Chapter 6: Support Defense
TL: Pinky
EN Edit: Anirhapsodist
Accompanied by Theresa, we gradually descend the long grassy staircase. It was supposed to be a dive underground but what has come into our view was a bright luminous field.
This is the “Plains of Dawn”. The scene brought about by the labyrinth defied reasonable common sense.
The area is not composed of plains entirely, but trees grew sporadically. As I switched the screen on my license, the map of the terrain was displayed.
It was vast. I recon traveling on foot an entire day would not be enough. I even thought that we were transported to another place from descending the stairs but to my surprise, such an expanse existed below the city.
“Watadama… If it’s a small fry, then…”
Without even instructing her, Theresa navigates the direction that I wanted to go. While scouting the area, she halted, then equipped her buckler and short sword.
◆Demons Encountered◆
Watadama Level 1 Caution Drop: ???
What appeared from the patch of grass looked like a lovely, fluffy stuffed animal.
Taking a glance at my license display, the demon assumed a state of ‘Caution’. The display shows it slightly reddish. ―― Is it angry?
I was right.
“……”
The bouncing Watadama ragingly vaulted towards Theresa.
Theresa held her buckler and engaged the Watadamas’ tackle. The impact made noises so violent that I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was so explosive that it could pierce my eardrums and destroy the buckler in a single hit.
(This isn’t funny at all… for a small fry to have such overwhelming attack!?…)
Her buckler can only but protect her so much. After inspecting my license display, the red bar under her name already got reduced by around twenty percent.
The health bar – No… It’s life, the very thing itself has been shaved off and this is not the best time to be amused.
The staggering Theresa bravely strikes back at the Watadama she fails to slay in a single slash. After the bouncing thing landed, it again vaulted in terrifying speeds.
(“This time… we’ll gain the upper hand with “Rearguard” skills!”)
“Theresa, I’ll support you!”
With Theresa in the frontline, I’ll be responsible in protecting her by activating the skills I understood upon acquisition.
◆ Activity Log◆
Rearguard - 『Support Defense 1』 :[Activate]: target → Theresa
I was expecting the same bone shattering noise as the watadama hit its target. This time however, it was different.
Just before reaching Theresa, the watadama crashed straight into something and got thrown-off.
A transparent barrier materialized in front of her. I could not make good sense of it since I was positioned at her back. Similarly, she was unable to comprehend what unfolded and was stunned for a quick moment.
“Theresa, prepare yourself after I make an attack!”
“……”
I cut from Theresa’s back after placing a bullet on the slingshot then launched the bullet from the sling aiming it on the watadama. It was a clean shot. The bullet hit the body of its target.
“……!”
Theresa remained silent even after the attack stopped. In a brief moment, perhaps to ascertain the that bullet stunned the watadama, she brandishes her short sword.
◆ Activity Log ◆
Arihito attack hits “Watadama”
Theresa attack hits “Watadama”
1 “Watadama” defeated
“Hey… Did we do it?”
Theresa looks back at me then slightly nodded. The watadama, which was no longer moving was actually some type of rodent covered entirely with long fur.
After inspecting it more, the rodent looked atrocious. Even if it was wild, I felt guilty for defeating it because it somehow looked like a pet. However, I felt better knowing that it was a demon.
“I’m sorry Theresa. If only I used my skill from the beginning…”
Theresa did not answer– she just shook her head slightly. It was neither Yes nor No. Until a while ago, she may just have been obedient to me as her employer.
If I only have the skill, I can make the whole of the watadama as material however I can’t do that. What I can do though is put it in the leather bag as it is. If I bring it back to the “Monsters Saboteurs Shop”, will the cost of the sling’s bullet come back? ―― Nevemind. The bullets might be dented. Maybe I can just take them out and reuse them. We need all the spare bullets we can get if we want to have a fighting chance.
“Theresa, is your wound okay? Once we get out of here, you can recover.”
She shakes her head. It seems that she is still all right.
――Which reminds me…
Since the skill I used on Theresa suppresses damage, the second attack on her should have lesser damage, but her health remained the same.
I assume the damage inflicted upon Theresa might have been less than 10. Nullifying a damage range of 1 to 10 can be a blessing. Support Defense 1 could be an invaluable skill.
We need to test the limits of the skill. To do just that, I’ll have to ask Theresa to hunt more watadamas. Foes stronger than watadamas will be out of our hunting list for now.
I recon the attack damage any watadama gives is within our nullifying capacity. So no matter how strong the watadamas get, we can do battles without worry of getting mortally injured. Also, the more encounters, the more loot we get to collect. Their market value will also command our duty to hunt them.
“Alright, let’s try hunting some more.”
Theresa nodded. As we strolled closer to a big tree…
“――Kyaaah!”
“Whoa… it’s a 『NAMED』!”
We heard a woman screaming and it’s the familiar voice of the section chief. I also heard among them the voice of the senior seeker from the guild. I recall he offered to be guide and he did so quite confidently.
“This is bad… Theresa, let’s go!”
We rushed to where the commotion was. As we approached the tree, there was a confine on the other side where I could see the seekers who seem to have been driven away by something. The section manager was quick on her feet, while another rookie was falling behind to escape.
It’s resemblance was similar to a watadama. It was colored deep-red however. It was agile and It caught up with the fleeing seekers at a tremendous speed. At any given moment, they could be attacked.
TL Notes:
Watadama - ワタダマ - cotton lumps, cotton balls.
NAMED - 『名前つき』- instead of a regular demon name, they have proper names. Ex. A dog can be called Potchi.
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