Dimension Wave Chapter 13

I’m standing in front of the cave.
In my hand is my fis.h.i.+ng rod with a sinker threaded onto the line.

“Let’s do this then.”

They silently nod in response and I cast my line.
I have fine control over my rod, thanks to Fis.h.i.+ng Mastery IV. The hook sinks right into the Lizardman Dark Knight.
It probably dealt a point or two of damage, but it can hardly be called an attack.
But it did exactly what I wanted it to—pulling its aggro.

“It’s comin’! Get ready, everybody!”

I’m not even sure if I did any damage to it, but it’s rus.h.i.+ng towards us at the speed of lightning.
If this were any other monster, we’d be instantly destroyed, but…

Kaboom!

The Lizardman Dark Knight slammed into the mouth of the cave accompanied by a terrible crash.
Yup. The Lizardman Dark Knight doesn’t fit through the entrance.
There are a lot of games where you can trap monsters by getting them to clip against objects. It’s an easy way to level up, but devs usually patch stuff like this out pretty quickly.
Fortunately, it works in Dimension Wave. And it goes without saying that there’s a chance of it not working, but after discussing it between the three of us, we decided to try it out.

“Let’s kick its a.s.s!”
“Understood!”
“Aye!”

The rest was straightforward.
All we had to do was use the weapons and skills we had to and keep on attacking the trapped monster.
I took out my Cetus Longsword and started hacking away at the trapped Lizardman Dark Knight too.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m doing too much damage. My strikes connect with a dull clank.
I couldn’t tell from a distance, but now I know that it’s not only clad in armor but also covered in scales. Its defense is accordingly high too.
I look over and see Shouko endlessly thrusting and swinging as well.
Yamikage has some kind of scroll-shaped magic tome by his mouth and begins chanting. Moments after, a black visual effect appears, and he starts absorbing green orbs from the Lizardman Dark Knight.

That’s probably his Drain, a dark magic spell.
Shouko and I aren’t using any skills though.
We don’t know how much HP this boss has, so it’d be hard to guess if we’d make up any energy expended.

“This guy is literally so tough. Can you even win fighting normally?”
“I have heard talk of a party defeating it before.”

We strike up a conversation, but our hands hadn’t stopped.

“’Tis naught but a rumor, but supposedly, they had tanks occupying the monster while they blasted it with light magic from a distance.”
“I see. Its physical defense is as high as it looks to be.”

It’s just a guess, but I don’t think we’re quite fit to fight this Lizardman Dark Knight.
The folding fan doesn’t do much damage and Drain is a dark-type skill.
Our chances of winning are zero if not for cheesing it.
My attacks make an unpleasant clank when I hit it and that’s with my strongest weapon I have.
Oh, and if I had to say, I think a metal axe or even a blunt melee weapon would fare much better.

“In any case, if it doesn’t make any strange movements, we can just keep on wailing on it.”
“Okay!”
“Aye!”

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is what they say. Just gotta keep at it.

Thirty minutes later.

“I-It’s still standing. How much freakin’ HP does this b.a.s.t.a.r.d have…”

If we get too close, it’ll strike back at us. We’re barely managing to outrange it.
Especially with Shouko. The range on her fan is short, so she’s gotta occasionally parry its attacks.
Not to mention, the AI causes it to try to run away from time to time.
Naturally, I summon it back with my fis.h.i.+ng rod.
Seeing how I’m able to manage that says a lot about how smart the AI is.

“Perhaps it has regenerating capabilities.”
“Nay. ‘Tis but because our offense is lacking.”

Well, that’s true, but I’m about average, I’d say.
It’s been seemingly forever since we’ve attacked this monster, resulting in its armor crumbling and even scales ripped off.
Still, it’s tough mentally to keep this up for a whole hour on a single monster.

“Be nourishment for my spirit. Drain!”

Yamikage’s been spamming Drain endlessly for 30 minutes and now even has more Energy than Shouko.
That’s to say, he has about 27,000 right now.
The Lizardman Dark Knight sure has a lot of HP.

“Whoa?”

As soon as the familiar green orbs get drained by Yamikage, the Lizardman Dark Knight moved in a peculiar way like nothing seen before.
It keeled over with a deafening wheeze.
It crumbles and slams onto the ground while luckily, causing no earthquakes.

“Hath it finally perished?”
“Hey! That’s a death flag right there!”
“Hmm, aye. I have left my younger sister behind in my hometown. Therefore, death must wait!”

… G.o.d d.a.m.nit.
I like his enthusiasm.

“Goodness… whatever are you two doing?”

Shouko shot a chilling glance over at us while confirming that the enemy is dead.
Bosses feign death too. I raise my guard and get closer.

“Be wary. It may be feigning death.”
“Gotcha.”
“That is unlikely.”
“Why’s that?”
“Dark it may be, but it is still a knight. I believe it would have more honor than to do something so cowardly.”

Hmm, she’s got a point.
It’s normally the demons and tribals that play dead, I think.
Well, I guess the Lizardmen are a tribe, but still, it’s a knight. It should be honorable.
More honorable than us, at least. We’re the one who trapped it and cheesed it to death. But ignore that.

“As for drops… we obtain a Fragment of Darkness and Dark Spear Splinter.”
“We may sell those for a hefty sum.”

It’ll make us a good bit of coin, though I’m not exactly broke.
Well, it doesn’t hurt to have more money.
According to Yamikage, that two-handed spear is a material and a very desirable one for spear-wielders because of its dark element.

“Such is the prowess of a gutting-type weapon, true to what the rumors say.”

The real issue now is what to do.
I glance over to Shouko and give her a look.
Honestly, I want to gut it.
I don’t think I’d get another chance to gut it. And likely, what we’d get from the monster would be really good for weapons and armor.
A side of me is saying to keep the secret but the other side of me really wants the boss loot.

“We’re buddies that took down a boss together, so I guess I’ll tell ya…”

There ain’t nothin’ better than boss drops.

“If you are fine with it, Kizuna, then I believe it is for the best as well.”
“Hmm? What is the meaning of this?”
“Well, just watch. Speed Gutting…”

After chanting the skill, I take my Cetus Longsword and start to butcher up the giant Lizardman Dark Knight. I can’t do anything about the armor and scales broken off of it, but I can harvest the rest of his scales, bones, flesh, teeth, eyes, skin, tail, and even blood.
But, for some reason, I can’t make use of what I broke off of it in the fight.
It’s like the complete opposite of that certain monster hunting game.

“Egads…”

Yamikage mutters out in shock.
Since this is a boss monster, I got as much material as I did from the Giant Herring.
The Giant Herring must’ve been the boss of its species too.

“What on earth is this? Hath the items increased? Doth gutting-type weapons not increase our drops?”
“It is poorly explained in the manual, but this is the proper way of using a gutting weapon.”
“Never have I been more surprised in this world before!”

I can’t tell whether he’s really that surprised or his acting is just overboard, but his words are filled with zeal.
Well, even if he tells everyone about this, we can still make plenty of cash if we sell these boss items quick enough.

“Then, shall I keep this a secret too?”
“Huh?”
“It seems as though Misses Kizuna and Hakoniwa were both keeping this undisclosed. As grat.i.tude for saving my life, I, too, shall bring this secret to my grave.”
“W-Well, I’d appreciate it if you would…”

And to think he had almost killed us. I’m glad he changed his mind.
If he’ll keep it a secret, then I really don’t have any problems with him.

“However, I doth have an issue to discuss…”
“What is it?”
“May I perhaps join your party?”
“… why?”
“I have been playing alone up till now.”
“Is that right?”

Shouko questions him.
He’s got such a weird build. It’s no wonder no one’s letting him in their party.
I almost blurted that out loud, but I held my tongue.

“It may hath been on your tongues already, but I have a communication disorder.”
“…?”

… what was that?
Unfortunately, I had no clue.
Some might think his roleplaying is over the top, but I think most enjoy it. At least Alto or Romina wouldn’t have a problem with it.

“Many times, I have wished to join a party, but I always end up unable to.”
“I am sorry to hear.”

Shouko’s totally starting to let her guard down.
It totally reeks of a scam.

“Question.”
“Aye?”
“You said you have a communication disorder, but you’re talkin’ to us just fine.”
“Speaking like this—like a ninja—seems to help.”

What kind of reasoning is that?
At least come up with a better excuse.

“Mine heart is pounding as we speak now.”
“Goodness! Kizuna, let her travel with us. We are fellow Spirits after all!”

What is this feeling?
Like I’m watching my friends getting swindled?
W-Well, I guess a party wouldn’t be too bad… hmm?

“What did you just say?”
“We are fellow Spirits after all?”
“No, before that.”
“We should travel with her?
“Yeah. ‘Her’?”

Yamikage’s wrapped up in all black. That’s not something you could tell at first glance.
There’s even black cloth wrapped around their mouth, so it’s hard to tell by their voice.

“I am embarra.s.sed to show my true face in front of others, but if we are to fight together, then please, look at me.”

Saying that, Yamikage unravels the black cloth…

—and reveals a beauty girl with silver hair.

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