NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 1 Part 3
“Is this the second floor?”
“Is this the wilderness…?”
“It’s a bit like the Rudri Wilderness.”
“Please be careful from here on. We’re entering a dangerous area.”
“Oh, right…”
Reito and the others were surrounded by a desolate wilderness, devoid of any sign of life.
Shizune said that the danger level rose from this floor onwards… and when Reito tried out his “Detection Presence” and “Magic Detection”, he could certainly sense an ominous presence.
“This… looks pretty dangerous.”
“Even my ‘Detection Presence’ can sense a lot of dangerous presences.”
“Keep your voice down. The residents of this floor will notice you.”
“Looks like it’s too late.”
Gonzo, equipped with his Battle Fist, pointed ahead. Everyone turned their head and saw a shadow approaching, raising a flashy dust cloud.
Shizune then pulled out her magic sword.
“It’s an orc! Watch out!”
“Eh, but an orc…”
Dain didn’t understand why Shizune was on guard. An orc was certainly more dangerous than a goblin, but still, an average adventurer could defeat it…
However, when he saw the orc approaching, kicking up dust, Dain cried out in surprise.
“Wait… what’s with that huge orc?! It’s as big as Gonzo!”
“Pgggggggg!”
The orc was as big as a giant. Moreover, the orc, who was supposed to be a slow runner, charged forward like a rugby player.
Reito drew his Extermination Blade, and Gonzo and Hanzo also readied their weapons, but Shizune stopped them and said.
“Leave this to me. You guys just watch from there.”
“Eh?”
“I’ll show you the power of this magic sword.”
Shizune, clutching the Four Seasons, one of the Seven Great Magic Swords, stepped forward with a smile and thrust the blade into the ground. Immediately, the ground in front of her became frozen, and the charging orc slipped and fell.
“Puuuuuu!!”
“Thrust!!”
“““Oooh.”””
Shizune thrust the blade into the head of the orc that had fallen spectacularly, killing it instantly. When she pulled out the blade, she removed the Experience Stone embedded in its forehead and retrieved it.
“Well, this is my Four Seasons’ first ability.”
“First? Any other abilities?”
“I’ll show you later. Come on, you guys help out now.”
“What? Helping…”
“Pgggggggg!!”
Before Reito could ask Shizune again, an orc’s roar rang out, and this time several orcs appeared from behind.
There were five of them. Just the right number for Reito and his group.
“Next time we’ll fight together. Dain, hold them back with your shadow magic.”
“I-I know!”
Dain stepped forward and first activated his shadow magic, unleashing it at the approaching orc. The moment he stabbed his staff into the ground, the shadow swept the orcs’ feet away like a whip.
“Puuuuuu!!”
“Pugyaaah?!”
“Nice! I knocked three down!!”
Perhaps because they were concentrating on running, three of the orcs fell, and two of them headed towards Reito and the others.
Shizune was slightly too far away, so only Gonzo and Reito could intercept the orcs. The two of them started running at the same time.
“Fist Strike!”
“Bufuuu!!”
Gonzo punched the orc approaching from the front, and activated the “Interception” skill to use the momentum of the orc’s charge to knock it away.
Next to him, Reito clutched his Extermination Blade in his right hand and activated his “Gravity Strike Blade” and swung it down in one go.
“Gale Strike!”
“Puuuuuuu…!”
The blade of the Extermination Blade sliced through the orc’s body. The orc’s upper and lower body were cut in half with a single slash and it died.
Hanzo, having seen this, jumped over the two and swung Muramasamaru down at one of the orcs that had not yet fully stood up.
“Unsheathe!”
“Pugi…?!”
“Pugyaah?!”
“Bufu?!”
The blade was pulled from its sheath and cut into the orc’s neck, causing an incredible amount of blood to spurt out.
The other two were covered in blood and their vision was blocked.
Although it was a good opportunity to attack, Hanzo stepped back. Her specialty was “Unsheathe,” and this combat technique could only be performed when the sword was in its sheath.
“Your turn!”
“Understood!”
Meanwhile, Reito was running behind her.
Hanzo leapt into the air and Reito swung his Extermination Blade down on the orc whose eye had been blinded.
“Helmet Smasher!”
“Buuuuuu!”
The orc’s head was crushed, and splashes of blood flew up all around. The last orc opened its eyes wide, instantly regained his fighting spirit, and stretched out both arms to Reito.
“Buuuuuu!”
“I won’t let you do that! Shadow Bite!”
However, before the orc could grab Reito with both hands, Dain thrust his staff forward, and a wolf’s head appeared from the shadow and bit the orc’s feet.
The orc then crumpled with fatigue and collapsed to its knees.
“Puuuuu…!”
“Well done. Rapid Thrust!”
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shizune, who was approaching, readied Four Seasons and launched countless thrusts at the orc.
The blade pierced the orc’s vital points with precision, and the last one died before it had time to cry out in pain.
“Phew… we managed to get them all.”
“They were tougher than normal orcs.”
“But we all managed to deal with them unscathed. I don’t think there will be any problems up to this floor.”
Shizune cut open the forehead of the corpse with practiced hands and retrieved the Experience Stone. It seemed that the Experience Stone of orcs were worth more in cash than that of goblins on the first floor.
Following her example, Reito used the “Dismantling” skill to extract the Experience Stone from the orc’s head. He also tried to retrieve the materials, but Shizune stopped him.
“Reito, what are you trying to do?”
“Huh? No, I’m trying to skin it…”
“Don’t do that. Let’s just focus on progressing through the Great Labyrinth today. Collecting materials can be done another day.”
“Why? We might be able to sell this orc for a high price.”
“Yeah. But it’s dangerous if you don’t get used to the Great Labyrinth now. If you take your time gathering as usual, you’ll get hurt.”
“I get it… what a waste.”
If Ullr was here, he would have happily bitten into the orc meat. With that thought, Reito and the others hurried ahead, following Shizune, who had experience in the Great Labyrinth.
~
There was no path-like thing in this wilderness either, and just like the grassland on the first floor, they easily found a building that led to the next floor.
“Hey, look! There’s that building over there!”
“You’re right. You found it so quickly.”
“So far so good.”
There was a building with the same appearance as the one they found on the first floor.
After that, Reito and the others reached the pedestal where the teleportation crystal was placed without encountering any other monsters.
“What should we do? Shall we take a short rest before going to the next floor?”
“I’m fine, but how about the others?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m fine too.”
“I’m still fine too. I just took a magic recovery potion, and my magic has been fully restored.”
After receiving everyone’s replies, Reito moved in front of the teleportation crystal. Then, before moving to the next floor, he tried to communicate with Airis.
『Airis.』
Normally, he would get an immediate reply, but nothing happened.
His companions looked puzzled at Reito’s sudden stop. However, Reito touched the teleportation crystal as if nothing had happened.
“…Third Floor.”
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