Chapter 119.2

The factory was the part of the town where the monsters were most numerous but there were still some that inhabited other parts of the city as well. We had to be on our toes.

「Shirushu, monsters might appear from our blind spots. I’m counting on you to keep watch.」

「O-okay…」

It seems like Shirushu’s a bit scared as well. Is it because of Lydia’s prank just now?

Shirushu went ahead of us to scout for enemies, but her pace was very slow. I glared back at Lydia, but she just turned her head away as she whistled.

This is troublesome…

「The monsters that appear in the town use a unique type of long-ranged attacks. They come in the form of bullets. They cannot shoot them rapidly, but each one of them is pretty powerful…」

Shirushu had suddenly stopped and I ended up bumping into her back. Shirushu had lowered her body slightly and her ears were twitching as they were searching the area.

「A monster. I think there’s only one.」

Hearing Shirushu’s words, Lydia and Claude quickly took the vanguard… I then heard a gunshot from far away that had aimed precisely for that momentary gap.

Lydia stood right next to Shirushu as her hand instantly flew through the air. Lydia’s hand left behind a white afterimage and stopped right in front of Shirushu’s eyes. Lydia opened her hand and inside it she was holding a small lump of metal.

It was probably due to the friction created just now, but a single line of smoke was coming out from Lydia’s glove. I had barely been able to follow the chain of events with my eyes, but it seemed like it wasn’t the same for the others, as they had no idea what had just happened.

「Over there.」

Time began to move alongside Lydia’s carefree shout. Lydia then began to fiddle with the small lump of metal in her palm.

To think she caught that barehanded… Her physical capabilities are as shocking as always.

「So this is the bullet that Zeph-chi spoke about. It really is kind of troublesome.」

「And apparently there’s someone here who can catch that troublesome thing with their bare hands.」

「Ahaha… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat people like monsters.」 said Lydia with a hollow laugh as she threw away the bullet and unsheathed her large axe.

Beyond Lydia’s line of sight there was a doll that looked akin to a young girl wearing a bunny ears headband. Her clothes were also that of a soldier.

She’s the one that shot at us.

Alongside my realization I cast Scout Scope.

Lucky Rabbit

Level 68

Magic Power Level 21,658 / 21,658

It was one of Tyros’ monsters, the Lucky Rabbit.

When the Magic Power from the Dungeon seeps within the body of the discarded automaton it turns into a monster. Even though the gun that it held in its arms couldn’t rapid-fire, it was still pretty powerful and had a large range.

Her bunny-ears headband and her soldier clothes were there so that her opponents would be deceived by her appearance and would lower their guards, but that strategy wouldn’t work on me.

However, she was far…!

She wasn’t within my firing range.

The presence that Shirushu felt was that of a single Lucky Rabbit. But even so, if Milly and the others weren’t careful when getting close they could get shot. And the damage from the bullet was nothing to sneeze at. If it was only a single shot then they’d be fine with using Safe Protection, but it was dangerous to take on a couple of them.

「Everyone stay where you are. I’ll take care of it.」

I cast Black Boots while running and my body was covered with wind. My body instantly grew lighter and I rushed forward. It seemed like the Lucky Rabbit still needed time before it could fire again. And I already had Safe Protection cast on myself.

I might end up taking its next attack but by that time I’ll be in firing-range. Let’s finish this!!

I dodged the Lucky Rabbit’s attack and just as I prepared to counter attack I noticed that Lydia was in front of me. The next instant, accompanied by a sound of hitting metal the Lucky Rabbit fell to the ground.

She closed the distance in an instant?! She really is frightening.

The Lucky Rabbit immediately stood up after taking Lydia’s attack and prepared to fight using the sword that was attached to its gun.

However, it was impossible for something like that to hit Lydia. She dodged all of the attacks, fired off a counter to each one. A series of loud noises were heard. However, physical attacks didn’t work all that well on the metal Lucky Rabbit.

Apart from magic nothing else works that well on these automatons.

I took out Freybrand and quickly caught up with Lydia.

「Get back Lydia.」

「Okaaay!!」

After hearing my order Lydia jumped back and at the exact same time I slashed at the Lucky Rabbit while casting Time Square.

I proceeded to cast Blue Ball, Black Ball and Green Ball while time was stopped. And in addition to that I also fired off the Red Ball that was produced from Freybrand.

Fourfold Spell Synthesis: Tetra Ball.

The sword shining with golden light pierced through the Lucky Rabbit’s chest. And just like that it sewed it to the ground. The Lucky Rabbit still had some Magic Power left. It’s colorless eyes were looking at me and it was awkwardly moving its hand in an attempt to find its gun. I stepped on the Lucky Rabbit’s hand just as it was about to grab its gun, and sealed its movements.

「Hmph. Like I’ll let you resist.」

「Zeph-chi… You’re acting just like a villain.」

Lydia drew back a bit when she saw me holding down the Lucky Rabbit. This was a battle. Sympathy wasn’t needed here. And I still had to use that. I took out the Moonlight Gauntlets from my bag and equipped them.

「What are you planning on doing now?」

「Just watch.」

While wearing the Moonlight Gauntlets I put my hands on top of the Lucky Rabbit’s chest and cast Steal. Following which my hands went inside the Lucky Rabbit’s body. The Steal spell of the Moonlight Gauntlets allowed me to rob items from the inside of the monsters’ bodies. Upon casting it, it allowed me to pass through the monster’s body, which was made out of mana, and directly steal the items that it was bound to drop.

「The monster’s core, that eventually turns into an item upon the monster’s death, instantly deteriorates when the monster is killed, making it hard to obtain rare items. That is why there is a higher chance to obtain a rare item if we were to just steal it.」

The Lucky Rabbits drop the expensive Bunny Necklace. I could easily obtain it with Steal. However, it would take me a long time if I were to try and use it during battle. That’s why it was hard to use it unless the enemy was pinned down like this.

「Hmmm… It seems kind of sad…」 muttered Lydia as she watched the Lucky Rabbit twitch every time I fiddled with it.

「… Found it.」

I pulled my hand out of the Lucky Rabbit’s chest and within my hand there was an ordinary screw.

A miss.

After having its item taken out the Lucky Rabbit exhaustedly lay on the ground as it disappeared.

Items are said to be things that appear when the part of the monster with a high concentration of mana, precisely its core, experiences a change. I didn’t know the complete philosophy behind it but I knew that it was possible to instantly kill a monster with Steal. However, if there was a huge gap in power then it wouldn’t be possible.

After I put the screw that dropped from the Lucky Rabbit into my bag Milly and the others came running.

「Zeph, did everything go okay?」

「Yea, it’s all thanks to Lydia.」

「Haha, you’re flattering me… It wasn’t much.」 said Lydia with a red face as she crossed her arms.

「Were those bullets that you told us about? They seemed pretty powerful. Are there really a lot of these powerful monsters inside the abandoned factory?」

「The only one who’d shoot at us from afar is probably only this fellow, but even so all of the other monsters are also pretty powerful and have a high defense. They are formidable enemies without a doubt.」

「W-will we really be okay?」 asked Claude as she and Shirushu seemed to be a bit uneasy, but with the way we were now there was no doubt that we’d be fine.

After all we had levelled up quite a bit when compared to before.

「If it turns south we can always teleport out♪」

「That’s correct.」 I said, agreeing with Milly.

I had already given Teleport Earrings so even it got bad they’d be able to run away. Claude and Shirushu had the necessary Magic Power, and when it came to Lydia…

Well I’ve been strengthening her Magic Lines for quite some time now so she should be able to at least use it once. If the worst comes to pass, I can just carry her with me.

While passing through the town we stumbled upon a place that looked similar to a kids’ playground. And beyond that a huge gate could be seen.

The abandoned factory.

The door that had its rusted steel begin to peel off in several places gave off a feeling of sadness.

「From the inside I can make out the smell of metal and a lot of monsters.」

「The Tyros Abandoned Factory has the most monsters out of any Dungeon in the North Continent. If you see that you’re getting surrounded immediately teleport out. The further in we go the higher the density of magic power is going to be and the number of monsters will increase. On the other hand, the monsters on the inside won’t go out of the factory. If you end up separated immediately teleport out for the time being and wait in front of the gate.」

「Understood.」

As we carefully set foot inside the factory we immediately saw a four-legged automaton. In total there were five of them. Judging just by their looks, they looked akin to steel spiders.

Guardian

Level 62

Magic Power Level 12,109 / 12,109

As soon as I cast Scout Scope the Guardians’ metallic eyes opened. Their round metallic bodies seemed quite tough. When they moved cracking sounds could be heard. There was something about them that excited me quite a bit.

It’s probably their design. It seems quite artistic. I would have probably gotten along pretty well with the researchers here.

「Blue Gale!!」

While I was lost in my thoughts, without even the slightest sign, Milly cast Blue Gale and blasted off three of the Guardians.

「What are you doing Zeph! Why didn’t you time with me for a Double Blue Gale!!」

「… Yea, yea I’m sorry.」

What a tasteless fellow. Still, Milly’s right, I need to focus on the battle. After all, I’m the one that said that the monsters here are no pushovers.

I let out a sigh and prepared for battle.