CHAPTER 72: SIBLINGS BUILD A STRATEGY

“Well, after all, the mercenary corps’ subjugation plan was useless.” (Kei)

“I agree. It seems that they haven’t returned yet from the posts on the internet. Oh, it seems that the Hero Party and the members of the Grapevine Association party headed for the Forest area in the Tokyo dungeon.” (Haru)

“Well, from the perspective of someone who can fight in the normal way, their way of fighting will be a good model.” (Kei)

“We are two rearguards though.” (Haru)

　We had gotten bored with the mercenary group’s fighting and decided that they would not be of any use to us, so we had come home.

　The information about the mercenaries’ return hadn’t been posted online yet, so I guess they were still fighting. Really, it’s been quite long.

　Still, that was what I call planning a real strategy.

　It turns out that our tactics were nothing more than brute force tactics. Well, it can’t be helped that we can’t imitate their methods.

“For the time being, let us summarize what we learned today.” (Kei)

“That’s right.” (Haru)

　First.

　Attack the stone statue at the back of the forest and declare the activation phrase.

　Doing so reduces the strength of Rimdobmur and removes the dangerous reverse scale from the fight.

“The only thing is, even if this reduces its strength, it doesn’t mean we can get close enough to fight it.” (Kei)

“It’s not like the mercenaries, who are much stronger than us, we’re able to get through that many attacks.” (Haru)

　Considering this, I feel that it is likely that Rimdobmur’s status before the decrease in strength made it invincible among people of that level.

　Originally, the magic capacity of Rimdobmur is not high, so our magical attacks can do damage, but usually, those attacks do not hit Rimdobmur.

　The reason is simply the distance. Magic is not as fast as you think, and it is not as accurate as you think. It’s like that. It’s like using a pistol to shoot something a kilometer away. If you shot at it multiple times, you may hit once, but in the end, it’s not powerful enough.

　In our case, we are forcing ourselves to use our combined skills to hit the target.

“We’re pretty close, too. If we can just get another shot at the firing the same magic we used the first time, we can win.” (Haru)

“The Magic Ball hadn’t been used yet.” (Kei)

“We also haven’t used the ones made from reverse scales yet.” (Haru)

“Those are disposable. I want to use it when we really need it.” (Kei)

“Like in games, we would defeat the last boss without using it at all.”

　A Magic Ball (Medium) was obtained by defeating Gan Ceann before.

　I thought it might be possible to replenish our magic power with it. The result was half successful.

　The magic power that could be put inside was only a single person’s magic power. In other words, it was impossible to put the magic power of two people into the Magic Ball, and it was also impossible for two people to take the magic power out of one Magic Ball.

“Haru, even if we recover our magical power, it’s not enough to kill Rimdobmur.” (Kei)

“I thought I could do it. Enchantments and [Intangible Armor] were more important than I expected. And also [Domination].” (Haru)

　Haru replenished the magical power from the magic ball, and the oversized magical power released collided with the breath released by Rimdobmur and was easily stopped. That’s right.

　Far from adding power using Enchant, I also cover the surface with [Intangible Armor]. In the first place, the density of magical power contained in the spell is small because the magic is not compressed by [Domination].

　With that kind of magic, we can’t kill Rimdobmur.

“I’m not sure what the point of weakening Rimdobmur would be for us anyway. It’s not like the magic gets weaker when you’re far away from it.” (Kei)

“That’s right. The only thing it does is to increase the damage when Rimdobmur falls to the ground, right?” (Haru)

“Because it is originally focused on strength, so it won’t change much.” (Kei)

“That’s right.” (Haru)

　While we were chatting, I wrote down our strategy for dealing with Rimdobmur.

　It took about half an hour for the conversation to gradually come together and for us to finish deciding on the entire strategy. Even though we siblings are used to fighting, we are novices at planning a strategy. It’s not like we can come up with a good plan just by worrying about it.

　In the first place, there are only two of us and also, we can only use a few methods, so we can’t be choosy about our plans.

“It’s still brute-force, right?” (Haru)

“There’s no other way for muscle brains, you see.” (Kei)

“Well, things made from the Reverse Scale of the dragon are also dangerous. Those would be usable in the dungeon though.” (Haru)

“I’m surprised that Haru knew how to use those.” (Kei)

“If you understand the theory, you can make something if you have the right materials.” (Haru)

“Is that so?” (Kei)

“Of course.” (Haru)

　We put away the paper where we wrote down our plan. Then I cooked and eat like always.

　Today’s supper is a Minotaur cutlet, then we prayed for success in defeating Rimdobmur tomorrow.

　Originally, fighting Rimdobmur would be like a deathmatch. There are only a handful of organizations in the world that can defeat Rimdobmur with zero casualties. It’s not sane to challenge it with just two people.

“But I’m not scared.” (Kei)

　I muttered softly as I fell into my futon after the day’s routine was over. Haru is sleeping quietly on the futon beside me.

　I didn’t tell Haru, but there was something I thought about when I saw the mercenary group fighting today. They were walking around in their own way, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

　They were determined not to die, no matter what. They were walking into danger on their own, but they were clinging to life. Such seriousness.

　In their case, it’s a good preparation that costs money, leads to leveling up, and gives them strength.

　On the other hand, what about us? What is a dungeon to us?

　A dungeon is a place to find food, a place to improve oneself, a place to pass the time.

　It’s a source of entertainment.

　It’s a game, and we’ve never risked our lives for it. There is a big difference between having almost died and having risked your life.

　I’m not saying it’s for everyone. I’m sure that a lot of people have had experiences close to death. It doesn’t have to be the worst too. Maybe you choked on a piece of mochi and couldn’t breathe for a few seconds, or you got a leg cramp in the pool and almost drowned. In more severe cases, you may have fallen down the stairs or been hit by a car.

　Yet, we don’t think about dying when we eat rice cakes, swim in the pool, or walk down the street.

　That’s what diving a dungeon is for us. I don’t think I’ll die tomorrow, either.

“That’s the beauty of it.” (Kei)

　It’s good to be cowardly and careful. I’ve often seen in anime and novels that if you don’t stay cautious and worry about your safety, you’ll die.

　However, I’m not completely focused on that. Reality is not as full of dangers and such events as those stories. And there’s a peaceful everyday life in between the dangerous parts. The everyday life that is not written in the stories. Those are some that color people’s lives. That’s what I think.

　Stories that seek beauty in unique events and changes. A reality that seeks beauty in peace and tranquility. I don’t know if either is good or not.

　However, we think of dungeons as entertainment, like games, and that’s why we spend our valuable daily lives in them. Isn’t that much more meaningful than diving dungeons as a job?

“Well, it’s tough to play with a ban on respawn.” (Kei)

　Still, we will not die tomorrow.