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nChapter 64

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nSixty-Fourth Episode~ Jellium Bones

nThe fourth and fifth day pass .

nAs we advance deeper into the labyrinth, we reach the point where we encounter Orcs .

nThis is my first time seeing and Orc .

nIt has a pig face . It has the characteristic nose and large lower lip .

nThe fangs stick out from its mouth .

nThey seem to be a variant Goblin, slightly larger than normal ones .

nThey wear armor and fight with weapons .

nThey seem to be more intelligent than goblins, hiding before attacking in groups .

nHowever, I have presence detection .

nPresence detection discovers the Orcs’ magic essence first, and I alert everyone .

nSo, we advance without receiving the surprise attack by the Orcs .

n“This is nice, I can take it easy thanks to Shuya . ”

nAlberto says while scratching his beast nose .

nHe flicks snot of Igu and laughs . (TL: Ugh, gross . )

nThere is now a magic essence behind a pillar in front of us

nI think it’s an Orc .

nWith the silver shining halberd in one hand, I advance carefully .

nI make eye contact with Rollodinu .

nRollo takes on her panther form and goes around the back of the pillar .

nShe chases out the hidden Orc .

nSurprised by Rollodinu’s sudden appearance, the Orc shouts and runs out from behind the pillar .

n-Now .

nI run and release a with the silver halberd at the escaping Orc .

nThe Orc has a chest plate made of steel, but the spear head of the halberd pierces through, deep into its chest .

nBlood flows down the shaft of the silvery halberd .

n“-As expected . You can collect the ear . ”

nIgu says so and approaches the Orc I killed, cutting off its ear as evidence .

n“Hyu~, fast . I didn’t have the chance to act again . Isn’t Shuya’s perception abnormal? His detection ability surpasses my race’s ‘odor perception . '”

nAlbert leans his head the side and whistles, praising my presence detection while approaching with his dagger drawn .

n“Ah, I have an ability similar to that, but, Albert… I think more orcs are hiding . There are a lot of stone pillars…”

nOnce I get his attention, Albert looks to the front .

n“You’re right…be careful . ”

nThe stone pillars scarcely dot the corridor . The wind blowing through creates an atmosphere of ancient underground ruins .

nOh, there’s another reaction .

nAlbert seems to have noticed the orc too, readying his weapon .

nHis tiger face is focused and his nose twitches .

nThe sharpness of his eyes carries the savagery of a beast .

nHe is staring in the direction where presence detection discovered a magic essence .

nHeh, this is the odor detection skill .

nAlbert uses the packed physique of a tiger beastman, quietly approaching the pillar’s shadow .

nHis footsteps are silent . Incredibly nimble… Oh, Albert bends his head to avoid something, then jumps like a ballerina . (TL: That mental image . )

nAn arrow . The arrow strikes the ground where Albert was standing .

nThe orc has a bow .

nHowever, Albert is a beastman . The superior light warrior . His movement to avoid the arrow was smooth and natural . It was fast too .

n-Then, Albert suddenly raises a strange cry .

nHe makes the sound intentionally, running behind the pillar .

n“Ga-”

nThen, the orc scream is heard .

nIt seems that Igu cut it off and they killed it .

nAlbert appears to have intentionally attracted the archer’s attention .

nIgu collects the orc ear and returns .

n“There we go, take it . ”

nAlbert laughs and says to Igu .

n“Fuun, of course . Albert . You’re a regular ‘pig killer . '”

n“Pretty much . I tried to adjust the timing for Igu o-san . ”

nThis tiger beastman and dwarf seem to have worked together before .

nThey have a mutual understanding .

n“Not half bad . ”

n“Oh, Shuya, since that’s the case is there any reason to come?”

n“That’s right . We’re the only vanguards, everyone behind us are magic users . ”

nWe continue advancing along the aisle of stone pillars .

nFrom the sixth day forward, it becomes nothing but Orcs .

nAt first, there were encounters of two or three, but it evolved into full battles over time .

nOrc ears pile up .

nThey seem to be roaming patrols of orcs, this is probably their territory .

nThere are still interspaced sources of light in the stone corridor, so it’s still possible to see, but there are times when there is no light .

nI have night vision, so I don’t have to worry about it, but Sokura has the magic users create spheres of light .

nSo now, because we’re advancing in the dark, the rear guard is sending the spheres of light to illuminate the way ahead .

nThereupon, the guiding light spheres show a scene different from before .

n-A large hole, no, it’s more like a cliff .

nThe ground has collapsed, and the passage in front of us is enveloped in a shroud of darkness .

nAlbert runs ahead and investigates around the large hole .

n“…As you can see, the right of the hole is a cliff, if you fall you will surely die . ”

n“I see, we’ll have to detour then?”

nIgu looks to Sokura, seeking instructions .

nSokura thinks for a moment then speaks .

n“Nn!, that’s right . Albert-san, is there a different way?”

n“Wait a minute . ”

nAlbert goes to the left ledge, walking lightly .

nStretching his head over the edge, he looks down the hole .

n“…Oh, it’s the same . Here . The stone wall has been carved out and reinforced with wooden boards . ”

n“Oh, you found something . ”

nIgu runs towards Albert .

n“Then, everyone, the path is narrow, but we’ll go this way . ”

nIgu also checked, there seems to be a way .

nI move to the left edge with everyone and look below .

nThe left wall is carved out, creating a path .

nThere’s also a ladder built in, so Albert climbs down it .

nThe board and stone path is reinforced with rope .

nThe deep hole is pitch black, the bottom is hidden from sight, so the right side is dangerous .

nI wouldn’t like to walk on the right side .

n“It’s alright . ” (TL: This feels like a trap . )

nAlbert went down first to ensure it was safe .

nThe ground of carved out stone seems to be sturdy .

n“Then, we’ll advance . ”

nSokura speaks up .

nEveryone nods and climbs down the ladder .

nAlbert leads the group along the small path .

nFrom the carved out path on the left, the right side of the abysmal hole spreads out in darkness .

nThe dark right side of the hole is dotted with lights far away .

nThe wooden boards creak with each step taken .

nThey’re reinforced…But I still feel uneasy .

n“…There are torches…”

nAlbert also sees the distant lights .

nThose distant lights could be expected considering there was a path carved here .

nI can understand how enormous the labyrinth is .

nI look away and continue down the path .

nThen, there is a reaction from presence detection .

nA fight on this narrow path .

n“There are multiple orcs ahead . They’ve noticed us!”

nAlbert shouts a warning and fires his bow .

nAn Orc finds an arrow in its eye and screams, clutching its face, before knocking into a companion and tumbling into the darkness with them .

n“The Vanguard will hold here . ”

nIgu says with a daring smile .

nWith the hatchet in his right hand and the round shield in his left, he dives into the crowd of orcs .

nRollo follows with me .

n“Rollo, be careful of the cliff . Don’t fall, okay?”

n“Nnn . ”

nRollo responds with a purr .

nIgu is fighting on the left side .

nThen, I go to that side〜

nIt can’t be helped, I’ll take over the dangerous right side .

nIt’s narrow, so I can’t swing the halberd here .

n-I concentrate on piercing .

nI move carefully with the gaping void on my right . I go the help .

nRollo uses her small body to distract the orcs .

nAlso, she thrust her bone swords at the orcs, creating openings .

nAn Orc distracted by his pained foot finds a spear head in his throat .

n“Igu, leave the right side . ”

n“Fine, but don’t fall . ”

nHe understands .

nAs Igu advises, I am wary of the drop on my right .

nThe fall over the cliff edge is shrouded in darkness .

nAfter all, I’ve already experienced that once-

nBeing careful as not to fall, I knock the Orcs into the pit .

nRollo stabs and entangles orcs’ feet, disrupting their movements .

nI can hear Sokura chanting in the background, probably some kind of support magic .

nI don’t worry about it use the halberd’s range .

nWith the large ax blade, I’m cutting off the orc’s feet and pulling them down, stabbing them in the neck, striking overhead, easily slaughtering the orcs .

nOh? Suddenly light wraps my body like silk .

nI can also hear a whizzing sound .

nIt’s a support magic, but I don’t think much has changed .

nHowever, it seems to affect the other body guards .

nThe speed Albert and Igu are slaughtering the orcs has increased .

nThey advance while scattering orcs . The number of orcs continues to decrease .

nBefore long, we reach the end of the narrow stone passage .

nWe were able to handle all the orcs while staying on the path .

nWe immediately climb the ladder in front of us .

nThe frozen corpses of the pig people litter the path we crossed, their weapons and armor scattered .

n“It kinda stinks…”

n“Year, however, they’re subjugation evidence, Shuya, let’s cut their ears . ”

nAlbert and Igu remove the orc ears while looking dissatisfied .

n“Okay . ”

nI help too .

nIt’s wasteful, but we don’t collect the weapons and armor of the orcs .

nBoth their size and quality make them worth very little .

nIt’s worth some money because they’re made of iron, but the reward for the quest is gold, and the baggage is limited .

nIgu explained it; “It’s normal for the largest luggage to be food . ”

nI could probably collect them all with the item box, but it has a capacity, so I refrain .

nAfter collecting the ears for subjugation evidence, the corpses are rolled into the pit . We walk towards the ladder on the stone wall .

n“It seems to end here . Let’s climb . ”

n“Ou . ”

n“Let’s go . ”

nThe corridor continues at the top of the ladder .

n“Nn, I thought it would be a similar corridor…”

nAlbert says while looking at the passage .

nI’m looking further ahead as well .

nIt’s true . It’s the same stone as the corridor, but it’s become wider .

nIt shouldn’t be a perspective trick .

n“…I understand . Let’s advance carefully . ”

n“Roger . ”

nEveryone nods at Sokura’s reassuring words .

nThus, everyone advances into the open space cautiously, their heads on a swivel .

nOh, there’s a magic essence reaction .

nAnd the sound of lots of swords .

nWhen I look in the direction of the sound, I can see orcs fight with white glass humanoids .

n“Oi, Jellium bones and orcs are fighting, I hate big orcs . ”

nWhile speaking, Albert prepares his bow .

nAn arrow is removed in preparation to attack .

nThat’s a Jellium bone? It’s different than what I expected .

nI thought they would be similar to the boiling knights .

nInstead, they look like a science fiction doll made of glass and crystal .

n“We’ll let them weaken the Jellium bones . Kill the orcs first . ”

nSokura gives commands .

nThree of the nearby Aria’s Wanderer clan members raise their staff weapons .

n“Understood . ”

n“Got it . ”

n“Roger . ”

nThe vanguards respond shortly .

nAlbert fires his bow and Igu shouts while kicking off the ground with his short legs .

nRollo and I follow Igu and aim for the Orc on the right .

nAs she runs, Rollo’s form expands .

nHowever, this is the form of a small wild cat, giving preference to mobility .

nShe extends a feeler, entangling the foot of the orc fighting the Jellium bone, Rollo must have noticed where I was looking because she goes for the orc I am going for .

nThere is no escape for the Orc .

n“Rollo, nice . ” (TL: Nice is in katakana . )

nThe orc hits the feeler Rollo has wrapped around its foot with its weapon, but the feeler doesn’t break .

nI gift my ax blade to the hunched over orc .

nThe orc’s nose is destroyed, its face split in half .

nAfter Rollo sees that I killed it, she moves to the next orc .

nEveryone is killed .

nThe orcs react to our sudden appearance, but the Jellium bones don’t seem bothered .

nLike a machine gone out of control, it continues attacking, swinging its long thin board-like arms .

nWhile avoiding the glass arms, I go for a strong looking one wielding an ax .

nThe orc’s head, chest, hands, and feet and all armored so it’s defensive ability is high .

nThus, I aim for the unarmored parts of its body .

nLooking for the gaps in its armor, I thrust the halberd, but the large orc shifts a little, preventing a fatal wound .

nThe large orc lifts the ax with both hands .

nThe continuous thrusts of the halberd are blocked, but the orc begins to show signs of fatigue, no longer to keep up .

nThe orc is panting like a pig .

nI don’t let the opening pass .

nI am for the join of the orc’s muscular arm and pulverize its elbow .

nThen, it is quickly killed .

nThe ferrule of the halberd slams into the left side of the orc’s stomach .

n“Gobaaa . ”

nThe armor was dented, so the damaged passed through .

nThe orc recoils in pain .

n-Then I swing the silver ax up .

nThe large orc raises its left arm to block the attack .

n-Caught .

nDrawing an orbit from the feint, the halberd slashes lower, cutting into the knee .

nThe leg is sliced clean through, but it feels different than the black spear, I get a feeling from the cut .

nFurthermore, I twist the blood coated halberd and bring the butt end up between its legs .

nThe long metal shaft draws a vertical line, crushing the orc down .

nThe one-legged orc falls on its back .

nI take that opportunity to jump- moving to crush the orc’s head .

nI cover the distance with fighting moji enhanced legs .

nThe orc’s metal helmet gives and I hear its skull collapse . My foot print is left behind .

nWhile standing over the dead orc, I see a fight to my left .

nIgu’s powerful figure . Using his ax and round shield, Igu is toying with the orcs .

nThat dwarf . The short figure of Igu .

nHowever, it looks like a scene from a movie .

nHe moves like one of the Spartan soldiers repelling a million man army in a canyon with three-hundred people . (TL: Author said Ancient Greek Spartans, but the Spartans weren’t Greek . )

nThe movie re-enacting the war of Thermopylae .

nLooking at Igu’s shield, the ellipse part is cut .

n-Stopping the attack with his shield, Igu responds with his ax .

nThis time he delivers a left hook with his shield, straight into an orc’s face, finishing it with his ax .

nHis style is simple, yet none of his movements are wasted .

nLike that, orcs are being killed one after another .

nAlberto is attacking an restraining orc from the back with his bow .

nHe aims for head shots .

nThough, the orcs block the arrows many times, demonstrating their intelligence…they are kept in check, making it easier for Igu to fight .

nAt that moment, I see a curtain of pale flames from behind striking the enemies .

nOooh . Amazing .

nThe flickering curtain of flames covers the orcs .

nThe moment the oiling pig bodies of the orcs touch the blue flames- they light up like torches .

nJust like that, the fire spreads from their pig heads over their bodies .

nReady made roast pork .

nThe smell of burning flesh…doesn’t it smell good?

nThey seem to be weak to fire .

n“Serupi, Kyurupi, good job!”

n“”Hai . ””

nSokura praises her clan members .

nThe clan members are taciturn, not speaking very much, as expect of A ranks .

nWhen the orc’s bodies turn brown in the flames, a pale light falls on Igu’s body .

nIgu is cut in several places, but they recover to the point of being scars where ever the soft light is absorbed .

nThe magic not only attacks enemies but heals an ally’s injuries .

nWhile I admire such a convenient magic, I catch sight of Rollo’s fight .

nStabbing with her bone sword, not over looking openings, aiming for vitals, after weakening the orc she goes for its neck, tearing off chunks of flesh with her claws and teeth .

nA few moments later, the orcs are wiped out .

nAll that remains are the three Jelliums bones .

nThat moment, Sokura shouts from the back .

n“We’ll weaken the Jellium bones with magic! Draw their attention . They’ll stop moving when their brain is destroyed, please help!”

n“Understood . Let’s do this goooooooraaaaaa!”

nIt seems Igu is going to act as the decoy .

n-He raises a war cry .

nFinally, I hear Sokura begin the chant…

nThis howl, it seems to be an aggro pull .

nThe three Jellium bones all focus on Igu .

nTheir aggro is all drawn in at once . (TL: Author doesn’t say aggro pull, a more accurate translation would be hostility, but it doesn’t translate well, and “aggro” fits Spear Master’s theme . )

nNow that they are focused on Igu and I can get a good look at them, they have angular edges like machines .

nWith a question floating in my head, the barrage on Igu begins to increase .

nOne of the Jellium bone’s swipes its board arm down .

nAfter that, several white thorns jut out .

nIgu uses his round shield to repel the thorns . Loud clangs ring out .

nWhile Igu is repelling the projectiles, the Jellium bones approach with creaking steps .

nThe thick arm board swings down at Igu .

nThe three humanoid glass machines try to crush Igu from above and each side .

nIgu dodges one attack and blocks the other two with his shield and ax .

nHe is able to defend against the combined attacks of the heavy glass humanoids .

nI follow Igu up by releasing a at the back of a glass humanoid .

nHowever, with a big dong, it was repelled .

nThere is only a little hole in the back of the glass .

nIt looks like glass, but as expected of Jelliums . They’re hard .

nIt seems this halberd is made of the same metal .

nA red effect then hangs over the body of the Jellium bone .

nIt seems to be magic .

n“-They’re weakened . Do it now . Destroy their heads-”

nAfter Sokura speaks, Albert immediately fires arrows .

nThe sound of gusting wind follows the arrows .

nWhen the arrow head meets the jellium, its head shatters .

nOne after another, arrows pierce the Jellium bones’ heads . The three machine like Jellium bones stop moving once their heads are destroyed .

nThen, its form starts the collapse, its limbs separating one after another .

n“Hyuhoi . Did I do good this time?”

nAlbert’s tiger nose twitches and he puts on a bragging face .

n“Kakaka, good job . ”

nLaughing but looking angry, Igu reacts in a way difficult to understand .

nThe wrecked remains of the glass humanoids are what interests me most .

nThis glass like bone, there is a good amount . ”

n“That’s right . It is probably more than five kilos . ”

nIgu is talking with me .

n“Hahaha, it’s a massive amount . The contents of the request are filled with this . Let’s collect it and return to the metastasis formation . ”

nSokura, out of breath from running over, speaks .

n“Understood . Let’s return . ”

nSo, everyone gathers to collect the contents of the request, then we return down the route we took, killing monsters along the way .

nI thought we could use magic to return quickly, but that doesn’t seem to be the case .

nAccording to Sokura, when the skill is used, you’re able to use the goddess statue like a beacon, guiding the way back . She says with exaggeration .

nIn the end, we return by foot according to her instructions .

nI could return directly with the gate, but I adjust my pace to stay with everyone .

nEven if I return quickly, the equipment I requested isn’t finished yet, besides, working as a party in the field I’ve been able to see these adventurers are sincere, I would like to see it through to the end .

nAs Sokura said before, they seem to understand what path to take, without taking detours, after ten days, eleven days in total, we return to the metastasis formation .

nNo one died on this trip, so everyone is happy they could return .

nThe request was also a great success . There will also be a bonus for the reward .

nIncluding the gold coin bonus, each person should receive twenty-seven gold coins . Plus, twenty-six silver coins and five large copper coins . I put them all in the item box .

nEveryone with smiling faces disperses to party .

nIgu and Albert head straight for the pub .

nSokura and the other members of Aria’s Wanderer want to gather as a clan and head to the same bar .

nSokura asks if I truly don’t want to enter their clan?

nI was invited with a smile, but I politely rejected .

nHowever, while taking a break, after diving into the labyrinth for eleven days, wiping away the grime with a damp cloth, but not taking a bath, it should be fine . I probably smell .

nMa, Sokura is wearing perfume .

nSuddenly going straight to the bar…it’s fine .

nIt’s the impression of a veteran adventurer .

nWhile contemplating, I look at Rollo .

nShe looks back at me with her lovely crimson eyes .

n-We’ll bath when we return .

n“Nn . ”

nHearing the voice of my heart, Rollo purrs .

n“Rollo, we stink, should we bath?”

n“Nn, Nyan . ”

nRollo raises a spoiled sound and jumps .

nShe returns to her regular place and rubs her head against my cheek .

nIt seems Rollo is asking for a bath .

nThe lovely feeling of her whiskers… with a smile, I kiss her small head .

nThe smell of an animal, it’s cute .

nI return to the cheap inn while flirting with Rollo .

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