Hazure Skill ‘Mapping’ wo Te ni Shita Ore wa, Saikyou Party to Tomo ni Dungeon ni Idomu Chapter 28

Chapter 28
Chapter 28 – Forwards!

“Erin!” Force shouted while running. His voice was strained with rough breathing.

“I know!”

Erin shouted loudly, as if she was trying to overwhelm his voice with her own. She started to cast magic as she ran. She didn’t have the presence of mind to worry about the others. Sweat dropped from her forehead as her mouth distorted in concentration.

“《Lightning-Bolt》!”

Erin released a lightning bolt in the direction we just came from. The magic was extremely formidable. All the magic she had acc.u.mulated burned through the approaching horse-men in less than a second. The shockwaves even spread to the surrounding buildings, damaging them. This strike proved she was undoubtedly an excellent mage.

The faint silhouette of a person emerged from the collapsed rubble. To be precise, it wasn’t a person. It was a horse-man.

In spite of the dozens of defeated enemies, the horse-men approached the party one after another. The sound of the friend-summoning whistle never stopped, no matter how much time pa.s.sed.

Tired of the same thing happening over and over again, we turned our backs and ran away.

“There’s really no end to them, is there!?”

Erin asked, biting her lip in irritation. The other members couldn’t afford the time to answer her. The only thing I heard were the whistle sounds.

The horse-men chased us for over half a day. Along the way we found a house to hide and rest in. However, we were discovered again when we left the shelter and our six versus hundreds game of tag resumed.

It was mainly because the moment a whistle sounded, all the surrounding horse-men would immediately rush there all at once. Although they weren’t able to measure up individually to the members of the ‘Arrivers’, they had us completely outnumbered.

Honestly, our stamina and mentality had already taken a big hit.

Although we’ve labeled them all horse-men, they were not all exactly the same. The most common appearance was that of a horse-man holding a spear like the first one we encountered. Neme conveniently christened them horse-soldiers.

The second most common horse-men wore full plate armor, who were appropriately named horse-knights. We considered ourselves relatively lucky when we encountered them. Because of their heavy armor they couldn’t move around very well. Therefore, we were able to escape from the closest of horse-knights.

Other types included horse-mages or horse-archers, but they were uncommon. The critical situation made it hard to appreciate the rarity of the few encounters we experienced.

Strangely, not a single horse-man had a distinctive fighting ability. The horse-men consisted of all soldiers; we weren’t able to find any horse-citizens. This was probably the reason why the town lacked any signs of life.

Rather than being a floor where the horse-men settle, it was more of a city that was created for the horse-men to occupy while they fight. It appeared correct to a.s.sume that only horse-soldiers with combat abilities resided in this place.

Although I wasn’t sure whether or not my guess was fact, it couldn’t have been too off the mark either.

Did you hear Erin’s dungeon-writing explanation? It seemed this dungeon really was made by G.o.d.

After all, G.o.d made this floor, a miniature garden, to test us. That was my impression, anyway.

“I found something that looks like a gate! Should we head there?”

While running away from the hors.e.m.e.n, I concentrated on the 【Mapping】 skill updating the map in my head. A large gate appeared on the edge of the map, with walls spreading out on either side of it.

The gate was about one kilometer away, barely within the【Mapping】skill’s range. It looked

like the gate and walls were used as some kind of part.i.tion to divide one part of the city from another.

Because of the densely-packed buildings I wasn’t able to see the gate myself and be certain.

“We can’t stop moving. It might be dangerous, but let’s do it! We’ve got no other choice!”

Jin was obviously worried, but he immediately made a decision. In such a desperate situation, there’s no time to think slowly and carefully about your decision; you need to be able to make a quick judgement call.

That was why I thought Jin, who was the best at that kind of stuff,  was the most suitable leader for the party.

Jin’s snappy decisions saved us many times on our way to the gate.

When we finally managed to reached the gate we saw a ma.s.sive, wooden gate that towered over the big street. There was something written on it. Could it be dungeon-writing?

On each side of the doorway there was a horse-man apparently standing guard. They were horse-soldiers, yet they didn’t seem to have been putting much effort in upholding their responsibilities.

“It says ‘Beyond this point the mid-boss will make his appearance.’ What should we do, Jin!?”

Erin said, translating the dungeon-writing on the gate. Behind us, the horse-men were slowly closing the gap.

“Let’s go!”

On Jin’s command Erin fired a magic attack at the gate. The gate was instantly destroyed, taking pieces of the wall along with it.

“This magic-meathead…” Force grumbled.

Fortunately, Erin, who had already started firing off magic attacks, didn’t hear it.

“What’s a mid-boss?” I asked Neme, who I was still carrying under my arm.

It seemed that Neme didn’t know either. She tilted her head and shot me a questioning look.

“Neme doesn’t know either… One of G.o.d’s new projects maybe?”

It seemed possible. This was the sixteenth floor. Since this was a thirty-floor dungeon, the sixteenth floor was the halfway marker. This kind of new gimmick was probably to be expected. It was quite the unwelcome favor.

We crossed over the remains of the gate, though you could no longer call it such. The gate had kept us from seeing what was beyond it, but it turned out to be no different from the rest of city. As usual, there were hors.e.m.e.n here too and as soon as they saw us, they would blow their whistles.

However, something changed right after that.

“HIHIIIIN!” The sound of a horse neighing resounded from some distance away.

There was something headed straight at us from the main street. I knew this because there was a ma.s.sive dust cloud heralding its arrival. The dust cloud was approaching at an amazing speed. Whatever was causing the dust cloud was getting closer and closer.

The moment it appeared, I recognized it. It was a horse. Not a horse-man. There were two horses coming. They were pulling something behind them.

They entered the range of my《Enemy Search》.  That was a…

“That’s! Mid-boss!”

Fl.u.s.tered, those were the only words that came out. There were three approaching life presences. Two black horses that breathed fire. And behind them, they pulled a war-chariot. On the chariot was a horse-man.

“The horse-general…” Neme mumbled.

I ignored those words as I moved out of the way. The other members were moving, as well.

The spot we had just vacated was covered in flames when the enemy rushed through a moment later. Both powerful and fast, the a.s.sault would had brought about certain death. If I hadn’t used《Withdraw》, I would probably been dead.

The war-chariot swung around to the right, ramming a building on the way. The chariot head back towards us again without having lost any of its momentum. A blast of flames followed the same trajectory, spewing out in an arc around the chariot.

“Note, please put me down.”

“Umm… Right here?”

“Of course! I have to buff everyone!”

I followed Neme’s order, putting her down swiftly. Straightening, she bent her back and thumped it, and got her staff ready.

“《Saint’s…”

It happened when Neme opened her mouth to cast the spell. As if it had sensed what she was up to, countless bombs were hurled up into the sky that rode in on a fiery arc.

Big ones. Not good.

The unexpected long-range attacks were headed right for us.

Jin was the first to move. He picked Neme up as soon as she finished her buffing spell.

… that was my job.

I noticed my mistake and froze. I needed to relax.

…Move. Neme was already safe.

But for me, with this speed and aggressive reach, it was probably already too late. Even《Withdraw》wouldn’t…

“Note, over here!”

… 《Withdraw》

Abandoning my doubt, I jumped towards Rosalia. She hugged me when I reached her and…

“《Safeguard》!”

Rosalia’s spell repelled the violent bombing.

Everything around us shook. The thundering shockwaves impaired my ears. Heat wrapped around the spell, burning our surroundings.

“…”

I opened my eyes.

… I was still alive.

Looking sideways, I saw Rosalia clinging to me. There didn’t seem to be any major injuries.

I looked down at myself. I too seem to have gotten away unscathed.

Rosalia’s spell managed to completely protect us from the horse-general’s attack.

“Why am I being hugged?”

“That’s not really nice is it? As grat.i.tude for helping you…”

I pulled away from Rosalia, who had hugged me while protecting me from the fire-ball.

“Anyway, let’s not…”

Meanwhile, the horse-general had set his sights onto us. Round two of the long-distance bombing attacks began. This was probably the extent of the mid-boss’ fighting strategy. Simple, but tough.

The horse-general probably didn’t want to engage in any short-range combat because of the war-chariot he was on. Even while shooting magic from far away, the bombing attacks that reached us were ridiculously powerful. Even if we somehow escaped, we would immediately be found by other horse-men, and their whistles gave away our location.

“Over here, Rosalia!”

Pulling Rosalia’s hand, I dragged her into an alley. To an alley with as few hors.e.m.e.n as possible.

We were separated from Jin and the other members during the last attack. Flames were starting up everywhere and the war-chariot was preventing us from progressing forward. It was going to be hard to rejoin the others.

In order to avoid the horse-general’s second attack, Rosalia and I hid inside one of the houses. Because of 《Stealth》the horse-men weren’t able to detect our presence.

I heard the war-chariot’s sound grow more distant. There was no way the horse-general was running away. It was definitely going around to prepare another attack.

“Should we meet up with the others first?” Rosalia mumbled.

Certainly, nothing was moving anymore and we wouldn’t be able to stay hidden forever. The fire was still ablaze all around us. In this kind of situation, we would be baked alive.

However…

I shook my head.

“No, let’s lure the horse-general out!”

“What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?”

“Right now we’re all scattered in pairs. Rosalia and I, Jin and Neme, and Force and Erin. The main street is separating us from the rest of them.”

We got separated after running from the war-chariot’s fire attack. I used 《Enemy Search》to keep track of everybody’s location while continuing the conversation.

“With 《Stealth》, Jin and I can get our groups out of the way. However, Force’s group can’t. It’s only a matter of time before the horse-men find them. Maybe Force can get away alone, but having to protect Erin puts him at a huge disadvantage.”

After having watched the ‘Arrivers’ fight from behind this whole time, I’d gained a good grasp on everyone’s strong points and the extent of their combat skills.

I was totally useless in combat, but… that was why I was calm now, giving Rosalia my a.n.a.lysis of the situation.

“The worst possible situation would be if the horse-general targeted Force’s group.”

“Then it’s probably best for us to join with Force’s group before luring the general, right?”

“Going by the number of horse-men around, it’s going to be hard for us to join with Force’s group anytime soon. That’s why we should hand that task over to Jin. He can use 《Enemy Search》to find Force…”

“That’s true I guess… but taking the horse-general on by myself might be a bit much…”

“It’s definitely a heavy burden… But it’s not impossible, right? The Arrivers’ Paladin-Tank isn’t going to lose out to that kind of attack.”

I smiled and Rosalia sighed in resignation.

“Note, I really can’t play hooky in front of you can I… Well, whatever… I’ll do it! I’ll stop him! But it’ll cost you. The price for exploiting an innocent maiden like me is high!” (T/N: btw. All she said here has double meaning in j.a.panese… like super suggestive. Sorta like: let’s have s.e.x, ravaging a young maiden… etc.) (E/N: O-O Riajuu go explode)

“I don’t really have much money, so let’s overlook it this one time…”

“In that case, please continue the hug from before!”

“Whaaaa…”

“Look! He’s coming! Quick!”

Rosalia jumped out immediately. It was inevitable, we would have to continue this later. We quickly left the house we were hiding in.

“Wait a minute Rosalia, don’t go out without my say-so…”

She glanced at my complaining expression and flashed me an evil smile.

“Isn’t it better for us to move fast? Erin, our important friend, is in a pinch… 《Light Up》!”

Rosalia was enveloped by an overpowering light, strong enough to pierce the heavens.

This chick… casting a self-targeting art without any hesitation…

I had definitely needed to finish everything before turning down the hug. Anyway, Rosalia having called Erin an ‘important friend’ was kind of…

I was amazed at how Rosalia was firing off one buffing-spell after another. Though the spells were inferior to a priest’s, a paladin had a myriad of buffing-spells. And when it came to self-buffing-spells, a paladin would never lose to a priest.

The fact that she had been abusing this trait meant she was taking this fight seriously. Already, she had casted the provoking spell. The horse-general noticed Rosalia’s appearance and was heading our way.

The sound of the war-chariot cras.h.i.+ng through buildings approached us. Along with the horse-general was a speeding column of fire.

“Come here! 《Safeguard》!”

She activated her best defensive buffing-spe, wrapping herself in a mult.i.tude of colors. Her left hand projected a wall of light in front of her.

… there was five seconds to impact.

The war-chariot was still accelerating. It blew away every house in its way, flinging rubble and debris everywhere.

… it had arrived.

The war-chariot appeared, cras.h.i.+ng through the house in front of Rosalia and right into her defensive barrier.

I could feel the impact through my bones. Hot wind crashed against my skin. I opened my eyes.

“I won’t lose… 《Bash》!”

Using the spell’s wall of light, Rosalia pushed back with all her strength.

The colliding energies could not withstand each other. The wall of light broke and the horse pulling the carriage had its head crushed. Rosalia was blown away while the war-chariot was forced back a couple steps.

“Finally got you to stop, huh…”

Rosalia got back on her feet. Her left arm was bent in a weird direction, probably a result from the crash. Her head was b.u.mped in the crash and was now bleeding.

“A stopped war-chariot isn’t scary at all! Come! Holy Sword Fractus!”

A brilliant sword was summoned to Rosalia’s right hand. Her eyes were clear, no longer cloudy from the damage. The horse-general appeared to had been on the losing side of the collision.

It was because of the buffing-spell 、《Regenerate》Rosalia has casted. The bent left arm gradually returned to its original shape. The bleeding on her head had also stopped.

Seeming to have come to a conclusion, the horse-general cracked his whip and advanced. It struck the ground with a whip covered in flames.

Rosalia stepped forward, as well, and the two of them started to duel. The holy sword cut through the general’s armor, the whip’s impact could be felt through Rosalia’s armor.

Rosalia was receiving less damage. With just a little trouble, she managed to advance.

Still, the attacks never stopped. The further she moved forward, the more I clenched my teeth.

“Rosalia! Horse!”

In that instant one of the horses breathed a fireball. I didn’t think they had any fight left in them, but when it saw its master being cornered, the horse forced out a final attack. Even though the fireball didn’t have much force behind it, it was enough to relieve the general.

Rosalia managed to avoid the fireball, but the horse-General didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately struck out with his whip. A direct hit.

“…tsu.”

Her face distorted with pain. Still, Rosalia didn’t falter. The only way to survive was to keep up the onslaught. Therefore, her sword kept slas.h.i.+ng.

The amount of damage she received kept rising. It had already exceeded what《Regenerate》can handle.

“There’s no more time. Rosalia, move out!” I shouted.

The corners of Rosalia’s lips rose when she heard my voice…

Suddenly, large spears of ice flew overhead, piercing the general.

I raised my head and looked at the roof of a building nearby. Erin, who had casted the spell, was there. Jin was standing next to her.

“Are you alright….? Rosalia…”

Neme rushed over and used a recovery spell.

Yes, time had ran out. For the horse-general, that is.

Through 《Enemy Search》I knew that Jin’s group had met Erin’s group.

After that, they had headed our way. With four people, the horse-men they encountered on the way also weren’t a problem. While Rosalia was buying them time, the arriving members launched a surprise attack. Hidden by Jin’s 《Stealth》, Erin was able to cast a powerful spell that brought the general down in one go.

“You guys were late… I thought I was going to die…” Rosalia complained to Erin, who was descending from the roof.

Meanwhile, the opponent…

“Well, you did well, didn’t you?”

Unexpected words of praise left Erin’s mouth. Yet, somehow, it still came out sounding totally condescending.

The girls high-fived as they pa.s.sed each other.

While I was watching this scene, Erin suddenly glared at me.

“What are you staring at….”

“Somehow, Erin really isn’t honest, is she…”