The next day on March 13th we broke camp early and started moving.
Today’s target is the 7th ward of the 2nd floor.
The last time we came to the 2nd floor 3rd ward.
The 3rd ward is like a super huge botanical garden.
It was here at the edge of the river Styx that Cecily-san and Kuro met again.
Nepia trout can be found in that river. I’d love to go fishing again but I’ll have to endure it this time.
“I’m sorry Kuro but there’s no fishing this time.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
His face is smiling but his tail is limp and hanging down.
Seems like I’ve done a bad thing.
Cecily-san’s glaring at me!
“Let’s come here next time for a party. We’ll catch fish and have a barbecue!”
“Yes!”
Kuro’s smile becomes a true smile.
I’m an adult after all. I can’t forget the follow-up.
“Would you like to come too Cecily-san?”
Stop Cecily-san! Don’t worship me!
We exchanged information with adventures who were returning. The highways ahead were pretty clear of demons apparently, however, the situation in the labyrinth changes constantly so you can’t use that information as a reliable indicator.
Anyway, at the moment the highways are good to go.
We take a quick break on the banks of the Styx.
While there Bonnie-san told me she wanted to borrow my handgun.
“I don’t mind but it uses 2 MP per shot.”
“Nn…..That’s fine.”
Having received the handgun off me Bonnie-san starts practising her marksmanship on the riverbank.
She’s pretty good.
Actually, she’s better than me!
After normal practise, she starts practising in various other ways.
After 32 shots Bonnie-san takes a break.
Looking at her state she’s still got some MP left so she’s got more than 64 MP.
Next, she takes the magazine out so obviously there are no bullets in the gun now.
“Jean……….stand there.”
She’s starting some other type of training now it seems.
Jean pulled out his sword and faced Bonnie-san in a posture with only half of his body facing her.
They stand a little over 5 meters apart.
Bonnie-san has a machete in her right hand and my handgun in her left.
As soon as Bonnie-san raised her left hand Jean started running to the left.
If we assume a bullet was fired as an amateur I have no idea if it would have hit Jean or not.
I know if it was me or Kuro we would have missed. Hitting a moving target with a handgun is hard.
Sometimes if it’s a large demon you can hit it more often but as soon as their size reaches human size the accuracy rate drops right off.
At least if there are less than 4 meters between you and your target you can aim at their vital points more easily.
Jean closes the distance between him and Bonnie-san and swings his sword down but Bonnie-san is no longer there.
She makes full use of her martial arts and speed and moves into Jeans blind spot swinging her machete and throwing out a kick.
Because I’m far away I can somewhat follow her movements but to Jean, it must seem like Bonnie-san has disappeared.
Somehow Jean deals with both using his sword and buckler but his limit is approaching.
Jeans swing missed while Bonnie-san thrust the muzzle of the gun at Jean while still remaining in his blind spot.
Even I can understand it now. If this was real, Jean would be dead.
Apparently, Bonnie-san wants to establish a style that incorporates handguns into mid to close range combat.
Interesting. A martial art style that incorporates handguns.
“Ippei, this……..I want you to make me one.”
“Of course, no problem. Do you want my handgun?”
Because I have my assault rifle there’s no problem giving my handgun to Bonnie-san.
“I would prefer……..one that’s a bit shorter. If possible, lighter as well.”
“Understood. I’ll make it tonight. Until then please use my handgun.”
We’ve got 3 G rank demon stones from the blue mantis’ yesterday so we’ve got enough materials.
Should I make her a combat knife as well?
Though I’m not from a military background Bonnie-san gives off a military vibe. I can see the attraction.
When I see women in olive coloured military t-shirts I get a bit excited.
Have I developed a strange sexual habit?
No, I’ve just added to it. Nurses, shrine maidens, suits and dresses. I love them all!
I think in this area mine and Gobu’s strike zones are the same.
I want to see Bonnie-san’s military t-shirt figure.
……..That’s no good.
It’s her principle to not wear a bra.
Me, Jean and Kuro would be too distracted to fight.
I tearfully gave up on the t-shirt.
In the afternoon we entered the 6th ward.
Same as the 5th ward this area has the Nepia Sidewinders in it but none came out. Instead, giant frogs and lizards came out.
The lizards look very similar to iguanas though these lizards exceed 3 meters in length and are much bigger.
It was hard to attack the lizards crawling along the ground with normal weapons but Bonnie-san defeats them easily using her gun.
She seems to be using this as a trial and error method for her new style.
Thinking about it most enemies in the labyrinth attack at close range. Perhaps for someone like me who’s not good at shooting, a shotgun with a wider spread would be better compared to my assault rifle.
When I get a spare F rank demon stone I’ll look at making one.
Jean also played an active part in the anti-lizard war.
Jean’s speciality [Slashwave] starts from the ground and rises up cutting up enemies with wind blades. It worked well against the lizards crawling along the ground.
The tradeoff is that [Slashwave] is a skill so it uses MP, therefore, Jean can’t use it all the time.
This didn’t stop him though so when his skill was not available he just used his sword. His sword skill increased steadily.
According to Bonnie-san he could go to the 4th floor and return alive.
Me on the other hand. I’m feeling my lack of firepower, especially where my hummingbird Bali is concerned.
Bali’s [attack power] is 167. Before I was able to kill enemies with a single shot but down here on the 2nd floor that’s no longer the case.
Bali can still inflict injuries on the lizards and frogs but they are unlikely to be fatal.
Besides the firepower, the [agility] is also not enough. Due to the low mobility aiming at vital points is hard.
There’s also the factor that I’m down to one when there used to be three.
I need to quickly obtain some F rank demon stones and create the hummingbird trio Mk II.
It would take a lot of work to pull the cart over this rocky area but in the long history of the labyrinth, people have made a part wooden highway over it by putting down wooden boards over certain parts.
It seems a large number of adventurers have been here over the years.
I do my bit by smoothing some of the rocks with my life magic. I also repair some of the boards that are about to break.
Although I fixed it mainly for us I remember a word from back on earth [Legacy].
If you translate it directly it is the inheritance of places or relics from earlier people.
I felt a little happy that the next adventurers would inherit this better path.
“Keep at is ossan. It’s the 7th ward when we pass through here. The road in the 7th ward is cobbled!”
While keeping an eye on his surroundings Jean speaks with an air of superiority.
Because the outside is getting warmer day by day the labyrinth is as well.
I’ve cleaned the sweat from myself with washing magic a number of times now.