Chapter 23
I try to observe the man eater from a distance away. It is simply a huge pitcher plant. It is about six meters in total length, and it has many branches. (It is too troublesome, so I call them tentacles.) Yurika’s corpse is hanging from one of those tentacle. The Fang wolf is also hanging in the same manner, like preserved food.s
By the way, Yurika is now stark-naked. I think her clothes were just a hindrance for the man eater. That couldn’t be helped. I can see that because we are going to fight against the man eater. But…
Mio is right. If I see a lifeless girl being strangled, I only feel pity. I don’t have any erotic feelings, at all. Is that the way it preserves its food, or does it has another use for it?
…For real?
[Phew! I think it was a good idea to come here,] I begin. [Let’s drop our status a little and use this as battle training.]
[Understood,] Sakura says. [How should we fight this time?]
[Let’s do something different from usual and focus on long-range attack.] I begin. [Sakura and Mio will be the main damage dealers, and the rest of us will support them. The man eater’s movement is quite slow, so poison and acid aren’t much of the threat at long range, either. I think we will be safe as long as we stay out of the tentacles’ range.]
[I intend to recoverYurika’s body after this.] I say.
[Why?] Maria asks. [Do we actually have a reason to do that?]
[It is nothing personal, but I want to stop that man eater.] I reply.
[Understood.] Maria says. [I will try to recover her body.]
Maria volunteers to do that. She is the quickest among us. I think she is suitable for this job.
> Dora adds via telepathy.
That is the case, too. Because Dora’s skill is LV7, it is unlikely she will be caught by those tentacles.
[It is possible,] I say. [However, Dora doesn’t have much experience in dog fighting yet. It is too dangerous if you don’t have prior experience before. So I will leave this role for Maria this time.]
[Please leave it to me,] Maria says. [I will complete it without fail.]
> says Dora.
> Dora groans.
[Why? Although I was chosen, why do I feel such regret?] Maria asks.
[fuwa~, hauuu…] – Maria
[Maria, you go recover Yurika’s body and then use “Warp” to return to us.] I say.
[Yeah… Uh… No, it’s all right,] Maria begins. [I’m going to cut down any tentacles during my return.]
[If you are in danger, use “Warp” immediately.] I say.
[Yes, I will.] Maria says.
g
By the way,everyone has Sakura’s , including “Warp.” It seems she can create the same magic she already did at relatively lower cost, about least than half of usual MP. So… I have copies of it for everyone. I have a feeling it is like development and ma.s.s-production costs.
> I ask via telepathy
> Maria replies.
> – Sakura says.
Maria jumps out at my signal. She jumps down the slope close to the man eater, cuts the tentacles and recovers Yurika’s body.
Since the top of the slope is a blind spot, we used it to our advantage, allowing Maria to approach the man eater quickly. This is good because our purpose is just recover Yurika’s body and get out of there as soon as we can.
When Maria cuts the tentacles, the man eater notices this and sends other tentacles to attack her. However, she just cuts them down when they come closer.
Sakura casts her magic. Since she shoots it at high angle, her magic doesn’t hinder Maria’s action, at all.
Mio shoots an arrow. She is in a different location than Sakura because it is better to attack from two sides rather than just concentrating on one side. Since fire magic is really effective, a lot of tentacles are taken down with each attack.
I’m protecting Sakura while Dora and Sera are protecting Mio. Maria is going to join me later. Sera doesn’t use her s.h.i.+eld, she just dual-wields both her sword and spear, one on each hand for better maneuverability. Maria and Sera are dealing with those tentacles while Dora and I are dealing with the other monsters. This is the basis of our strategy.
I hear Maria’s shout. Her evasion is something I couldn’t believe with my own eyes. She avoided all tentacles that came from behind her. Oh! She uses