Chapter-04 · EP-065
Episode 65: Iori vs. Hobgoblin
I thought for a moment about how to answer Iori, who wanted to challenge the Floor Boss now.
In a four-person fight, the high attack power of me and Iori stood out. But as we'd just experienced, the fact remained that we had many issues to work on in group battles.
Still, we'd come all the way to the third floor. If we defeated the third-floor boss, the Hobgoblin, now, Yuno and the others could use the portal in the future to restart exploration from the fourth floor. If we turned back now, we'd have to start from the first floor again next time. And what was troublesome about starting over from the first floor was the lines in front of each boss room. Waiting in those lines was boring. So, I wanted to keep our momentum and defeat the Hobgoblin today.
Considering that, I thought about it assuming we would fight. The only enemy in the boss room was the Hobgoblin. Even though we had problems with group battles, there should be no problem when the enemy was alone. Besides, I could defeat the Hobgoblin by myself. In other words…
"It'll be easy…"
Yes, defeating the Hobgoblin would be more efficient for future exploration.
"Let's go, to the Floor Boss's room."
Hearing my words, Iori smiled happily.
Yuno and Maika were surprised, but I explained and they understood.
The line in front of the third-floor boss room was a bit shorter than for the first and second floors.
Then our turn came. We opened the door and entered the room.
In the center of the room, a large goblin with a club, the Hobgoblin, awaited.
"This is my first time facing an enemy with a weapon."
Was Iori nervous? Indeed, the goblins on the third floor didn't have weapons. If Iori's katana clashed with the Hobgoblin's club, depending on where it hit, the katana might break.
"Shirou. You defeated that thing alone, right?"
"Ah, yeah, but…"
"Then will you let me fight it one-on-one?"
"…Is your katana okay against its club?"
"Yeah. If I'm in trouble, you can help."
If I'm in trouble… Right. Probably, Iori at her current level could defeat it without issue.
"Okay. If you get hurt, I'll take over."
"Thanks."
Yuno and Maika didn't object to my decision.
Iori walked alone towards the Hobgoblin in the center of the room, and we three decided to watch from a distance.
When she got within a certain distance, Iori drew her katana and held it with both hands.
Perhaps sensing Iori's strength, the Hobgoblin also turned sideways, holding its club forward, watching her.
Was it wary of Iori's katana? It swung the tip of its club left and right, trying to keep her at bay.
Iori moved back and forth in small steps, gauging the distance.
We watched them face off. Iori was taller. But the Hobgoblin seemed more muscular and powerful-looking. Even though Iori was tall, she was slender, so to someone who didn't know her, she might look frail. But we knew Iori's strength. We believed Iori would win.
It was the Hobgoblin that made the first big move.
It swung its club in a wide arc. Iori stepped back to dodge. She seemed unable to step in easily. Again, Iori kept her sword pointed at it, adjusting the distance.
The Hobgoblin also glared at Iori from a distance where the sword wouldn't reach. It was probably waiting to strike when Iori moved. But Iori wasn't stepping in easily either.
Iori deliberately didn't close the distance. That was a sharp decision.
I was drawn into watching the fight.
And, as expected, it was the Hobgoblin that lost patience first. It swung its club again. Iori dodged once, then stepped forward. Perhaps sensing her killing intent, the Hobgoblin jumped back to escape.
Then, the stalemate resumed.
"Will she be okay?"
Yuno sounded worried.
I smiled and answered her.
"She'll be fine. Look at Iori's face. She's smiling."
Iori looked like she was enjoying herself.
In contrast, the Hobgoblin's face looked impatient. It couldn't stand it anymore and swung its club down.
That was when it happened. At the same time, Iori's katana swung down.
I thought the Hobgoblin's club and Iori's katana would clash! The sound that echoed was the dry crack of the goblin's club being split in two.
The severed tip of the club bounced off the ground with a clatter.
"Whoa!"
We couldn't help but shout.
Panicking, the Hobgoblin swung its now smaller weapon around wildly. But swinging it at that distance, it couldn't reach Iori. And Iori was waiting for the Hobgoblin's next opening.
Then, the moment Iori stepped in next, her horizontally swung katana severed the Hobgoblin's neck.
"Wow!"
For an instant, I saw the Hobgoblin's dying expression on its flying head, but it vanished upon death. That was brutal.
"Ah!"
Iori cried out.
"I probably leveled up."
If Iori had reached level 3, then Yuno and Maika, who were in the same party, should have leveled up as well.
"Yuno, Maika, can you feel that you've reached level 3?"
Both answered simultaneously.
"No."
The feeling of lightness and surging strength when leveling up seemed to be hard for some people to notice.
Come to think of it, my Skill Camouflage should also show party members. Could I check?
I willed my status screen to appear.
Shirou Ichinose: LV4 ▶
Skill: Skill Camouflage (Hide) ▶
Party: Yuno Hayasaka ▶, Maika Momota ▶, Iori Takigawa ▶
Looking at it, I noticed. Ah, party members didn't have level displays.
I tried to dismiss the status screen, but I discovered something.
…There were triangle marks next to Yuno and Maika's names too!