Ch.282October Dungeon and Community Work (5)

Anyway, the safari conquest had begun.

Normally, safaris involve riding in vehicles, but of course, there was nothing like that here.

“It’s hot… Was it really necessary to implement heat too?”

Umi said while wiping away sweat. Sweat was pouring down her body like rain. It looked like she might melt away soon.

But… Umi was wearing a light-colored T-shirt. Thanks to that, her bra was visible through the fabric.

“Umi… you’re magnificent.”

I was involuntarily overcome with emotion. Openly visible breasts were nice, but the subtle glimpse of her bra and the suggestion of her chest’s softness was truly splendid.

“Hehehe. Look all you want.”

Umi deliberately pressed the T-shirt against her skin, showing off her figure.

“……..”

Tina, who had been watching this, suddenly started doing push-ups.

“Hey, Tina. What are you doing all of a sudden?”

I questioned Tina.

“I need to sweat quickly too… so I can give Shota a nice view.”

Tina replied.

“……..”

Kana was silently staring at the sky.

“Why… am I the type that doesn’t sweat?”

Kana said with genuine disappointment. She’s getting a bit weird too…

“Everyone, stay alert. We don’t know where enemies might appear.”

Sasix tried to take this opportunity to act like a proper leader.

“Yes sir! Let’s follow our leader’s orders, everyone!”

I shouted loudly to boost Sasix’s morale.

“Hehehe. Shota, that bastard seems to be secretly manipulating Sasix.”

Taiga remarked.

“Go!!! Your Majesty!! Don’t listen to these treacherous ministers!!”

I immediately covered Sasix’s ears.

These guys, I swear. They cause trouble at every opportunity. I won’t forgive troublemakers!

Though it was a vast plain, the path itself was a single route. Sasix and I simply proceeded along the straight road.

The path was set up just like a zoo. There were cages everywhere.

“Grrrraaargh!! Grrrrrr!!”

Exotic monsters were all around.

Creatures that looked like half-lizard, half-tiger hybrids were howling from their cages.

Outside the cage was a helpful explanation.

‘Tiger Lizard: The apex predator of the cosmic ecosystem! It evolved to have tiger-like patterns as a reproductive strategy to attract females.’

This was truly irrelevant information.

But… other aliens were clinging to the top of the cages.

“Hey there!! I don’t know what planet you’re from, but please help us!!!”

The aliens were all shouting in unison while bound.

“Grrrrrr…!!”

The tiger lizards, seeing them as their next meal, approached the aliens.

“Come on. Let’s not interrupt their meal and hurry to defeat the boss.”

Knowing this wasn’t a mandatory event, I tried to progress through the game quickly.

However, our protagonist was indeed a protagonist.

“No. Let’s save them. They’re civilians after all.”

Sasix immediately drew his sword and tried to summon his psycho-robo.

“Is that really necessary?”

Honestly, I thought it wasn’t our problem, but…

“We have to do this.”

Sasix had already summoned Moby Dick.

“Moby Dick!! Break the cage!!”

Sasix commanded Moby Dick.

“Keeeuuuung!!!”

Moby Dick immediately charged toward the cage.

CRASH-!!

The cage was instantly destroyed, but it seemed we were already too late.

SLASH-!!

The tiger lizards’ fangs tore into the aliens.

“AAAAARGH!!”

“UWAAAAAGH!!!”

The aliens met a horrific end, being devoured alive.

This was the hobby of the boss here, the Beast Tamer. He would kidnap aliens from various planets and feed them to his rare creatures. He was truly a terrifying bastard.

CLANK-! CLANK-!!

Cages all around opened, and monsters leaped out.

“PWOOOOOO!!!”

An elephant with a mace attached to its trunk.

“HIYAAAANG!!”

A giant cat that must have been over 5 meters tall, and all sorts of bizarre creatures emerged.

“Everyone!! Battle positions!!”

I immediately drew my Pinocchio Sword.

“Sasix!!! Sweep the area with Moby Dick!!!”

After shouting that, I charged toward the front.

“Moby Dick!!”

Sasix immediately summoned Moby Dick.

“KEEEUUUUNG!!!”

The massive sperm whale slammed its head into the ground.

BOOOOOM-!!!!

When the whale crashed its head down, a localized earthquake occurred.

RUMBLE-!!

That stopped the approaching monsters in their tracks. We’d bought ourselves a turn.

“Okay!! That’s it!!”

I was targeting the obviously troublesome monsters.

First, one beast. A bear covered in rocky armor. It had physical and magical resistance, making it very tough.

It would be foolish to use physical attacks on a physically resistant enemy, but… it wasn’t immune to physical damage. With enough accumulated damage, its armor would break.

“Pinocchio Sword!!!”

I drew my Pinocchio Sword with its infinite durability.

SHING-!

The Pinocchio Sword now had a proper sword-like elegance. A brilliant light emanated from the blade.

I couldn’t use Tomato to break through tough armor. As sharp as it was, it would dull quickly. That was the limitation of a Japanese sword.

In the end, the Pinocchio Sword was the answer for brute force work. It was truly an all-purpose tool.

“HYAAAAH!!!”

I charged up a breath of single flash with all my might and struck the bear’s armor.

CLANG-!!!

The sword created a small crack in the bear’s armor.

“HYAAAAH!!!”

I wedged the Pinocchio Sword into that crack.

SCREECH-!!!!

The crack in the armor gradually widened.

“GROOOOAR!!!”

The bear swung its paws, trying to shake me off.

That’s when Pinocchio called out.

“Master!!! Thanks to incorporating part of the sword material earlier, I think I’ve awakened to a new function!!”

Pinocchio shouted loudly.

“A new function?”

There wasn’t anything special when I checked the status window.

“Rotate the blade of the sword!”

Pinocchio shouted.

“Okay!!”

Why not give it a try? I immediately rotated the sword’s handle.

FLASH-!!!

At that moment, an incredible light burst from the sword’s blade.

BZZZZZZT-!!!

The light output from the blade intensified. Simultaneously, the cracks in the bear’s armor spread more rapidly.

“HYAAAAAAAH!!!”

I rotated the sword like a joystick.

BZZZZZZT-!!

With that, the bear’s head armor completely shattered.

“Well done! Pinocchio!!”

I leaped into the air and dismissed the Pinocchio Sword.

SHING-!

Now that the armor was gone, it was time for my beloved sword Tomato to shine.

“Die!!!”

I thrust Tomato’s blade into the bear’s neck.

SLASH-!!!

The blade cleanly cut through the bear’s neck like tofu. Hot blood from the giant bear soaked my body.

STAGGER-!!

The giant bear began to collapse in place. However, this wasn’t enough damage.

“Taiga!! Now’s your chance!! Take the shot!!”

I shouted from atop the bear’s head. By this point, Taiga should have learned a decent single-target damage skill.

“Okay!! Come forth!! Fenrir!!!”

Taiga immediately summoned Fenrir.

“GRRRRAAARGH!!”

Fenrir revealed itself.

“Blessed Arrow!!”

At Taiga’s command, a burning spear formed in Fenrir’s mouth.

WHOOSH-!!

The burning spear flew toward the giant bear’s head. Timing it perfectly, I jumped off the bear’s head.

CRASH-!!

The burning spear cleanly melted through the giant bear’s head.

That took care of one troublesome enemy.

The rest of the fighters were also battling well.

BOOM-!!

Thumbs-up Man was smashing every charging beast with his shield. Frill summoned Pink Teddy to protect the blind spots that Thumbs-up Man couldn’t defend.

And… Kana was literally flying around.

SLASH-!!

Kana cut through the legs of a dinosaur-like creature in sequence, then climbed up the monster’s body.

“Die!!!!”

Kana swung her sword with all her might at the monster’s forehead.

SLASH-!!

With that, the monster was split in two. What is she, some kind of Ri-X sergeant? She was strong before, but… she seemed to be getting stronger.

The next divine warrior… might be a bit difficult to deal with? I couldn’t help thinking that.

“Hahaha! Die!!”

Kirtan swung his sword gallantly, pressuring the enemies. Beside him, Tina was bursting monster heads with single punches.

All of this was for Sasix’s benefit.

“Moby Dick!! Waterfall Gorge!!!”

Sasix unleashed an area attack in the midst of this.

RUMBLE-!!!

As Moby Dick swept through the battlefield, the beasts were simultaneously neutralized.

Ding-!

There was definitely satisfaction in defeating enemies. Everyone’s level had now entered the 90s. We were really not far from max level.

——-

Now… it was time for this dungeon’s gimmick.

“Everyone be careful.”

I wanted to give everyone advance guidance.

“From now on, the boss of this place will use a special ability. We’ll all be scattered.”

I reported this point.

“As expected… it’s not just a simple structure of defeating enemies.”

Sasix made a displeased expression.

“Yeah. You’ll wake up in unfamiliar places, but just head toward where there’s a giant cactus. Then you’ll find your way.”

I said. It was a maze escape event.

The player and party members would all be separated. Other party members would fight automatically and escape the maze on their own, while the player had to defeat enemies directly to escape the maze. This was why it was important to develop all party members evenly.

Honestly… I was worried about Umi with her poor individual combat ability. But Umi was level 90. In JRPGs, level is everything. I believed she would make it back alive.

“Let’s all meet again alive.”

I said that as I headed beyond the cactus field, which was the boundary where this gimmick would trigger.

FLASH-!!

As expected, my consciousness faded to black.

And after a while, I opened my eyes in the middle of a maze.

The presence of monsters could be felt throughout the wasteland, which was littered with human skeletons.

“Alright… let’s go wild.”

I smiled as I drew my sword.