As we progressed into the mountains inside the dungeon that had what seemed to be a dark, moonless sky, I began to hear a faint sound, one of water flowing.
“Reinforce, can you tell me where the nearest river is?”
“Yes. It is 150 meters forward in the 2 o’clock direction.”
“…do we come across it if we follow this pathway?”
“This unit cannot confirm from where it is. However, it is possible to be along the way.”
“…alright. Let’s keep following this path then. Tell us when you detect monsters nearby.”
“Understood”
As we moved, the sound of water grew louder. The pathway we were threading was currently wide enough not only for Reinforce and me to walk side by side but also for me to swing my sword as much as I wanted without any issue.
We maintained a distance between the front and rear lines through my use of hand signals. And before long, the river was in sight. By my estimate, the river was probably 10 meters wide. When I got closer, I thought the flow of the water was rather fast. It was loud too.
The river flowed alongside the path for about a couple dozen or so meters. There was probably just enough difference in elevation between the path and the water for that space to be called the river bank, but honestly, the bank and the path could also be considered as one and the same. Meanwhile, on the other side of the path, there was a continuous line of trees.
“Reinforce, Layla, you two walk closer to the forest and take care of things on that side. Yukine, you and I will keep watch of the river side.”
“““Understood”””
As they gave their enthusiastic replies, I readjusted to an overhand grip on my sword. Like planned, I kept watch on the water as we moved, but soon enough, I noticed something glitter in the dark. Immediately after, my Magic Eye activated.
“Ambush!”
I shouted so as I positioned myself between the river and Yukine. A ball of water the size of a human head was soon in front me, but it vanished just as quickly thanks to my Resistance. But as though it was hiding behind the water ball, I saw a clawed arm stretch out toward me.
I countered and cut the arm off, spraying the air with red blood. The creature who owned that arm let out a rather strange cry.
“Gigiiiii….!?”
The creature in question was a monster that looked like a monkey. It, along with 2 others, emerged on the other side of the river as though something kicked up to the surface. A disc-like object shined on top of their heads as the group glared at us with their yellow eyes.
Kappa, that was what this kind of monster was called. Alongside the Oni, Kappas were a kind of yokai that pretty much every Japanese person knew of. In the present day, they had been made real in the form I was seeing: to have the body of a monkey, a face similar to a duck, a skin on their back that has hardened to resemble a turtle’s shell, and the aforementioned disc that protruded out of its head and in the middle of its human-like hair.
Its body was similar to a monkey, but the pressure the monster exuded could rival that of an Oni. Which wasn’t much of a surprise as it was a C rank monster too.
Anyway, when the Kappa that lost an arm opened its mouth, the other two did the same with their beaked mouths. And then, high-pressure water currents surged forth from their mouths. If an ordinary person was hit by any of those, their flesh would be torn and their bone smashed. With three of those aimed at us, an instinctive fear made me want to move my feet. However, reason stopped me from doing so. There was just no need. And so, as I watched those currents be Resisted, I swung my sword with all my might and activated Magic Power Discharge.
Pebbles rose up and the damp ground exploded as though it was by an artillery. With my vision obstructed, I heard her voice from behind.
“[Ice Fang, Fence of Spears]!”
A cold breeze filled with magic power surged forward. Even without turning around, I just knew that Yukine was vigorously swinging both of her fans around. And half a moment later, 20 or so spears of ice formed and flew past me. Its target? That didn’t need mentioning.
“Giieeee!?”
“Gii, Gaa”
I heard two of them shriek, and then my Magic Eye activated again. Right as the dirt and sand settled, a monkey-like arm extended toward me. When I grabbed that clawed and webbed arm, I realized how bizarrely long a Kappa could stretch its arm.
This particular Kappa only had this arm left, but it wasn’t the same individual whose arm I chopped off earlier. If I wasn’t mistaken, there were tales about how a Kappa could fully retract one arm so that it could stretch its other arm. Whether that was the case or not, this Kappa’s arm sure stretched like rubber. While my head was busy wondering the truthfulness of those legends, my body moved almost by instinct.
Still holding the Kappa’s outstretched arm, I yanked upward my left hand to pull out of the riverr the monkey-like body the arm belonged to. While the monster was suspended in the air and racing toward me, I swung my sword with my other hand and cut the monster in two. The monster cried its last with its mouth and eyes wide open.
“[Earth Move], [Oh, Earth]”
After checking that the Kappa near me and those on the opposite bank were starting to transform into particles of magic power, I turned around and looked beyond Yukine. Layla had used both her wand and staff to launch spells toward the forest. Apparently, two Onis were attacking from the forest side as well. Reinforce was dealing with one of them, while Layla was keeping the other in check.
Right when I thought the ground beneath the feet of Layla’s Oni rippled, that Oni’s feet sunk into the ground. Moreover, the branches of the nearby trees extended and wrapped themselves around the Oni’s upper body. Because the Oni was sturdy, the branches weren’t able to break the monster’s neck. Still, the Oni was bound. Before long, Reinforce was able to cut down her Oni and moved to the bound Oni to slash open its side. And then, she took her sword and stabbed it through that wound until the Oni’s heart was destroyed.
From that, I judged that they were done on their side as well, so I returned my gaze to where the Kappas disappeared. There was nothing near me, but on the opposite bank, I could see something shining. The scattered stones made it hard to find, but my enhanced vision allowed me to pinpoint its location.
“Layla. Sorry but can you get something for me? It’s over there, on the opposite bank.”
“Hmm? …oh, I see. Certainly.”
Layla swung her wand, invoked some Green Magic, and made something that looked like a whirlwind fetch the fallen Plate for her. I thanked her as I held up the item against the light coming from the dungeon’s ceiling.
This thing was called a Kappa’s Plate. It was a white, pretty dish. Even to the untrained eye, it was some beautiful garbage. I called it garbage because the sale of it was generally forbidden. That was because breaking down this Item Drop and then spreading it across a field would prevent a poor harvest for a year. To put it in more concrete terms, the Item Drop would make it so that the right amount of rain would fall in the right amount of time and even make it harder for the crops to contract diseases.
For any farmer, this was certainly an object of avid desire.
However, because of the uncertainties behind it, multiple countries and the United Nations had put a hold on its use as soon as it was known. For example, how would the rain it caused affect the weather systems and such? Would the Kappa’s Plate draw in rain clouds from nearby places? Alternatively, did it push what it deemed to be excess rain to other regions? In the first place, was it even safe to mix this Item Drop in the soil?
And due to that endless list of unknowns about it, it was also decided that it couldn’t be traded through regular means. The United Nations and various countries would buy some of them, but only an amount that was necessary to conduct their research. Any extra would be disposed of by the government the Item Drop was found in. It should go without saying that an individual was also prohibited from taking one home, regardless of what their purpose might be, and this would remain the case even when the restrictions on its sales were lifted.
I could understand the reason behind those decisions. I really did, but as an adventurer, I couldn’t find the words to describe how I felt.
Leaving the Kappa’s plate here might cause me trouble when the authorities checked my body cam, so I chose to retrieve it. I was also here because of the request from Togo-san, and I didn’t want to bring any kind stain on his name.
So, with a sigh, I stuffed the pretty garbage into my Item Bag. I then turned toward the 3.
“Everyone alright?”
“Yes!”
“All safe.”
“No changes observed in this unit. No abnormalities found either.”
“Alright, let’s explore some more then. We’ll prioritize getting used to this dungeon during this morning session. We’ll take it slow; it’s fine even if we have to return here tomorrow to finish the request. We’ll explore with safety first in mind.”
“““Understood”””
I placed my sword on my shoulder and began walking again.
Along the way, we were attacked by Onis and Kappas, but we disposed of them without issue. I wasn’t keeping an exact count but I thought we had already defeated 20 or so monsters in total. And soon, we found the Exit Gate. I was thinking we should take a break for the meantime when I discovered a stone lantern by the roadside.
“Ghh”
It didn’t took long for me to notice that there were a number of those lined up by the roadside. Inside each one was a blue flame that helped brighten up this dungeon whose source of light was pretty much only the stars…or rather, the star-like things above.
The presence of the lanterns meant that that C+ monster was nearby. At least, if the information we gathered beforehand was accurate.
I looked at Layla and the others and they nodded back at me. We all agreed we should explore some more. Going back didn’t make much sense anymore, not after discovering this.. If that was so, then the only option was to proceed.
I comforted myself in the fact that unlike other dungeons, this dungeon’s C+ monsters didn’t launch surprise attacks.
…heck, we might even reach our goal for this request with this morning session alone.
And so, we walked following the lanterns as our guide. Before long, we found a splendid gate. Naturally, this wasn’t a Dungeon Gate. It was a sturdy-looking, wooden gate that was flanked and enclosed by a white fence. It even had a tiled roof, making it look completely like the gate to a samurai’s residence.
There was no gatekeeper we could see, but we still chose to approach with caution. If at all possible, I would rather we didn’t enter through what was essentially the front entrance, but maybe because of the forest, I haven’t heard of any successful attempts on launching surprise attacks from any entry point other than the front gate.
Can’t be helped then. We’ll have to go the polite route.
“Let’s do as we discussed before.”
“““Understood”””
We stopped about 10 meters before the gate.
Layla held up her wand.
“[Wind Barrel]”
A vortex of wind swirled at the tip of Layla’s wand and a green-colored magic circle was formed in the space before her.
…just to be safe, we were going to take things a step further.
“[Fire Javelin]”
A spear of flames shot out and passed through that gun barrel made of wind. With a force and acceleration not possible through normal invocation, the enhanced Fire Javelin smashed through the gate.
While the sound of the explosion traveled and the wood splinters and cloud of dust danced in the air, I and Reinforce rushed through the gate. I had left the defense of our back lines to her, while I pushed deeper inside. I soon exited the cloud of dust and stepped foot into the samurai residence. Moreover, in the excessively vast yard here, I saw a bunch of Oni sitting down on the ground with a sake cup in hand. These monsters had their gaze toward the just-destroyed gate.
But in the room at the front of the residence, one with a vaulted ceiling, was a monster that glared straight at me as it held an enormous bottle gourd on one of its hands.
Without a care for the other monsters, I continued charging at that monster. I thrust my zweihander at it, but my sword collided with the odachi it swung in response. Our swords clashed and produced a high-pitched sound that reverberated all the way to my stomach. Sparks flew as our blades slid until it was the guards of our swords in contact with each other. I thought I could overpower my enemy who was holding its sword with only one hand, but then it swung its bottle gourd sideways at me. I immediately moved my right elbow to block, but the monster then launched a kick and put some distance between us. We stood there face to face, still within striking distance of each other.
This monster was called an Onimusha. Much like its Japanese name would imply, it was an Oni with a Japanese-warrior-like appearance. It wore a typical Japanese armor and helmet, only it had 2 long horns that pierced through its helmet and stretched toward the sky. Its shiny, black armor was made to fit its large Oni body. In its right hand was its odachi and in its left was a 2-meter-long bottle gourd.
Inside of that gourd was a toxin that it used to control other Oni monsters. It also…
“*gulps*”
As soon as I saw the Onimusha’s mouth swell, I jumped sideways. Just when I did, flames gushed out of the monster’s mouth. I had known of this attack before, but despite seeing it in person, I still wanted to scream out ‘are you a street performer or something!?’
Yes, the contents of that bottle gourd was also a very potent flammable substance. When mixed with the Onimusha’s spit, it becomes flames that the monster could spew out. This wasn’t magical though, so my Resistance stat did nothing. It was quite the bother.
The Onimusha then knelt down on one knee and swung its odachi from above. This samurai residence was big and all, but even then, if a creature of that size stood at full height and swung an odachi from overhead, the odachi would still probably get caught in something.
Thanks to my Magic Eye though, I was able to read its attack. I took half a step to the side. And when the tip of the blade passed my right side and split the tatami mat on the floor, I stomped on the tip of the blade with one foot and agilely kicked the monster’s face with my other foot.
“GooAaa!!”
Its dark red face contorted in pain. Further contorting its face though was its now-squashed nose. From all that pain, it let go of its sword. The moment it did, I closed the small distance between us. My aim was its heart. I was going to pierce it, armor and all.
But then, my Magic Eye activated again. The Onimusha had wrapped the string of the gourd around its fist and delivered a left hook at me.
In my head, I imagined clicking my tongue at the thought that a monster was capable of such a masterful move. But while I did that, I also came to a sudden stop with a hard stomp on the tatami-covered floor. I then swung my sword sideways to intercept the incoming blow. I didn’t care whether the tip of my blade would come into contact with a nearby pillar because I was swinging with so much force that I would be able to destroy the pillar without losing much momentum and then hit the bottle gourd.
However, whether it was because the contact with the pillar caused my swing to go off course or whether it was simply my lack of skill, the flat of my sword came into contact with the gourd and continued on, until the bottle gourd was sent flying.
“Ack”
After its string broke, the bottle gourd bounced on the floor, then to another pillar, and eventually, it went flew outside of the samurai residence.
My face must have looked troubled underneath my helmet. After all, I knew what would happen in such an event. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an enemy that would give me time to reflect on my screw up. It immediately drew with its right hand the wakizashi and rushed at me.
I deflected off its attack with a backhand and then directed my sword toward its left thigh. What I did was a basic technique in western swordsmanship called a wrap shot. By swinging my arm diagonally and then quickly twisting my wrist, I was able to slice the tendon in the area behind the monster’s knee.
The Onimusha has lost its balance but its momentum still carried it forward. I decided to drop my butt to the ground and plant my foot on the monster’s belly. I had been getting lessons from Kumai-kun on unarmed combat every now and then, so a stomach throw—or well, a clumsy version of it—was very much possible on the off-balanced Onimusha. I was mostly relying on my leg strength for the throw, but it was enough to send the monster outside.
At this time, the other Onis were advancing toward the girls who were attacking from what used to be gate area. However, when I threw the Onimusha outside, its body soon collided with the backs of those ordinary Oni monsters.
I then employed Magic Power Discharge so that I could charge as forcefully as I wanted toward those filthy sacks of meat. I held my sword as though it was a spear and sunk its blade deep into the Onimusha. I continued my charge though, scattering a few other Onis along the way.
“[Ice Fang, Fence of Spears]!”
“[Oh, Earth]!”
Moreover, the monsters were also assailed by spears of ice and rocks. By the end of it, most of the monsters—including the Onimusha which was torn to shreds—were on the verge of death.
Taking advantage of that short pause, I awkwardly turned my head toward the girls.
“Great job, mas—”
“Sorry, Layla”
“What for?”
“There are more coming, probably”
“…ahh”
Looking as though realization dawned on her, Layla revealed a troubled smile.
This concerned that bottle gourd the Onimusha had been holding. More accurately, the alcohol that was inside of it. Its stench would linger for quite a while even after the monster itself was slain. And when the liquid was spread just like what I had done…
“““OoOOoooOOO!!!”””
Suddenly, a roaring sound erupted and shook the mountain, almost making me imagine that a landslide had happened. Without a doubt that was caused by the Oni monsters near the samurai residence. They had been drawn in by the stench of the gourd’s alcohol. They were heading here.
The stench disappeared in about 10 seconds, but even that short a time had this kind of effect already. I honestly would have preferred it to have the entire gourd frozen after I had slain the Onimusha.
By the way, in the place where the Onimusha was, there was a horn larger than what an ordinary Oni would Drop. Look, I was happy there was a drop at all, but this horn’s effect’s weren’t much different from an ordinary Oni’s Horn. It was larger, so there was more of the material, but that was about it.
Man, this dungeon really isn’t worth all this trouble.
“Does confronting them in this samurai residence sound good to you?”
“It does.”
“Then, sorry to keep pushing things on you”
“Not at all!”
I was relieved to hear Layla’s reply. It would seem she was back to her usual self.
However, to use this method—making her work and fight—to refresh her mind, well, it just seemed wrong to me. I thought I should do something more, at least.
…I wasn’t clear on the details, but when it came to stress relief, women supposedly went out with close friends or do shopping. However, legally speaking, Layla as a Guardian Spirit wasn’t allowed to walk around by herself outside of my property. The master, or rather, the one the Guardian Spirit was supposed to watch over must be with them.
In which case, there really was only that. That plan which was once destroyed by that terrifying monster of a cow. I would have to make changes to that plan, but it was what I needed to do. Yes, a date…!
“Layla”
“Yes?”
“After I get purified, I promise you…!”
“Y-yes…?”
After I get a purification ritual done on me, I should be able to go on all the dates I want! So for now, I would just have to be patient!
And so, as the rumbling in the ground grew fiercer, I readied my sword.
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