arc2 · 028-ch28
Episode 28: Fresh Green Great Wolf
Summer vacation exploration day 9. Today I decided to fight the wolf area boss.
Over the past few days, I've continued battling Green-Yellow Wolves and accumulated combat experience against wolf-type monsters.
Since Explorer High School students mainly fight demon-types and wolf-types, I occasionally encountered scenes where Explorer High School parties were fighting. To avoid trouble, I'd been avoiding battles when I spotted them from a distance, so nothing happened, but avoiding them takes time, making movement harder than expected.
However, since I found an area where rabbits and wolves appear mixed together, I returned to peaceful dungeon exploration. Since Explorer High School students avoid rabbits, it was a quiet hunting ground.
By continuing to hunt Green-Yellow Wolves and occasionally One-Horned Rabbits and Gale Rabbits in this area, my level grew to 19.
Name: Suzuka Jozenji
Level: 19
HP: 173
MP: 172
Attack: 180
Defense: 174
Agility: 182
Dexterity: 178
Intelligence: 170
Storage: 73
Abilities: Swordsmanship (2), Body Control (3), Body Reinforcement (2), Mana Control (1), Snatch, Thought Acceleration (1), Presence Detection (1)
My status growth is consistently excellent. Thanks to that, I can explore solo. Not only that, my daily earnings have grown to a considerable amount.
Yesterday's earnings finally exceeded 100,000 yen. Until now, there were days when selling Gale Rabbit armor would bring in over 100,000 yen, but since I hadn't completed the set yet, I hadn't sold them. But now that I've completed it and can sell them, yesterday's earnings totaled 111,100 yen.
I don't want to sell the item "One-Horned Rabbit lean meat" either, but storage keeps getting pressured, so I sell it. Still, I've stocked a large amount including mutton in my home freezer, so I won't have to worry about that for a while.
That's a considerable profit, but if operating in a party, you have to split the income equally among members. With a 5-person party, that's 20,000 yen per person. While 20,000 yen daily is substantial, it's not exactly huge money.
Also, since most explorers don't defeat as many monsters per day as Suzuka, the actual amount would be even less, and handling drop items like armor when they appear leads to disputes. Explorer High School has rules about this, but when money's involved, disputes are inevitable.
The absence of such hassles is probably an advantage of solo activity. The tradeoff being higher risk, of course.
Suzuka swung his magic iron pipe several times to check his condition. The current time was just before 3:00 PM. Today he'd been hunting Green-Yellow Wolves since morning, thoroughly ingraining their movement patterns into his mind.
He approached the large wolf visible in the distance. Around the area boss, a total of 10 Green-Yellow Wolves were gathered. The sight reminded him of the area boss of District 1, Boss Fox.
Fresh Green Great Wolf: Level 24
An opponent 5 levels higher than the current Suzuka. Explorer High School warns students not to fight area bosses. And he's challenging it solo.
It seems reckless, but with his current status, he can manage. Suzuka was convinced of this. And his intuition told him that if he didn't challenge it now, the game would become too easy.
Recently, to collect armor, he'd been hunting monsters continuously, but consecutive days of hunting made his actions pattern-based and lacking in excitement. While there's the fun of collecting armor, Suzuka felt somehow unsatisfied.
The existence that fills that void is the great wolf before his eyes. With that wish, he let mana surge throughout his entire body. He thoroughly flowed mana into his magic iron pipe as well—fully prepared.
The Green-Yellow Wolves also responded to Suzuka, slowly spreading their formation and shifting into combat stance. The Fresh Green Great Wolf raised its upper body and glared at him.
Green-Yellow Wolves are about the same size as real wolves, similar to large dogs. Meanwhile, the Fresh Green Great Wolf is about three times larger. When it raises its upper body, its eye level is probably slightly higher than Suzuka's.
However, even though battle seemed imminent, the Fresh Green Great Wolf didn't try to stand up any further. No, it can't. The Fresh Green Great Wolf's lower body is either originally like that or part of its setting—it can't be moved. Supporting its upper body on two hind legs is the best it can do—that's the Fresh Green Great Wolf area boss.
So what does it do? Its main attack method is magic. The Fresh Green Great Wolf's true strength isn't powerful attacks from its massive body, but rather long-distance attacks using wind magic. That huge great wolf fights exactly like a Gale Rabbit.
"Hehe, let's give it our all~"
Putting some spirit into it, Suzuka started running. Gale Rabbit armor boots were equipped on Suzuka's feet. Perhaps because dungeon-produced armor adjusts to the owner's size when put in storage, they fit Suzuka's feet perfectly, and they were sturdy enough to not break even when running seriously.
The Green-Yellow Wolves scattered as if to absorb Suzuka's charge, and the great wolf cast magic. Perhaps as a warm-up, the magic it used was similar to Gale Rabbits—wind bullets. Naturally, the bullets were larger and faster than Gale Rabbits', but that alone posed no threat.
While running around at speed boosted by body reinforcement, Suzuka closed in on the Green-Yellow Wolves that were deploying.
These guys are slower than One-Horned Rabbits but have higher defense. Their bodies, covered in hard fur, are difficult for blades to penetrate, and their sturdy bodies possess great strength. If you attack carelessly, you'll end up in a grappling match, and then Green-Yellow Wolves will swarm from the surroundings and eat you alive.
That's why Suzuka focused on hit-and-run tactics. He can take them down in one hit like One-Horned Rabbits, but they survive about half the time. So he doesn't overconfidently trust in one-shot kills—instead, he certainly accumulates damage and gradually reduces their numbers.
Green-Yellow Wolf: Level 20
Looking at the Green-Yellow Wolf before him. Green-Yellow Wolves are monsters that appear in the level 14–20 range. It wouldn't be a coincidence that the Green-Yellow Wolf before him just happens to be at the level cap of 20. Probably all 10 of them are level 20. It wouldn't be fun otherwise.
The great wolf's magic landed right beside Suzuka. The compressed air, having hit the ground, was released and a storm blew violently. Moving as if pushed by that wind from behind, he caught the tailwind and accelerated.
Matching a Green-Yellow Wolf that tried to leap and attack, Suzuka also entered his attack motion.
Ah, I think I can do this.
Perhaps because he accelerated more than expected thanks to the storm, this one swing would finish it. Convinced of this, he changed the trajectory from aiming for the leg and smashed the magic iron pipe into the widely opened mouth of the Green-Yellow Wolf.
The magic iron pipe didn't just stop at crushing the Green-Yellow Wolf's teeth—it tore through its cheek, pulverized its skull, and pierced through the Green-Yellow Wolf's head. With the shock knocking its eyeballs out, the Green-Yellow Wolf turned to smoke.
For some reason, I'm in good form today. Maybe my blood is boiling from a strong opponent after a long time.
While dodging wind bullets of various sizes and shapes, he whittled down the approaching Green-Yellow Wolves.
Sliding like a baseball player to slip under the Green-Yellow Wolf's attack, he crushed its leg as they passed each other, rendering it unable to fight. When Green-Yellow Wolves jumped from three directions, he used his Body Control skill to slip nimbly through the gaps like sliding through them.
By intentionally charging into the Green-Yellow Wolf pack and creating a chaotic battle, he positioned himself to make it difficult for the great wolf to cast magic. Being surrounded by enemies on all four sides is risky, but with his brain running at full capacity thanks to Thought Acceleration, he continued reducing the Green-Yellow Wolves bit by bit without ever stopping his movement.
He swung his magic iron pipe down onto the face of a Green-Yellow Wolf that couldn't move well because its leg bones were broken, turning it to smoke. That leaves 5 Green-Yellow Wolves remaining. He managed to reduce the 10 Green-Yellow Wolves to half.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!! Your cute little puppies are gonna disappear, you know!? Even an area boss is this weak!?"
Perhaps provoked by Suzuka's taunting, or perhaps the Green-Yellow Wolf numbers decreasing changed their behavior pattern, the great wolf let out a huge bark. At that moment, the Green-Yellow Wolves all leapt away from Suzuka.
Something's coming. Seeing the obvious movement of the Green-Yellow Wolves, Suzuka responded immediately. Moving away means being near Suzuka is problematic.
Since the Green-Yellow Wolves had radiated away from Suzuka, there was a considerable distance between the Green-Yellow Wolves themselves. But they weren't all evenly spaced. Locking onto two Green-Yellow Wolves that were relatively close together, Suzuka also ran in the same direction.
Immediately after, a massive wind bullet was fired from the great wolf. At first glance, it was as large as a wall—impossible to dodge at that scale.
I'll get blown away. Thinking that, Suzuka lowered his center of gravity and braced himself, but the massive wind bullet burst right before Suzuka's eyes. The massive wind bullet's contents weren't just compressed air. It was a wide-area attack-type magic packed with wind blades.
"Crap!?"
By lowering his center of gravity and stopping his feet to brace himself, he couldn't dodge immediately. Along with the blowing storm, wind blades attacked Suzuka. While he protected his face with his arms, lacerations ran down his protected arms and legs.
Because it's an area attack, the power probably wasn't that high, but the paper armor he was using became his undoing here. A standard school tracksuit isn't equipment valuable enough to block a dungeon area boss's attack.
From that one hit, Suzuka was bleeding from various parts of his body, but he wasn't the only victim. The two Green-Yellow Wolves that had been chased by Suzuka also entered the attack magic's range, having their faces slashed and suffering fatal wounds.
As soon as the storm subsided, both the Green-Yellow Wolves and Suzuka moved—the former to finish off, the latter to counterattack the charging puppies.
Despite being covered in wounds, a smile spread across Suzuka's face.
Though wounded all over, he felt no pain from any of it thanks to adrenaline. What had seemed like it would end simply by reducing surrounding small fries like Gale Rabbits unexpectedly produced a happy miscalculation.
A battle betting life and death. Like the previous Boss Fox battle, it had shifted into a battle of hunter or hunted.
He concentrated deeper and deeper than ever before. Perhaps thanks to the Thought Acceleration skill, the attacking Green-Yellow Wolves' movements appeared in slow motion, clearly visible. Yet his field of view didn't narrow—he could even perceive the swaying of surrounding grass.
He could feel his own gear shifting up another notch. At that, Suzuka felt an uncontrollable surge of joy.
"That's right, that's right, that's rightttt!! I'm not the kind of small fry who would end something this easily, am I!? Huh!?"
While parrying the approaching Green-Yellow Wolves, he checked the depth of his wounds. While bleeding, he hadn't suffered wounds deep enough to expose bone. Thanks to Suzuka's status, which is high for his level, the weakness of his armor seemed to be covered.
Perhaps he couldn't spam the previous attack, because no wall-like massive wind bullets were coming. In that case, he'd finish them off quickly.
Thinking this, he flowed even more mana into his magic iron pipe and focused on killing the 3 Green-Yellow Wolves still moving around energetically.
But at the same time, the great wolf let out another huge bark. At that voice, he couldn't help but think of the previous magic. But this time, the Green-Yellow Wolves weren't leaping away like before.
Was it a bluff, or an attack that would catch Green-Yellow Wolves in it too? He turned his gaze to the great wolf to judge. The great wolf probably remained in the barking posture—its mouth was still facing upward. No massive wind bullet was approaching him.
What? Did it do something?
A momentary blank in thought. The question that arose was answered by experiencing it.
Wind blew down from above with tremendous momentum. That wind, working like downforce, pressed Suzuka against the ground.
What the hell is this!? I can't move!?
The exact opposite of accelerating allies like Gale Rabbits, this is magic that nails enemies to the ground and robs them of mobility. Because he wasn't braced to immediately dodge if a massive wind bullet came, he was pressed even deeper. The great wolf seems better at strategy, and Suzuka's behavior had been completely read from before.
The wind pressing Suzuka down didn't last long. But having his posture completely destroyed, Suzuka couldn't immediately move to the next action. In other words, he stopped.
Since Suzuka began exploring solo, a certain combat style had been forming. That is to keep moving constantly. In one-against-many combat, if you get surrounded, it's over. If you engage in close-quarters struggles with enemies, you'll receive attacks from all directions and get cornered. That's why you must keep moving so enemies don't swarm you.
Yet he stopped. If that happens, it's inevitable that the Green-Yellow Wolves will all attack at once. Not just the 3 energetic ones, but the 2 weakened ones from the area attack will also whip their bodies and attack like death throes.
In this state, there are two choices. The first is to accept attacks from several and certainly kill one with a counter while reducing the other Green-Yellow Wolves while taking damage. The second is a desperate all-or-nothing gamble—abandon attacking, focus entirely on evasion, and somehow regain posture.
In the first case, you'll certainly take damage, so there's a possibility of game over right at that point. If you get bitten, no matter how high Suzuka's status is, you might damage major blood vessels, and if multiple wolves bite you, you might not move as intended and have difficulty attacking the remaining 4.
In the second case, it's a bad bet. Posture-wise, immediate movement is difficult, and since Green-Yellow Wolves are also attacking to fill the gaps, there's no space to dodge.
No shield to deflect attacks, no armor to defend, no allies to cover, no recovery magic existence. In other words, checkmate. That word came out in his accelerated thoughts.
At that moment. Something inside Suzuka snapped.
His concentration hadn't broken at the reality of the end. He hadn't lost motivation to give up because it was impossible.
The true identity of that sound was the sound of his patience snapping.
Checkmate from a mere Floor 1 District 2 area boss? ...You've got to be kidding me. Don't jump to conclusions on your own. Shoving that shitty two-choice dilemma in my face—I'm gonna kill you. I'll massacre every single dog beast. There's only one choice here, is there notttttttt!!!!
Though it's just reverse anger at the conclusion he himself reached, Suzuka's fighting spirit wasn't lost.
"If I can't dodge itttt!!! Then I'll just blow them all away at onccccce!!!"
The magic iron pipe began to glow with more mana than ever. Perhaps because he's pouring more mana into body reinforcement than he can handle, mana is leaking from Suzuka's body and becoming visible.
Until now, it would have been impossible. In common sense terms, it would be impossible. But in this world, there's mana. He doesn't fully understand everything mana can do yet, but if mana doesn't have the power to push through impossibility, then what is mana?
With that single-minded intent, he poured out all his mana, mustered every ounce of strength he could, and swung the magic iron pipe.
His body, filled with mana, moved at incomparable speed to before, and he could reach his attack faster than the Green-Yellow Wolf approaching before his eyes. With an anticlimactic feedback as if he'd hit Styrofoam, the magic iron pipe was swung through horizontally in a trajectory that completed one rotation.
With just one swing, all 5 Green-Yellow Wolves turned to smoke. Their excellent coordination in attacking simultaneously seemed to backfire.
From certainty of victory to annihilation. Perhaps surprised by that sight, the great wolf delayed firing the wind bullets it had prepared in case of a dodge.
Suzuka, conversely, didn't stop. Naturally. Suzuka's goal is to kill the great wolf, the area boss. Not to wipe out the Green-Yellow Wolves.
The wind bullets fired in a delayed sweep all cut through empty air. Faster than regenerating wind bullets, Suzuka arrived beneath the great wolf.
The great wolf, perhaps out of area boss pride, opened its massive jaws to bite, but Suzuka couldn't possibly fail to dodge the magic-casting great wolf's attack. Nimbly dodging and simultaneously swinging his magic iron pipe upward. His body, still filled with mana, was brimming with power exceeding his stats through body reinforcement.
As if to release that power, he swung down the dull-glowing magic iron pipe.
The great wolf's neck and the magic iron pipe collided. While feeling the squishy sensation of tearing flesh, he poured in even more strength. Crushing flesh, snapping bone, the magic iron pipe was swung down without stopping.
The great wolf's head flew through the air. The body, which had been in a raised position, slowly toppled over.
All Green-Yellow Wolves were hunted down. The great wolf, the area boss, had its head torn off. Even so, Suzuka didn't stop flowing mana into his magic iron pipe. His body was still leaking mana due to excessive supply.
Perhaps because Suzuka wouldn't lower his guard, or perhaps because his life's light was about to go out, the great wolf moved.
Its body didn't twitch an inch. What moved was the severed head. By detonating a compressed wind bullet near its own severed head, the unleashed blast blew the head toward Suzuka.
The jaws, opened wide again. As if saying "death takes us all," or determined to drag Suzuka to hell with it by sheer obstinacy, clouded red eyes captured Suzuka.
The severed head launching a surprise attack—a complete ambush. But Suzuka, who hadn't lowered his guard, handled the attack without faltering.
No, thinking it would naturally move, Suzuka had already entered his attack motion before the head moved from the blast.
"I knew the head would move at the endddddd!! I saw it on streaaaaaaaam!!!!"
The swung-down magic iron pipe directly hit the flying great wolf's brow, succeeding in smashing it into the ground.
Immediately after, the Fresh Green Great Wolf, along with its torso, shattered as if exploding, turned to smoke, and was absorbed into Suzuka.