Ossan Saikyō Chapter 10 Part 12
As usual, the Boss chamber was about the size of a school gymnasium.
Black mist gathered in the center, and from it emerged a 3-meter tall, armored warrior known as the Alter Guardian. It carried a broadsword in one hand and a shield in the other.
“Aww... Just a normal Boss.”
Perhaps it was actually offended by Rani's complaint, but the armored warrior immediately charged at us with metallic clatters.
“Casting『Halo』!”
“«Stone Lance»”
Once the debuff took effect, 10 stone spears shot toward it.
They all struck its shield.
The Boss itself was completely unharmed and continued charging straight at me.
I blocked the slash with my shield.
The impact was tremendous.
Still, it wasn't enough to force someone with my defensive skills backward.
I answered with a single swing of my mace.
Its shield, and its entire left arm, were blown away together.
Perhaps realizing how strong I was from that exchange, the armored warrior instantly leapt backward to create distance.
That movement told me it possessed the【Whiplash】skill.
Now missing both its shield and left arm, the armored warrior came under attack from Sphenia's arrows and Mariane's throwing knives.
It skillfully knocked every one of them aside with its sword.
“Casting «Sacred Ray».”
Two beams of light descended from directly overhead and pierced the top of its helmet.
A perfect attack from its blind spot, made possible by the【Remote Cast】skill.
The armored warrior took the hit but twisted its body away, escaping the beams.
“Over here!”
Rani closed the distance in an instant and slashed with her Mithril Sword.
The armored warrior blocked with its own blade…
…but nearly a third of the sword was sliced clean away.
We'd already noticed it while fighting ordinary monsters, but the《Mithril Sword》『+2』possessed extraordinary cutting power.
The armored warrior retreated again and began wildly swinging what remained of its sword.
Blades of light burst from the tip.
It was some sort of ranged sword slash skill, and a fairly advanced one at that.
“Get behind me!”
As I intercepted the flying blades with my shield, the armored warrior seemed to focus all of its attacks on me.
That, however, was a mistake.
“«Cyclone Edge»!”
Sphenia unleashed her advanced wind spell.
Small tornadoes erupted around the armored warrior, carving countless gashes across its armor.
Unable to endure the attack any longer, it moved-!
At that moment, one of Mariane's throwing knives struck it.
The armored warrior froze for an instant.
Apparently,『Immobilize』had taken effect with a single hit, perhaps because it had already accumulated considerable damage.
“Got you!”
Rani didn't let the opportunity slip away.
She charged in and cleanly severed the armored warrior's head with her Mithril Sword.
Even without direct orders from me, everyone had coordinated remarkably well.
It had been another smooth, nearly flawless victory.
Still...
The fact that I found it just a little unsatisfying...
As the party leader, that was probably something I should be worried about.
◇◆◇
“The Boss was normal, but it's still a C-Rank dungeon. That means the skills should be good, right?”
“Probably. Though this is only a 10-floored dungeon, so I wouldn't expect anything extraordinary.”
As Sphenia answered Rani, I felt the familiar sensation of new skills taking root.
The new skill I acquired was【Fortress】.
It was a defensive skill that reduced the effects of skills like【Sever】and【Pierce】.
Apparently, it even applied to my shield and armor.
Exactly how that worked was probably something I wasn't supposed to think too hard about.
Freynil obtained a skill called【Wellspring】.
It accelerated stamina recovery, allowing her to recover much more quickly after casting spells.
Combining multiple magic-enhancing skills consumed enormous amounts of stamina, so this was an especially valuable skill for someone like Freynil, whose stamina wasn't particularly high.
Rani acquired【Steel Core】, a skill I already possessed.
Strengthening one's core improved both offense and defense, making it an unassuming but reliable increase in combat ability.
Sphenia received【Arc Shot】.
As the name suggested, it allowed arrows to bend in flight.
It enabled her to hit enemies hiding behind cover or strike concealed weak points.
Apparently, it was considered an essential skill for archers.
Finally, Mariane acquired【Sever】.
Its rarity wasn't particularly high, but it was a skill she'd wanted for a very long time, and she was visibly moved upon receiving it.
Mariane closed her eyes for a while before letting out a slow breath.
“I think I finally understand what Rani meant. The party members seem to obtain exactly the skills they need. It's as though〈Saul's Guidance〉itself is blessed with that kind of fortune.”
“Exactly! Everyone here feels the same way, so I'm sure it's true.”
Rani nodded casually.
If that really was the case, though, it was a rather frightening phenomenon.
If someone concluded it was the result of my【Bad Luck】skill...
That could become a very serious matter.
Perhaps sensing exactly what I was thinking, Mariane looked at me meaningfully.
“It's an incredibly fascinating phenomenon. However, I don't think it can ever truly be proven. Even if everyone receives the skills they need, there's no way to eliminate the possibility that it's merely coincidence.”
“I suppose that's true. Personally, I believe it depends on each individual's own aptitude.”
Rani looked slightly dissatisfied by my answer, but after Sphenia whispered something into her ear, she simply replied,
“Hm... I guess.”
In the end, Mariane acknowledged the phenomenon but refused to conclude that I was its cause.
In other words, it wasn't something worth reporting...
Which was essentially the same as promising to keep it confidential.
“By the way, Mariane, you've been getting one great skill after another. Doesn't this make you want to become an adventurer again?”
As though she'd had enough of serious conversation, Rani abruptly changed the subject with her usual blunt recruiting.
Mariane, however, shook her head.
“No. Not yet... Besides, I want to support everyone in〈Saul's Guidance〉as a Guild Officer. I have no intention of abandoning that role.”
“I see... But you'll still come with us when we need you, right?”
“Yes. If my presence can help, I'd be happy to fight alongside all of you.”
“See? Good for you, Soushi.”
...Why is she suddenly throwing that at me?
“...Ah, well...〈Saul's Guidance〉needs your strength as well, Mariane-san. And we trust you as our bridge to the Guild. I look forward to working with you from now on.”
“Thank you very much. From this point onward, I shall continue serving both as your dedicated Guild Officer... and as a member of the party.”
As Mariane bowed, her expression somehow seemed different from before.
◇◆◇
When we returned to the surface through the teleportation device, the sun was hanging directly overhead.
After everyone stretched and basked in the sunlight for a moment, we began the journey back to Bartlan.
Some time after reaching the main road, I sensed something strange rapidly approaching from the forest beside us.
“Soushi-sama... I have a bad feeling. It's different from that Devil before. This presence feels... wicked.”
If Freynil said so, then it wasn't an ordinary monster.
We immediately prepared for battle.
“Could this be that monster Toronto mentioned? The one attacking adventurer parties?”
“Maybe. I didn't expect it to show up this soon. Looks like I let my guard down.”
As I answered Rani, I fixed my gaze on the source of the presence.
What burst out of the woods was a crimson-black monster resembling a dog.
It stood about as tall as a human.
Its body was unnaturally long for a canine, and sections of it gleamed with a hard, beetle-like shell that suggested formidable defenses.
Three...
Four...
Five of the creatures emerged from between the trees and lined up before us in formation.
“Crimson-black monstrous hounds... Could they be... the Twilight Hounds...!?”
At Mariane's words, everyone except me reacted.
Sphenia's reaction was especially strong.
“The Twilight Hounds...? As in... the ones from the Twilight Garden...?”
“Yes. I'm certain of it. Soushi-san, they're monsters roughly equivalent to C to B-Rank. Please be careful.”
Apparently, anything with Twilight in its name was common knowledge in this world.
It reminded me once again how little I still knew.
But learning could wait.
First, we needed to deal with these things.
While we observed them, the 5 Twilight Hounds spread out into a semicircle, surrounding us.
Unlike the narrow dungeon passages, there was plenty of room here.
If they reached our rear line, we'd be in trouble.
“Rani, Mariane-san, prioritize protecting the rear. After『Halo』goes up, Fray and Sphenia, stop their movements with magic and arrows. We'll take them down one at a time.”
We'd been fighting C-Rank monsters all morning.
There was no reason we'd fall behind now.
The instant Freynil activated «Divine Glory»-!
-the five hounds leapt at us.
I blasted 3 of them away with【Shockwave】.
Rani and Mariane intercepted one each.
Since they immediately became engaged in close combat, I'd have to leave those two to them.
One of the three I'd blasted away was already dead.
The remaining two staggered to their feet, limping backward before opening their jaws.
Crimson-black fireballs shot toward us.
They vanished against my【Shockwave】.
An instant later, one of them was engulfed by Sphenia's «Cyclone Edge» and shredded to pieces.
I moved toward the last one…
Before I could reach it, however, a beam of light descended from directly overhead and pierced straight through the hound's skull.
Meanwhile, Rani and Mariane dispatched their own opponents without difficulty, neatly severing both of their heads.
Considering all the rumors surrounding them, they seemed rather weak...
Then again, I shouldn't forget that Freynil's『Halo』had been weakening them the entire time.
After collecting the palm-sized magic stones, everyone regrouped.
Sphenia let out a sigh of relief.
“I've heard stories about the Twilight Hounds ever since I was young, but... this is all they amount to? Though perhaps we're simply that strong.”
“With『Halo』supporting us, it feels like none of us would lose in a one-on-one fight. By the way... are these Twilight Hounds really that famous?”
When I asked, Mariane looked at me in surprise.
“Everyone on this continent knows of them...”
“Sorry. I came here from somewhere else, so there are still many things I don't know.”
“You came from outside this continent...? Well... that's fine.”
She continued.
“According to legend, beyond the sea to the north of this continent lies a place known as the Twilight Garden. It's said to have been the battlefield where the Gods once fought.
…
Today, however, all that is truly known is that it is a demonic land overrun by immensely powerful monsters. In other words, the Twilight Hounds are monsters native to that place.
…
Ever since ancient times, people on this continent have grown up hearing, ‘If you're naughty, the Twilight Hounds will come for you’.”
“But if they're monsters from another continent, why are they suddenly appearing here?”
“The truth is, Twilight Hounds have occasionally appeared here since ancient times. And whenever they do, it usually means someone released them.
…
The beings who dwell within the Twilight Garden... a race known as the Twilight Kin... sometimes come to this continent simply for their own amusement.”
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E/N:
Man, who are these terrorists? Twilight this, Twilight that! Quake in fear, for Ossan is here! (To smash all evil into mush!)
Stay tuned!
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