NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 15
2-7. The First Battle for the Two
After defeating the first enemy, they resumed their exploration.
Soon, a new Pestle Rabbit appeared, and Meiko defeated it with magic.
The dropped items were, as expected, rabbit fur and magic stones.
Immediately, they synthesized them into Sasara’s upper jersey.
The rabbit fur was quite large.
It was about 40 centimeters square.
Meiko thought that if they started to have extra, making a cloak or something would likely increase their defense.
Well, that’s still a story for the future.
The exploration proceeded with Meiko and Lulu mainly on guard, while Sasara drew the map. Of course, Sasara also kept some level of vigilance.
With that formation, they advanced, and this time a Pestle Rabbit came from behind.
In the G-rank dungeon, where most enemies were usually spaced out, this was a rare phenomenon.
Meiko defeated this one with magic as well.
This time, the drops were rabbit fur and the handle part of the Pestle Rabbit’s pestle.
Since it was perfectly straight, it seemed better than the random sticks lying around.
In fact, the synthesis appraisal showed it as 0/100, indicating higher rarity.
Meiko named it the “Pestle Handle Sword” and handed it to Sasara.
Then, she synthesized the rabbit fur into Sasara’s lower jersey.
“How much stronger does synthesis make us?”
Meiko recalled the experiments she had conducted with the Professor.
A 100/100 parka completely blocked slashing attacks from blades.
Moreover, it resisted piercing attacks from metal spears and had impact resistance.
At least, with the strength of Meiko and the Professor, it didn’t budge.
However, the Professor was an indoor type.
When attacked, he would make a (>_<) face, showing how weak he was. Despite his cool way of speaking, the Professor’s pitiful display secretly made Meiko feel a bit of a crush.
But those were just attacks from weaklings. When a self-defense officer trained in dungeons attacked, the parka was easily pierced.
Although Meiko had offered it for testing, it was one of her favorite parkas, so she tearfully gripped the hem of her clothes. People like gorillas are scary…
The kind-hearted gorilla self-defense officer was flustered. Later, she bought a new one, so it was all good.
After examining the composition fibers, they found that aside from toughness, it was identical to a regular parka, suggesting some mysterious power was at work.
This incident led Meiko to start earning pocket money through synthesis enhancements within the garrison. The birth story of the girl who charges 1000 yen per session.
To Meiko, it was a huge amount! But for those who received the enhancements, it was incredibly cheap for the equipment upgrades, making it a true win-win.
Let’s get back to the story.
Meiko could answer Sasara’s question about how much defense they would gain.
But answering it might make Sasara want to stand on the front lines, which was scary.
Meiko hadn’t fully understood Sasara and Lulu’s personalities yet, but she could see that they wanted to fight alongside her.
“Synthesis enhancements have a strengthening value. Right now, Sasara’s jersey and Lulu’s overalls are at 55/100. At that level, if a rabbit attacks, it could get really bad.”
“Is that so…”
“That’s right…”
Sasara and Lulu looked dejected.
But on the other hand, Meiko also felt that it might be better for the two to fight.
There was no guarantee that Meiko would still be alive an hour later. In dungeons, that’s a real possibility.
For the two left behind to survive, practical combat experience was essential.
There was also the issue of Meiko’s magic power.
It was being consumed very quickly.
To conserve it, having them fight together would help…
Meiko hesitated.
She was ready to dive into adventure, but was it okay to let the two do the same?
…If you don’t know, just ask.
“Do you two want to fight too?”
“We will fight!”
“Nyau!”
They looked very happy.
It seemed they really wanted to fight.
“Okay. But first, let’s fight together. We’ll fight when the enemy is weakened. Is that okay?”
“Of course!”
“Nyau! I’ll take them down with ninja skills!”
So, it was decided that the two would join the fight.
Meiko suddenly thought of something and asked.
“Can you show me your statuses?”
“Nyau, sure.”
With that, Lulu first showed her status.
—————
Nagare Lulu
15 years old
Job: None
Karma: +1699 《Want to fight together +30》
Level: 0
Mana: 18
Skill:
[Apprentice Ninja]
Title:
[The One Who Congratulated Earth-san]
—————
Lulu’s karma was higher than Meiko’s.
This also showed Lulu’s good nature.
“Wow, Lulu also congratulated Earth-san.”
“Did Meeko too?”
“Yeah. Here.”
Meiko also revealed her status.
—————
Hitsujiya Meiko
15 years old
Job: Apprentice Magic Book User
Karma: +1490
Level: 5
Magic Power: 17/62
Skill:
[Synthesis Enhancement 1]
Job Skill:
[Magic Book Release]
[Magic Book Equipment Slot +1]
[Magic Book Equip: Small Magic Attack]
[Magic Book Operation Correction: Small]
[Magic Book Creation: Beginner]
[Magic Book User’s Knowledge]
Title:
[The One Who Congratulated Earth-san] [First-Floor Solo Clearer]
—————
The Professor had said that everyone starts at level 0.
You only level up after defeating enemies.
Through testing, it was found that you don’t need to defeat them alone; contribution seems to be key.
So far, the two hadn’t done anything, so they were still level 0.
This was bad. Meiko deeply regretted not realizing it sooner.
On the other hand, Meiko’s status had leveled up to 5.
Thanks to the Aozora Training Dojo, her karma had also increased.
Her job skills hadn’t been fully developed yet. It might take more time.
That was fine, but the real problem was the rapid depletion of magic power.
Right from the start, she only had 17 magic power left.
Magic power was used at 5 per Water Bullet and 5 per synthesis enhancement.
One battle used 15, and synthesizing drops used another 5. Total of 20.
It naturally recovered a little over 1 per minute, but the enemy appearances were outpacing the recovery.
While Meiko felt this sense of crisis, Lulu’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Meiko’s status.
“Nyau-mazing! Meeko is small but strong!”
“I-I’m not small!”
“You are small, Nyau?”
“I’m not small!”
“Waaah, are you mad?”
“A little.”
“Sorry, Nyau!”
Mik-kyu!
Meiko, a loli who admired slender beauties, decided she had to try synthetic milk as soon as possible.
While feeling a sense of defeat in Lulu’s embrace, Meiko made up her mind.
“S-So, what about Sasara’s status?”
Breaking free from Lulu’s hug, Meiko asked Sasara.
Sasara, who had been pouting a bit, quickly cheered up when Meiko spoke to her.
Meiko was a gigolo.
“My status is like this!”
—————
Sasagasa Sasara
15 years old
Job: None
Karma: +1552 《Want to fight together +30》
Level: 0
Magic Power: 16/16
Skill:
[Armor Performance Up – Small]
Title:
[The One Who Congratulated Earth-san]
—————
“Wow! Sasara also blessed Earth-san?”
“Of course. Praising those who have accomplished something is what a lady should do.”
“Ugh!”
Meiko was dazzled by the pure light emanating from Sasara.
In comparison, Meiko’s praise had been completely casual.
Meanwhile, Lulu seemed to have clapped because Earth-san was happy. She was pure-hearted.
And Sasara’s karma was also higher than Meiko’s.
This was the power of the pure-hearted…!
They resumed their exploration and encountered an enemy.
It was another Pestle Rabbit.
Were there a lot of Pestle Rabbit?
In the Loli Labyrinth, Spring Balloons and Magic Books appeared about half the time, but maybe it was different in this dungeon.
It was only the fourth one, so it was hard to say.
Meiko fired two Water Bullets.
The first hit the body, and the second successfully hit the hand holding the pestle. This caused the pestle to fly out of the Pestle Rabbit’s hand.
“Sasara, Lulu, let’s go!”
“Y-Yes!”
“Nyau!”
Meiko, who had been attacking from a distance until now, called out to the two and rushed forward.
In her left hand was a pair of scissors, in her right was a good stick she found nearby, and around her was a magic book.
Here, they made a fortunate discovery.
Perhaps Pestle Rabbit couldn’t function without their pestles, as it ignored Meiko and the others and moved toward the dropped pestle.
Without the pestle, its movements were only slightly slower than a normal rabbit’s, but it was full of openings.
Meiko closed the distance with a full-speed dash and struck the Pestle Rabbit’s head with a magic book attack.
The rabbit’s face looked like it might say “Nipaa!” but Meiko’s actions were more like “Doraa!” with no hesitation!
The Pestle Rabbit, which was almost within reach of the pestle, was slammed into the pillar of a torii gate by the blow.
Sasara followed up with a powerful thrust, pinning the Pestle Rabbit against the pillar.
The thrust embedded itself in the rabbit’s throat.
Sasara’s flaxen hair danced as she moved, then fell back, only to dance again without rest.
She relentlessly beat the Pestle Rabbit with the Pestle Handle Sword.
Even though it had lost its pestle, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t counterattack.
So Meiko stayed focused, ready to support with a magic book attack at any moment.
After such an assault, the Pestle Rabbit disappeared in a flash of light.
“Huff… huff…”
Sasara stared at the spot where the Pestle Rabbit had disappeared, catching her breath and biting her lower lip to hold back something welling up inside. Tears gathered at the corners of her slightly fierce eyes.
Seeing this, Meiko, who had seen her own reflection in Sasara when she first defeated a spring balloon, rubbed Sasara’s back.
Sasara took a deep breath and then smiled at Meiko.
“Total victory!”
“Hehe, yeah, that’s right.”
Meiko thought Sasara was strong, even as she spoke with a trembling but bright voice.
They started walking again.
“By the way, Sasara, you’re really good with a sword. That first thrust was like, whoosh!”
“Yes, it’s thanks to Master’s teachings.”
“I see, that makes sense.”
The master of the Aozora Training Dojo was a good teacher.
The first thing he taught the powerless girls was escape techniques, which showed his worth.
Next, he taught them evasion and other body movements, but sword attacks weren’t a major focus yet.
The strike Sasara showed this time was just a small part of what she had learned.
It was a stylish strike, quite different from Meiko’s first clumsy battle.
With the defeat of the Pestle Rabbit, Sasara leveled up to 1.
But more than that, this battle had brought a significant discovery.
The Pestle Rabbit’s obsession with its pestle.
Even while Sasara was beating it, it prioritized retrieving the pestle and showed no signs of counterattacking.
Was this just that one individual, or was it common to all of them? If the latter, battles would become much easier.
Due to the rapid depletion of magic power, Meiko decided to hold off on synthesizing the rabbit fur this time.
After a while, they encountered another Pestle Rabbit.
This time, it was Lulu’s turn.
Meiko handed the Pestle Handle Sword to Lulu, and the battle began.
Meiko carefully aimed and fired a Water Bullet.
It successfully knocked the pestle away, and the Pestle Rabbit rushed to retrieve it.
“Ah!”
So that’s how they are!?
Meiko felt a not insignificant thrill at this major discovery.
After all, if this obsession was unique to that one individual, they could have been in serious trouble.
The fact that Meiko and the others were still in one piece was solely due to their long-range magic attacks.
This discovery was a lifeline, and there was no way she couldn’t be happy about it.
Having predicted and tested this behavior, Meiko reacted faster this time and rushed out.
With plenty of room to spare, she struck the Pestle Rabbit’s head with a magic book attack.
Next, Lulu rushed out and struck the dazed Pestle Rabbit on the stone pavement with the Pestle Handle Sword.
Lulu, perhaps frightened by what she was doing, shed tears as she struck.
Despite her mature appearance, Lulu was still a 15-year-old girl.
“Hang in there, Lulu!”
When the Pestle Rabbit got up and ran for the pestle, Meiko knocked it away with a magic book attack, and Lulu relentlessly beat it.
Sasara, watching Lulu’s struggle, had tears in her eyes—no, tears streaming down her face—as she cheered her on.
Unlike Sasara’s battle, this time they had only hit it with one Water Bullet.
So, it took a while to defeat.
After many, many strikes, the Pestle Rabbit finally disappeared in a flash of light.
“Ugh, uuuh, guh! C-Complete victory, . Gushuu!”
Clutching the Pestle Handle Sword and wiping her tears with her sleeve, Lulu spoke.
It’s no big deal, so don’t worry—both of them sensed such consideration in Lulu’s words of “Complete victory, .”
Having gone through the same experience, the two understood Lulu’s feelings all too well and sat down to comfort her.
But dungeons don’t allow for indulgence.
Leaving Lulu to Sasara, Meiko stood guard with teary eyes.
“I-I’m okay now, ! Merci beaucoup, Sasara.”
“No, I was scared too. So we’re even.”
After a while, Lulu calmed down and ended her moping time.
“Merci beaucoup, Meeko.”
“It’s okay. You’re a girl, so it’s fine to cry. I cried before too.”
“But Meeko is strong now, .”
“I was attacked by a monster with a Water Bullet. If I hadn’t tripped by chance, I’d be dead by now. That’s why it’s easier for me to think of monsters as enemies compared to you two.”
“…I see, .”
“Lulu, you attacked the rabbit many times to defeat it, but if left alone, the rabbit would have done the same to you and us with even greater force. So, you don’t need to feel sad.”
“Nyau… Nyau! Dungeons are scary places, . They’re like the Duke of Yakiniku, !”
“The Duke of Yakiniku…”
Probably someone who’s noisy when eating yakiniku.
Not wanting to dampen her friend’s fiery determination, Meiko muttered under her breath and swallowed her words.
“I understand, Meeko. I will become a Shura from now on, !”
“Then I shall also become a Shura. I won’t let Lulu have all the coolness, .”
Lulu made fists with both hands and puffed up.
Sasara elegantly tucked her hair behind her ear and struck a cool pose.
The two girls had entered the realm of Shura.
“Fuhuhu, welcome to the new world.”
Meiko spread her arms in a theatrical, slightly charred pose and welcomed the Shura girls with her Japanese-accented English.