Chapter 5

＜Old Leve Orchard＞ Ray Stirling

Seeing my brother's ＜Embryo＞—probably a TYPE: Arms variant—I couldn't help but voice my doubts.

TYPE: Arms, I imagined something more like a magic sword or a magic spear, but a Gatling gun...

"Is a Gatling gun even appropriate in a fantasy setting?"

"In a world where the Mechanical Empire Dryf exists, my ＜Embryo＞ is also appropriate, Bear."

Wearing a drum-shaped ammunition magazine on his back and cradling the barrel of the Gatling gun under his right arm, Bear laughed.

As I looked at his somewhat absurd appearance with a slight sense of exasperation,

"KIKIKI……"

"CHIKI……CHIKI……"

It seemed that insect-type monsters, resembling bees and ants, had noticed our presence and were gathering.

"Alright, let's push through to the Rem fruit field, Bear."

Bear said this as he aimed the Gatling gun... and fired.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Instantly, a deafening roar erupted, and the insect monsters were shattered into pieces, their bodily fluids splattering everywhere.

As the barrel spun and bullets were fired, the number of corpses increased, and they fell to the ground, disappearing in a game-like manner.

The scene was a complete one-sided slaughter.

Bear's rate of fire was faster than the rate at which the monsters spawned.

In less than a minute, thousands of empty shell casings had been ejected from the Gatling gun.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to fire while carrying such a weapon, but according to the stats I saw earlier, Bear's costume was almost like a powered suit. With a Strength (STR) of at least 900, which is ninety times that of my level 0, it might be possible. Still, it's strange that he can walk while firing.

The fact that he can fire continuously without running out of ammunition suggests that the Gatling gun, being a ＜Embryo＞, is imbued with some kind of mysterious power.

However, firing a Gatling gun like this reminds me of a scene from a classic movie, the second in a series about androids, starring an actor who later became a governor.

Well, with Bear in a bear costume instead of a muscular actor, it might end up looking like a B-movie.

"But it doesn't seem like I can be of much use..."

There's no timing for me to attack. If I recklessly step forward, I'll be turned into a beehive in an instant.

Naturally, despite the monsters being defeated at an incredible rate, I'm not gaining any experience points.

"Ah, you can leave the drops, but I'd like you to follow closely behind, Bear."

The corpses disappear, but the items that drop when they are defeated remain.

Incidentally, with the skill "Disassemble," the time before the corpse disappears is extended, allowing for disassembly, which apparently yields more items.

"I understand. ...Hey, by the way, this situation..."

It's a common scenario in games.

At the start, a low-level player character is helped by a high-level ally character to progress. The ally character is strong and very useful, but usually dies at the end of the early stages, serving as a climax for the first part.

"‘Nwaaah!!’ How nostalgic."

"...No, if that happens, I'll be the one who dies."

My brother's tone was somewhat awkward.

In this situation, it's hard to tell if we're in a battle, doing a job, or performing a comedy routine. Regardless, we covered the 500 meters and reached the Rem fruit field.

◇

"Who are you!? Ah, you're...!"

As expected, Lilianna was engaged in battle with a swarm of insect monsters in the Rem fruit field.

She was protecting her sister, who was behind her, while fighting against countless insect monsters.

"Good, we made it in time!"

"Calvary (without horses) has arrived, Bear!"

While I was relieved that we weren't too late, my brother fired the Gatling gun again, reducing the insect encirclement at an incredible rate.

...That's good, but please don't hit Lilianna and her sister by mistake.

By the time I was worried about them, the encirclement had already been easily eliminated.

It's not just that my brother is strong; the Gatling gun itself is a very useful weapon for fighting multiple enemies. It's said that the Gatling gun was effective in the Boshin War in Japanese history.

In any case, we safely reached the two of them.

"Are you alright?"

I repeated the words that were said to her at that time, now from my own mouth.

"You're the one from back then... Why are you here?"

She looked at me in surprise.

Hmm? This is the first time she's noticed me.

So the "Ah, you're..." earlier was directed at my brother?

"Besides, you too... Why are you really here?"

"I came to help. My brother said, 'I can't just leave her! No matter what, I'm going to save her!' so I came to help, Bear."

He didn't say that!

I don't remember saying anything that dramatic!

"My brother... So that's it."

Lilianna seemed to understand something.

This atmosphere... Could it be that my brother and Lilianna know each other?

As I wondered, Lilianna turned to me and bowed deeply.

"Thank you. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have been able to protect my sister... Miria."

"No, no. I just watched from behind..."

"Still, please allow me to express my gratitude. You came to save me, who had caused you trouble, with reinforcements... I will never forget this kindness."

Lilianna's words made me feel not just flattered but guilty.

After all, I just accepted the quest and did nothing, parasitizing in the safety of my brother's shadow.

Unable to look her in the eye, I averted my gaze and saw her sister, Miriane.

She was as cute as in the photo, if not more so.

"Rori? Rorikon Bear?"

No, that's not it.

"Hic, hic..."

Miriane was crying.

Of course, she would be. She was surrounded by so many insect monsters, and her life was in danger.

However, the basket in her hand contained about five fruits—likely the rumored Rem fruits—showing her resilience.

"Anyway, let's get out of here. It's dangerous if more monsters gather."

"Understood."

At that moment, the menu screen changed.

【NPCs have joined the party】

【Lilianna Grandria has joined】

【Miriane Grandria has joined】

So, NPCs can join the party.

Miriane's stats were lower than mine, but Lilianna's were astonishing.

Lilianna Grandria

Occupation: 【Holy Knight】

Level: 60 (Total Level 210)

HP: 5450

MP: 1684

SP: 1430

Total Level 210... That's too high.

Well, as the deputy commander of the royal guard, she's the second-best knight in the country, so it makes sense.

"..."

Then, I noticed that Bear had a troubled look on his face (I can tell from the air, given our long relationship).

"Ray, the difficulty of this world's quests is calculated by the quest management AI based on the surrounding environment and character background."

"Huh?"

Calculate the environment and character background? I can see why a management AI would do that, but what does it have to do with now?

"So, I thought the difficulty of this quest was high because it's a time-limited quest with a short time limit."

Bear spoke his thoughts slowly.

"I thought we could reach here easily because I'm here and I specialize in fighting multiple enemies. But..."

Bear's gaze fixed on a point on the ground.

"Lilianna joined the quest. This means the real challenge starts after the merge. It's a quest with a difficulty of 5, after joining with Lilianna, who has a total level of 210."

Immediately after these words, the ground where Bear was looking exploded, and something long and massive emerged from the earth.

"GYULUUUUUUUUAAAAAAA!!!"

It was a giant centipede, nearly 30 meters long.

"Chi!"

Unlike a centipede, its skin was covered in reptilian scales, easily deflecting the bullets from Bear's Gatling gun.

Additionally, it had large mandibles like a stag beetle, extending in all directions from its face.

Even a beginner could tell:

This is strong.

"【Demidragon Beetle】...!"

Lilianna's voice was filled with shock.

"GIIIEEEEAAAAAAAA!!"

The ground exploded again, and another monster, called a 【Demidragon Worm】, appeared.

"Demidragon-class monsters... I see, if you have to protect this child against multiple of these, the difficulty with reinforcements makes sense. But!"

Despite the overwhelming presence of the two monsters, Bear's voice was clear and confident.

"That's not enough to challenge me!"

He raised both arms,

"I can crush them, but let's make it interesting! Baldur! Activate Fourth Form—"

"GIIIEEEAAALEAAAAAA!!!"

"GYULUUUUUUUUAAAAAAA!!!"

"GYUIIILUUUUAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"GYULUUUUUUUULOOAAAAAAA!!!"

Immediately, four more 【Demidragon Worms】 emerged from the ground around Bear, capturing him with their mandibles and dragging him underground.

"......Eh?"

"!"

I could process the visual information of what happened in an instant, but I couldn't understand it. Lilianna, on the other hand, bit her lip, clearly not expecting this.

I checked the party's simplified status, but Bear's status was still blacked out, and I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead.

"No, Bear, setting up a flag was bad, but... this is too quick a recovery."

With Bear gone, the two remaining 【Demidragon Worms】 approached us.

I was suddenly thrown from the safety of Bear's shadow into a dangerous situation.

"Ah..."

The largest animal I've seen up close on Earth was an elephant.

But now, a monster much larger than an elephant was approaching, radiating a cold, mechanical hostility.

Honestly, even knowing it's a game, my legs were shaking.

"...I have a request."

Lilianna spoke to me, who was trembling in fear.

"W-What is it?"

"I can hold one, possibly two. In the meantime, could you please take my sister to a safe place?"

"B-But..."

The enemy is two. Even Lilianna alone...

...No, that's not it. At level 0, I can't help at all.

In fact, staying here would just be a hindrance.

"...Alright."

I took Miriane's hand and ran.

Behind us, the battle between Lilianna and the 【Demidragon Worms】 began.

To be continued

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