Volume 12 Chapter 7 Practical Training (A.K.A. Slaughter)
"――Would you like to join our training as well?"
Just as we were about to head out for the cursed disaster investigation, Miss Miimo suddenly proposed this to us.
"Us, join the training? Won't we get in the way?"
"No way. It's a rare chance to train with 'cursed' people like you."
"That's true, I suppose."
Inquisitors need to get used to dealing with cursed equipment. If they're confused by the unpredictability of cursed disasters, they'll just get one-sidedly crushed.
"And responding to cursed disasters basically requires teamwork. If you're going to solve them with the Inquisitors, I want everyone to get along as much as possible."
"Hmm..."
'Teamwork, huh? That's Noroa's worst subject. Noroa lacks teamwork skills, after all.'
"It's annoying when you say that, but it's true."
Teamwork. My least favorite word.
To begin with, I don't have good memories of group activities... As an adventurer, I've participated in parties many times, but when the others teased me, we had an unprecedented level of coordination... No, never mind that story.
"Are they going to participate in the training?"
Mr. Sein approached us, furrowing his brow.
"It's a chance to fight against 'cursed' people in real combat, after all."
"I see."
Mr. Sein thought for a bit.
"Chief Milnas. I'll be the opponent for the mock battle."
He volunteered.
"My skills are second only to Chief Milnas. It's just right for measuring their abilities."
"I see."
He probably just wants to crush us, though...
"But we won't do a mock battle. There's a better way."
"Huh? But it's a great opportunity for real combat, Chief Milnas..."
"That's exactly what I mean. What we're going to do now is 'real combat'."
Miss Miimo smiled sadistically.
"Everyone here, including all the Inquisitors, will fight against these 2 'cursed' people. Of course, with equipment."
"Huh? Everyone, including us?"
"Huh? Am I participating too?"
What a sudden, outrageous proposal...
Is that so? I thought the purpose of us participating in the training was to get along with each other...?
"...Is that okay, Chief Milnas? Everyone here has equipment with a slot of 3 or higher and a B-rank or higher. People are gonna die, you know?"
"It's a real battle, so of course, it's a fight to the death."
"......!"
Tension runs across the faces of all the Inquisitors.
No, we don't have any intention of killing them, but...
It's become a real hassle. It's hard to say we don't want to participate in the training now...
'Yeah, we did it, Noroa! This is a great chance to legally crush them!'
"Your positivity is a virtue, isn't it?"
For now, let's just get this over with....
The Inquisitors scatter and form a line, creating a flawless encirclement.
It's a declaration of their intention to not let anyone escape.
"You think you can just kill us off right from the start?"
Mr. Sein readies a lance that's over his own height.
A mechanical-form lance wrapped in blue-white lightning.
This lance is... maybe...
"Listen and be amazed, this lance is..."
"Oh, it's the Thunderbolt Lance, isn't it? It's an A-rank with an Attack of 410. As a rare lightning-attribute weapon, it's got a unique feature where the conical lance body releases electricity when equipped, dealing additional damage and paralysis to opponents who block its attacks. This is a groundbreaking concept that covers the weaknesses of a lance that aims for one-hit kills, and it's said to have been the most prosperous in the ancient equipment civilization of Penekus..."
"...Wait, isn't that too much information? I mean, why do you know more about the equipment than me?"
"That's not too much information. It's normal, you know?"
By the way, the Thunderbolt Lance has personally made it into my top 10 favorite equipment to cuddle with. It's just the right size and length, and it looks so comfortable that it'd be perfect for a sleepless night.
"Well, whatever. I'll make you guys rust on this Thunderbolt Lance."
Whoa, he's really fired up to kill us....
The other Inquisitors are also radiating killing intent. It's like they're saying, "If we're gonna die, we'll take you down with us."
On the other hand, my friends are...
'Hmph, hmph, hmph!'
"Ugh... why do I have to..."
For some reason, Juju was doing shadowboxing with all her might.
Cirrul was stuck to my back, trembling with fear.
What's going on? I'm getting really anxious.
"Are you both ready?"
"Chief Milnas, we're good to go anytime."
"Our side ready too, more or less."
"Then, let's get started."
Miss Miimo rang the bell, signaling the start of the match.
The Inquisitors were more cautious than I thought, trying to read our moves.
Of course, Inquisitors always investigate before fighting a "cursed" opponent. Maybe they're not used to fighting an enemy without any information.
The stalemate continued for a while, and the first one to make a move was ―― unexpectedly ―― Cirrul.
"Leave it to me, Sir Noroa!"
Cirrul quickly took a praying stance and transformed into a white dragon.
The cursed equipment, Beast & Rose, allowed her to transform into a being she feared the most.
As the equipment's user, Cirrul could transform into a white dragon anytime, anywhere.
"It's a dragon...!?"
The Inquisitors were shocked by the sudden appearance of a dragon.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cirrul flapped her wings and took off.
"Be careful! She's going to attack from the air!"
Mr. Sein shouted.
But... she just ran away. Cirrul hasn't fought seriously before.
Even though she's a dragon, her latent abilities should be high, but... her clumsiness and lack of athletic ability seem to cancel that out.
'...Is she really a dragon, or just a chicken?'
"Well, I'd rather fight alone, so it's fine with me."
Cirrul probably saw that and retreated.
The main reason is probably that she's just scared.
"Damn it, let's take care of the 'cursed' ones on the ground first!"
With Mr. Sein's instruction, the Inquisitors charged at me all at once. They must have thought they had the advantage in a one-on-many fight, so they decided to launch a quick attack.
"Sui, switch to automatic defense mode."
"...Yes."
The slime shield that had transformed into a wrist guard extended a water-colored branch.
And then――paff, it did.
Countless shields unfolded around me.
The shields flying through the air blocked every attack from the Inquisitor.
"Wha..."
Mr. Sein, the top spearman, jumped back in surprise.
He probably didn't think that an A-rank spear would be blocked so easily, especially with the added lightning damage.
The Inquisitor's attacks wouldn't reach me.
It would be great if they lost their will to fight, but it didn't seem that easy.
"From now on, your defense won't keep up with our speed―― "
The Inquisitor's attacks became even more intense.
"Ugh, this enemy is tough..."
'Really?'
"Yeah, it's hard to hold back."
The Inquisitors were highly trained and numerous.
Honestly, I didn't have the luxury to hold back. If I didn't use precise control with my Weapon's Attack, I might accidentally kill them...
"This time, I'll use a different equipment."
"Eh, no Ram this time?"
"Ah, Ram will get its turn later... maybe?"
I patted the wrist ring (Ram) while thinking.
This time, my main strength, the cursed equipment, couldn't be used.
But... I had just the right thing for this situation.
"Little Mimi, can you bring out what I asked for now?"
"Woof!"
As I gave the signal, Little Mimi responded energetically.
Splash―― She sprayed water from her mouth with great force.
"Whoa!!!?"
It was more like a wave than water. The amount of water it could produce was not something a small bag could handle. The Inquisitors were caught off guard, got swept away by the wave, and blown back.
In that opening, I took out something else from the Gluttony Mimic Bag.
Burst! A large water splash erupted, and what was spat out from the bag was――.
"What... "
――A Kraken.
A massive S-rank monster that lived in the sea.
The Inquisitors were stunned by the sudden appearance of the enormous monster.
Even so, this is still the corpse of a Kraken I hunted on the road. Its body is completely white, and its tentacles are limp and powerless. But... sometimes it's more convenient when they're dead.
That's why I have that cursed equipment, after all.
"――With the Reign Helia Crown, I command the dead"
The proof of the King of the Dead――Reign Helia Crown.
A crown that controls the dead, reminiscent of a demon's skull.
I put on that crown and jumped onto the Kraken's corpse.
"――Fight."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)