ch321-ch340 · 323-ch323
Chapter 323: On Closer Look
(All right! Four down, without a scratch!)
I sliced the Rocket Punch clean in half—but couldn't kill its momentum entirely, took it on both shoulders, and the skeleton just fell apart.
The 'Armor Shot' had come from just outside the blade's reach.
With a full charge behind it, there's no dodging that.
I've made it this far before.
Last time, I got distracted when 'Blue Ocean's' third member came out—and that's when the fireball got me.
Yes—the third one.
(Now that I look closely, it's not Aikawa—it's Sword Saint-chan!)
Not just Soushi—turns out Aikawa never even showed up.
If I'd known from the start it was Sword Saint-chan, I'd have had a plan.
They say 【Dimension Slash】 costs 400 MP, so even at Level 50 she can only manage two.
Skeletons are dim-witted things, so they go all-out at all times.
It burns through both 【Dimension Slash】 uses in its first two strikes.
Block those with 【Gate】 and the rest should have been easy.
On top of that, I'd assumed the opponent was a 【Prima Dancer】 skeleton and waded into close combat.
(A 【Sword Saint】 skeleton is way too dangerous—never fight it inside sword's range! ......Oh? Here it comes—a 【Samurai】.)
My fifth opponent is the 'all-rounder job'—Furuta Yukiya's skeleton.
It's carrying a pointed hammer, so it looks more like a 【Battering Ram User】 skeleton than a 【Samurai】, but the armor is proper Japanese lamellar.
MP: 100→98
This would be my first time facing this one, so I'd like to take it slow—but my MP has dropped below 100.
And there's still that thing up there. Time to settle this quickly......
(There it is. 'Magic Shield'!)
The moment I let my guard down, a fireball comes flying.
But it's fine—catch it with 'Magic Shield' and it doesn't explode.
Zero damage.
MP: 98→87
(My HP is another matter, though.)
As if it had been waiting for me to point my shield upward, the 'Samurai skeleton' comes at me.
I burned my shield's charge on that, so my super mode is down to just the spear.
But maybe because its weapon is a hammer, its attacks aren't all that fast.
Up until now it's been nothing but freakish opponents—the 'helmet knight skeleton in Ultra Mode,' the 'Spear King's black-armored skeleton,' the 'Blue Shadow skeleton buffing speed and darting around,' then the 'Sword Saint-chan skeleton.'
I slip past the hammer......
(Wha—!? 'Shield Enhancement'!)
The moment I dodged, the ground shook......
Probably a skill like that.
Swaying the ground to throw off your balance......
And then—it discards the hammer for an iai-style draw.
That, too, is the 【Samurai】's 【Iai】 skill......
I barely managed to fire off 【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】 and catch it on my shield, though.
You really can't let your guard down.
(But this is as far as you go. 'Aiming'!)
MP: 87→76
The armor was probably covered in a high-tier 'Armor Enhancement,' but the spear punches through to its back without a whisper of resistance.
I'd charged the spear plenty, after all.
The magic stone must have shattered the instant the spear touched it through the armor.
That's five down.
(Who's next? Khh—'Magic Shield.')
MP: 76→66
Another fireball.
This is bad.
At this rate I'll run out of MP and that thing up top will overrun me.
"Get down heeere!"
I shout, knowing full well it's pointless.
"Huh?"
......It came down.
A brown robe, maybe? A skeleton draped in a single piece of cloth.
In its hand, some kind of expensive-looking staff......
The...... there's no way it's the 'Queen of the Sky.'
That person doesn't use fire-type magic, after all.
Still, though......
(Is it stupid? 【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】 【Charge・Spear・Magic Up】 【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】 【Charge・Spear・Strength Up】 【Charge・Spear・Agility Up】)
A mage showing itself! Seriously!
As long as I can SEE it!
('Aiming'! Sixth one...... Huh?)
MP: 66→55
A leap, an attack aimed with perfect precision at the magic stone in its chest—that's how it should have gone......
I missed...... no—it passed through.
And not just the spear.
My own body passed right through this 'mage skeleton' too.
(What IS this thing......)
Late to notice, but it's huge.
Three meters at least.
This one isn't a human skeleton......
And now that I look closely, it's kind of see-through, isn't it?
It has no physical body?
(Ugh—'Magic Shield.')
MP: 55→45
A fireball, head-on.
So the one throwing fireballs all along was definitely this 'mage skeleton.'
(Nothing to do but fight!)
Knowing it's useless, I flail the spear around wildly.
......But every attack passes right through.
No sign of connecting with the robe or the staff.
(What the heck. 'Magic Shield'! 【Scouting】!)
MP: 45→34
I block the fireball and probe the 'mage skeleton' with 【Scouting】......
Nothing. There's nothing there.
There IS a presence.
Black.
But 【Scouting】 doesn't react.
Physically, there's nothing there at all.
('Magic Shield.')
MP: 34→24
I erase the fireball.
No way to land an effective hit.
Which leaves...... the darkness beyond?
At this rate I'll run dry and just get beaten down.
MP: 24→14
I can only erase one more.
All that's left is to steel myself......
I turn my back on the 'mage skeleton' and hurl myself at the wall of darkness.
︙
︙
So bright......
"Awake, are we? You looked like you were having quite the time. What did you dream about?"
?
Dr. Amamiya is right in front of me.
Right.
I remember lying down on the bed for the tests......
Did I fall asleep just like that?
My left hand gets squeezed tight.
It's Watanabe-san.
She must have been sitting on the side opposite the doctor.
"A dream? I don't think I had one. Maybe I just don't remember it...... it was a dream, after all......"
"My, that's an interesting thing to say...... What do you think?"
The doctor asks Watanabe-san, not me.
"I couldn't tell you. But I believe it was a bad dream. That is what the dreams the dungeon shows are like."
"Ow-ow-ow! That hurts, that hurts!"
My hand gets squeezed even harder.
It's going to break. It's going to break.
What strength is this!?
"Ah, I'm sorry. It just...... happened......"
"It just happened"?
What is this person doing......
Isn't she way too strong?
I rub my reddened palm.
"Hmm. Still, falling asleep the instant you lay down on the bed...... you may simply be exhausted. Are you sleeping properly at night?"
"......I believe I'm sleeping."
I woke up and it was morning, after all......
"Well then, let's talk about your treatment starting tomorrow—the tests are mostly finished, after all, since you slept right through them. First: tomorrow, you'll undergo hypnotherapy here."
"Hypno...... therapy?"
That suddenly sounds very sketchy.
Is this going to be okay?
"It's a treatment where we use medication to put you into a half-awake state and draw out your memories by asking all sorts of questions. It should also tell us how much memory you've actually lost. That said, there's a chance not just the hypnosis but even the medication won't work on you. So the day after tomorrow, you'll receive the same treatment on the surface."
What do you mean, the medicine won't work?
"Does this even need to be done in the dungeon? Couldn't we just do it on the surface from the start?"
Watanabe-san raises an objection.
She seems to be against me entering the dungeon at all.
She was against me going to school, too......
Then what am I supposed to do?
"Of course it has a purpo...... meaning. What's missing is mainly his dungeon memories, no? If he re-experiences the past, there's a chance those memories will be stirred. We'll have him relive the things that must have left the deepest impression on him, to coax the memories back out. And you—do lend a hand."
"Re-experience the same......"
Watanabe-san reaches her hand toward me......
Is she going to stroke my cheek?
(This is the kind of thing we used to do, apparently?)
My heart skips for barely a moment.
She pinches me—hard.
"Did that bring anything back? When you fell asleep in the dungeon, I always woke you up like this."
Ide-de-deh!
I'm already awake, you know!?
......What is WITH this person?