ch221-ch240 · 232-ch232

Chapter 232: How a Charge Spearman Fights

"One minute—here it comes."

One minute after entering the Floor 20 boss floor.

An Orc General and ten Orc Knights spawned.

"【Strength Up・Dance】【Endurance Up・Dance】【Agility Up・Dance】【Magic Up・Dance】【Weapon Enhancement・Dance】! Here we go—【Dance・Let's】!"

Even the closest melee-weapon Orc Knights give us enough time for one full step dance before they close in.

So the step dance happens after the boss spawns—but Anego-san is already off and running.

""""And POSE!""

Crouched with both arms spread wide: 'the Rampaging Mia-san Pose,' times four.

Anego-san's pose remains a mystery, I see.

Now it's my start.

Anego-san is already slipping past the melee-weapon wielders.

Ah—she takes the hammer-wielding Orc Knight off its feet as she passes.

One flash of the blade, drawn and swung in a single motion.

Splendid—but now all the melee-weapon wielders are chasing after Anego-san.

Thanks to that, I got to waltz straight through the other side...... was that part of Anego-san's calculations?

Orcs are slow; they'll never catch her.

These ones go to Soushi and the others.

"【Strength Up・Self】【Endurance Up・Self】【Agility Up・Self】【Magic Up・Self】"

Huh?

Soushi's the only one following me, isn't he?

Is the newbie slow? No—she's coming at Aikawa's pace.

Well, Soushi should be fine on his own by now......

My side...... bow user first, I suppose.

An Orc Knight with an arrow nocked, bow drawn taut.

(I can make it!)

I thrust out the jumonji spear, slice the bow apart, and carry the momentum straight into its neck.

Next, the staff-wielder—a magic-using Orc Knight.

This one's easy.

Mid-chant, it's wide open, feet planted.

Get close, one strike.

"'Over here, big brute!'"

Oh?

So that's 【Provoke】?

Anego-san has downed the bow user and staff user too, and moved on to drawing the Orc General's attention.

With nothing left to do, I move to help Soushi.

Wait—Soushi's fighting just fine alone.

What happened with the newbie?

Since the newbie won't step forward, it seems Aikawa can't either.

They don't seem to be in trouble, but I run down and take the last one left from behind.

That wipes out the melee-weapon wielders too.

"Let's climb a bit higher before refreshing the buffs."

We refresh the dance buffs just short of the Orc General.

Then it's time for Anego-san and the newbie to switch.

"Newbie, here we go. 【Dance・Let's】!"

Only Aikawa and the newbie dance this time. The plan was, if it wasn't settled within a minute, Anego-san would pull the General off with 【Provoke】 again and we'd refresh the buffs during the gap—but that won't be necessary, will it.

"Anego-san, switch, ssu!"

"Roger. All yours!"

The newbie steps in front as Anego-san falls back.

"Super mode, ssu! 【Charge・Spear】, RELEEEASE—!"

Ah......

She'd been quiet this whole time, so I knew she was banking MP.

The Orc General raised its halberd at the oncoming newbie, but before it could swing it down, the newbie's swift step-in had already put her strike into its torso......

"......"

"This is the power of the 【Charge Spearman】, ssu!"

The newbie, having downed the Orc General in a single blow, is wearing a very smug face, but......

"You IDIOT! What good is blasting the magic stone into oblivion?! No stone, no promotion! That's 【Charge Spearman】s for you!"

Anego-san's roar fills the floor.

The newbie's strike had blown the Orc General's torso clean away.

From the outside, 【Charge・Spear】 looked like a blast from a cannon.

A magic stone is barely tougher than an ordinary rock, so it probably shattered.

And she can't get promoted without submitting an Orc General's magic stone as proof of clearing Floor 20, you know.

That was at least 100 MP—no, if she'd been charging from the moment we entered the boss floor, she might have banked even more?

Hit something with THAT, and this is what happens.

"Hyah,...... oh! It's here, ssu! Sub-job, ssu. Ah, there's something, ssu! Yes, ssu!"

Anego-san's raised fist never came down.

She managed to hold it in somehow.

Mia-san took about two of those, though.

Seems the job the newbie was fishing for turned up.

She was doing it with the bow, but what did she end up with......?

"Geez. Another run, then......"

Another run is fine, but......

I catch Soushi's and Aikawa's eyes and signal them.

Don't tell me you forgot.

"Hm? ......Oh! Me too, I got 【Water Mage】 too, I did."

"Ah, yes! ......A 【Monk】 appeared for me, so I went with that one, I did."

The two wooden actors pretend they've gotten their sub-jobs too.

Terrible flat delivery......

"Oh? 【Monk】. Nice going, Natsuki. Ever fought bare-handed before?"

She was kicking ME earlier, though.

She was wailing on Mia-san too, so a 【Monk】 showing up tracks, I guess.

"And what did you pick, newbie? Come to think of it, we never heard what you were aiming for, ssu."

Aikawa asks the newbie—but isn't asking that on a job like this a no-no?

Some people want to keep it secret......

"Well asked, ssu! The job I took is none other than... 【Heavy Bow User】, ssu!"

Well, the newbie is the type who'd rather announce it, so no harm done.

Huh?

【Heavy Bow User】... haven't I heard that somewhere......

"Huh? 【Heavy Bow User】—isn't that the job that uses 【Charge・Bow】?"

"Right, ssu."

Oh, right.

Anego-san's got it—the job with super mode, same as 【Charge Spearman】.

"'Right, ssu,' my FOOT. Why would a 【Charge Spearman】—a job that can't do ANYTHING without MP—pick, even as a sub, another job that can't do anything without MP?! At least grab one with weapon enhancement!"

Ugh, a stray arrow.

My sincerest apologies......

"What are you even saying, ssu. Super mode and super mode—fire both at the same time and you get HYPER MODE, ssu! Invincible, ssu! This is why amateurs are hopeless, ssu."

An amateur at what, exactly.

"THE amateur who shattered the magic stone is YOU! Ghh. Now—get these guys set for another run!"

Anego-san raises her fist again, but manages to hold it in somehow.

"Hyah. Right, ssu. Everyone, sorry about your magic stones, ssu. One more run, please, ssu. And please keep all this from Watanabe-san, ssu."

"Don't worry, don't worry. Haru-kun does it all the time too—you don't need to feel bad."

"Yeah, yeah. We've had stones crack on us after all the trouble of digging them out, too. Don't sweat it."

Sand Golems are pretty heavy, after all.

Knock one over hard and the stone can crack from the impact.

That is NOT me getting carried away with 【Charge・Spear】 and shattering them, so I'd appreciate it if nobody lumped those together.

...Ah—Anego-san is glaring at me.

"【Charge Spearman】s, honestly. Right—let's collect the Knights' magic stones quick, and then we run it again."