Chapter 171: Black Death Ice Forest Part 7

We began our second attempt at conquering the “Black Death Ice Forest” as a team. After our first failure, each of us had repeatedly explored the shallower areas, so our map was quite filled out for the parts before the depths where the Spartoi Leader would appear. Therefore, we managed to successfully penetrate deeper into the forest by avoiding battles with monsters as much as possible and taking the shortest route to our destination.

“From this area onwards, we might encounter the Spartoi Leader. We can’t afford to be careless.”

“We’re ready for them, brother.”

Jigoro seemed to be itching for a fight as he fidgeted restlessly and cast his gaze around. As we moved forward, we ensured our safety through scouting by Ruby and the others, staying alert to avoid any surprise attacks. Given our numbers, we had resigned ourselves from the start to not being the ones to ambush.

“Look out; there’s a group approaching. About fifteen in number. The three in the lead are probably Spartoi Leaders!”

“Hehe, finally!”

At Ruby’s warning, Jigoro grinned and licked his lips in anticipation. Was he that eager for a battle? Well, then, he could fight to his heart’s content.

“Alright. Jigoro, Genjuro, and Karl will handle the Spartoi Leaders. The rest of us will take care of the remaining foes.”

“Leave it to us, brother!”

“Fumu. They seem to be worthy opponents; this should be interesting.”

“Grrrrrru…”

Jigoro cracked his knuckles, while Genjuro unsheathed the sword slung gracefully at his waist, and Karl growled threateningly. Indeed, these two men and one beast were exceptionally reliable within our guild. Entrusting the strong foes to them usually worked out well. After all, they themselves desired to battle strong opponents, so it was a win-win situation.

“””Gachi Gachi Gachi!”””

“Haha!”

“Hoo? You’re a better swordsman than I thought.”

“Guooooooo!”

The Spartoi Leaders and the Spartois they led burst out from the gaps in the trees. Jigoro and the others confronted the leading Spartoi Leaders. Jigoro’s powerful fists dented their shields, Genjuro’s sword deflected their blades, and Karl charged head-on, grappling the enemy to the ground.

With their leaders under attack, the Spartois following behind, also tried to attack them. However, we wouldn’t allow them to interfere.

“Over here!”

“Charge!”

As Jigoro and the others moved forward, Hanna and Roja who had been waiting charged into the fray. Hanna’s swinging halberd was formidable but the sheer weight of Roja’s charge, also clad in genuine steel horse armor was a weapon in itself. The Spartois, caught off guard by the frontal assault, were struck squarely by the cavalry charge and their formation was thrown into disarray.

Anyway, we succeeded in dividing them. All that was left was to defeat each one individually.

“Ha! Take this!”

“…You’re so enthusiastic, Eiji.”

“It’s good to be energetic, isn’t it?”

Eiji swung his axe and shield vigorously while Usaji filled in the gaps. Despite anything said, their combination, which had been honed since the start of the game, was remarkable. Additionally, Moth-san darted around in complex trajectories, causing chaos and steadily chipping away at their stamina. At this rate, the Spartois would not last even a minute against them.

“Let’s go, Phil! Tess!”

“I’ll support you~~ssu!”

Though not as powerful in their assault as Hanna and Roja, Sei who was lighter and more agile was also making his mark. His staff which was reinforced with true steel struck the Spartoi monsters hard. Also, his subordinates’ horns and fangs along with their magic spell, added to the onslaught. And if the monsters tried to counterattack, Shio’s arrows would precisely rain down from above, leaving the Spartois with no chance to react.

“Umm, we’re still lacking firepower, aren’t we?”

“We’ll win with the number of our attacks, Ruby!”

While this was happening, Ruby and Shishu were cornering the Spartoi monsters at another part of the battlefield. Indeed, their attacks, compared to vanguards like Jigoro and Eiji, were lighter per hit. But Ruby’s rapid knife skills and Shishu’s sharp blade-like joints created a space akin to a barrier of slashing attacks. If this game had realistic blood effects, no one would want to put a living creature in there.

“Watch out… Holy Shield!”

“That’s what support is for, right? Here you go.”

“Caught it!”

“Go for it. Meeh~”

And the rearguards were supporting the others from a safe position. Seventh Armor wielded magic, Shiitake used throwing weapons, Wool supported with his singing, and Iris entangled the ankles of the Spartois with her tentacles, causing them to stumble. Ah, there’s one of the Spartoi who was tripped by Iris and had its head crushed under Eiji’s foot. That must be an instant kill.

“It’s really nice not having to use heal fear constantly. Star Magic Circle, Remote Activation, Holy Ray.”

I was also diligent in providing support. Five beams of light emitted from the magic circle pierced through the Spartois. I didn’t enhance the spell, so they didn’t produce an instant kill, but they definitely whittled down their health significantly.

The rearguard’s attacks created openings that the vanguard exploited to gain an advantage in the battle. Overall, there was a sense of ease that ensured the battle wouldn’t drag on unnecessarily.

“Hahahahaha! Without fear, this is nothing!”

“Fuuumu, not bad, but… it’s too straightforward. This won’t amount to much training.”

On the edge of my vision, Jigoro and Genjuro were dominating a fight against higher-level monsters. Naturally, they had the upper hand. Genjuro wielded his sword and maneuvered around the opponents’ shields to strike. Although they were doing similar things, the impression was quite different between the rough Jigoro and Genjuro, who made fewer large movements.

Or rather, Jigoro, I know you could fight like Genjuro if you wanted to. Are you choosing not to just because you want to move your body, or is it because you’re still holding onto the frustration from last time?

No, it was probably the latter. It seemed he couldn’t stomach being immobilized by the fear status ailment. Just keep it in moderation.

“Guuuoooooo!”

Then there was Karl, who earlier couldn’t fight much as he kept retreating those afflicted with fear to the rear for me to heal them. But now, he was rampaging wildly, driven by pure instinct. With his claws, fangs, horns, and even his tail, he was relentlessly beating them down. His dynamic movements were as impressive as ever!

“…Alright. Are we done here?”

A few minutes later, the troop led by the three Spartoi Leaders was annihilated. We suffered almost no damage. Watching us easily defeat an opponent that had previously given us a tough time, simply because we currently weren’t afflicted with status ailments, underlined the importance of countering such conditions.

I possess [Status Immunity], but there may come a time when humanity develops accessories to nullify status ailments. If that happens, one of the advantages of being an undead like me would disappear, and my use of [Curse] and other status-based attacks would become useless. All I can do is hope that doesn’t happen.

“Once we finish collecting the spoils, let’s keep moving. If we can, we’ll challenge the boss today.”

“Yeah! Can’t wait!” Jigoro said.

“Our destination is beyond that, though.”

“Ah, right, was it? I forgot.”

Jigoro, who only cared about fighting, seemed to have forgotten even the reason I proposed tackling the “Black Death Ice Forest.” What a battle junkie!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

―――――――――――――

The race level of your familiar has increased.

The job level of your familiar has increased.

―――――――――――――

As we continued fending off several attacks and advancing, we finally reached the deepest part of the forest. At the same time, we discovered a clearing that unmistakably seemed to be the field boss area.

The area was as large as a school playground, and it appeared to be at the edge of the forest. A white mist-like barrier obscured our view beyond the boss area. Surely, the “Dragon’s Sanctuary” we were seeking lay beyond this mist.

However, an easy breakthrough was out of the question. Witnessing the boss area, we were reluctantly forced to acknowledge that the boss battle here would be far more intense than we had imagined.

“Hey, hey, this number is just unfair…”

There, including the Spartoi Leaders were easily over fifty Spartois and Demon Spirits. It was like an army of undead. And the enemies didn’t stop there.

“Hoo, a bone dragon…”

“I’ve never seen a wild dragon before.”

“No, it’s not “living” is it? It’s dead.”

(TN: play on words here; 野生 means wild. While 生 means living.)

“Seventh Armor, this is not the time for such ‘puns.’”

Behind the Spartois were four skeleton dragons, each significantly larger than Karl and probably twice his size. These were likely the skeletons of dragons that had lost their “Lesser” status. If they retained their strength from when they were alive, even without their flesh, then we stood no chance of victory.

“Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah…”

“Oooooh, oooooh, ooooooh…”

The skeleton dragons, now reduced to mere bones, had been relentlessly attacking the white fog. It seemed that the fog was physically solid, as their attacks made no impact on it. It was clear that forcefully advancing to the next area was not an option.

“What shall we do, Isam? Shall we continue as we are?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure.”

During our journey thus far, we have hardly exhausted ourselves. Therefore, it was certain that we could fight with full strength if we were to enter into a boss battle.

However, the truth was that the sight of the enemy’s numbers, along with the skeleton dragons, was intimidating. I believed we were superior in terms of individual quality, but we were overwhelmingly outnumbered. It seemed natural to first use an [Appraisal] to estimate their strength, and depending on the results, consider a retreat.

“Oh, who is that over there?”

――――――――――

You have entered the Field Boss Area.

――――――――――

“Impossible!?”

“An announcement suddenly… without us even moving!”

But our hesitation here was our downfall. Perhaps our assumption that only mindless undead roamed here was to blame. As soon as someone in the boss area talked to us, we were deemed to have entered the boss area.

“…If we’ve been discovered, then there’s no helping it. Let’s go, everyone.”

Resigned, we stepped out of the shelter of the trees and into the clearing. To our surprise, the horde of Spartois had split in two, forming a path. And walking down that path towards us was, astonishingly, a human.

At first glance, he resembled a worn-out scientist, with his tattered white coat frayed at the hem, thick-lensed bottle-bottom glasses, and a dirty cane with peeling paint. However, it was impossible for a legitimate scientist to be surrounded by undead creatures. Just who was he?

“It’s rare to see different species of monsters forming a group like this.”

“Thanks for that.”

“Oh! And you can speak human language too! Despite your appearance, you possess high intelligence, don’t you? That means…”

“Ah?”

As Jigoro gave a nonchalant reply to the scientist who was rudely scrutinizing him, the scientist began to show inexplicable excitement. This natural provocation made Jigoro openly display his killing intent while glaring fiercely. However, the scientist seemed completely oblivious to this hostility and he continued to mutter to himself without noticing Jigoro’s gaze.

He seemed to be a person who only saw his own world. He was the kind of person you would never want to get involved with in real life.

“Indeed, good… very good! If I make these my own, perhaps I can return to my laboratory!”

“Your own?! What are you talking about?”

Shishu was puzzled by the unfamiliar use of the word “my own” and titled her head in confusion, but those who understood were silently readying their weapons.

“My own, Shishu, means an underling… It is essentially a servant or slave.”

“Attack! And capture them! I don’t care if they retain their original forms, or if they’re dead or alive!”

“””Clatter, clatter, clatter!!!”””

“””Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah!!!”””

As the scientist gave his orders, all the undead creatures attacked at once. There was no choice but to fight with all our might! Boss or not, we were ready to give it our all!