Chapter 22

"What's that black thing?"

Following Shin's line of sight, there was a black circular spot on the ground.

"Is there a little kid there?"

I want to see it up close too. I want all of this and that!

"It's Peter's turn."

"Why!?"

"You know very well."

Ochazuke is still dragging out the joke.

"Let's take a look!"

Before we could observe, Leo suddenly started running, showing no sign of caution!

"Help me~"

A boy, his feet trapped in the black mud, was crying and reaching out his hand to us.

*Goo goo goo goo*

The sense of isolation from the normal field, the feeling of unease from the sudden absence of the rustling leaves that had been heard until now. The rustling of the leaves had stopped abruptly.

"Oh, I have a bad feeling."

"Is it a field boss? Or an area boss for the town's liberation?"

"We can't enter the town yet, and there's no event encounter, right?"

Is it a sudden boss?

"Because we ignored the road."

"Did we reach the boss's location before we could ask where it was?"

"Hahaha"

The black thing turned out to be mud, and the creature that emerged from it was a giant lizard, about the size of a 10-ton truck. Its name is Daylizard, and the ground it was stepping on seemed to melt and turn into mud.

Its dark, scaly body, which might be for burrowing into the soil, had a surprisingly smooth impression.

"Peter, take care of the child."

"Me!?"

"Go on!"

"Okay!"

Kikuhime's attack, Peter carrying the boy and retreating to the back. Leo's attack, Shin's enchantment, my shadow on Leo, and we started following the usual procedure. The Daylizard attacked Shin and Leo.

"!?"

"It hurts!"

"It's an [Only One Enemy]!"

Leo's shadow had been dispelled by the attack.

"Can you see the shadow!?"

"Maybe it's attacking the person with the support?"

"Let's stop the support and see what happens."

Ochazuke gave instructions while healing Leo.

"I put the child in the shade of a tree."

In the boss field, there shouldn't be any other monsters to attack him.

Now that we don't need to cast [Shadow], let's try [Circulating Power].

"Wood Lance!"

"Tiger Kick!"

"Hide in Shadow!"

"Hide in Shadow!"

"Shin, [Heal]"

Ochazuke says the names of the targets to avoid overlapping healing, a habit from other online games.

The Daylizard, without changing its muddy state, swings its tail at regular intervals, sweeping up everyone except Kikuhime and Ochazuke, who are in front. There is a gap between the creation of new mud and the disappearance of old mud. Stepping on the mud causes continuous damage, but it's hard for the three melee fighters to avoid it. The Daylizard also uses its tongue to attack a random target after moving for a while.

The sight of its pink tongue stretching out is comical but painful.

"Wind Ball! Ochazuke, should we take turns summoning spirits after moving?"

By the fourth move, the healing for Kikuhime and the damage from the tail and continuous damage were not keeping up.

[Circulating Power] was trying to use a type that inserts wind, but it might be ineffective. I'll try to match the timing of the water spirit summoning.

"You're up!"

"Water Spirit 'Rufa'! Come and heal!"

The water spirit Rufa, whom I have contracted, rose from my palm, flew around the party members, and sprinkled droplets, healing everyone. Compared to Ochazuke's healing, the amount was much less, but it would be enough to hold on if someone got hit by that long tongue.

We can summon again in five minutes, and since we only need it for the timing of the Daylizard's movement, it should be ready by the time the other four use up their spirit summoning. Apparently, the interval for re-summoning is a bit shorter for a spirit user.

"I'll go next."

"Cross Slash! I'll go third!"

"Xie 'Crouch!' I'll go fourth!"

"Then I'll go last!"

Is Xie the Kai in Kai's name? Shin's attacks follow the order of Tiger, Phoenix, Turtle, and Xie, and the damage keeps increasing. It seems that the order of the techniques affects speed, damage, and status effects, but the necessary EP recovery can't keep up, and the distribution is quite difficult.

Why does [Circulating Power] have a type that inserts wind? The basic elements are probably 'Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water' with wind circulating, or perhaps it's the atmosphere. Even with the five elements, the seasons in this world don't match. But it seems that the weaknesses and counteractions are aligned.

The reason I know this in such detail is because I played a yin-yang practitioner in a previous game.

While thinking about it, I connected Wood, Wind, Fire, Wind, Earth, Wind, Metal, Wind, Water, and Wind.

"Wood Lance!"

"Whoa!"

"It increased!"

"It's huge!"

"It's dangerous!"

"It's a skewer~"

"What did you do?"

A band of light, like a spell, appeared around me, and instead of the usual single 150 cm wooden spear, six spears over 3 meters long appeared, skewering the Daylizard.

I thought it would be ineffective because I inserted a spirit summoning in the middle, but it worked well by matching the timing of the water use. It seems that cycling through the elements is the key. This might be usable by a martial artist too, though I don't plan to become one.

The Daylizard, writhing in pain from the damage, looked like it was being impaled by large stakes. The six stakes piercing it and pinning it to the ground made for a rather gruesome sight.

I started with wood magic because it deals 1.2 times more damage to earth attributes. It looked like an earth attribute, so I was worried if it dropped fire or something.

To insert wind magic, I had to hit the spells in order eleven times. It's clearly designed for a full party and a boss.

But the power of level 3 wood magic is impressive. As long as there's no wind resistance, it's a satisfying finishing move, even if it takes some effort.

By the way, I remember the order of yin and yang as "Mokka Dogon Sui," so I can't use the simplified version without wind because I can't remember where the wind goes. I should really buy that book.

I forgot I was a magic "sword" user and successfully defeated the Daylizard.

*Announcement: The 'Daylizard' in Fos has been defeated by Leo and five others.*

"Oh?!"

"Leo!"

"Did we do it?"

"Was it your first time?"

"Really?"

"Yay!"

We cheered at the world announcement.

Since only Leo's name is public, the announcement makes it sound like Leo and his party.

*You have obtained the reward for the first boss defeat: a bracelet that increases mineral affinity.*

*You have obtained the title [Lizard Slayer].*

*You have obtained 4 Daylizard hides.*

*You have obtained a Daylizard dagger.*

*You have obtained a Daylizard magic stone.*

*You have obtained 10 tamahagane.*

*You have obtained a ring that increases HP.*

*You have obtained a transfer stone for Fos.*

"Brother, sister!"

I forgot.

"I forgot about the boy!"

I also forgot, but don't say it so clearly in front of him, Leo.

"I have a home in Fos."

While thanking him, I wrapped the boy, who was crying from fear, in my robe and gave him warm milk to calm him down. When he had calmed down, I asked him where his home was, and it turned out to be a town that wasn't Secan or Sear, which are already open. It seems to be a sure thing for the town liberation event.

It was already getting dark. I cast [Shadow] on everyone, and Peter, who introduced himself as Doyle, carried the boy to Fos. When we arrived at the town, the gate was tightly closed, but when we explained the situation to a young guard who appeared at a peephole after knocking strongly, the gate was opened, and we were led to the guard's station.

We were told to wait by the guard who led us, and we waited obediently, thinking it must be a busy time as it was getting dark.

"Mineral affinity increases mining by 1, right?"

"I want to exchange it for gathering."

"Sure."

"I might take mining."

"It's non-transferable."

"Why is it a pun?"

"We would have lost without the spirits."

"Yeah."

"I'm tired."

"Ah, I'll repair the equipment."

Ochazuke and Kikuhime repaired it for me.

I need to start making potions soon to supply medicine.

On the way, Leo and Doyle got along well, and Doyle was attached to Leo, not Peter. By the time we reached the town, Doyle was laughing and showing a mischievous expression, which seemed to be his true nature.

"Oh! Doyle!"

A stern-looking middle-aged man, who appeared to be the supervisor, entered the station with the young guard who had followed us. He was dressed casually, unlike the young guard, who was off duty.

"Thank you, adventurers. There were rumors that the monsters in the western plains had moved to the town, so we had to keep the gates closed until we could confirm. Doyle, why did you go to the forest? You were told not to go into the forest alone."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see what it was like..."

"I've sent someone to call your parents. You caused a lot of worry, so be prepared to be scolded."

The walls of the town are there to protect against monsters. If the number of monsters increases, the gates are closed to prevent them from entering until they are defeated.

The people living inside the walls have a sense of community and tend to keep their distance from outsiders, as shown by the old man at the bookstore.

"Well, at least it's over. We were looking for Doyle with a reward, and you've found him. We've also received reports that the monsters haven't moved. We'll open the gates immediately."

*The town of Fos has been liberated.*

The second world announcement of the day.

"Shall we go register at the temple?"

"Oooh~"

The reward was 40,000 silver, which was quite a lot. I was wondering how the rush party was equipping themselves, but with this much, they wouldn't need to spend as much time hunting monsters in the field or gathering and mining to earn money.

In the future, as player