Manowa 330

 Chapter 330 - Let's Chase the Ogre


Last chapter said that it seemed they would be able to eat delicious mushroom stew, but unfortunately, that didn't come true.

It seemed the mushrooms Kazane obtained were Bamboo Mushrooms, a rare ingredient that was the base for a powerful nourishment tonic. It was said to be so powerful that even the dead would rise and start shaking their hips if they could ingest it.

It could only grow in places with a high density of Magic Particles, which meant there would be many nearby monsters. It also only grew in places that were hard to reach for people, like the tops of trees, so it was an extremely rare ingredient. Louise explained that nobles paid large sums of money for them.


「Just before Mefirus withered, you used these to do your best, didn't you?」

『Shut up. Thanks to that, I withered completely.』


There was such an exchange. Louise said that in the first place, extreme things would happen to all sorts of various parts if they were used for meals. She purchased all the Bamboo Mushrooms from Kazane at a high price. It seemed she intended to use them herself.


Anyway, rare ingredients were not just expensive because they were scarce; many of them had strong effects. It seemed best to be very careful about using them in cooking. However, Kazane had gathered many other things, such as edible plants and Japanese yams, so she decided to mix various things in a stew for that night's dinner. Since she had grated Japanese yams for the first time in a long time, Kazane put some on rice, added soy sauce, and ate that. It was extremely delicious.


However, the meal wasn't the only event that night. Another thing happened late at night.

Kazane and the others had advanced to the center of the forest. The outside of the forest was far away, so they hadn't turned back. Instead, they found a clearing in the forest, so they decided to take the Cottage out there and spend the night. In that place, the Mad Spiders attacked.



◎ Black Stone Forest, Inside Kazane Cottage, Late at Night


「Ahーagainー?」

Sounds of battle could be heard from outside. Kazane was forcibly woken up by her『Intuition』Skill, and she rose from her futon. However, she could sense that there was only a slight degree of danger. She understood that it wasn't an issue that required her to go out herself.

And when Kazane opened the window of the 3rd floor bedroom and looked out, Rokuten-kun was attacking the Mad Spiders.

Tatsuyoshi-kuns Dragoon and Normal were also finishing them off with Fire Vortexes and close combat weapons. Also, from the rear, the mass production Tatsuyoshi-kuns were throwing stones while Hippomaru-kun and the Hippo-kuns launched Fire Vortexes to attack the Mad Spiders. The Spell bestowal was playing a very active part.

Even though they were in a forest, the area around the Cottage was open, so the Mad Spiders couldn't jump through the trees and make attacks that used three-dimensional maneuvers. Therefore, they were stuck on the ground as they battled to advance toward the Cottage, and with their natural behavior limited, the Mad Spiders were at a disadvantage. In particular, it seemed many Mad Spiders were falling prey to the stone throwing attacks of the mass production Tatsuyoshi-kuns.


「Kazaneee, what is ittt?」

As Kazane looked outside, Tiara's seemingly sleepy voice (probably because she actually had been sleeping) came from behind. Recently, Kazane, Tatsuo, and Tiara often slept side by side. It seemed Tatsuo was still asleep next to Tiara.

「It looks like the Mad Spiders are attacking again. Ah, Jinrai-san jumped out.」

He was an energetic old man. He was unmistakably living the most fulfilling life in this party. With Jinrai's participation, the battle ended promptly, so Kazane and the others went back to bed, but it seemed attacks occurred sporadically after that.

Since Golems were treated as autonomous individuals, Kazane didn't receive any experience points in those battles, but Rokuten-kun and the others could also accumulate battle experience points. As a result, their action routines were optimized, and while it was slight, it seemed their Magic Power consumption also decreased.



◎ Black Stone Forest, Vicinity of Center, Inside Kazane Cottage, Morning


And after one night, the area was filled with the traces of battle.

When Kazane went outside, Rokuten-kun and the others were patrolling amidst the scattered corpses of the Mad Spiders. The material collection had already been completely, and it was all properly piled up next to the Cottage.


「Any damage... well, none?」

Kazane checked the states of the Golems, but Rokuten-kun, Hippomaru-kun, and Tatusyoshi-kuns Dragoon and Normal had defensive power that far surpassed their offensive power. The mass production models and the Hippo-kuns had only attacked from long distance, so it seemed they also weren't particularly damaged.

(Well, they probably only endured because the monsters came sporadically, though.)

Rokuten-kun's power source, a Power Orb (small), had a large power output, so it was the best suited for continuous battle. Next in line were Hippomaru-kun and the Tatsuyoshi-kun series, which possessed Muscle Clay. They could accumulate magical power in their Muscle Clay, but they needed time after battle for that accumulation. The Hippo-kun series were for transportation and didn't have Muscle Clay. In the first place, they couldn't do anything considerable in battle other than shooting Fire Vortexes.

Therefore, if the Mad Spiders had attacked all at once instead of intermittently like this time, Rokuten-kun and the others probably wouldn't have been able to endure alone. Though in such a situation, Kazane and the others would have participated in the battle instead of sleeping.



◎ Black Stone Forest, Dark Forest Heading, Morning


「Well then, please take care of me today.」

「Let's do our best!」

「Mhmm.」

『Oh, we're with Lyle today? This will go great.』


The party was split into two groups today.

Yesterday and the day before yesterday, they had already subjugated around 200 Mad Spiders all together, so their enemy would probably be much more vigilant. Also, there were larger individuals than usual among the Mad Spiders that attacked in the middle of the night, so predicting that the battles might soon be tough for Naoki's group alone, they made the change.

In this composition, Lyle, Holy Skull Legion, and Hippomaru-kun were added to Kazane's group. Since it was Kazane's designation, Naoki hadn't said anything (his inner thoughts were another matter).


Then the party had departed, and based on yesterday, Kazane and the others had thought that the monsters would be in larger groups and have larger individuals in their swarms. However, that prediction was apparently a miss.


「There are no approaching scents.」

『That's right. There are the scents of many small animals, but I don't sense any monster-like scents.』

Kazane and Tatsuo said while sniffing. There were Mad Spiders' webs all around them, so they were unmistakably in their territory, but there were no signs of an incoming attack.

「Is there no possibility that they got scared of us and ran away?」

Kazane and Jinrai groaned after Lyle's words.

「... I can't say there's not.」

「They originally came out of the Dark Forest. If the expedition fails, would they inevitably return?」

Lyle's words were opportunistic, but monsters had unexpectedly wise and cowardly natures. Since the Mad Spiders were hunted so thoroughly, it wouldn't be strange for them to escape... Kazane and Jinrai thought.

「Well, there's no problem if that's the case, but they might be gathered somewhere. Let's proceed with caution.」

Everyone agreed with those words, and they started advancing. And after a few hours, there was something.


Kazane noticed it.


「Ah, monster discovery.」

Kazane apparently sniffed out a scent. But her expression was strange.

「What's wrong?」

「Mmm. They aren't Mad Spiders. They're Ogres.」

In response to Kazane's words, the『Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves』glowed.

「Hey, Berserk Ogre!?」

The Berserk Ogre suddenly appeared even though Kazane didn't summon him. Kazane looked at him.

「Nu, what's wrong?」

Kazane tilted her head and said「I don't know...」after Jinrai's question, but the Berserk Ogre started running without paying any mind to their exchange. In the direction Kazane said had a scent.


「Waitーー, Berserk Ogreーー!?」

「It can't be helped. Let's follow!」


Then Kazane and the others were forced to follow after the Berserk Ogre.


Black Stone Forest. It was the habitat of the Ogres who once attacked Winlard City. And the Berserk Ogre was the Boss back then.



Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Accumulator, White Magic Accumulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring, Angel Bracelet

Level : 37

Health: 149

Magic Power: 321+420

Strength: 70+20

Agility: 77+14

Endurance: 41

Wisdom : 73

Dexterity : 50

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior's Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv4』『Aegis Shield』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition: Lv2』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『Sturdier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King's Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『Space Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur: Lv2』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey's Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『Boobies Plus』『Living Armor』『Alarm』『Six-sword Style』『Mental Attack Complete Protection』『Spider Web』



Yumika:「Soy sauce?」

Kazane:「It looks like a player made it with their modern knowledge cheat long ago. The brand name is Kameshibari sauce.」

Yumika:「What's with that name!?」

[TL: Kanji joke. The sauce name 亀縛り is close to 亀甲縛り , AKA, tortoise shell bondage.]