Limited Dimension Wave – Elimination –

 

「Having two bosses is pretty tough…」

 

We split into two groups, simultaneously confronting Count Havenburgh and the Soul Eater, two bosses.

Both possessed the strength befitting boss monsters, making this no easy feat.

First, Count Havenburgh was a reviving monster, so no matter how much we attacked, he would immediately revive.

More importantly, the power of his massive cutlass was immense, making it difficult to evade his attacks.

In that case, with our current party members, either Shouko or Tsumugi would need to handle him.

However, Count Havenburgh was merely a decoy. The one we truly needed to defeat was the Soul Eater, not the Count.

 

And the Soul Eater possessed formidable strength as well.

Unlike Count Havenburgh, it moved like a beast, so attacking it like a humanoid monster would only result in us taking damage.

Yet, at the same time, with Count Havenburgh present, we needed to face two opponents of different types, the beast-like Soul Eater and the humanoid Count Havenburgh.

Furthermore, if we let our guard down even a little, the Soul Eater would hide in a dimensional rift.

When it hid, Alto would seriously focus and search for its location to launch a pursuit, but during that time, Count Havenburgh would attack us.

It was a really annoying combination.

 

「Kizuna-san!」

 

Alerted by Shouko’s warning, I noticed the Soul Eater moving through a dimensional rift behind me.

…I can’t evade this.

If I can’t evade it, I’ll at least try to avoid taking meaningless damage.

 

「Oraa!」

 

I swung the Cerberus Slaughter toward the Soul Eater.

The Soul Eater’s attack and my attack intersected.

The so-called, letting the flesh be cut to sever the bone.

Or a desperate strike.

The damage I received was a modest 670 damage compared to Cerberus.

Still within the limits of my shield energy, so it didn’t go into the negatives.

 

「Round Dance Second Stance – Blizzard!」

 

Coordinating with my attack, Shouko used a skill.

Cherry blossom petals danced like a blizzard, and she slashed the Soul Eater with her two fans.

 

「Are you unharmed?」

「Yeah, in Shouko’s words… just a shallow wound. I can still keep going!」

 

While aiming my weapon at the Soul Eater, I reported the situation as I moved.

 

「Tsumugi-san and Yamiko-san are handling that side, are they okay?」

「Tsumugi is better at fighting humans. Yamikage might be less afraid of skeletons than ghosts.」

「I see. Kizuna-san.」

「What is it?」

「Thank you for coming to help.」

 

Just when I thought she was saying something random, it was a word of thanks.

I had heard it before, but Shouko is quite adamant in this regard.

She always expresses her gratitude, and if she thinks something is wrong, she apologizes.

If she says that, then I too should have said many words of thanks.

 

…But men tend to find it embarrassing, you know.

 

「I am glad.」

「Me too. Once we defeat that thing, there’s something I want to ask you, okay?」

「Yes, definitely!」

 

I had a slight feeling of raising a death flag, but it must be my imagination. Yeah.

And following Shouko as she charged toward the Soul Eater, I struck unexpectedly.

Really, once this is over, I should have her teach me the basics of fighting.

 

「Sheryl, can you go?」

「…Nn. Bomber Lancer.」

 

Sheryl, who had essentially become a fixed artillery, nodded as she protected Alto.

Alto, my apologies, but you’re a bit of a hindrance.

Well, to begin with, Alto’s forte isn’t combat, but rather business, I suppose.

The Soul Eater staggered slightly after being hit by Sheryl’s harpoon skill.

Taking advantage of that opening, Shouko and I launched repeated attacks.

As expected of a Limited Dimension Wave, it wasn’t as strong as Cerberus.

And I turned my gaze toward the two handling Count Havenburgh.

 

「Holy Burst!」

「Eeeeeehhhh!?」

 

Yamikage used a light magic spell!

Her character is all over the place.

 

Aren’t you supposed to be a Drain maniac!?

 

W-Well, maybe Yamikage can’t think straight because the skeletal captain is so terrifying.

Still, I had no idea she could use light magic.

…I avert my eyes from reality, or rather, I return to reality by shifting my gaze back to the Soul Eater. Tsumugi? Her existence completely flew out of my mind due to Yamikage’s antics.

She’s probably fine, so it’s not a problem.

When I turned my gaze back to the Soul Eater, Shouko was looking at me with a difficult expression.

 

「…Kizuna-san. Could you lend me the sword you used earlier?」

「The Energy Blade? What do you intend to do?」

「The damage we’re inflicting doesn’t seem to be very effective. I believe there may be an elemental issue.」

 

Indeed, despite our repeated attacks, the damage didn’t seem to be taking effect. Since its name is Soul Eater, it might have resistance to non-elemental attacks like spiritual ones.

However, that first strike seemed to be remarkably effective.

After I dragged it out of the shadow, it did appear to be in pain.

 

「Okay. But be careful. If you miss, it’s over.」

「Understood. I will definitely hit it.」

 

When I tossed her the Energy Blade, which was just the hilt of a sword, Shouko caught it effortlessly.

She sheathed one of her fans in her waistband and glared at the Soul Eater, wielding the other fan and the Energy Blade like a swordsman with a short sword and a sword.

Then, as if to calm her mind, she muttered

 

「Fifty thousand charge.」

「Whoa, isn’t that overkill?」

「It’s fine. I will definitely hit it… Ugh!」

 

Immediately after aiming her sword, the Soul Eater seemed to read our attack and shifted into evasion mode.

It likely had an AI programmed to react to high-powered attacks.

While possible with modern programming… it’s an unpleasant behavior pattern.

 

「Shouko, I’ll lure it over here. Don’t swing recklessly. We’ll deliver the ultimate strike in the optimal situation.」

「…Yes! I trust you.」

 

Sheryl, reading our movements, tried to hit the Soul Eater’s shadow with her Bomber Lancer, but the Soul Eater evaded by swimming through the dimensional rifts, making it hard to hit.

Meanwhile, behind us, Tsumugi and Yamikage were locked in a fierce battle.

I had to hurry, but…

 

「Ah, damn it! The damn thing keeps swimming around like a fish… Huh?」

 

Dimensional rift.

I had used the analogy of the Soul Eater swimming through the black shadows like a fish, but it was an incredibly apt description. Looking closely, while beastly, the Soul Eater also resembled a large fish.

 

…Could it be?

 

Even if I was off the mark, Hate & Lure II could still accumulate hate from the enemy.

If I draw its attention and attack, Shouko’s player skill should be able to hit it.

I’m fired up.

I called up my status window, skill window, and began preparations.

 

Name: Kizuna†Exceed
Race: Spirit
Energy: 57,630
Mana: 12,070
Serin: 68,780

Skills:
Energy Production XII
Mana Production IX
Fishing Mastery VIII
Hate & Lure II
Dismantling Mastery V
Cleaver V
Slicing II
Rapid Dismantling IV
Naval Combat V
Element Conversion I

Unacquired Skills: Energy Production XIII, Mana Production X, Fishing Mastery IX, Helmsmanship I, Night Vision I, Angling I, City Travelling I

 

Angling I

An auxiliary skill that uses a fishing rod.

A skill for fishing up fish or monsters.

Consumes 300 energy per use.

Requires 1,000 mana to acquire.

Acquisition condition: Catch over 1,000 monsters using a fishing rod.

Rank up condition: Catch over 5,000 monsters using a fishing rod.

 

How convenient the skill I needed was listed as an unacquired skill.

From the skill description, it was probably for fishing up large creatures like giant herring or giant squid.

 

The condition mentioned monsters… like killer fish, maybe?

I’ve been fishing for quite a while, so I can’t remember how many fish I’ve caught.

When did this get added?

If I had this, I might not need Sheryl help like with that giant squid.

But for now, I’ll use it to fish you up, Soul Eater.

 

「Hate & Lure!」

 

With a blue glow, I cast a Shining Lure toward the Soul Eater’s shadow.

While I may lag behind Shouko, Tsumugi, and Sheryl in combat, this is something I’m confident in.

More importantly, witness the power of Fishing Mastery VIII that I’ve painstakingly raised through squid fishing.

It’s rank VIII, 8.

Moreover, my Stone of Mediation raises my Fishing Mastery by two ranks.

Effectively, it’s Rank X.

The control I can exert from here would rival even the protagonist of a fishing manga.

 

「Got it! It’s hooked!」

 

Fishing Mastery is a skill that enhances all actions involving a fishing rod.

Rank VIII means an 80% enhancement. While unrealistic, if I wanted to, I could even curve the direction of the lure mid-throw.

Well, how that would be useful in fishing is a complete mystery, but…

Anyway, keeping the Soul Eater’s accumulated hate on the line, I shouted.

 

「Angling!」

 

I reeled in, and a blue light enveloped the entire fishing rod, lifting it in a fixed motion.

Like angling for tuna, the Soul Eater emerged from the dimensional rift and was flung onto the deck.

The Soul Eater bounced around on the deck, stunned.

So it really was a fish-like monster related to ghosts, huh?

More importantly, now is the time!

 

「Shouko. Now!」

「Here I go!」

 

While leaving afterimages from her high speed, Shouko approached the defenseless Soul Eater, lifted its upper jaw with one fan, and thrust the Energy Blade, emitting a strong output, into its mouth.

In a pose resembling Shouko being devoured by the Soul Eater, she pushed deeper and deeper, the only sound being the output of the Energy Blade.

 

Then, after some seconds or minutes had passed… Count Havenburgh crumbled with a clattering sound.

Next, the Soul Eater disintegrated like crumbling sand, being blown away by the wind.

 

「Did we… win?」

 

Though the way it was defeated felt somewhat like a cheat, Shouko emerged from the disintegration, carefully holding the Energy Blade, now just the hilt without the beam.

How to put it, she always looks so cool.

Like a fighting heroine from a light novel.

Huh? If that’s the case, does that make me the boring main character?

Personally, I’d prefer being an equal comrade who fights alongside her… but honestly, position-wise, I’m more of a wimpy protagonist, huh… From now on, I should learn a bit more about fighting. Yeah.

 

But I wonder, can the Soul Eater not be dismantled?

I was actually expecting it.

You know, with a name like that, I thought it might become a scythe-like weapon. I thought if Tsumugi made a weapon from the Soul Eater, it would be incredibly powerful for our forces, but dismantling doesn’t seem to be an option.

 

— Limited Dimension Wave Eliminated!

 

The window I had seen just a few weeks ago was displayed.

Unlike last time, it only showed our party of six members, including me.

 

— Overall Ranking:             #1 – Kizuna†Exceed

#2 – Hakoniwa Shouko

#3 – Tsumugi†Exceed

#4 – Sheryl

#5 – Yamikage

#6 – Altorese

 

I was surprised. I never expected to rank first overall.

Looking at the other evaluation criteria displayed, I could somewhat understand the reasoning.

 

Dungeon Completion Rate.

Accumulated Damage.

Damage Taken.

Number of Enemies Defeated.

Boss Damage.

Map Analysis Rate.

Facility Usage Rate.

 

Based on these criteria, I suppose it makes sense for me to be first.

 

Dungeon Completion Rate refers to the event collection rate, right?

Accumulated Damage, well, I did take care of some minor monsters when I was alone.

Damage Taken, less than last time.

Number of Enemies Defeated, this one is so-so.

Boss Damage, I racked up quite a bit with the Cerberus Slaughter and Energy Blade.

Map Analysis Rate, not all of it, but I covered most areas.

Facility Usage Rate, I used every facility.

 

In most online games, boss damage is the highest-weighted criterion, but since I don’t have the experience to analyze the settings, there must be a reason for this outcome.

Oh, there’s an acquired items section.

Unlike regular Dimension Wave, there’s no roulette.

 

— Kalmira Island acquired.

 

「What? An island?」

 

It’s a rather grandiose acquisition message for an item.

Checking my item inventory, there was no such item called island.

Ah, could it be referring to the island mentioned in Count Havenburgh’s journal?

If I recall correctly, something about diplomacy…

 

Before I could continue that line of thought, the ground beneath me began to shake.

The RPG cliché of the dungeon collapsing after defeating the boss, huh?

 

「Everyone, let’s escape to the ship… huh?」

 

When I turned around, I could see the ghost ship turning to ash at a visible speed.

In other words, we didn’t even have time to escape, as the ground beneath our feet turned to ash.

 

「「「Kyaaaaaaahhhh!」」」

「Gyaaaaaaahhhh!」

 

Naturally, with no ground beneath us, we began falling into the sea.

Huh? Isn’t there an odd number of voices?

 

「Kizuna-san!」

 

In the midst of the fall, Shouko reached out her hand to me.

 

「Shouko!」

 

I instinctively grabbed her hand.

The red moon is turning blue in the sky.

The unchanging, chilling temperature of the spreading seawater.

The sensation of her tightly gripped hand and the never-ending sound of bubbles.

Deeper, deeper.

The seawater beckoning me into the darkness gradually robbed me of my consciousness.