Ch.244Sasith’s Quest (3)

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!”

Sasith shouted loudly, finally acting like a proper leader. At his command, we all drew our swords.

“Sasith!! Summon as many Psycho-Robos as you can from the back!! We’ll handle the front!!”

I shouted as I charged forward immediately.

The first to take position at the front was Thumbs-up Man with his shield.

“Uraaah!!!”

Thumbs-up Man charged straight at the boss, the Demon King, with his shield raised.

“That charge was so clean and magnificent!!”

I found myself shouting loudly. Indeed, a tank should always charge in first. Nothing is more annoying than a tank who timidly builds aggro bit by bit.

“Let me make one clear declaration!! You will all be defeated here!!”

The Demon King summoned a massive pixelated greatsword and swung it toward Thumbs-up Man.

Clang-! Clang-!! Clang-!

Thumbs-up Man held his shield high, maintaining a perfectly stable defensive stance.

“Now’s our chance!!”

In that moment, Kana, Kirtan, and Tina leaped high into the air.

Raiding that castle for gold had been worth it.

KWAAAANG-!!

Kana and Kirtan’s swords cleanly shattered the Demon King’s ankles.

“Hiyaaaah!!”

Following them, Tina delivered a straight punch with her knuckles.

KWAAAANG-!!

The Demon King flew backward from the impact of her fist.

CRACK-!!

At that moment, everyone’s pixelated weapons shattered completely.

“Tch! The durability on these is terrible!”

Kana clicked her tongue and drew a spare sword. We’d bought plenty of weapons just in case. We had money to spare anyway.

“Guuurgh….!! Damn you….!!”

The Demon King clutched his partially caved-in head as he struggled to stand. It would be quite a gruesome sight in reality, but thanks to the pixel graphics, it didn’t look particularly brutal.

“I’m going in!!”

I immediately summoned and dismissed the Pinocchio Sword in mid-air. The Pinocchio Sword wasn’t meant for dealing damage. It had infinite durability, but honestly, its damage output was pathetic.

Shing-!!

I drew the pixel sword I’d purchased in this dungeon. Poor durability, but proven damage. It dealt damage comparable to a bamboo spear.

“Ha!! Think I’ll let you?!”

The Demon King swung his greatsword directly at me.

I couldn’t block with this pixel sword. It would break instantly.

“Pinocchio Sword!!”

I quickly summoned the Pinocchio Sword.

CLAAANG-!

I blocked the sword strike with the Pinocchio Sword.

As sparks flew everywhere, shock flashed in the Demon King’s eyes.

“What…..!”

The Demon King stared at the Pinocchio Sword in bewilderment. He seemed amazed that the sword hadn’t broken from his massive strike.

Immediately after, I dismissed the Pinocchio Sword. That’s weapon swapping for you. Just using that technique made me feel like a veteran player…!!

However, it didn’t completely negate the impact.

“Hnnngh…!!”

My body was thrown far back by the greatsword’s strike.

“Prill!!! Bring out Pink Teddy!”

I immediately directed Prill.

“Got it!!”

Prill summoned Pink Teddy right away.

Poof-!!

Pink Teddy acted as a cushion, catching my body.

“Taiga!! Boost me up with Fenrir!!”

I shouted toward Taiga right after.

“Oh!! Got it!!”

Taiga nodded and immediately summoned Fenrir in mid-air.

Pop-!!!

I stepped on Fenrir’s back in mid-air and jumped in place.

“Umi!! Cast an attack buff!!”

And it would be a struggle without our buffer/healer Umi.

“Click!”

Umi simply waved her hand lightly.

Whoosh-!!

My attack power and speed increased dramatically.

Clink-!

I raised my sword high in the air.

What a shounen manga-like development with everyone getting their moment!!

“Today’s gamers hate outdated JRPGs!!!”

I shouted as I swung my sword down.

“Graaaah!!! That’s why the younger generation has no patience!!!”

Sensing danger, the Demon King swung his greatsword to defend and counter-attack.

But my sword reached him faster.

SLASH-!!!!

My pixel sword cut deeply through the Demon King’s body.

“GRAAAAAAAH?!!!!”

The Demon King screamed and fell backward.

“Not yet….not yet!!!! Without the holy sword…..I am invincible!!”

The Demon King staggered as he tried to stand.

However, he had no chance of winning.

Sasith had summoned all six Psycho-Robos.

“Checkmate.”

Sasith muttered.

Chuunibyou trait) Loves the word “checkmate.”

“So cool….”

Prill looked at Sasith with a lovestruck expression. When you’re smitten, everything looks good.

KWAAAANG-!!

All six Psycho-Robos began unleashing their highest-tier techniques.

“GAAAH!!!”

The Demon King’s body was lifted into the air.

“Sasith!! Now’s your chance!! Use the holy sword!!”

I shouted loudly.

“Got it!!!”

Sasith leaped high, holding the glowing holy sword aloft.

“Die!!!!”

Then, Sasith swung the sword with all his might.

SLASH-!!!!!

The sword cleanly sliced through the Demon King’s body.

“Impossible….IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!”

The Demon King shouted the most clichéd line before dissolving into pixels.

Ding-!!

The signal for defeating the boss came immediately. Everyone’s levels increased. We all reached the early 80s.

Sasith… reached the mid-80s. As expected of the protagonist. His leveling speed was overwhelming.

Pababababat-!!

As everything in the dungeon dissolved into pixels, my consciousness faded to black.

———

Naturally, we safely returned to our original world.

“We did it!!”

I laughed loudly, congratulating everyone.

“Phew….finally feels like August is passing.”

Sasith sighed as he spoke.

“Then let’s celebrate! Chicken! Let’s eat chicken!!”

Umi seemed to have gotten hungry quickly.

“Chicken sounds good!”

Taiga smiled immediately. Somehow, eating chicken late at night had become the unwritten rule. Good Korean culture… properly spread!

“It’s a bit fatty… but it’s protein, so it should be fine!”

Tina showed her endlessly generous stance when it came to protein.

“Can we add buffalo wings too?”

Kirtan had completely localized to Earth now. He really adapts well.

“Hmm… I don’t really like eating at night. It’s bad for the skin too.”

Kana seemed rather uncertain about that point.

“I… want to celebrate with Kana.”

I mumbled hesitantly toward Kana.

“Uh……”

Those words clearly had an effect on Kana.

“W-well, I guess just for today….”

Kana said in an adorable tone.

“Yes!!”

I cheered immediately. Kana is just too soft when it comes to me.

Anyway, to celebrate our victory, we headed to a fast-food restaurant specializing in chicken. We were practically regulars now.

The employee spotted us and said in a languid tone:

“The usual?”

“Yes! Oh, and add six pieces of buffalo wings.”

I nodded and replied. Kirtan likes buffalo wings, after all.

——–

After returning home, we enjoyed our celebration. Madoka woke up, rubbing her eyes.

“Big bro…..”

Madoka whined sleepily as she nestled in my arms. She was so cute that I held her like a doll while enjoying the celebration.

And so, August’s big quest was cleared.

———

Time passed, and it became late August.

“You all know midterms are coming up soon, right? Let’s do our best. After midterms, we have the field trip! Everyone should make good memories!”

Our homeroom teacher smiled brightly during morning assembly.

The children all stiffened at the teacher’s vibrant smile.

“Teacher has… become boring!”

One child shouted. Our teacher, known for self-deprecating humor, had stopped making such jokes.

“…Is this the snowball effect of getting a girlfriend?!”

That’s right. It seemed our teacher had successfully gotten together with his first love, the alien Mimiko. Because of that… he had become too happy!! He had lost his original character!

But anything was okay as long as he was happy.

Wanting to acknowledge my own happiness, I reached under the desk and touched Eri’s thigh.

“Shota! Even under the desk, everyone can see!”

Eri giggled and nudged me.

Yes. Everyone was happy. And that’s what mattered.

——-

After school, I started regularly attending the kendo dojo again. Since Gonzaemon had basically taught me all the fundamentals, I was improving my proficiency by alternating sparring matches with Kana, Thumbs-up Man, and Gonzaemon.

By the way, Asuna-san’s belly had started to visibly grow. Umi would soon no longer be an only child. Everyone was harmonious and happy, which was great.

After training at the dojo, I worked on my novel for the competition.

‘The Reincarnated Hero’s Unexpected Talent: Writing’

Perhaps it was due to some new attribute I’d gained, but I felt my novel-writing skills improving day by day.

‘Rather than my writing ability itself improving… my sense has gotten better.’

I could instinctively tell whether a development was interesting or boring. This helped me avoid blunders, which showed in the rankings.

“Touchdown at 5th place!!!”

I roared loudly.

That’s right. I’d reached 5th place. I was confident this was the best work I’d written in my life so far.

Now everyone would be curious: what happened to our teacher’s novel, which had been a candidate for 1st place?

Our teacher’s novel… had plummeted to 45th place.

“It suddenly became so boring. That’s quite unexpected.”

Mika muttered beside me.

“Teacher’s novels are… the type that sublimate real-life deficiencies into fantasy…”

That’s right. When real life is unhappy and tedious, one writes interesting novels.

But… our teacher became too happy in reality after getting a girlfriend. He no longer needed vicarious satisfaction through novels. As a result, his writing became loose and fell apart.

And so… a bright star of the web novel world became obsolete in record time. Thanks to that, I inadvertently benefited.