Thinking of Cipher, I should use the Escape Scroll.
Even though I know the destroyed arm can be repaired as long as the main body isn’t damaged.
――Not just letting Fujiwara-kun help me, I’ll help as well.
If I run away now, I won’t be able to change anything.
The purple monster turns towards me. I can feel it looking at me.
Sensing the killing intent, I react. There might be no way to stop it, but still――.
“――Oooohhhhh!!”
I extend both hands forward and scream.
The overwhelming presence of death――stops right in front of me.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. The spatial coordinates of the target are fixed in place.》
“…Hah… hah…”
I can feel my magic power draining faster than usual with this Fixation. Not every target consumes the same amount of magic.
I knew I could stop it without touching it. But I had never tested how far Fixation could reach.
The purple Balloon and the very attack it launched were both stopped. I could see the summoning magic circle slowly fading away.
“…Master… Thank you…”
I hear a faint voice from behind. Relief rushes over me, and I fall to my knees.
I had thought that Fixation was a skill that simply froze objects or living beings in place—but I had assumed that the “object” was only as big as what I could see.
The invisible attack had been composed of some kind of particles. When it was fixed in place, it became visible—a massive, malevolent-looking, transparent spear. That was the true form of the attack that had destroyed Cipher’s arm.
“…You protected me from something like this. You’re amazing.”
“…It was… nothing…”
I’m not sure if those were the right words for this moment, but Cipher, indicating it was fine, floated up gently by itself.
“Master… Is this ‘magic’?”
“I can only think of it as some kind of special attack by the monster… but since it uses magic power, I guess you could call it a type of magic.”
If I move out of its path and cancel the Fixation, the attack will probably just fly off into empty space――as I think about this.
(…Wait, could this work?)
I move around to the side of the transparent spear fixed in midair and raise my right hand――then.
《Skill ‘Compression’ activated. Target is being converted into chips.》
“…This really is incredible.”
I clench my hand tightly, and the “purple Balloon’s special attack” is compressed――three chips are generated in my right hand.
《Chip contents: Void Blast ×3》
(Void… That means something like nothingness, right? And wait, what? That attack was actually three blasts, not just one…? A high-tier slime species, this thing’s vicious.)
“…Can it be restored?”
“Since it’s Compression, I can also ‘Restore’ it. I don’t know what will happen when I restore an enemy’s attack, though.”
“I recognize it as a mass of magic power, similar to a magic stone.”
“Really… Oh yeah, speaking of which. I should probably finish off the purple Balloon the same way I did before.”
“Understood.”
I approach the purple Balloon and destroy its core—this monster’s simple data wasn’t even registered, and it didn’t have a name, but for now, I’ll call it the “Purple Balloon.”
The core of the “Purple Balloon” also transforms into a magic stone—a beautiful rainbow-colored gem, but quite heavy as it is.
Item name: Revive Stone
Note: A type of magic stone that can sometimes be generated inside monsters.
Value: Market price
“Revive… does that mean ‘Resurrection’? No way this can actually bring the dead back to life, right?”
“It appears to be a rare stone.”
I store the Revive Stone by converting it into chips as well. The fact that it’s listed as being sold at market price suggests it’s valuable, but if it has some unique effect, that’s what I’m more interested in.
“Congratulations, Master.”
“Thanks. We’ve spent quite a bit of time here… We should probably start thinking about escaping.”
“Understood. So far, a total of three groups have escaped. They used the escape scrolls.”
“…That many already? Can you tell me if Nanami’s group is still in here?”
“Shiro Nanami-sama. Yes, they are still present.”
I don’t know what Hinata and his group’s plan is, but it’s possible they’re staying inside the dungeon to gather more points instead of escaping right away.
(…If someone with confidence in their abilities finds a trap like the summoning one we encountered, what will they do? Would Hinata take such a risk? …No, I don’t know him well enough to say for sure.)
“Beep beep. Detecting the approach of other students.”
“Wait… everyone was heading in a different direction, right?”
Cipher doesn’t answer. I don’t have a good feeling about this, but I exit the side path where the Balloon was and return to the original area――and then.
“Ugh… damn it, just touching this thing makes me feel so weak…”
“Wait, wasn’t one hit with your axe supposed to do the job!? What the hell are you good for…! Ugh!”
“There’s no way arrows are gonna hit this thing…! Gah!”
I have no idea why they’re here, but Kayama and his two companions are being toyed with by a Green Balloon. They’re so focused on the fight that they haven’t even noticed me hiding nearby.
All three of them are powerless without magic—while they’re struggling, a small humanoid monster appears and menacingly prepares a blow dart.
“Ouch… w-wait… I’m getting sleepy…”
“Where the hell is our baggage carrier? If he hasn’t escaped yet, we’ll end up dead last…! Gah!”
“You got a dart in your butt, how pathetic… So lame… damn…”
(…What the heck was that?)
The escape scroll activates, and Kayama’s team vanishes. The Green Balloon and the humanoid monster, labeled as “Mad Brownie,” don’t attack me even after I step out.
“Master, even monsters respect you now.”
“Maybe it’s because I took down that higher-tier one…”
At any rate, the path ahead soon ends in a dead end, so I return to the branching point――the last glimpse I caught of Nanami’s team was their backs as they headed further ahead, so they’re probably quite far by now.
Even if they laugh at me for chasing after them out of concern, I’d rather act than sit here worrying about what could happen――that’s what I’ve decided for now.
