The Underwater Crystal Cave Boss, Mother Sphere, emits two main types of small bombs.
One is the blue stardust, “Guard Sphere,” which floats around the boss and detonates upon approaching targets. It defends the main body and rotates to cover the Hunter’s direction of advance, making it a troublesome bomb.
And the other is—
The red stardust, “Attack Sphere,” which rains down like a meteor upon Goto, who is rushing ahead of the Labyrinth Agency’s boss battle party. This one is specialized for attack, and even if dodged, it curves like a guided missile to pursue the closest person from behind.
Both Attack and Guard Spheres inflict minor striking damage upon contact, followed by a significant blow from the resulting self-destruction. Even if the attack is parried and nullified, the main body continuously emits both Spheres, requiring constant attention to the enemy’s attacks—a nerve-wracking boss, normally.
“Turn!”
Thanks to Torako’s Skill, “Voice of Denial,” positioned in the center of the Labyrinth Agency team, the trajectory of the Attack Sphere approaching Goto curves sharply and deviates. The sight of the bomb nearing the ground arching its back against the laws of physics and flying off in a completely different direction would be astonishing to anyone unfamiliar with the Skill.
Seizing the opportunity, Goto closes in.
The remaining “Guard Sphere” detects this and tries to leap out to block Goto—
“Shh…!”
Too late.
Goto, who seemed to have disappeared from Kiraboshi-san’s sight, is already directly beneath the Boss. Gripping his fist tightly, he unleashes a powerful uppercut, utilizing the spring in his entire body, against the hard body.
With a single blow, the Mother Sphere cracks.
“…!”
Fast.
And heavy.
Goto’s strike lacks sophistication, but it simply punches with a force that would easily kill an ordinary person with a single blow.
Beeeeeep!
The Mother Sphere emits a scream that cannot be put into words, and the Attack Sphere, having recovered from Torako’s debuff, reverses. It changes its trajectory and approaches Goto, but the staff members deployed to the left and right align their staffs and unleash a barrage of ice bullets. The ice magic, fired like in a shooting game, shoots down and nullifies the Attack Sphere.
In that gap, Torako, who had jumped forward, restrains the Guard Sphere with “Fall!”.
Following her, a female staff member next to Torako casts an attack buff on Goto, further increasing his firepower.
The remaining staff member—remains still, waiting in a ready state to cast a healing spell.
“Now—!”
Due to Goto’s launched rush attack, the Mother Sphere’s Magical Power rapidly diminishes—
*
“Hmm. A short-term decisive battle team that focuses on buffing Goto-shi as the top attacker. Well-refined.”
“…This is my first time seeing a party battle, but I thought everyone attacked at once.”
“That depends on the role distribution. There are all-attack type parties like Kiraboshi-san mentioned, and there are also one-top attacker teams.”
A formation where the attack role is concentrated on Goto, with buffs, defense, and healing all handled from behind.
It’s a way of fighting that requires entrusting your back to others.
“It’s impossible for me,” Kageichi said, to which Kiraboshi blinked in response.
“Even for you, Sensei?”
“I can’t fully trust others. I sincerely admire those who can fight like that.”
Along with Kageichi, who honestly praised them, Kiraboshi was also captivated by the battle—
“Oops,” a silvery-armored strange man, who had been wandering around since earlier, interrupted their view.
“As expected, the pros are strong. But that attack, you don’t actually have to dodge it, you know?”
The man patted himself proudly, showing off his silver armor and large shield.
“This is my custom-made White Armor, and White Shield! It has a Special Effect that prevents explosive attacks. With this, even someone like me can safely and securely farm items. Smart, right?”
“Hmph…”
“Little lady, you’re going to fight those splinters next, right? Should I protect you? Of course, the price will be paid in bed, you know?”
Just as the man grinned lewdly, a powerful wave of Magical Power emanated from the boss room.
“…!”
An aura that made Kiraboshi brace herself.
Torako shouted, “Retreat!” but the Labyrinth Agency staff retreated so quickly that it wasn’t even necessary.
Immediately after, an explosion.
In Kiraboshi’s naturally activated “Detection,” countless reactions—Mother Sphere Splinters scattered into the air, flying out from the five passages leading from the boss floor all at once, like rats fleeing in disarray.
“Here they come. Let’s start working.”
“Yes!”
…This is where our turn begins.
Alright, Kiraboshi turned on her heel, heading to the nearest small room where one of the splinters had fled—
“Let’s go to a small room further away, Kiraboshi-san.”
“Eh?”
“The Labyrinth Agency staff are covering the side closer to the boss. Therefore, fighting from the outside is more efficient, and there are fewer people around.”
“I see,” Kiraboshi said, following Kageichi to the southwest of the floor.
They jumped into a nearby small room, and immediately, there were two gray, star-shaped Monsters floating around—star-shaped Monsters just under two meters tall, Mother Sphere Splinters…two of them.
Kiraboshi equipped her Brass Knuckles from her Inventory.
Alright, she braced herself—
“Seriously, this is ridiculous. Well, I’ll protect you, so just do whatever—”
Beep
A beep sounded at the feet of the man who had followed them, though she didn’t know why.
“Ah,” Kiraboshi muttered, and it was unclear whether that or the large man being blown away came first.
“Ugh!?” the large man screamed, one of his legs blown off, and he fell to the floor.
…Sighing, Kageichi clicked his neck next to Kiraboshi, looking exasperated.
“It seems your boasted explosion resistance didn’t cover your feet. You never know where danger lurks in a Dungeon. Just because there’s a boss in front of you doesn’t mean you can neglect what’s behind you.”
“Yo…you…doing this…are you ki…”
“It seems the enemy’s attack is coming. Now, Kiraboshi-san, a demonstration.”
Two types of Spheres were emitted from the two Mother Sphere Splinters.
One was the Guard Sphere that roams around the boss, and the other was the Attack Sphere approaching them.
“Basic combat rule number one: effectively utilize all resources. You learned that in the Ice Dragon battle, didn’t you?”
“Like this,” Kageichi said, grabbing the leg of the man lying on the ground and throwing it like a bowling ball.
“Gyaaaa!” the man screamed, and the Spheres rushed towards him.
He exploded spectacularly.
“Whoa…” Kiraboshi said, her face twitching, and Kageichi laughed, saying, “What dirty fireworks.”
“As you can see, the enemy’s attack bomb—the Attack Sphere—has the property of prioritizing the closest human. It’s good to make use of that and guide them.”
“…Sensei, was it okay to kill that person just now? Even though it’s a small room, we’re in the middle of the Labyrinth Agency’s Quest.”
“That man isn’t a legitimate Quest participant, so he’s not on the Labyrinth Agency’s list. Besides, he unfortunately died after being caught in the boss’s explosion.”
“T-That’s true…?”
“Fortunately, this boss’s explosion attack is the same as my landmines. If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest; if you want to hide a corpse, hide it in the Dungeon—which means, if you want to hide a landmine, hide it in an explosion.”
“Well, let’s end the warm-up here,” Kageichi said, stretching.
Then, as if he had just thought of something, he smiled at Kiraboshi.
“I’ll take the bigger one. How about you try defeating the other, smaller one, solo, Kiraboshi-san?”
“…Is that okay?”
“With your current abilities, it shouldn’t be impossible. Even as a Splinter, the Mother Sphere is a mid-tier B-rank. It’s a higher rank than you, but if you defeated the Ice Dragon solo, you should be able to do it.”
“I’m counting on you,” he said, and Kiraboshi’s cheeks flushed slightly.
…He’s counting on me.
That was a very happy thing for Kiraboshi, and she quickly forgot about the man who had exploded, nodding energetically.
“I’ll do my best!”
“I’ve taken care of the nuisance, so feel free to do your best. And be faithful to the basics. Utilize what you can, and by all means, find a way to survive. You should be able to defeat it as you are now.”
“Yes,” Kiraboshi said, adjusting her glasses with determination, gripping her Brass Knuckles, and glaring at the Mother Sphere.
Labyrinth Agency Official Quest, Mother Sphere Splinter, Extermination Operation—
Kiraboshi’s debut battle has begun.