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?

Volume 3 Chapter 24   Battle against the jellyfish

“It turned out just as I expected,”

As we continued searching for other jellyfish, the number of jellyfish gradually increased, filling our field of vision. Finally, or rather, I should say we arrived at a point where the jellyfish filled the sky.

“Wait, aren’t there too many of them?”

“A hundred or two hundred doesn’t seem enough…”

“A thousand… or even more?”

“Well, I don’t think there could be tens of thousands… right? They couldn’t possibly be that many.”

“Who knows? Considering that a similar scene unfolds in the distance, I can’t help but think that even tens of thousands might not be enough…”

As far as the eye could see, there were jellyfish. If this is the center, the number might not exceed tens of thousands.

However, if this isn’t the center and we can only see a fraction of the whole, the number of jellyfish could easily surpass tens of thousands and even reach millions.

Most likely, this assumption is correct. This is still only a small part for the jellyfish. And from now on, their numbers will only increase.

“I understand the situation. Let’s step back for now.”

While our goal remained to deal with these creatures, I realized that charging in head-on against their overwhelming numbers wouldn’t be wise. So, I instructed Miyano and the others to step back temporarily for a discussion.

However, the moment we conveyed our decision and started to retreat, the jellyfish, which had been merely drifting in the sky without any action, suddenly extended their tentacles towards us.

“What!?”

Before their tentacles could reach us, they were repelled by Kitahara’s barrier. However, they persisted and continued to aim for us, undeterred by the barriers bouncing them away.

Observing closely, I noticed that the tentacles had changed their shape since earlier, with needle-like tips. It seemed they had developed a countermeasure to prevent their prey from escaping.

They had shown no signs of aggression until moments ago, but now they launched this fierce attack the instant we attempted to leave. If we were to consider the reason, could it be that they reacted to our attempt to distance ourselves from them?

“What the hell is going on?! They suddenly started attacking us out of nowhere!”

As I pondered why they had begun to move, I realized that it was not the time to contemplate and shifted my focus to escaping this situation, hearing Asada’s panicked voice.

“Tch! Asada, carry Kitahara, Miyano, carry Abe. Let’s run! Kitahara, reinforce the barrier, Abe and Miyano, reduce their numbers ahead!”

“Yes!”

Kitahara layered additional magical devices on top of the barrier she had erected. It should hold for a while longer.

Since both Kitahara, a magic user, and Abe had limitations in terms of running at full speed, Miyano and Asada would carry them.

To be honest, I’m the least capable in terms of ability, so I would prefer to be carried as well. However, I needed to be ready to move at any moment in case of an emergency, and it would be inappropriate to be carried by a girl while running. It was mostly a matter of my pride, but still.

“They keep chasing us even when we run!?”

“Even so, we have no choice but to keep running for now!”

“Is it impossible to wipe them all out!?”

“They’ll keep coming after us unless we kill them all. Can we really aim for total annihilation when dealing with creatures that multiply with a single blow? Just focus on escaping!”

While Abe’s wide-range attacks might eliminate the ones following us in the immediate vicinity, we wouldn’t be able to get rid of the ones we could see in the distance.

It would be like a drop in the bucket. To be honest, it would be futile. So, I think it’s better to focus on escaping.

“Igami-san, this is still impossible! They keep chasing us, and their numbers have increased since earlier!”

“Damn it!”

However, the jellyfish moved faster than I had anticipated, making it difficult to distance ourselves from them.

Furthermore, the number of jellyfish that were originally in our path—where we had passed through—had increased unnaturally.

I believe that the moment they sensed our escape, they received some sort of instruction to divide and increase their numbers. There’s an abundance of food here, after all.

“Stop when we reach the location where we put down the container! That barrier might be somewhat useful!”

Realizing that running aimlessly would lead us nowhere, I chose to abandon our escape plan and switch to a counterattack.

I had originally intended to defeat them. It’s just that things escalated sooner than expected. We couldn’t expect to be perfectly prepared to face irregular creatures.

However, we were in good physical condition, and we had hardly used any of our tools. Considering those factors, our situation was quite satisfactory.

And so, after running for a few more tens of seconds, we returned to the spot where we had set down the storage container and came to a halt.

“Kitahara, maintain the barrier. Miyano and Abe, ensure a definite reduction in numbers without allowing them to split. However, try to minimize noise and vibrations while preserving some energy.”

While issuing instructions, I knew I was asking for something challenging.

Having the power to kill these creatures with a single blow, coupled with wide-range attacks, inevitably generates loud noises.

However, if we make too much noise with a large-scale attack, those mole creatures will come swarming in, so we have to do it quietly.

“Hey, what about me? What should I do? Should I charge in and take them down?”

“Are you an idiot? Absolutely don’t do something like that. There’s nothing you can do in the current situation. Take a rest.”

Seeing Miyano and Abe immediately spring into action in response to my instructions, and Kitahara continuing to maintain the barrier from above, Asada, who hadn’t been given any specific tasks, proposed diving into the swarm of jellyfish out of impatience.

Certainly, there’s a possibility it could come to that. I understand that just countering their attacks as it is would lead to a stalemate.

However, now is not the time for that.

In the current situation, there’s nothing for someone who can’t use magic to do.

Warrior types are reliable when facing powerful individuals, but they’re not suited for dealing with countless hordes. If they had the strength to swing buildings around, they would be useful, but there are no buildings here, and this creature doesn’t possess such power… or so I hope.

Nevertheless, Asada seems unsatisfied with my instructions, glaring at the swarm of jellyfish with a mixture of anxiety and frustration.

She seems really unsettled. I understand her impatience and unease, but if she continues like this, might she actually rush out?

In that case, even if it’s somewhat pointless, should I give her some task to keep her occupied?

“…No, that’s not it. While resting your body, search for any anomalies.”

“Anomalies?”

“Yeah. Look for the root cause of this sudden appearance—the so-called boss. There might be something like that.”

I don’t know if these creatures have a boss-like entity among them.

However, I think the possibility is not low.

Earlier, I considered that the condition for the jellyfish to launch an attack was when their prey—us in this case—moved away from them.

But even if we say we moved away, there were still jellyfish along the way. Wouldn’t they consider us as having “moved away”?

And yet, those jellyfish we encountered on the way didn’t attack. Why?

At that time, our action was merely an attempt to leave that spot, but we had been moving even before that. It was a form of progression, albeit forward.

However, the attack came the moment we tried to retreat.

From that, I concluded that “prey moving away from the center” triggers their attack.

The center, meaning the boss.

“…Even if you tell me to search… Ugh, fine.”

Asada still appeared uneasy, but perhaps having a clear task at hand prevented her from impulsively charging in.

Observing her demeanor and feeling relieved that one concern had been resolved, I began contemplating our next steps.

First and foremost, we should gather information.

“Dammit, it’s slow.”

In preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, I had downloaded information about the discovered monsters and items onto my phone, stuffing it with data.

I began searching through the files, but the time it took for the phone to boot up and open the files felt frustrating.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be considered slow, just an average speed. However, in our current situation, even a single second felt disproportionately slow.

And so, I delved into the compiled materials on my phone, searching for information relevant to these jellyfish.

Flying jellyfish that undergo repeated division and regeneration.

Since they were irregular creatures, there might not be a definitive answer about them.

However, there should be similar entities that served as the origin of these irregulars.

In the worst-case scenario, we would have to rely on our experiences with slimes to fight them, but it would still be better than having no information at all.

“Huh?”

Finally, I found what seemed to be the monster resembling these jellyfish, and upon reading the information, I couldn’t help but inadvertently let out a foolish exclamation.