Chapter 43
I'll quickly finish allocating my level-up stat points.
This time, I'll level up the 'Assassin' Job again.
I'll set it to LV 8 and save five points.
If things go smoothly, I'll reach LV 10 after two more level-ups.
When that happens, I should probably be able to advance to the next higher-tier Job.
I wonder what the higher-tier Job for 'Assassin' will be?
...Though I have a bad feeling it'll be something dangerous.
Well, I can worry about that when the time comes.
Next, I'll raise 'Danger Sense' to LV 8 and 'Enemy Sense' to LV 6.
That leaves me with zero points.
I'm using my Skills, but my proficiency isn't increasing much.
I feel like 'Swordsmanship' and 'Vital Strike' should be going up by now.
I guess I just have to keep steadily defeating monsters.
Well then, shall I get moving?
Oh, right. There was a co-op around here.
Might as well pick up some supplies while I'm at it.
―――A few minutes of walking later.
I arrived at the co-op.
'Enemy Search' detected something.
It wasn't a monster. It was a human.
Apparently, someone had gotten here first.
I hid nearby and watched them. The people inside were students.
Could that be... Nishino-kun's group?
There were four in all. One of them was the guy with glasses.
They were happily stuffing food into backpacks and shopping carts.
They must have finally found some food. They looked pretty happy about it.
"Damn, there's a ton of food here!"
"Phew, this cola is freaking good! It's warm, though! Hahahaha!"
"Hey, let's eat some fries! We're not gonna be able to take it all anyway!"
"E-everyone... Stop eating and hurry up and carry it out..."
"Huh? Ono, who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do?"
"Yeah, yeah. Nishino isn't here to keep an eye on us, so what's wrong with taking a little for ourselves? Oh, and if you rat us out, I'll kill you. Gyahahaha!"
"Ow! Stop it. Don't tap my shoulder...!"
"I only touched you, didn't I? Stop making such a big deal out of everything."
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, Ono, get me the fries."
Wow... This really feels like a textbook exchange between a bully and his victim.
I feel sorry for the guy with glasses. I'm not going to help him, though.
He was quietly filling bags while acting as their gofer.
But they're loading all that into a shopping cart. Is that really okay?
Won't that make a lot of noise when they move it?
It seems like that would make them much more likely to be attacked by monsters along the way...
Well, it's not my problem.
For now, I'll wait here for a while.
They'll probably leave in a few minutes.
Then I can collect the supplies, too.
A few minutes later―――.
Just as they had finally finished packing and were about to leave, 'Enemy Search' detected something.
"Hm...?"
There was a presence a little way away... It wasn't human.
It was a monster.
I leaned forward slightly and checked with 'Telescopic Vision': two Lesser Wolves.
They were slowly approaching this way.
Of all monsters, it had to be these guys.
I thought, 'Is it coming for me again? Is it heading my way?' But apparently not.
The Lesser Wolves seemed to have set their sights on the students inside the store.
Without even looking my way, they headed toward the co-op.
"H-hey! Look at that!" "Seriously...? Those are monsters!"
"Aren't those the ones we fought yesterday?"
The guy with glasses and the others had finally noticed the Lesser Wolves.
They were in quite a panic.
Didn't any of them have a Skill like 'Enemy Search'?
How did they ever think it was a good idea to go out exploring like that?
Besides, they didn't need to panic that much. Anyone could have predicted a monster attack.
Nishino-kun, did you really pick the wrong people?
"E-everyone, what are you doing!? Hurry up and run!"
As the students readied their weapons, the only one to object was the guy with glasses.
He clutched his food-filled backpack as though it were precious and loudly called for them to run.
"Huh? Ono, you scared or something? It's only two of them. It'll be a piece of cake!"
"Yeah! We leveled up yesterday, so we won't lose this time!"
"B-but they might call their friends like yesterday! I-if that happens, we can't handle them..."
Apparently, the guy with glasses was wary of the Lesser Wolves calling their companions like they had yesterday.
That was a valid concern.
That move had put me through hell, too. For some reason, the ones they called kept coming straight at me.
But the other students didn't seem to see it that way.
"Ha! Then all we have to do is take them down before that happens!"
"Yeah! Might as well use this to level up. We can't let that idiot Rikka keep acting all high and mighty!"
"Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Dieeeeeee!"
They charged toward the Lesser Wolves.
Just beat them before they call for reinforcements, huh.
Wow... What a meathead line of reasoning.
I mean, there's no way they can pull that off.
Do these guys seriously have no grasp of reality?
After going through that hell yesterday, how could they even say something like that?
Or are their levels really high enough to pull it off?
"Uraaaaaaaa! Dieeeeeee!!"
"Grrrrrrrrr!!"
The battle between the Lesser Wolves and the students began.
The guy with glasses wasn't participating, so it was three against two.
They had the advantage in numbers. Maybe they'd really kill the Lesser Wolves in an instant—nope, not happening.
They were struggling badly. If anything, they were being pushed back.
Yeah, they just weren't seeing reality.
There was no way their levels were high.
Their Skills probably weren't anything special, either.
How could they talk so big with that going for them?
Hadn't Nishino-kun told them to put food and safety first?
Watching them, I saw the color steadily drain from the guy with glasses' face.
He hurriedly shouldered his backpack.
"Gah...! S-sorry!"
"Hey! Ono, you bastard!?"
"Don't run, damn you!"
The guy with glasses abandoned his companions and fled.
His figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
He's pretty fast...
Well, it was the right call.
There was no way those guys were going to listen to anything he said.
Besides, they probably couldn't win, either.
In that case, it was better to take at least some food and escape on his own.
Yeah, there was nothing wrong with that.
At least, that's what I'd do.
Now then, I wonder what'll happen to them?
"Hah... hah... Damn it!"
"Hey, what the hell are we supposed to do...? At this rate..."
"Shut up! Now that we've come this far, we've got no choice but to fight!"
The students were gradually getting injured and exhausted.
They're probably going to die.
"Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
One of the students charged at a Lesser Wolf.
But the Lesser Wolf easily dodged him and then tried to bite into his neck.
Ah, he's dead.
Just as I thought that, I heard a small gunshot—bang!
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, the Lesser Wolf's head exploded.
"Huh...?"
The student had an expression that said he had no idea what had happened.
Neither did I.
What was that? What just happened?
Once again, I heard a small gunshot—bang!
The other Lesser Wolf's head exploded, too.
...Could that have been a sniper's shot?
But where had it come from?
Was it the guy with glasses' Skill?
No, probably not.
The sound had come from somewhere completely different from where he had fled.
The location was―――.
I looked toward where the sound had come from.
A high-rise apartment building more than a hundred meters away.
Something flashed unnaturally on its rooftop.
Over there.
"H-hey! I don't know what that was, but let's get out of here while we still can!"
"Y-yeah!"
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!"
The students fled for their lives.
Their pathetic retreat mattered less to me; my attention was already fixed on that high-rise apartment building.
Did the shot come from there?
If so, that's an incredible distance.
A gun? ...But in Japan?
No, could it have been some kind of Skill?
As questions raced through my mind, a voice from the heavens rang out.
≪You have received an email.≫
...Huh?