Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Chapter  41   “S-class monster” and “Survivor”

“Having multiple arms is, well, it’s definitely a lot of arms… but isn’t it too many?”

I did some research on this place just in case. Even though they claim to exterminate monsters, we don’t really know why such dungeons exist in the first place. There might be instances where monsters suddenly appear. In fact, that’s what’s happening now.

So, I gathered information and made preparations to be able to handle encounters with unexpected monsters. However, I must admit that I didn’t find any information about that particular situation.

“Um, well…”

“We’ll talk later, silly girl. Why aren’t you running away?”

I didn’t want these guys to die, so I taught them the skills to survive in the dungeon. Among those skills, I’m pretty sure I mentioned that if things took an unexpected turn, they should prioritize escaping.

Given their abilities, they should have been able to escape from that situation.

Even if they couldn’t abandon the young lady lying there, they could have at least carried her and fled on their own.

And yet, here they were, confronting that monster.

“Ugh… But if I run, there are many people behind me…”

“I told you to run regardless. If you can help someone, then do so. But right now, can you honestly say you’re in a position to help someone else? No, you can’t. Secure your own safety first, and if you have the capacity, then help others. That’s what I thought I taught you. Was I mistaken?”

“Um… I’m sorry.”

Frustrated by the current situation, I vent my frustration on Miyano, but now is not the time for that.

“…Well, never mind. Anyway, we’re going to defeat that thing.”

“Aren’t we going to run away?”

…Whose fault do you think this is? Even I would run away if I could.

“Yeah. It’s because of you guys. Even if you tried to escape now, it would chase after you. I couldn’t care less about other people, but I don’t think I’m heartless enough to want you to die or be fine with it.”

I couldn’t care less about others. Maybe I’d feel something if they died, but not enough to go out of my way to save them.

But I don’t want to abandon my comrades. Even if it’s just temporary.

“Miss over there. I know you don’t like me, but if you want to survive, listen to what I have to say.”

…

I address the young lady who is being healed by Kitahara, but she either hasn’t fully recovered yet or simply doesn’t like me, as she remains silent and looks my way.

But if she’s listening, that’s fine.

“And… you, idiot girls number two, three, and four! I expect you to work properly! Especially you, Inoshishi! Stop slacking off and come over here!”

“Who’s the boar girl, I wonder…”

They must have accumulated fatigue from the previous battles. Despite clear openings in the monsters’ defenses, Asada is simply leaning on her staff-like war hammer and looking over here without moving. And the same goes for Abe and Miyano.

They might be startled by my sudden appearance, but their loss of focus is evident if something as simple as that can distract them.

We need to quickly finish this, even if it means pushing ourselves a bit beyond our limits… Someone might end up dead.

“The plan is simple. I will disrupt its movements and create openings. You guys should strike there with your attacks. Asada, focus on its legs. Abe, aim for the head. Miyano and the young lady, prioritize disabling its arms, but once you’ve done that to some extent, target the head. Kitahara, evade its attacks while providing healing support. But try not to get too close to its consciousness. That’s all.”

“That’s quite a rough plan.”

“Yeah, I know. We don’t have the luxury of having proper strategy meetings. Besides, even if we did, we haven’t trained for teamwork against such a massive monster.”

Miyano, who overheard our conversation nearby, muttered under her breath. Despite being called rough, there is no other plan available.

“Tch! Let’s move already!”

Well, even if they say it wasn’t in the information I gathered, I had anticipated it. After all, I’ve encountered unexpected situations three times before. The frequency is so high that it makes you think I’m cursed.

Given that, there’s no way I wouldn’t consider the possibility of encountering it again.

“First things first!”

What I pulled out was a gun. Not an air gun or a magic gun, but the real deal.

Sure, this place might have gates, dungeons, and magic and all that, but it’s still Earth. Guns exist here.

So why doesn’t everyone use them? Well, because punching is stronger than using a gun, that’s why.

However, that applies to first-class and special-class monsters, as well as specialized second-class ones. When it comes to attack power, guns are superior against third-class monsters. Naturally, you need a license to use them.

Besides, even if you have one, there’s the issue of limited ammunition, so guns are mostly used as secondary weapons.

In military units, though, there are some that use guns as their primary weapons.

“Do it!”

Well, with that gun, I shot the giant ape’s knee, causing it to stumble and fall.

Upon hearing my voice, Miyano, Asada, and Abe simultaneously launched their attacks.

Asada’s war hammer crushed the giant ape’s big toe, flames scorched its head, and a sword severed its arm.

Despite the pain, the giant ape screamed and thrashed around, but by that time, we were already out of its reach.

Now, onto the next move, I thought, but Miyano’s severed arm grew back.

…I knew it had regenerative abilities, but to this extent?

Well, that was within expectations, I suppose.

So, I gather myself and move on to the next action.

“Next, let’s go!”

While the giant ape was still recovering from its hesitation, I activated the magic I had prepared and created water inside its ears.

Then, I let it seep into its mind and make it go wild.

As a result, the giant ape let out a scream and thrashed about in agony.

It’s a bit difficult to land attacks while it’s thrashing, but Miyano and the others steadily continued their assault without missing a beat.

When the giant ape struck its own head, the magic was shattered with a snap.

It may not work the same way again, but that’s fine by me.

The now standing giant ape must know who was responsible for that. It glares at me.

And with a roar, it starts regenerating its arm once again.

If we continue like this, it will turn into a battle of endurance until the opponent can no longer regenerate.

But I won’t allow that. This is already my fourth encounter with a boss that has regenerative abilities, you old fool!

I anticipated that it would regenerate, so I had already placed magic at the cut section of its arm.

Normally, it would collide with the regenerated arm and be destroyed.

But it doesn’t happen that way. If the normal approach doesn’t work, then we’ll do something abnormal.

The magic I had set up was swallowed into the arm along with its regeneration.

And when the arm was completely healed, I activated the magic that had been assimilated.

And what do you know, the giant ape’s arm is indeed fully healed. However, it remains completely motionless.

——Guaaahhh!?

Its own unmoving arm seems to perplex it, as it lets out a bewildered cry.

Well, no wonder it can’t move when I’ve wedged a stone into the nerve junction… But hey, that’s an opening!

I draw my gun once again and shoot the giant ape right in the eye.

Caught in the confusion of its immobile arm and the pain from having its eyeball pierced, the giant ape lets out another scream, and that’s when my comrades seize the opportunity to attack.

… If we keep this up, we can defeat it.