CH 31.3

Pasifista

――『Yomotsu Hirasaka』, a branch realm attached to the labyrinth of Perforation Realm, 『YGGDRASILL』――

――The『fourth』 stratum, 『uncharted』 domain――

Saki is twirling and dancing with her new katana in her hand.

She is in a super good mood.

The black scabbard is furnished with quartz handiwork, and the fuzzy tail of the Saber Tooth King Tiger is used as is on the edge of the scabbard.

The katana blade has a lapis lazuli edge pattern that looks like the bottom of a lake, like it’s absorbing you into it.

According to Mikan-senpai.

「It’s turned into something amazing.」

She said.

The name is『Water Tiger King Katana』, it seems to be a Youtou with a powerful water (Aqua) attribute.

In the first discussion, it was supposed to turn into a『Water Spirit Katana』, but for some reason, it has turned something of one rank higher in category.

The rare category of Youtou is ranked as follows: Spirit Katana < King Katana < God Katana.

And then, it is also a Named magic item in the name of『Water Tiger』.

Even in the Interface, it’s displayed as『Water Tiger King Katana』, so there ought to be some kind of law in the naming of the item.

And then, another one.

Using the fur of the Saber Tooth King Tiger, they created a protective item for Saki.

In terms of equipment genre, it’s an item called a Sashinuki gote.

It is essentially a piece of Japanese-style armor that covers the entire arms and is integrated through the collar and back.

I guess it’s like a short vest with long sleeves.

The creator was the Fluffy-senpai slash Anzu-Senpai, the『Needlework User (Dressmaker)』.

The fur itself seems to be quite sturdy, boasting durability that even a needle can’t penetrate, but I wonder how she sewed it.

It looks like a fur jacket, but a hard armoring material is incorporated into the hand parts.

The vivid black and white tiger fur is beautiful, and Saki, who fell in love with it at first sight, hugged Anzu-senpai and twirled her around.

Incidentally, Mikan-senpai was held high in the air.

How should I put it, she is a girl with intense body language.

It pained me that I couldn’t get them to accept the payment after having them done such perfect jobs.

They said it would be enough if they could get the rest of the material parts, but I should think of a better way to return the favor.

「Kuoooon!」

「Sei.」

I grapple with the armored rhinoceros that charges at me from the front.

The thick, sharp horns protruding from the top of the head look like lances.

If I were to receive the charge of this light truck-sized armored rhinoceros, the me of the past would surely have been blown away like a leaf.

But although I got pushed back a little, I managed to offset the momentum that was akin to a lance charge in a jousting match.

The armored rhinoceros is scattering drools and raising a roar, but as long as you suppress its momentum, it turns into an enemy that boasts nothing but sturdiness.

Pulling it down with the tricks of a neck wrestler, I lightly twist its neck.

I have to be careful not to shatter its cervical vertebrae, as that would end up finishing it off.

「Come on.」

「… Umm, I don’t feel like I can deal any damage.」

I beckon Shizuka, who is holding her lance, and the twin sisters, who have their maces at the ready.

「The same goes even against a huge opponent, they’ll all mostly die if you crush their head.」

The armored rhinoceros, which is toppled over and jerking around, has a nice metallic vibe all over its body.

The horns seem to be completely metallic, and when you hit the body skin, which is like an armor that is composed of different parts, you will give rise to a clanging sound.

However, the blade can properly pass through the joint parts, so I’d like them to do their best.

「This kind of big power-type monster sure is a pain in the ass.」

Stabbing his knife through a gap in the neck armor parts, Seiichi, who has been running after it until it dies out, lets out a sigh.

「It doesn’t do any weird attacks, and its movements are also simple, but it’s crazy tough.」

Mai, who has been firing a series of magic rapidly, also seems to be listless as she places her hands on her hips.

Its SP barrier is not a big deal, but it’s more of hard to beat due to its huge size.

If they were to charge at us in packs, we might have been unable to stop them and gotten our formation breached until the rear guards.

I guess this time, the MVP Award goes to Saki, who was the first to charge in, cutting through the metallic armor like a piece of scrap of paper and sending the heads flying one after another.

I get that she’s happy with her all new equipment, so I’d like her to calm down before she gets dizzy.

「But, well, it’s not particularly unbeatable. The monster trend hasn’t changed that much either.」

「So, should we proceed with the conquest as is?」

「Let’s keep going as far as we can get. It seems that the deeper you go the more lenient the increase in dungeon difficulty becomes, after all. If we don’t hunt in the suitable level range, we won’t be able to raise out level.」

The armored rhinoceroses that Shizuka and the others have been clanging and clanking against dissolves.

Compared to the ones up until now, the size of the dropped crystals seems to also be getting bigger little by little.

The trade sum of the purchasing department is also getting larger, but there is a strange fantasy where the debt is not decreasing.

「… The level displayed on the notebook and the level told by Touma-kun are getting farther and farther apart, though?」

「… I don’t get a damn about it either, so don’t ask me.」

「Of all things, the number of magic I can use is increasing, so I think my level is properly rising, though.」

The levels of Seiichi and the others are rising properly, so I’d like them to be at ease about it.

My Raijin hasn’t changed ever since it turned into level 2 after I defeated the gatekeeper tiger-san.

But level is not the only thing that determines your strength.

Isn’t there also the need to strengthen your equipment like Saki did, I wonder?

「Himecchi is like, a good workman does not blame their tool, or rather I have a feeling that she’d also been in peerless mode thus far….」

「That’s not true at all! This is amazing. It cuts with swish swish!」

「There were even some weird slashing attacks flying about, right? Is this an anime?」

When Saki swung her katana lightly, with a splat, a splash-like afterimage flew out.

It exceeded the length of the blade, slicing the armored rhinoceros in half from the front.

Quite an amazing cutting power, I have to give it a try.

We should see if it can cut through this impregnable armor.

「Come on.」

「Eh, uh…. Danna-sama?」

「No, we get that your armor is also amazing. We get it, so stop making trouble for Himecchi.」

It seems that they misunderstand the slightly shameful posing of the side triceps.

Geez, I’m not a child and it’s not that I’m trying to make an appeal for them to pay my new equipment some attention either.

「Shizukaaa, your dear is a bit annoying, so take care of him」

But if they insist on wanting me to tell them, then I don’t mind telling them about the greatness of this『armor of heavy pressure (Stressor Armor)』 customized by Mikan-senpai.

This armor, which was dropped by the realm gate guardian Goblin Lord, is a magic armor with the inscription of heavy pressure (Stressor) engraved on it.

This is the armor that was once equipped by the Goblin Lord, which boasted an over three meters tall huge body.

Naturally, its size didn’t fit me, so it was an item that had been accumulating dust in the Item Box.

It was just the right timing, so as I had her forge Saki’s『Water Tiger King Katana』, I asked her to adjust its size.

It seems that among『Craftsman』 skills, there’s a skill specialized for fitting armor and protective gear called『Adjust』.

It seems that they can even adjust it to be usable for either men or women who are different in body types.

Certainly, leaving weapons aside, fine-tuning is essential for tight-fitting equipment such as armor.

It was quite the spectacle to see the size of the armor shrink by two-thirds.

She said that it was ultimately just an alteration of size, so it didn’t violate the law of conservation of mass or something, but it sounded like a lie to me somehow.

Visual-wise, it is a Western-style plate armor, but it is not a plate armor that tightly covers every inch of your body.

It boasts a mysterious visual where despite it having all the vital spots covered, it also has many openings elsewhere.

But conversely, the range of motion of its joints is wide, so it is also suitable for hand-to-hand combat.

The rugged, oxidized silvery metallic armor tickles those of manly hearts.

Rather than an armor, the fleshy armoring has more of a heavy build feeling to it, like that of a futuristic power suit.

In fact, among the Magic Armors, there seems to also be the type embedded with such a muscle-assist function, but this one is good enough even without it.

「You can really move in it, even Mikan-chan-senpai was startled, right? … It seems to be easily more than a hundred kilograms in weight, right, that thing.」

「It’s alright. No problem.」

「And the armor’s special ability, 『heavy pressure (Stressor)』, was it? Like sinking as you walk on the ground, the heck is that? Are you a denizen of a gag manga?」

I can’t quite accept that Saki is an anime while I’m a gag manga.

I believe being able to gain weight by surrounding magical energy, or rather by firing yourself up is a pretty useful ability.

I was able to take the armored rhinoceros’s charge head-on.

I haven’t tested it to the limit since I’m afraid that the floorboards of the dungeon would break, but perhaps it’s possible to increase my weight up to about ten tons in an instant.

By the way, if I fall on the ground, I will sink in the shape of『大』, so caution is necessary.

「No matter how you look at it, it’s a defective magic armor, isn’t it? Normally, the person inside should be unable to endure it, right?」

「If you use that burst mode, a ten-ton blunt weapon in the shape of a human charging at a speed unperceivable to the eyes…. The heck, are you mince meat production tool?」

It seems that Seiichi and the others are unable to understand the brilliance of the『Stressor Armor』 yet.

As expected, a demonstration of its sturdiness is necessary.

「Come on.」

「Umm… Is it okay if I aim for the neck?」

Saki, who is timidly readying her katana, is one ruthless lady.

Indeed, the unarmored head was also the weakness of the Goblin Lord.

I have to consider purchasing a full face helmet.