ch261-ch280 · 273-ch273

Chapter 273: The Greatshield

"Then, as planned. Aikawa-san, please don't push too far forward."

"Okay~! This is intense, my heart's pounding—"

"Th-the one in the middle is the Gate we can pass through, right?"

Saturday.

We've been on Floor 39 since morning.

The Manticore, Floor 40's boss, could come down from the sky at any moment.

It's going to be a long haul, and getting raided after dark would be a problem, so we're challenging Floor 40 from morning with plenty of time to spare.

Ao-san said in his video that around three hours is the record, so we'll wrap up around noon and have lunch on Floor 1, maybe?

If the jobs don't get selected, it's back to an early start tomorrow, though.

MP-wise, another run today would be impossible.

Honestly, the stranger thing is that we get to stand at the 'Gate to Floor 40' in perfect condition like this.

"Right. Looking back, the passable 'Left Hand Gate' sits to the right of the 'Gate to Floor 39', and further right sits the impassable 'Left Eye Gate'. Careful—the 'Left Eye Gate' might get dismissed. Well, with just the two of them—'Skill Gate' and 'Floor Gate'—there's no mistaking them. ......Alright. I'm going first!"

The 'Skill Gate' I summon is a rectangle two meters tall and one meter wide, while a 'Floor Gate' is a rhombus with diagonals of roughly two meters and one meter.

Area-wise it's only half, so there's no mixing them up.

A 'Floor Gate' barely hides one person, but two 'Skill Gates' side by side could just barely hide four.

This will be our rear guard.

"Go ahead. Do be careful......"

Confirming Kasumi-san's acknowledgment, I advance to Floor 40.

(......Dark.)

The 'Gate to Floor 40' sits at the summit of a mountain on Floor 39, so that side was bright—but this is the bottom of a valley.

It's still morning, and the sun hasn't reached this valley floor between the tall cliffs yet.

With 【Night Vision】, I'm fine, but will everyone else be okay?

"Whoa, dark! And cold!"

comes Aikawa's verdict as she follows me in.

It is a touch chilly, true.

But more importantly......

(【Gate】, 【Gate】!)

I summon the 'Left Hand Gate' and the 'Left Eye Gate.'

Soushi, coming through to Floor 40 after me, heads straight into the 'Left Hand Gate.'

"It is a little dark...... The Manticore comes from the sky, so that is no problem, but we might fail to notice a golem's 【Mimicry】. Aikawa-san, survey the terrain. The rocks currently visible are not golems."

"Yes, ma'am!"

A little, is it.

No problem for combat, then.

The sky overhead is a clear blue, so if the Manticore flies in, we'll spot it by eye.

But large rocks dot the valley floor.

Some are just about golem-sized, too......

One minute in, the entourage golems spawn alongside the boss—and half of them spawn already 【Mimicry】ing.

In the dark, telling them apart from rocks gets tricky—but memorizing every rock in sight is impossible.

They keep going all the way into the distance, after all......

"Haruki!"

I take the parts from Soushi, his face poking out of the 'Left Hand Gate.'

Rectangular panels over three meters long, taller than they are wide......

I lay them out on the ground a few meters ahead, passing them through the three 'Gates.'

Four panels in all—an assembly-type greatshield.

A shield this big should stop even the Manticore's magic attacks.

"Lifting it now. 【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】. ......It's active. Soushi, hit it."

We assemble it and check that the enhancement has properly reached every panel.

We practiced the assembly beforehand and confirmed the activation too, so there should be no problem.

For the record: if the enhancement hadn't activated, this is where we'd be retreating.

"Okay, it's all hard. Right! Fixing the stand in place."

With the finished greatshield laid on the ground, next comes building a stand to rest it on.

Hauling the ground-set greatshield up every single time would be a chore.

Weight-wise it's fine—it's just so long.

With a place to set it down, we can move freely until the Manticore arrives, and handling gets easier too.

"Aikawa-san, it's time. Your dance."

"Yes!"

One minute has passed at this point......

Until the greatshield is finished, Kasumi-san and Aikawa protect us from the golems.

Even if the Manticore comes straight at us, will this be ready in time?

......They spawned.

"They're coming!"

The Manticore...... on 【Presence Detection】, nothing but the golems' green.

Out of range—up on the cliffs, probably.

"Done. Haruki, try setting it up."

I heave the greatshield up from the ground and lean it upright.

......Firmly fixed in place.

"We're taking the offensive."

Kasumi-san dispatched one Sand Golem that came at us, but plenty of golems still ring us in.

I want to thin their numbers as much as possible before the Manticore arrives......

︙

︙

"......There was a time when I thought that, too."

Aikawa's murmur.

An hour since then......

We've made it about halfway from the 'Gate to Floor 39' toward the 'Gate to Floor 41.'

We've probably dealt with half the golems, too.

But the boss, the Manticore, has yet to show itself.

Of course, no reaction on 【Presence Detection】 either.

"Let's head back once and take a break. If we push too far and the shield vanishes, we're in trouble."

In a dungeon, things left on the ground get absorbed after about fifteen minutes if you stray too far.

Soushi has made a few trips back to the shield, but it's about time we all rested together.

We stocked the warehouse with all sorts of things beforehand—let's at least rehydrate.

"It would be a problem if the golems vanished as well. Let's go quickly and come right back."

We don't fully kill the golems—we lop off their limbs in our usual style and leave them where they lie.

If we killed them, they'd respawn after a set time, so we only immobilize them.

Being re-swarmed in the middle of the Manticore fight would be a problem, after all.

Leave them abandoned too long, though, and the dungeon absorbs them—the dungeon has a mechanism for taking in wounded monsters and reviving them, too.

As Kasumi-san says, a long break would......

"Ah—it might be here."

A red reaction on 【Presence Detection】...... and the presence is HUGE!

"Retreat! Please hurry back to the greatshield!"

"That's the Manticore?"

"Soushi, quit staring and run!"

Aikawa harries Soushi, who has stopped dead to gawk up at the sky.

The Manticore...... its fur is red along with its presence.

It flies in at high altitude, bat-like black wings beating—fwap, fwap.

Above the cliffs—the cliffs must be around a hundred meters tall—but even at this distance, wings spread, it looks enormous......

(【Charge・Spear】)

I begin the charge.

MP: 870→869