Ore Dake Kaereru Kurasu Teni - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

For some reason, Meguru-san holds out the hilt of the metal turtle blade towards me . Is she saying I can use it?

“Well, who has the highest Lv out of us all? It’s Meguru-san . ”
“But the one who defeated it was Yukinari-kun . ”

I try entrusting it to Meguru-san, but she refuses to yield .  

“Look, Yukinari-kun could be helpful as an attacker with it . ”
“No, no . ”
“Why don’t you guys just compromise?”

We stop upon hearing what Hagisawa points out . That’s when I notice Shigenobu and Minori-san staring at us in amazement .  

“How about you two share ownership of the weapon and swap as necessary? Meguru-san can have it first . ”

Meguru-san gives a reluctant nod to Shigenobu’s words .

Thinking about it, Meguru-san is a girl . She might not really be all that interested in fighting . Well, even if that’s the case, I don’t really get what the point is in giving it to me…

I completely forgot about battle I saw yesterday . Yeah, next time it’s my turn to use it . [1] 

“The remaining three will be distributed like so . As Yukinari and Meguru-san stand on the front line, they will each have one . The remaining one will be shared between me and Hagisawa . ”

Shigenobu, with those words, takes out the new equipment . Alligator-hide like armor…?

Rock Lizard Hide Armor | Effect : Impact Resistance

From looking at the status, it’s stronger than the bone chestplates we’ve been using until now . Does it feel heavy due to us getting used to the lightness of the bone chestplates? The fragments of the metal turtle shell that I helped break were used for the shoulder and elbow portions .  

“As expected, this used up all the points I received . This is the limit of materials we’re able to use . ”
“What about the rock from the tail of the rock lizard?”
“The obsidian? I used it for the armor . ”

Ah…I see, it was broken into pieces .

“The armor made from that mamono has a mysterious feel to it . ”
“Meguru-san is the MVP . ”

Meguru-san gives a bashful nod .

“Little by little, our equipment is improving . ”
“Defeating the mamono and using their materials to craft things like this makes it seem like we’re in a game . ”
“Well…that’s why Taniizumi-kun and the others of the battle group came to their misunderstanding . ”

Certainly, defeating mamono and becoming stronger is something even we’ve gotten used to . What if we get so strong, we start seeing our classmates as small fry? That said, I don’t think it’s good to insist on protecting them and confining them either .

“Well, let’s depart . ”

And so, just like yesterday, we started moving .  

“So, how about trying out the new weapons on the mamono we fought yesterday?”

Like this, we start searching appropriately . It doesn’t take long before we encounter a group of Purple Myconid .

“Be careful of their spores . Let’s defeat them quickly . ”

Everyone nods to my announcement . Then, with the knife in hand I approach a Purple Myconid to test out its strength… I horizontally slash at it .

“—!?”

Zu… there’s barely any resistance . I end up using too much power and fall over .

“Ottotto!”

I see the umbrella top of the Myconid I cut off flutter through the air . If it wasn’t a plant, this would have been a gory sight .  

“Wow!”

Shigenobu cries out . He’s as surprised as I am .

Meguru-san concludes…

“It’s excessively sharp…”

I feel like I cut it many times but… the Myconid’s movements calm down… After a while, it falls apart .

Uegh .

“Taa!”

Minori-san also strikes a Myconid with the crowbar . The Myconid caves in on itself and collapses with a, “gucha” as it dies .

“Amazing…”

There’s no other possible impression . The Myconid provided a bit more resistance against bone and obsidian swords, but they’ve become small fry .

“Alright . What to say, that was surprising . ”
“This is all thanks to Yukinari-kun . ”
“It’s thanks to Minori-san’s magical replenishment . ”
“I-is that so?”
“Yeah, it’s thanks to everyone’s efforts . With this, we’ll be able to enter places with mamono that are a bit stronger . ”

We agreed with Meguru-san’s words . Yeah, we’ll be able head further in than yesterday for sure .

“Then, with this, we’ll be able to defeat stronger mamono and allocate points towards armor…”
“Don’t forget to search for the non-manono materials that Hagisawa requested . Hard tree bark might be usable as armor . ”

We should also consider the possibility of wood armor . The armor we’re using now, if you can call it that, is just typical armor . The onion shield has also been distorted into being unusable .

“Let’s defeat strong mamono and collect points . If the metal turtle weapon is this strong, then armor won’t be much different . ” 
“That’s right, but… that’s more expensive than normal…”

How much did the swords cost? Most of Hagisawa and Shigenobu’s savings? 

“Making the blade by sharpening it is cheaper while making armor is more expensive . Right now, it’s better to scatter the fragments within armor . ”

Ehh… that said, there’s no point if we don’t earn points .

“If we have this, will we be able to fight the rock lizard?”
“I’d like to think that’s enough . ”
“It’s enough . ”

I hope so .

Gallantly, we headed down to the difficult rocky area we retreated from upon encountering a rock lizard . [2]

“That said, be careful . The armor is still incomplete . ”
“Isn’t it enough to deal with the rock lizard?”

We’re using armor made from the rock lizard to defeat it, so it should balance out .

“Well… just don’t get careless . ”
“Of course . ”

We headed to the rocky area where the rock lizard appeared while defeating mamono along the way . As before, it’s a place where the fault line’s bare rock is exposed to the surface . If this were a game, this would be the kind of place ores would be mined . That might be the reason rock lizards are here .  

“SHAAA”

While I’m in thought, rock lizards come into view . Their colors… khaki rock lizard .

“Wow . It’s a group . ”

There’s four of them . They’re already pretty big mamono, and now there’s four of them .

“Depending on the situation, consider retreating . Meguru-san, if you’d please . ”
“I know . ”

We ready our weapons and look for an opportunity . If we’re not careful going in, they’ll attack with the rock on their tails, bite at us, and swipe with their claws . Well, the claw attack is slow, but the bite and tail attack are fast . As for Lv, Meguru-san is Lv 6, Minori-san and I are Lv 5, and Shigenobu is Lv 4 . How much of a difference will these weapons make…?

“Haa!”

Meguru-san takes the lead . She gets behind the foremost khaki rock lizard and, while being careful of the other rock lizards, springs forward with her sword . It evades with the slimmest of margins, and she has to adjust her swing . The resulting strike ends up without her full strength behind it . Nonetheless, she strikes the rock lizard’s chest . A good, “zubaa” resonates within our ears .

“SHA!”

The khaki lizard bends back at the slashed area… its chest is half torn to shreds .

“SHA!?”
“Otto!”

Fresh blood splatters . Meguru-san tries to avoid it by jumping to the side and barely succeeds . The foremost khaki rock lizard spits out blood as its eyes roll back and it dies .  

“Ugh… gross!”
“Incredible… but wasn’t that a little too much?”

The group of khaki rock lizards are as stunned as we are . In any case, it was just one hit . They fall into a state of panic upon understanding the difference in ability .  

“Shigenobu! Now’s our chance!”
“Y-yeah!”

Without letting the opportunity slip by, the two of us jump out and strike . The only thing you need to be careful of is the tail, but the head is the weak point . I don’t know how much the difference in power will be with a kitchen knife, but without hesitation, I aim at the throat and slice through . A solid response follows with a, “zubu . ” Just like cutting paper with scissors . I shake away my thoughts and distance myself .  

Just in case, Shigenobu swings his kitchen knife at its tail .

“Gapo…”

The second rock lizard spews blood from its mouth as it drops down and dies .

While we were battling, Meguru-san vertically cut a third rock lizard in half from its head . No, the rock lizard jumped at Meguru-san and she took a defensive stance with the metal turtle blade . Wouldn’t saying it split itself in half be more accurate?

[1] 　昨日の戦いを見ていたらすっかり忘れていた。うん、今度は俺が持つとしよう。
[2] 　なんて感じで俺達は颯爽と、強くて撤退したロックリザードが出現する岩場へと足を運んだ。