“Gorilla, no! My name is Saburo! A mighty warrior of my tribe, the barbarian baboon! Intruders, Kiill!”
The exceptionally large barbarian baboon called Saburo made his declaration. It was clear just from his appearance that he was an evolved form of the baboon race, but no one had expected that he possessed the intelligence to speak even if in broken sentences.
“An advanced race with a name, huh?!”
“Tch, old man!”
“Umu.”
In contrast to Jigoro, who clicked his tongue in frustration, Genjuro seemed slightly excited. They had a pre-arranged agreement to decide through rock-paper-scissors who would fight an elite opponent if they popped up. Today, Genjuro had won, and thus the right to battle was his. Jigoro appeared genuinely disappointed at not being able to fight this new foe.
Genjuro positioned his Odachi in a high stance, while the Uchigatana and the Wakizashi were crossed below in a lower stance. As he unfurled his wings and stepped forward, he took flight at the same time. The explosive propulsion generated by the wings on his back, combined with his leg strength, allowed him to close the distance with incredible speed.
“Ugh?!”
“Shaaaah!!!”
Saburo was caught off guard by the unexpected situation and was met with Genjuro’s fierce battle cry as he swung his swords. He brandished the Uchigatana and Wakizashi to his sides, following through with a fluid motion to bring down the Odachi. It was a skillful combination of strikes using four arms and three swords.
“Ugaaa! Get off me!”
“Hmm… tough fur, indeed.”
Genjuro’s blades had indeed made contact with Saburo’s body, but they hadn’t inflicted much damage. The tough, metal-fiber-like bristles, the thick skin beneath, and the solid muscles all served to hinder the blade’s progress. It wasn’t so much a lack of attack power on Genjuro’s part as it was a testament to Saburo’s great defense.
Despite this, Saburo had taken some damage and frantically swung his arms to fend off Genjuro. The baboon’s simple, wide swings hardly grazed Genjuro, but Saburo’s movements were quick and his arms long. Genjuro had to step back to dodge; he realized that he needed a new strategy to close the distance again.
“It seems I can’t cut off his arms, and merely parrying or deflecting might break my blades. In that case… Hmph!”
Using the horn protruding from his forehead, Genjuro deflected Saburo’s arms. Having evolved from a Samurai Insector Edge Beetle at level 60 to a Samurai Master Insector Edge Beetle, his horn had become not only harder but also sharp enough to be used as the tip of a spear. Moreover, since it could regrow, he could use it without hesitation.
As he deflected the blow, a buzzing shock traveled through Genjuro’s horn, which made a creaking noise as if it might have cracked. Despite the possibility of a fracture and the discomfort it caused, Genjuro suppressed his unease with reason and swung his sword once more.
“Take this!”
“Ugeee?!”
Although the tough body hair seemed to act like armor, it appeared less effective against thrusting attacks. As Genjuro repeated his stabs with the three swords, he felt the unmistakable sensation of cutting through flesh in his hands.
Genjuro allowed himself a sly grin… or rather, he vibrated the antenna near his mouth instead of a smile. Since he was an Insector, his face lacked the capability for expression. However, his composure was soon to be shattered.
“A-Annoying pest! Uuuooohhh!!!”
“””Uuukiiiiii!!!”””
When Saburo let out a high-pitched cry, the baboons under his command also began to cry in response. Then, all of them began to emanate a yellow aura. No matter how they looked at it, the enemy had powered up, and the four of them could physically feel the battle escalating to the second phase.
“Damn! They’ve gotten way too strong?!”
“Hahahaha! Yes, that’s more like it! Bring it on!”
“Why are you getting excited…?”
As the enemy grew stronger, Sei panicked, while Jigoro was visibly delighted. Seventh Armor, watching Jigoro’s reaction, was perplexed. Despite their different reactions, they continued to fight. From the depths of the forest, reinforcement after reinforcement of baboons surged out, each of them dealing with the onslaught in their own way.
“Awoo!”
“Phil?!”
The seemingly endless battle took a turn when Sei’s familiar, Phil, sustained severe damage and was on the brink of death. Sei wanted to descend to the ground immediately, but the surrounding baboons prevented it. Although Tess, another of Sei’s familiars, was fighting valiantly, it was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed and die.
“No choice, I’ll use my secret art: ‘Perfect Clone’!”
In an effort to prevent further depletion of their forces, Seventh Armor who was unable to stand idly by used his “secret art” the “Perfect Clone”. This technique was accessible only to those who had raised their [Summoning Magic] to level 40 and it allowed the caster to summon up to ten clones with the exact same stats as themselves.
The ability to summon creatures through [Summoning Magic] often resulted in beings weaker than the same creatures as players or mobs, even if their skills were enhanced through [Enchantment]. This was to prevent [Summoning Magic] from being overly powerful. However, “Perfect Clone” defied this limitation.
The summoned clones would lose one percent of their maximum health every second. Moreover, these clones could not be healed and would vanish once their health was depleted. This was almost identical to the conditions of [Demon God’s Sturdy Body] that Jigoro had used previously. However, the disappearance of a clone did not leave the caster at death’s door, so it was a more practical option.
“Spell adjustment, Holy Ray! Shoot eleven shots at the same time!”
Eleven beams of white light pierced through the baboons in unison. Those skilled in [Summoning Magic] were almost certainly adept in magic as well, which meant that while the clones were present, their overall magic firepower increased tremendously. Seventh Armor had chosen this “Secret Art” first and foremost for this very reason.
“Sei, now’s the time!”
“Thanks, big brother Seventh Armor! I’m going to use my ultimate technique too! ‘Bond of Master and Servant’!”
Taking advantage of the distraction created by Seventh Armor’s flashy display of magic, Sei rushed to his familiars to employ his own “Ultimate Technique”. “Bond of Master and Servant” was a skill unique to those with the Beast Trainer job and allowed for a fusion with their familiars.
During activation, the combined stats of the player and all the familiars in the party were added together, temporarily giving the player the strength of a field boss and allowing them to go on a rampage. In addition, Sei was able to use his familiars’ abilities during the fusion, which in his case included the magic of Tess, the fairy. Though they lost the numerical advantage, the huge increase in strength more than made up for it.
The duration of the effect was proportional to the “Affection Level” of the familiars involved. This was a hidden stat represented by a number from one to a hundred, and the exact number was usually unknown. The only way to increase it was through consistent communication with the familiars, which meant that trainers who treated their familiars merely as disposable weapons would find their fusion time drastically shortened. It was truly an “Ultimate Technique” that could only be used when the bond between master and servant was deep.
“Uoooooo! Let’s go!”
“Uwa, that’s a pretty bizarre look~.”
This drawback posed no issue for Sei as the “Affection Level” with his longtime familiars, Phil and Tess, had already maxed out, allowing for a full one hundred seconds of fusion.
However, the fused form they took was so bizarre that Seventh Armor couldn’t help but exclaim upon seeing it. The base form resembled a robust humanoid ape similar to Sei but with the head of a horned wolf and butterfly wings sprouting from the back.
This monstrous figure flew around using its wings and swinging a long staff. It was a sight both unique and weird.
Yet, the combat power Sie now wielded was nothing short of tremendous. A single swing of his staff, a bite from the wolf’s fangs, the scales scattered from the butterfly wings, and the magic attacks dealt instant death-level damage to the baboons. Their ferocious fighting style could even rival that of Jigoro.
Incidentally, Sei had also conducted a mock battle with Jigoro in the fused state as a trial run of the “Ultimate Technique” but ended up being thoroughly defeated. Despite Sei’s avatar having superior specs, Jigoro turned the tables with his skill as a player.
“Hahaha! Well done, Sei! Have you improved your skills?”
“Someday, I’ll score a win against you without using the ‘Ultimate Technique’, big brother!”
“Gahahaha! That’s the spirit!”
Even with the baboons enhanced, Jigoro continued to laugh heartily and rampage. He would knock down any that came straight at him with his fists, crush those that approached from below, impale any that jumped on him from above with his horns, dodge magic attacks, and even catch and throw back any stones thrown at him.
Moreover, he reacted as if he had eyes on the back of his head, even when attacked from behind, leading to an ever-growing pile of baboon corpses around him. Witnessing his ridiculous strength, Sei was filled with admiration, while Seventh Armor was left utterly astonished.
“Still, it’s frustrating, isn’t it? They seem to be having much more fun over there.”
Distracting himself from the onslaught of baboons for a moment, Jigoro glanced over at Genjuro, who was battered, with broken horns and numerous cracks in his exoskeleton.
“Uoooooo! I won’t die!”
“Nuuhh…”
The roar of Saburo, who had enhanced both his allies and himself, was his “Ultimate Technique”. It was called “Inspiring Fighting Spirit” and it cloaked both him and any ally within the range of his voice with an aura called “Fighting Spirit”.
This was the source of the yellow aura. Merely enveloping oneself in “Fighting Spirit” boosted both physical attack and defense, which explained the sudden increase in strength among the baboons.
Furthermore, as a Barbarian Baboon, Saburo could wield this “Fighting Spirit” as a weapon thanks to his skills. He could alter the shape of the enveloping “Fighting Spirit” to form new limbs of “Fighting Spirit” and use them to attack.
The arms made of “Fighting Spirit” were not only troublesome because they added extra limbs but also because they were made of a special substance that allowed them to stretch and contract at will. This ability to change their reach at will threw Genjuro off balance and made the battle particularly difficult for him.
Genjuro’s fighting style relied heavily on managing the distance between him and his opponent, so these shape-shifting arms were almost like a natural enemy to him. The constantly changing reach meant there was no fixed distance to maintain, so the fight became exceedingly difficult. To avoid attacks, he had to keep a longer distance as a precaution, which naturally made counterattacking much harder.
“Phew… This is tough, and it’s only been two minutes…”
Being dominated so one-sidedly was almost a first for Genjuro since he started playing the game. However, he was moving toward a desperate countermeasure. He was convinced that the new “Ultimate Technique” he had chosen upon reaching level 60 would be important in breaking through this situation.
This “Ultimate Technique” came with the condition that he must not have attacked at all for at least three minutes. Ideally, it would be best used as a surprise move at the beginning of a fight, but now, without any leeway to retaliate, it was his hidden trump card for a sudden comeback.
“Why are you all causing such a commotion? Is there a reason for this?”
Genjuro who was unable to do anything but endure under the current circumstances decided to inquire about the baboons’ situation as a way to bide his time and stave off boredom. He didn’t expect the other party’s onslaught to weaken, but any hesitation on their part would be to his advantage.
“It’s the old man’s orders! Just shut up and die!”
“The old man, huh…”
Whether the term “old man” referred to an actual father or a boss-like figure was unclear. However, this brief exchange revealed that this battle, which could be called a war of aggression, was caused by someone’s will.
Of course, it could have been a lie, but to Genjuro, Saburo did not seem capable of such deception. The information he accidentally provided was almost certainly reliable.
“Did this old man have a change of heart that led to this?”
“Shut up! You talkative bastard! I’m already having a headache with Shentu!”
“Shentu…?”
The term “Shentu” was a name that Genjuro found unfamiliar and it struck him as odd. Like the name Saburo, which belonged to his current opponent, the world of Heavenly Spirit Island had a Japanese style to it and the names of monsters often reflected that. The unfamiliar sound of “Shentu” was clearly out of place.
“It would be wise to consult with the great tengu about this. Now, three minutes have finally passed. [Swordmaster’s Descent], [Dawn’s Hour]… Hmph!”
Genjuro removed two of his three swords, the Uchigatana and the Wakizashi, from his equipment. Then, while employing the self-enhancement technique he had used in the battle against McFarlane, he grasped the Odachi with all four arms and slung it over his shoulder. At the same time, he used his wings to leap greatly backward.
“Grmph! Don’t think you can escape!”
“I’m not running away…!”
Genjuro charged straight at Saburo, just like in their initial clash. Any player might suspect he had some trick up his sleeve, but Saburo, in his ferocity, chose to meet him head-on. He saw no reason to fear an opponent who, until moments ago, could do nothing but dodge.
“Crush hiiim!!! Savage Beast Barrage!”
“?!”
Saburo swung both his physical and “fighting spirit” arms, unleashing a flurry of martial technique blows. Genjuro narrowly avoided the extending arms of “fighting spirit” but even a graze was enough to shatter his exoskeleton and inflict considerable damage.
Yet, Genjuro did not retreat. Despite the exoskeleton on his shoulder, chest, and arms peeling away and his right forewing being completely destroyed, he managed to close the distance within his own range.
“Ooooooh! ‘Absolute Blade’!”
“What…?”
Casting aside his usual affable demeanor and bellowing from the depths of his being, Genjuro swung the Odachi down from high above. It seemed as though the fur might lessen the impact as before, but this strike cleaved Saburo from the crown of his head to his groin. And so, Genjuro split his opponent in two without even letting him realize how he died.
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