NOVEL NEXT Book 20: Chapter 3 (9)
Based on the pattern so far, everyone thought there was a supply area, but what unfolded beyond that was a strange scene where buildings and ground intermingled.
Some buildings had sunken bottoms, while others had brick-shaped blocks of earth piled up on the sides.
Other buildings were more or less buried or sunken, and not a single one was decent.
“Isn’t this a bit too outrageous?”
Filma looked appalled, as the place was so different from the previous supply sites.
Schnee and the others had the same thought since the place was in such a shambles that it looked like it was telling them something was wrong.
“I thought we had to cross one or two more arenas to get to the deep end, but I guess we’ll have to change our minds about that.”
“The pattern of events doesn’t seem to be reliable.”
They knew from the beginning that it was not only the abandoned cities of the event. But things were going so well so far.
“Got it.”
Each of them headed towards the back of the area while paying attention to their surroundings.
Although the buildings were strange, there was still a straight line that looked like it could have been a road.
Schnee maximized and activated her detection skills.
It was not as convenient as the player’s map function, but if it worked, she could get some idea of the terrain.
“I’m going to continue on the straight route.”
“Do you have a clue?”
“No, just get to the edge of the area. There has always been a door to the next location at the edge of the area, so at worst, it will serve as a guide to the next direction. However, this is not the case if the skill’s effect is not applied correctly.”
The boundaries of the area she learned using skills were blurry and ambiguous. Schnee had no experience with it being this ineffective.
“Is it just that the supply place is out of whack, or beyond that, too? It’s always when you need to hurry that things go wrong.”
“Oh, yes. It happens.”
It was probably Shibaid’s way of saying it lightly. Filma, who was in agreement with Shibaid, did not change her tone.
It may not have been in response to the exchange between the two, but there was a change in the area.
Kagerou growled and snarled.
From the way it was moving itself not in one direction but here and there, it seemed that the enemy was not a single entity.
There was no noticeable change in Schnee’s search range. However, there were things that caught on when searching for enemies that relied on her five senses other than her skills.
“It’s coming from underground!”
A few seconds after Schnee’s warning, black humanoids appeared from the ground.
The appearance was the same as the humanoids that they had fought in the arena so far. The difference was that each individual was equipped with weapons and armor.
“The rule that says the number of humanoids that come out is equal to the number of people who enter the arena doesn’t seem to apply this time.”
Filma said as she cut away a spear that had sprouted from the ground.
A total of ten humanoids emerged from the ground. They formed in a circle surrounding the party.
Three of them point their weapons at Shibaid and Filma, four at Sety and Tiera, and three at Schnee.
This seemed to be a way of separating the vanguard, the rear guard, and even the main fighter role. Sety and her group have one more, probably because of the Kagerou.
“Only Schnee’s opponents are different in number and quality. Is that because they’re on their guard?”
Did they see through her ability, or did they judge that she had troublesome abilities based on her position?
The three humanoid figures pointing the sword at Schnee were fully armed with full body armor and even a shield.
As Shibaid said, it was obvious at a glance that the three were different from the other seven.
“No problem. Everyone should deal with it on their own.”
Schnee announced as she readied her 『Blue Moon』 and stepped towards the humanoid figures.
There was some distance between the humanoid figures and Schnee when they emerged from the ground, but Schnee was able to close the distance with them in a single step.
Suddenly, Schnee’s figure seemed to vanish, and the next moment, her figure wielding 『Blue Moon』 appeared and disappeared in front of a humanoid figure.
Three times in that order: center, right, left. Only the arcing trajectory of 『Blue Moon』 remained in place for a slightly longer time, but it also fade away.
At that point, the humanoid finally moved.
Schnee muttered as she was close enough to lend a hand to both Shibaid and Sety.
“Do you need help?”
The humanoid moved to attack Schnee, who was turning her attention to her companions and showing her back to them.
But they were unaware that they already had no weapons in their hands. Not only the hand that held the weapon. Knees, shoulders, and necks were falling apart.
The sound of the weapons and armor worn by the humanoids colliding sounded instead of the screams of death.
““No way!””
In response to Schnee’s question, the same words were uttered at the same time by the vanguard duo of Shibaid and Filma.
When Shibaid mowed down 『Placid Moon』, the humanoid lost its balance along with the weapon it was trying to wield. Filma then struck the humanoid with a flash of her 『Scarlet Moon』. With that alone, the three humanoids were cut in half.
It was a combination that made them think that they needed support. But the quality of the humanoids was lower than that of the ones facing Schnee, so it was a foregone conclusion.
“It seems like there’s no problem with either of them.”
Beyond Schnee’s sight, Sety and the others were also defeating the humanoids without any difficulty.
Two of them had been demolished by Sety’s magic, one had fist-sized holes in its head and torso, and the remaining one had had its head torn off by Kagerou.
“Looks like this isn’t the end. Let’s hurry.”
At Schnee’s urging, they proceed to the back of the area.
However, before the defeated humanoid completely disappeared, the ground shook.
There were various things that popped out, including weapons and limbs, but there was no doubt that they were all humanoid.
There weren’t any individuals of a different rank like those heading towards Schnee, but there were more of them this time.
“I’ll erect a defensive barrier. Come closer to me!”
Shibaid shouted as he saw more and more individuals with staffs and bows. He proceeded to blow away the other melee humanoids with his body.
“There’s a door in front, but a lot of humanoids gathered there.”
Filma stepped forward in response to Schnee’s warning.
“So they’re going ahead of us. Then I’ll go and kick them out.”
If they were stuck, one way out would be to use magic to destroy the humanoids all at once, but in that case, there was a possibility that the door would also be destroyed.
Although it was standard for this kind of door to be indestructible in games, it could not be said that this was the case in this world as well.
Up until now, the door had been opened and passed through normally, so Schnee and his team did not know how much of an attack it would take to break it.
Even if they were able to break the door and move on, they would not do so because of the avalanche of humanoids that would probably overwhelm them.
“If we go through the door, do you think they will give up?”
“Let’s just do what we can. Then, I’ll be on my way.”
Filma kicked the ground hard after saying this to Sety.
Filma jumped out of Shibaid’s defensive barrier and was inundated with arrows and magic, but she used her armor’s ability to blast magic power and flew to the door in a single bound.
The humanoid, which could still attack at long range, aimed at Filma, but was unable to catch her as she switched the direction of the blast and zigzagged through the air.
Filma, who was holding the 『Scarlet Moon』 as if she were carrying it, landed a short distance away from the door. At the same time, she swung down 『Scarlet Moon』, obliterating the humanoid figures directly below and gouging out the ground.
Flames were glowing on the blade of the 『Scarlet Moon』 as if they were engulfing it. The flames did not disappear even after burning the humanoid figures, and were sucked into the ground. After a short time lag, the flames danced around Filma.
Swordsmanship/Flame Combination Skills 【Flame Edge】.
This skill produced flames within a certain range from the point where the weapon was inserted, and additional damage from burns and scalds occurred even if the weapon went out of the range of the flames.
This skill would also work as a substitute for fire enchantment without producing flames.
“I need to watch out for the door.”
There was a gaping hole around Filma in the flames of 【Flame Edge】.
She landed where the door was not within the range of the flames, so the door was unharmed, but there were still humanoid figures in front of it.
Before the humanoids could move, Firma held 『Scarlet Moon』 at her waist, kicked the ground, and plunged into them.
Not only because her opponent’s level had increased, but also because there were more of them, the thrusting swords and spears from the humanoids grazed Filma’s arms and shoulders.
However, even the blades that hit what appeared to be nothing more than bare skin were unable to hurt her, and they were repelled with sparks produced.
The weapons held by the humanoids were unable to penetrate the defense of the magic armor made by a High Human.
A step, a flash.
The weapon, the armor, and the humanoids themself were all cut in half.
Before the pieces could fall to the ground, Firma slashed at the next opponent.
She swung through 『Scarlet Moon』 and made a full turn without losing her momentum. With a centrifugal force added to the cleave, more than a dozen humanoids were sent flying through the air.
“Let’s move on!”
The group led by Shibaid rushed into the space that Filma had just opened up.
Shibaid moved to the rear of the group as if to protect the door, and deployed a defensive barrier.
Filma then jumped in. Shibaid, who was adept at dealing with defensive barriers, created a hole just for Filma to pass through.
Shibaid made sure that everyone had passed through the door, and finally slipped into the closing door.
Just in case, Shibaid held his shield up against the door, and Schnee and the others who entered first took a look around.
“…It seems okay.”
There was no sign of the door being pushed from the other side.
There was no doubt that the doors separated each area.
If the order was correct, they should be at the supply location.
But this place was the arena.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a humanoid figure appeared at any time, but considering the previous area, everyone at the party thought that things wouldn’t be the same here.
“Here we go.”
In the center of the arena, the humanoids appeared.
There were five of them. Although nobody knew why the number was smaller than it should be, they were still the enemy.
Before the humanoids could fully take shape, Sety unleashed her magic. As in the arena once before, she had prepared before the humanoid appeared.
However, the results were not the same.
“I wonder if they are sharing information. You can’t dodge them at first sight, can you?”
“Their movements also seem different from before.”
Filma and Shibaid grew wary of the humanoid’s agile movements.
All of the humanoids dodged, and Sety, with a hint of frustration, deployed another magic skill.
“Are you sure you’re going to guess…wait a minute, that’s…”
There was a hint of confusion in Sety’s voice.
Schnee and the others were the same way.
The humanoid shape appeared different, and it was now possible to clearly tell what kind of person it was.
The man in the bluish thief-like clothes, had a mask that hid half his face and holding a walking stick.
A woman in a crimson robe holding a staff as tall as she was.
A man in a golden merchant’s outfit with two dolls in tow.
A woman with a fluttering silver cloak and a whip at the ready.
A woman wearing a white chef’s suit with the length adjusted for ease of movement and holding a willow-leaf knife.
The name of each was―
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