. Once Hayate enters, the door will close, but if I resummon it after confirming the boss, the door will open again. So if you all head in right after that, we should be able to avoid Dungeon Errors almost entirely."
"Wait what!? That's allowed!?"
Kawahara-san raised his voice at my explanation. I could hear the other three saying things like "unbelievable," "that's way too broken," and "then what was the point of all that reviewing..." Sorry, I thought I'd already explained it.
"Um, there's nothing better than being able to clear it safely, so would you mind checking for us?"
"Of course. I'll go check then. Please be ready to head in right away."
Ounabara-san asked me to, so I sent Hayate through the gap in the door that Kawahara-san had opened, heading toward the boss in the center of the room.
(Oh, it's a Flame Wolf! Lucky!)
Standing in the center of the room was a Flame Wolf, a fire-attribute monster. The best possible matchup for water magic. I immediately dismissed Hayate and resummoned it at Asahi's location.
"The boss is a Flame Wolf."
I relayed that concisely through the resummoned Hayate.
"Hell yeah! We got lucky!"
"Alright, let's go according to plan!"
Kawahara-san expressed his joy with a double-biceps pose, and with Ounabara-san's shout, everyone surged into the boss room together.
"Alright, I'm off."
The first move of the plan was a kamikaze charge with Hayate. Not that it was going to attack — I'd use Flashlight as I flew past and get to the other side of the Flame Wolf. I wanted to capture footage from the boss's perspective too, after all.
"Please."
Ounabara-san, reacting to my voice, immediately began his incantation. He was ready to unleash water magic the moment the Flame Wolf flinched. Plus, Ikeda-san had an arrow nocked and his bow at the ready. A two-stage attack combining Ounabara's magic and Ikeda's bow.
"Flashlight!"
"Graah!?"
The Flame Wolf flinched from the Flashlight I fired as I flew past. Using that opening, I blew past it, turned around, and caught Ounabara-san in a close-up.
"Water Edge!"
Ounabara-san, having completed his incantation, unleashed Water Edge. Two blades of water hurtled toward the Flame Wolf, but—
Bam!
Whether it sensed something, the Flame Wolf leapt sideways despite being blinded. Because of that, Water Edge could only manage to graze its torso.
"Gotcha!"
But Sato Fisheries' assault wasn't over yet. Ikeda-san fired an arrow, aiming for the exact moment it landed.
"Uwooooooh!"
On top of that, to prevent the Flame Wolf from dodging the arrow based on sound, Kawahara-san charged toward it while screaming at the top of his lungs.
Sshk!
Thanks to the timing at the moment of landing and Kawahara-san's support, Ikeda-san's arrow struck the Flame Wolf beautifully. However, this was a C-rank monster for a reason. It must have heard the arrow's sound right before impact — by twisting its body at the last second, it managed to take the hit on its rear, where the damage would be relatively minimal.
As a result, it took damage, but it didn't look like a fatal wound. If anything, getting scratched seemed to crank its anger up a notch. The Flame Wolf's body temperature rose, and its red body shimmered like a mirage.
The Flame Wolf apparently didn't like ranged attacks, and immediately charged toward Ounabara-san and Ikeda-san. But Mizuhara-san instantly cut in and delivered a spear strike.
Forced to back off to avoid Mizuhara-san's attack, the Flame Wolf glared at him with resentment.
"Oryaaaah!"
From right beside the Flame Wolf, Kawahara-san leapt in, swinging down the greatsword he'd been carrying on his shoulder.
Wham!
That big swing was dodged with a side step, but Mizuhara-san had jumped to the side too, matching its movement.
"Sei!"
A thrust delivered while jumping sideways caught the Flame Wolf's front leg at the shoulder. But the Flame Wolf batted the spear away with its front leg using all its might, and Mizuhara-san was slammed to the ground along with his spear.
"Gah—"
Mizuhara-san took a hard hit to his back. Maybe the wind got knocked out of him for a moment, because he couldn't move.
"Like hell I'll let you!"
The Flame Wolf looked ready to pounce on Mizuhara-san the moment it landed, but Kawahara-san intercepted with a sharp thrust — a complete contrast to his earlier big swing.
"Water Ball!"
Furthermore, Ounabara-san fired a Water Ball, detonating it against the ground just in front of the downed Kawahara-san to create a makeshift rain of water.
"That helps!"
The air temperature around the Flame Wolf was intense. Anyone getting close to attack would have their stamina drained by the heat. Carelessly approach and you'd risk burns, too. By detonating the Water Ball, Ounabara-san had also managed to cool down their body temperatures.
With Kawahara-san's pursuit and Ounabara-san's support, the Flame Wolf gave up on going after them and instead ran in a wide arc, heading toward Ounabara-san and Ikeda-san.
"Tch!"
Because Kawahara-san had been worried about Mizuhara-san's condition, his reaction to the Flame Wolf's movement was delayed. He hurriedly rushed toward Ounabara-san, but the Flame Wolf was a step faster.
"Water Edge!"
"Take this!"
Ounabara-san's water magic and Ikeda-san's arrow rained down on the Flame Wolf charging toward them. However, despite being injured, it dodged both with sharp sidesteps without losing any momentum. As expected of a C-rank monster.
I felt like the Flame Wolf smirked at this situation. But isn't it a bit too early to be certain of victory?
Bam!
The Flame Wolf suddenly pitched forward.
"And... Capture Net!"
I'd sent Hayate charging in right after the Flame Wolf leapt. If Hayate, flying silently, appeared from its blind spot behind it, there was no way it'd notice. The Flame Wolf, having kicked off the ground and being in mid-air, had too much momentum and lost its balance, tumbling forward.
Right then, Asahi launched the Capture Net, capturing the Flame Wolf along with Hayate. Of course, I immediately dismissed Hayate and resummoned it.
"Now!"
The Flame Wolf struggled in the net. Then Ounabara-san with his staff ready, Ikeda-san with his bow drawn, and Kawahara-san who had finally caught up all appeared before it... I could've sworn I saw the Flame Wolf's face twist in despair.
Slash, thwip, WHAM!
Ounabara-san's magic, Ikeda-san's arrow, Kawahara-san's greatsword — all struck in rapid succession...
【You defeated the Flame Wolf】
Yeah, as expected, it didn't seem to raise my level.