Black Death Ice Forest (7)

We had begun our second attempt at conquering the 'Black Death Ice Forest' with everyone together. Since each of us had explored the shallower areas several times after our first failure, the sections before the depth at which Spartoi Leaders appeared were already well mapped out. Thus, while avoiding battles with monsters as much as possible, we successfully made our way into the depths by the shortest route.

"The Spartoi Leaders may start appearing around here. Stay on your guard."

"I know, brother."

As I warned Jigoro, who restlessly cast his gaze around as if itching for a fight, we continued onward. Once again, Ruby's scouting secured our safety, and we took care not to be ambushed. Considering our numbers, we had given up on ambushing the monsters ourselves from the very beginning.

"Oh, there's a group approaching. There are fifteen of them. I think the three in front are probably Spartoi Leaders!"

"Heh-heh, finally."

At Ruby's warning, Jigoro grinned and licked his lips. Had he really wanted to fight that badly? Then he could fight to his heart's content.

"All right. Jigoro, Genjuro, and Cal, you handle the Spartoi Leaders. We'll take care of the rest."

"Leave it to us, brother!"

"Hmm. They seem to have some bite to them, so this should be entertaining."

"Grrrrrrrr..."

Jigoro cracked his fingers, Genjuro smoothly drew the sword at his hip, and Cal menaced them with a low growl. Yes, these two and one beast were far too reliable. Leaving the strong ones to handle the strong opponents usually worked out just fine. They also wanted to fight powerful enemies, so it was a win-win.

"Clack, clack, clack!!!"

"Hah-ha!"

"Oh? Your swordsmanship is better than I expected."

"Graaaar!"

The Spartoi Leaders and the Spartoi they led burst out from between the trees. Jigoro and the others blocked the lead Spartoi Leader. Jigoro's mighty fist dented its shield, Genjuro's sword deflected its blade, and Cal charged straight into it and pinned it down.

With their commander under attack, the Spartoi following behind tried to attack them as well. But there was no way I was going to let them interfere.

"Over here!"

"Heavy Charge!"

As Jigoro and the others moved forward, Kanna and Raga, who had been waiting, charged in. The fangtian halberd Kanna swung around was terrifyingly powerful, but the sheer weight of Raga's charge, equipped with True Steel horse armor, was a deadly weapon all on its own. The Spartoi, distracted by what was happening in front of them, took the cavalry charge head-on, and their formation fell apart.

In any case, we had successfully divided them. Now all we had to do was defeat them one by one.

"Hmph! Hyaaah!"

"...You're awfully boisterous, Eiji."

"There's nothing wrong with having energy."

Eiji swung his ax and shield around with gusto while Toji covered every opening he made. Whatever they might say, their teamwork, built up since the very beginning of the game, was excellent. On top of that, Mossan darted around in complex trajectories, distracting the enemy while steadily reducing its health. At this rate, the Spartoi they were fighting wouldn't last a minute.

"Let's go, Phil! Tess!"

"I'll cover you!"

Sei did not have as much charging power as Kanna and Raga, but he made up for it by darting lightly around the battlefield. His True Steel-reinforced staff smashed into the Spartoi, while the horns and fangs of his tamed monsters, along with magic, followed up the attack. Whenever the Spartoi tried to counterattack, Shio's arrows came down accurately onto their skulls from above. The Spartoi were utterly helpless.

"Hmm, we still lack firepower, don't we?"

"We win through the number of attacks we can make, Ruby!"

Meanwhile, in one corner of the battlefield, Ruby and Shifune were hacking a Spartoi to pieces together. It was true that compared with the front-line fighters like Jigoro and Eiji, the individual blows of the two of them lacked weight. However, Ruby's rapid knife work and Shifune's blade-like jointed legs created a space that resembled a barrier of slashes. Even if this game had realistic blood effects, I would never want to put a living creature inside that space.

"This is dangerous... Holy Shield."

"That's what support is for, right? Here!"

"I've got it!"

"Keep it up! Baa~."

The rear guard was also providing support from safe positions, each in their own area of expertise. Shichikou used magic, Shiitake used throwing weapons, Wool used song, and Iris tripped the Spartoi by extending their tentacles and wrapping them around their ankles. Ah, the Spartoi Iris tripped just had its head crushed under Eiji's foot. That probably killed it instantly, right?

"It's nice not having to use Fear Heal. Astral Magic Circle, Remote Activation, Holy Ray."

I was providing support as well. Five rays of light shot from the magic circle and pierced the Spartoi. I had not strengthened them with spell adjustments, so they did not kill anything instantly. Even so, they certainly managed to grind away at the enemies' health.

The rear guard's attacks created openings, allowing the front-line fighters to press their advantage. We had plenty of leeway overall, so the battle would not drag on unnecessarily.

"Hahahaha! Without Fear to hold you back, is this all you've got?!"

"Hmm, not bad, but... you're too straightforward. This won't provide much of a training exercise."

At the edge of my vision, Jigoro and Genjuro were fighting a higher-ranked monster, and the battle was completely one-sided. Naturally, the two of them had the advantage. They parried swords, slipped past shields, and landed their attacks. They were doing the same things, but the impression they gave was completely different: Jigoro was rough and savage, while Genjuro hardly made any large movements.

Actually, Jigoro, I know you can fight like Genjuro if you put your mind to it. Do you fight this way simply because you want to move your body, or because all the frustration from last time has built up inside you?

No, it was probably the latter. Being held back by the Fear status effect had apparently left him extremely annoyed. Don't overdo it.

"Graaaargh!"

Cal, who had previously spent most of his time in the back whenever he was afflicted with Fear, was now rampaging according to his instincts. He knocked them down with his claws, fangs, horns, and even his tail. I never get tired of admiring those dynamic movements!

"...All right. Is that everything?"

A few minutes later, the unit led by the three Spartoi Leaders had been wiped out. We had suffered almost no losses. Watching us completely overwhelm an opponent that had given us such trouble before simply because we were no longer afflicted by status effects made me realize just how important countermeasures against status effects were.

I have 【Status Effect Immunity】, but perhaps accessories that negate status effects will one day become common among humanity. If that happens, one of the advantages of an Undead like me will disappear, and attacks that inflict status effects, such as the 【Curse Arts】 I use, will become useless. All I can do is pray that day never comes.

"Once we're done harvesting the drops, let's keep moving. If we make it there today, we'll challenge the boss."

"Yeah! I can't wait!"

"My destination lies beyond it, you know."

"Oh, right. I guess it was."

Jigoro, who was interested in nothing but fighting, had apparently even forgotten why I had suggested conquering the 'Black Death Ice Forest' in the first place. What a battle junkie!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.

――――――――――

After continuing onward while repelling several attacks, we finally reached the deepest part of the forest. At the same time, we discovered an open space that was unmistakably a Field Boss Area.

In terms of size, it was probably about as large as a schoolyard. It also seemed to be the edge of the forest. Beyond the Boss Area, on the far side from us, was something resembling white mist, and we could not see what lay beyond it. Surely the 'Dragon's Holy Land' we sought was on the other side.

However, it would not be easy to break through. Seeing the Boss Area with our own eyes forced us to understand that the battle with its boss would be far more intense than we had imagined.

"Hey, come on, that number is cheating..."

There were easily more than fifty Spartoi and Demon Spirits there, including the Spartoi Leaders. It looked like an army of Undead. And those were not the only enemies.

"Th-that's a Bone Dragon..."

"This is my first time seeing a wild Dragon."

"No, I don't think it's 'wild,' though, is it? It's dead, after all."

"Shichikou, this is no time for clever wordplay."

Four Dragons reduced to white skeletons stood behind the Spartoi. They were also about two sizes larger than Cal. They were probably the skeletons of Dragons whose 'Lesser' designation had disappeared. If they were as strong as they had been in life even without their flesh, then we had no chance of winning against them.

"Aaaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah..."

"Ooooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh..."

Those Dragons, reduced to nothing but bones, were attacking the white mist relentlessly. The mist appeared to be physically solid, and their attacks did not make it budge. It seemed we could not force our way into the next area.

"What shall we do, Isaam? Shall we proceed as we are?"

"Honestly, I'm having a hard time deciding."

We had barely expended any energy on the journey this far. So even if we entered the Boss Battle, we would certainly be able to fight at full strength.

However, seeing the number of enemies and those Bone Dragons had undeniably made me hesitate. I believed we were superior in individual strength, but we were overwhelmingly outnumbered. Wouldn't it be wiser to use 【Appraisal】 first to estimate their strength, then withdraw for now if necessary depending on the result? I wanted to believe that thinking so was only natural.

"Oh? And who might you be?"

――――――――――

You have entered the Field Boss Area.

――――――――――

"Impossible!"

"An announcement, all of a sudden... even though we haven't moved an inch!"

But it had been a mistake to hesitate here. Perhaps it was also because we had assumed there were only mindless Undead here. The moment someone called out to us from the Boss Area, we were somehow deemed to have entered it.

"...Now that we've been found out, we have no choice. Let's go, everyone."

We resigned ourselves to the situation and stepped out from the shade of the trees where we had been hiding. The Spartoi horde split in two, creating something like a path. And walking down that path toward us was, incredibly, a human being.

At first glance, the gaunt scientist was notable for a white lab coat with frayed, tattered hems, thick bottle-bottom glasses, and a filthy cane with most of its paint peeling off. But there was no way a sane scientist would be surrounded by Undead monsters. Just who was this person?

"It is quite unusual for monsters of different Races to form a group."

"Why, thanks."

"Oh! And you can speak human language! Are you highly intelligent despite your appearance? That means..."

"Huh?"

When Jigoro gave the scientist, who was staring at him without restraint, a careless reply, the scientist began to grow excited for some reason. The scientist had also provoked Jigoro without even realizing it, so Jigoro glared at the scientist with naked murderous intent. The scientist seemed not to notice the glare at all, instead muttering to himself.

Apparently, this was someone who could see nothing but their own world. In real life, that would be exactly the sort of person I would never want to have anything to do with.

"Hmm, excellent... Excellent! If I make these my minions, I may be able to return to my laboratory!"

'Boku? What are you talking about?'

Shifune cocked their head at the scientist's unfamiliar use of the word boku. However, those who understood what he meant silently readied their weapons.

"By boku, Shifune, he means a servant—in other words, an attendant or a slave."

"Go! Capture them! As long as they remain intact, I don't care whether they live or die!"

"Clack, clack, clack!!!"

"Aaaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah!!!"

At the scientist's command, all the Undead attacked us at once. Damn it, now we had no choice but to fight with everything we had! Boss or no boss, bring it on!