Kaido’s battle, as swift as the silver wind, can be said to be perfectly stable.
“Not bad.”
There’s still time before the Forest Wolves surrounding us arrive.
A few minutes, at most.
So, during that time, I intend to observe the new power Kaido has acquired.
Kaido was dominating the Forest Wolves with movements like a tokusatsu hero from TV.
“You’re handling it with ease, aren’t you?”
“We are, in fact.”
“But you’re not letting your guard down, are you?”
“Of course not.”
Stationed at the rear, I, standing by Suella, watched Kaido’s movements intently without even drawing my Ore Tree.
Kaido, unlike his usual soldier-like armor, wore something like a full-body suit with metal armor, resembling a certain hero who rides a motorcycle.
However, his fighting style hasn’t changed.
Heroes on TV sometimes engage in hand-to-hand combat, use guns, while some, like Kaido, use swords.
Kaido, wielding two swords, steadily defeats the Forest Wolves with his integrated offense and defense.
He swings his sword with his right hand.
And defends against fangs with his left.
If they create distance, he uses magic to steal their footing.
“Position-wise, it’s like some kind of reinforcement device, that transformation device.”
His movements are the best I’ve ever seen from Kaido.
His strength, speed, and the power of his magic all seem to have increased.
“Tokusatsu heroes are supposed to get stronger when they transform. I don’t know if it’s augmented muscle strength or if their transformed form is as powerful as a robot’s.”
Twenty-two of them.
Kaido fought against a pack of wolves the size of bears without yielding an inch.
And he did it alone.
Kitamiya and Minami were ready to provide support with magic, and Amelia and Katsu were prepared to intercept any stragglers.
“It’s about time to finish this! Special move!”
The scent suggests the surrounding wolves will arrive soon.
At this pace, they’ll be sandwiched as planned by the enemy.
Even if they are, it won’t faze us, but Kaido seems determined to end it now.
“Whoa! A kick? Is that a kick?! It has to be a kick!”
“What’s with that three-tiered kick emphasis? Calm down, Minami.”
If he’s a fan of a certain hero, then Minami is correct, it would be a kick. In the forest, where one can move three-dimensionally, Kaido leaped up as if the path was wide open.
Predicting what he’d do next, I assumed he’d come down with a flying kick.
“Boost! Kiiiiiiick!!”
However, he was spraying something inexplicable from his back. Kaido charged into the wolves at a considerable speed, even from a distance. The consequence of his recklessness, combined with his falling speed, spray speed, and magic barrier, was…
“Cough, cough, cough.”
Dust flew.
“Seriously, what is this?”
Stones scattered.
“Ptooey, I got dirt in my mouth.”
He increased the damage indiscriminately.
“Ugh! Dirt got in my hair!”
It was a move that spread damage indiscriminately, to both allies and enemies.
“Well, this was bound to happen.”
I could only force a smile at the disastrous scene, which was, in a sense, friendly fire.
“Why are you unharmed, Leader?!”
“I dodged.”
“Ah, right.”
Minami glared at me for skillfully avoiding all the damage, but I ignored her. In this dusty chaos, what happens when the mass of an average adult male, around sixty kilograms, plus equipment, falls at a speed that appears to exceed the speed of sound? The conclusion is that when an object of considerable mass hits the ground at considerable speed, the ground explodes, and the damage is proportional to its power. It’s not like in some hero shows where the technique neatly hits only the enemies. It’s a natural consequence. Rather, Kaido seemed to have intended to involve the entire enemy force, charging into the center. It’s also likely that the magic barrier wasn’t just a barrier, but a configuration that exploded, creating a double structure where he was protected by an inner barrier, and the surrounding enemies were swept away by the exploding barrier. As a result, Katsu coughed from the blast, Kitamiya rubbed his eyes as if sand had gotten in them, Minami spat out sand from her mouth, and Amelia shielded her face but brushed sand from her hair. I somehow knew this would happen and had avoided it all.
“Victory!”
Kaido struck a pose, standing in the crater that could be called the epicenter of the explosion. It felt like I had learned the behind-the-scenes aspects of hero shows – flashy productions come with a price. It made me want to complain about how the repair costs must be covered for the giant monsters that destroyed towns in Super Sentai shows.
“First, we need to think about how to implement it.”
“Right, and what about that? It seems frightened by Kaido’s attack just now.”
“It’s a good thing we didn’t have to fight unnecessarily, but that would be boring. So, as punishment for that blunder, how about Kaido-senpai goes again?”
“I agree.”
“Sounds good.”
“Go ahead!!”
“Huh?! Why?!”
“It’s unanimous. Go for another round.”
I understood Kaido’s strength, but I could see that its usage, especially in coordination, was difficult. He seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by his power. However, efforts to control it were evident, so there shouldn’t be a problem. For now, I’ll give him an opportunity to control that power.
“There’s a weird wolf here! It’s big, and the color is different!”
“Ah, that’s Blood. Don’t worry, you won’t lose if you’re not careless.”
“We don’t need the ‘once defeated, then come back stronger’ trope of heroes, do we? We still have the dungeon to clear.”
“Hurry up.”
“Do your best. I’ll handle the healing.”
“FIGHT!”
“Are you bullying me?! You are, aren’t you?! Bullying is wrong!”
As the wolf pack that had been circling arrived, I could see the form of a Forest Wolf, seemingly their leader. It was twice as large as the other individuals. The color was not gray but a shade of black. The pack was also larger than before. Overall.
“Don’t worry. There’s no problem.”
“That’s what you say when there *is* a problem! Give me your best equipment!”
“You’re already wearing the best equipment you have.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Kaido alone is fine. If we’re wary of lurking traps like Treants, Kaido won’t lose. I tell him this, but Kaido himself shouts as if he’s dissatisfied. Still, even as he rages and complains, he leaps up and attacks the wolves, which is typical Kaido.
“It’s about conserving our fighting strength. There are probably traps everywhere from here on.”
“So, this wolf is just a delay tactic?”
“Most likely. If we ignore it, it’ll multiply and attack, so we can’t ignore it. But if we stop to fight it…”
While a second battle began, Minami understood the meaning of this fight. It wasn’t just Minami; it was the consensus of the entire party. Sending a mobile Forest Wolf likely means there are Treants lurking ahead. Treants are trap monsters that disguise themselves as trees and wait for their enemies. They embody the strategy of hiding in forests. Their stealth capabilities are difficult to detect even with magic. Once concealed in a suitable location, they are hard to find. They are troublesome monsters that can attack you on your way back, even on a path you’ve already traveled. The only ways to deal with them are to defeat them when they move, or to turn the entire surrounding area into wasteland and erase them along with the terrain.
“Massive deployment of Treants is coming. Plant-based enemies like these are troublesome in places like this.”
“We’re making it even more troublesome, though.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Fortunately, Treants have low mobility. Because they primarily adopt a defensive stance, once you evade them, the same individual rarely pursues. Even if they do, once you escape their range of branches and roots, they are slower than a turtle. However, we are not the type to ignore such weaknesses.
“Ah, a launch sound.”
Amelia, recognizing the result of overcoming that weakness, murmured the words, and Minami silently cast a barrier.
“Ouch?!”
And an object hit Kaido’s head. As Kaido staggered back, Minami’s barrier was bombarded as if by a torrential downpour. And not from above, but from the side.
“I thought it was tricky when they started shooting seeds, but these are quite bothersome.”
“It’s a byproduct of their own bodies. It’s easy to imbue them with magic, and with selective breeding, they can create hard seeds and shape them for easy firing. Who would have predicted that the first ‘modern weapon’ equivalent wouldn’t be in the Machine King’s Dungeon, but in the Lunaria’s Dungeon?”
If the attack radius is small, just expand the attack radius. That’s the concept behind the fixed turret-like Treants. Although their ammunition is limited, their attack range is more than ten times that of conventional ones. The higher-ranking species can deplete Minami’s barrier. While they can’t fire like a machine gun yet, they can create a barrage if enough of them are gathered. This is what Minami meant by deployment.
“This might be too much for Kaido alone.”
“From my perspective, I’m satisfied with seeing the defensive power of Kaido-senpai’s transformation belt.”
“That attack can pierce an inch-thick iron plate imbued with magic. How can he just get away with saying it hurts after a headshot?”
“Should I go for healing?”
“Ah, please do. Minami and Amelia, you two head over to Kaido as well. Kitamiya and I will take care of those Treants.”
“Be careful. They might unleash more than just a triple shot.”
“Got it.”
“I know.”
While the Forest Wolves were held in place, the Treants completed their encirclement and unleashed an all-out assault. For early-stage beginners, this is a nightmare scenario. Without a certain level of defense or evasion skills, one would be quickly turned into a sieve. This is the first defensive battle of the Lunaria’s Dungeon, meant to deter anyone from entering the forest. The mere thought of snipers appearing from the forest at any moment would make an ordinary person freeze. Furthermore, these are seed bullets infused with magic. They can penetrate flesh and bone.
“Well then, Kitamiya. What are we going to do?”
“What do you mean, ‘what are we going to do’?”
Even as we head towards opponents of such caliber, Kitamiya and I walk along leisurely, seeing Minami and the others off.
“Do you think you need backup?”
I don’t underestimate weaker opponents, but I don’t lose my composure. I said it would be difficult for Kaido alone, but it wasn’t impossible or reckless. With a wry smile, I grabbed a flying seed without even touching my Ore Tree and let it fall to the ground. Kitamiya, likewise.
“Are you trying to make me do all the work?”
She tilted her head and dodged a bullet aimed at her head.
“I thought you might want to test your newly acquired skills.”
“In that case, I’d prefer a more challenging opponent.”
“You’re dissatisfied here?”
“Very. Because…”
Then, infusing magic into the floating sphere, Kitamiya manifested a hundred ice spears.
“Their range is shorter than mine.”
She fired the spears towards the incoming seeds.
“And their power is too low to be challenging.”
The trajectory was adjusted so that the ice spears and seed bullets collided head-on. The ice spears, scattered in four directions, flew straight, piercing the seed bullets and continuing on to pierce the Treants that fired them, without losing speed.
“Don’t push the job onto me just because you’re too lazy to run.”
“Whoa, scary. Can’t afford to slack off.”
“Of course.”
Then, with a single finger snap, the sound – or rather, the vibration of a sound not even reaching that far – shattered the Treants, which had been pierced by the ice spears and frozen, and they disappeared.
“Next, it’s Jiro-san’s turn.”
“That’s bothersome. Should I just flatten the place?”
“Suella-san would get angry.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
Unlike the Dragon King’s Dungeon, where strong opponents appear from the start, this level of threat can be easily handled. I made a mental note that this part also requires improvement.
“Well then, let’s go on a rampage.”
“Is this what it feels like to be a Hero?”
“I wouldn’t know, as I’ve never been one.”
While Kaido and the others were dominating the Forest Wolves at a distance, Kitamiya and I would enjoy the hunt.
Today’s Word: Whether to face difficulties or wait for them to pass is a free choice.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018. An e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year. The second volume was released on December 19. The third volume was released on February 20, 2019. The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shosetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of unpublished interludes. Please check out the new releases!*
*A manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.” We hope you enjoy that as well.*
*We hope for your continued support of this work.*
