Chapter 318

The magical beasts, suddenly brought to this place, wouldn’t simply move as desired.

However, under Tatsuro’s Curse Magic, they now clung together like decade-long partners, launching attacks toward a single enemy.

First, a stick-like magical beast with an eye attached fired a series of small Fireballs at the tiger-shaped machine piloted by Leah.

In coordination, a fly-shaped magical beast capable of Flight swooped in a mountain-shaped trajectory, aiming to strike the machine’s back with the scythes of its two forelegs.

“Such flames wouldn’t leave a scratch even if they hit—but here’s my response!”

Against the small Fireballs flying in a horizontal line, about to reach the machine first, Leah opened its mouth wide and unleashed a ferocious Flame Heat blast from deep within its throat.

“AAAAA—”

The Fireballs were effortlessly swallowed and extinguished, and the blaze stretched straight toward the eye-shaped magical beast that had launched the attack.

At the moment of impact, a two-meter-tall humanoid magical beast turned its back to shield the eye-shaped one, taking the brunt of the flames.

Meanwhile, the fly-shaped magical beast, enraged, buzzed its wings and slashed at the machine’s back.

“They won’t hit.”

“BZZZZ—”

But Leah cut off the Flame Heat blast, ducked lightly, and leaped backward, facing the thirty-centimeter fly exposing itself defenselessly. Infusing Dragon Force, she scratched it lightly with Claws clad in scorching heat.

The fly was easily torn apart and died instantly.

“AAAAAAAAAA—!!”

“—!!!”

The remaining two magical beasts, forced to witness their ally (or so they believed) being killed, let out bizarre screams, eyes bloodshot with rage, and charged in a frenzy.

The humanoid magical beast, moving at a speed belying its rotund frame, rushed forward, swinging a Club to crush the machine’s head.

However, Leah deliberately caught it with the machine’s paw pads (for a tiger). From there, Forge Flame Material seeped into the Club.

As Forge Flame enveloped the paw pads, it spread to the entire Club. Since it didn’t seem hot or harmful, the humanoid beast swung a second strike.

“In fact, the paw pads are treated like my Hammer.”

“AAA!?”

The moment the Club touched the paw pads again on the second strike, Smithing Skills: Transformation and Creation activated, morphing the Club into a spiked form on the magical beast’s side, piercing its handle and body.

“Tiger Punch!”

“GOBU—”

With the Club forcibly transformed and riddled with spikes, Leah snapped the machine’s left foreleg, striking the humanoid beast’s abdomen with the former Club, causing it to burst spectacularly, splitting the beast into upper and lower halves.

Though the Slime controlling it was unharmed and tried to escape by manipulating the separated upper half, a beam shot from the tiger machine’s eyes incinerated it.

“A beam came from its eyes!”

“It seems to replicate my Laser with a Magical Tool.”

Watching from behind Ai in a clinging position, Tatsuro calmly explained while patting her excited head.

With two magical beasts gone, the eye-shaped beast, which had been preparing magic, seemed ready, manifesting a one-meter Fireball above its head.

“Disappointing magic for all that preparation time—here we go!”

As it prepared to launch the Fireball, Leah made the machine run through the air, swiftly ascending above the magical beast.

Locking onto the beast below, a cannon barrel sprouted from the machine’s back, firing a Grenade with its pin removed with a shupon sound.

“Something sprouted!”

“It’s not about drastically changing the body’s shape, but growing something like that allows for versatile applications.”

As the magical beast, still maintaining the Fireball, looked around for the machine that had vanished from sight, the Grenade landed on its head.

With a loud BANG, the Fireball was blown away, and the magical beast itself was obliterated, leaving no trace of the three beasts’ reactions.

“That was overwhelming.”

“Well, sure, but those magical beasts were too weak. Even I could’ve beaten them easily in my own body.”

Descending from the air like sliding down a slope and landing on the ground, Leah restored the machine’s weight and responded to Ai’s words.

“Well, farther from town, there might’ve been stronger ones, but around here, that’s the limit.”

“True. But for the first test run, they were decent opponents. Now, let’s move to the final form.”

At those words, Athena looked slightly disappointed as the third Transformation began.

“—Form 3:”

“A gorilla, since it’s big like a shoujou… right?”

“That’s where it went, huh?”

The tiger-shaped form melted back into a Sphere, releasing Dragon Scales as it transformed into a new shape.

“It’s a gorilla, but the legs are short.”

“And the balance with the upper body seems off.”

The first impression was of an unbalanced gorilla-shaped machine. The upper body, from arms to chest, was thick and muscular, while the lower body had short legs, forming an overall inverted triangle—highly unbalanced.

“This form has no mobility. So—”

The gorilla-shaped machine began moving, but with each step, it lacked the agility of the previous forms, moving at a pace a child could easily outrun.

“It really has no mobility at all.”

“But compared to the Kirin and Tiger forms, it’s specialized for power. It can hold a Shield for defense or deliver a heavy blow to an immobilized opponent.”

“A complete power type, huh?”

While seated in the Pilot Seat, Leah placed a disassembled large Rocket Hammer on the floor, which was absorbed into the machine, reassembling in the gorilla’s massive palm.

“Now, please step back a bit.”

As instructed, everyone moved back, and Leah activated the Rocket Hammer, moving the gorilla’s arm.

Flames burst fiercely from the hammerhead’s rear as Leah manipulated the machine to lighten its weight, making it soar upward like a rocket.

Twisting part of the handle to adjust the Emission Port’s direction, it ascended about 100 meters.

Then, restoring its weight, she aimed the Emission Port upward, diving toward the ground with the combined force of weight and rocket propulsion.

Just before impact, an explosion triggered inside the Emission Port as she swung the arm, delivering a massive blow with arm strength, weight, explosion, and rocket propulsion.

“Whoa!”

“Wah—”

The impact and wind pressure shook the ground where Tatsuro stood, and when the wind subsided, a crater like a meteor strike lay at the center, with the gorilla-shaped machine casually waving.

“So, even without mobility, the Rocket Hammer’s propulsion lets it fly.”

“It’s a linear trajectory, so it’s easy to do, but it can crush even tough magical beasts.”

“That power would definitely hurt if it hit directly.”

“Neigh”

“It’s weird to say it’d just hurt. I’d be flattened.”

As they talked, Leah returned to Kirin mode, gracefully approached, and reverted to a Sphere, emerging as if rewinding the entry process.

“With this, Leah could probably take down a Shubelg Fungus alone.”

“Hehe, should I take them all out?”

“I want to take down at least two!”

Athena reacted to the playful remark, sparking laughter.

“Joking aside, how long is the continuous operation time?”

“About sixteen hours at full operation. If Return Stones are loaded here, the Magic Brain can still function.”

She showed a cylindrical container, about thirty centimeters in diameter, for holding Return Stones to power the Magic Brain.

“The power to move this massive thing comes from my excess Dragon Force, so it stops if that runs out.”

“Oh, it runs on Dragon Force.”

“Yes, exactly.”

The Magic Brain could be powered by filling the cylindrical container with Return Stones and inserting it into a Socket near the Pilot Seat, but the energy to move the machine was substituted with Dragon Force.

“Is that everything to show?”

“Yes. We’re fully prepared.”

“Alright, then let’s head out to exterminate the Imomu Papa!”

With Ai’s spirited command, everyone responded, stored the Mobile Home, and set off to defeat the Shubelg Fungus.

Since they were about to enter the Barrier’s interior, they planned to inform the Guild Staff managing it.

Thus, they had Jeanne disembark just before the Banramonte Forest.

As they walked toward the Barrier, Leah, in the tiger-shaped machine, opened the back like a tank hatch and sat on the edge, piloting it.

“As long as the Spider Legs of the Light Armor are connected, I can pilot it from outside like this.”

“You’d get thrown off in combat, so it’s only for times like this.”

““Ohh!””

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

“Ho!”

Hearing this brief explanation, they reached the spot where a familiar female Guild Staff member, known from the past five days, stood.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hell—hello. Um, who are these people…?”

Since only Tatsuro, Ai, Cardina, Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi had come here before, the Guild Staff confirmed the presence of Jeanne (inside Tatsuro), Athena (guarding the house), Nana, and Leah, whom she hadn’t met.

“This is our entire party.”

“Um, what’s that tiger-like thing…?”

Jeanne in her True Form was imposing, but as a party of skilled adventurers, taming a powerful magical beast was believable.

However, the image of a young girl riding a clearly non-living giant tiger was too much, and the Guild Staff asked tentatively.

“This is my Golem.”

“A Golem!? That!?”

“I have a skill for making such Golems.”

“Oh, a special skill holder, then.”

“Yes.”

Having decided in advance how to explain this to others, Leah followed through.

Skills in this world are diverse, and no one knows them all. Claiming it was a special skill simplified things.

Besides, since it was made possible by the All-Seeing Eye, Leah’s explanation wasn’t entirely false.

Convinced that Leah was a skill holder who could create and control strange Golems, the Guild Staff thanked her politely with a relieved expression, saying, “Thank you for the explanation.”

“So, coming with everyone means you’re finally entering the Barrier?”

“Yes. Today, we plan to defeat the Shubelg Fungus, return by evening, and investigate the issue tomorrow.”

“Uh… the report says there are twelve Shubelg Fungi… Are you going to defeat them all by evening?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

Tatsuro’s expression seemed to say, “And?” causing the Guild Staff to stop overthinking.

“N-No, I understand. Please be careful.”

“Yes.”

After thoroughly checking that the Black Fungus countermeasures were active, Tatsuro and the others stepped into the Barrier’s interior.