Why Does It Keep Coming After Me?

The presence of monsters around me kept increasing.

And they weren't all the same kind.

I could sense zombies and goblins, too.

Did that howl have the effect of drawing in not only monsters of the same species but monsters from the surrounding area as well? No... It's also possible that the other monsters were trying to take advantage of the Lesser Wolves' movements.

Either way, I let my guard down.

I may have misjudged when to withdraw.

All right, let's run.

I could sense monsters coming from every direction, but with my stats, I should be able to break through in one direction.

But before that...

"......I have to do something about these guys, don't I?"

"Grrr..."

"Grrrr...!"

Lesser Wolves emerged from the darkness, encircling Momo and me.

There were four of them.

They must have rushed over first in response to the howl just now.

Even though I'm using 'Stealth' and 'Presence Concealment,' the fact that they noticed me means...

"As I thought, they can tell by smell..."

As expected, this is the worst possible matchup.

I can't make use of my Skills' advantages at all.

"I mean, you guys were the ones who called them over, right? Go over there."

"Grrrrrr..."

I tried saying that, but of course there was no way they could understand me.

If anything, they grew even more wary as they approached.

They looked raring to go.

"...Momo, let's hunt."

"Woof!"

It can't be helped. We'll hunt them here.

I might be able to shake them off and escape, but they had an excellent sense of smell.

If they memorized Momo's and my scents and started tracking us, that would be a real problem.

On top of that, these things operated in packs.

If they kept chasing us, it would be the worst.

I took a kitchen knife from the Item Box and readied it.

The Lesser Wolves warily crept closer, little by little.

They were probably planning to surround us from all sides before attacking at once.

But I had a way to fight while outnumbered, too.

The Lesser Wolves took another step forward.

―――They're within range.

At that moment, I released home appliances and vending machines directly above the Lesser Wolves' heads.

My appliance-based surprise attack.

The Lesser Wolves were startled by the falling objects that suddenly appeared overhead.

"Grr!?"

"Gau!?"

――Gah!?

Unable to dodge in time, three Lesser Wolves were crushed beneath the falling appliances.

They seemed less durable than the goblins.

A dull, squelching sound echoed.

≪You acquired experience points.≫

≪You have reached the required amount of experience points.≫

≪Kudou Kazuto's LV has increased from 7 to 8.≫

The heavenly voice announced my level-up.

I was happy about it, but I didn't have time to pay attention to it.

The one that had barely dodged the attack was coming toward us.

"Momo!"

"Woof!"

Momo's 'Shadow' stretched out.

It wrapped around the Lesser Wolf's legs, impeding its movement.

"Gaa!?"

The Lesser Wolf became unable to move.

The Lesser Wolf tried to bring out its own 'Shadow' as well, but I gave it no time to do so.

I immediately dropped another vending machine onto its head.

≪You acquired experience points.≫

Four purple magic stones rolled across the ground.

I quickly collected them and tossed them to Momo.

Momo caught them perfectly and ate them right away.

"They're increasing faster and faster..."

The Lesser Wolves' howls continued.

Monsters continued gathering, one after another.

I could see dozens of monsters, including goblins and zombies.

I could even see a Hob-Goblin.

Just where had all these things been hiding...?

I searched for a spot where there seemed to be fewer monsters, even if only slightly.

"All right, Momo! We should be able to escape from over there! Let's go!"

"Woof!"

Sorry, students.

I'm running.

Do your best to survive.

I glanced toward the home improvement store.

The students were fighting desperately against the Lesser Wolves and goblins.

It looked like several refugees had joined the fight as well. Some were even fighting with pieces of lumber.

I searched for Nishino-kun and found him behind everyone else.

He was shouting instructions while holding one hand out toward his companions.

What was that? A faint light was being emitted from his hand.

The students struck by that light seemed to have gained speed and strength.

Could it be support magic or something? So there are Skills like that, too?

"But they're moving strangely cautiously..."

They almost looked as though they were focusing entirely on defense.

Besides... aren't there fewer monsters fighting than I'd expected?

There should have been a lot more.

Where had the other monsters gone?

"Hmm...?"

And then I noticed.

In the center of the parking lot, away from the entrance.

The monsters had gathered there.

The person they had surrounded and were fighting was a high school girl.

She had a gal-like appearance, with her hair tied in a side ponytail.

She was fighting the monsters while swinging two machetes around.

"No way... What the hell is that?"

Something like steam was rising from the high school girl's body.

Even in the darkness, I could see her eyes glowing bright red.

Her machetes cut through the monsters, and a goblin sent flying by a kick soared several meters through the air. Ah, I saw her panties.

Even when a Lesser Wolf tried to restrain her with 'Shadow,' the high school girl forcibly tore the shadow apart and kept swinging her machetes.

With each cry she let out, more monsters were cut down.

It was an uncanny sight even from the sidelines.

"That's obviously a Skill, right...?"

'Enhancement'...?

No, could it be 'Berserk'?

It was probably a Skill that boosted her combat ability.

Could she be the delinquent group's main fighter?

The other students also seemed to be concentrating on defense so as not to get in her way.

"...It looks like they'll manage somehow after all."

The students seemed to have more fighting strength than I'd expected.

If they were that capable, they'd manage on their own.

"...Wait, this isn't the time to stand around casually watching the fight. I need to get out of here―――"

Just as I thought that―――a chill ran down my spine.

'Danger Sense' sounded the alarm.

'Enemy Sense' reacted.

What was that?

Something was there...!

"Wooooooooooooooooo―――......"

I heard a howl.

When I looked toward the sound, I saw the rooftop of the building where I'd been resting until a little while ago.

A single monster stood there.

With the moon behind it, its figure was almost dreamlike.

Thanks to 'Night Vision,' I could make out its form clearly.

It was considerably larger than a Lesser Wolf.

There was no mistaking it.

The first monster I'd run over and killed after coming to this world.

"...Shadow Wolf."

And it was even larger than the one I'd run over and killed.

It looked about as large as a lion.

Its twin eyes glowed bright crimson in the darkness, clearly fixed on Momo and me.

"Why the hell does it have to target me...? Go over there."

I tried asking it, but there was no way it could reply.

For that matter, I didn't even know whether it could hear me at this distance.

But it looked to me as though the Shadow Wolf had sneered.

It descended from the building wrapped in shadow.

"...Looks like it has no intention of letting us escape."

"Woof."

Momo brought out its 'Shadow' as well and readied itself for battle.

Apparently, we couldn't escape until we dealt with this thing.

Without taking my eyes off the Shadow Wolf, I quickly operated the status screen.

≪Spend 10 SP to raise the Item Box's LV?≫

I selected Yes.

≪You spent SP. The Item Box's LV has increased to 10.≫

At long last, the Item Box reached the milestone of LV 10.

At that moment, the heavenly voice rang out in my head again.

Hearing it, I smiled more broadly.

"All right, let's go, Momo!"

"Woof!"

I steeled myself, and Momo and I dashed forward.