Chapter 18: Playing Tag with My Childhood Friend ②
Just before entering the forest, I glanced back.
“Hah, hah…!”
Otama-chan wasn’t holding back; she seemed to be running at full tilt.
She was incredibly fast.
Besides, since she was wearing a swimsuit under her T-shirt, her chest was bouncing intensely…
“…No, bad thoughts.”
I shouldn’t look at my precious childhood friend that way.
Besides, thinking about unnecessary things had slowed me down.
As if to shake off these worldly desires, I picked up my pace and dashed into the forest.
“Hup!”
Just like yesterday, I climbed a tree and moved by leaping from branch to branch.
This was faster than following the winding path.
“Hey, that’s not fair!?”
With a rustling sound, Otama-chan followed the same route from behind.
Perhaps because I was more familiar with the terrain, I was slightly faster.
The distance between us gradually widened.
“Ugh, so frustrating!! Wait!!”
“Who waits in a game of tag when someone says ‘wait’?”
If I can beat an active Explorer in speed, I should be able to clear the general Explorer exam without any problems.
Just as I was thinking that…
Pew!
A laser beam of water shot down the branch in my path.
“Whoa!!”
My hand, about to grab it, grasped at empty air. I somehow managed to regain my balance in mid-air and land.
That was…
“Hey, you used your Water User skill!”
“Ehehe, an Explorer has to master their skills, you know! I can even do this!”
“—!!”
Otama-chan shot water from her back and charged at me.
It was like that thing that was popular a while back, where you fly with water pressure… No, its movement was probably closer to a mobile suit’s boosters.
She closed the distance between us in an instant.
“Gotcha!”
“Ah…!”
My mind couldn’t keep up; I couldn’t react.
Otama-chan’s hand reached for my shoulder—
—Shun!
I instantly teleported behind Otama-chan.
“Eh!? Eh!? He’s gone!?”
(This is…)
The automatic evasion skill I learned from that emerald green butterfly the other day—Butterfly Dance—had activated.
Actually, even I didn’t understand what happened for a moment.
As expected of a Rarity ★4 capture skill.
“Huh!? Huh!? No way!?”
Seeing Otama-chan frantically looking around, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“—Heh heh, behind you.”
“Eh!? When!?”
“You didn’t see me?”
“I-I saw you!! Totally saw you!!”
—That was definitely a lie.
“Well, whatever. Why don’t you give up on catching me?”
“Kuh… It’s frustrating, but it seems you’re an opponent I can’t beat unless I get serious…”
“Weren’t you serious before?”
“Our battle starts now!”
Otama-chan opened the pouch on her waist and took something out of a small pocket.
It was a ring with a blue gemstone.
“Hehe, an Explorer’s strength isn’t just about skills. The tools they possess are also part of their strength.”
Saying so, she put the ring on her left index finger.
“Is that… a present from someone…?”
I thought Otama-chan wasn’t interested in things like rings.
I’m not Otama-chan’s boyfriend or anything, but I was low-key shocked.
…If the goal was to inflict this unidentifiable mental damage, then the attack was a success.
“N-No, idiot. This is a drop item from a Lizardman in Ota Dungeon. It’s a ring that increases speed.”
“A drop item…”
So it’s one of those expensive things you see behind glass cases in the Explorer section of stores.
You can get stuff like this in regular dungeons, huh?
Still, a ring that increases speed, huh?
“…Isn’t that cheating?”
“Ehehe, if you’re frustrated, try getting a general Explorer license.”
Otama-chan showed off the ring with a smug look on her face.
…This is kind of annoying.
“Ah, a beetle!!”
“Wh-Where!?”
The moment I looked in the direction Otama-chan pointed, I automatically teleported again.
The evasion skill, Butterfly Dance, had activated.
“Aww, so close. But since you shouldn’t have seen it, it seems like an automatic evasion skill. Is it a limited-use type, or does it consume MP?”
“…Hey, do Explorers resort to trickery against amateurs?”
Of course, there was no beetle anywhere.
It was a dirty trap to make me let my guard down so she could tag me.
Then, Otama-chan wagged her index finger and said,
“Tsk, tsk. Your understanding is naive, Ko-chan. For an Explorer, it’s over if you die. You need to win, no matter what it takes.”
Another smug look.
Seriously.
“…Were we in a life-or-death battle?”
“Ehehe, it’s just a figure of speech. Take it as advice from a senior Explorer.”
“Hmm…”
I see, that’s certainly enlightening.
I think what Otama-chan is doing is childish cheating, but I guess this kind of mentality is necessary to survive as an Explorer.
—Alright, in that case.
“Aaalright, I’m gonna catch you now! You can’t escape from both my enhanced speed from the ring’s power and my Water User skill!”
“…Hey, then I’ll follow your example, Otama-chan, and use a forbidden move too.”
—Though I hesitate to use an attack skill,さすがに.
“Hmph, I don’t know what it is, but go ahead and try. I’ll just one-up you.”
“Alright, I’m gonna say it then…”
I said, looking down.
“When you run at full speed, your chest bounces like crazy. You should be a little more mindful of it.”
“Eh!? Eh!? Ah, right! I’m wearing a non-wired swimsuit under this!! U-Uuuugh!!”
Otama-chan covered her chest with both arms and glared at me.
“Ko-chan, you pervert! Were you staring the whole time!?”
“I was trying my best not to look the whole time… Come on, give up on tag. You can’t run seriously anymore, can you?”
“Uuuugh…! You cheat!!”
“An Explorer wins by any means necessary, right?”
“This is different! Ugh, so frustrating!”
Otama-chan’s face turned red as she glared at me.
“Come on, let’s just play normally now. Like the other day…”
“Ah, right.”
“—!”
Suddenly, Otama-chan shot a water gun at my face using her Water User skill.
I dodged it with Butterfly Dance and put some distance between us.
Man, that’s three times I’ve used the skill now…
I need to check when Butterfly Dance will be usable again after I beat Otama-chan.
“Too bad. I dodged your final surprise attack too.”
Just as I was about to declare victory to Otama-chan,
“Hehen, who said that was the last one?”
“Eh…?”
—A white mist generated in front of Otama-chan’s chest, concealing her body.
“This is…”
“—Water User skill: Mist Concealment. It’s a technique I just developed.”
Isn’t that like the unnatural steam you see in hot spring episodes of shonen manga?
The fact that it’s hidden makes me feel like I’m looking at something even more forbidden…
“With this, I have no weaknesses! Now, prepare yourself!”
“—!”
Otama-chan rushed towards me at full speed.
She was even faster than before, yet the white mist accurately concealed her chest.
What a waste of skill control technique.
Then again, it would probably be strong if used properly in a dungeon.
“…I’m not gonna lose!”
I turned and fled into the trees.
I was also at full speed.
Rustle, rustle!
“Hah, hah…!”
The sound of Otama-chan’s footsteps didn’t fade from behind me.
It seemed we were running at almost the same speed.
I grabbed trees and fled, leaping through the air.
Perhaps because she was concentrating on controlling the mist, Otama-chan didn’t try to hinder me with water guns.
It had become a simple contest of physical ability.
—A single mistake would decide the winner.
It was that kind of a knife-edge battle.
Just as I entered the shrine grounds and was about to pass through to the forest beyond…
—I saw something black in the corner of my vision.
“Ah…”
The moment I was distracted by it.
“Tag!!!”
Otama-chan’s hand caught my back.
I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned around to see Otama-chan greeting me with a beaming smile.
“Ehehe… I did iiiiiiiit!! Did you see that, Ko-chan!! This is the power of an Explorer!”
“…I lost. You’re strong.”
I didn’t mention the speed-enhancing ring and simply admitted defeat.
“Ehehe, I’m super happy. Well, you did well too, Ko-chan. I’m looking forward to seeing you in action during the exam.”
“Yeah… Ah, right.”
“Hm? Ko-chan, where are you going?”
“I’m just a little curious…”
I went back to the tree I had just passed.
When I checked the trunk…
“It’s a beetle…!”
There, it was a black beetle with magnificent horns.
Otama-chan’s lie had come true… Thinking that, I reached out my hand.
Bwoom!!
Name: Kurokabuto
Rarity: ★★
Capture Skill: ??? (Condition: Capture 3 types of beetle species)
Support (Uses MP to temporarily strengthen summoned insects)
Defense +5 (First-Time Bonus)
Capture EXP: 450
Drop Item: Magic Stone (Large)