ルキヤ砂漠
「で、結局は熱意に負けて契約書にサインした訳か。そして作り方を全て教えたと」
「まあな......売れると確信してるのか、絶対にこっちに損が出ないような契約だったよ。例のアミンさんとかいう豪商のとこに、鏡を持ってすっ飛んでった」
手元に残った鏡は五枚きっかり。
残りは全て商品サンプルとして、契約金と引き換えにクラリスさんへと渡した。
今は宿の中で全員が揃うのを待っている。
残りはセレーネさんだけなので、女性陣が泊まっていた部屋で待機中だ。
「あ、今の内に鏡を渡しておくな。バジリスクの石化攻撃が来たら、試しに使ってみてくれ。失敗しても俺のリカバーで治せるから、積極的に狙ってよし」
「ふむ、女に鏡を贈るとは......」
「もっとハインドさんのために自分を磨けということですね? 分かりました」
「ハインド殿、酷いでござるな......」
「おい、分かってて言ってるだろ。そういう意図はないからな? 大体、お前等はそれ以上容姿を磨かんでも問題ないわい。この美形共が」
昔から、鏡を人に贈るのは良いとされないことが多い。
こいつらが言ったように「もっと鏡を見ろよ」という侮蔑の意味で受け取られる場合もあるし、割れやすいから縁起が悪いというのも理由としては強い。
しかし、俺は別に贈り物として鏡を渡したわけではないので今は全然関係ない話で。
「そうストレートに美形と褒められると、照れるでござるなぁ」
「何でお前が真っ先に照れてるんだよ。砂漠に首まで埋めるぞ」
対照的に、トビ以外の二人はじわじわと顔が赤くなっている。
褒められ慣れてるだろうに、どうしてそんなに過剰な反応をするのか。
と、その時部屋の中に光が生まれ、中からセレーネさんが現れた。
「ごめんなさい、待たせちゃったかな?」
「お、おお、セッちゃん! 特に問題ないぞ!」
「え、ええ、まだ全員が集まって五分程度ですから! 何も問題ありません! 何も!」
「? そ、そう......?」
俺はログインしてきたセレーネさんにも鏡を渡した。
すると、どういうわけか悲しそうな顔になり......
「......やっぱり、もうちょっと私も女らしくしたほうが良いのかな......?」
「いや、この鏡にそういう意図はないです......」
バジリスク対策のものだと誤解を解くと、セレーネさんは恥ずかしそうに顔を覆って俯いた。
リィズが表情を変えないままポンポンとその背を叩く。
セレーネさんには悪いが、ボケの天丼はご遠慮願いたい。
『オアシスの町マイヤ』を挟むようにして、この近辺には大きな砂漠が二つ存在している。
一つは俺達が通ってきた東側にある『ヤービルガ砂漠』。
そしてもう一つが、マイヤの西から『王都ワーハ』まで続いている『ルキヤ砂漠』である。
準備を整えた俺達は、ルキヤ砂漠へと足を踏み入れていた。
クラリスさんが話していた生態系の異常は想像以上で、油断するとラクダの足にニョロニョロと蛇が巻き付いてくる。
『ホーンヴァイパー』という名のこいつらは、一言で表現するなら小さなバジリスクだ。
こいつが突然変異してバジリスクが発生するらしいので、当然といえば当然だが。
石化能力こそないが強力な毒があり、先程からラクダを含めて誰かしら毒にかかるので『リカバー』の呪文がフル回転だ。
しかも移動しながらの戦闘なので、静止してのMPチャージができずに『MPポーション』を大量に使用する羽目に。
移動はラクダに乗ったままの騎乗戦闘なので、遠距離攻撃を持たない前衛二人が役立たずになっているのも痛い。
ユーミルの剣はロングソードではないので、攻撃が届いたり届かなかったり。
トビは短刀が二本なので、最初からリーチが絶望的。
「剣が当たらぁぁぁぁぁん! ストレスがたまるぅぅぅぅ!」
「拙者なんか何もできんでござるよぉ! んがー!」
とはいえ、この蛇の群れを止めるには『バジリスク』を倒さなければならない。
本来なら『ホーンヴァイパー』は群れで行動しないそうなので、統率しているバジリスクさえ居なければ脅威度は大きく低下する。
なので、今は足を止めずに進まなければ。
話によると、岩場がある辺りで戦士団はバジリスクと戦ったというのだが......。
「ハインド君、見えたよ! 岩場!」
「先導してください!」
俺の目では何も見えないので、セレーネさんに先頭に立って貰う。
そのまま暫く進むと徐々に岩場らしきごつごつした地形が見えてくるが、何か様子がおかしい。
岩肌の表面がうねうねと蠢いて――うわぁ。
「あれ、もしかして全部蛇じゃないのか......!?」
「本当だ! 桶にたくさん入ったウナギみたいになってるな! キモい!」
「本気で吐き気がしてきました......」
「ま、真っ先にあれを見たセレーネ殿は大丈夫なので......?」
「あ、私、爬虫類は大丈夫な人だから」
「「「「そうなの!?」」」」
意外な事実が発覚したところだが、状況は予断を許さない。
岩の表面を隙間なく這っているのは全て『ホーンヴァイパー』で、今からあそこに突入するわけだが......。
余力を残したいし、一度MPを回復させないと厳しい。
何とかならないものか......俺達は一度速度を緩め、岩場の方を見ながら近くを進む。
「ブシィィィィィッ!」
「!?」
考えていたら防御が疎かになっていたのか、気が付くとラクダに数匹の蛇が取り付いていた。
しかし、突然俺の乗ったラクダは大量の唾を地面に向かって吐き散らす。
すると......
「蛇が......逃げていく? ――って、臭っ!」
「臭い! 何だこれは!」
「ラクダが唾吐いた! んだが、これは......」
ヒントを得た俺はインベントリの中を探った。
確か、トビの忍者道具を試作したときの......あ、あった!
「よし、一番手前の岩場まで進もう。そこで一旦態勢を立て直す!」
「正気でござるか!? ということは、あの地点一画の蛇を殲滅して場所を確保するという――」
「その必要は無い! ともかく、ついてきてくれ!」
俺は岩場まで近付くと、インベントリから取り出した玉を投げつけた。
岩に当たって玉が割れ、砂塵に紛れて赤い粉が撒き散らされる。
「何です、あの粉......?」
「真っ赤な粉末が舞ってるんだけど、わっち、何を投げたの!?」
「唐辛子爆弾だ! 焙烙玉のオマケで作っておいた!」
「そ、それは効きそうだね......」
「ああ、そういえば蛇は嗅覚が発達しているのでしたね。ということは――」
リィズの言葉を裏付けるように、『ホーンヴァイパー』は岩場から蜘蛛の子を散らすように一斉にいなくなった。
本当はPK等に使う対人兵器として作ったんだけど......まさかこんなところで出番が来るとは。
粉が収まったところで、岩場に進むと急いで次の戦闘に備える。
少しの間は唐辛子の匂いを嫌がって近付いてこないはず。
「はい、集合集合! エリアヒールを使うから!」
俺は少し前に取得した『エリアヒール』を、全員が集まったのを確認してから岩場の上で発動した。
足元に大きな魔法陣が現れ、白い光を放ち始める。
これは範囲を指定するタイプの回復魔法で、陣の中に対象が入らなければ意味が無く、少し使い所が難しいスキルとなっている。
陣の上に乗っている間は徐々にHPが回復。
但し最初から最後まで乗り続けた際の総回復量は破格で、陣に入ったパーティメンバーは数度に渡る回復によってHPが全快した。
ついでに微量減っていたラクダのHPも、範囲内に入れたことで回復させることができた。
「はぁ、一息ついたね」
「セッちゃんは大活躍でしたね」
「ううん、リィズちゃんこそ良いタイミングで魔法撃ってたよ。ハインド君も、回復お疲れ様。完璧な支援だったと思う」
「MPポーションがゴリゴリ減りましたけどね。砂漠に来てからというもの、耐久戦ばっかりだ」
「ホームが完成したら、自分達でポーションを作りましょう。私がお手伝いしますよ、ハインドさん」
「だな......」
俺達の出費の多くを占めているのは回復アイテムだ。
神官が二人居るようなパーティなら限りなくその出費は減るだろうが、このパーティでは俺一人なのでそうもいかない。
そして後衛組はこうして健闘を称え合っているわけだが、前衛組はそうもいかず......。
「どこだぁ......出てこい、バジリスクゥゥゥゥ!」
「拙者の刀が血を求めているでござるよぉぉぉ! 獲物、獲物はどこじゃあああ!」
イライラしちゃってまあ。
まともに戦えなかった影響か、二人とも非常に不満が溜まっている様子。
蛇は耳がないので、どれだけ騒いでも関係ないだろうが......。
「シュルルルルル」
「「あ」」
――音で伝わる振動は感じるのだそうだ。
二股に分かれた舌をチロチロと出し入れしながら「ソレ」は遥かな高みからこちらを
聞いた通りのトサカの様な角、鋭く尖った牙に巨木の様な体躯。
二人の声に応えるように、山と見紛うかのような大蛇が出現した。
Chapter 55 - Lukia Desert
[So, in the end you lost against her enthusiasm and signed a contract. Then you told her how to make them.]  (Riizu)
[Something like that...she seemed confident that they would sell, the contract was made so that it would definitely not turn unprofitable for me.
The number of mirrors I had at hand right now were exactly five.
The rest I handed over to Claris-san in exchange for the contract money as samples.
Right now, I"m waiting inside the inn for everyone to gather.
Since Selene-san was the only one left, we were currently waiting in the girl's room.
[Ah, I'll hand the mirrors over. When the Basilisk uses its petrifying attack, try to test it.
[Fumu, to give a girl a mirror...]  (Yumir)
[So you are saying that I should polish myself more for Hind-san's sake right? I understand.]  (Riizu)
[Hind-dono, you sure are cruel...]  (Tobi)
[Just so you know, it doesn't have any deeper meaning ok? To begin with, there wouldn't be any issues even if you didn't polish your appearance more. You group of beauties.]  (Hind)
In the past, the times where giving someone a mirror wasn't a good thing were often.
As these guys have said, there were cases where it had the insulting meaning of [look at yourself in the mirror more]  and since they broke easily too, they were also a sign of bad omen.
However, since I wasn't giving them the mirrors as a gift right now, it has no relation to that kind of thing.
[If you tell me I'm beautiful straightly like that, I'll get embarrassed.]  (Tobi)
[Why are you the one getting embarrassed first? I'll bury you up to the head in the desert.]  (Yumir)
In contrast, apart from Tobi, the other two's faces were slowly turning red.
Even though they should be used to receiving compliments, why do they overreact like this?
At that time, a light was born inside the room and from within, Selene-san appeared.
[I'm sorry, did I make you wait?]  (Selene)
[O-Oh, Secchan! There are no problems!]  (Yumir)
[Y-Yes, it's only been about five minutes since everyone gathered! There's no issues! None!]  (Riizu)
[?? Is...that so?]  (Selene)
I handed a mirror to Selene-san, who just logged in.
When I gave it to her, she made a saddened face for some reason...
[...As expected, would it better if I was a bit more feminine...?]  (Selene)
[No, that's not what that mirror is for...]  (Hind)
Once I explained that it was a countermeasure against the Basilisk, Selene-san hung her head down and covered her face in an act of embarrassment.
Riizu then started to lightly hit her back without changing her expression.
I feel bad for her, but I would rather not repeat the gag.
With {Oasis town, Maija}  at the center, there were two huge deserts in the vicinity.
One of them was the one we passed through in the east side {Yabilga desert} .
The other one is on the west side of Maija, this one continues until the {Royal capital Waaha}  and is called {Lukia desert} .
Having finished our preparations, we set foot in Lukia desert.
Claris-san said that the ecosystem was strange but it was beyond our expectations, if we let our guard down and the camels slide, snakes would twine around them.
They were called {Horn vipers}  and if I had to describe them in a few words, I'd say they are small basilisks.
Seems like these will mutate and become basilisks, so I guess it goes without saying that they are like this.
They can't petrify, but they have strong poison, just now including the camels, someone got poisoned, so I rotated {Recover}  between them.
However, we were fighting while travelling, so I couldn't stand still to charge my MP and was in this awkward position where I had to use a large amount of {MP potions} .
Since we were fighting while riding on the camels, it was also painful how useless our two vanguards were because they lacked ranged attacks.
Given the fact that Yumir's sword wasn't a longsword, her attacks sometimes hit and other times missed.
Since Tobi used two tantous, his reach was hopeless from the start.
[The sword won't hiiiiiiiiit!! I'm getting stressed ouuuuuut!!]  (Yumir)
[I can't do anything! Gah!]  (Tobi)
That being said, in order to stop this swarm of snakes, we have no other choice but to defeat the {Basilisk} .
Originally, {Horn vipers}  don't act as a group, so if there's not a Basilisk leading them, they don't pose that much of a threat.
That's why, we have no choice but to not stop right now.
From what they said, the army fought the basilisk in the vicinity of a rocky area but...
[Hind-kun, I saw it! The rocky area!]  (Selene)
[Lead the way please!]  (Hind)
Since I can't see anything with my eyes, I'll have Selene-san take the lead.
After proceeding for a while, we started seeing a ragged rocky terrain but something was odd.
The surface was twisting and wriggling...whoa.
[Wait, could it be that they are all snakes...!?]  (Hind)
[You are right! It looks like a bucket full of eels! So gross!]  (Yumir)
[I'm getting serious nausea...]  (Riizu)
[I-Is Selene-dono fine after being the first one to see that...?]  (Tobi)
[Ah, I'm the type of person that is fine with reptiles.]  (Selene)
[[[[Really!?] ] ] ] 
We discovered an unexpected truth here, but the current situation was highly unpredictable.
The rocky area didn't have any cracks and it was crawling with {Horn vipers}  and we now had to plunge into there but...
I'd like to have some spare energy left and it'll be quite hard if I don't recover my MP first.
Can we do something about this...we slowed down our pace and looked at the rocky area while we drew closer.
[Bushiiiiiii!] 
[!?]  (Hind)
It might have been because we were negligent in our defense now that I think about it, by the time I noticed, several snakes were clinging onto my camel.
However, suddenly my camel spit a large amount of saliva onto the ground.
When it did so...
[The snakes...are running away? ...Wait, it stinks!]  (Hind)
[It stinks! What's this!?]  (Yumir)
[It's the camel's saliva! However, this...]  (Hind)
Having gained a hint, I searched through my inventory.
If I remember correctly, there was that prototype ninja gear for Tobi...ah, here it is!
[Alright, let's proceed until the rocky area first. There, we'll prepare for the fight.]  (Hind)
[Are you insane!? So you mean that we should get there, exterminate the snakes and secure the place...]  (Tobi)
[There's no need for that! Anyway, follow me!]  (Hind)
Once I got closer to the rocky area, I took out the ball from my inventory and threw it.
Once the ball hit the rocks it broke in pieces, disappeared into the sandstorm and scattered a red dust.
[What's this dust...?]  (Riizu)
[It's bright red fine powder that is floating around but...Wacchi, what did you throw!?]  (Tobi)
[It's a red pepper bomb! I made it as a bonus when making the bo-hiya!]  (Hind)
[T-That sounds quite effective...]  (Selene)
[Yeah, now that I think about it, snakes have a developed sense of smell. Which means...]  (Riizu)
As if to support Riizu's words, the {Horn vipers}  scattered from the rocky area like baby spiders and disappeared in unison.
The truth is, I made it as an anti-personnel weapon to use against PKs...but to think it would make its first appearance here.
Once the dust settled, we advanced towards the rocky area and hurriedly prepared for the next battle.
For some time, they should be wary of the smell of red pepper and probably won't get close.
[Alright, gather up! I'm going to use area heal!]  (Hind)
I used the skill {Area Heal}  that I got a while back on the rocky area once I made sure that everyone had gathered.
At our feet, a big magic circle appeared and it emitted a white light.
This is the type of healing magic that you have to designate an area, unless the targets are inside, there's no meaning in using it so it's a skill that's a bit hard to use.
While our party was inside, our HP gradually recovered.
However, if you were inside from beginning to end, the amount of HP recovered was extraordinary, the members of the party that were inside the formation healed multiple times and recovered up to full HP.
Incidentally, since the camels had also taken a small amount of damage and were inside the formation too, they were able to recover their HP.
[Hah, we can finally take a break.]  (Selene)
[Secchan played a very active part.]  (Riizu)
[No, it's Riizu-chan who used magic with great timing. Good job on the healing too Hind-kun. I believe it was perfect support.]  (Selene)
[Though our MP potions decreased by a big amount. Since we've come to the desert, it's been all battles of endurance.]  (Hind)
[Once we finish making the home, let's make our own potions. I'll help you, Hind-san.]  (Riizu)
[Right...]  (Hind)
Where most of our expenses go to are healing items.
If the party had two shinto priests, the expenses would definitely decrease, but since I'm the only one in this party, it won't go that way.
While the rear guards were exchanging such praises for our effort, the same couldn't be said for our vanguards...
[Where is it...come out, Basiliiiiiiiiiisk!]  (Yumir)
[My blades seek bloooooooood! Prey, where is the preeeeeey!!]  (Tobi)
They were getting irritated.
It might have been because they couldn't fight properly, both of them seemed to have quite the dissatisfaction piled up.
Since snakes don't have ears, it doesn't really matter how much noise they make though...
[Shyururururu] 
[[Ah] ] 
...It was probably because it felt the vibrations made by the sound.
While taking in and out its bifurcated tongue [That]  was glaring at us from a distant elevated place.
Like we were told, it had a crest-like horn, sharp pointed fangs and physique like a big tree.
As if it was responding to both of their voices, a giant snake that you would mistake for a mountain appeared.
VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～
ＶＲＭＭＯの支援職人　～トッププレイヤーの仕掛人～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/vrmmo-no-shien-shokunin-%ef%bd%9etop-player-no-shikakenin%ef%bd%9e/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Slice of Life
Adventurers Beautiful Female Lead Blacksmith Brother Complex Calm Protagonist Childhood Friends Clan Building Cooking Crafting Curious Protagonist Dense Protagonist Elemental Magic Fantasy Creatures Game Ranking System Gamers Hard-Working Protagonist Healers Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Love Rivals Male Protagonist Misunderstandings MMORPG Ninjas Possessive Characters Priests Siblings Siblings Not Related by Blood Sword And Magic Virtual Reality Younger Love Interests Younger Sisters
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4014ds/
二階堂風都