Book 3: Chapter 82
Chapter 82.
As Tenji approaches the Kuja Bear, its massive body becomes clearly visible.
[Wow! It is enormous.]
From a distance, it certainly didn't look pretty, if only just a little.
But once Tenji saw the enormity of it up close, that feeling blew away.
The sharp fangs, the hardened rocks on the limbs that seem to be able to crush everything, and the vicious bear-like face all seem to say that this guy is evil.
And so, it was at that moment.
"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Kuja Bear noticed Tenji's approaching rapidly and vigorously.
Then he spun around with agile movements that didn't match his huge body and tried to slam both of his hard fists to counter Tenji's thrusting attack.
[...The motion is surprisingly slow. I thought you'd be more agile.]
Tenji abruptly stopped in the sandbox, observing both arms swinging down.
Kuja Bear's eyes widened in slight surprise, but he couldn't stop his arms from swinging down with force, and with a thud, he hit the desert. His body was an inch deep in the desert.
The dust also rose at once, blocking both of them from seeing.
[Gosh, I can't see anything.]
Whether it was aiming or not was unclear.
Unable to make that much of a decision, Tenji remembered the last place he saw Kuja Bear standing and swung the Red Demon Dagger to the side.
When he struck, there was a "clank" sound.
[...Guarded by arms?]
Apparently, the Kuja Bear protected itself with its hardened arm.
Tenji does not know how Kuja Bear did it, but it managed to block Tenji's attack with its arms.
Tenji decided to keep his distance once there and continued to zigzag random backsteps and keep moving so that the bear couldn't locate him.
And so, as he passed through the cloud of sand, he understood why Kuja Bear could locate Tenji and his attack...
"Ah, so that's it... Can it grow even larger, I wonder?"
[TLN: Same, my girlfriend wonders the same thing. ;D]
A cloud of dust surrounded the area.
Popping out from the cloud was the vicious face of Kuja bear, whose body was twice the size of the previous one.
It seems like it detected the movement of the dust from above the sand cloud and guarded against Tenji's attack.
Tenji looks into Kuja Bear's eyes to find an opening while holding the Red Demon Dagger in his right hand.
[I'm recoiling or... my arm feels numb. It's a little dulled my sense of feeling]
When the Dagger Tenji swung at him was guarded, he felt a chilling recoil return to his entire body. More than he had expected.
Soon the numbness in his legs and body was gone. But his right hand was still jittery and numb.
Tenji couldn't let the monster realize that, so he launched his next attack.
He holds the Dagger over his shoulder and throws it vigorously.
In the month since it was decided that he would go to Mallorca, Tenji learned various things from Chigo. Throwing things is one of them. Even though it's not at a level where he can use it in practice, he judged that it would at least be a distraction.
"Jaaaaaaaah!"
As the Dagger was coming at its face, Kuja Bear tried to knock it to the ground with his hard right arm.
Then Tenji orders, "Come back."
With a soft sound, the Dagger disappeared in front of its eyes.
At the same time, the right arm that was trying to strike down swung through the empty air with a wham.
For a brief moment, Kuja Bear's attention was diverted from Tenji out of surprise.
Tenji doesn't miss that moment.
[Chigo said not to use Goblins, but... it's a little tough for me right now. Come on, Goblins.]
Tenji decided to take advantage of the opening that Kuja Bear had created.
He summoned five gates of hell in the sand, smoke swirling around the boss.
Five Goblins, Goblin-Kun, Goblin-chan, Goblin #3, Goblin #4, and Goblin #5, appeared from there. And without needing to hear the Tenji's instructions, they all rushed towards Kuja Bear at once.
They saw that Tenji had taken the trouble to call them at a time like this, and they decided that Kuja Bear was the enemy without even having to listen to Tenji's instructions.
Suddenly, the boss is upset by the unnatural movement of the dust cloud under his feet.
Five creatures suddenly appear and run around, deliberately disrupting the flow of air. Even if the monsters are good at sensing the air if they are disturbed, sensing them becomes irrelevant.
In an attempt to slaughter the unidentified enemy, the boss began to randomly strike around with its hands.
That attack was not aimed, and it quickly realized this was a reckless move.
"This is it! I'll go with you."
Finally, Tenji approaches the boss.
In his hand, he holds the Dagger, which disappeared earlier. The Dagger can be freely taken in and out of wherever it is via the 'Book of Enma.'
This was what Chigo had taught him about the benefits of summoning weapons.
While Kuja Bear was distracted by the five Goblins, Tenji blended into the thickening dust cloud.
[Oh, one of the Goblins is down.]
Goblin #4 gets flattened by Kuja Bear's fist.
When the hell beast he's using dies, Tenji can feel the sensation.
Tenji immediately spends 5 points and summons the same Goblin #4 again.
It is possible to summon a completely different beast, but once you name a beast, it is possible to re-summon that same one...
But the points are still consumed in the same way, so it is only a matter of Tenji's feelings.
While the five bodies were in turmoil, Tenji had succeeded in taking up a position behind Kuja Bear.
[Now, is your back hard too?]
He powerfully kicks the sand, leaps, and strikes the Dagger into the center of its back.
Kuja Bear's back was unexpectedly soft, unlike the hardened parts of its arms.
"JJhajjahhhaaaahhhh?"
Kuja Bear lets out a roar of pain.
It was so loud that Tenji wanted to cover his ears, but Tenji was undaunted and took out another weapon.
"With the long red demon sword, he cut into the joint of the boss's arm."
"Jjyjyjaaaahhhh?"
The right arm of the Kuja Bear got detached, flew through the air, and was shoved into a nearby pile of sand. Red blood seeps out and stains the sand on the ground red.
With the lack of a body part, the boss staggered and lost its position.
So Tenji goes on the offensive even further.
"Goblin-Kun, Goblin-Chan, release the heavenly star!"
"Oni."
"Oni, oni, oni."
He gave the Goblins permission to use their heavenly stars' skills.
Immediately, the two Goblins activated their skills, and a shimmering red flaming haze began to erupt inside their bodies.
"Go."
At that moment, a Goblin runs out and approaches Kuja Bear.
The boss, who was in pain and was too busy to detect it, didn't notice the situation. It is no wonder, for there is hardly a creature that is not shaken by the loss of a part of its own body.
The two Goblins swung their fists.
Their fist has nearly 1000 attack power added to it, making it equivalent to a third-grade explorer.
"Oni!"
"Oni, oni, oni!"
Two fists struck Kuja Bear simultaneously in the stomach.
The boss screamed in pain after being hit by the attack and stumbled backward. And then, with a thud, it unexpectedly fell on its buttocks.
Even so, it was difficult to inflict a fatal wound with the Goblin's all-out attack.
However, this was enough for Tenji.
"Hey there, bear. I can finally reach your neck. You're so tall, I couldn't reach you earlier even if I jumped...."
Then Tenji appeared with his lazy steps, holding the Red Demon Sword.
He was already swinging his sword diagonally upwards. He was positioned as if he expected Kuja Bear to fall on his butt here.
With Tenji's status value, he couldn't reach the giant Kuja Bear's neck with just a jump...
But now that the bear is in its butt, he could go for the neck.
The head is right in front of Tenji; if he swings his sword down, he can take it out.
"Jaaaah..."
Tenji looked like a demon to bear.
Kuja Bear looked horrified, and the back of his throat narrowed.
"This is the.....................END!"
The Red Demon Sword quickly slashes the boss's neck.
The boss was so terrified that it was unable to do anything about it, and his neck was cut clean off. The head fell to the sand a little later, staining it red.
Here, Tenji finally confirmed that Kuja Bear was out of breath.
"Phew, that was just barely enough. I need to be stronger than this."
Tenji let out a sigh of relief as he placed his weapon back in the 'Book of Enma.'
He instructed the Goblins to immediately head out to defeat the monsters around them, and Tenji remained where he was.
Then Chigo walked up to him.
"Good work. Yes, give me back my ring!"
"Uh, yeah. Thanks, that helped."
"You're welcome. So, you used the Goblins, didn't you? I thought you could go without them..."
"I don't think so. I think the battle without the Goblins would have taken longer."
"Well, I didn't force you to do anything, so that's fine..."
While having this conversation, Tenji returned the ring to Chigo.
After a while, a jewel-sized item rolled out of Kuja Bear's body. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to turn into a demon ore.
It was disappointing for Tenji, who wanted to verify how many points a half-second-grade monster could be converted into.
The moment he picked up the item, the large jewel suddenly became lighter, and a piece of paper appeared in Tenji's hand as if it was a furoshiki (wrapping cloth).
This was the permit of the 21st level.
"We can go up to level 22. Shall we go back to the fountain now?"
"Well - let's go back... It's so hot at this level that my T-shirt is getting sticky because of sweat. And I'm so sick of it, it's getting sticky between my breasts."
The white T-shirt she wore was slightly transparent with sweat, and a thin layer of seductive underwear was visible at the bottom.
Tenji could not see the whole thing in the cloak, but if he stared closely, he might be able to see it someday.
Hurriedly, Tenji looks away.
"Let's go to the next level. I'm getting sick of the heat here too."
"Yeah, the next level is cooler ~."
"Oh yeah?... it is a level called the water city or something like that."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard there are lots of mystical waterfalls! Well, let's go!"
Thus, Tenji conquered the 21st level.
Only the group members who have dealt the most damage can move on to the next floor. In other words, as long as the person who sold the most damage considers them to be part of their group, anyone standing with them at that location can move on to the next level, no matter how many people there are
Even if the group members never fought, even if they were spectators.
In short, as long as the person fighting recognizes the person as a party member, there is no problem.
After fifteen minutes of walking through the desert, they arrived in front of a dead fountain.
Their bodies were already sweating, and they looked like they were dying from thirst.
Tenji wanted to get to the next oasis-filled water city as soon as possible.
When the distance between you and the fountain is about five meters, the permit/pass will softly float away, be swallowed by the blue flame, and disappear into the air.
This is proof that the door to the next level has been opened.
Then they both opened their mouths, wanting to get out of this hellishly scorching hot level as quickly as possible.
"-------------To the 22nd level."
Tenji and Chigo move to the next level.