Chapter 268
"Keke, are you ignoring the words of a lovely junior? That's quite disappointing."
How dare she ignore me. I took a step closer to the arrogant Rodelin.
Rodelin wrapped her arms around herself and slightly recoiled.
Hmm... Lately, it seems like more people have been taking that stance in front of me... must be my imagination, right?
It must be. It’s not like I’m some kind of pervert.
"I don’t recall ever saying you were a, a lovely junior, Zero."
"So, does that mean you don’t care for your juniors? For the vice president of the student council to despise her juniors... that would be headline news in next week's student newspaper, wouldn’t it?"
"N-No! How could I despise my juniors! That’s not true at all!"
Rodelin rushed at me, shouting.
As planned. I leaned in close to the now slightly breathless Rodelin.
"Of course, it’s as I thought. You love all your juniors, right?"
"Of course. Juniors are precious talents who will lead the empire's future."
"And I fall under that category of juniors, correct?"
"Y-Yes...? Zero, you’re a first-year too."
"Then it’s alright to say you love me, isn’t it?"
"...??"
Rodelin loves her juniors.
I am a junior.
Therefore, Rodelin loves me.
A miraculous syllogism.
"Th-That’s ridiculous...!"
A flustered Rodelin stepped back, but she couldn’t go far. A huge rock blocked her retreat.
Does Rodelin have a trait of backing up against walls in a crisis?
Well, it worked in my favor.
Cornering Rodelin against the wall, I whispered.
"Keke, go ahead, say it. Say you love me, your junior."
"U-Ugh..."
Rodelin’s eyes started spinning.
A fearsome trap where she couldn’t escape without saying she loved me!
Rodelin was paying the price for ignoring me.
"L-Love... I, Zero..."
Rodelin's mouth began to open.
They say love blossoms even on the battlefield.
I was about to be the first person to hear Rodelin’s confession.
"Help me! Save me!"
...If it weren’t for Raymon, who was slowly sinking behind us.
"Raymon!"
Alex grabbed Raymon’s hand and pulled him out of the swamp.
"Hah...!"
It seemed Rodelin finally came to her senses. She remembered we were in the middle of a battle.
"Zero! This is no time for this. We must fight together!"
"But you haven’t paid the price for ignoring your lovely junior."
"Hmph! It’s not that I ignored you, I just thought we could resolve this curiosity later. It’s not a bad thing that you can use magic in a situation like this."
Hmm... it seemed like she was just trying not to feed the strange guy, but maybe I really did misunderstand?
"It’s true! We can discuss this later, right? So, I just thought it would be better to focus on the battle for now."
Rodelin turned her head here and there, trying to avoid my gaze.
Hmm... Suspicious, but I’ll let it slide for now.
As Rodelin said, the important thing now was to defeat Mabelga.
"It’s time for me to move too. Oh, and be careful of the swamps."
Actually, Rodelin, you’re the one who should be careful of the swamps.
I had a reason for thinking this.
The water concealed the swamp, and Rodelin was stepping right towards it.
I grabbed Rodelin’s wrist firmly.
"Zero, I’ll say it again, this is not the time..."
"There’s a swamp."
"...A swamp?"
"There’s a large swamp right in front of you. Move three steps to the side and then go forward."
Rodelin looked around at her feet, searching for the swamp. She frowned slightly before shaking her head.
"I can’t see anything."
She was right. The water around us was murky, making it impossible to see the swamp.
But.
"Keke, I can’t see it either. I just sensed the hidden swamp."
"You can sense swamps? Even Yuridia, who is called a magical genius, couldn’t do that."
"Keke, of course I can. I’m versatile."
Of course, it was a lie.
Although I am versatile, I don’t have any detection skills to sense Mabelga’s swamps.
The reason I knew the location of the swamps was simple.
'I memorized them.'
The Carpathia Invasion is an episode from the middle of Chapter 2.
It’s so early in the game that I've played it at least half of my thousands of playthroughs.
So naturally, I had memorized the location of the swamps.
'Comparing and contrasting the game terrain with the current terrain is another matter, though...'
I am a seasoned player. I have perfectly calculated the lengths and widths of each tile in the game and this world.
For me, figuring out Mabelga’s swamp locations?
As easy as teasing Rodelin.
"Hold on a moment."
Rodelin unsheathed her sword and stabbed it into the ground in front of her.
The scabbard gradually sank into the ground.
"N-No. Even if you’re versatile, this is too..."
It must have been hard to believe. Rodelin muttered to herself.
Well, her reaction wasn’t strange.
In this world, Yuridia is praised as a 'magical genius.'
It’s hard to believe another such magician, supposedly appearing only once in a thousand years, exists in the same era.
Of course, the fact that it’s 'me' adds to the disbelief.
"Keke, I remember what you said earlier, senior."
That curiosity can be resolved later.
Rodelin seemed to recall that and nodded.
"Alright. Then, please help the others as well."
"Keke, don’t worry. I will ensure we reach our destination safely."
"Ha! Zero, you might have a talent for being a coachman too. Let’s go!"
"Left three steps, forward five, then two to the left!"
Tadak-!
Rodelin moved forward and gave a thumbs-up.
Yuridia, Victoria, Alex, and Raymon had used up their movement and actions for this turn.
As I marked their positions on the mental map, I thought.
'There are six things to watch out for in Mabelga’s strategy.'
Turns, Water Bugs, Swamps, [Water Dragon Bullet], [Flood], and the final gimmick, the 10,000-shield [Water Shield].
Out of these, turns, Water Bugs, Swamps, and [Water Shield] can be ignored for now.
'Water Bugs can be handled by Rodelin and my firepower, swamps by my instructions, and [Water Shield] is the final gimmick.' freёwebnovel.com
That leaves three: turns, [Flood], and [Water Dragon Bullet].
Area 4 starts at turn 19 and ends at turn 28, with the water gradually rising each turn, greatly reducing character speed and movement.
And if Mabelga’s health isn’t reduced to 1 by the end of turn 28, the water bursts, causing an event where Mabelga escapes.
That’s [Flood].
'Given my current firepower, I can easily reduce Mabelga’s health to 1, but...'
The problem is there are too many eyes watching.
Especially, using [Darkness], which doubles the final damage, would increase suspicion from Victoria and Rodelin.
Until the 'moment' I aim for arrives, using it is off-limits.
So, my job until Mabelga’s final gimmick, [Water Shield], activates is.
'To support the main characters and reduce Mabelga’s health to 1.'
And.
"Ah! Zero, help! I fell in!"
...To save that clumsy cat and somehow feed her experience. That’s my plan.
[Turn 23]
"Luna, grab my hand."
I pulled Luna, who was floundering in the swamp, out.
With her lower half soaked, Luna wrung out her skirt.
"Ugh, what’s with these swamps? Zero, you be careful too."
"Keke, that’s exactly where I told you to be careful earlier."
"Huh? What?"
"...Nothing. Just follow my directions, best friend Luna."
"Of course! Who else would listen to you but your best friend? Trust me!"
...Right. Thank you.
Now that everything is roughly sorted... time to get serious.
"Alex! Left two steps, forward five, right two! Raymon, follow behind him!"
"Got it!"
"Alright!"
Alex and Raymon moved towards Mabelga, taking out the nearby Water Bugs.
Smart kids. It would be great if they were my comrades.
"And me?"
My only companion, the cat Luna, asked eagerly.
I pushed her face away slightly and spoke.
"Take out the Water Bugs behind us. A powerful normal attack should suffice."
"Piece of cake! Trust me! One Flash... oops! I mean, a powerful normal attack!"
Luna’s [One Flash] knocked down a Water Bug.
Now it was my turn.
What I did was...
Tadak-.
Move towards Mabelga, avoiding the swamps.
Yes, that’s how I spent turn 23.
Using [Wind Spear] for an attack? Impossible.
Saving Luna from the swamp at the start of turn 23 had used up my 'action.'
"Zero! Did I do well?"
Luna, who had taken down a Water Bug, stuck close behind me.
I nodded to her, and Luna smiled brightly.
...Yes, Luna. Just stay healthy.
[Turn 24]
"Everyone, advance! The target is the demon! Raymon, you’ll make the first attack!"
"Leave it to me!"
The reason Raymon was set for the first attack.
It was because of Mabelga’s passive skill, [Water Dragon Bullet].
Once per turn, it counters the first attack with a 100% hit rate.
"You’re pathetic!"
Boom!!
"Ugh!"
Even with high evasion, Raymon got unlucky and took the hit from [Water Dragon Bullet].
It’s fine. The rest can now take their turns.
Alex’s second original move.
Hungry Wolf's Lightning Strike.
Lucid Family Style’s first move.
Earth Flip.
Alex and Rodelin’s attacks battered Mabelga. However.
"Ugh!"
"What... his skin!"
They didn’t cause much damage.
Mabelga, even without her final gimmick [Water Shield], had high defense.
Ordinary attacks couldn’t even scratch him.
"Luna!"
"Trust me! A strong normal attack!"
Tadak-!
Luna took care of the Water Bugs, allowing me to move towards Mabelga.
A high-defense enemy.
There are three ways to deal with such types.
Use attacks stronger than the defense, use skills with high penetration, or use defense-reducing skills.
Of course, I don’t have any related skills.
But.
'I’ve seen one.'
A perfect defense-reducing skill.
Thwack!
Activating the skill stored in [Divine Imitation], I firmly planted my feet.
At the same time, my waist and arms rotated, transferring the force directly to my fist.
"That technique...!"
Rodelin, Luna, and Yuridia’s eyes widened.
Yes, the skill I used now was.
Vyuern Family Style’s first move.
Explosive Force.
--TL Notes--
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