Episode 42: Slug AS900
“You want to try it out in actual combat?”
“Yes. Last time, I was held back by only about twenty Royal Guard-class Black Ant, so it’s not exactly revenge, but I also want to confirm the extent of my current power.”
“This child that you so kindly prepared will sulk if she doesn’t get to be wielded against enemies.”
“Well, I don’t think weapons sulk, you know?”
The two of them spent about two days in the Hakoniwa as rehabilitation. I was thinking of heading north to release them soon, but they said they wanted to test their strength in actual combat.
“I think the current two of you are more than a match for Black Ant. Besides, you have the SB Lance.”
The SB Lance doesn’t chip or lose its sharpness, and it boasts the same cutting edge as a legendary weapon. It can slice through even the Royal Guard-class Black Ant’s carapace head-on.
At their request, I installed Magic Cores for enhanced slashing and toughness on the Saber, and Magic Cores for shape-shifting, enhanced slashing, and weight alteration on the Halberd, so fighting with those should yield the same result.
“…Well, since you’re going to be in a place with more formidable enemies, it’s fine to fight, but…”
“Hoh!”
“Where are we going?”
“The Black Forest.”
“What?!”
“…I don’t know it.”
Barbatos seems to know the Black Forest.
“You know it?”
“Yes. It’s a land outside of human control, with many Dungeons and a constant monster outbreak.”
“Such a place exists?”
“There are several places like that even within the country. Well, the Monsters keep fighting among themselves there, so they rarely turn to the human survival area, so if we don’t interfere, it’s a land we’ll never have to deal with in our lives… Why are we going to such a place?”
“I wanted to operate in a place without people to wake you up, and I’m also looking for land.”
“Looking for land? Then I will help.”
“Indeed. If our lord, Claffy-sama, is looking for a place, it is inevitable that we should go with him.”
“You say that so easily… Well, it’s helpful though.”
There are really a lot of Monsters around here, and each one is strong. It’s difficult to move forward, so having extra hands is helpful.
“By the way, what kind of land are you looking for?”
“The electricity that powers the machines and Drones around here is generated by Magic Cores, but their Magical Power isn’t infinite. I’m covering it with my Magical Power now, but as the number of facilities in operation increases, the consumption of the Magic Cores’ Magical Power becomes more intense, so I won’t be able to cover it eventually.”
“Hmm.”
“With personal Magical Power, this much light and Golems…”
Magic Cores are efficient, after all. Still, there will be a limit someday. I still have a lot of Magic Cores on hand, but I want to manage with natural Magical Power as much as possible.
“I want to create a charging facility to charge these Magic Cores. This Hakoniwa is a world shaped by my Magical Power, so I can’t place a charging facility here. I want to secure flat land or a plateau near a point where the flow of the star’s Magical Power is thick and intersects, whether it’s called a leyline, a spirit vein, or a Dragon vein.”
“Does it have to be nearby?”
“I’m just borrowing a little. I think the surplus Magical Power will be enough.”
Considering the charging efficiency, it would be better to be directly below such land, but too strong a flow of Magical Power could harm the body.
That’s how races called elves with spirits or races called dwarves are born.
“So, the Black Forest?”
“The land where many Dungeons are born is where the flow of Magical Power passes near the surface.”
“What? So, Dungeons suddenly appear because…”
“The flow of Magical Power changes and a place where Magical Power concentrates is created. Earthquakes, meteorite falls, river floods, and other natural phenomena cause Magical Power to accumulate in one place as a preparatory stage. If there is a mineral with the function of absorbing and accumulating Magical Power there, it becomes a Dungeon Core, and the Monster that continues to absorb that Magical Power becomes a Dungeon Master and creates a Dungeon.”
“…Our lord is knowledgeable.”
“As expected of a family of wise men that has continued since ancient times…”
“I’m a hunter, I tell you.”
What’s with the family of wise men?
“Moving through the Forest takes time after all!”
“Besides, the enemies are strong! Waa!”
“It’s the Black Forest, after all. And it’s so deep that even our hunters don’t touch it.”
“”Honorifics!””
“…Yes.”
In the end, I decided to fully borrow the power of the two.
Leaving aside the lord thing, it would be difficult to explore this deep, rugged, and ridiculously Monster-filled Forest alone. High-powered weapons tend to make noise, so it’s difficult to weave through Monsters and use them.
Barbatos seems to like the SB Lance and is fighting with it. The Saber is still stuck in her waist.
Beatrice has the Halberd. She’s increasing its weight with weight alteration and slicing and blowing away enemies.
Originally, she seemed to fight by wrapping her specialty, lightning magic, around her weapon. The SB Lance is originally a magic Sword and cannot be enchanted, so she decided to fight with the Halberd.
“However, that is also a powerful weapon!”
“Your support is helpful!”
“You’re welcome.”
Since the two vanguards are solid, I’m in the mid-rear guard position.
While the two are fighting on the front lines, I’m taking down the added Monsters with a Magic Gun. The weapon I’m using is the “Slug AS900” assault rifle. It’s an assault rifle-type Magic Gun developed by Slug, and it’s the Magic Gun with the second-largest number of deployments after the SGS-08A. It’s a magazine-changing type that replaces Magic Cores.
Unlike the SGS-08A, it can switch between single-shot mode and burst mode. The number of bullets is smaller, but the range is simply longer and the penetration power is higher. Furthermore, the bullet speed is faster and the accuracy is higher. In other words, the power is higher.
The SGS-08A is originally more suitable for operation in places with many obstacles such as indoors or forests, but this time the goal is for the two to fight as well. So I decided to use this one, which can select burst mode and single-shot mode. I’m currently operating in single-shot mode. If the number exceeds the two’s annihilation speed, or if a simply strong enemy appears, I plan to switch to rapid-fire mode.
“The weapon is good, but you have quite a bit of leeway.”
“The Blood Centipede is a high-ranking A-rank Monster, right? I was able to defeat it on my own.”
“Beatrice, that’s not a Blood Centipede, it’s an S-rank Crowning Chaos. You need to study more.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t even know that Monster. Can it be used for some kind of material?”
“The carapace is difficult to process, so not really. Maybe the Magic Stone and poison.”
I don’t need poison.
“More importantly, there’s the Giant Wall Snake. Its meat is quite delicious! There are also B-rank Monsters!”
“Well, they seem to come out of the Dungeon endlessly.”
I don’t know how many there are, but there are Dungeons everywhere. Naturally, weak Monsters also come out from the lower levels.
Those guys either become food for strong Monsters or manage to escape from the Forest.
“I’ll throw it into the Hakoniwa, so lend it to me.”
“Those Golems are excellent workers! You can leave everything from dismantling to sorting and processing to them.”
“Yeah. That’s why I don’t need subordinates.”
“”That’s impossible.””
Don’t say it in unison.
“My lord, it seems like we can see the sky ahead.”
“Indeed. Let’s be careful.”
“Roger. I’ll reload just in case.”
The trees in the Black Forest are tall, and the leaves are quite lush, making it as dark as night even during the day. It’s to the point where we have to proceed while floating a Lantern.
In such a place, there are occasionally spots where the sky is visible and it’s bright.
It’s a perfect place to check the surrounding terrain, but it’s mostly a space created by some Monster.
In other words, it’s often the territory of a strong Monster.
“That is…”
“Corn Hero…”
“It actually exists.”
A nearly five-meter-tall ear of corn was enthroned there.
It had a large amount of white silk growing from its upper part like a mane, and strong leaves protected the grains inside its body.
Bathing in the sunlight extending from above while sitting cross-legged on a stump, it was like a phrase from a hero’s song sung by a minstrel.
“…It’s beautiful.”
“Truly, a work of art born from God.”
“Something like that actually exists… Can we win?”
However, I’m intrigued.
It looks like an ear of corn with thin arms and legs. However, that beautiful existence is a Monster famous enough to be counted among the world’s three great beautiful beasts.
The bounty amount has already become a legend, and it’s unknown what the exact amount is. A man who was lucky enough to get a single grain once became a great noble, and his lineage even reached the throne.
“Now, do you know the legend?”
“Yeah.”
“I know it.”
“Good. I’ll go.”
“Barbatos, if you can’t do it…”
“Show respect to the opponent.”
“Barbatos-sama, please do your best.”
Barbatos lowers the SB Lance from her waist, instead placing her hand on the hilt of her Saber.
But she doesn’t draw it yet.
“My name is Barbatos! A Knight who serves her lord with her life! Hero! Please, accept my power!”
As Barbatos announces herself, the Corn Hero turns its face (?) towards us.
After looking at Barbatos’s face, it nods slightly (tilts its body) and takes a stance with its slender limbs.
“Now! KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!”
“Huh!?”
“No way, is that right?”
Barbatos unleashes what seems to be a blow of her entire being. Honestly, I couldn’t see it. It was that kind of blow.
Barbatos, who unleashed such a blow, is now kneeling on one knee, crestfallen.
“…Is this, the end?”
“Barbatos-sama!”
“Not yet, Beatrice!”
Beatrice instinctively tries to rush to her side, but I grab her to stop her.
Because the Corn Hero is moving.
Slowly, its leaves turn towards Barbatos, and three large corn kernels are dropped in front of Barbatos.
“Three kernels!”
“Isn’t that the highest ever?”
“…My gratitude!”
As Barbatos says this, the Corn Hero’s figure vanishes. It seems it has left this place.
“My best blow in my life, to be evaluated this highly…”
“Congratulations, Barbatos-sama.”
“There has never been a day I’ve been so glad to have saved you.”
“Ho, ho, ho, ho…”
But three kernels, huh? How should I cook them? Trying the best popcorn on this planet is a given, but what should I do with the remaining two?
“Well, first, let’s check our surroundings.”
We are in the Black Forest, thick with trees. Naturally, dangerous Monsters are hiding in the trees, so these spaces where sunlight penetrates are extremely valuable.
Since Barbatos is exhausted, we’ll stop here for today. While preparing to protect our surroundings with a Magic Item that creates a Barrier to prevent Monsters from entering, I use an aerial Drone to capture the surrounding situation with its camera.
After a quick look around, it seems we’ll be in the Forest for a while. I’ll have the Drone retrieved before it gets attacked by Monsters.
“How is it?”
“Nothing yet. I plan to proceed in a northeasterly direction as we are.”
It’s far too vast, and I can’t tell if there’s anything ahead.
It would be nice if we could use aircraft, but there are flying Monsters everywhere, so we can’t use them.