by Tôwa
“…Okay… My friends… Please, save them…,” said Georg, a small flicker of understanding returning to his eyes at Igarashi’s compassionate words. We could trust him not to do anything desperate now.
I handed Georg his goggles, which he gripped tightly before turning in the direction of the exit and walking away. The potion must’ve worked, because he seemed steady on his feet. He should be all right.
“From what I could follow, his party was attacked by some sort of vine monster that suddenly appeared from the ground and captured his companions…,” summarized Igarashi.
“Georg must have been able to escape immediate danger but wasn’t able to get out of the labyrinth. His friends are likely still alive. Let’s go,” I said.
They’d run into the monster on the second floor. That’s likely where the Named Monster was. There was some monster we knew very little about that managed to capture the entire Polaris party in one go. We had to stay on our toes, but we also couldn’t waste a single moment in finding and defeating it.
“…Everyone, will you—?” I started.
“Don’t bother asking if we’re coming with you,” interrupted Misaki.
“I’m going with you, Arihito. We move forward as a party. That’s how it always is, right?” said Suzuna.
“Same for me. But if some strong monster comes at us and I get injured, don’t you dare blame yourself. A party isn’t just one person protecting everyone else or one person just being protected, right?” said Igarashi. Her little speech made me realize that while everyone was protecting me, I had started thinking that I was protecting them more with my support skills. And now, too, I’d gotten so arrogant that I thought it was fine to drag everyone else into helping me save Polaris.
“…I’m sorry. I’ve gotten full of myself. We’re only saving them because I want to. It’s why I wanted you to come along,” I said.
“Of course we’re coming along. It’s not like you’re forcing us to do what you want us to. That’s why—,” started Elitia.
“Ellie, we’ll talk later. Cion’s found a monster; it’s time to fight!” I interrupted.
“Ah… Right! Kyouka, Theresia, let’s go!” called Elitia as she dashed down the path Cion was leading us. It led the opposite direction from where Georg had gone; it seemed to be the path to the second floor, but it was now blocked by a group of Dirty Mushrooms and a Fear Treant.
“Kyouka, use your sweat— Uh, I mean, that nice-smelling stuff!” corrected Misaki.
“It’s called Mist of Bravery! Get that through your head!” shouted back Igarashi.
We already had a strategy down for these monsters, since we’d fought them before. We used long-range attacks on the Dirty Mushrooms and defended against the Fear Treant’s Fear-inducing attacks using Mist of Bravery. Doing that made these monsters no stronger than an average monster of the same level.
Part III: The Vine Puppeteer
We easily defeated the Fear Treant and three Dirty Mushrooms, then found a wooden chest wrapped in the Fear Treant’s roots. It almost looked like part of the Fear Treant’s body had morphed into a chest. It was a bit large to carry with us, so we used our storage unit’s key to send it there.
“That storage unit key’s suuuper useful. Wish it could send a person, though,” said Misaki.
“It wouldn’t work. You need different types of teleportation magic for transporting nonliving and living things. Even if it did happen to work, there’d probably be an accident,” replied Elitia. We could send monster remains to the storage unit, but we couldn’t transport them if they were still living. I could assume that moving objects and summoning living things required different kinds of magic.
“Hmm… Isn’t it reaaally dangerous to be teleported by a trap, then?” asked Misaki.
“Well… I can’t really say no. I haven’t heard of it happening in District Eight, but I have heard of people dying when they were teleported by a bad trap in my old district,” replied Elitia. Apparently, it was a good thing I decided to prioritize Theresia’s Sleight of Hand so she could handle traps. She could potentially even have undone any traps on that chest and opened it… But I decided it was best to leave it to the experts for now and that I would ask Falma for her help.
The monster that defeated Georg’s party should be up ahead. I wanted to be able to go into the fight with full morale, so we’d have our Morale Discharges available, but everyone’s morale was currently at sixty-six…making it just under thirty minutes since we’d entered the labyrinth.
The most I can increase morale right now is eleven per use, so using it nine times gets everyone to ninety-nine morale… That’s not very efficient. I’d be able to charge everyone up in forty minutes if I could just raise their morale by twelve each time. I really want to find another item like these Chain Gloves that improves the effectiveness of abilities that strengthen my allies.
They’d have full morale if we waited another twenty minutes, which wasn’t that long. But I thought about Georg’s condition when we found him and knew we couldn’t wait a single second to save his friends.
“All right, let’s keep going. I’ll try to get everyone’s morale charged while we’re exploring the second floor… We need to be really careful until then,” I said.
“Yeah. Let’s go, Cion,” said Igarashi, and Cion woofed in response as she took the lead. A thick fog had crept up and was obscuring our vision the same way it had when we first entered. I kept moving forward toward where it was getting ever-so-slightly lighter and tried not to lose sight of Misaki and Suzuna, who were walking right in front of me.
We reached the second floor, and the air felt more oppressive somehow, like it was more humid and heavier.
“Eek…! Th-that scared me. What’s that weird sound…?” shrieked Igarashi. There was a cry coming from among the trees that I could really only describe as a strange kaw, kaw, like from a bird or some other kind of animal I’d never heard before. I used my Hawk Eyes to look around but didn’t see anything nearby. I was certain Georg’s party would have passed through here, but there weren’t any tracks or signs of them.
“There’s kind of a path here… It’d be more difficult to seek as more time passes if we just let it be,” noted Elitia as she used her sword to hack through the tall grass in her way. It must have been able to regenerate rapidly, because as soon as she cut it, I could swear I saw it start to grow back. We’d already come up against tree and mushroom monsters, so even the grass here could be an enemy. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
“Atobe, can I activate Mist of Bravery just in case? We’ll be in trouble if those tree things jump out at us again.”
“Go right ahead. It does use a bit of magic, though, so I’ll charge you,” I replied.
♦Current Status♦
> KYOUKA activated MIST OF BRAVERY
> ARIHITO activated CHARGE ASSIST KYOUKA recovered magic
“Ah… But you need magic, too, so don’t keep doing that,” she said.
“It’s because you’re in the vanguard. I want to make sure you can use Mirage Step as much as possible,” I replied.
“Atobe… Oh, all right. I’ll try not to waste it.”
Cion came to a stop as we were talking. She’d frozen, her eyes locked on the clearing in the trees ahead of us.
“Woof!”
“…Cion, is something there? Ahead of us?” asked Elitia, who was in the second rank of the formation. Cion just stood there with her ears and tail erect, staring ahead the whole time.
“…Is that…a person…?”
There was a single woman standing in the middle of the grass-filled clearing. Her hair covered her face, so I couldn’t make out her expression. Her hair was white, but based on her physical appearance, I estimated she was about the same age as Igarashi, maybe even a little younger.
She started coming toward us. Even though her equipment was broken here and there, she didn’t appear to have any major injuries that I could see.
“Are you�
�a member of Polaris? I’m glad you’re all right, but where’s the rest of the party?” asked Elitia.
The woman lifted her head so her shoulder-length, white hair fell back from her face, revealing a pale, bloodless visage and a smile as she gazed at us. She looked friendly, but there was something off about her. To put a finer point on things, she seemed lifeless and unnatural.
“My friends are doing well. They’re resting just ahead—would you like to come see them?” she asked.
“Oh, I see… That’s good,” replied Elitia. “I heard you were attacked by a Named Monster, but it looks like you managed to get away.”
“Yes, we were in no real danger. My name’s Sophie, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Elitia, one of our party’s vanguards.” Even as she conversed with the young woman, Elitia never once let her guard down. I knew that she was ready to draw her sword at any moment. What Georg told us and what this woman was saying didn’t match up. And it was weird that she could remain this calm after having been so close to death.
“We ran into Georg on the first floor. He’s already left—you should leave, too. We’ll help if you need us for anything,” I said.
“Leave…? There’s no need to rush. Oh, but come to think of it, we have more than enough loot from when we defeated the Named Monster. Would you like some?” she asked with her hands together. So they did defeat the Named Monster. Not entirely out of the ordinary, seeing as they had been the first-ranked party in the district until recently. It was also possible that Georg just ran off for some reason and the danger wasn’t as extreme as he’d thought.
…But her equipment’s damaged, and she has no weapon on her…
Georg hadn’t told me what jobs the members of his party had, but the woman was wearing light leather armor, which made me think she was either a Rogue or some sort of agility-based Swordswoman. She did have a sheath at her side, but the weapon that belonged in it wasn’t there. The front of her leather armor had a large rip in it, and vines were wrapped around her torso like some sort of emergency measure to cover her body.
“…I know this is a weird thing to ask after you’ve just gone through a brutal fight, but what kind of enemy was the Named Monster?” I asked, just to double-check. Georg hadn’t given us much information on the monster, but if their stories matched, then we probably didn’t need to doubt her. He’d said some monster-like vines came from the ground and sucked his allies’ vitality.
…Vines…?
“—Woof!”
♦Current Status♦
> CION activated SENSE DANGER 1 Sensed that SOPHIE is a PUPPET
“—Guys, get away from her!! Don’t let your guard down!” I shouted.
“No way…!”
The woman who’d called herself Sophie hung her head again, but I could see a smile spread across her face, one far more psychotic than she had on before.
“You want to know what kind of monster…? All right, I’ll tell you. One that will turn you into nutrients, too!” she cried.
♦Monsters Encountered♦
VINE PUPPETEER
Level 5
In Combat
Dropped Loot: ???
SOPHIE
Level 4
Puppet
Dropped Loot: ???
JAKE
Level 4
Puppet
Dropped Loot: ???
MIHAIL
Level 4
Puppet
Dropped Loot: ???
TYLER
Level 4
Puppet
Dropped Loot: ???
Cion had remained wary of the open space in the forest, where dirt in random places now burst up as vines rose violently toward the sky. Elitia gasped as she watched.
“…What on earth…? So Polaris really was—”
All of them except for Georg had been defeated and were now being controlled by the monster. That’s the only reasonable conclusion you could make from what was happening.
The rising vines were twined together in some sort of cocoon. From inside came a number of Seekers, their hair snow-white, their faces lifeless. They must be the rest of Polaris. Their bodies were wrapped in the vines that were probably both sucking their vitality and turning them into puppets.
“I need more nutrients… More, more, more, more, more, I need more…!”
Vines stretched out from Sophie’s back, and the ones wrapped around her suddenly spread out to entangle her entire body before blooming with numerous pale blue flowers.
We might be able to release them from the vines if we defeat the main body… That’s what I have to believe. But where is the main body…? How can we draw it out if it’s underground?!
“You’ll be my nourishment, too, doggy!”
♦Current Status♦
> JAKE activated POWER STRIKE
> ARIHITO activated DEFENSE SUPPORT 1 Target: CION
> CION took 4 damage
> CION activated TAIL COUNTER Hit JAKE
11 support damage
“—Awooo!”
“Gaaah!”
At level 4, part of Jake’s mace attack made it through Cion’s defenses. Cion was also level 4, so I couldn’t reduce the damage to nothing even with Defense Support. Cion’s counter, though, was far more powerful, tossing Jake backward across the ground. Mihail, who looked like a magic user, and Tyler, who was carrying an ax, had watched the clash unfold before them but didn’t flinch at all as they rushed in to attack.
“How dare you attack Cion—!” shouted Igarashi.
“Kyouka, Theresia, wait!” interrupted Elitia. “Arihito, these people are—!”
Could we still save them? Or would they be unable to return to normal after being controlled? But even with Defense Support, this enemy could hurt us, so we couldn’t take the time to figure things out.
Could we get some water and use Suzuna’s Wash Away to get rid of the Puppet status? Wait, it’s too dangerous to put Suzuna in front of Jake and Tyler. There’s got to be a way… Something!
♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO activated HAWK EYES Sensed VINE PUPPETEER’s actions
As my mind raced, I suddenly sensed Sophie’s next move—or rather, not Sophie, but something behind her. That menacing something was going for Misaki!
“Could you not forget that I’m still here, too?” taunted Sophie.
“Rrgh… Guys, it’s coming from below! Jump away!” I shouted, trying to stifle the sense of dread I felt. Everyone followed my order and leaped back, and then the attack came.
♦Current Status♦
> VINE PUPPETEER activated VINE PUPPETS
“Eeeeek…!!”
“Misaki!”
She had tried to jump away but had fallen backward instead, and vines exploded from the dirt right in front of her. Suzuna grabbed her and tried to yank her farther from the vines while I loaded a magical bullet into my slingshot and fired.
“Theresia, back me up!” I shouted.
“…!!”
♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO activated FORCE SHOT (STUN) Hit VINE PUPPET E
> VINE PUPPET E was Stunned
> THERESIA activated DOUBLE THROW
> Stage 1 hit VINE PUPPET E
11 support damage
> Stage 2 hit VINE PUPPET E
11 support damage
> 1 VINE PUPPET defeated
> VINE PUPPETEER’s vitality was reduced
I hit the vine monster with a shot from my slingshot, but it didn’t faze it. Thanks to Theresia’s follow-up attack, though, we were able to bring it down with the support damage. That set damage was really useful. I glanced at my license and noticed that the main body’s vitality had also gone down from that.
“Won’t you join us…? We’ll become something even stronger if you do. Just take my hand… Hee-hee-hee!” the short-haired, freckled boy named Mihail called with an outstretched hand.
“Sorry to burst your bubble… I don’t make
a habit of accepting invitations from strangers!” replied Igarashi as he frothed at the mouth and unleashed a lightning-type spell. Igarashi dodged using Mirage Step, then flipped her spear around and jabbed him with the blunt end.
“Gah… Hee-hee… C’mon, I like it a bit rougher than that!” he teased.
“Urgh… Damn you…!”
The attack wasn’t meant to kill him, since Igarashi had tried to hold back, but Mihail regained his footing almost immediately. The blow should have at least left him in severe pain, but apparently, their sense of pain was gone while they were puppets.
“A woman… A womaaaaan!!” roared Tyler, brandishing his ax and swinging at Elitia.
“Ah!”
She evaded by stepping aside but couldn’t counterattack. With her high level, she could have killed him. I wanted to think that it was because he was being controlled, but Tyler’s carnal howls and full-out attacks were clearly starting to grate on Elitia’s nerves. He was the kind of opponent who could wear someone down psychologically as you faced against him.
We can’t stop them from attacking as long as they’re puppets… We can keep attacking it over and over again when it pops out from underground to use Vine Puppet, which should eventually kill the main body… I hope.
It was a gamble to assume that continually destroying the Vine Puppets would also kill the monster. If we took that gamble, we’d be putting a huge burden on the vanguards’ shoulders…with no real end in sight.
“Hee-hee-hee! You’re sooo pretty when you dodge like that!!” cackled Mihail.
“Grr… Quit being so gross, asshole!” shouted Igarashi. Her magic was slowly going down as she used Mirage Step. Mihail might not be in his right mind, but forcing her to deal with such bare lust meant more danger for us considering how precise we needed to be. Besides, if I were going to just go out and say it…
“Don’t you dare look at my party members like that!” I shouted.
“Huh…? A-Arihito…?” said Misaki.
“Arihito… You’re angry… I am, too,” said Suzuna. I knew that the Polaris members weren’t doing it themselves, but I couldn’t stand them looking at my friends like that. I needed to at least shut down Mihail.