第三話 〈幻獣の塔〉
俺とルーチェは、ケルトから聞いた〈幻獣の塔〉へと向かっていた。
途中で中継地点にある村を経由し、森の奥を進んで行く。
崖壁の前に、大きな虹色の渦が広がっていた。
「まだ残っていたか......」
俺は安堵の息を漏らす。
「そんなに短期で攻略されるものなんですか? その〈
「移動に思ったより時間が掛かってしまったからな」
準備に移動......と、合わせて丸一日掛かってしまった。
ゲームのときには早ければ開幕五分で最上位勢の群れが雪崩れ込んできて、それから数分で消滅することもあったくらいだ。
まぁ、さすがにこのケースはこちらの世界では当て嵌まらないはずなのだが......急ぐに越したことはない。
冒険者ギルドが発見を隠している......という話だった。
ギルドはギルドで編成した冒険者を送り込んで儲けを独占しようと考えているのだろう。
魔物の乱獲が既に行われている可能性は高い。
ギルドぐるみでそうしたことをしているのならば、触れない方が賢明なのは間違いない。
ケルトが来なかったのも、そうした考えもあるだろう。
ただ、彼らは発見を隠しただけであって、侵入を禁止したわけではない。
見つかってもこちらに後ろ暗いことはない。
目を付けられるのもよくはないのだが、数少ない〈死神の凶手〉を手に入れるチャンスなのだ。
ここを逃すという手はない。
早速ルーチェと共に虹色の渦へと入り、〈
【〈幻獣の塔〉:《推奨Lv:80》】
黄土色の床と壁が続いている、簡素な作りであった。
魔物の像が置いてある。
獅子の顔しており、大きな翼を有している。
キマイラのものだ。
「【Lv:80】......聞いてはいましたけれど、かなり高いですね」
ルーチェがごくりと唾を呑む。
「ああ、事前に話した通り......奥までは潜らない。危険な魔物からは逃げる、怪しいところには入らない、深追いはしない」
とはいえ推奨レベルはあくまで〈夢の主〉のレベルだ。
一般的に出没する魔物は彼らよりも一段階は低い。
俺達は既に【Lv:85】のスカルロードを討伐しているので、そこまで危険なところに踏み込んでいるわけでもない。
別に本格的な攻略に乗り出してもいいのだが、わざわざ〈
危険な〈夢の主〉を倒さなくても、ドロップの美味しい魔物を狩っていれば、いずれ消滅するのだから。
倒す理由がないことはないが、倒さない理由の方が多すぎる。
「窓がある......〈
壁には窓として、大きな穴が広がっていた。
縁には獣が彫られている。
外に目を向ければ、綺麗な青空が見える。
ルーチェが窓に歩み寄り、外を見ていた。
「下が見えない......凄く高い......。ど、どうなっているんですか、これ? 世界のどこかに塔が出現している......っていうことですか?」
「あまり外を覗かない方がいいぞ。落ちたらどうなるのか全くわからない」
「そ、そうですね」
ルーチェがぶるりと身を震わせて、そうっと窓から離れる。
「さて......死神狩りを始めるとするか」
俺はパンっと手を打ち鳴らす。
今回の目標は〈死神の凶手〉の〈
最初のグリムリーパーを見つけるまで、さして時間は掛からなかった。
時間にして一時間くらいだろうか?
石像の魔物であるガーゴイルを〈シールドバッシュ〉で弾いて逃げた先で、無事にグリムリーパーを発見することができた。
この〈幻獣の塔〉にグリムリーパーがいない可能性もあったので、出没を確認できたことにまず安心した。
半透明の青い霊体の身体に、不気味な笑顔の仮面がついている。
浮かんでいる白の手袋が、しっかりと大きな鎌を掴んでいた。
魔物:グリムリーパー
Lv :66
HP :166/166
MP :66/66
「ケケ......ケケケ......!」
グリムリーパー......。
回避能力と攻撃力が高い、厄介な魔物だ。
高確率クリティカルの〈竜殺刈り〉を放ってくるため、レベル上で勝っていてもあまり安心のできる相手ではない。
その他、霊体を薄くして物理攻撃を透かす〈霊体透過〉や、行動阻害系の魔法スキルも有している。
ドロップが美味しいレアな魔物ではあるが、出くわしてもリスクやクラス相性を考えて避けるパーティーの方が多いかもしれない。
だが、当然俺は、グリムリーパーの弱点や動き方は熟知している。
「はいっ! エルマさん!」
「ゲッ......!?」
猛然と迫って来る俺達の勢いに、グリムリーパーも少し困惑しているようだった。
だが、すぐに鎌を構え直し、大きく引いた。
グリムリーパーのスキル......〈葬礼の舞〉の予備動作だった。
「〈葬礼の舞〉は出始めを〈シールドバッシュ〉で潰す!」
俺は大盾を構え、グリムリーパーの身体を弾く。
「ゴッ......!」
グリムリーパーが壁に叩きつけられる。
思ったよりも勢いよく飛んでくれた。
「〈屍将の盾〉はやはり強力だな」
〈葬礼の舞〉は強力なスキルではあるが、グリムリーパーの数少ない隙でもある。
〈葬礼の舞〉のスーパーアーマーに頼っている間は、〈霊体透過〉で物理攻撃を透かすことができないのだ。
グリムリーパーが立て直すより一瞬早く、ルーチェがそのすぐ横の壁へと垂直に立ち、素早く身体を側転させた。
「〈曲芸連撃〉!」
「ケ、ケ......!」
グリムリーパーは一撃受けたものの、すぐに立て直して鎌で応戦し、ルーチェのナイフを防ぐ。
だが、その隙に俺はグリムリーパーの背後へと回り込んでいた。
まだ体勢が不完全なグリムリーパーの背へ、死角より〈ミスリルの剣〉の一撃を叩き込む。
グリムリーパーの霊体が裂けて、消えていく。
仮面に罅が入り、手袋と鎌と共に地面へと落ちた。
【経験値を2899取得しました。】
経験値取得メッセージと共に、俺は剣を鞘へと仕舞った。
「お見事ですエルマさん!」
「〈霊体透過〉を使わせないためには、他のスキルの隙を突くか、死角を取るのが一番だからな」
〈霊体透過〉主軸で堅実に動かれて戦闘が長引けば、常に敵のクリティカルを警戒しながら立ち回る必要があるため、なかなか苦しい戦いを強いられていただろう。
〉、落ちてください......!」
ルーチェが手を合わせて祈る。
「......いや、駄目だな」
俺は首を振り、グリムリーパーの亡骸へと近づく。
既に奴の仮面は土くれになっていたが、鎌だけはしっかりと残っていた。
俺は鎌を持ち上げる。
「何もドロップしないよりはいいんだが......欲しかったのとは違う方だな」
武器ドロップより〈
元より、一体で死神狩りが終わるとは思っていなかった。
〈魂刈りの鎌〉《推奨装備Lv:60》
【攻撃力:+18】
【市場価値:千五百万ゴルド】
クリティカル率がやや高く、攻撃した対象のMPを減少させる効果を有している。
鎌としてはなかなか強い部類ではある。
攻撃力は控え目だが、二つの追加効果がかなり強力だ。
......まぁ、鎌を使う予定なんてないため、市場に流してお終いなのだが。
「うう......外れドロップ......」
ルーチェが〈魂刈りの鎌〉を見て悲しげに呟く。
「別に千五百万ゴルドはちゃんと滅茶苦茶大きいからな!?」
ルーチェの感覚が麻痺している。
Volume 3 - Ch 3
Luce and I started heading toward the Phantasmal Beast Tower we heard about from Celt.
Stopping by a village on the way, we proceeded deeper into the forest.
A large rainbow colored swirl was hanging in the air in front of a cliff wall.
"So it's still here...."
I sighed in relief.
"Do these tend to get cleared that fast? Phantasmal Dungeons like these.... I haven't even heard of them before this...."
"It took us more time to get here than I thought."
The preparations and getting here took an entire day.
When it was just a game, high level players would descend on it like an avalanche within five minutes of it opening, then cause it to disappear within another few minutes sometimes.
Well, that possibility obviously doesn't apply here in this world, but....it's better to be sure and move as fast as possible.
It was said that the adventurer's guild is trying to hide its existence.
The Guild must be thinking of gathering up a group of adventurers and monopolizing the profits from it.
There is a high chance that the monsters are already being overfarmed.
If it's happening with the Guild's blessing, then we should do our best to stay away from that.
That must be one of the reasons Celt did not come with us too.
However, they only hid the fact that it was found; they did not forbid anyone from entering.
Even if they find us, we aren't doing anything questionable.
It wouldn't be good to catch some people's eye like that, but it's still one of the very few chances to get the [Reaper Assassin] Skill Book.
No way we could let this chance go.
Luce and I entered the purplish swirl right away, which then transported us into the Dungeon.
[(<Phantasmal Beast Tower> :<<Recommended Level: 80>> )] 
Simply made ochre color walls and floor continued into the distance.
There were also some statues of monsters around.
One of them had the face of a lion and large wings on its back.
It was made in the appearance of a Chimera.
"We've heard it was [(Lv:80)] , but it really is quite high."
Luce gulped.
"Yeah, like I said before....we won't be going too deep. We will run away from dangerous monsters, stay out of suspicious places, and won't overextend by chasing after monsters."
That being said, the Recommended Level only applies to the Dream Lord.
The monsters that normally appear are one step lower.
We already managed to take down a [(Lv:85)]  Skull Lord, so it's not like we entered a particularly dangerous place.
We could start working on actually clearing the place, but there is no reason to do that with a Phantasmal Dungeon either.
Since even without going for the dangerous Dream Lord, if we keep hunting monsters for sweet drop items, the Dungeon will disappear sooner or later.
There are a few reasons why it would be a good idea to take it down, but there are many more why it would be counterproductive.
"There are windows here....even though we are inside a Dungeon...."
There were large holes in the wall to serve as windows.
Their edges were carved in the shape of lions.
If you looked outside, you could see a pretty blue sky.
Luce walked closer to a window and gazed outside.
"I can't see the bottom....we are crazy high up.... H-how does this even work? Is there a tower somewhere else in the world or something....?"
"You shouldn't look down too much. We have no idea what could happen if someone were to fall down."
"T-that's true...."
Luce shivered, then slowly stepped away from the window.
"Well then....let's start the Grim Reaper hunt."
I clapped my hands together.
Our objective this time is to hunt only the Grim Reapers, who could potentially drop the Skill Book for the [Reaper Assassin] Skill Tree.
It didn't take too long to find our first Grim Reaper.
Maybe a single hour, if that.
We were able to find a Grim Reaper after punting away a stone Gargoyle with [Shield Bash] and running away.
There was a chance that this Phantasmal Beast Tower wouldn't have Grim Reapers, so when one appeared, I was relieved.
Within its bluish, half-transparent spectral body, a creepy smiling mask could be seen.
A floating white glove was holding tightly onto a large scythe.
Monster: Grim Reaper
Level: 66
HP: 166/166
MP: 66/66
"KEKEH....KEKEKEH.....!"
A Grim Reaper.....
It's a troublesome monster with high evasion capabilities and high Attack power.
It can attack with its [Dragon Reaper] Skill that has a high chance of dealing critical damage, so even if we should be able to win on paper, it's not an opponent that we should let our guard down with.
Other than that, it also has a way of avoiding physical attacks with its [Spectral Permeation] Skill, and has some kind of movement inhibiting magic Skill.
It may be a rare monster with nice drops, but more parties than not tend to decide to avoid it after thinking over the risks and how suitable their Classes are to deal with it, even if they suddenly come across it.
However, I of course am well aware of the Grim Reaper's weaknesses and how it tends to move.
"Yess! Elma-san!"
"GEH.....!?"
It seems even the Grim Reaper got confused by the sight of us suddenly charging at it.
However, it brandished its scythe right away, then swung it in a large arc.
It was the Grim Reaper's Skill....the [Funeral Dance]'s opening movements.
"I will break the activation of the [Funeral Dance] with [Shield Bash]!"
I brandished my large shield and bashed it into the Grim Reaper's body.
"GOH......!"
The Grim Reaper slammed into the wall.
It flew with a much larger momentum than I expected.
"This Corpse General's Shield is indeed really powerful."
The [Funeral Dance] is a powerful Skill, but it's also a weak point of the Grim Reaper for a few seconds.
While it's under the effect of the [Funeral Dance]'s super armor, it can't use [Spectral Permeation] to avoid physical attacks.
A moment before the Grim Reaper could regain its balance, Luce arrived right next to it while standing on the wall, then started spinning quickly.
"[Stunt Barrage]!"
"KEH, KEH.....!"
After taking one hit, the Grim Reaper regained its balance immediately, then used its scythe to block Luce's knife.
However, during that time I took the opportunity to get behind it.
With its posture not completely at the ready yet, I was able to hit it in the back from its blind spot with my Mythril Sword.
The Grim Reaper's spectral body was torn apart, then it disappeared altogether.
A crack ran through its mask, then fell to the ground together with its gloves and scythe.
[(You have gained 2899 experience points.)] 
I returned my sword to its sheath as the experience gain message rang out in my head.
"Well done, Elma-san!"
"To not let it use the [Spectral Permeation] it's best to take advantage of a weak point in its other Skills, or strike it from a blind spot after all."
If it manages to use [Spectral Permeation] to move with caution it could drag out the battle by a lot, which makes it necessary to watch out for possible critical hits, making the fight quite difficult as a result.
"Please....let this one drop a Skill Book....!"
Luce prayed by putting her hands together.
".....no, it seems it didn't work."
I shook my head and walked closer to the Grim Reaper's remains.
Its mask already crumbled away, leaving only its scythe still present.
I picked up the scythe.
"It's better than not getting anything, but.....it's not quite what we were looking for."
Though it's understandable, since weapons have a much higher chance of dropping than Skill Books.
I did not think it would end with only a single Grim Reaper to begin with.
<Soul Reaper Scythe> <<Recommended Level: 60>> 
[(Attack:+18)] 
[(Market Value: 15 million gold)] 
It has a slightly increased chance to deal critical damage and has the ability to decrease the opponent's MP on hit.
It's one of the stronger scythes.
Its Attack bonus is somewhat on the lower side, but the two extra effects it has are pretty powerful.
....well, we have no plans on ever using it, so we'll just sell it and that's that.
"Uuh.....it was a miss....."
Looking at the Soul Reaper Scythe, Luce whispered in a sad tone.
"It's not like 15 million gold is not an absurdly large sum either though!?"
Luce's senses were still numb.
The Reincarnated Heavy Knight Who Was Exiled After A Supposed Big Miss Is Unparalleled With His Game Knowledge
大ハズレだと追放された転生重騎士はゲーム知識で無双する
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-heavy-knight-who-was-exiled-after-a-supposed-big-miss-is-unparalleled-with-his-game-knowledge/
Action Adventure Fantasy Romance Shounen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alchemy Arrogant Characters Artifacts Blacksmith Calm Protagonist Clever Protagonist Determined Protagonist Dungeons Fallen Nobility Fantasy World Game Elements Guilds Hot-blooded Protagonist Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Lucky Protagonist Male Protagonist Mystery Solving Naive Protagonist Nobles Poor to Rich Previous Life Talent Reincarnated in a Game World Romantic Subplot Skill Books Strategic Battles Strong Love Interests Strong to Stronger Sword Wielder Underestimated Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8465gx/
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