Chapter 453

Day 103 – Daytime, Dungeon

It would depend on how well the First Division and the Royal Guard have adapted, but if everything goes as planned, we’d be departing tomorrow. Which means today is the final day of adjustments, getting used to and properly controlling the boost from the 25th level-up that I somehow managed to get in time.

「Ha-Haruka-san, this is already the third one! How many Dungeons are you planning to clear in a single day? And you’re not allowed to go into the deep ones, remember? Big sisters told you so! I already took the reward(candies) and ate it, so it’s no good now!」

「Yeah, don’t worry. It’s not like I’d ever go somewhere I’m told I’m not allowed to go, I’d only accidentally end up there, so I’m innocent? Now, mistakes are still a crime, but that’s only for the kind of mistake that happens from carelessness without proper thought or investigation, while my mistakes are thoroughly researched, meticulously planned, flawlessly executed, and deliberate, so I’m totally not guilty here? Revolutionary, right?」

Razor-thin magic threads silently slice through the air, dismembering countless monsters. It’s an effective move for one-versus-many situations so it’s worth fine tuning it a bit.

While walking, I can send hundreds of threads sweeping through the air, at close range, but the farther I extend them, the fewer I can control, stretching them reduces the number, and the longer they get, the fewer I can keep active. When high-speed movement and 『Teleport』 are involved, 『Wisdom』’s computation space gets overwhelmed. At close range, I can manage a few dozen threads, mid-range, only a dozen or so, and at longer distances just a handful and complex manipulations also become impossible.

It’s a useful and effective skill, but it’s heavy on control and precision. Still, for cutting through the force of numbers in large-scale battles versus human opponents, it would be invaluable. I need to make sure I’ve adjusted it properly.

Leaping into the air after a graceful dash, I swing the threads freely in every direction. Using 『Gravity』 magic to drastically reduce my body weight, I kick off the air with Air Walk, weaving through the air, slicing into the swarming monsters, disassembling them midair into scattered pieces. I was worried that my increased level might’ve made body control harder, but it seems that fear was unfounded. I only slipped or lost footing in midair five or six times, charged into monsters a few times, and hit a wall once. Control’s gotten a lot better, if I hadn’t been working the threads, I probably could’ve recovered from a fall way easier. Probably?

「Yeah, as I thought, once it turns into aerial combat, body control gets a lot harder. The magic threads are tricky, but 『Gravity』 is just as annoying, and once 『Teleport』comes into play, my control starts falling off hard. I wanted to prepare for fights versus humans, skill exchanges, encirclement tactics, human-wave assaults, but looks like I’m out of time. And thinking back on those those middle-aged self-destructing bombers, it still feels like I’m short on options.」

(Jiggle-jiggle)

Humans think and strategize, fight using their heads, once they realize what you are trying to do, they’ll analyze possible weaknesses and counter it. And unlike monsters, they can mix and match all kinds of skills, gear, and magic tools to attack strategically… With my stats, if I can’t deal with that I’m just going to die. Even if they went up a bit, I’m just way to fragile to begin with.

I’m still unhappy with this whole thing, and if I could get them to give up on the idea, I’d do it right now, but with Sister Girls and all the other girls gathered in one big group, the church is bound to try capturing them. That means their moves will be predictable, and easier to bait. With so many beauties together, the enemy won’t bother with long-range kill shots or slipping an assassin into the crowd, they’ll try to seize them alive and drag them back. Well, trying to bring them with you will just get you bitten, but merely appearances-wise, they’re an impressive assembly of beauties. So the enemy will almost certainly show themselves to attempt a capture. Fooled by the pretty faces, they’ll foolishly reach their hands for them, completely oblivious that what they’re looking at is in our world is the source of both fear and awe, the 『JK』, The very name is synonymous with the most terrifying and atrocious, beyond merely imperious, demonic brutality imaginable. Pitiful fools?