Chapter 8: Quest 4: Power Leveling
Makoto chewed on a slice of bread.
Dry and crumbly, the taste was mediocre.
The moment it entered his mouth, it greedily absorbed moisture.
That was why he could not afford to drink too much water.
He waited until his mouth was sufficiently dry before taking a sip.
That was the smart way.
“…Good thing this backpack is airtight.”
“What are we going to do?”
Yuka, sitting across from him with the food between them, spoke in a hushed voice, but Makoto ignored her and took a bite of jerky.
Whether it was a magic item or simply highly waterproof, the backpack was soaked on the outside but dry inside.
If water had seeped in, they would have been starving.
“Tomâs a decent guy after all. With this, we wonât have to worry about food for a while.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Thanks to the underground lake, we can bathe and wash clothes now. Why donât you go wash up?”
“What are we going to do?!”
Unable to hold back anymore, Yuka snapped.
“What do you mean? We fight.”
“How?!”
“One at a time.”
“Iâm asking how we do that!”
Her face flushed red as she shouted.
He had planned to explain after eating, but apparently that had not come across.
“Calm down.”
“How can I calm down in this situation? We donât know how to go up, there are strong undead everywhere, and the foodâ”
Her voice trailed off.
“…When I watched the Skeleton Generals, I noticed something.”
“What?”
“Theyâre pacing back and forth in the same spots.”
“Huh?”
Yuka scrambled up the slope and lay flat on the ground to avoid detection.
Since he had no interest in her dirty panties, he kept chewing jerky.
After a while, she returned.
“…Youâre right. Theyâre pacing. But why?”
“Theyâre all wearing the same gear. They were probably made that way.”
“So anything goes, huh.”
She sat back down with a sigh.
“But how do we defeat them one by one? We almost died against one. Two would be impossible.”
“They probably donât coordinate.”
“Whatâs your basis?”
“When we fought the first one, no reinforcements came. Theyâre probably only ordered to guard their own territory.”
“Thatâs a pretty loose assumption.”
“It was probably enough.”
It was hard to imagine created monsters being stronger than their creator.
It would not be strange if the mastermind thought reducing intrudersâ strength before reaching him was enough.
“Iâll lure them so we donât get attacked mid-fight.”
“How?”
“Stop asking and think a little.”
“Iâm a high schooler. I canât come up with ideas like you.”
“High schoolers arenâtâwell, maybe thatâs fair.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
She puffed her cheeks.
“No. When I was in high school, I never thought about groundwork or planning either.”
“I still feel mocked.”
“Iâm not.”
“Really?”
She looked unconvinced.
“We approach slowly. If one chases, we lure it here. You bind it with magic, I destroy its armor with Flame Bullet.”
“You think itâll go that smoothly?”
“It wonât be easy. I donât even know if my Flame Bullet works on them. If we can chip away at them, thatâs profit.”
“This is completely improvised.”
“Itâs worth trying. Lure, bind, ranged attack to reduce HPâif they even have HPâand then destroy the red core. Thatâs the basic strategy.”
Yuka frowned.
“If you see flaws or have improvements, say it. A counterproposal would be even better.”
“…Nothing in particular.”
“Alright. Speak up anytime.”
She was risking her life too.
He wanted things to stay as equal as possible.
“We clear them one by one, then storm the temple at the end.”
“Canât we just run?”
“If thereâs another shaft upward, maybe. But even then, our food will run out first.”
“What about climbing the waterfall?”
Makoto glanced at it.
Unless they were professional climbers, that was impossible.
“If we had flying magic, maybe.”
“I canât use anything like that.”
“Then itâs impossible. By the way, how do you learn magic? Does leveling up grant it automatically?”
“Of course not. You have to study.”
“So no new spells for now?”
“…There are some I couldnât use due to insufficient level.”
She hesitated before answering.
“Any that would help in combat?”
“If my level rises, even my current spells should become effective.”
“So no convenient miracle spell.”
“Youâre the abnormal one.”
Makoto sighed, and Yuka sounded annoyed.
“Yeah, probably.”
“Ignoring level differences is total cheat territory.”
“You guys had a tutorial. I didnât. Without some cheat, Iâd be dead.”
He had been thrown into the dungeon half-conscious and bleeding.
In a game, that would be trash-tier design.
“For now, Iâll level until I can fight one alone. Then weâll raise your level.”
“…Okay.”
“You wonât attack me after leveling, right?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Youâre persistent.”
She still looked doubtful.
“Whatâs the benefit of raising my level?”
“More hands. Even if I can fight solo, support makes it safer.”
“…Alright. Iâll trust you. But if you attack me, Iâll bite my tongue and die.”
“Then haunt me afterward?”
“Yes!”
She shouted.
Makoto lay on the slope and observed.
They paced in patterns.
One faced forward while the adjacent one faced backward.
If timed well, they could peel them off like scales.
But it was still a gamble.
If they all rushed at once, it was over.
“Are you okay?”
“Iâm waiting for the timing.”
He glanced at Yuka waiting below.
He exhaled and stood.
“…Ignition, Flame Bullet.”
Black flames formed in his palm.
Sweat drenched his sleeve.
He threw the bullet.
Unlike Yukaâs magic, it was manual.
Fortunately, it flew straight.
The Skeleton General tried to swat it away.
The moment it touched, the flame expanded and swallowed it.
The red glow in its eyes flaredâthen it vanished.
Makoto jumped back instinctively.
A blade sliced the air where he had stood.
“Flame Bullet!”
He threw another upon landing.
The blade cut it in two.
The divided flame merged with the existing blaze.
The black fire intensified.
“Heh, this is too cheat-like.”
He laughed.
He had not earned this power, but perhaps this was how the strong felt.
The silver armor began to crumble as the Skeleton General charged.
“…Ignition, Flame Bullet.”
Another throw.
Even engulfed, it did not slow.
He should dodge.
But Yuka was behind him.
If he retreated, her distrust would deepen.
He had to take the risk.
“Bind!”
Bands of light wrapped its arm.
He dashed in.
It tore free and raised its sword.
“Ignition, Convergence!”
His punch shattered the armor, exposing the red core.
“Raaaah!”
He struck.
But he crushed ribs, not the core.
He raised his fist againâ
His body jerked back.
It had grabbed his hair.
“Let go!”
He crushed its arm.
The arm fell.
Still, it thrust its sword.
“Bind!”
Light wrapped the blade.
A moment was enough.
He gripped the red core and crushed it.
[Level up. Level 28. HP 18. Strength 21. Agility 17. Magic 30. 6 bonus points granted.]
He sat down heavily.
“You okay?”
“Still not used to it.”
“You were smiling mid-fight.”
“Yeah. Got carried away.”
“Donât forget the plan is âLife first.â”
“My bad.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Level 26. Fighting stronger monsters really speeds it up.”
“Feels too easy.”
“You nearly died. What are you saying?”
Even so, their attacks were survivable.
Was leveling supposed to be this easy?
“It only feels easy because of your cheat. Without it, weâd be helpless.”
“Why?”
“They have physical and magic resistance skills.”
“You can see enemy skills?”
“Sort of.”
“Tell me next time.”
“There wasnât time.”
She said it casually.
“Anything else?”
“Nothing.”
He doubted that, but pressing her would only sour things.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Better than before.”
“Iâll heal you just in case.”
She raised her hand.
Pale light eased his fatigue.
“…Fatigue doesnât show in status?”
“No.”
“Feels like it should count as a debuff.”
“Unlike poison or paralysis, itâs vague.”
“So thatâs why we canât see HP or MP.”
“Probably. You can still cast when you feel empty.”
“You tested that?”
“To know my limits.”
Should I test mine? he wondered.
“Donât say your armâs throbbing.”
“I wonât.”
“You look like the type.”
“Iâm not.”
He waved it off.
His body was young, but his mind was an adult.
No more chuuni nonsense.
“You say âIgnitionâ like youâre hyped.”
“Itâs easier with a trigger word.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie?”
He did think it sounded cool, but he kept that to himself.
“Boys overdo it.”
“I have more restraint than a high schooler.”
“…Do you?”
She eyed him skeptically.
“I do.”
“Fine. Just donât die. If you die, I die.”
“Got it.”
He nodded.
“…Gotta keep pushing.”
He looked up at the ceiling and murmured.
When Makoto stepped into its territory, a Skeleton General charged.
He read the distance and dodged the slash.
It rushed without caution.
He ran, light as a feather.
He slowed so it would not lose him.
He landed by the lake.
It followed.
He caught its sword arm, snapped it.
It raised the other arm.
He stepped back and dodged the punch.
“Ignition, Convergence!”
A black-edged chop severed its arm.
Still it lunged, jaws wide.
He knocked its jaw upward, swept its leg, and sent it crashing down.
He stomped and shattered its leg.
Limbless, it still struggled.
“Yuka, now.”
She emerged.
“Youâre handling them easily now.”
“Iâm level 70, after all.”
Dozens of battles had revealed patterns.
It had not been easy.
Arms severed.
Guts spilling.
Eyes popping.
He had wanted to run.
But this was the lowest floor.
There was nowhere to run.
“Finish it.”
He pressed its head down and touched the armor.
It blackened and crumbled.
The red core appeared.
“Your power is such a cheat.”
“Yeah.”
“It looks like fire, but it feels more like decay or disintegration.”
“Donât misfire.”
“I control when it collapses.”
“If youâre sure.”
She frowned.
“‘Seems like’?”
“Never tested.”
“Test it properly later.”
“Fine. Finish it.”
She took aim.
Her Magic Bullets struck the core again and again.
No damage.
“Thisâll take a while.”
She continued chanting stubbornly.
Nice