Arms Otome Chapter 23

TL: Yuki

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Nufufu, I got myself a huge reward from Thielle-san, and as to how much it is…

［Available Funds: 2,250,006 Veils］

You are the best! Thielle-san is really generous.

Well, considering that a lot of deaths may have occurred, giving out this much is probably just right, but for me, that was something that I could freely use without any disadvantages. That is certainly a considerable cheat. Even though I can't really do anything else, I am still strong. Sorry, but being turned into a sandbag is not something I desired.

「Ojou-sama, are we going to the lakeside cave after this?」

Hmmm, I was intending to wait for Erina to recover at first, but it seems like she has already recovered enough to go. I also received a lot of Veils, but we have also finished our preparations, so we are ready to go anytime.

「That's the plan. But for today, let's just relax and leave tomorrow morning」

Ight now they have certainly become stronger, I don't think that they would have any trouble fighting small fry or regular enemies in their current condition. I still think that it would be a little tough if they encounter another demon though, but well, it's not like those disaster cla.s.s creatures come instantly popping out of nowhere……

Speaking of which, thanks to the increase in strength, I can now increase the number of troops. I am thinking of buying Dinna, but it would probably be after we finish our dungeon exploration.

In the next morning, we left and we are now heading towards the lakesh.o.r.e cave. When we were approaching the Area before, I was ambushed and kidnapped by a demon so everyone was a bit too cautious this time. Of course, nothing happened on the way and we have safely arrived.

Just as what I've mentioned before, this world is littered with monsters. I found out about this in the Hunter's Guild Library, also a fact that the humans of this world are in the bottom line in terms of power.

There are seven countries in this continent namely, Belt, Lidiara, Meletect, Ejina, Parrasas, Mada and Elyut. Each of these countries is divided by certain borders. There also seems to be an Island Nation called Ivan.

But what I was more curious about is that the area of human activity is much narrower than what I've expected. For example, the country that we're in now, Belt Kingdom. The Capital City is Dimes and the closest town is Valsa. You could find other small towns and villages scattered closely, but other than those, the area is mostly Monster and Demon Territory.

Also a testimony for this is the town of Valsa and Dimes itself is being protected by a barrier and has solid defenses so it is more peaceful to live in, small towns and villages also have small barrier protections and fences but they are more likely to suffer an attack from monsters.

However, the Demons and Monsters only rarely bother to invade human territory. Unlike Demons, there are fewer monsters that are directly hostile to humans, and that is if they don't invade their territories.

Because many Ruins of the past could be found even in monster infested territories, this gives proof that the past humans have a much wider area of activity. In Ente's flavor text, there was a time where a great Ancient Kingdom called Astoria existed so I was thinking that it was at those times when humans flourished.

That's why, as we were heading towards the lakeside caves, we did encounter a moderate amount of monsters. We didn't encounter any people pa.s.sing by though. Well, there is no village close by, and adding to that is because there are no decent materials to really hunt in this place so hunters also don't really come here that often.

As we move, any demons that we encountered were shut down by Erina with her bow. Now that I remember, Erina's level is lower than everyone else. Time to raise it up, I guess.

「That's a really big lake……」

Ente was awed by the view. That is certainly big. You could even say that if we are to remove the forest surrounding us from view, then it would be comparable to an ocean view and it could be mistaken as a sea. There is also has a foggy haze which makes the place emit a mysterious atmosphere.

It's on a size that you won't even be able to see the other side of the lake, and I could even see some shadowy figures on the haze which are probably islets. It makes me feel excited wanting to go on an adventure to a place which I haven't seen before.

「Ojou-sama, it's over here」

We returned to reality afterhearing Erina's voice. A cave located in a place away from the lake was now in front of Erina's view. Un…… this is definitely the lakeside cave that will be our hunting spot from now on. It it was definitely near the lake just as what they have said, but being near the lake also didn't mean that it would go into the lake. Return it, return all of the excitement that I was expecting!

「Has everyone used their night vision and warming medicine?」

I confirm everyone's condition. Even just standing in front of the cave, I could feel the cold air coming out of it. It was good that we have properly prepared warming medicine.

「Master, we can go anytime」

Ente says as she prepares her sword. A blue rose hair ornament could also be seen on her hair. It really suits her well. By the way, that seems to be a magic tool and not just an ordinary hair ornament. They say that it gives the user a small amount of luck. It does resemble an ornament for good fortune, but it's not just on aesthetics though because it is an actual magic tool that improves luck. I can't say how much it improves because I couldn't really confirm it though……

The cave is dimly lit by blue lights. This was because of a glowing moss that grows on the surface of the cave, and it somehow exudes an atmosphere of being mysterious. The excitement I've has returned!

Even though I said that it's glowing, it was still necessary for us to use night vision medicine since It's not really that bright. It is a cave close to a water source, so pools of water all being scattered around was to be expected. Maybe there's a part of it that is actually connected to the lake. Also, many of the demons that we've encountered are water based and are definitely new encounters for us.

「Mistress, it's really damp in here and cold」

「Un, are you feeling cold Jenny?」

Well, when I look at Jenny's figure, she does wear clothes that have a lot of exposure. I did bring a robe with me just in case, but it was a ha.s.sle because she had to take it off at every battle that we encounter.

「No, thanks to the medicine, it's not really―― no, well I do feel a little chilly. If possible, I would like for Mistress to warm me with her ski――」

Yup, it looks like she is fine. All is well.

「Masterー!」

「Un, there are two demons in the right water pool一oops! Another two from the back」

After warning them, a puddle of water jiggles and turned into a monster with fluid-like body. It's an aqua slime. These monsters are quite resistant to physical attacks. In「ARMS Otome」 I would usually use magic to fight them, but……

There are footsteps that could be heard from behind us. It is a half human half fish monster. If I remember correctly, they are called Naedoddo.

They have a large physic, probably comparable to the Evil Monkeys that we have faced before. Their body is covered in scales that give off a slick l.u.s.ter. And also, they possess high magic resistance, turning their combination with the slimes into a really annoying group――

「Haaa!」

Ente immediately engages with an aqua slime.  Aqua Slimes are slow so it wasn't even able to respond from Ente's a.s.sault.

*Gusha!!

A pleasant splas.h.i.+ng sound could be heard as the Aqua Slime was destroyed. Un, they are really strong. It was completely overwhelmed despite the high physical resistance.

Maevis and Jenny engages the Naedoddo from behind us. They were faster than I expected, but they were not that much of a threat for the two. When the Naedoddo see two people approaching them, they stopped and opened their mouths wide. A ma.s.s of water was then ejected at high speed. That was definitely not on the level of a simple water gun. With that amount of power, it won't even be surprising for a normal person to be crushed and die from that pressure.

「It's useless if it's only to this degree!」

Maevis immediately prepares her s.h.i.+eld and blocks the water attack.

*Bosshhaaa!!

That's definitely didn't sound like it was only a water splash, but Maevis blocked it without even breaking a sweat. Its power was definitely high, but it's not even comparable to the black flame that the demon used on her. Jenny then launches an attack after coming out of Maevis' defensive field. Her thunder clad spear then pierces through on of the Naedoddo who's mouth still haven't closed.

「Gugyaaaa!!」

A series of lightning attacks invaded its body that was pierced. That's a really high amount of attack power. As expected it was a deadly blow, after that attack the Naedoddo fell down.

The other one tried to go on the offense but was easily dodge and was pierce by the lightning clad spear that was aimed at its neck.

「I didn't get a chance this time」

Erina couldn't help but show a wry smile, it was a really quick battle after all.

Thanks to raising their levels when fighting the demon, the three have definitely become stronger than before.

Ente        Lv-43

Jenny      Lv-35

Maevis     Lv-30

It reach a that high because I was raising two abilities at the same time.

In 「ARMS Otome」that is the way to quickly raise levels and improve their status at the same time. The strength of the Main Character is also raised at the same time to its like hitting two birds with one stone. Well, as the level increases, so does the difficulty to raise it after all. Also, if I continue to gradually raise their level, they will definitely hit their maximum soon.

However, we must still keep our guards up and not be too confident about it. Strength by numerical value will change greatly depending on the situation even if a standard limit is reached.

It's the same way as how the demon fought which disregarded the huge difference in combat prowess. When looking at numbers alone, that demon definitely had over the roof status values compared to everyone's status at that time.

After that battle, we continued our way deeper into the cave while continuing our encounters with monsters.  There sure are a lot of monsters in this place, probably because hunters rarely visit the place. If they take careful steps in avoiding the Naedoddo's water attack, then it won't be much of a threat. Also this time, we didn't find any treasure chest. That is also fine because it might just end up empty anyway……

When it's almost time for us to reach the end of the cave, I detected the presence of a really strong monster. This feeling…… it's a really dangerous enemy. It gives off an intimidating pressure almost at the same level as the ghost knight from before. Everyone has definitely been strengthened from since that time, but we still need to be careful when fighting a strong enemy.

「Everyone be careful! I could feel the presence of a very powerful monster in the large area ahead of us」

Ente tightens her concentration even more when she hears my warning.

Maevis prepared her s.h.i.+eld and stands in front of everyone. As expected, it really feels different if there's a defensive ARMS Maiden!

We proceed cautiously until we reached the middle of the hall.

「That monster is, Hydra」

At the center of the cave which is in an unbelievably large s.p.a.ce, there was a huge snake-like creature, the Hydra.

Perhaps that small pool at the back of the room is connected to the lake outside. Did it come here to look for food, or did come here to rest……

On the other hand, my gaze was focused on a stone monument at the back of area. I can't see it from this place, but there's a possibility that a gift symbol could be found there. The Hydra probably sensing us as prey shook it's head as it wakes up.

Thinking about it, the Hydra is a monster on the grade that even high ranked hunters would struggle facing it. We could easily tell that it's a huge monster even with us still far away from it. Its standing height is around 3 meters tall and it has four heads. They did say that the number of heads represents the power level of the hydra, but only three to five heads have been confirmed from the many encounters of hunters on record. Is its strength possibly middle cla.s.s of its species? The troublesome part in fighting a Hydra is its poison attacks which is more frightening than its powerful blows.

一I did bring some antidotes with me, but it was for poisonous insects and plants and won't probably be effective against the Hydra's poison.

「Everyone, be careful, also be aware that Hydra can spit venom to poison it's enemies」

Everyone nods in confirmation to my instructions.

「Let's go!」

Maevis, holding her s.h.i.+eld confronted the Hydra first. She was then followed by Ente and Jenny. The Hyrdra's reaction is fast. Each neck was cautiously watching the movements of everyone that approaches.

*Shaaaaaa!!

As soon as Maevis closes in, one of the heads spits out a black liquid which is probably Venom. It didn't stop Maevis from approaching and was easily deflected by her s.h.i.+eld. From different angles, the other heads a.s.saulted Maevis from her left and right.

「I won't be stopped if it's only up to that extent!」

Maevis continued to approach despite the other heads closing in on her. When they finally come in contact, clas.h.i.+ng metallic sounds could be heard as Maevis deflects the fang attacks with her s.h.i.+eld.

「Take this, you huge snaaaake!!」

Jenny aimed her attacks the moment an attacking head was deflected. Even if it tried to dodge, Jenny easily followed the trajectory of its movements with a swift thrust. The spear easily pierced the hydra's neck. It seems like it had a much lesser defensive power compared to the Ghost Knight.

「Gugaaaaa!」

It screamed painfully as the pain a.s.saulted it. As it was suffering, a silver blade flashed continuing the a.s.sault on damaged neck.

「Haaaaaa!」

Ente's white silver sword easily cuts deep into the neck of the Hydra and shed blood. A moment later, the head falls to the ground and the Hydra screams in agony. It was amazing how she was able to cut the neck that was as thick as a log.

The headless neck hanged down as if all of its strength was lost. Out of anger, the Hydra moved towards Ente attempting to crush her with a body blow.

「Kuuu!!」

The Hydra was stopped from its attempt. Maevis was in front blocking it's movement with her s.h.i.+eld. Despite the considerable strength of the Hydra, she was able absorb all of that strength.

The Hydra was probably surprised too since of its necks also stopped in confusion while staring at Maevis.

The two people didn't miss this chance and began their a.s.sault aiming for the other heads. Ente aimed for the left and Jenny aimed for the right. The Hydra attempted to fight back targeting Ente with a bite attack, and it was probably thinking that it would be able to damage her this way. Also probably as a last resort, the remaining head that was not targeted opened its mouth and was about to shoot venom out.

*Fuyuun!

A s.h.i.+ning arrow pierces inside the wide open mouth. It was a really amazing feat aiming of the small opening of the mouth even though she was far away from the battle. The Hydra's attempt to shoot venom was interrupted as it closes its mouth an shook it's head from pain.

In that moment, Ente and Jenny aimed for the other heads.

With the three heads being damaged, its movements definitely slowed down. In myths, it was said that a Hydra's head would usually grow back after it was cut off, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this monster.

「This will be the end!」

With a powerful strike, she penetrates her spear on the sluggishly moving Hydra's body with all her strength. The spear easily penetrates deep in the Hydra's body sending strong electric currents inside it.

「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!」

The Hydra squirmed in pain as the electric currents burn it from within. After a bit of time pa.s.sed, the Hydra finally stopped moving and fell down lifeless to the ground.

「Everyone, that was amazing!」

It was really amazing that they were able to beat the Hydra without any noticeable injury received. Also, because I tried touching the Venom, they reprimanded me for my foolish action. Moments later, the Hydra became particles of light and was absorbed by my body. The Hydra was a rare monster that could be found in this lakeside cave, and also it was a Monster that possesses very good materials that could be processed, but that can't be helped.

「It was certainly great that we could focus only on attacking because Maevis was there to cover for us」

Just aa Ente have said, it was thanks to Maevis taking the front and absorbing most of the attacks, the other two could easily deliver stable blows.

「I am made for Defense so I could only focus on doing that. My s.h.i.+eld would also be deemed useless without strong attackers like Ente, Jenny and Erina」

Unun, it is just as what Maevis said. With everyone working together, they would be able to deal damage many times more. Well, as for me, I still don't know what position I would take…………

But you know, there will certainly be a time when I will be able to do something! After that, I examined the stone monument and I found a gift symbol inscribed in it, and that made me naturally grin.