c1-c20 · 017-ch17

Chapter 17: Apparently the Uncle Can Block Bullets POV: Negomin

"Shotgun Rabbits. Normally they appear in groups of around five, but... this is quite a lot."

Wait, there are monsters?

Seriously, Shotgun Rabbits?

Being surrounded sounds bad

Shibasaki-san's combat is finally hereeeeeee!

Just as Shibasaki-san said, small monsters were darting around us in a circle with light footsteps, and the number of those footsteps couldn't be explained by just five of them.

I switched my hand camera to floating mode, lowered the dagger I'd drawn, and cast a protective spell on myself.

Thank goodness, even I know about Shotgun Rabbits. They're rabbit-type monsters that appear on floor 30, and their most distinctive feature is the magical shotgun blast they fire from their mouths. They're quick and hard to hit, and the scattered magic projectiles are heavy and difficult to defend against, so I've heard they're one of the monsters you really don't want to encounter.

Honestly, if I were alone, this would be an instant "use the life cord" situation, but Shibasaki-san is here now. It's as good as won.

Besides, the viewers probably want to see Shibasaki-san fighting more than me anyway.

"Negomin-san, watch out."

"? Whoa!"

That was close!

You scared me. Give a warning when you're gonna yell

scary

Out of nowhere, a Shotgun Rabbit lunged straight at my face. Thanks to reflexively jerking my head back, I somehow avoided a direct hit.

Wait, I thought these guys were ranged attack types?!

"Be careful. There are two types of Shotgun Rabbits—the ones that fire projectiles and the ones that charge."

I see

How can this guy be so calm about it

Dodging that is impressive

Go Negomin

With Shibasaki-san's words as the signal, the surrounding Shotgun Rabbits began attacking one after another. I desperately dodged them all.

I'm gonna die...! I barely noticed the first attack thanks to Shibasaki-san, but if I think about anything else, I'm gonna die...! I need to focus on the fight.

I took a deep breath, focused on the enemies before me, and leaped into action.

Negomin can really move

So the uncle isn't fighting?

B-rank even if she's rotten, huh

Hmm, it's decent I guess

Damn, this is way more trouble than I expected...!

The ones charging at bullet-like speed are still manageable. Their attacks always come from the ground, so if I can read their footing and direction, I can respond. The problem is the ones shooting shotgun blasts from a distance. The moment I recognize their mouths opening, the magic projectiles are already flying—I can't tell when the attacks are coming at all. If I focus too much on the chargers, I'll get hit by the ranged ones, but if I get distracted by those, I won't be able to respond to the charges.

Are floor 30 monsters really this strong?! They're so fast I can't land any hits! Ugh, I keep telling you I'm not a combat-focused streamer!

Suddenly, I catch a Shotgun Rabbit opening its mouth at the edge of my vision.

Crap, I just jumped to dodge that charge so I'm mid-air right now! Evade... no, reinforce defense!

I instantly strengthened the defense on my arm and held my breath.

Giiin!

A flash of light burst right in front of my eyes. And right there was Shibasaki-san's deck brush.

"It's better to dodge the attacks."

"Thank y—you deflected that?! Those bullets at that speed?!"

???

That was amaaaaazing!!

How is he deflecting those so casually

He's definitely not normal

The uncle has arrived!

Thank goodness, Shibasaki-san is fighting too...! Wait, the camera's pointed at me. Turn it toward Shibasaki-san!

I made a quick gesture to the floating camera and pulled back slightly from the front lines.

While fighting, I watched Shibasaki-san, and right on cue, a Shotgun Rabbit attacked him.

Here it comes! What's he going to do?!

Shibasaki-san casually dodged the charge. And then... he did nothing else.

"...?"

What?

He's not attacking?

Is the deck brush still not ready?

Wait, that's it? Where's the deck brush ka-booom?

"Um, Shibasaki-san, aren't you going to fight?"

"Oh, I thought you might want the materials."

"...?"

"Well, there's an unspoken rule that monster materials belong to whoever defeats them, right? Some people care about that, so I thought maybe you would too, Negomin-san."

?

There's a rule like that?

I mean, there is but...

...What kind of reason is that! So he just didn't defeat it!! ...Wait, does he think I joined the fight because I wanted materials?

"Not at all! I don't care, so please go ahead!"

"What about the materials?"

"I don't need them!!"

"I see. Understood."

Now it's finally here—!

Do it, do it!

Deck brush? Or explosion?

Saying that, Shibasaki-san readjusted his deck brush like a staff. He must be using magic—I could see the mana in the area churning chaotically around Shibasaki-san. Just before, I heard a soft beep from his incam indicating the mic turned on.

'Shibasaki-san, got marks?'

"I'm fine, I understand. 《Reduced Black Flame Magic》"

What...? The chanting feels different from before, and the mana flow's atmosphere is completely different too... And what does "marks" mean?

The answer came immediately. The mana converging at the tip of the deck brush vanished, and instead, small black flames appeared at the necks of the Shotgun Rabbits.

And not just on one—on every single one within sight.

What

What what what

They're burning

Wait, hold on

They burned black without a sound, without even time to writhe in agony. When I turned around, the ones in Shibasaki-san's blind spots were burning the same way.

By "marks"... he meant he'd pinpointed the coordinates of every single Shotgun Rabbit here?!

Accurately casting magic on targeted locations is like threading a needle on the first try. Even for highly skilled practitioners, it's difficult to succeed every single time. And he did that for all of them at once with a single chant...! That's insane. Just completely insane.

"Whew, that's that done."

"...Amazing."

Is that even allowed?

Who even is this person

It's so amazing Negomin's vocabulary just died

Say "cleaning complete"

Seeing this makes me lose confidence as an explorer

Shibasaki-san was so off the charts that multiple explorers were having their spirits crushed in the comments.

...I can totally understand that feeling.

"Good work, Negomin-san."

"Ah, yes. Thank you for saving me back there."

As we were catching our breath after the battle, the sound of applause came from nearby.

"Hey hey, amazing you two! I was moved!"

"We finally found you, Negomin and... the strong uncle."

What appeared were two young girls I'd never seen before.