Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu Chapter 50

Defense Specialization and Eliminating the Squid 3

「That was my attack, so…」

Sally muttered when she landed.

Next to her, Maple had been falling.

Even though she fell 25 meters, she didn’t take any damage.

Her endurance was absurd.

In contrast, the squid had relatively low HP and defense.

It was obvious from the fact that even Sally’s attacks were scraping off its HP bar.

With this giant squid being hit by Maple’s powerful attack, there was no surprise that its HP would be reduced by 20% with just one hit.

「With this, we’ve cut the time down to three hours, right?」

「That’s still three hours to go…」

There were no more uses of Maple’s 【Eating Inedibles】 left. They wouldn’t be able to do the same thing again.

「Ah, it spat out squid ink again.」

「The sea was so beautiful, but now…」

There was nothing that remained from the beautiful blue sea that was now full of squid ink and poison.

「Well then, I’m running away again, aren’t I?」

「Yup. 【Provocation】!」

Maple took the fish on.

Since Sally could get rid of the water scattered by the fish with fire-type attacks, she ran around, creating a minimal-length path for herself.

「I have no idea how she can run like that…」

Fatigue in the game could be reduced by getting used to VR games.

In order not to get tired of running around, you would have to get used to playing for a long time.

That part could not be covered by skills.

And so, two hours of waiting later.

The squid’s HP was down to 10%.

「Huh? The fish…」

The fish lost the blue effect they were wrapped in and even the water in their bodies, and instantly eroded away.

The disappearing effects floated up in the air and were absorbed by the squid’s body.

「Something’s coming!」

「Got it!」

Maple held up her great shield.

After 【Eating Inedibles】 was used up, she could finally use it as a shield.

The giant squid shuddered and leapt out of the water, wrapped in the same blue effect as the fish.

The powerful blue light held its huge body up.

「It’s coming!」

「【Cover Move】! 【Cover】!」

Maple shouted and the squid charged at the same time.

Sally was able to evade while Maple, who had used 【Cover】 just in case, was sent flying, taking the attack with her body.

After it jumped out, the squid splashed loudly into the opposite side of the wall of water.

Maple’s HP bar was shaved down by about 40%.

The damage she had taken was doubled because of 【Cover Move】.

This was only the second time Sally had seen an opponent get through Maple’s armor with its sheer firepower.

「It powered up?… kh!」

Sally cast 【Heal】 on Maple and followed the giant squid with her eyes.

The fact that it was coming closer meant that she had a chance to attack it.

「Dodge… then slash!」

Sally was determined, but the squid’s target was Maple.

「【Super Acceleration】!」

Sally went after the squid that went after Maple.

Though she took a slowdown, she swung her daggers down hard.

「【Triple Slash】!」

Sally landed a series of six blows as she passed directly under the squid.

「【Poison Lance】」

Maple’s poison lance pierced the squid’s head.

Maple took some damage from the charge, but the squid took a lot of damage as well.

It flew into the water again, splashing loudly.

「We’ll take it down next time!」

「We’re almost done! Let’s do this!」

The two followed the movements of the squid in preparation for a charge.

They were trying to make the most of their precious opportunity.

Meanwhile, the squid readied itself and tried to jump out.

「It’s coming!」

「Yup!」

Just as the two of them whipped out their weapons…

The HP bar of the squid, affected by poison, finally went empty.

「「Eh?」」

The squid’s body turned into light and disappeared.

The dirty water was purified.

A glow shimmered in the water like the light of the sun shining through, then gradually faded away.

「…It doesn’t feel right.」

「…I get you.」

It was an unsatisfying victory for the two.

Nevertheless, a win was a win.

A deep blue magic circle appeared in front of the two.

「Do we get on?」

「What’s the reward?」

「Hm… there’s gotta be something, so I’m gonna go look in the water, okay?」

「Please do!」

Sally entered the water.

The poison was gone, so she could explore to her heart’s content.

「I could have let Syrup go too if he were a sea turtle…」

Maple was watching Sally swim around, and after a while she came back.

「Just one squid tentacle.」

「What about medals?」

「Um… I don’t think there were any. I searched the area around the coral… more importantly, I don’t think they’d put the reward somewhere where it would be hard to find.」

「Indeed…」

Disappointed by the lack of medals, the two got on the magic circle.

The two thought they were going to return to the top of the cliff, but they hadn’t even expected the transfer destination to be underwater.

「W-what about breathing!? W-what do I do!?」

「Hm-m? Maple! You can breathe!」

「Eh!? H-huh? That’s true…」

She could speak without any problems.

Although she could feel the water, she did not seem to be suffocating.

「What a strange place…」

「Is this the 【tranquil blue sea】?」

As Sally said, it was tranquil where the two were.

When the two were silent, the only sound they could hear was the intermittent sound of bubbles in the blue sea.

It was as if they were at the bottom of the sea and yet so close to the water surface.

In that space, dominated by a soothing blue that made them feel like they would fall asleep at any moment, there was a blue treasure chest surrounded by coral.

「I’ll open it, okay?」

There were two medals and two scrolls inside.

Maple stashed the medals away.

Sally picked up the scrolls and looked at the information.

「What’s the skill’s name?」

「【Ancient Sea】. You can get it if you have a water-type skill… and it allows you to summon the fish wrapped in blue light from earlier.」

The fish from earlier that Sally was talking about were those fish that they had seen so many times in the battle with the squid.

From what Sally read out, that liquid also had the 【AGI 10% Reduction】 attribute.

For Maple, it was a skill she didn’t have much use for, but Sally would be able to further develop her tactics.

「Uhh… Does 【Hydra】 not count?」

「I don’t see why it would be water-type.」

「Right.」

Although she did give it a try, Maple was unable to learn it.

Maple put the scroll away in her inventory, holding onto it for some other time.

After closing the treasure chest, the two lay down.

They were tired from the long battle and exploring the ruins on the fifth day.

The fifth day began with their encounter with Kanade.

The two felt that this day had been an intense one.

「Maybe we should take it easy for a day or so.」

「Ahaha… indeed.」

The two decided to sleep, thinking how they might be able to relax for the seventh day or so if they had the medals to spare.

Here was a good place to sleep.

「Let’s rest… for a bit.」

「Sure…」

The tranquil sea that enveloped the two was their most comfortable place to sleep so far.