Ossan Saikyō Chapter 9 Part 05
The next morning, when we woke up, there were two other tents set up in the safe zone.
Before the other parties began moving, we finished our preparations and descended to the 6th floor.
The corridors on the 6th floor were wide with high ceilings.
The monsters that appeared were Elemental Ghosts.
They were spellcaster type monsters with no physical bodies, appearing as basketball sized orbs of light surrounded by flames.
Their elemental affinity could apparently be identified by the color of their flames.
The seven floating before us all burned with yellow flames, meaning they were all Earth attribute.
Physical attacks were basically ineffective against them, so I left the offense to the other three while I focused entirely on blocking the flying stones they launched.
With my shield and【Shockwave】used together, none of their magic could reach us.
Freynil's «Dual Sacred Ray», Sphenia's wind spell «Air Cutter», and Rani's wind elemental magic sword quickly wiped out all seven Elemental Ghosts.
Without a party, I would have been completely stuck here.
I could only be grateful for the companions I'd found.
Their drops, incidentally, were crystals corresponding to their elemental attributes.
After collecting them in large quantities, we pushed on straight to the 8th floor.
From the 8th floor onward, Elemental Beasts began appearing.
These monsters resembled large dogs cloaked in elemental flames.
They were outrageous enemies. Physical attacks barely worked on them, yet they specialized in close quarters combat.
When 8 of them appeared at once, I wondered how we'd manage.
Fortunately, I was able to drive them back with【Shockwave】, giving the others enough time to destroy them with magic.
It also helped that Rani could intercept any survivors with her magic sword.
This time, instead of crystals, their material drops were colorful pelts corresponding to their elemental attributes.
Apparently, they could be used not only for armor but for ordinary clothing as well.
On the 10th and final floor, the monsters that appeared were Elemental Giants.
These giants were wrapped in elemental auras.
They stood only about three meters tall, but up to five could appear at once, making them an intimidating sight.
Fortunately, physical attacks worked reasonably well against them.
That meant they were no match for my already absurdly overpowered mace.
Since I hadn't had much of a chance to fight up until then, I left protecting the rear guard to Rani and used the opportunity to vent some frustration.
Their drops were large crystals that apparently fetched high prices.
Trading blows head on with the giants, we eventually arrived at the boss chamber.
“The Boss should be an Elemental Guardian. As always, remember there's a chance that two bosses could appear, and don't forget the possibility of a rare boss.”
“Or both at the same time.”
Rani chimed in.
Freynil nodded, while Sphenia's eyes widened.
“Yesterday there were two Bosses as well. Does that really happen so often? And even rare Bosses...?”
“Yep. Honestly, I think normal Bosses are rarer.”
Rani answered.
In reality, it was probably closer to 50-50.
Even that was absurdly abnormal.
“Alright, let's go. Freynil, charge up『Halo』with【Crucible】. Sphenia...”
“We won't know the Elemental Guardian's attribute until we see it, so I'll identify it first and prepare the opposing elemental spell.”
“Sounds good.”
We pushed open the stone doors and entered the Boss chamber.
The amount of black mist was normal.
Appearing from it was a giant wrapped in a blue aura.
It stood around four meters tall.
From its appearance, it looked exactly like the information described.
A normal Boss.
“Aww... just a normal boss. That's boring.”
Even as she complained, Rani imbued her sword with the『Fire』attribute.
“Casting『Halo』.”
Once Freynil's magic had weakened it, I stepped forward as usual.
Shield raised, I slowly closed the distance.
The Elemental Guardian thrust both arms forward.
Streams of water erupted from its hands, shooting straight toward me.
It was a far more powerful version of the『Water』attribute spell «Water Spear».
I received it head on with my shield.
Thanks to【Stability】,【Steadfast】,【Steel Core】, and my overwhelming strength, I was able to keep advancing even while taking the full force of the high powered water lance.
Perhaps realizing I wasn't stopping, the Guardian ceased the torrent and assumed a martial artist's stance.
“Casting magic. «Flame Bolt».”
Spears of fire flew over my head and pierced the Guardian.
Steam billowed into the air as the Guardian staggered violently.
“I'm going in!”
In an instant, Rani darted past me and slashed at the Guardian's knee.
Her strike severed the tree trunk thick leg in a single blow, and she immediately retreated, anticipating a counterattack.
Having lost one leg, the Guardian toppled onto its side.
Even so, it raised its upper body, extended one arm, and fired another «Water Spear».
It seemed to be aiming for Rani, but I stepped in front and blocked it.
“I'll stop its movement.”
Sphenia's voice rang out as an arrow trailing particles of light pierced the Guardian's forehead.
The Guardian's movements suddenly jerked to a halt.
Even the stream of water stopped.
“Nice one, Sphenia!”
Rani dashed past once more with【Dash】, severing one of its arms.
The Guardian writhed helplessly, now missing both an arm and a leg.
I used the opportunity to rush in and brought my embodiment of destruction, the mace, crashing down toward its head.
◇◆◇
The skill I obtained was【Adamant】.
It appeared to be the superior version of【Might】.
Considering that I'd already felt【Might】 had stopped leveling up, I suspected I'd acquired it because that skill had reached its maximum level.
Either way, I was still heading straight down the path of physical combat.
Freynil obtained【Remote Cast】.
It seemed to allow certain spells to be activated from a distance.
For example, she could now cast『Life』attribute's Healing spell on a frontline ally from far away.
Rani acquired the same【Stability】skill that I had.
She looked quite satisfied, saying it meant she could wield even heavier swords.
The one I was most curious about was Sphenia...
“This is...【Pierce】. I'd almost given up on ever obtaining it.”
According to her, despite its relatively low rarity, it was an essential skill for archers and one she'd wanted for a very long time.
If it increased an arrow's penetrating power, then the difference between having it and not having it would indeed be enormous.
“Could this be what Rani meant about the power of this party? Getting the exact skill I wanted so suddenly... it doesn't feel like coincidence.”
“Hehe. Pretty amazing, right? Ever since I joined Soushi's party, I've kept getting great skills too. I'm glad it happened for you as well, Sphenia.”
“So it really is true. Could it be the same for you too, Fray?”
“Yes. I also obtained many skills that strengthened my magic. At first, I believed it was the guidance of God Aashram, but now I understand that it was actually thanks to Soushi-sama's power.”
Freynil spoke dreamily.
Rani and Sphenia both turned toward me.
“I don't think my skill has that kind of power. Personally, I think the skills people acquire depend on their own aptitude and effort.
…
That said, since we encounter rare Bosses more often, it's true that we end up obtaining more rare skills.”
“Hmmm. But both Sphenia and I got the exact skills we wanted as soon as we joined you, Soushi. I think your skill definitely has some influence.”
“If that's the case... does that also mean encountering rare Bosses and double Bosses so often is because of your skill, Soushi?”
Come to think of it, I hadn't properly explained my【Bad Luck】to Sphenia yet.
Perhaps it had been better this way.
After experiencing it firsthand, it was much easier to believe.
“For now, it's still only my theory. As we keep adventuring together, I think we'll gradually learn more.”
“I can't believe such a thing exists... I really was fortunate to meet all of you, Soushi.”
Sphenia smiled warmly, narrowing her eyes.
She even looked a little teary.
I suppose obtaining the skills she needed really was that important.
Given her status, she likely felt pressure to keep striving higher.
If my skill had helped solve that problem, then perhaps she truly had been fortunate.
◇◆◇
Beyond the Boss chamber lay a small circular room.
In its center stood a stone pillar topped with a crystal sphere.
Apparently, touching it would instantly return adventurers to the dungeon entrance.
Once again, it all felt remarkably game-like.
Rani wanted to try it, so I let her.
The moment she touched it, our surroundings changed in an instant.
Sure enough, we were back at the dungeon entrance.
“How mysterious, Soushi-sama.”
“Yeah... that was surprising.”
I answered Freynil, whose eyes were wide with amazement.
Rani wagged her tail excitedly, shouting, “That was fun!”.
She looked like a complete country girl seeing the big city for the first time.
It was probably a good thing there weren't any other parties near the entrance.
“Hehe. I reacted the exact same way the first time. Dungeons truly are mysterious places.”
Listening to Sphenia, I found myself wondering what purpose dungeons actually served in this world.
They were probably just another part of nature here.
Even if I thought about it, I doubted I'd ever find the answer.
Since it was still before noon, we returned to Tolson.
When we went to the Guild to sell our materials, Kisara hurriedly called out to me from behind the counter.
“Soushi-san, um... I have a favor to ask.”
“What happened?”
“Actually... Kaim's party went out on a subjugation request, but they never came back yesterday, which was supposed to be the final day of their mission. We'd like you to search for them.”
I felt my heartbeat skip for just a moment.
It was only natural.
Hearing that people I knew were missing was enough to shake me.
I turned toward Freynil and the others.
We had only just returned from the dungeon...
“They're your friends, right? Then we have to go find them immediately.”
“If they're important to you, Soushi-sama, then I think we should leave at once.”
“Adventurers should help one another.”
I really was fortunate to have companions considerate enough to understand their leader's feelings.
...Or perhaps they were simply getting used to a black company style of work?
Turning back to Kisara, I nodded.
“Understood. We'll take the request. Please give us the details.”
“Thank you.”
According to Kisara, Kaim's party,〈Silver Ring〉, had gone to hunt Rock Worms in a rocky region east of Tolson.
Rock Worms were exactly what the name suggested.
Gigantic worms that fed on stone.
They normally never left rocky terrain, but like goblins, they became troublesome E-Rank monsters if allowed to multiply.
“〈Silver Ring〉shouldn't have any trouble dealing with monsters like that, so perhaps something unexpected happened.”
That was what Kisara believed.
Either way, there was no way to know without going there ourselves.
So we accepted the request and immediately set out for the rocky area.
After running for about an hour, the grassy plains gradually gave way to reddish brown earth.
Soon, exposed red stone began appearing, eventually forming a rocky wasteland.
It was a strange landscape, though perhaps perfectly ordinary in this world.
Ahead of us, countless stone pillars jutted up from the ground.
Some were no larger than houses, while the largest were about the height of five story buildings.
It was a surreal sight unlike anything I'd ever seen in Japan.
We stopped just before entering the rocky region.
“Let's search while staying alert for monsters. Rani, especially keep an eye out for the scent of people. Sphenia, is there anything we should watch out for in a situation like this?”
“If another party went ahead of us, they should have left markers along their route. We should follow those.”
“Thanks. You're right. We'll stay alert for monsters while looking for those markers. Probably scratches carved into rocks or something similar.”
After taking a short break and checking our equipment, we entered the rocky wasteland.
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E/N:
Yoo, really sorry for the delay in upload! My phone died, screen got cracked on Friday evening. It was a mess. I'll upload all the 3 chapters for 3 days!
Stay tuned!
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