arc3 · 162-ch162
Chapter 162: Kachofūgetsu ②
"Alright — from here on, D-plus-rank monsters start appearing. Let's stay sharp."
After a short break on the stairs down to floor twenty-three, leader Hananoi-san steeled everyone's resolve.
(Huh? Come to think of it, Hananoi-san hasn't actually joined the fighting yet...)
I only noticed just now, but she gives the orders without ever stepping into the fight herself. Flower Diviner is a job I've never seen before, so I'm a little curious how she fights.
After that too, the three of them cut down the D-plus monsters without a hitch. I hadn't realized a high-rank party's coordinated ranged assault was this strong. Against anything weaker, it doesn't even let the enemy get close. In the end, Hananoi-san never got her turn all the way through floor twenty-five.
"Right — let's break for lunch here."
They sat down on the stairs toward floor twenty-six, and the four accepted the bentos I handed over from my Storage. And it was here I noticed something: the lunch cloths wrapping Hananoi-san's and Toba-san's bentos matched — and so did Tsukimori-san's and Kazamaki-san's.
Which means... both pairs are couples!?
Having noticed it, I could no longer see the four as anything but two dating couples. Thinking back, maybe the vibe on the way here had hinted at it too. Not that it changes anything, but I could tell filming from here on was going to make me awkwardly self-conscious.
Up until a second ago I hadn't felt a thing, but once I'd noticed, their lunch looked like nothing so much as two couples eating together. I did film it anyway, of course.
"Now then — from here on, I'll be joining in too. Let's take down the floor thirty boss no matter what."
Oh? I'd been in something of a funk, but the moment I heard Hananoi-san was finally entering the fray, my spirits shot right up. Just how does a Flower Diviner fight?
With the luggage stored away and everything in order, Hananoi-san drew three small orange flowers from her bag.
"Nasturtium. Its meaning is 'victory in battle.'"
Hananoi-san murmured it under her breath, and the flowers in her hand turned to light and streamed into her three companions.
"What the...?"
I had no idea what had just happened, and the words slipped out of me. Hearing that, Hananoi-san smiled brightly and explained the effect.
"My job works by matching a flower to its meaning — it lets me cast buffs on my allies and debuffs on my enemies. The effects aren't very strong, and they only last a limited time, but there are so many different kinds that I find it quite handy."
Well, well — the Flower Diviner had skills much like a support mage's. Unexpected, and fascinating!
Hananoi-san took out four more flowers and used her skill again.
"Kalanchoe. Its meaning is 'I'll protect you.'"
Apparently the first effect had been a slight attack boost, and this one a slight durability boost. Now this is an interesting job.
The first thing the freshly buffed four ran into on floor twenty-six was a pair of Scale Wolves. C-rank monsters — whether ranged attacks alone could finish them off was an open question.
First, I stationed Asahi behind to film. Hayate would shoot all the ranged attacks from overhead.
And once again, it starts with Tsukimori-san's bow. But with the distance involved and those hard scales, not much damage was to be expected.
CLANG!
Just as predicted, Tsukimori-san's arrow bounced right off the Scale Wolf's scales. But that too was part of the plan — next, Kazamaki-san's wind magic pounced on the Scale Wolves. His Wind Cutter left marks on the hard scales, though it was far from a fatal wound.
"Leave the rest to me!"
Facing the onrushing Scale Wolf without a trace of fear, Toba-san declared. Clutched in his hand was a ball made of Magic Steel.
Fweee!
The Magic Steel ball, thrown with tremendous force, slammed into the Scale Wolf's belly.
Cra-crack!
The Magic Steel ball was smashing through the Scale Wolf's hard scales, dealing massive damage to the body beneath.
"And that goes for you too — the other one!"
He hurled the Magic Steel ball in his other hand at the second Scale Wolf.
GON!
The Magic Steel ball Toba-san threw struck the second Scale Wolf square in the forehead. One blow from a Magic Steel ball at point-blank range, and the Scale Wolf dropped dead. The last one was run through by Tsukimori-san's arrow.
I got close-ups of both, so I'm quite satisfied... Oh — Toba-san and Hananoi-san just exchanged a glance. I filmed that at the same time too. I hope the two of them watch it together later and get all embarrassed.
Still — one-siding a C-rank monster, huh. They're C-rank themselves, but they might be closing in on B-rank soon. That said, they've burned through a fair bit of stamina and mana already — will they be okay?
They managed to get through floor twenty-six, but twenty-seven and beyond worried me a little. And on floor twenty-eight, that worry became reality.
"This is bad. Three Shadow Wolves and three Scale Wolves. What's the call, Saki?"
That's right — this party falls into a pinch the moment they face numbers beyond their kill power, or a single powerful foe. The cause is having no shield-bearer. So, what will they do?
"It'll cost me some mana, but I'll use that."
Apparently Hananoi-san had a plan. She drew three white flowers from her bag.
"It won't work on the Shadow Wolves, but I think it'll do for the Scale Wolves. Poppy. Its meaning is 'sleep.'"
As Hananoi-san chanted, the white flowers turned to light and streamed into the Scale Wolves. The instant it did, all three Scale Wolves crouched down where they stood and fell asleep. What a debuff.
But the three Shadow Wolves took that as an attack on their pack — and came charging.