About Grimgar
Monsters
Kobolds
A humanoid race with dog-like heads. Built somewhat smaller than humans, they stand about 150cm tall. However, some large individuals can reach 170cm. Not as intelligent as humans, similarly to the dogs they resemble, they have a well-defined hierarchy and have built a society with a rigid class structure. They have strong bonds within their race, but are hostile to outsiders. Preferring to live in burrows, they are skilled with their hands, though not to the same degree as dwarfs or gnomes. They have developed a level of metallurgy technology that is not to be underestimated. Due to their occult beliefs, all kobolds carry talismans. The complexity of these talismans rises in proportion to the owner’s class, and these can sell for a lot of money. Volunteer soldiers have names for the different classes, such as lesser kobolds or elder kobolds, and use them to distinguish different individuals.
On Kobold Varieties
- Lesser Kobolds: Appear on the first level and in the vicinity of the mines. Have weak bodies and equipment.
- Kobolds:
- Low Workers: Inhabit the second layer.
- Workers: Inhabit the third layer and lower. Also known as followers. - Elder Kobolds:
- Foremen: Inhabit the third level and beneath. Direct the other kobolds. Bring followers around with them.
Orcs
A green skinned and, from a human perspective, hideous race. They have flat noses, pointy ears, big mouths, and tusks. Built slightly larger than humans. Not so much in terms of height, but in terms of bulk. They have the tendency to dye their hair in a variety of colors. The first thing that those which wish to stand out and appear strong do is to dye their hair in vibrant colors. They like to dress themselves up, as well. Their intelligence is by no means low and, while a little rough, they are not so different from humans. However, they are bellicose, and even within their own race their conflicts are unending. These often result in bloodshed. Their level of civilization is not much different from that of humans, and they wear a wide variety of items. Due to the difference in body size, it is quite difficult for humans to use orcish items as is, but it is not completely impossible. Even if they can’t be used as is, in many cases they can be modified to allow them to be used. Like with humans, their possessions can vary considerably, but loot taken from them often sells for a good amount of money. Also, orc society uses a currency that resembles buttons made out of crystal, and depending on their size these may sell for anywhere from 5 to 500 copper. Since the times of the Alliance of Kings, orcs have been seen as a race equal to the undead, and with No-Life King now gone, they could be said to be the most prosperous race in the frontier. To humans, they are a powerful enemy, perhaps even their natural enemies. The occasional attacks on Alterna are nearly always carried out by orcs. Some orcs can even speak the human language.
Geography
Old City of Damuro
Damuro, roughly 4 km northwest of Alterna, was once the Arabakia Kingdom’s second largest city. It was quite the large city, but it fell to an attack by the Undying Empire and became a town of the undead. However, in the midst of the chaos following the death of No-Life King, the goblins that were being treated like slaves staged a rebellion. The battle between the undead and goblins over Damuro lasted for a long time, and in that time the Arabakia Kingdom moved forward with the construction of Alterna. The goblins built a kingdom based out of Damuro, but they never go to attack Alterna. The goblins are cautious of the human race’s strength of arms and seem afraid of entering an all-out war with them. The southeast section of Damuro, the Old City, has half fallen to ruin and is now primarily inhabited by lower class goblins. They are perfect targets for fresh volunteer soldiers to build experience in real battle with. However, there are some ambitious goblins among them that are amassing power in the Old City in order to make a name for themselves in the New City, so it is important not to get careless. A goblin that has hobgoblins following it around is especially dangerous.
Deadhead Watching Keep
Roughly 6 km north of Alterna. Garrisoned by orcs, it is an imposing fortress with towers at its center. There have been many times in the past where orcish forces have massed at this keep for an assault on Alterna, but thus far they have always been driven off. It has fallen to attacks by the Alterna Frontier Army a number of times, but is retaken each time. It would be an ideal target for a group of volunteer soldiers that have trained themselves up a bit.
Cyrene Mines
8 km northwest of Alterna. These mines were once managed by the Arabakia Kingdom, but are now occupied by kobolds and have developed a unique ecology. The mines are stratified into levels, and it is said there are more than ten of them in total. The highest levels have the weakest kobolds with the level of danger increasing the deeper you go. The first and second levels are inhabited by lower class kobolds and are not very dangerous, but caution becomes necessary from the third level down. Merry once faced a particularly vicious kobold on the fifth level with her comrades, Hayashi, Michiki, Mutsumi, and Ogu. She lost three of her comrades in that battle.
Ish Dogran moved no more.
The area fell silent, with only the dull sound of Renji punching Ish Dogran echoing. Renji’s body was the only thing moving.
Finally, Renji clasped his hands together and raised them high. Then he slammed them down on Ish Dogran’s head. Then, with a deep sigh, he snapped his head back and forth.
“You weren’t bad. Ish Dogran. I’ll remember your name.”
Ron snorted. “You’re a mess.”
Adachi’s eyes flashed, and he was glaring at the orcs on top of the building.
Sassa looked ready to collapse at any moment. Chibi-chan was rushing over to Renji’s side.
Renji pushed Chibi-chan aside, picking up Ish Dogran’s sword and pointing it at the orcs.
“What’re you gonna do now? If you want a fight, all of you come at me at once. I’ll take you on.”
No—isn’t that bluffing a little hard...? Haruhiro couldn’t help but feel that way. He was sure they were going to die, but in a situation like this, maybe you had to bluff big.
One orc waved an arm. A number of orcs growled in protest, but when the orc who waved looked at them, they fell silent.
The orcs all retreated at once.
“We...” Haruhiro was ready to collapse on the spot. “We... survived?”
All of that had unfolded before his eyes, but still he couldn’t believe it. Haruhiro looked at Renji. He looked at him again and again.
Renji’s really amazing. He’s strong. It’s stupid to try to compare the two of us and then act jealous or servile because of it. ...Renji’s insane.
Totally insane.
“Ah,” Haruhiro looked down to his own hands. Then, he looked around. It was gone.
Shihoru’s hat. Her mage hat was gone. When was I last holding it? There was too much other stuff going on, so I don’t remember. Anyway, it looks like I’ve lost it.
“What’s wrong with me...?”
“Moguzo, now!” Yume shouted.
Moguzo charged at the kobold with a shout. They had that one covered, which meant Haruhiro could focus on the other one.
“There! Take that! And that!” Ranta shouted. He was irritatingly loud, but unlike before, he wasn’t just swinging his longsword around randomly. He was watching the kobold’s moves closely. When the kobold went right, he went right. When it went left, he went left. He wasn’t able to act ahead of it, but the kobold wasn’t running circles around him. He wasn’t just defending anymore; he could attack occasionally, too.
Thanks to that, the kobold doesn’t have attention to spare elsewhere.
Now, I can get there.
Behind it.
Don’t let its tail distract me. In the end, it’s just a tail.
Goblins are similar to humans, but kobolds move in a more wild, beast-like way. Kobolds seem like they have strong legs. They’ve got spring, which gives them jumping strength. That’s why they feel faster than goblins.
But how long it takes them to do things, their reaction time, their reflexes and whatnot, those probably aren’t much different. When it comes to how flexible their bodies are, goblins probably have them beat. If I look closely, when the kobolds lean forward, their upper body doesn’t move much. They swing their swords differently from how goblins do, too. Goblins use their entire body to swing, but kobolds only use their arms. They swing their arms like whips. Maybe they have stiff shoulders. They’re probably about 150 cm tall. That’s a little bigger than a goblin, but the goblin probably swings harder.
Though, compared to goblins which use their whole body for big moves, kobolds’ attacks are more compact. That makes them faster. If I fight them like I would a goblin, I’ll always end up acting later than they do.
While there were a lot of differences, the kobold wasn’t always superior. Haruhiro and the party could take on up to five goblins simultaneously. Right now, they were facing two kobolds.
We can win.
Actually, there’s no way we can’t win.
That wasn’t overconfidence speaking, it was the answer his experience and observations had led him to.
It’s amazing, thought Haruhiro. Once he calmed down and started to believe he could do this, his field of vision widened. Until moments ago, he had only been able to see the kobold in front of him and Ranta, but now he could keep track of the movements of the rest of his comrades.
“Thanks...!” Moguzo cut down one of the kobolds, swinging his sword down diagonally with all his might in a Rage Blow.
When the other kobold sees that, it’ll probably shake it up. It did.
Right now, it’s not watching its back at all.
Haruhiro held his breath and threw his full weight against the kobold’s back. Of course, he did more than just tackle it. Backstab. He stabbed it with his dagger. Deeply, through a tear in its chainmail.
The kobold let out a yelp.
Haruhiro immediately leapt away from it.
“Heck, yeah...!” Ranta stepped in, thrusting out his longsword. “Anger!”
It went through.
Ranta’s longsword struck the kobold in the gullet. The kobold collapsed, unable to utter a sound.
Haruhiro breathed out. “...We won.”
“It’s all thanks to me!” Ranta hoisted his sword high, boasting.
“Nuh-uh, no it isn’t,” Yume looked exasperated. “No matter how you look at it, it was thanks to Merry. What she said back there, that was super cool. ‘If you keep a level head while fighting, I guarantee you can win this,’ she said. It gave Yume the little zap she needed to get her going.”
“S-Stop it...” Merry looked down. Her face was a little red. “...I’m sorry for butting in. It wasn’t my place to say that.”
“Th-That’s not...!” Shihoru spoke in a loud voice, which was uncommon for her. “That’s not... true, I think. I don’t think you have anything to apologize for...”
“Y-Yeah,” Moguzo nodded slowly. “It helped me find my courage.”
“You’re all a bunch of small-fry!” said Ranta.
How could Ranta be so full of himself? Haruhiro wanted to know the reason why. Was it because he was an idiot?
“You can’t find your courage without someone giving you a pep talk? You’re crap, you know that? Crap!”
Haruhiro deliberately ignored Ranta, crouching down in front of one of the kobolds’ dead bodies. “Let’s see, their weapons and armor don’t look like they’re worth anything, but—Looks like it’s wearing something. A nose ring, I guess you’d call it. It’s made out of an animal’s fang or something.”
Like a priest mourning the dead, Merry made the sign of the hexagram and then crouched down next to Haruhiro. “Those are talismans. Every kobold always has one.”
“Hmm. But it doesn’t look all that valuable, maybe.”
“The kobolds living in the first level of the mines are like the outcasts of kobold society. They’re dressed poorly, and they have meager physiques. That’s why volunteer soldiers call them lesser kobolds,” she said.
“So, does that mean non-lesser kobolds have better talismans, then?”
“Yes. Made from pretty stones, or metal. Even lesser kobolds occasionally use humans’ copper and silver coins to make talismans.”
“I see. Then, if we fight a lesser and it has a silver coin or something, we can consider ourselves lucky,” he mused.
Merry was being rather talkative. That alone was enough to make Haruhiro really happy.
“Well, for now let’s snag it anyway,” Ranta said. He tore the nose ring off the kobold’s corpse. “—Huh? What?”
“Nothing...”
I know we have to retrieve the loot, but aren’t there better ways he could do it? I know it’s weird to say that after killing them, and all. But—
That’s right, isn’t it? From the kobolds’ perspective, we’re like invaders.
What Haruhiro and the others were doing was slaughter, and even if he felt some pangs of conscience over it, that didn’t change what he was doing. Whether he gently cut the nose ring from the dead body or violently tore it off, it was the same in the end. Not just in the end, it was the same the whole way through.
When he looked at Ranta, it was like looking at an image of himself stripped of all pretense, and that was hard to bear.
Ranta did it without hesitation, but Haruhiro tried to keep up appearances. Perhaps Haruhiro’s way of thinking was nothing more than hypocrisy.
Even so, when Haruhiro removed an earring that had been made out of polished horn or something similar from the other kobold, he tried to do as little damage to the corpse as possible. He wouldn’t consider changing his methods. Even if they were his enemies, his prey, there was a bare minimum of respect that had to be shown.
Haruhiro stood up.
“Let’s go. To the Cyrene Mines.”
Well, what about Merry, then? As for Merry... she’s off-limits in another way, I think. I mean, Merry is just too beautiful, And she’s got a great figure, too.
For Haruhiro, who was the plainest of the plain, she was a little—no, very—unapproachable. She’s a comrade, so I need to close the distance between us a little, though, he realized.
Before, when we asked who in the party was her type, Merry answered Moguzo. She’s probably not too hung up on looks, herself. However, if Moguzo was her type, then did Haruhiro have no chance? Well, not that my chances matter. I’ve never felt that way about Merry. I haven’t... right?
I do wish she would smile more. If I can, I want to make Merry smile more. Given how beautiful she is, if I could see Merry with a broad grin on her face, I’m sure she’d look stunning. It’d be a heartwarming sight.
But, that’s not love, it’s something else—Right...?
“...Um, Sensei?” he asked.
“What, Old Cat?”
“I’d like some advice, or to ask you something, rather.”
“Of course it’s about women, right?”
“No, it isn’t...”
“Oh, ho. Dodging the subject, are you? You good-for-nothing.”
“I don’t have time for it. I don’t have the time to think about that stuff. I’ve got bigger worries. Honestly...”
Changing the subject, Haruhiro spoke to Barbara-sensei about the line he saw sometimes.
The lower half of Barbara-sensei’s face was hidden by her scarf, so it was hard to read her expression. But, somehow, it felt like she was listening seriously. As he was talking, she rested the legs she had lifted up back on the floor.
“—I see. That’s not a bad sign,” she said.
“A sign...?”
“However, don’t misunderstand. It’s nothing special.”
“No, I don’t know what there is to misunderstand. I mean, I don’t have any clue what it is...”
“You sure are a dull one,” she said. “In the end, you’re just an old cat.”
“...Am I dull? Well, I certainly don’t think I’m sharp.”
“You’re dull. Still, despite that, your instincts aren’t bad. That line you saw is something anyone who’s gained some experience will have seen once or twice—or felt it, rather. That might be the more correct way to describe it.”
“For me, it’s been more than once or twice. It’s not all the time, or even once per day, though.”
“Sometimes it’s like that. Well, it’s wildly different for each of us.”
“How about you, Sensei...?”
Barbara-sensei shrugged. “Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don’t. It’s not something you can see by focusing, after all.”
“When I do see it, things go ridiculously well,” Haruhiro said. “With Backstab, that is.”
“But you know you can’t rely on it, don’t you?”
“...Yeah. There’s no guarantee it will happen. It’s like a fluke.”
“There you have it. You need to improve your skills. Your stamina, too.”
“Augh...!”
Barbara-sensei lifted both legs again. He couldn’t see because of the scarf, but Barbara-sensei was probably grinning devilishly.
“If you’re able to say you don’t have time for it, you’ve got a long way to go,” she said. “Build up enough stamina that you can kill five or six orcs and then still go a round or two with a woman. If you do that, you’ll naturally develop a desire for women, and you’ll put some more effort into your love life. If you aren’t a real old cat, that is.”
“I’m fine with being an old cat.”
“Don’t get salty with me!”
“Yowch?!”
“Whoops... Sorry, put a little too much strength into it there.”
“...Ohhh...” Haruhiro came close to fainting in agony. Barbara-sensei had struck him in the crotch.
If I keep training here, am I eventually going to end up impotent? he wondered.
It got its face, Haruhiro thought.
The shadow elemental entered the elder’s body through its nose, ears, and mouth. The elder immediately began to stagger, falling to the ground not long after.
“Okay!” Haruhiro gave the order, and everyone charged out.
Attacking a sleeping elder is kind of cowardly, isn’t it? But that’s not something I have time to be thinking about right now. We have to hurry and finish it off quickly.
Ranta was the one to strike the killing blow. He was always extremely fast at times like this. “Gwahaha! One easy vice! All right, people! Take its stuff!”
“What’re you giving the orders for?” Haruhiro argued with him without thinking. Oops, I’m not supposed to do that. Let it go. Let it go.
Unlike the elders of the third level, the elders on the fourth level wore armor with iron plates, carried iron whips, and wore rings made out of iron around their waists. This one’s talisman was a necklace that shone with a bluish silver color. It looked like it was valuable.
“That was easy-peasy, huh?” Yume said. “Yume kinda feels just a teensy bit sorry for the elder, though. You were great, Shihoru. Gettin’ it with a pew, pew of your magic like that.”
“Y-Yeah,” Moguzo agreed. “It was easy thanks to you, Shihoru-san.”
With Yume and Moguzo praising her, Shihoru said “...I-It was no big deal...” in a humble tone.
“No, really,“ Haruhiro turned to Shihoru, giving her a thumbs-up. “You did perfect. I mean it. If we find an enemy on its own that hasn’t noticed us yet, we know this method will work for sure now.”
“I was the one who got the kill, you know?” Ranta broke in.
Okay, just let it go.
“This elder...” Merry looked down at the elder’s corpse, making the sign of the hexagram. “It wouldn’t be a good idea to leave the body here.”
“Ahh,” Haruhiro looked to the fence. “Why don’t we shove it in there? Inside the fence.”
Now that it had been stripped of its stuff, Moguzo and Haruhiro worked together to dump the elder’s corpse into the enclosure with the pigrats. Ranta ought to have helped, too, but Haruhiro decided it wasn’t worth the hassle to say anything.
Soon after they finished, something horrifying happened.
“Whoa...” Haruhiro said out loud.
The pigrats oinked loudly, gathering around the dead elder’s corpse and then...No way, they wouldn’t eat it, would they...?
Yes, way. They ate it. They went into a feeding frenzy, fighting each other over the carcass.
Yume mumbled, “It’s the food chain...” or something like that, but was that really the issue? That wasn’t, was it?
“...Ohhh,” Shihoru clutched her staff, looking like she was ready to faint at any moment.
Merry looked nauseous, covering her hand with her mouth. Moguzo stood there in a daze.
“Actually, this is convenient for us, isn’t it?” Ranta was the only one with a strange grin on his face as he watched the ghastly sight... but... “No matter how many of them we kill, the pigrats’ll dispose of the bodies for us. Though these pigrats’ll eventually end up in a kobold’s belly, so that’s kind of gross when you think about it. Well, we’re not the ones who’ll be cannibals here, so it’s not our problem. Ha ha ha ha ha...”
“Your legs, they’re shaking, you know?” Haruhiro pointed out.
Ranta stammered, “H-Huhhh?” trying to sound intimidating, but he wasn’t scary at all. He looked at bit pale. “I-I’m not shaking. H-How am I shaking? Y-You’re the one that’s shaking, and I just look like I’m shaking because you’re shaking, see?”
“What do you mean, ‘see’?”
“Shut up! See is... See is, oh, I know, the ‘C’ in cruelty!”
“If it’s making you sick, you don’t have to force yourself to watch...”
“Y-You moron,” Ranta said. “It’s not making me sick, okay? This is nothing. Actually, I love this kind of stuff. When you’re a dread knight, erotic and grotesque stuff just comes with the territory.”
“Grotesque, maybe. Erotic, on the other hand, I’m just not seeing how it’s relevant here.”
“I want it to be relevant! I’m a guy, okay?!”
Still, it seemed wrong getting rid of the bodies this way, and because the pigrats were in such a frenzy over the unexpected feast, a number of elders rushed over, forcing the party to hide again. Hiding wasn’t going to be enough, though. They needed to get away, or they’d be in trouble.
However, if they were to try to move, even with the high fences of the pigrat and pigworm enclosures making it easy to hide, there were a lot more elders patrolling the area now. On the other hand, the darkshroom, holly-fern, and lightflower farm had no fences, making it easy to see them, and there were a good number of low workers and workers out in the fields.
Haruhiro and the others ended up sneaking their way to a desolate corner of the fourth level where there were just empty enclosures with no creatures in them yet.
“...Maybe it’s going to be hard to work on the fourth level?” Haruhiro asked, leaning back against one of the fences.
Merry thought for a moment then said, “The conditions here might be bad. We also—Ah...”
Merry stopped short with an oops expression on her face. She might have been worried that by referring to her previous comrades as “we,” she might offend her current comrades, Haruhiro and the others. Haruhiro was about to tell her not to worry about that, but someone beat him to the punch.
“What? You don’t need to be so touchy about that.” It was Ranta, of all people. “Do we look so small and petty? If anything, we’re big-hearted. And, me, I’m wild, too. Don’t fall in love with me, okay?”
“Yeah. I won’t,” Merry responded immediately.
“Trip!” When Ranta did his exaggerated facefaulting routine, Merry chuckled a little.
Feeling a twinge of annoyance...
Huh? Haruhiro thought. Am I feeling jealous, maybe? Jealous of Ranta, at that...?
Haruhiro cleared his throat, bringing his mind back to the task at hand. “—Well, how about the fifth level, then?”
Merry responded cautiously. “It’s better than the fourth level, probably.”
“Mhm, mhm,” Yume nodded lightly.
“...In that case,” Shihoru said hesitantly, “should we go down... to the fifth level?”
Moguzo exhaled deeply through his nose.
Ranta grinned. “It’s decided, then.”
It was the warrior skill, War Cry. He let out an incredible shout using a special vocalization technique to intimidate the enemy. If someone heard it without having time to prepare, whether they were human, another race, or a monster, the first thing they were bound to do was cower.
One kobold leapt into the air. Another’s legs gave out underneath it. Yet more clutched their heads and backed away.
“Now!” Moguzo bellowed in a voice that sounded strangely manly.
Haruhiro moved his legs with everything he had. “Quick...!”
“Wahooooo!” Ranta let out a strange cry.
Merry was running alongside Haruhiro. Where was Yume? And Shihoru? Haruhiro glanced behind him. They were there. Both of them.
“R-Run! Run! Run...!” he shouted.
It’s really lame that that’s the only thing I can say.
Haruhiro and Merry soon caught up to Moguzo. That was partially because Moguzo was slow, but also because he was weighed down by his armor, too. It was clanking and rattling like crazy. Haruhiro wondered if he should move up front.
No, I shouldn’t. It won’t work. There’s a kobold up ahead of us. Kobolds, rather. Several of them. I dunno how many.
“I-I can’t do it again right away!” Moguzo said between heaving breaths, pumping his legs as hard as he could.
He can’t use War Cry repeatedly, Haruhiro realized. What now?
Haruhiro shouted, “W-We’ll have to charge into them...!” His voice sounded shrill.
Charge into them? Is that gonna be okay? I mean, do we have any other choice? I wish I could vent my frustration at someone right about now. Not that we have the time for it.
“Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh....!” Moguzo’s battle cries sounded pathetic.
A kobold and Moguzo collided with one another. There was an awful clattering sound. Then, three or four kobolds jumped in, piling on Moguzo.
He fell. He fell over. Moguzo tripped, fell over, and rolled. He used the momentum to get right back up on his feet.
“...Muh?”
Moguzo himself didn’t seem to know how things turned out that way, as he stood there looking confused.
“Don’t stop, Moguzo!” Haruhiro shouted.
Moguzo responded, “Foh?! Fohngh!” and started running again.
What is “fohngh” supposed to mean? What is “fohngh”? Haruhiro wondered.
“Make a right...!” Merry yelled out directions.
“Get away from me, you mutt!” He could hear Ranta’s voice, too.
“Eek!” screamed Shihoru.
Haruhiro turned back to look. A kobold had grabbed the hem of Shihoru’s robe.
“Hi-yah!” Yume slashed into the kobold’s wrist with her machete. That chopped its hand clean off, keeping it from pulling Shihoru to the ground.
“Ungh! Ungh!” Moguzo swung his bastard sword around, scattering kobolds as he ran.
“Ah...!” Merry used her priest’s staff to knock back a kobold that came at her.
Whoa, Haruhiro realized. I’m not doing anything here. I’m just running away. Well, not that there’s anything I can do but run.
How did it come to this? Things were going so well. That’s right. Things were going well. Things felt great, and we had a good atmosphere going, too. Everyone was in high spirits. Did we get carried away, maybe...? No, it didn’t get that far. We were about to, though. We were one step away from it.
Did we let our guards down?
I can’t deny it.
The fact is, we didn’t notice the kobold. Actually, by the time we did notice, it was too late. Too late? Really?
Haruhiro hadn’t done anything, but maybe he could have. He couldn’t say for sure that there was nothing he could have done.
In the end, we were having too good a time.
When we push our luck, nothing good ever comes of it. When we lost Manato, it was because our belief that we could handle things came back to bite us. And yet, here we are, repeating the same mistake. We couldn’t apply the lesson Manato paid with his life to teach us.
“What the hell am I doing...?” he muttered.
I’m the worst. Just terrible. I’m hopeless. Still, blaming myself isn’t going to improve the situation. I don’t think anything I do is going to turn this situation around.
It’s no good. We can’t get away. It’s over. This is the end.
I mean, there are so many kobolds. There’s an incredible number of kobolds here. If we go straight, there are kobolds in front of us and behind. If we turn, there are kobolds ahead of us there, too. There’s nothing but kobolds. Where are we?
Haruhiro had no clue where they were. It was all he could do to keep following Merry.
He could see Moguzo getting slower and slower. But, if he passed him, Haruhiro would be the vanguard.
I can’t handle that. I just can’t. I can’t be the vanguard. I don’t think I can do it.
Moguzo’s wheezing. He’s pretty winded. But he’s still swinging his bastard sword around and running. Or trying to run, rather. Moguzo is desperately doing the best that he can for us.
—I’m sorry. Sorry, Moguzo. Haruhiro wanted to cry. What am I saying I can’t do it for? Even if I can’t, I have to try. No matter how little, I have to buy Moguzo time to rest, or he’s going to drop. Without Moguzo, there’s no way we can escape.
“Moguzo, I’ll move up to the front!” he shouted.
I’m scared.
I want to cry.
Damn it all!
“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” Haruhiro raced past Moguzo, planting a jumping kick on the kobold that came at him.
Oh, man, there are kobolds everywhere, nothing but kobolds, I’m amazed Moguzo managed this, this is scary, man, no way, I can’t do this, I’ll die, uwahhhhhh!
I’m in pain, so I’ve probably been hit or cut somewhere, but I’m not sure where it was. I don’t really have a good grasp of how I’m pushing these kobolds down or out of the way, either. It’s like I’m going by instinct? Something like that? Actually, am I even moving forward? I wonder. For now, there’s just one thing I’m completely sure of.
The kobold in front of him, probably an elder, lifted up its sword, taking a hard swing at Haruhiro’s head. For some reason, that scene seemed to freeze for Haruhiro.
He couldn’t hear a thing.
It was strangely silent.
Somewhere, in a place that seemed familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time, a room of some sort, he saw himself sitting in a chair.
—What am I doing there?
In another place, he saw himself surrounded by people who seemed familiar, yet unfamiliar. He was smiling.
This time, I’m riding in some sort of vehicle. It looks like I’m going somewhere. There are other people besides me in the vehicle. Who are they? I know them... is what it feels like. But I don’t understand. Not who those people are.
I’m crouched down in front of some big box full of light. There’s someone standing next to me. A woman with her hair in a bob.
—Choco.
That’s what Haruhiro called the woman.
Choco.
Who...?
I don’t know. I don’t know any Choco. But—
I feel... like I do know her.
Who... is she?
Where did we meet?
Did we meet somewhere?
At that place I saw just now... where was that...?
Choco. Hey, Choco. Who are you? Do you know me? Where was I? When? At some point—When I was in that place, did I know you...?
I don’t know.
I can’t remember.
—No.
That’s not it. When I try to remember, the memory vanishes. Choco’s face. Choco’s appearance. But, Choco. That name is the one thing I remember. That one thing... didn’t vanish.
But, you know... it doesn’t mean anything. I’m going to die now, anyway.
You know, for some reason, the kobolds are moving really slowly, but they aren’t stopped like they were before. They’re moving. And yet, I can’t move. I can’t avoid them. I’m not wearing a helmet like Moguzo, so if that sword hits me in the head, I’m not gonna make it. I’ll die... I think.
Could this be, you know? My life flashing before my eyes?
In that case, I really am going to die.
Choco, it looks like I’m going to die.
I wish I could have met you.
I only know your name, but I wish I could have met you.
But, it looks like that’s not going to be possible.
I’ll try to fight it. To dodge. Somehow. I don’t feel the least bit confident that I can, though.
I mean, they’re suddenly getting faster.
The kobold’s sword was coming. It was coming down. Haruhiro raised his arm. He tried to block it somehow.
I don’t think I’ll make it.
“Anger...!”
I don’t think I made it.
If Ranta hadn’t leapt in and stabbed the kobold in the gullet, Haruhiro’s head would have been cracked open for sure.
“Take that! Ranta-sama’s coming through...!”
I’m amazed he can still move like that.
Ranta swung his longsword. He spun his body around, swinging the longsword with it. Then, he suddenly turned around. “Exhaust...!”
“Wha...?!” Haruhiro was caught by surprise.
It was a hip attack. Ranta used Exhaust to back up at high speed, not so much body-checking as butt-checking the kobold that was there and knocking it flying. “Wahahahaha! I’m awesome...!”
“Thanks...!” Without missing a beat, Moguzo took down one of the kobolds with a rage blow while Merry used Smash with her priest’s staff to knock over another kobold.
Yume went “Yah, yah, yah, yah...!” forcing a kobold back with her machete which Shihoru then struck with her staff.
“—There!” she shouted.
“Haruhiro!” Ranta deflected one kobold’s fire poker with his helmet, stabbing it through the belly with his longsword. “You’re weak, so be careful, you idiot! If you go and die on us, too—it’d be a problem!”
“...I know that!”
You’re the last person I wanted to hear that from.
Ranta.
You, you’re the one person I never want to hear that from—but I can’t blame you for saying it.
I’d totally given up. I was close to just accepting it. That’s not good enough. I’m the leader. Yes, I’m incompetent. Yes, I’m weak. But even if I’m weak, I can still choose not to give up. Calm down. Even if I calm down, it’s pointless. But even if it’s pointless, I have to do it. I can’t let myself be dispirited.
Are the kobolds my enemy here?
No.
The enemy is my weak self.
“Merry! How far to the well...?!” Haruhiro shouted.
“A little further!”
“Okay! Hang in there, everyone! Let’s stick closer to the walls! If you get into trouble, put your back to the wall! Being attacked from three sides is better than four! Ranta, you be the vanguard! Moguzo, move back! Yume and Merry, to the sides! Shihoru, don’t push yourself! Let’s move forward little by little!” Haruhiro shouted.
There isn’t a single one of us who’s unharmed. All of us are banged up all over. Still, we haven’t lost heart.
Haruhiro had come close to giving in once, but he was fine now.
When he looked closer, the circle of kobolds around them wasn’t that thick. It wasn’t as though there was a circle ten to twenty kobolds deep around Haruhiro and the others. There were a lot of them, yes, but they were poorly organized. They didn’t move in unison, and when the party fought back they would get scared and run away.
Maybe because the kobolds had the overwhelming numerical advantage, they weren’t taking it seriously. They weren’t playing around, of course, but rather than surrounding Haruhiro and the others with the intent to kill, it was more like they were jeering at them and chasing them around.
Of course, the party were as seriously serious as serious could get, so they didn’t hesitate to kill kobolds that got in their way. As for the kobolds, they didn’t want to die, so they’d run away. As a result, the encirclement was too soft, and Haruhiro and the others were still able to keep fleeing.
Scary is scary, but there’s no need to be more frightened than necessary. If we overestimate the threat and panic, we’ll lose the ability to do things we can actually manage.
“It’s the well...!” Haruhiro shouted. “Shihoru, you go up the ladder first! Next, Merry! The order after that will be Yume, myself, Ranta, and then Moguzo!”
First Ranta, then Merry, Yume, and Haruhiro cut open a path to the bottom of the well. This was a small well with only one rope ladder coming down. Shihoru put her hands and feet on the ladder. She got a bit muddled up, but rushing her would only have the opposite effect.
“It’s fine! You don’t have to rush!” As Haruhiro called up to Shihoru to say that, for an instant—he saw that shining line. There was a kobold that just happened to have its back to him. With smooth motions, Haruhiro planted his dagger into the kobold’s back.
Merry started up the ladder, and Yume was trying to follow her, as well.
“Go, Haruhiro!” Ranta pulled off his thoroughly dented bucket helm, throwing it at one of the kobolds. “Take that! Exhaust! Hatred...!”
Hip-checking the kobold behind him with Exhaust, Ranta leapt forward immediately with Hatred, slashing the kobold in front of him. It was a bold and skillful move.
“Ruohhhhhhhhhhhhngh...!”
Moguzo had intimidated the nearby kobolds with War Cry. Now was the time.
Haruhiro swiftly scurried up the rope ladder. I’m actually pretty good at this sort of thing.
“Next! Come on, Ranta...!” he called.
“—No! Moguzo, you go next!” Ranta said, slapping Moguzo in the back with his longsword. “Hurry up! Since you’re so slow...!”
“Ye-Yeah?!” Instead of having accepted Ranta’s reasoning, it seemed more like Moguzo was surprised and just did as he was told without thinking.
Moguzo started climbing up, so Haruhiro couldn’t stop now. He had to keep climbing.
“Wai—Ranta...! Hurry up...!”
“Sure!”
Haruhiro could hear his response. But there was no sign of him climbing up. Not Ranta.
Rather than Ranta, a kobold started climbing up the rope ladder.
“Damn! You!” Moguzo kicked it down, but another kobold came up after it.
“Climb up for now!” Haruhiro made it up to the fourth level and pulled Moguzo up—or tried, at least, but he was heavy. Too heavy.
“Ohhh...?!” Haruhiro grunted.
“We’ll help!” With Merry, Yume, and Shihoru lending a hand, they somehow hauled Moguzo up onto the fourth level.
That was great, but what about Ranta? There was no Ranta. Instead of Ranta, kobolds came up the ladder one after another.
“Ranta...!” Haruhiro called his name, but there was no response.
—No.
“You go on ahead...! I’ll catch up later...!” In between the howling of the kobolds, they heard Ranta’s voice faintly.
“What do you mean, later...?! Moguzo, get that kobold that’s coming up!” Haruhiro shouted.
“Hungh!” Moguzo stabbed his bastard sword at the kobold that was coming up the ladder. “Hungh, hungh, hungh...!”
With the lead kobold having its face messed up good, it fell down, taking a number of other kobolds with it. The kobolds were barking noisily at the bottom, but perhaps out of fear of the same thing happening again, they didn’t try to climb up.
“...The ladder!” said Shihoru, grabbing the rope ladder.
Hey, yeah. We can just pull up the ladder.
“Got it!” Haruhiro hurried over to Shihoru and started pulling up the ladder, but his hands stopped halfway. “...B-But.”
Yume put her hands on the rim of the well, looking down. “Ranta...!”
“It’s just for now...!” Shihoru said.
Haruhiro nodded, pulling up the ladder. That’s right. If the kobolds give up and go away, we can lower it again. The way things are now, Ranta can’t get near the well anyway, I’m sure.
Ranta. Did he run away? Did he get away all right? Honestly, I have a hard time thinking he did. Ranta may have the devil’s own luck, but this is just too much.
“That ass!” Haruhiro punched the ground. “Trying to act cool, telling us to go on ahead without him...! It’s not like you, man! You’re supposed to be lame! What gives...?!”
No one said anything.
The kobolds were making a lot of noise down below.
—Ahh.
What now? What am I supposed to do now?
Haruhiro and the rest were safe. They were bruised all over, but their wounds wouldn’t keep them from walking.
Ranta was the only exception.
If Ranta were here, too, they would leave the mines without a second thought. They would probably head straight for the outside.
If Ranta were here.
Probably, even without Ranta, they could still make it outside.
By leaving Ranta behind.
Do we go save him? Go down to level five through another well and search for Ranta? Of course, it would be risky. Besides, we don’t even know if Ranta’s still alive. He could be dead already. If Ranta’s dead, anything we do would be in vain.
—What am I thinking?
How can I think about Ranta being dead?
Still, the problem is, it’s a genuine possibility. With that many kobolds, and with him being surrounded all by himself, it’s hard to imagine he could have gotten away.
At the very least, Haruhiro knew he couldn’t have done it. He’d likely have given up at some point.
Then... how about Ranta?
He might not give up.
“Haru,” Merry called out to Haruhiro, snapping him back to his senses.
Oh, crap.
I was totally lost in thought.
“Huh? Wh-What?”
“Enemies!” she said.
“You’re kidding—” is what Haruhiro wanted to think, but it was true.
When he looked in the direction Merry pointed, there were kobolds running in their direction. Elders. With workers in tow, too.
“There are a whole bunch of them!” Yume said, sounding ready to cry.
“Wh-Wh-Whuh...” Moguzo was confused and flustered.
Shihoru shook her head back and forth, as if trying to reject the reality of the situation, then said “W-We... We have... to run away!”
Haruhiro’s mind went blank for a moment. But it was only for a moment. He didn’t have time to agonize over his decision.
Haruhiro stood up. “—Let’s run!”
Though, I was pretty good there. With the “Moguzo, you go on ahead” bit. If they managed to get out, maybe they’ll think “Thank you, Ranta, it’s all because of you.” Ahh. Man, for that moment, I was so cool.
That’s enough, I guess.
After doing something good in the end—Having saved his comrades, Ranta dies in the Cyrene Mines.
“...Will you all remember me once in a while?” he mumbled.
The pigworms started oinking and vigorously licking his face.
“No, wait, guys, I didn’t mean you! You’re not the ones I meant!”
He had been feeling all sentimental, and now the pigworms had ruined it all. Well, maybe that was for the best.
If he was going to die, being crushed by pigworms wasn’t how he wanted to go out. He wanted a better death than that. He should fight hard and fall gloriously.
“...Yeah.”
Ranta pushed the pigworms off him and climbed over the fence.
Not long ago— how long, he honestly didn’t know—the place had been overrun with kobolds, but now it was desolate.
“Did they give up already...?”
Spineless mutts. Ranta grinned. —If it’s like this, maybe I can make it out of here?
He gave his longsword a test swing with his right hand. It made his left arm hurt a little, but it was nothing he didn’t think he could grit his teeth and bear.
“Well, I’d never die so easily, would I? Now that I think about it.”
As he walked along, humming to himself, suddenly a doubt crossed his mind. —Did those guys really abandon me?
They’re a bunch of losers, but they’re not bad folks, really. I’m sure they hate me and all, but I’m a comrade. Maybe they wouldn’t abandon me so quickly? Actually, even if they wanted to, maybe they’d feel it was too harsh and not be able to go through with it...?
Just maybe, Ranta’s comrades might be searching for him. There was a non-zero chance of it.
“Don’t do that...” Ranta sighed.
—You’re a bunch of losers, okay? Going and risking yourselves for my sake just doesn’t suit you. That’s something that a guy like, say, me would be doing.
If his comrades were searching for him, and any of them were to lose their lives because of it...
“That’s not funny.” A cold chill ran down his spine, and Ranta shuddered.
No. No matter what, I don’t want that. I don’t want to incur a huge debt like that. Stop it, please.
If his voice could reach his distant comrades, he wanted to tell them he was fine, and to get themselves out of the mines right away.
He wouldn’t go so far as to say they should return to Alterna. If possible, he hoped they’d wait outside for him.
“...Whoa.” Ranta leaned against the fence. For a moment his left arm throbbed, but this was nothing to him.
A kobold worker had come out from around a corner a little ways ahead. It hadn’t noticed him yet, but it was only a matter of time. He’d have to kill it.
The decision made, Ranta acted swiftly. He didn’t run, because it would affect his wound. He closed in on the worker with smoothly sliding steps. He got up to within two meters of it.
The worker turned to face him. In that moment, Ranta stepped in to close the gap.
“...!”
Anger.
No.
This wasn’t just Anger.
This was Anger Version 2, Silent Anger.
Ranta’s longsword brilliantly pierced the worker’s throat. The worker was flailing around, but with its throat taken out, it couldn’t make a sound.
Ranta gave his longsword a twist, kicking the worker away from him. He stomped on its head, grinding his boot in. The worker stopped moving in no time. Ranta crouched down.
—It hurts. My left arm. It hurrrrrts...
However, as he stayed still and tried to bear it, the pain lessened.
Ranta tore the talisman from the worker’s corpse, nodding to himself in approval.
“I’m gonna do this. One mutt at a time.”
“He was strong,” Moguzo said, sighing. “He was strong, that Michiki guy. I need to get stronger, too.”
Shihoru nodded her head, “...I want more firepower. I want to learn new spells. I have to...”
“Hmm,” Ranta held his chin pensively. “Maybe I’ll develop my own super attack, one that’s good enough to suit me.”
There he goes, saying stupid stuff again. He gets ignored.
“Yume wants to try raisin’ a wolf dog,” Yume said. “For one gold, they’ll let her have a puppy. It sounds like it takes a long time for them to grow up, though.”
“...What will you do with it until then?” Haruhiro tried asking, just to see her response.
Yume tilted her head to the side. “It won’t grow attached if it’s not with Yume, so maybe she’ll have to try puttin’ it in her pocket and carryin’ it around like that, huh.”
“Will it fit? In a pocket...?” Merry asked.
Yume touched her front pocket. “Mmm, dunno. Maybe it’d have a liiiiittle bit of a hard time fittin’. Maybe Yume should buy a bag for carryin’ it.”
Ranta, despite being Ranta, and, because he was Ranta, having no right to be, was taken aback. “...Listen, that’s going to be really heavy.”
“Yume’s the one who’ll be carryin’ it, so it’s fine. Ah, just sayin’ this now, but Yume’s neeeever lettin’ you touch it, Ranta.”
“Why not?” he objected. “You could let me pet it, at least. If I pet it, it’s sure to grow up strong.”
“It will not!”
“Will too!”
“Will! Not!”
“It will!”
“Nuh-uh, no way!”
“It’d get so strong, you dolt!”
“There’s this saying about not counting your chickens...” Haruhiro said with a wry laugh, then sighed. “Oh, whatever.”
We have to get stronger, huh.
—Getting stronger.
What would that mean for Haruhiro?
He’d gained a number of skills, but he didn’t think he could become dramatically stronger that way. No matter how much he polished his Backstab and Spider, they had limits. It was important to build his own strength, too, but maybe by growing as a leader he could lift the power of the group as a whole. That said, it probably wouldn’t be an obvious, perceptible improvement.
In the end, maybe a plainer role just suited Haruhiro.
“Merry,” he said.
“What?”
“Are you good? You don’t want to, you know... bring back a memento, or something?”
“Ah,” Merry’s eyes widened a little, as if caught by surprise. “It hadn’t occurred to me. Let’s see. Yes, I’ll bring something back. When we get back to Alterna, I’ll have to tell Hayashi, too.”
“Yeah. You should. I’m sure Hayashi-san will be relieved to hear it.”
“I hope so.”
Merry started going through the equipment Michiki had left behind. Haruhiro came close to suggesting she heal their wounds, but thought better of it. Merry was lovingly checking over the things Michiki, Ogu and Mutsumi had left behind. He felt like it would be wrong to disturb her.
“...Today has been exhausting,” Shihoru mumbled.
Yume gently swung both her arms in circles, saying, “You got that right.”
“It’s not over yet,” Haruhiro said, cautioning them sternly. “We shouldn’t take it easy until we’re back in Alterna. Well, I don’t think we should run into anything else, though.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Ranta said, smirking.
Stop it. Don’t be like that. When you say things like that, that’s how we get into situations like this.
A shudder ran down his spine.
Haruhiro turned around.
“—Dea...”
“Huh?” Ranta turned around, too. “Oh...”
Moguzo said, “This is bad.”
“Huh?” Yume said, her head in the clouds.
Shihoru let out a short, little shriek.
“No way...” Merry said, the words slipping out without her intending them to.
Why?
Why now, of all times?
It would have been trouble at any time, but this was just too much.
“Run—“ That was all Haruhiro managed to say.
It’s here. It’s coming. It’s really coming. Seriously? Please, stop. What’s going on? Why?
It had black and white spotted fur, a massive body that was almost too big to belong to a kobold, and in its hands, it held a thick, and much too large, carving knife.
Death Spots.
Death Spots panted wildly, its saliva dripping and splattering everywhere as it charged at them, a harsh glint in its two blood-red eyes.
It had three minions that looked like elders following it, each of them wearing armor and helmets and carrying swords and round shields.
This is no good. There’s no way we can win this.
But, what if we turn to run? No, that’s no good either.
If we show our backs, they’ll kill us all in no time.
I don’t want to fight them, but we have to. If we’re going to fight them, I can’t think about losing.
We have to win. What can we do to win?
“Sorry, Moguzo, you take Death Spots!” Haruhiro shouted. “Everyone else will handle the others!”
He couldn’t hear everyone’s responses. Haruhiro was panicking. Could anyone blame him? For now, they had to take out the minions as quickly as possible. Everything started with that.
“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh...!” Shihoru fired off a Shadow Bond spell, stopping one minion in its tracks. Thanks to that, Haruhiro calmed down just a little.
“Ranta, you take one...! Yume and I will take the other...!”
“I’ve got this!”
“Nyaa!”
“I’ll go, too!” Merry came with Haruhiro and Yume, priest’s staff in hand. Haruhiro was about to stop her, but then reconsidered.
Until we kill the minions, maybe I should have Merry come up front with us. Once the minions are taken down, I’ll have her back off. Yeah. Let’s go with that.
“Thanks...!” Moguzo put all his might into a Thanks Slash, but Death Spots easily knocked it away using its carving knife. Then it immediately went on the counterattack. It was an angry torrent of blows, the carving knife striking at Moguzo.
Shouting each time, Moguzo was somehow managing to stop the hits, but—if he failed, even once, it looked like the blow would be fatal, even through his armor.
Haruhiro was scared, but it must have been even scarier for Moguzo.
He’s resisting his terror to block the blows. Somehow, we need to make use of the time. No, not somehow. We’re definitely going to do it.
The two minions ignored Death Spots fighting with Moguzo and rushed onwards towards Haruhiro and the others.
“Hatred...!” Ranta sprung towards Minion C, causing it to falter.
“I’ll do it!” Haruhiro ran past Yume, charging at Minion B. Even so, he didn’t mean to attack it.
Minion B swung its sword.
Swat.
He deflected it with his dagger.
As he deflected and deflected and deflected, Yume and Merry moved around to Minion B’s sides to flank it.
“Diagonal Cross!”
“Smash!”
Yume and Merry attacked simultaneously from both sides. Minion B blocked with its sword and shield, but its stance was broken.
Now. Haruhiro got behind Minion B, then used Spider.
Grappling it from behind, he raised the face guard on its helmet then jabbed his dagger into its right eye. He twisted, pulled it out, and jumped away.
Minion B was still breathing, so Merry gave it a punishing blow with her priest’s staff and Yume kicked it to the ground with a shout.
Minion B wasn’t getting back up. Two more to go.
Should he go for Minion A, which was held in place by Shadow Bond, or Minion C, which Ranta was handling?
Haruhiro headed for Minion A without hesitation. Yume and Merry came with him. Minion A couldn’t move, so it would be easy.
With Yume and Merry drawing its attention, Haruhiro circled around behind it. Spider. He finished it off with the same process as Minion B, then headed on to Minion C.
But, what about Moguzo? He looks like he’s having a really hard time. Just now, when he blocked the carving knife with his bastard sword, it looked like his knees were going to buckle. He managed to recover, but—he can’t hold out on his own like that anymore.
“I can handle this guy alone!” Ranta shouted.
Haruhiro didn’t hesitate. “—I’m counting on you!”
I’ll believe. In my comrades.
“Merry, stand back!” Haruhiro ordered. Yume and him took up positions to the side and behind Death Spots to put pressure on it. But, rather than them putting pressure on it...
What is this? Why does it feel so intimidating?
Death Spots had its back to Haruhiro. It wasn’t even sparing a glance in his direction. Despite that, he had no idea how to even go about attacking. No matter how he attacked, he had the feeling it would be useless.
Whether it was useless or not, he had to do it.
That’s right. He had to.
Haruhiro tried to go for a Backstab. That was the plan. However, the next thing he knew, he was laid out flat on the ground.
What?
Maybe, when I tried to close in from behind, Death Spots kicked me, or something?
It’s hazy, but I have some recollection of that happening. Is my body all right? Haruhiro got up. It hurts here and there, and I feel a bit dizzy. I don’t really know for sure, but I’m probably fine.
“Take that, and that, and that, and that, and that...!” Ranta shouted, knocking away Minion C’s sword and shield with a combo attack that went faster than the eye could follow. It looked so forced, but it looked like he was getting results with it.
Ranta knocked Minion C’s helmet away with the tip of his blade, then buried his longsword deep in its throat. “—Wahaha! One vice...!”
Even at a time like this, it’s the vice he cares about? I have to question his humanity, but he’s reliable nonetheless.
“Now it’s just Death Spots!” Haruhiro said boldly, loud enough that everyone could hear. He wanted to encourage the others as much as he could.
Though, he also doubted he could.
Death Spots was howling “Awoogahahaha! Awoogahahaha! Awoogahahahahah!” as it completely overwhelmed Moguzo.
Haruhiro, Yume, and even Ranta wanted to help Moguzo, of course. But they couldn’t get close enough.
Why not? Is it this intimidating aura? Is something as vague and undefined as that the reason?
No.
It was Death Spots’ movements. They were insanely dynamic, making it seem almost as if its legs were spring-loaded as it bounded around swinging its knife-sword. Death Spots never stopped moving. Because of that, they couldn’t focus on a target.
Still, it has to have habits and patterns it follows, right? If I could just learn those...
No, I don’t have time to take it easy like that.
“Ohm, rel, ect, vel, darsh...!” Shihoru cast Shadow Beat.
Her timing seemed perfect, but no luck, huh?
Death Spots swung its knife-sword with a bark, easily slashing the black seaweed-like mass of the shadow elemental and causing it to vanish.
However, for an instant, that created an opening, though hardly one that deserved to be called an opening.
“Guh...!”
Moguzo, who had been on the defensive all this time, went on the offensive.
He was already starting to get winded, and he must have taken some wounds, too, but if he let Death Spots wail on him for much longer, he was guaranteed to have his defense broken. He had no choice but to take a big risk. That was what Moguzo must have decided. Haruhiro didn’t think he was wrong. It was clearly the only option. But, even if he did...
“Gwoohahah...!”
Death Spots knocked away Moguzo’s bastard sword, not with its knife-sword but, incredibly, with its left arm.
What the hell was that? How is that fair?
Haruhiro was dumbstruck, but that must have been nothing compared to the shock Moguzo had felt. Actually, even if he hadn’t been shocked by it at all, the result would have been the same.
With a “Gwahahh...!” Death Spots slammed its knife-sword into Moguzo’s left shoulder. The knife-sword tore through his armor, sinking in much deeper than his collarbone.
“Moguzooooo...!” Ranta leapt at Death Spots.
You’re crazy. That’s way too reckless.
Ranta was nearly cut in two by Death Spots’ return swing, but he shrieked and ducked down, having it miss him by a hair.
Still, that was nice. Thanks to that, Moguzo was able to roll away from Death Spots. He’s bleeding pretty heavily and it looks like a serious wound, though.
“Merry, go to Moguzo...!” Haruhiro needn’t have said anything. Merry was already trying to heal Moguzo.
Time. I have to buy her time.
At some point, Yume had readied her bow and arrow. “There!” she fired. From relatively close up.
She hit. It struck Death Spots in the flank. Death Spots howled in anger, turning to face Yume.
“Don’t you look away from me...!” Ranta attacked. But Death Spots easily deflected Ranta’s longsword with its knife-sword, launching a fierce assault on Yume.
Yume, of course, ran away. “Scary, scary, scary...!”
She ditched her bow, using her Pit Rat skill to roll around trying to get away.
Haruhiro was chasing after Death Spots, but he couldn’t do anything. Or rather, he couldn’t even keep up with Death Spots.
“—Dammit!” he shouted.
“O darkness, O Lord of Vice...!” Ranta chanted a spell. “Demon Call...!”
From who knows where, something that looked like a blackish purple human torso with no head appeared. It had two hole-like eyes and beneath them, a gash-like mouth. It was the demon Zodiac-kun.
“Now go, Zodiac-kun!” he bellowed.
“...Don’t wanna... No way... Keehehehe... Keehehehehehehe... Eehehehehehehe...”
“Tch, yeah, didn’t think that’d fly...”
...The hell are you doing, man? This is an emergency. Haruhiro was too disgusted for words. Not that he had time for talking right now.
“Agh...!” Yume got kicked by Death Spots and sent flying.
“Argh! C’mere, you...!” Ranta grabbed Zodiac-kun by the arm and dragged the demon with him.
He’s able to do stuff like that, too?
Then Ranta chucked Zodiac-kun at Death Spots. “Taaaaake thiiiiis...!”
(...Curse you... Curse you, curse you, curse youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...)
Zodiac-kun collided with Death Spots—or rather, ended up clinging to its face. Death Spots pulled the demon off and threw it away in short order, but during that time, Ranta had been closing in. “Anger...!”
He went for the neck. But Death Spots twisted out of the way, meaning that Ranta’s outthrust longsword only shaved a few centimeters off of its neck, fur included. That said, it was still a hit. Blood didn’t spurt out, but there was some bleeding.
Nice, thought Haruhiro. This isn’t an enemy that’s going to be undefeatable no matter what we do. We can do this. If we do it right, we can fight this guy. We might even be able to win.
He only felt that way for a brief moment.
“Fshrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!” The color of Death Spots’ eyes changed. It had a shine in its eyes that was completely different from before.
“—Gwah...!”
Ranta was pulverized in an instant.
But, just now—what happened?
Haruhiro hadn’t been able to see it.
Whatever it was, it left Ranta knocked down and bloody. Death Spots is lifting that knife-sword aloft—is it planning to finish off Ranta?
There’s something clinging to its sword arm. It’s blackish purple and—Haruhiro’s eyes went wide.
“Zodiac-kun...?!”
“Keehehehe... Keehehehehehehe... Eekekekekekeke... Keehehehehehehehehe...!”
With a bark, Death Spots grabbed Zodiac-kun and, as if to say You’re in the way, it slammed the demon against the ground. Zodiac-kun vanished with a hiss, as if evaporating, but thanks to the demon, Ranta survived.
Death Spots swung its knife-sword down at Ranta. As it did, Moguzo jumped in, groaning in exertion as he stopped the blow with his bastard sword.
If Zodiac-kun hadn’t been there, or hadn’t interfered with Death Spots, what would have happened? Probably, Moguzo wouldn’t have made it. Zodiac-kun saved Ranta.
Shihoru had just finished helping Yume to her feet, but Yume was still holding her gut. It looked like she was in a lot of pain.
Even as Moguzo was pushed around by Death Spots, he was trying to get it away from Ranta, who had fallen and couldn’t move.
“Death Spots gets stronger the more wounded it is!” Merry shouted, rushing over to Ranta. “—Haru! I’m going to run out of magic soon! Two more times, three if I push it, that’s my limit!”
Haruhiro inhaled sharply and gritted his teeth.
Moguzo... Even with Merry healing his wounds, it doesn’t restore his stamina. He’s already gasping for breath.
The more we hurt it, the stronger it gets? The more we manage to drive it into a corner, the harder it’ll be on us, who are already cornered? What the hell is that? What do we even do about it?
There’s nothing to do.
We run.
That’s all we can do.
But can we run? If we could get away, we’d have done that to begin with. No, back then it had three minions, so the situation’s changed. Now it’s just Death Spots. Still, can all of us run away safely?
Death Spots is fast. If it gives chase, there’s pretty much no doubt that it’ll catch us. If it attacked us from behind, we wouldn’t stand a chance. It’d only take an instant for it to kill one of us. If one person dies an instant, it’ll get a second, then a third—No, it’s no good. We all run together. That’s what I want to do, but it’s not realistic. We’d have sacrifice a few of us, and even if we got away, it’d be a few of us at best. At worst, we’d all be wiped out.
One person. At a minimum, one person needs to stay behind. One person will delay Death Spots. Literally by putting their life on the line. That one person will die. If one person dies, the other five can live.
It’s the only option. I know that. We’ll do it. While I’m agonizing over it, Moguzo could get taken down. If that happens, we’re finished. It’ll be a rout. Everyone will die. We’ll be wiped out. I can’t let that happen.
I have to kill one person. In order to save five. But, who will it be? Who’s going to delay it? Do I have to say that to them? “Everyone’s going to run, so take care of that thing while we do. Please, die.” To, say, Moguzo, for instance?
“—Okay!” Ranta jumped to his feet. It looked like he was healed.
Haruhiro closed his eyes. “...I’m sorry, everyone.”
For being such a pathetic leader.
Still, I can’t do what I can’t do.
Haruhiro grappled Death Spots from behind as it tried to beat Moguzo into the ground. He managed it surprisingly easily, though not enough to be disappointingly so.
Because I’ve already resolved myself, and I don’t feel fear anymore, is that it? Doesn’t matter.
Death Spots tried to shake off Haruhiro.
I won’t let you do that. I’m not letting go.
Clinging on desperately, Haruhiro pounded Death Spots in the head with the pommel of his dagger. He hit it again, and again. As he did, he shouted, “Moguzo, Ranta! Merry, Yume, Shihoru! Now’s your chance! Run away!”
“B-B-But...!” someone said, Moguzo he thought, but he wasn’t sure.
“Just do it...!” Haruhiro was frantic. He whacked it with the dagger. Over and over.
Death Spots was still a kobold and its body structure made it even less able to reach its arms around behind its back than a human. Still, it was managing to strike Haruhiro with its elbows or something. It didn’t seem like it would be able to slice him with the knife-sword, but it was able to hit Haruhiro in the back and in the head.
Oh, crap. I feel like I’m about to start whimpering. I feel like I’m going to lose my grip before I can start whimpering. I won’t lose my grip, though.
“—Are you going to make my death be in vain?!” he shouted. “I’m not going to make it! Look how beat up I am! I’m done! Please, run! Come on, I’m begging you!”
“Let’s go!” Ranta shouted.
Oh, Ranta.
That’s good, you being like that. There’s the Ranta I know. We’d be in real trouble without you in the party. Keep on dragging everyone along with you that way. It’s something only you can do. I’m counting on you.
For a moment, Haruhiro saw Yume looking in his direction. But Yume’s body was facing the other way—she’d just turned her head back to look. She was getting ready to go. He felt relieved. If Yume would run, he was sure Shihoru would, too.
Yume, when you patted my head, I thought, “Oh, this is nice.” Shihoru, don’t drag your memories of Manato with you for too long.
“Haru!” Merry shouted his name.
Go. Please, go. You know, I think I had started to like you, and I want you to live on, Merry, so, please, just go.
He could hear Moguzo roar, his voice fading into the distance.
That’s good, thought Haruhiro. Run, Moguzo. You’re strong. You’ve definitely been getting stronger. You’ll get even stronger still. Moguzo, you’re the core of the party. We’re all dependent on you, you could say.
But, it’s not “we” anymore, huh.
Because I won’t be part of the group anymore.
I’m all alone now.
Not that there was any helping it. I made the choice myself.
I couldn’t have made any other choice. I could never have asked one of you to die for me. If I was going to have to do that, I figured I’d rather die myself.
I’m sure this must be hard on all of you. You don’t want to sacrifice me to survive, do you? I don’t want you to think of it that way, but you will, won’t you?
Still, I want you to overcome it. I dunno how to say this, but unless you overcome it, it won’t have been worth me pulling this stupid stunt.
Michiki. Ogu. Mutsumi.
If I die here, will I end up like you did?
If I do, I hope Merry will cast Dispel on me. Please, turn me to ashes. Once that happens, just maybe, will someone join the party and take my place?
You know, somehow... That makes me feel incredibly lonely, and sad. I wish I hadn’t imagined that. Though, maybe, I was just at my limit.
Haruhiro felt his body floating in the air.
Uh oh.
He’d let go.
He’d let go of Death Spots.
He fell to the ground. Death Spots was getting ready to run. Wasn’t he going to kill Haruhiro? Did he plan to leave the half-dead Haruhiro behind and chase down the rest of the party?
No. No, no, no, no, no, no.
How much time had Haruhiro bought them? How far had his comrades run? It felt to him like a long time had passed. But, maybe it wasn’t actually that long? He couldn’t tell.
“Hey...!”
Haruhiro rose up. Death Spots didn’t turn around.
I won’t let you go. Did you think I would?
Don’t be ridiculous.
—At that moment, he saw the line.
It wasn’t blurry, Haruhiro saw a line of light, plain as day, and he moved.
I’m slow, he thought. Why am I so slow? But it’s not just me, Death Spots is slow, too. Well, I guess that’s fine, then.
I managed to catch up and all.
Is this the spot? On Death Spots’ back? There must be an internal organ or something here, huh.
He leapt onto the kobold, stabbing his dagger in there. It slid in smoothly, reaching the spot.
Haruhiro didn’t doubt it for a moment. This was the end.
Death Spots tripped, falling down where it was.
For some time, Haruhiro buried his face in Death Spots’ filthy fur, but eventually he rolled over on to his side.
When he tried to speak, a strange ohhh sound leaked out from the back of his throat. When he tried touching his face and neck, it was all a mess of blood. There was pain, too. It then crossed his mind, What’ll I do if they leave me behind like this? I’d really rather not have that happen. Though, I don’t think I can move.
“Heyyyyy...” Haruhiro managed to raise his voice and call for his comrades.
He believed they would come for him.
He was right.
Afterword
Occasionally, I wonder what the ideal game is to me. I’ve played a lot of RPGs. So is it a game of that type, perhaps?
The ones that left a strong impression on me are Dragon Quest III and V, Final Fantasy II, IV, and VII, as well as Romancing SaGa, and also the MMORPGs Ultima Online and EverQuest, I suppose. RPGs of the same type as the ones I just listed or of types that developed from them are still being produced today, but it feels like rather than following a path of evolving, they’re following one of growing depth, or perhaps of division into narrow subcategories.
Furthermore, when it comes to MMORPGs, World of Warcraft swept the globe, and with later games finding ways to compensate for its weaknesses and refine the formula, it feels to me like it’s been nearly perfected, and we’re seeing the limits of what can be done.
When I first touched Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and the early MMORPGS, I was struck with the feeling that a new world was expanding before my eyes. My own small, narrow world was instantly expanded, and I set foot into it. Everything I saw and heard was new, and I didn’t want to leave. As a matter of fact, there was a period where I shut myself away in there.
What kind of game would have to appear to make me feel as I did back then? Is that something that can be brought about by the advance of technology? Or can existing elements be combined to create a new type of game? Will a person who creates games that no one has ever imagined before suddenly appear?
No matter how much I think about it, I never come to an answer. Perhaps the boundaries of my world will never be widened by a game again.
But, fortunately, I have novels. There are limits to what someone like me can write, and due to my lack of ability and inexperience, nothing I write turns out as I’d like, and I fumble to take even a half-step, let alone a full one, forward.
When I try to write a certain novel, I always lose my nerve. Am I capable of writing it? Is it too much for me?
Even so, I continue to write, somehow, and in that time, I’m simply desperate. When I look back once I finish writing, there’s a path behind me. Then, I’m able to see I’ve walked all this way.
I’ve run out of pages.
To my editor, K, to Eiri Shirai-san, to the designers of KOMEWORKS, among others, to everyone involved in production and sales of this book, and finally, to all of you people now holding this book, I offer my heartfelt appreciation and all of my love. Now, I lay down my pen for today. I hope we will meet again.
Ao Jyumonji
