NOVEL NEXT Chapter 171: A Ray of Hope
TN: Shout-Outs Section!
<<Scheduled report.>>
<<Shout-Out Progress for February: 3/4>>
*****
When we arrive at the City Hall, we see that all hell has broken loose. This is even worse than we expected.
“Hey! What are those vines?!”
“Is that a new monster!?”
“Are we really safe here?”
“Is that monster like the Dragon from yesterday!?”
“Help us!”
“I can’t go on anymore! We’re all going to die here!!”
“My mother was eaten by a tree! Why doesn’t anyone remember?!”
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!!”
“Where are the mayor and Fujita-san!?”
“Please come out!”
“My child! Where’s my child!?”
“Someoneeeeee!”
“Calm down! Please calm down, everyone!”
“Senpai, this isn’t going to work!”
“Still, we must do something about it! We can’t give up before we try everything we can!”
“N-no way!”
These people that are causing a commotion at the entrance of the City Hall should be the refugees.
They’re probably at or near LV 0.
Only Chief Shimizu, Nijou, and a few other City Hall staffs are trying to stall them.
Fujita-san and Mayor Uesugi are nowhere to be found.
(Fujita-san’s presence is… at the meeting room.)
I can sense that Nishino-kun and Student Council President Igarashi are there as well.
They’re apparently in the middle of a discussion.
“Wow, this is something, alright. Onii-san, how are we supposed to move forward?”
“Well, it’s not like we must enter through the front door.”
We’ve already set up Aka’s “Coordinates” inside the City Hall.
We won’t have to push through the crowd if we use “Shadow Migration”.
Since my stealth skills are activated, no one will notice even if we push through the crowd.
However, Ichinose-san will throw up for sure, so that plan’s rejected.
“Aren’t you going to stop that?”
Rikka-chan asks as she points at the entrance of the City Hall.
“Yes, we can have them take care of this matter.”
Nijou, Chief Shimizu, and the rest of the City Hall staffs are definitely all above LV 10.
Nijou seems to be almost crying, but there should be a considerable difference in status between her and the people that are causing a scene.
I’m sure they’ll manage somehow.
“No, I’m talking about your business with your Kouhai…You know what, whatever.”
“?”
Rikka-chan mumbles something. What’s up with her?
In any case, we should concentrate on the matter at hand.
“Momo, please.”
“Wan!”
The “Shadow” beneath our feet spreads out, instantly swallowing us up.
By travelling through the “Shadow”, we reach the meeting room swiftly.
After knocking on the door, we enter.
Fujita-san, Mayor Uesugi, Student Council President Igarashi, and Nishino-kun are present.
The remnants of the Self Defense Force are also in the room.
“Good morning, Kudou-san.”
Student Council President Igarashi greets me as soon as I step into the room.
I’m almost amazed at how composed she is after everything that has happened between us yesterday.
Observing her more closely, however, her smile feels kind of strained.
As a test, I make a snapping gesture at an angle where only she would be able to see it.
Her body shivers.
(So she’s just putting up a front…)
Aka’s clone has already disappeared from her body, but the psychological effect is still working wonders.
I return a half-hearted greeting, only for Fujita-san to walk up me.
“You must be Kudou-kun. We haven’t had a proper conversation with each other, but I’ve heard about you from Nishino-kun. I’m Fujita Souichiro, a City Hall employee. Nice to meet you.”
“Eh?”
“Hmm?”
Huh?We both cock our heads, puzzled.
Ohhh. Right. I was disguised as Ichinose-san when I fought Titan.
Afterwards, I had Nishino-kun act as an intermediary, so I didn’t get to have a chance to talk with Fujita-san and the mayor.
This is the first time we’re speaking to each other when I’m in my “original form”.
“O-oh, please excuse me. My name is Kudou Kazuto. It’s nice meeting you here.”
“…? The honor is mine …”
Fuijta-san’s expression is dark as we shake hands.
It’s not just Fujita-san. The atmosphere surrounding the meeting room is dark and gloomy overall.
In particular, the members of the Self Defense Force appear to be in utter despair; it’s as if they’ve given up on all hope.
(…Makes sense.)
After all, the moment they woke up from their slumbers, they had to face a monster of such ridiculous magnitude.
Their despair is understandable.
We sit down near Nishino-kun.
“Where are Shibata-kun and the rest?”
“They’re handling the issue with the refugees downstairs. Goshogawara-san is particularly good at dealing with people.”
It seems like Goshogawara-san is acquainted with a surprising number of people.
As expected of a log user.
When I conduct a search using “Enemy Detection”, I sense Shibata-kun and the others standing near the front entrance.
(We slipped past each other because of “Shadow Migration”…)
Putting Goshogawara-san aside, will Shibata-kun be alright?
With his rash personality, he might cause even more chaos by blowing away the refugees…
Nishino-kun laughs as if he can see through my worries.
“It’s okay. Although he isn’t the most patient, he’s not a fool who would needlessly bully the weak.”
Having read my heart, Nishino-kun explains calmly.
Well, I guess it’s fine since Nishino-kun is saying so.
…Hmmm? In that case, what’s up with his attitude towards me?
“The problem that we’re facing right now is far more serious than the commotion below.”
“You’re right…”
Nishino-kun points at the countless vines that can be observed sticking to the invisible walls of the “Safety Zone”.
Beyond the barrier, we can also see the huge tree standing in the middle of the mountain-range.
Both the tree and the vines are so huge that my sense of scale is threatening to spiral out of control.
(This isn’t a movie, you know…)
Actually, even the monsters in Godzilla and Biollante aren’t as huge them.
These aren’t opponents a person can face.
“Honestly, my hands are tied against a monster of this scale…”
Nishino-kun helplessly shrugs, prompting Fujita-san to join the conversation.
“Agreed. According to Nishino-kun, that monster is a Treant. I was plenty surprised when I heard that the trees growing outside were actually monsters, but I didn’t think their evolved form would be this monstrosity. Going beyond surprise, I’m almost feeling fed up with this.”
Fujita-san smiles wryly.
So Nishino-kun told them about the Treants before we arrived.
Since there wasn’t any point in withholding information about monsters, we had agreed beforehand to share the information with those at the City Hall.
“The Superior Species of a monster which could literally prey on someone’s existence…I’m finally beginning to understand what Towada was speaking about.”
Fujita-san turns to face the Self Defense Force.
Everyone including Captain Towada is pale and trembling.
(It’s to be expected…)
Peony is a symbol of trauma for these men.
I’m certain that it was Peony which destroyed the Self Defense Force in the neighboring town.
Although they don’t remember what happened, I’m sure the fear must have been engraved in their bodies.
…Can they even fight in this state?
“Fujita-san, I won’t beat around the bush. Can these men fight?”
“…It would be difficult.”
Hey, isn’t that quite problematic?
The members of the SDF can be considered top level combatants in this City Hall.
You’re telling me that they’re paralyzed by fear? It’s not funny, you know?
“I’ll try to convince them otherwise. Nevertheless, we would need a general idea of what we’re going to do with the monster.”
A general idea, he says.
Simply put—
“We need a plan to defeat the monster.”
Indeed. Unless we have a plan, we won’t be able to do anything.
“But how?”
“That’s what we’re gathered here to do.”
Fujita-san pulls out a cigarette from his pocket and lights it up.
“Since it’s a monster, the Treant won’t be able to intrude upon the ‘Safety Zone’. We’ll have to take advantage of this and test out various strategies at the border.”
He has a point. At present, our only advantage over Peony is the barrier of the “Safety Zone”.
We can conduct one-sided attacks from inside the barrier, just like what we did to repel the Dragon yesterday.
That said, we would still need to be cautious not to get dragged into the aftermath of Peony’s skills.
We should also make sure Peony doesn’t attempt to clog up the “Safety Zone” like Titan did.
(But… what exactly can we do against Peony?)
Against a monster as enormous as Peony, neither the pile bunker nor the Ninjutsus would deal sufficient damage.
In fact, based on our fight yesterday, I can confidently say that I can only deal with a couple of vines at a time.
Even with the addition of Ichinose-san’s sniper attacks and Momo’s “Shadow” support, not much would change. At best, the number of vines we can deal with simultaneously would increase a little.
Unless we have a way to deal direct damage against the Treant’s main body, we have no chance of winning.
(Our opponent is a plant…How can we make use of this fact?)
“Fire” and “Herbicides” were really effective in yesterday’s battles.
Herbicides from local supermarkets and “Fire Element Ninjutsu” were enough to devastate regular Treants.
However, as Peony is so huge, it’ll be impossible to burn it to death unless we drown the entire town in a sea of fire.
On the other hand, if we want to use herbicides against it, we would need to prepare hundreds of liters of them.
Realistically speaking, neither option is feasible.
(Itcan “move” as well…)
That’s the crux of the issue.
We might be able to do something about it if it remains stationary.
The issue here is that Peony could run around despite being a plant.
In other words, we currently require two things—“a method to reliably restrict Peony’s movements and the power to kill it while it’s restricted.”
These are absolute necessities.
On top of that, we must find a way to neutralize all its vines before moving on to its main body.
Yup, it’s impossible.
We’re at a dead end.
(…Should we just run away?)
If I were to abandon the City Hall and escape with Ichinose-san, Momo, Aka, and Kiki, I’m pretty sure we’ll be saved.
Nevertheless, that’s not a permanent solution to the problem.
What’s there to guarantee that Peony won’t follow us?
Would we have to be constantly on the run?
No, that would be unreasonable.
Our spirits will crumble at some point.
Not to mention that we’ve formed so many bonds with the people here…
I can’t cut them off at this point.
(The story would really change if I could either teleport or grow wings and fly.)
To begin with, isn’t this too abnormal?
How can hellish situations like this occur two days in a row?
It’s been less than a day since the Dragon attacked, you know?
“….Hm?”
—W-wait a second.
I heard something click just now.
Firepower that could set the entire town aflame…?
Mobility that could allow us to fly past innumerable vines and reach Peony’s main body…?
“…Ah.”
Right, we have one creature that could do that.
A creature that could fly at extreme speeds and consecutively breathe out powerful breaths.
Dokun. Dokun.
My heart begins to beat crazily.
The moment I become cognizant of the creature’s existence, an insane idea pops up at the back of my head.
“………..”
I know where it is.
It also satisfies all our requirements.
But would it work?
I look down at my status plate.
I’ve yet to decide on my fifth occupation.
My eyes turn to the list of occupations that I can choose from.
(I’m sure that Momo, Aka, and Kiki will oppose this plan…)
Until now, I’ve been actively avoiding “this occupation” as Momo and co. have always advised against it.
Furthermore, ever since I watched “her” gruesome end, I’ve held back from choosing this occupation.
—“Monster Tamer”.
That’s right.
The Monster Tamer girl was able to synergize the effects of “Monster Tamer” and “Profession Enhancement” to subordinate a large number of monsters, including ones like the Dark Wolf.
Although it wasn’t done perfectly, she had also partially succeeded in strengthening the Dark Wolf.
In theory, I should be able to do something similar since I also have the “Profession Enhancement” skill.
(It probably won’t work against Peony, but against “that”—)
I stare at the view outside through the window of the City Hall.
There are countless vines in the air.
Down below, I see the craters which “it” had left behind yesterday.
(Considering the power behind its breath attacks…If I can “strengthen” it with my skill…)
We might be able to overcome this situation.
Yes, what I’m thinking of is—taming the Dragon.
I can already foresee that this would be one heck of a reckless gamble.
*****