Battle Against the Magic Golem Army (1)

'Level 5 threat confirmed. Initiating elimination.'

The ones that began to move were the stone statues in the pond. No, that wasn't quite right. The things we'd assumed were statues were actually γ-type security Golems.

The Golems modeled after a five-person human party and a dragon turned toward us, the parts corresponding to their eyes glowing red. Then each of them readied a weapon. They looked eager to kill.

We were surrounded by α- and β-types as well. In other words, escape was not an option, and it seemed a battle was unavoidable.

"Dark Ball... Ah, as I thought, no good."

When I tried using 【Dark Magic】's Dark Ball, the black mana began gathering into a sphere, but burst like a soap bubble partway through. This was undoubtedly because of the Jammer Field.

Apparently, the rod that had risen from the bottom of the pond could both interfere with magic and counteract such interference. In other words, until we destroyed that thing, no one here could use magic.

But why were the Golems, including the α- and β-types, operating normally? Magic Jammer worked indiscriminately within its area of effect, so its greatest drawback was that it also interfered with the user and their allies using magic. If so, the Golems, which were magical devices themselves, should have been unable to move as well... But without any information to go on, there was no point in thinking about it.

"What's wrong, brother?"

"Hm? Oh, apparently we can't use magic because of that rod."

"What!? Seriously!?"

I answered Jigoro's question tersely. He had noticed my sigh, and upon hearing my answer, he opened his eyes wide and shouted. The other members also grew agitated at the same time.

"What!? T-that's terrible!"

"Well, yes."

"...You seem awfully calm about this."

Iris must have been quite flustered, because her tentacles were trembling in short, quick movements. Ruby, by contrast, rippled her surface quizzically as she looked at me, completely unperturbed.

"You must have some way to counter it, no?"

"Exactly. I do have a way, but... here."

In answer to Genzuro's question, I tossed a talisman. It turned into a black sphere in midair, slammed into one of the surrounding α-types, and dented its armor.

"Huh? Wasn't that Dark Ball!?"

"It was. More precisely, I used a Dark Ball talisman."

It had not destroyed the Golem, but the obvious use of magic left Jigoro bewildered, so I explained the trick. 【Void Magic】's Magic Jammer was a spell that interfered with the activation of magic. However, it had a loophole: using talismans created with 【Talisman Arts】.

Magic Jammer was a spell that scattered the caster's mana throughout the surrounding area, interfering with the process by which mana became magic. That was why the mana I had begun gathering when I tried to use Dark Ball had dispersed a moment ago.

However, talismans created with 【Talisman Arts】 were different. They already contained magic that had been formed inside the talisman. Therefore, even someone unable to use magic could use one, and Magic Jammer could not interfere with the spell's activation. That was why it could be used as usual.

Because I knew this, I had not been particularly flustered. But there was another problem, namely...

"Ah... Am I going to burn through almost all our stock? I wonder if we'll still turn a profit..."

What I had just used was a mass-produced Dark Ball talisman. Talisman Arts already weakened the power of the spells it produced, and these were mass-produced copies made with 【Alchemy】, so their power had fallen even further. That was why all I could do was dent the armor of the weakest α-type here.

The mass-produced talismans would probably have no effect on the γ-types, which were obviously special models, and even defeating the α- and β-types would likely require a huge number of them. That meant I might have to use the handwritten talismans as well. The mass-produced ones aside, the originals had taken a fair amount of time to create.

If I used most of them, then unless we obtained some item of real value, the cost in time would outweigh the return, leaving us in the red. I wanted to avoid that.

"That's what you're worried about!?"

"...This seems like the part where you boast about the talismans, lad."

No, no, worrying about profit and loss was important. Naturally, there were times when a grand gesture at the expense of profitability was necessary, but this was not one of them. That was why I could not help worrying about whether we'd come out ahead.

'System check complete. Jammer Field operating normally. Cause estimated to be an unidentified Skill possessed by the monster. Eliminating it as quickly as possible.'

That was enough idle chatter. The Golems had stopped moving when I used magic. They appeared to be on guard because magic had been used despite the Jammer Field being active.

However, they had apparently concluded that it was one of my Skills and decided to eliminate me immediately as a dangerous target. It was about time we entered the battle ourselves.

"Sigh... It can't be helped. We'll worry about profit and loss after we get through this. Jigoro, Genzuro, and Ruby, hold back the five humanoid γ-types."

"You got it! They look strong!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Got it!"

As long as the Jammer Field was active, I, who fought primarily with magic, could not give it my all. Iris, a production-class character, was also a step below us in combat ability. Therefore, I decided to leave the γ-types, which gave off an exceptional sense of strength, to the three who could fight at full capacity as usual.

"Karu, take the dragon-type. Show them what real power looks like."

"Grrrrrrrr!"

I had Karu fight the dragon-type Golem, which was comparable to him in size. It seemed to have caught his attention from the moment we first saw it, and Karu had been threatening the dragon-type Golem ever since it began moving. His powerful reply made his fighting spirit clear.

"Let's clean up the remaining fodder, Iris. If we get an opening, we'll snap that accursed rod in half."

"Leave it to me!"

I would take care of the remaining fodder with Iris. I ought to be able to handle at least that much myself.

'Commence attack.'

"Let's go, everyone!"

◆◇◆◇◆◇

A little Golem clad in full armor charged at me with a shield as tall as I was held out in front of it. A contest of strength, huh? Fine, I'll play along!

"Haaaah!"

'...!'

My fist and the shield collided with a tremendous crash. It had some serious power, but... it was still below mine!

"Hnnngh! Take that!"

I swung my arm through and pushed the shield back, but the little Golem came slashing at me with the axe in its other hand while its stance was still broken! So it wasn't going to go down without a fight!

I calmly held my ground and caught the blade of the axe approaching from my left between my left elbow and knee. My elbow and knee were fitted with covers made from Tarasque shell, so I had no need to worry about pain. I clamped down on it from above and below with all my strength.

"Tch! It won't break!"

I had meant to smash the axe head, but it seemed to be made of better metal than I had expected. It did not even have a scratch on it. That was a little frustrating.

'Eliminate.'

Oh, crap. While I was playing around, the dual-wielding Golem had stepped in. Well, it was not so fast that I could not dodge it. I would just deal with it casually and...

"Jigoro! Don't get ahead of yourself!"

...But as I was thinking that, Ruby barged between us. Then she started crossing blades with it. She had gotten rid of a great deal of unnecessary movement. You have improved, haven't you?

'Eliminate.'

As I was thinking that, the mage Golem raised its staff. I wondered what it was trying to do, and then flames burst from the end of the staff!

"M-magic!?"

"No, it isn't! The flames are coming out of a hole in the end of the staff! That staff must be a flamethrower!"

Huh, she was observant. So it wasn't magic? It had given me quite a scare. But that made sense. Even in a place covered by this Jammer Field, it was possible to shoot flames normally as long as the method did not involve magic.

The γ-types must have been designed on the assumption that they would fight with a Jammer Field deployed from the outset. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to equip them with weapons that did not use mana.

"Grandpa, take the swordsman and archer! Jigoro, take the shield warrior and mage! I'll handle the dual-wielder!"

"Sure thing!"

"Very well!"

Well, orders had come down from the boss. Among the three of us, Ruby always took command in battle. In fact, she had the best command ability in our clan after Izam. She might be an assassin, but she could be a commander too.

"Well, time to get a little serious... Come at me, you bastards!"

I roared at the Golems while using 【Roar】. Thanks to how much I had used this Skill, I could now choose which targets it affected. Taking advantage of that trait, I used 【Roar】 only on the shield warrior and mage Golems.

'!'

'!'

Well, I guess they weren't going to be stunned. They were robots, after all. Of course it wouldn't work on them.

'Eliminate.'

"Gotcha! Took the bait!"

My real objective was to draw the attention of the two enemies assigned to me. At first, 【Roar】 had merely been a stronger version of 【Intimidation】. But as its level rose, it gained direct offensive power.

It was a Skill capable of massacring lower-level opponents all by itself. ...Against the Harpies, though, their Wind Wall had blocked the sound itself, making it almost completely useless.

But this time, the fact that I had attacked them was what mattered. The damage had been pathetic, but it was still damage. I succeeded in making the two I had attacked, especially the mage Golem that had been targeting Ruby until a moment ago, target me instead.

'Eliminate.'

The mage Golem pointed the end of its staff at me. As expected, it fired flames from the tip. Was it planning to roast me alive?

"Ha! That won't work!"

It was pointless. I had 【Fire Attribute Resistance】. Flames like that wouldn't even leave a burn on me.

"If you want to roast me, try this! Gwaaaah!"

I used 【Ogre Tongue】, a Skill I had learned when I became a Flame-Thunder Ogre. It was a Skill that allowed me to breathe flames and lightning from my mouth.

It looked like the 【Dragon Breath】 used by my brother and Karu. But its essence was different. Just as the Skill's name suggested, it was my tongue itself that had transformed into flame and lightning. I figured it was not magic, so I might be able to use it here—and I was right! It made me feel like a frog.

'...!'

My 【Ogre Tongue】 had extended toward the mage Golem, but the little Golem jumped in between us. Its shield was sturdy enough to block my fist, and it easily stopped my tongue as well. Realizing that continuing would only waste mana, I obediently retracted my tongue.

"But you blocked it, didn't you? Which means getting hit by it would be bad news, right?"

My 【Ogre Tongue】 could not match the 【Dragon Breath】 of those two, but it still had considerable power. That was precisely why it had blocked the attack. If it hit, it should be able to deal plenty of damage.

Still, the shield had blocked my 【Ogre Tongue】. Was it made of better metal than I had expected? Iris and my brother would probably be delighted. Regardless, however we intended to finish them off, we would need to break through their ironclad defense in close combat.

"Heh heh, this might actually be fun!"

An opponent who was not going to be defeated easily. That was how a proper opponent should be! I had not had this much fun since the Tarasque. I hoped it would live up to that.

"Shaaah!"

CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG!

I lunged sharply at the little Golem protecting the mage Golem and unleashed a flurry of blows, prioritizing the number of attacks over the power of any single one. My gauntlets collided with the Golem's shield, filling the air with an unpleasant metallic ringing.

"Here!"

'...!'

There was a considerable difference in size between me and the little Golem. Naturally, that meant my fists came down from above. As a result, the little Golem had no choice but to angle its shield upward.

That left its feet unprotected, no matter how large the shield was. I immediately swept its legs out from under it, and the little Golem toppled over. Then I stomped on it through the shield, pinning it in place. That neutralized the little Golem.

'Eliminate.'

"I told you, that won't work! Gwaaaah!"

'Gaga...!'

The mage Golem kept firing flames at me without learning its lesson, but they had no effect. I pierced it with 【Ogre Tongue】 and destroyed it instead.

"All that's left is breaking the little one. That was anticlimactic... Is this the limit of what machines can do?"

I had thought I might be able to enjoy myself, but it had been a disappointment. I had won just by using the dirty trick of sweeping its legs. I suppose that was the difference between fighting players and pseudo-personality AIs.

"How are the others doing...? Looks like they're fine. In that case, I might as well have a little fun."

My comrades were fighting at an advantage. There was no need for me to support them. I released the little Golem struggling beneath my foot and began fighting it anew—playing with it, in other words.