Seeds of Danger

Even if I say I'll take a supporting role, there are many ways to do so. Weakening enemies with Abyssal magic, especially 【Curse Arts】, would be quite effective, but it is probably too soon to reveal that publicly. So I decided to support everyone using methods that others besides me could use. First, let's strengthen Eiji.

"I'll apply some buffs. Defense Boost, Defense Boost, Strength Boost, Strength Boost, Strength Boost."

【Enchantment Arts】 should be enough like this. I've reinforced him as much as possible, but even so, the difference in levels will make things a close call. Cover whatever is lacking with your skill.

"Next is Toji. Fire Enchantment, Agility Boost, Agility Boost, Dexterity Boost, Dexterity Boost."

Our opponent has 【Physical Resistance】, but like many monsters, it also has 【Fire Attribute Weakness】. If I raise Toji's Agility, which affects things like evasion, and her Dexterity, which increases her critical rate, I think her firepower will be sufficient.

"Shiitake, can you poison it?"

"Okay, leave it to me! Hngh!"

As she said that, Shiitake ripped off one of the white bumps covering the surface of her cap with a sharp snap. W-was that really okay!?

"And now—take this!"

Shiitake's throwing form was anything but beautiful as she hurled a part of herself. The sight of a small, squat, bipedal mushroom throwing something with an absurdly graceful motion was so comical that I almost forgot we were in the middle of a battle.

"Goga? Ggyahhhhhhhhhhh!?"

Yet the effect was tremendous. The piece of Shiitake struck the Troll's shoulder with a limp little thump, then stuck to its skin. Immediately afterward, the Troll began to writhe in agony. What was more, the protrusion Shiitake had thrown grew in the blink of an eye, becoming a mushroom of the same type that had made her small.

"Heh heh heh! Did you see that? This is the ultimate technique of mushroom-type monsters! 【Parasitic Clone Generation】!"

Shiitake said this proudly, puffing out her chest. I see—it's a Skill that can only be learned by certain Races. It must be something like the 【Demon Tongue】 that Jigorou used. Attacks using Skills like these are powerful, and the fact that Magic Jammer cannot nullify them makes them particularly troublesome.

"I don't know what this is, but it's our chance!"

"What's this? It's so much easier to fight now!"

The Troll, immobilized by Shiitake, was cut to pieces by Eiji and Toji. Its wounds kept healing thanks to 【High-Speed Healing】, but the two of them attacked faster than it could recover. Little by little, but surely, they were wearing down its health.

Toji's slashes were especially incredible. She moved with elegant, dance-like grace while accurately slicing through vital points and joints. Could her firepower after receiving my buffs perhaps rival Genjuro's from back then?

"Goooooo!"

The Troll was steadily approaching death, but it swung its stone axe around in one hand, keeping the two of them at bay. I wondered what it was doing, only to see it tear the mushroom growing from its shoulder off with its other hand—and then eat it. Huh? Was that really safe to eat?

"Guh!? Gwoeheheheheh!?"

"Ah, my condolences."

Ah... So it really was something you weren't supposed to eat. That had originally been part of Shiitake, the Poison Walk Mushroom. This one was obviously poisonous too. Ah, a poison icon has appeared on my marker as well.

"Well, I suppose I'll join in. Astral Formation remote activation, Spell Adjustment, Flame Thrower."

"Gooo...!"

I deployed five magic circles beneath the Troll's feet and fired powered-up Flame Throwers from them. The Troll was weak to fire to begin with, and there was no way it could withstand my magic when my level was a full tier above its own. In an instant, it lost the rest of its health.

"A-amazing..."

"What kinda power is that...?"

Moss-san and Nanako, who had already defeated the lower-level Hobgoblin, stared at us as though horrified. The other three looked just as stunned. Come now, it wasn't so surprising, was it?

"It wasn't me. It was the overwhelming power of my equipment and level. More importantly, let's harvest the materials."

The excitement of discovering what can be harvested from a monster defeated for the first time never changes. Now, what will we get?

"Um, excuse me!"

"Hm?"

The ones approaching us timidly were a spider about a meter long and an entirely ordinary sheep. Naturally, they were the players we had come to assist.

"Y-you saved us! Thank you! I'm Shishu, a Big Spider! This is Wool, a Sheep!"

"Thanks!"

The voices belonged to one female and one male. In FSW, it is possible to make your avatar's gender different from your actual one. However, the voice itself remains the player's real voice. So it is immediately possible to determine someone's actual gender.

That was why I was surprised. Why? Because a girl's voice came from the spider, while a boy's voice came from the sheep.

"I'm Izam, a High Lich. You don't need to thank us. It was a worthwhile battle for us, too."

However, I responded cheerfully without letting my surprise show in my voice. It was true that being able to see how everyone besides Eiji and Toji fought had been useful. Now it would be easier to devise tactics.

"Even so, we're going to thank you. If you hadn't helped us, we would've died as soon as the event started!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Shishu and Wool bowed their heads deeply. Judging from the pitch of their voices, were they students around the same age as Ruby and Shio? They were polite, at least. Hmm... Still, the more I looked at them, the more surreal the combination seemed.

"So, what are you two going to do now? I don't like putting it this way, but at your levels, I think it would be difficult to win if you encountered the same enemy again..."

Neither of them had undergone even a single evolution. Even in the encounter just now, there had naturally been monsters over Level 30. It would be far too optimistic to conclude that such an unusually powerful opponent had been a special case.

There are many players over Level 40 like me, and there are probably plenty who have surpassed the Level 15 limit for challenging the Second Wave, 'Trial of the Azure Moon.' Eiji is one of them. If anything, Shio, who has been deliberately keeping her level from getting too high for the trial, is a little behind. If that is considered the appropriate level, then it would be dangerous for these two even to walk through this coniferous forest.

"That's the thing. We were busy with real life, so we couldn't log in for the first time until three days ago. We thought that meant we wouldn't be able to participate in the event, but..."

"Then we saw that notification and thought, 'If we can participate, let's go.'"

So that's why they had come here while still at low levels. I understood their desire to participate in the event all too well. We had wanted to enter the first event, the martial arts tournament, too.

"Izam-san, what should we do? Should we invite them too?"

"We can never have too many hands, and I'm in favor of it."

Eiji and Toji were the ones asking me that. When I glanced at the other three, none of them showed any signs of objection. Besides, the fact that they were here meant that Iifa-sama had brought them here. I felt as though she was telling me to guide them.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yes. Since we've met like this, perhaps it is fate. If you don't mind, would you like to travel with us?"

"Really!? Is that okay!?"

Were her compound eyes sparkling? There was no way to tell, but Shishu raised her voice brightly, excitement showing through. Being able to travel with more experienced players must have been exactly what she wanted. But before that, there was something I needed to tell them.

"However, during this event, we will be acting toward a certain objective. I want you to help us with it."

"What objective?"

"Yes, well..."

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Once we'd explained our objective, the two decided to come along after some deliberation. They followed us, saying things like, "What an insane plan," and "If they find out we were involved, they'll definitely hate us. Aren't we the villains?" That made me think they were players on our side.

By the way, the two of them apparently checked the message board thoroughly, and were shocked to learn that I was the player known as Monster Bro. I never expected to become this famous without intending to.

"My Magic Echo detects three presences. What about you, Moss-san?"

"Same here. They seem to be gathered a short distance away."

"I wonder whether the next ones are players or ordinary monsters...? Which could they be?"

Shiitake said it with a hint of excitement. As for which possibility she was hoping for, it was probably ordinary monsters. She seemed delighted that her attack had worked against the overwhelmingly higher-level Troll in the battle just now.

Some plant-type monsters, including Shiitake, possess a Skill called 【Parasitic Clone Generation】. Apparently, it can create a clone that attaches itself to an object it touches and parasitizes it if it manages to put down roots. If it works, it is a powerful trump card that can even affect an opponent three times its level.

However, as powerful as it is, it has one fatal weakness. It almost certainly cannot parasitize an enemy wearing armor. Since it needs to put down roots, it cannot take effect through armor. That makes it a terrible match for player-versus-player combat, especially against someone armored as heavily as Eiji.

"I'd prefer them to be players. Then we'll have the minimum number of companions we need."

"Yeah. The plan requires at least two parties. We gotta gather enough people."

The first stage of our plan was to form at least two parties. For that reason, I hoped the last reaction would be a player too...

"It was around here, wasn't it? Magic Echo... to the right."

I used Magic Echo once more at the location where I had sensed the reaction. Three signals appeared to my right. Since they were clustered together, they were either a party or a group of monsters.

"I know you're hiding there. We have no intention of fighting. If you're players, we only want to talk. Would you please come out?"

I had chosen my words carefully so that I wouldn't sound threatening, but I wondered how they had come across. It would be helpful if they were cooperative players.

"You really aren't going to do anything?"

A suspicious boy's voice came from behind a tree. He was probably around the same age as Wool.

"Of course not. Look."

Saying that, I stored the staff I was holding in my right hand in my inventory. This should convince them that I was unarmed. In reality, I still had the Grimoire at my waist, so I could retaliate with magic if they attacked me.

"I put my weapon away, didn't I? Does that convince you that I don't intend to fight?"

"...All right."

Apparently, seeing me disarm myself had finally convinced them to listen. They finally emerged from their hiding place. What appeared were a fluffy-furred monkey holding a long, thin staff, a scarred wolf, and a small, human-like something sitting atop the wolf's head.

"Oh? A party of three?"

"No. Phil and Tess are my familiars."

So he had familiars—was he a Tamer? He might have obtained them through some special means, like I had. I decided to use 【Appraisal】 on him, just in case.

――――――――――

Name: Sei

Race: Big Monkey Lv12

Job: Tamer Lv2

Name: Phil

Race: Wolf Lv8

Job: None

Name: Tess

Race: Pixie Lv7

Job: Apprentice Mage Lv7

――――――――――

"So what do you want? We're busy healing our wounds."

"We have two objectives. One is to ascertain the identity of the presence we detected nearby. The other is to recruit companions to get through the event together."

"Companions...?"

Sei, the Big Monkey, eyed us suspiciously. Well, it was only natural for him to be wary when our sizes and appearances were all so completely different.

"So you're trying to recruit me?"

"Exactly. We'll give the players participating in the event, regardless of which side they're on, a nasty surprise. Don't you think it sounds fun?"

Sei put a hand to his chin and considered my offer. A few seconds later, he spoke.

"All right. I'll take you up on your offer. But only after you help me get revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yeah. Against the PKs hiding around here."