Chapter 101
I climb over the rooftop fence and descend straight to the ground.
Even without making a cushion out of 'Shadow,' I can land normally.
It doesn't hurt at all.
"I feel like I'm steadily becoming less and less human..."
This building is five stories tall, right...?
Ever since my 'Strength' and 'Endurance' passed 100, I feel like my physical abilities have visibly changed.
Come to think of it, when I was fighting that Dark Wolf, I was moving through the air.
Even though I was making footholds with 'Item Box,' that wasn't something a human could do.
"Well, it's thanks to that that I'm still alive like this―――"
"Woof!"
"Momo."
As though interrupting my thoughts, I hear Momo's voice.
Looking over, I see Ichinose-san, Momo, and, a little later, Rikka-chan coming out through the window.
"Hm?"
Rikka-chan's expression looks rather gloomy.
What could they have been talking about?
"Is it a monster?"
Ichinose-san asks.
She doesn't seem particularly different...
Only Rikka-chan appears to be depressed.
"Yes. There's only one, and it's an enemy I've never seen before. An undead carrying a sword and shield. It's probably an advanced species of zombie. It's about eighty meters away, straight down the main road."
After briefly explaining the situation, Ichinose-san's expression changes.
This is Ichinose-san in battle mode.
"Understood. Then I'll provide support from here."
"Yes. Momo and I will move through the blind spots and launch a surprise attack."
"Um... what about me?"
"Aisaka-san, you're our skirmisher. Stay here with Ichinose-san. Be ready to move immediately if anything happens."
"O-okay!"
Well, we might actually finish it off before then, but I decide not to mention that.
"Then let's begin."
I part ways with Ichinose-san and the others and begin moving.
I quickly proceed along the walls, approaching without being seen by the enemy.
(All right, somewhere around here...)
I secure a good position.
I peer out from the corner of the wall and take another look.
I can see the enemy almost immediately.
"Aaaaaaah..."
The Death Knight wanders around, scanning its surroundings and making an eerie sound.
It's about the same size as an ordinary zombie. Roughly human-sized.
However, its greatsword is smeared with blood.
Its intimidating presence is nothing like that of an ordinary zombie.
(It doesn't seem to have noticed us...)
I've spent so long lately fighting enemies unaffected by 'Stealth' that it's actually reassuring when I know the Skill is working properly.
When I look over, I can also see Momo on the opposite side of the Death Knight.
Momo and I aren't moving together.
We positioned ourselves so we could attack it from both sides.
In other words, the Death Knight is in the center, while Momo and I are in its blind spots to the left and right.
Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan are farther away, directly in front of it.
(...Momo.)
(...Woof.)
I raise my right hand and signal Momo.
We simultaneously unleash 'Shadow' from both sides.
We send it toward the Death Knight.
"Aaaaaah...?"
The instant 'Shadow' touches the Death Knight, it cries out in surprise.
Then it immediately slashes the ground with the greatsword in its hand.
With a harsh scraping sound as the ground is gouged, 'Shadow' is severed.
Damn, it noticed us.
To react to 'Shadow' from that distance, it has an incredibly fast reaction speed.
(It doesn't seem to have sensed it in advance...)
If it had been a Skill, it could have reacted even sooner.
That means it responded to the Shadow just now with its raw reaction speed.
Then I'll try the next move.
I aim above the Death Knight's head and drop a piece of heavy machinery.
But―――
"Wha―――!? No way!"
This time, I actually cry out in surprise.
Amazingly, the Death Knight reacts to this as well.
It stops the heavy machinery that appears overhead with its shield.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Then it tilts the shield and deflects the heavy machinery.
With a heavy thud, the machinery sinks into the ground.
Seriously...? It blocked that on its first time seeing it?
Its movements are far more polished than those of any monster I've encountered before.
Combined with its appearance, the phrase 'veteran warrior' comes to mind.
"...Aah."
"...!"
In that instant, the red, cloudy eyes hidden beneath its helmet turn toward me.
I see. It used the 'Shadow' from earlier to pinpoint our location.
Then―――
"―――'Clone Technique.'"
I immediately create two clones.
I arm them and send them charging at the Death Knight.
At the same time, Momo, who had been hiding, begins to move.
"Momo! Now!"
"Woof!"
Momo takes a deep breath―――and 'shouts.'
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The 'Scream' Skill Momo unleashes assaults the Death Knight.
The ground cracks, the surrounding windows shatter, and the air trembles.
"~~~~~!!"
Pinned down by the two clones, the Death Knight can't move.
Unable to withstand it, the monster loses its balance.
I drop heavy machinery over its head again.
"Gah... aaaaaah!"
Even so, it summons all its strength and tries to raise its shield.
But it's a little too slow.
With a short burst of gunfire, its elbow is blown apart.
That was Ichinose-san's shot.
Then a second and third shot strike its elbow and knee cleanly.
"Ah... gah..."
She must have been watching the exchange from earlier.
Its head and heart are protected by armor, while shooting other parts would have little effect against a zombie.
That was why she chose this target and this timing.
Just as expected of Ichinose-san.
Her sniping was extremely effective at hampering its movements.
With its elbow badly damaged, it can't use its shield, and with its knee injured, it can barely stand.
The Death Knight is crushed beneath the heavy machinery.
≪You gained experience≫
≪You have reached the required amount of experience≫
≪Your level has increased from 18 to 19≫
All right, I leveled up.
I pump my fist inwardly and retrieve the heavy machinery.
When I pick up the magic stone and put it in my 'Item Box,' the display reads 'Zombie Magic Stone (Small).'
If it says 'Small,' does that mean its monster rank was about the same as a Shadow Wolf or Hobgoblin?
But, as expected, a monster's strength must differ depending on its species.
Personally, I'd rank them Death Knight > Shadow Wolf > Hobgoblin.
Compatibility probably plays a part, but in terms of how troublesome they are, the Death Knight we just fought was the worst.
Ah, High Orcs and Dark Wolves are in a separate category.
They're invalid comparisons.
"As expected, against higher-species monsters, I need another move..."
A surprise attack using 'Shadow' and 'Item Box.'
But as the monster's rank rises, the success rate of that tactic gradually falls.
The High Orc dealt with it through sheer strength.
The Shadow Wolf used its special abilities involving shadows.
And the Death Knight just now countered it with technique and experience.
Each of them managed to respond to my surprise-attack strategy.
"I need to rethink my responses and coordination for when my attacks get blocked..."
I'll have to discuss that with Ichinose-san and the others.
"For now, I'll head back to the vacant building and finish assigning my stats... Hm?"
With that in mind, I head toward Momo.
That's when it happened.
"...What is it?"
A chill runs down my spine.
I stop midstep.
When I look over, Momo has stopped moving as well.
Suddenly, I sense an 'unpleasant presence.'
What is it?
Is something there?
But... where?
I look around, but there is no sign of anything like that anywhere.
Can it be my imagination? No, it can't be.
The 'unpleasant feeling' keeps growing stronger.
Cold sweat pours down my back.
The invisible, inexplicable pressure makes my breathing grow ragged.
Where is it?
Where is it...?
"...!"
I suddenly look down at my feet.
The ground shakes.
It rattles.
"Momo! Get back!"
I shout instinctively.
Momo moves almost at the same instant I shout.
The next moment, a massive stone pillar erupts from the ground in front of us.
"...!"
And it's not just one.
Two, then three, stone pillars emerge one after another, until there are five of them.
"What... is this?"
I am utterly bewildered.
But the abnormality isn't over yet.
Stone pillars appear a short distance away as well.
There are five of them there too.
The shaking grows more violent.
The ground bulges upward along with the pillars that have appeared.
The adjacent buildings begin collapsing one after another with thunderous crashes.
Then I understand.
What I thought were pillars weren't pillars at all.
They were merely parts of an even more enormous pillar.
From above, I probably would have understood what was happening immediately.
It looked much like a person crawling up from below.
But the scale was entirely different.
The ground splits, buildings collapse, and the earth is gouged away.
Momo and I stand speechless at the sight.
The shaking subsides.
Its entire form comes into view.
A huge, egg-shaped torso, short legs, and long arms.
It is a gigantic golem, large enough to be mistaken for a building.
"What... the hell...?"
But the abnormality isn't over yet.
A crack spreads across its head.
A huge hole opens. Is that... its mouth?
At that moment, I get a terrible feeling.
"―――! This is bad, Aka! Momo!"
At my signal, Aka's body swells.
Momo immediately slips into its own 'Shadow.'
It happens in the next instant.
"―――Rrro... rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!"
"~~~~~!!"
It is an unbelievably powerful scream, reminiscent of the High Orc from before.
No, it might even be more powerful than that.
The buildings around it, already split by cracks, begin collapsing one after another as its scream delivers the finishing blow.
Everything within dozens of meters of it turns into a mountain of rubble, as if a localized earthquake had struck.
"What... is this...?"
I stagger to my feet and look over the devastation.
Its overwhelming destructive power is on a completely different scale from anything I've seen before.
The sight leaves me breathless.
"―――Ruuu..."
Perhaps satisfied with the destruction, the gigantic golem stops screaming.
"..."
This... is impossible. I have to run.
My instincts and Skills clearly tell me I can't win.
I use 'Search' to locate Ichinose-san and the others.
They're okay... They must still be alive.
After all, each of them has a small fragment of Aka attached.
Momo has already followed the 'Shadow' and moved to my feet.
(I'll retrieve Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan, and then, and then―――)
I immediately start moving.
A life-or-death escape begins—one more desperate than our flight from the High Orc... no, this is even worse.
"―――...Hm? They were defeated? And two of them, at that."
"Aaaaaah...?"
"Hm? Oh, you mean the ones I sent out to scout. Two of the four were defeated. One was taken out by humans... probably a team. Someone who uses a 'Shadow' Skill, a dog that can scream, and someone capable of sniping, perhaps...? It's a well-balanced team. The other one seems to have been defeated by a black wolf."
"Aaaaaah...?"
"Are they strong? Yes. I got a partial look through the 'Eye,' but they're quite strong. We probably couldn't beat either of them as we are now. Especially the black wolf. It's in a different league. No matter what we did, we wouldn't stand a chance against it."
"...Aaaaaah."
"Don't be so pessimistic. Understanding that there are opponents we can't defeat is important too. That's also 'knowledge.' Ah, wonderful. Let's keep gaining experience. Let's turn the unknown into the known. Knowledge, verification, learning, failure, setbacks, success—building all of that up will make us stronger. Now then, shall we go?"
"Aaaaaah...?"
"Yes, we'll move. It's an attack. The location is―――'City Hall.' There are troublesome enemies to watch out for, such as ants and golems, but let's make a big haul of experience all at once."