第三十五話 〈嘆きの墓所〉
【〈嘆きの墓所〉:《推奨Lv:70》】
中へ入った途端、頭にメッセージが響く。
陰鬱な石造りの通路に、天使や骸骨を模したような彫像や、十字架が並んでいる。
ただ神の悪夢によって造られた場所だとわかってはいるが、不気味で仕方がない。
ゲーム時代には飽きる程見た覚えがあるが、やはり実際にあるのでは存在感が全く違う。
ルーチェもそれは同感らしく、俺の背後にぴったりとくっ付くように歩いている。
「こ、こんなところで、不審なものを探せって言われても困りますよぉ......。怪しいっていいますか、石碑一つとっても意味深ですし......」
普通の冒険者は〈
〉についての情報共有もゲーム時代ほど詳細には行われていない。
何か不審なところを、なんて漠然といわれても難しいだろう。
〉でゲーム時代にはなかった何かが起きているのならば、俺であればその差異に気が付けるかもしれない。
「ウチらは冒険者であって、学者さんじゃないんだし。一番の目的は魔物の間引きと〈
メアベルの言う通り、実際にギルドが期待しているのはその程度のことだろう。
「おい重騎士、もっと先頭を歩け。不意打ちで回復役が真っ先に攻撃されたらどうするつもりだ? はぁ......自分の役割くらい、熟してもらわないとな。あまり俺の足を引っ張るんじゃねえぞ?」
ケルトが俺の行動に揚げ足を取ってきた。
......足の遅い重騎士が前に出過ぎてどうするというんだ。
何かあったときに囲まれるリスクや、逃げ遅れるリスクも高い。
走って他の三人と合流するのも時間が掛かるのでパーティーの強みを活かせなくなる可能性も高い。
第一、ケルトが不意打ちから守って欲しいのは回復役のメアベルではなく、防御力の低い遠距離役の狩人の自分だろう。
ただ、ケルトの言葉は粗があるとはいえ、方針や優先順位の違いで済む範囲なので反論するのも難しい。
身勝手で視野が狭いだけならやりようがあるが、彼の場合意図的にやっているのがいやらしい。
強弁で少しずつ自分に都合のいい状況へと持っていきつつ、他者に命令できる空気を作っていく。
と......そのとき、ひたひた、ひたひたと、前方から無数の足音が聞こえてきた。
「魔物だ!」
俺は声を上げつつ、前へと出た。
ルーチェが俺の横に並んだ。
「ゲェ......ゲェ......」
全長一メートル程度の、包帯の塊のような魔物が四体現れた。
包帯の合間からは、腐った汁のようなものが溢れている。
四足歩行で、ふらり、ふらりと移動している。
「なんだ、ラーナですね」
ルーチェがほっとしたようにそう零す。
〈マジックワールド〉でお馴染みのマスコットモンスター、化けガエルことラーナのアンデッド版である。
「......ラーナを見ると安堵する気持ちもわかるが、奴らのステータスはそう可愛くないぞ」
ラーナは〈マジックワールド〉においてもっとも有名な雑魚モンスターである。
成金ラーナを筆頭に、ボーナス系やネタ枠系などの派生した種族が複数存在する。
しかし、弱い魔物ばかりかといえば、そんなことは全くない。
Lv :55
HP :147/147
MP :99/99
マミーラーナはHPが高いので倒すのには少し苦労させられる。
素早さもアンデッドの中ではかなり高めの設定になっている。
長期戦で体力を消耗させられる上に、集中力が切れた頃に遠距離攻撃を挟んでくる。
おまけに痛覚が鈍くダメージを受けてもほぼ仰け反らないため、少し攻撃方法を誤ると反撃を叩き込まれる。
ただその分、攻撃力自体は低く、攻撃方法自体もトリッキーなものではない。
とにかく丁寧に戦って被ダメージを抑えるしかない。
「〈影踏み〉!」
後衛の二人に意識を向けていたマミーラーナの影を踏み、動きを止めて強制的にターゲットを自分に向ける。
「〈シールドバッシュ〉!」
続けて別のマミーラーナを後方へ弾き飛ばす。
これで同時に相手取るマミーラーナの数を減らせる。
〈影踏み〉のせいで動きにくいため、背中を取られたくない。
「ルーチェ!」
「わかってますよぉ!」
ルーチェは道化師の素早さを活かし、俺の背後を取ろうとしていたマミーラーナを先回りして牽制する。
「ほお、あのガキ、俺に楯突いただけあって、最低限の役割は熟せるようだな」
ケルトが満足げに漏らす。
「このレベルの四体相手は前衛が苦しいんよ。ウチも魔法攻撃で加勢して、数を減らした方が......」
「必要ねぇ、MPの無駄だ。白魔法に徹しろ」
ケルトはそう口にすると、一歩前に出た。
「あんまり前に出ない方がいいんよ。その距離は、狩人の間合いじゃ......」
「誰に指図してやがる。前衛がこれだけ機能してるなら問題ない。距離を詰めて、弓の回転率と精度を上げた方がいい」
ケルトの放った矢が、一体のマミーラーナの額を綺麗に捉える。
だが、急所攻撃への効果が薄いのもアンデッドの特徴の一つである。
マミーラーナはお構いなしでケルトへ突撃していく。
「おい、その距離は俺達もカバーしきれないぞケルト!」
俺は声を荒らげて叫んだ。
ケルトは素早く片手でナイフを抜くと、マミーラーナの腹部に突き刺し、そのまま柄に蹴りを入れて深く押し込むと共に距離を取った。
間合いが開いたところで、間髪入れずに相手の胸部へと次の矢を射る。
「グゲッ!」
さすがのマミーラーナも、この攻撃には悲鳴を漏らす。
「ぼさっとしてねぇで、早くカバーしろ道化師」
メアベルに白魔法を使わせなかったのも、距離を詰めて矢の回転率を上げに来たのも、パーティーのためではなく自分がダメージを稼いでアイテムドロップと経験値を稼ぐためだろう。
ただ、この世界でB級冒険者になっただけはある。
傲慢で狡猾な男だが、確かに実力は高い。
Volume 2 - Ch 35
[(<Graveyard of Sorrows> :<<Recommended Level: 70>> )] 
As soon as we entered, the message resounded in my mind.
Crosses and statues depicting angels and skeletons lined the gloomy stone corridor we arrived in.
I know that this place was only created from the nightmares of a god, but I can't help but feel creeped out anyway.
I remember seeing this scenery countless times when it was just a game, but the feeling of presence it gives off when seen in person is entirely different.
Luce seemed to feel the same, since she kept sticking to me as closely as she could while she walked behind me.
"E-even if they told us to search for anything strange here, I don't even know where to start.... To me every statue looks kind of suspicious, or perhaps mysterious...."
Ordinary adventurers tend to only know what they need to know about Dungeons.
Information about each Dungeon isn't shared here in as much detail as it was while this was a game either.
Even if someone suddenly told them to search one for anything strange, it wouldn't be a simple matter.
However, if something abnormal is happening here that's different from its game , then if it's me I should be able to pinpoint it.
"We are adventurers, not scholars. Our current objectives are to thin out the monster's numbers and deal with the Dungeon, so we shouldn't overthink the whole thing. In my opinion, the Guild only expects us to do what we were told and properly report on what we saw in the meantime."
Just as Mabel said, the Guild most likely only expects that much from us.
"Hey, Heavy Knight, walk a bit further ahead of us. What would you do if we were ambushed and our healer was targeted first? Haah....you need to at least know what to do in your own role. Try not to hinder me too much, okay?"
Celt started quibbling about my actions.
.....come on, why should the slow moving Heavy Knight be the one to walk that far ahead?
It only increases the risks of getting surrounded or failing to run away if something were to happen.
It would take too long for me to meet back up with the other three members of the party too, even if I ran, which would prevent us from making the best use of our party's strong points.
In any case, the one who Celt wants to protect from an ambush is not the healer, Mabel, but himself with the long-ranged Hunter Class that has low Defense.
However, even if there are problems with what Celt said, it can still be chalked up to a difference in approaches and priorities, so it's hard to argue against.
If it was because he was selfish and had a narrow mindset, then it would be easier to deal with, but he does this intentionally.
He slowly pushes through minor concessions, which creates an atmosphere where we are more and more likely to heed his orders.
Then....pitter patter, pitter patter, the sounds of numerous legs could be heard from ahead of us.
"Monster incoming!"
I moved to the front as I yelled out.
Luce was standing beside me.
"GE.........GE........"
Four, one meter tall monsters covered almost entirely with bandages showed up.
A kind of putrid fluid was seeping through between the bandages.
They were shambling on four legs.
"Oh, it's just a few Rana."
Luce said quietly with audible relief.
They were the undead versions of the monster frog, called Rana, mascot character of Magic World.
".....I understand that you are feeling relieved because it's just a few Rana, but their Status is not that dainty."
The Rana was the most famous small fry monster type of Magic World.
There were countless types of bonus and joke versions of the monster, starting with the Golden Rana.
However, it's not to say those are always weak monsters.
Level: 55
HP: 147/147
MP: 99/99
The Mummy Rana has a lot of HP, so it's kind of a pain to take it down.
Its speed is on the higher side among the undead types too.
Not only will it tire you out with a long battle, but if you let your guard down for a second, it will launch a ranged attack at you.
In addition to that, due to its dulled sense of pain, it barely flinches from taking damage, so if you don't attack it exactly right it will be able to land a counterattack on you.
In exchange its attack power itself is low and its method of attacking is not that tricky either.
All-in-all, I just need to fight it carefully and keep the damage sustained to a minimum.
"[Shadow Stomp]!"
I stomped on the shadows of the Rana that was targeting the two in the back line, stopping its movements and forcing the aggro to myself.
"[Shield Bash]!"
Next, I sent the other Rana flying back.
With this, I was able to decrease the number of Mummy Ranas we have to deal with at the same time.
Since it's not easy to move with the [Shadow Stomp] in effect, I don't want it getting behind me.
"Luce!"
"I know!"
Luce made use of her excellent speed and moved to cut off and keep in check the Mummy Rana that tried to move behind me.
"Hoh, that brat..... As expected of someone who tried to stand up to me, he knows the bare minimums of his role."
Celt said with a satisfied expression.
"Taking on four monsters at our current level is hard for a front liner. I should also help out with my magic attacks and decrease their number...."
"No need, it's a waste of MP. Keep to white magic."
Celt said and stepped one step forward.
"You shouldn't move too close like that. With a Hunter's range that distance is...."
"Who do you think you are trying to order around? With our front liners working as they are, this is perfectly fine. If I'm closer, then I can shoot faster and more accurately."
An arrow shot by Celt cleanly impacted the forehead of one of the Mummy Ranas right in the center.
However, one characteristic of the undead is that critical attacks don't mean much against them.
The Mummy Rana charged towards Celt without heeding its injury at all.
"Oi, even we can't cover you if you come this close!"
I shouted at him.
Celt quickly took out a knife and stabbed it into the abdomen of the Mummy Rana, then he kicked the hilt to push it deeper, using that kick to fall back.
Then, after gaining some distance, he put another arrow into its chest without a moment's delay.
"GUGH!"
Even the Mummy Rana let out a shriek after that attack.
"Don't just stand there, cover me Clown!"
The reason he forbade Mabel from using magic attacks and got closer so he could shoot faster was not because that was best for the party, but because he wanted to rack up as much damage dealt as he could and gain as many drop items and experience points as possible.
As expected of someone that managed to become a B rank adventurer in this world.
He's an arrogant and crafty man, but there are indeed no doubts about his abilities.
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/
猫子