…Well, despite some troubles.
Aside from its alarming appearance, Kageichi’s upper body armor was extremely useful against the Headhunting Rabbits.
In the mid-levels of the Dungeon, a horde of rabbits pressed in.
Kiraboshi, eyes shining, gripped a survival knife in a gauntlet that covered her fingertips, preparing for the enemy’s trajectory as the monsters leaped in.
Rather than stabbing proactively, she held the knife ready to meet the charging enemy, a counter stance.
“Ugh, wah…!”
She managed to take one down, but in that opening, a second one went for her neck.
A hard impact made her stagger, but the upper body armor held firm, and Kiraboshi quickly regained her posture.
Kiraboshi is still a Dungeon novice.
In contrast, the Headhunting Rabbits are monsters that appear in the mid-levels. In terms of skill, she’s at a distinct disadvantage, but as long as she has Kageichi’s armor, she won’t take damage from the rabbits.
“Kiraboshi-san. Our safety is secured here, so don’t panic, and take them down one by one.”
“Yes!”
“What you need in combat isn’t passion or spirit, but a reliable and careful procedure. Handle the prescribed tasks in the prescribed manner.”
Inside the armor, Kiraboshi was drenched in sweat, swinging her blade desperately.
Kageichi, positioned behind her, kept his eyes on his disciple, dealing with the rabbits attacking from the left and right with traps and a short sword.
Kiraboshi in the vanguard, Kageichi in the rear.
Considering their abilities, Kageichi should be in front, but—there’s a reason.
One is to give Kiraboshi herself direct combat experience.
The other is leveling up.
The only way to increase the total Magical Power a person possesses is to defeat monsters in the Dungeon and level up.
There is no other way.
No matter how much money you spend, no matter how much you study outside the Dungeon, you can only acquire it through your own battles.
And the Headhunting Rabbits that appear in the mid-levels are a real treat for a beginner like Kiraboshi.
To put it plainly—it’s a power-leveling exercise with safety ensured.
“Haa! Take this!”
Kiraboshi’s knife gleamed, and the rabbit’s body was neatly cleaved.
Her accuracy is improving. It seems her eyes are getting used to it.
Even with safety ensured, the speed of the Headhunting Rabbits is considerable—as he was impressed, a part of the grassland rustled, rising unnaturally.
“Kiraboshi-san, it’s coming.”
“I know!”
The ground bulged and rose slowly, revealing a bipedal monster covered in plants and trees.
A Grassland Golem.
Ordinary strikes and slashes can’t even cut through the supple plants and trees covering its body, and thrusting attacks can’t even scratch the stone torso hidden beneath its natural armor.
The theory is to burn the plants and trees protecting its surface with flame-based magic, exposing the stone torso to be destroyed with a hammer or the like.
Or, you should use special magic that is a weakness of material-based monsters, but—
“Ugh…!”
Kiraboshi flinched for a moment, but immediately ran towards the Golem with only her knife.
The Grassland Golem raised its arm and slammed it down.
Kiraboshi nimbly dodged with repeated side steps, then slipped between the Golem’s legs.
Two rabbits hidden by the Golem leaped at her as she passed, but were deflected by the Steel Armor.
Turning around behind the Golem, she kicked off the ground and leaped onto the Golem’s back.
“Take this!”
Putting her spirit into it, she clung to the Golem’s back, climbing like a rock climber, gripping the dense plants and trees.
The sight of a woman in upper body armor and a skirt scaling the Golem like a gecko was bizarre, but—she reached her destination, the nape of the Grassland Golem’s neck.
Then, with a burst of energy, she stabbed her knife into the back of its neck, the area behind the cervical vertebrae in human terms.
“GoooOOOO…!”
The Grassland Golem writhed, shaking its body.
Though not generally known, the Golem’s Magical Power transmission path flows like a conduit from its head to its torso.
The area behind the neck, in particular, has a short distance from the surface to the conduit, and a successful attack can deal massive damage.
The Grassland Golem shook its body, trying to shake Kiraboshi off.
But she wasn’t about to miss her chance.
Clinging on desperately, Kiraboshi stabbed her knife into it again and again, until her hand ached.
Finally—
The Golem let out a small whimper, “Goo…” and knelt down.
Blue smoke billowed from its entire body, and as Kiraboshi somehow managed to regain her balance and land, it transformed into a Magic Stone.
“I-I defeated it…”
“Well done. Splendid.”
Kageichi sent honest praise to Kiraboshi, who was catching her breath.
The Grassland Golem isn’t a strong monster, but many people are intimidated by its massive size on first encounter and can’t perform to their full potential.
—As he thought, Kageichi narrowed his eyes.
This girl said she was bad at sports and easily intimidated, but… when push comes to shove, she’s the type to get it done.
Kiraboshi wiped sweat from her brow with her gauntlet, in front of Kageichi, who chuckled.
“…Sorry it took so long.”
“No. It’s natural for it to take time. What’s important is the fact that you defeated the enemy properly.”
Everyone is unskilled at first.
Kageichi is no exception.
He is indeed a special person who inherited the abilities of the game LAW from his previous life, but he hasn’t reached this point without any struggles.
“There’s still a long way to go,” he encouraged her, when the grassland shook again.
Looking, another Grassland Golem appeared—
Pi-pip, Kageichi’s trap activated, and it vanished in a burst of blue smoke along with an explosion.
…Seeing that, Kiraboshi sighed in her armor, as if exasperated.
“Sensei. I appreciate the praise, but when you defeat them so easily, what does that make me…?”
“Indeed. Then, shall I engage in hand-to-hand combat today as well?”
“Eh? Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to be sarcastic…”
“No. I need to move my body once in a while, or I’ll get rusty.”
Besides, it wouldn’t look good to his disciple if he only used traps.
It would reduce work efficiency, but it’s fine once in a while… Kageichi cracked his shoulders and began to weave through the monsters himself.
*
Labyrinth Agency, Sweeping Operations Headquarters.
A man in black—Goto—frowned, receiving a strange report from his adjutant, Torako.
“Goto-senpai. I’ve received information that two Creatures in armor are crawling on the backs of Golems and defeating them…”
“What is that? Is this hell on earth?”