Chapter 42

After eating the dried bread porridge filled with the meat of the boar monster, we set out and arrived at the fifth underground floor, which was the main focus of this exploration.

The fourth underground floor was a wasteland, but this place was once again a field overflowing with greenery. However, it had a distinctly jungle-like atmosphere, hot and humid. The environment was more draining than expected, sapping our body heat.

"Koona"

When I called out to Koona, who was walking in front, she turned her head away with a huff.

"I'm sorry. I didn't consider your feelings enough."

But Koona didn't turn back. Her fox ears twitched, indicating she had heard me.

"Does the innerwear I made from the boar monster's hide fit you? I just want an answer to that. I made it based on the memory of your underwear, so I'm not confident it fits well. Ill-fitting equipment can drain your stamina and hinder your movements in battle. If necessary, I want to adjust it. I just want an answer to that."

Koona stopped, looked at me for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but then continued walking in silence.

"Koona, that's enough. Pouting is fine, but not communicating about matters related to the exploration is a problem."

When Anne said this, Koona puffed out her cheeks and opened her mouth.

"Because, Anne. Sōji-kun tried to trick me into showing my underwear by lying about it being necessary for the exploration! I can't forgive him."

It seems Koona was angry because I had tried to trick her into showing her underwear.

"Let me explain. I can do it without seeing, but measuring properly allows for a more precise fit. Visual information can introduce subtle errors. Adjusting later with your input would be more troublesome, so I suggested it. I shouldn't have asked you to undress without explaining first."

In fact, Koona's movements were subtly lacking in finesse. The innerwear seemed to be interfering with her body's movements.

"Is that true?"

"It's true."

"Really, really true?"

Koona came up to me, leaned in close, and looked straight into my eyes. Koona is beautiful. Her long eyelashes and beautiful eyes stirred my heart.

"It's true."

"In that case, I forgive you, kyaa!"

I quickly pulled Koona into my left arm.

"Hey, Sōji-kun, what are you doing so suddenly?"

Her sweet scent and softness, along with her heartbeat, were transmitted to me. My nerves were drawn to her, but I clenched my right hand into a fist and swung a backhand punch.

I deflected a fist-sized rock that was hurtling towards us at high speed. A crack appeared in my wrist bone. The impact was heavier than I imagined. The light of my blessing healed me.

"Sōji-kun, what, what's going on?"

"It's an enemy."

I glared in the direction the rock had come from. About 20 meters away, a dark green chimpanzee-like monster was hanging from the vines of a giant tree. It was about 1 meter in size, but its arms were abnormally long and bulging with muscles. It had just thrown a rock with a powerful swing.

This was a Slockchimp, a relatively common monster on this floor.

Upon closer inspection, the tree trunks were prepared with stones that were easy to throw. Not just the tree where the Slockchimp was, but almost all the surrounding trees as well.

I understood. This was their hunting ground. They had waited for us to enter and then ambushed us. The area around us had fewer obstacles, making it easier for them to trap us.

"【Mithril Alchemy: First Form - Spear of Piercing】"

I transformed the mithril into a spear. I pushed Koona away, held the spear firmly with both hands, and took a step forward, striking the right edge of the incoming rock. The rock deflected and hit the ground behind us, digging into the soft earth and sending up a spray of dirt.

The second and third rocks came one after another, and I deflected them one by one. I didn't strike the center to avoid breaking my arm.

Rocks traveling at over 200 kilometers per hour. Their kinetic energy was immense.

The Slockchimp seemed to have had enough and stopped throwing rocks, taking a deep breath.

Then,

"Kee, keeeeee!"

A scream. The volume was so loud it numbed my hearing. The leaves of the giant tree trembled.

Koona, with her sensitive ears, looked teary-eyed, her fox ears drooping and covering them with her hands.

Not good! This scream was a distress signal to its allies.

As I feared, the presence around us increased. Eight Slockchimps surrounded us, moving in a coordinated manner. They kept a distance of at least 20 meters, holding stones from the trees and glaring at us.

Furthermore, a magical light rose from all of them. The ground around us, which was already damp, turned into a muddy swamp. Our feet sank in up to our ankles.

I see, they were trying to immobilize us, prevent us from breaking through their encirclement, and then pelt us with rocks from a distance.

"Sōji, this is bad."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad."

Eight Slockchimps throwing super-fast rocks from all directions. Avoiding and dealing with them would be difficult, especially with the poor footing.

Moreover, the height and distance they had taken made the situation even more complicated. We couldn't run away. It would be impossible to shake them off as they leaped from tree to tree.

They were indeed the monsters of the fifth underground floor.

"Sōji-kun, Anne, I'm, I'm sorry. I, the one most sensitive to presence, didn't notice the first one. That was my job."

Koona's face turned pale as she apologized.

"No, it's fine. I didn't notice until they started throwing rocks either."

That Slockchimp had skillfully concealed its presence.

It would have been difficult to detect. But, under normal circumstances, Koona would have noticed it. If she had, we could have taken out the first one with a preemptive strike before it called for help.

"Let's save the post-mortem for later. Anne, keep your sword sheathed and knock the sides of the incoming rocks to deflect them."

"Alright, I'll focus on defense."

Anne held her sword in its sheath.

"Koona, Anne and I will protect you. Do your best during this time. I'm counting on you."

"But, but, I don't know what to do suddenly."

"Can't you do it? The genius Koona?"

I deliberately gave her a sarcastic smile.

"I, I can! Watch me!"

That was a good response. Koona started preparing her magic.

Then, rocks from all directions started flying at us.

Koona said she could do it. So, I trusted her and focused on defense.

"Kee, kee"

Anne and I only deflected the rocks that were on a direct course to hit us and Koona.

But there were too many. I had some leeway, but Anne's movements were slightly off. She couldn't predict attacks from blind spots.

"Kyaahh"

While deflecting a rock, a stone from a blind spot hit Anne's left arm. It made a sickening crack and flew off, and Anne collapsed, clutching her arm and falling at Koona's feet.

Unfortunately, she hit her head on a rock and lost consciousness. The light of her blessing prevented immediate death, and she would regain consciousness with time.

"Anne!"

Koona's anguished cry echoed.

The situation had worsened. I had to endure the concentrated fire alone. Not only that, but I also had to protect Koona and the unconscious Anne.

"Koona! I'll take care of Anne! You focus on your job!"

"But!"

"I can handle it. Koona, just focus on taking them out."

"…Mm!"

When I said that, Koona bit her lip and resumed her magical calculations.

"【Mithril Alchemy: Sixth Form - Dual Swords of Guarding】"

To increase my speed, I transformed the spear into dual swords, customizing them to be more like round batons. This was more convenient.

I stood in front of the two and swung both swords.

I removed the limits on both my brain and body.

Otherwise, I couldn't handle this number.

I could probably handle it for about two minutes at most.

The impact from roughly deflecting the rocks broke my wrist. I couldn't wait for the blessing to heal it. I fixed it with magic and swung the sword with the broken wrist. Each strike sent a jolt of pain through me. But I couldn't stop.

Behind me were the most important people, Koona and Anne.

I was reaching my limit.

"【Flame Array】"

At that moment, Koona's magic activated.

Flames rose around her.

The flames formed eight lines, running along the ground and hitting the trees where the Slockchimps were perched.

They quickly spread, burning inward from the outside, as if with a will of their own.

It was like a cage of flames surrounding the Slockchimps, and it was getting smaller. A cage with a will.

"Kee, keee!"

The Slockchimps screamed, stopped throwing rocks, and tried to escape the flames.

Inevitably, they moved inward, toward us.

The burning flames weren't the end.

"【Flame Spear】"

Yes, from the flames that had spread to the trees, Koona's magic was activated.

Usually, the starting point of magic is the caster. But Koona used the burning flames as the starting point for her magic.

In other words, with flames surrounding us, Koona could use magic from any direction. This was a feat only possible by the Fire Foxes, the race most favored by fire mana. I couldn't even replicate it.

Three Slockchimps were impaled by the 【Flame Spear】 from behind, burning from the inside.

Seeing this, the other Slockchimps, fearing the flames more than necessary, fled toward us.

They ran through the muddy swamp they had created, rather than the burning trees.

"You did well. I'll return the favor."

At that moment, Anne regained consciousness and sprinted. She could run through the swamp because Koona was solidifying the ground with flames. As always, her attention to detail was impressive.

"Shh!"

The Slockchimps, slowed by the mud and panicked by the flames, couldn't react to Anne's horizontal slash. Two of their heads flew off.

"I can't be outdone."

Of course, I wasn't just going to watch the two of them. I climbed the nearest tree vertically and leaped from branch to branch. My target was a Slockchimp that had secretly prepared stones on the tree and was about to throw them.

I pounced and shattered its head.

"Kheh"

The Slockchimp, with its head shattered, fell to the ground, its limbs flailing.

Two remained. The two survivors looked at each other.

Then, they started to flee, one to the north and one to the south. They must have decided that staying near us was more dangerous than the flame cage.

The Slockchimp that fled north was impaled by the 【Flame Spear】 Koona created from the burning flames and died.

However, Koona couldn't catch the one that fled south. Even she couldn't handle multiple directions at such a distance.

Anne was too far away.

So, I had to handle it.

"【Mithril Alchemy: Third Form - Bow of Piercing】"

I transformed the dual swords into a bow, nocked a silver arrow, and drew it.

The arrow, a silver flash, pierced the back of the Slockchimp's head.

"Hekya"

The Slockchimp, mortally wounded, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

That was the last one. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, Koona, Anne. Good work."

"Thanks. Each one was a weak monster, but it was tough when they used strategy like this."

Yes, the Slockchimps weren't particularly powerful monsters.

But they had pushed us this far with coordination and traps.

"So, what do we do about this fire? If it keeps spreading, it will get out of hand. It's almost reaching us."

"Don't worry. It's fine."

Koona snapped her fingers, and the flames disappeared as if by magic. She seemed to have complete control over the flames, even those that had spread.

"I'm amazed. Koona's skill with fire."

"I was drilled by Father and Mother to the point of exhaustion."

Koona's expression was a bit complicated.

"Let's collect the monster's magic stones. After that, I'm tired, so let's take a break."

"I agree. I'm a bit shaken."

"Me too. And, during the battle, I couldn't fully apologize, but Anne, Sōji-kun, I'm sorry. If I had been more alert, we could have taken out the first one with a preemptive strike and ended it more easily."

Koona bowed her head in apology.

Even in a situation where many excuses could be made, this honesty was one of her virtues.

"I took away Koona's calm, so more than half the responsibility is mine. Let's have a post-mortem during the break, including that."

We were still a newly formed party.

We needed to get to know each other better and grow stronger gradually.