“Sorry, Yamato! Take care of that side!”
“Got it!”
Two hours into the sixth floor, we were fighting a swarm of Macronaria.
Rare species also inhabit the labyrinth normally.
So, it’s not unusual for rare species to swarm, and there are stories of abnormal species swarming labyrinths.
That’s why it’s no wonder that rare Macronaria, a type of Brachiosaurus, would swarm like this.
When over ten P-R Rank Macronaria swarm and attack, it’s not just me who can’t handle it with Prim only providing support. I’ve already taken down two, and Prim has taken down three.
One of the Macronaria slipped past Raus, whom Prim was supporting, and charged towards the beast carriage.
Although I’m a bit of a distance away, I’ve already activated layered barriers of the A-rank fire-attribute wide-area spell Múspellheim and the A-rank light-attribute wide-area spell Vanaheim around the beast carriage, so the Macronaria within the domain are ready to be taken down at any time.
Towards that Macronaria, I converged the light of Vanaheim, further enveloped it with the flames of Múspellheim, and fired it.
The Macronaria, pierced by that heat-ray-like projectile, collapsed its over 20-meter-long colossal body onto the ground, never to move again. However, due to its massive size, it almost fell onto the beast carriage.
It was close, but let’s consider it good for now.
“Good? Not good! Did you intend to crush us to death!”
Ed, who was firing support magic from the beast carriage, roared at me with a vein throbbing on his forehead.
My bad.
Anyway, that makes six.
Only four more left.
Of the remaining four, one is being held off by Raus, Rebecca, and Carol; one by Mana and her summoned beasts; one by Meena, Flam, and Ludia; and the last one by Rika, Lydia, Athena, and Eos.
It looks like Raus’s group, Meena’s group, and Lydia’s group will be fine, but Mana, with her summoned beasts, seems to be struggling quite a bit.
Prim… ah, she seems to have had the same idea as me and went to support Mana.
In that case, I’ll use Múspellheim to hinder the Macronaria’s movements.
Since it’s a wide-area effect, it can target about four of them without issue.
“Thank you, Yamato!”
With its movements slowed by Múspellheim’s wall of fire, Mana took the opportunity to create distance from the Macronaria and ordered Spica.
Then, several of Prim’s Flare Needles pierced it, causing the Macronaria to recoil greatly.
“Now, Mana!”
“Yes!”
At that moment, Mana slashed at the Macronaria with her Unique Magic, Sterling Divider.
The Snow Dragoon, perhaps anticipating Mana’s move, had concentrated magic power in its neck to defend itself. However, the Macronaria, having just been hit by Prim’s Flare Needles, didn’t have that luxury.
Even if it had, the Snow Dragoon and the Macronaria are of different ranks, and the hardness of their scales is worlds apart. So even if the Macronaria had concentrated its magic power, it wouldn’t have been able to escape unscathed.
“Hyaaaaaah!”
With a sharp cry, Mana brought down Sterling Divider with all her might.
The impact stirred up snow, obscuring the Macronaria’s form, but Mana felt a definite resistance.
“I got it this time. It’s not completely cut in half, but I think it’s close.”
Hoh, she’s full of confidence.
In fact, Mana’s confidence wasn’t overconfidence or complacency. When the snow cleared, the Macronaria’s right foreleg was severed, and a massive gash was carved into its torso.
Although its right foreleg was cut off, it wasn’t quite cut in half. However, its torso was on the verge of being severed, so Mana was right.
“With that much power, it should be effective against M-rank monsters too. However, the previous Snow Dragoon concentrated magic power in its neck, so how to pierce that will be Mana’s challenge going forward.”
“You say that easily. Well, I just have to do my best.”
Indeed, that’s a challenge.
However, since it was effective against a P-R Rank Monster, all that’s needed is to improve its precision, isn’t it?
Ah, it looks like Meena, Flam, and Ludia’s fight is also nearing its end.
Even though Meena and Flam have only recently evolved, all three are High Class, and they understand each other’s fighting styles well, so they seem to be fighting without any discernible danger.
Meena defended against the Macronaria’s attack with Silvado Shield, Shielding, and Barrier Magic. Exploiting the opening, Flam’s Tidal Blaster hit.
Its power increased with its evolution to High Class, and the Macronaria was sent flying about 10 meters.
“Gyaaaaaah!”
At that moment, Ludia charged in, using the Dragon Spirit Magic Aether Burst.
Aether Burst is magic that enhances Phisicaring, Manaring, and magic of one’s own race’s attribute.
Since Ludia is a Fire Dragon, her Fire attribute magic is enhanced.
Dragon Spirit Magic is a Bestowed Magic exclusive to dragons, and many Dragonewts, as well as Dragonians, can use it.
I also heard that she has developed Unique Magic using a type of Dragon Spirit Magic that she gained after evolving into a High Class.
“You won’t get away with that!”
The Macronaria, which was trying to intercept Ludia’s charge with its tail, was blocked by Meena’s Mace Quake.
“Gotcha!”
Then, Ludia’s Unique Magic, Firing Impact, exploded, engulfing the Macronaria’s colossal body in flames.
Ludia’s Firing Impact is a magic that envelops the target in flames while striking them with a Drag Rapple imbued with Fire attribute magic, enhanced by Manaring and Aether Burst.
It’s designed with the consideration that it wouldn’t be effective against an opponent resistant to Fire attribute magic.
As Meena retreated from the Macronaria that had taken the Firing Impact, Ludia jumped and delivered a flying kick.
Upon impact, the Macronaria was blown further back by the shock, the flames intensified, and the flames at the points of impact from the punch and kick exploded simultaneously.
The explosions continued in a chain reaction, eventually causing the flames surrounding the Macronaria to erupt in a massive explosion.
When the inferno subsided, all that remained of the Macronaria was its charred corpse.
It’s flashy and powerful, but won’t the materials be unusable like this?
“Ah… I went and did it…”
Ludia seemed to realize it too, wearing an embarrassed expression.
The Dragon Spirit Magic Ludia gained is called Aether Chain, which can produce effects similar to previously used magic.
Simply put, if Ludia used Fire Arrow and Aether Chain simultaneously, the number of Fire Arrows would increase.
While I and Prim can do the same, we’re forcibly creating numbers by using our excess Mana, so it consumes a considerable amount of Mana.
However, Ludia’s Aether Chain efficiently increases the number of projectiles without consuming much Mana.
With her current abilities, she can fire 10 Fire Arrows for the Mana cost of 3, she said.
Well, Ludia is a pure close-combat type, so she rarely uses Fire Arrows.
By incorporating Aether Chain, the initial strike with Aether Burst remained on the Macronaria’s body, and at Ludia’s kick, those flames exploded in a chain reaction, ultimately resulting in a massive explosion.
As it is, the materials will definitely be ruined, so it still needs improvement, but this was the first time she used Firing Impact in a real battle, so it’s something she can work on later.
“It was the first time she used it in battle, so it can’t be helped. However, it was sufficiently effective against a P-Rank monster, so isn’t that something to be happy about?”
Meena is trying to comfort her, but I agree.
With that much power, it might even be effective against Demise Species.
Now there are only two Macronaria left. Raus is skillfully using Lapis Light Shield to deflect their attacks.
Marisa, Viola, and Yuria are also assisting, but since only Raus has evolved, their attacks only serve as a distraction.
However, Raus’s deflection techniques have also improved, and with Prim joining them, nothing major should happen.
Conversely, Rika, Lydia, Athena, and Eos are struggling.
This is understandable for Rika, who has little combat experience, Athena, who is unaccustomed to fighting and hasn’t evolved, and Eos, who is using a weapon she’s not familiar with. However, the one struggling the most is Lydia.
The reason is that this is a snowy region, and the Macronaria are resistant to ice-attribute magic.
Since Lydia is an Ice Dragon Dragonewt, their compatibility is terrible.
Furthermore, the Macronaria isn’t even using ice-attribute magic; it’s attacking with its massive body, putting Lydia at a distinct disadvantage.
“I’ll go help!”
“No. You’re already heavily depleted of Mana. If you overexert yourself in that state, it could lead to irretrievable consequences.”
“B-but!”
Ludia insisted on going to help, but she’s already breathing heavily, so it’s definitely too reckless.
“I’ll provide support. Besides, if it’s Lydia’s Unique Magic, it should work even against ice-attribute magic resistance.”
Of course, Lydia is also developing her Unique Magic.
It’s not complete yet, but since she gained the Bestowed Magic Barrier Magic after evolving into a Hydragonewt, and combined it with the same Aether Chain as Ludia, it should be effective even in its incomplete state.
Incidentally, the Bestowed Magic Lydia gained upon evolving into a Hydragonewt is Fusion Magic, the same as Flam’s, but she hasn’t incorporated it into Firing Impact.
Fusion Magic involves fusing different attributes, so there was no room to incorporate it into Firing Impact, which consists solely of Fire attribute magic.
But enough of that, it’s time for support.
I activated Lightning Band on the Macronaria, nullifying its movements.
Arresting, a Knight Magic, would have also worked, but Arresting is also a reinforcement magic for binding with ropes, and it consumes quite a bit of Mana on its own.
Furthermore, the Macronaria is a colossal creature nearly 20 meters long, so there’s no telling how much Mana it would consume.
“Yamato-san?”
“Yeah. Now that the Macronaria can’t move, it’s a chance to test your Unique Magic.”
“Eh? But that…”
She’s hesitating, or rather, reluctant.
In fact, if she miscontrols it, there’s a high possibility of causing damage to the surroundings, so I understand her feelings.
“I’ll cover for you. Besides, Múspellheim and Vanaheim are also deployed, so even if something unexpected happens, I don’t think it will be as you fear, Lydia.”
Lydia’s Unique Magic uses Ice and Earth attribute magic, so Múspellheim, which is Fire attribute, can counteract it.
“…Understood. Rika-sama, Athena, Eos, step back!”
Lydia called out to Athena and Eos, who were approaching the Macronaria, and Rika, who was firing support magic from a distance, to withdraw.
I also only heard from Lydia what her Unique Magic was like, but she said the range would be quite wide. So I had to make sure the three of them retreated to avoid being caught.
Once Rika, Athena, and Eos had sufficiently withdrawn, Lydia created several small stones mixed with ice and earth around her.
These stones were increased in number by Lydia’s Dragon Spirit Magic, Aether Chain.
There are so many, it’s ridiculous to count.
“『Grandust Blizzard』!”
Lydia chanted the spell name, and a barrier was formed targeting the Macronaria.
The barrier is nearly 50 meters in radius. This barrier is meant to prevent the stones Lydia created from escaping outside, so humans and monsters inside the barrier can easily exit.
She hopes to eventually be able to trap the target within the barrier and make it strong enough to withstand magic, but for now, it’s bound by my Lightning Band, and it’s an incomplete Unique Magic, so expecting that much is too much.
Lydia’s Grandust Blizzard is a magic that generates a tornado within the barrier, layering it with Aether Breath and numerous stones.
The stones are made from a mixture of ice and earth. Their hardness depends on Lydia’s Mana, so I don’t know exactly what they are.
However, since Lydia is a Hydragonewt, I suspect the stones’ hardness is comparable to, or even exceeds, that of Magic Silver.
The Macronaria, hit by Grandust Blizzard, gradually had its scales and stamina worn down, and it looked like it was about to fall.
However, Grandust Blizzard is not a magic that can only do this much.
Lydia took a deep breath and exhaled Aether Breath again.
This Freeze Breath signaled the gathering of stones, forming a massive icicle.
“Hyaaaaaah!”
Ludia unleashed this icicle towards the Macronaria’s most injured back, along with Aether Breath.
Aether Breath has little effect on the Macronaria, but with its scales damaged all over, it’s not completely ineffective.
Moreover, she’s breathing in the direction of the back where the scales have been greatly gouged, and she’s firing several icicles. If this doesn’t work, what will?
The icicles pierced the Macronaria’s back, and with the Aether Breath hitting, it froze the Macronaria from the inside, along with its flowing blood.
Looking at its immobilized state, it’s probably dead.
Grandust Blizzard had severely damaged the scales and hide, so like the one defeated by her sister Ludia, there would be few usable parts. But that can’t be helped.
“I did it, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement…”
Lydia lowered her shoulders, but shouldn’t she be happy about defeating a P-Rank Monster right now?
“Don’t worry about the materials. More importantly, be happy that it was effective against a P-Rank Monster.”
“That’s… true. I was able to create magic effective against a P-Rank Monster, so I’ll be happy about that today.”
Lydia smiled charmingly, but her fatigue was evident.
Meena, Flam, and Ludia are the same, so let’s let them rest now.
There’s only one Macronaria left, but what’s happening with that one?
