Episode 234: Second Stratum Wind Magic
“What’s with that sword?” Akito raised his eyebrows, sensing the tremendous Magical Power.
The power seemed strong, but it was meaningless if it didn’t hit. As expected, the Sol Mantis was moving around Kaira at high speed, trying to exploit an opening to attack.
“Damn! That big sword can’t keep up. Guess I have to do it—”
Just as Akito, worried, readied Gae Bolg, Kaira raised her sword high.
“Ooooooooooooooh!!”
Vast Magical Power was released from the swung-down sword. A typhoon-like wind arose, stopping not only Akito but also the Sol Mantis in its tracks.
Is this the Second Stratum Wind Magic? Akito thought, but then the wind suddenly vanished.
“Huh?”
Akito, dumbfounded, looked around and noticed a transparent sphere forming in front of Kaira.
“What’s that?”
The transparent sphere flickered and began to suck in the surrounding air. The flow of wind reversed, drawing everything toward Kaira.
Akito managed to withstand the pull by stabbing Gae Bolg into the ground, barely holding his ground.
But the Sol Mantis lost its footing and was pulled straight toward Kaira.
Kaira held her greatsword horizontally, coating it with Wind Magical Power. In the instant she crossed paths with the movement-restricted Sol Mantis, her swung sword bisected the mantis’s torso.
The Abyssal Monster fell to the ground. It should have had powerful Regeneration, but its body showed no signs of repairing itself.
Akito was impressed by the brilliant attack.
“So… this is Second Stratum Wind Magic, huh?”
Kaira lowered her sword and exhaled.
She glanced at the Sol Mantis’s corpse, confirming that its lower body was gradually turning to sand.
“Not bad! Didn’t think you could use magic like that.”
Kaira turned her gaze to Akito, who approached with his spear resting on his shoulder, and simply said, “Yeah.”
“The Second Stratum of ‘Wind’ creates magic that generates [Vacuum]. This time, I only restricted its movements, but if I hit it directly, I could gouge out chunks of the monster’s flesh.”
Akito gave a wry smile at Kaira’s ruthless words as she stared at her sword. “O-oh… you say some pretty gruesome stuff.”
At that moment, there was a faint sound behind them.
Akito turned around to see the upper half of the Sol Mantis raising its arm. Akito reacted immediately, but a “Wind Blade” was released from the descending arm.
The blade flew toward the unsuspecting Kaira.
“Watch out!!”
The tip of Akito’s thrusting Lightning Spear barely struck the “Wind Blade,” shattering it into pieces.
He then aimed the tip at the dying Sol Mantis and unleashed a black Lightning Strike.
The monster, struck by Lightning, was charred black and crumbled into sand.
“…It attacks even in that state? That’s just awful.”
“Sorry, I let my guard down. Thanks for saving me.”
Akito waved his hand dismissively at Kaira, who looked apologetic. “No worries, no worries.”
He walked over to where the Sol Mantis had died, squatted down, and brushed away the sand on the ground.
“Oh! This is…”
Akito picked up a small stone from the sand. It was a Green Diamond, a gem that glowed with a green light.
“Hey, can I have this Magic Gem? I really want it.”
Akito showed Kaira the small diamond he held between his fingers.
“Ah, sure, I don’t need a Magic Gem right now. But what are you going to do with it? Sell it when we get back to the surface?”
“Well, something like that.”
Akito waved and walked away. Kaira frowned.
We don’t even know if we’ll make it back alive, and he’s already thinking about money. Kaira was amazed and, at the same time, impressed by Akito’s business acumen.
◇◇◇
Yuma and Rui fought desperately, somehow breaking through the Monsters’ encirclement.
Rui sheathed his Katana with a composed expression, but Yuma was panting heavily and looked like he was about to collapse.
Akito returned to the two of them.
“What’s taking you so long to defeat Monsters of that level?” Akito said flippantly, but Yuma was too tired to argue.
“It seems you were able to defeat the Sol Mantis without any problems,” Rui asked.
Akito replied, “Yeah, well…”
“Well, it was more like that girl defeated it than me.”
“Kaira-san?”
Rui’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That girl could use ‘Second Stratum Wind Magic.’ As expected of the younger sister of Dasha Baramon, India’s strongest Seeker.”
“I see.”
Rui shifted his gaze to where Kaira was leading the other Seekers. She was giving instructions to everyone, apparently heading toward the exit of this Stratum.
“Let’s go too.”
Yuma said, “O-okay,” and used his Pickel as a cane to somehow walk. No matter how much Recovery Magic he used, he couldn’t restore his stamina.
Yuma looked at Rui and Akito, who were walking with carefree expressions. Neither of them seemed exhausted.
—I’ve trained quite a bit myself, but are they doing even more? Is it a difference in basic physical strength?
Yuma thought, unconvinced, and walked in silence.
Akito, who was next to Yuma, suddenly held out his hand and showed him something. In his palm was a green gem. It sparkled brilliantly.
“This is…”
“It’s a small ‘Green Diamond.’ I asked Kaira for it.”
“Oh! Well done, Akito, that’s a big help.”
Yuma was grateful, as he wanted to strengthen his Wind Magic even more. He lightly wiped the Magic Gem he received with his clothes, then swallowed it whole.
It was small, so he didn’t need water. After a while, heat surged from his stomach.
His Magical Power should have increased now. Yuma clenched and unclenched his fists. He didn’t feel much of a difference, but he continued to the next Stratum with the other Seekers.
◇◇◇
Two hundred and fifty-third Stratum—
The group advanced, struggling through the swampy ground. By this point, the number of Indian Seekers had further decreased, with fewer than seventy remaining.
Even so, they were survivors who had endured hell.
They didn’t back down even against Abyssal Monsters, fighting in cooperation with their comrades.
“Alright! I defeated the Itsuki Monster, was it Kalpavriksha? Once you find the main body, it’s not a big deal at all.”
Akito said confidently, shaking off the vines wrapped around Gae Bolg.
Rui, who had been engaged in a one-on-one battle with a Sol Mantis, took advantage of a momentary opening to decapitate his opponent.
The Sol Mantis’s body exploded and burst into flames, turning to sand without regenerating.
Rui wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and walked over to Akito.
“It seems like it was good to lure the Sol Mantis into the swampy ground, where footing is bad. We wouldn’t have stood a chance in a battle of speed.”
“Yeah.”
Akito turned his attention to the battle of the Indian Seekers.
“The others seem to be putting up a good fight too. Looks like we’ll be able to get through this Stratum somehow.”
“Yeah, the Monsters are getting stronger and stronger. I hope we can keep this up until the lowest Stratum…”
Akito nodded at Rui’s words, but then he noticed something.
“By the way, where did Yuma go? I can’t see him.”
“Huh? He was just defeating earthworms around here a moment ago.”
Akito and Rui looked around. They rounded an old tree nearby and heard a noise.
There they found Yuma.
He had been swallowed by a giant worm, and only his legs were flailing about.