237. Mutual Growth

Behemoth, Leviathan, Garuda, Odin.

The four newly summoned beasts blocked my path.

“GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Behemoth was the first to move.

Shaking its massive frame, it charged straight at me. What was terrifying was its speed, which completely defied its enormous size. Behemoth closed the distance to my very eyes in an instant!

(Hey now, this speed with that massive body is cheating…)

I had already checked the stats and skills of the four summons using “Low-tier Divine Eye.”

First, Behemoth—its stats themselves are quite high, but what I need to be even more careful of are its two unique race skills: “Giant Beast Adoration” and “Giant Beast Bulwark.”

『Giant Beast Adoration』

Once only, fully recovers physical wounds and activates three skills: “Hypertrophy,” “Hardening,” and “Berserk.”

『Giant Beast Bulwark』

Generates crystals that completely defend against external attacks. These crystals have the power to block all attacks, but during that time, Behemoth cannot move or attack. Once activated, “Giant Beast Bulwark” requires an interval twice the length of its activation time before it can be used again.

That was the skill effect revealed by “Low-tier Divine Eye.” Both are counter-type skills that trigger powerful effects as the body is damaged. Without an appraisal-type skill, these would be perfect “first-time kill” skills that are difficult to handle.

(In other words, its charge assumes it will take damage…)

It’s a nasty tactic: dealing damage to the enemy while being prepared for self-destruction, only to recover from the damage received and power up further.

But if you “know” it, that tactic won’t work. I just have to dodge.

(Libera-san must have noticed that I used “Low-tier Divine Eye” the moment she summoned them…)

The fact that she sent Behemoth charging despite me knowing the summons’ information meant—

“SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

In an instant, Garuda and Leviathan appeared from behind Behemoth.

“So that’s how it is!”

Behemoth’s charge was a blind. Its purpose was to forcibly block my vision with its massive body and use that blind spot to get the other two summons close to me!

“I already knew that from my search skills!”

I immediately activated a ninja art.

“Smoke Style Jutsu!”

A massive amount of smoke instantly enveloped the area.

(Behemoth excels in smell, Leviathan in hearing, and Garuda in sight.)

These were the characteristics I learned through “Low-tier Divine Eye.” Behemoth has a developed sense of smell, Leviathan hearing, and Garuda vision.

So, first, I block their sight with this smoke. Garuda has search-type skills, but they are mostly dependent on vision, like “Vision Enhancement” or “Night Vision.” It can’t track me in this smoke.

(Next is this!)

I threw the object I took from my Item Box straight at the horn on Behemoth’s forehead. Even in the smoke, my throwing—aided by skills—hit Behemoth’s horn without being off by a millimeter. The object, unable to withstand the impact against the hard horn, let out a pshht! and sprayed its contents right onto Behemoth’s face and nose.

“Ah—…? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~! GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Whether the impact was that tremendous or not, Behemoth rolled around on the spot, unable to bear it. I guess even for a monster, that smells terrible…

What I threw was a can of Surströmming, famous for being the smelliest in the world. As for where I got it, it was through “Online Shopping.”

It’s the “Net” skill Ichinose-san obtained when her “Shut-in” job leveled up. While her level was low, she could only search the pre-merge internet or access limited homepages, but as her level rose, various functions like Google M*ps and Online Shopping were expanded.

Currently, only food and daily necessities can be obtained through “Online Shopping.” But thanks to that, the food situation in the Safe Zone has improved significantly. …As a bonus, she received gratitude from many people, and her social anxiety worsened. The currency for online shopping is magic stones. A single microscopic magic stone can buy about 100,000 yen worth of goods, so it’s a real bargain.

(I bought it as a trial since rare things were available, and it was the right choice.)

This might work not just on monsters but on otherworlders too. People tend to overlook guarding against smells. If I store it in the Item Box in an already opened state, I wouldn’t even need the effort I just made. …The downside is that the Item Box becomes incredibly smelly when stored. Momo and the others won’t even come near me.

(At any rate, that leaves only Leviathan.)

In its case, it’s hearing, but I currently have no way to seal hearing. However, I don’t need to crush it; there’s another way.

“—Earth Style Jutsu.”

The ground rippled like the surface of water, and I dived into the earth. When moving underground with Earth Style, no sound is generated. Silent movement is possible. And if I combine it with stealth-type skills, Leviathan cannot track me.

—With this, I close in on the main objective at once.

Moving through the ground at high speed, I closed the distance instantly.

“—Oyo?”

“Ts!?”

When I emerged above ground, I saw the surprised expressions of Libera-san and Odin right in front of me. In an instant, Odin—who was standing behind her—readied his spear, but I was faster at activating the next ninja art!

“Lightning Style Jutsu!”

“”Ts—!? “”

A pale flash of lightning materialized. Unlike the Lightning Style I had been imbuing into weapons, this time I activated it purely as an attack. The generated lightning stiffened Libera-san and Odin’s bodies for an instant.

“—’Divine Power Release’!”

At that moment, my stats shot up all at once, and a sense of omnipotence enveloped my body.

“—’Sunset Territory’!”

While in that state, I activated my territory skill. It forcibly changed the surroundings to night, further boosting the effects of my skills.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Then, Odin forced himself through the paralysis and stepped forward to protect Libera-san. Tremendous spirit. His loyalty in trying to protect his master is magnificent.

“But—you’re in the way!”

I used the ninja blade from my Item Box to slice Odin to pieces. According to “Low-tier Divine Eye,” Odin’s abilities are “Read Ahead” and “Trajectory Correction.” It’s an unfair tactic of predicting the future a few seconds ahead and throwing the spear to match that future.

(—But even if you can see the future, it’s meaningless if your body can’t ‘react’.)

My Agility under Divine Power Release exceeds 4,000. Odin’s stats are only a little over 1,000. Additionally, he has no skills to strengthen physical speed or reaction speed other than “Read Ahead.” An expression of not understanding what happened until the moment he was cut was visible in Odin’s eyes.

“KIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Leviathan and Garuda, finally noticing, headed toward me, but it was too late.

(Now, only Libera-san is left.)

A battle that lasted less than ten seconds since Behemoth started moving. But within that time, I felt certain that my power had become incomparably stronger than before. A certain feeling of growth. A certain proof of strength. That is why—

“—You pass, Kazuto.”

Libera-san smiled. It was a smile born from acknowledging me. Proof that she recognized me not as something to be protected, but as an equal. Within my ultra-accelerated thoughts and five senses, I saw Libera-san slowly raise her staff.

“—Coordinate Exchange (Change).”

In an instant, Libera-san vanished from my sight. Simultaneously, Zun!!!!!—a tremendous weight and pressure struck my body. My vision was dyed black, and my body let out a scream at the horrific “weight” crashing down on me.

“Ga, ha…!?”

What? What happened? My body was sandwiched between the ground and a black mass; I couldn’t move properly. What is this black mass…? What on earth did Libera-san do?

(This presence… and this smell… No way.)

Finally, I realized the identity of the thing crushing me.

“Goa… Goa…”

“—Behemoth!”

“Correct.”

I heard Libera-san’s voice from a short distance away. That was the position where Behemoth had been just moments ago. In other words—

“You swapped positions… with the summon…”

“I ‘exchanged’ them. Since you guys thought of an interesting tactic, I decided to arrange it in my own way.”

I see—Momo’s “Shadow Crossing” and the teleportation via Aka’s “Coordinate Points.” Libera-san reproduced that by using her own summons. Damn, I can’t move my body… I can’t activate ninja arts.

“I am also learning and growing.”

I heard Libera-san’s voice. My vision was completely blocked, but she was likely readying her staff. I could feel a vast convergence of energy.

“Until now, I only fired magic from the rear with summons as shields. But after watching you all and fighting the Wolf King, I changed my mind. As long as we are fighting the vanguard, I can’t stay as I was. I have to become even stronger.”

During the fight with the Wolf King, Libera-san was forced to fight while controlling her power. It seems that experience changed her.

“Coordinate Exchange is possible as many times as I want as long as there are summons. In other words, to land an attack on me, it’s impossible unless you defeat all the summons or attack me along with all the summons.”

“…Th-that’s practically impossible—”

It might be possible if fighting in a party, but in a one-on-one, it’s absolutely impossible.

“Well, you’ll just have to do your best from now on. It was fun, Kazuto.”

Ah, dammit… I thought I’d made it pretty far, but I still can’t reach Libera-san. But there’s still time. With Ichinose-san, Momo, Aka, Kiki—with everyone, I will definitely catch up to her strength. And we will win against the vanguard and seize our future.

“Boom.”

“Fubera!?”

An explosion, then an impact. Libera-san blew me away with magic, along with the Behemoth crushing me.

『KAZUTOOOOO!?』

“Kyuuuuuu!?”

I heard the screams of Kiki and Shiro. I-It’s okay, the current me won’t die from just this… probably. While savoring the joy of growth and the bitterness of defeat, my consciousness went dark.

Skill: Coordinate Exchange (Change)

Freely swaps the positions of Libera and a summon she has called. Swapping between summons is also possible. Libera is currently working on an improvement to incorporate “Substitution,” allowing her to swap damage as well.

A kusoge (trash game).

End of 237