Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #6
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 6 - Isn't there at least one that's easy to use?
*----pin pon pan
pon.*
“...... Hah..."
I involuntarily
sighed at the sound of the chime signaling the end of class.
In the end, the time
has come.......
It was not that I
don't like break time. I don't think there was a single student who does.
What I don't like was
the next class.
After I made sure the
girls were out of the classroom, I started to change into my gym clothes with a
depressed look on my face.
I don't know when I
started hating gym class.
Let me tell you, I'm
not bad at sports. I'm also not good at it though.
What I dislike was
the "Okay, form pairs," words that was highly prevalent in gym class.
“...... Maro, you know, right?"
“No hard feelings, okay?"
After I finished
getting dressed, the East-West1 duo came to me.
Both of them had a
stiff expression.
“Yeah, I know."
All of us held out
our fists, and said at the same time,
"First is rock, rock-paper-scissors!”
I went with ‘rock’,
while Higashino and Nishida were ‘paper’.
"FAAAACK!"
I howled.
"Heh heh, I guess Maro is alone this time.”
“Sorry about that. Good luck finding a partner.”
I looked at the East-West duo, who were smiling with relief, with a
resentful look in my eyes.
This was the reason
why I hated gym class.
The structure of
forming pairs meant that we who always hung out in three had to leave one of us
out.
The one who was left
out had to wander around the class looking for a partner, and I can't tell you
how discouraging and miserable I felt at those times......
On top of that, as
someone who doesn't have many friends, I can’t help but felt a negative aura in
the class.
Damn, it's all
Minamiyama's fault that this happened.
When he was with us,
we had a group of four so it was easy to split the group 2-2, but because he
suddenly left, we ended up with a group of three.
“Even though we
started hanging out with a group of four to avoid this kind of thing.”
In school life, the
number of four is convenient for various events.
Pairings for classes,
group assignments for school trips and field trips, mahjong, millionaire's
games, etc........
But it all came
crashing down because of his betrayal.
Curse you,
Minamiyama.......
And it was even more
annoying that he's teaming up with Ono.
I started to look for
a partner, but I couldn't find one.
I had to find one
person who was still alone at this time, but the people in the field already
had someone beside them.
Before I knew it, I
found myself standing alone.
I looked around with
a sense of dread.
What's going on? There should be an even number of boys in my class. How
could there be an excess? Could it be that one of them is absent today?
I felt like the guys in
my class were looking at me like I'm an idiot: He has no one to team up with? Maybe he doesn't have any friends? It's so lame to be the only one left.
I hear such auditory hallucinations.......
No, that's not true.
I do have friends. I just happened to lose at rock-paper-scissors-paper this
time......
As I was making
excuses in my mind like that, I saw a shadow running into the field.
“That was close~, that was close~," he said.
“I was going to the restroom and thought I was going to
be late. Hey, is there anyone left? Let’s
partner up.”
It was my classmate Kan’nari who spoke in such a big attitude as soon as
he arrived.
His appearance could
be summed up in one word: frivolous. He had long blonde hair, which was stiffly
styled with hair styling products, and two or three piercings in his right ear.
His facial features were normal, with an oblong face and cruel eyes like a
snake.
I frowned when I saw
his face.
Wow, the worst...... Narikin!
Narikin always
actively tried to get involved with the normie group during class and after
school, but he was not considered as one of them by the normie group... he was
one of the so-called half-half2.
He cared about
fashion and trends, but he was neither good looking nor talented. He was one of
those guys who was somewhat disliked by everyone because of his habit of
looking down on classmates other than the normie group.
Kan’nari was the
leader of the half-half group and and was called
‘Narikin’, which was a play on his name.
When Narikin noticed
that it was me who was left, he looked blatantly disappointed.
“What, it's you? So unlucky," he said.
“Well, I guess it can't be helped since I'm late,
huh."
I felt that I was the
one who was unlucky, and my face cramped up.
Seeing me like this,
most of the class, including the East-West duo,
looked at me sympathetically, but some still looked at me condescendingly with
a smirk on their faces.
It was Narikin and
his group and ...... Minamiyama.
He seemed to take
pleasure in seeing his former friends feeling miserable after he left.
......Dang it, who do
you think you are to make me feel like this!
As I clenched my
fists behind my back,
"All right, everyone's finished pairing up right! Today we're going to play doubles tennis. It's going to
be an elimination match, so come over here and draw the lots."
“…Don't pull my leg."
Narikin, who had
heard the gym teacher's instructions, muttered a few words and gave me a hard
poke on the shoulder.
You son of a b*tch.
You're not that athletic either! And
you're not very nice either!
A number of abusive
words floated through my head, but.......
"What?"
“....... Nothing?"
In the end, I
couldn't say a single word back.
I was most annoyed
with myself for being like that.......
After school that
day.
I was invited to
karaoke by the East-West duo for a change of
pace, but I declined and came to the labyrinth.
I had had the worst
time in gym class with Narikin, but that was no
reason to take a break from exploring the labyrinth.
Rather, it motivated
me that the only way to change this shitty situation was to succeed as an
adventurer.
The only reason Narikin thought that it was okay for him to behave
like that was because he thought the other person was below him in caste. He was
the typical type of guy who was strong at the bottom, but can't defy the top.
In fact, Narikin and
the others flatter Ono, who does not look like a strong fighter, and even
Minamiyama, who rose to the top of the caste.
That was to say, the
same thing will happen when I enter the top of the caste.
Thinking of this, I
felt a surge of motivation.
I stepped into the
labyrinth and immediately took out my cards.
Today's members were
Ghouler and Coosie whom I had not called yesterday.
“Come out, Coosie!”
When I called out, a
dog the size of a cow appeared.
It was a mysterious
looking dog with beautiful emerald green fur and a big swirling tail.
In size, it was more like a prehistoric wolf than a dog,
but its charming face was closer to the image of a dog than a wolf.
“Nice to meet you, Master."
Coosie greeted me
with her ears down.
She gives the
impression that she was somewhat unreliable as she was nervous, but she gave a
better impression than the other cards for greeting me.
“Yeah, nice to meet you, Coosie.”
I moved my arm and
called Ghouler.
Ghouler appeared,
staring blankly into the air.
While looking at her
like that, I took out a note from my pocket.
“Ghouler, do you remember the order I gave you
yesterday?”
She nodded. I then
also nodded my head. But just to be sure, I checked,
“Then, tell me the contents of the order.”
"I'm going to follow the ...... master. If I can get
up, I'll get up. Counterattack the enemy. Use all available skills.”
"Oh, good, good. You remembered. Then we'll reset
all those commands. Nod your head if you understand.”
After confirming that
Ghouler nodded, I began to read the contents of the memo.
"Then I'm going to give you new orders. Nod each
time you understand. Order number one, basically follow me in the labyrinth.
Order number two: always use your pheromone skill to mask your scent in the
labyrinth. Order number three: In the labyrinth, you must always search for any
signs of the enemy. Order number four: ......."
The note I'm looking
at was a list of orders for Ghouler that I came up with during class. The most
important thing to keep in mind was that she need to have a good understanding
of what she was doing and how to do it. Even if we are attacked by an enemy, if
she doesn't even fight back, our life will be in danger. It's not always
possible for me to respond appropriately to unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, I thought
that if I set up a pattern of behavior in advance, she would be able to respond
to a certain pattern.
Fortunately, ghouls
are not intelligent, but they do seem to have a certain amount of memory, so if
I could prepare instructions in advance on how to respond to all possible
patterns, she should theoretically be able to move independently like other
monsters.
For example, by
incorporating multiple commands such as, "Always keep looking for signs of
the enemy," "When there is only one enemy, attack by surprise,"
and "When attacking by surprise, use your skill pheromone to mask your presence,"
she should be able to attack by surprise when it finds an enemy without me
saying anything.... I hoped.
What I feared was
that there might be a contradiction between the orders, and this memo was to make
sure that I did not forget the orders myself and to constantly check for any
contradictions.
I finished giving the
orders for the time being, and after having Ghouler recite them back to me, I
put the note away.
"Okay, then, let's get on with the exploration. I'd
like to ask...... Coosie to do some spotting for me. Can you do that?"
She has got a good nose for it after all.
"Yes," said
Coosie, although with a slight lack of confidence.
......Are you sure?
"I'm counting on you......."
I started walking
down the road, feeling a little uneasy.
When I followed
Coosie who was whining, Ghouler silently followed me.
…Yeah, it seems the
order to follow me is okay.
I ticked the number
one order on my memo.
We walked through the
labyrinth in silence for a while.
The sun's rays slowly
burnt my skin. A gentle breeze blew from time to time. The rustle of trees. The
chirping of birds.
The peaceful
atmosphere almost made me forget that we were in a dangerous labyrinth.
“M, Master, I, I can smell the enemy. Th, they are
heading this way.”
Coosie said, her
voice trembling.
“Uh-huh, okay. Let's fight them.”
Ghouler had just
learned new commands, and Coosie's cowardice skill halved her combat power, so
there were some concerns, but even halved, Coosie still had an overwhelming
difference in combat power.
The initial combat
power of F-rank monsters was less than 50. In this first floor, it would be 10
to 20. In contrast, Coosie's initial strength was 150, which was more than
enough even if the number is halved.
To begin with, it was
said that the monsters in the labyrinth were weaker than cards of the same
rank. If they were of a higher rank, they would have been able to win without a
doubt. That was why the possession of a D-rank card was an absolute requirement
to register as an adventurer.
“They are coming!”
The first thing I
noticed was the smell of rotten eggs in the air. I sniffed, and then the owner
of the smell emerged from the bushes.
There were two green goblins riding wolves. They had dark green skin, a
wrinkled face, a scrawny body, and a flabby abdomen. The face somewhat looked
like a hungry demon from hell to me.
Seeing the face of the
enemies bearing their teeth and threatening us, Ghouler swiftly attacked. But
as she was about to land a blow, she stopped moving for some reason.
Huh? Why did she stop?
Ghouler froze in
front of the enemies, and so they attacked mercilessly. The wolves bite her leg
and a goblin strikes her with a club. Another one joined in, and Ghouler soon
became a punching bag.
Only after reaching
that point did Ghouler fought back. She hit the wolves that bit her, chews off
their flesh, and then hits back the goblin that hits her with his stick. She
took turns counterattacking the monsters that attacked her.
Seeing that
inefficiency, I finally realized. Ghouler counterattacks those who attack her
mechanically. When she tried to attack for the first time, the movement stopped
because the enemies were doubled and she didn't know which one to attack.......
Tsk! There really is a problem with my orders.
I clicked my tongue a
little and immediately sent an order,
“Coosie! What
are you doing? Help Ghouler!”
"Uh, ah... I, I, I..."
However, when Coosie
saw Ghouler being attacked, she only shrunk back and did not move at all.
What is she doing?
I cannot help but yell,
“Coosie!”
“Eek...... I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"
At my angry voice,
Coosie crouched down with her head and tail tucked in.
......Wow, is this
for real? The cowardice skill is this bad?
I thought she could
still fight while her combat power cut in half......
I shook my head.
No choice. I will give up on Coosie for now.
“Coosie, go back! Come
out, Zashiki-awarashi!"
“An? Huh,
my turn?"
I changed Coosie to
Zashiki-warashi, and she looked at me with a sour expression.
“Zashiki-warashi, help Ghouler!
“I don't want to."
“Huh ......?'
I looked at
Zashiki-warashi, aghast. Seeing me like that, she smirked and laughed happily.
“Why should I listen to your orders? I told you, give up
on seeing me as a fighting force.”
"I'm not going to give up on you. Oh, yeah. I've got
some new snacks. You
want it?”
I showed her the snacks
I had bought on the way from the bag.
It is a limited time pound cake from
the convenience store up the street.
The Zashiki-warashi
looked at it and was troubled for a moment, but then said,
"No, I don’t. I'm not in the mood.”
She turned away with a pout.
“D*mn!"
The rebelliousness of
Zashiki-warashi had taken a turn for the worse.
I guess fishing with
sweets was rather counterproductive in such an impasse situation.
......No way around
it. When this happens, I have no choice but to make up my mind.
I took out a baton
from my bag.
I had prepared this
just in case, but I didn't expect to have to use it right away---!
"Oh, hey.....?"
“Ooooh!”
“No way, are you serious?!"
With the bewildered voice
of Zashiki-warashi at my back, I charged into the goblin group.
The goblins, perhaps
not expecting me to charge in, widened their eyes and stiffened slightly. I
took that opportunity to hit a goblin in the head with my baton.
“Kuh......!”
It's so hard! It felt as if I had hit him with a rubber tire.
My hands felt numb.
“Ghouler! Take
out the wolves one by one first!
"Yes, Master."
I faced the goblins
as Ghouler took a bite out of the wolf that was biting her.
The green goblins,
who had completely turned me into an enemy when I smashed one of their heads,
bared their yellowed teeth and snarled at me. I was terrified by their genuine
killing intent.
My legs involuntarily
dropped lower and I felt my blood rapidly cooling.
Calm down, it's okay.
There is no way that I, a high school student, can lose to such them who are as
small as an elementary school student. I have longer reach, too. And I have the
card barrier. Calm down, me.
The goblins were
hitting me at the same time.
I manage to duck to
one of the goblin’s swing, but not the other. I caught it with my baton. But
that was a mistake.
Along with the
impact, my hand goes numb and I dropped the baton.
What stupid strength!
Even though they were small, they were still monsters.
They had tremendous physical strength.
The card's barrier
function prevented any injury, but the impact definitely numbed my hand.
It clearly evoked the
image of death in my mind.
“Hii!"
I dodged the blow from
a club by rolling. It swished just above my head. My courage shrank.
In an instant, my
hardened resolve was shattered.
It's no use, let's
run. This is not something I should be fighting against!
Just when I was
thinking that, I saw Ghouler's figure. She had finally killed and ate the first
wolf, but there was still one more wolf left.
If I pulled out at
this point, she would become a punching bag again.
I bit my lip and
jumped for the baton I had dropped.
“Ten seconds. I'll buy
you ten seconds......!”
As I held up the
baton, half crying, the goblins pounced on me like wild monkeys.
"Gggggh! Gah!
A bullet of light
flew out of nowhere and pierced the goblins in the head.
“Huh?”
I was confused when
seeing the goblins’ brain fluid splattering and them dying, but I soon realized
what had happened.
This, the
Zashiki-warashi made a move?
Ghouler is ......
completely restraining the wolf and devouring it. She'll be able to take that
one down right away.
"Hah~~~~~"
I sighed loudly and slumped
down.
Tired....... I was
really scared. This is the labyrinth, this is how monsters are.
"Honestly, I was
taking it lightly."
I thought it would be
a dream job where I could make money by conquering labyrinths as fast as I
could like in RPGs, making more and more money, and being popular with girls.
......There is no such a job, though......
"Heh, heh, heh......."
It’s actually a fight
to the death even against a small fry card that everyone knows, in the first
level of the F-rank labyrinth.
Unintentionally, a
laugh of self-mockery spilled out. I can't help but laugh at myself.
“Can I be an adventurer if I'm like this?”
“Oi!”
When I looked up,
there was Zahiki-warashi, sitting on the floor. For some reason, she had a very
grim look on her face.
“Um, what?”
I can't think
straight.
......Oh, yeah, a thanks for the help.
“Oh, thank you for the help. Sweets, wait a minute. I'll
put it out now--"
“No, that ain't it!"
A sharp voice pierced
my eardrums as I was rummaging through my bag.
Startled, my eyes
widened.
What the? Why is she
so pissed off?
Rather, it's me who
wants to get mad because you didn't help until the very last minute!
When I was thinking
that it was unreasonable of her, Zashiki-warashi asked me,
“Why did you fight?"
"Why… because ...... you didn't fight."
“Not that!”
“Uh, even if you say ‘not that’.......”
“I'm just saying, why did you put yourself in danger for
the Ghouler’s sake? Cards are expendable items. Why risk your life for
something like that?"
This kid ...... I
have no idea what she's trying to say.
However,
Zashiki-warashi’s expression was serious.
I had no choice but
to answer her seriously.
“I'm not sure what you're getting at. Even a ghoul is an
important asset to me. I can't afford to lose her this early in the game.
Secondly, my life wasn’t actually in danger. I had the barrier of the card. All
I wanted to do was buy time for Ghouler to recover........"
After hearing my
explanation, Zashiki-warashi seemed to be deep in thought as she was still.
“Is that enough? Then
it’s time to go home. I'm already tired today.
I just had one fight
today, and it was over. What a slow pace. But I can't conquer the labyrinth if I
don't adjust Ghouler's orders and think about how to use Coosie.
I stood up with my
heavy body.
"Wait a minute."
“What......, you are still here?"
When I turned around
in distaste, Zashiki-warashi was grinning at me.
"I haven't received any sweets as a reward."
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa......!"
I let out the biggest
sigh of the day.
[Tips] Status.
The card lists the
monster's status, but the details of that status are not known. The prevailing
view is that combat power is divided into more detailed abilities such as
strength, speed, dexterity, magic, and sturdiness.
Likewise, only the
names of the skills are known, and we can only consider the effects of the
skills by actually using them. The guild collects such data from all
adventurers and transmits the information through a dedicated application. The
main character also checks the skills of the cards through such apps.
Therefore, there is a great possibility that skills that are considered to be lost may have powers that have yet to be seen.
***
Notes:
1 Higashi= east (for Higashino); nishi= west (for Nishida)↩
2 We failed to find the exact wording for the translation… It’s う一軍半 ↩
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