Shinjuku Dungeon, 4th Layer (Tōma Yumeno)
[This is bad…]
“Huh?”
While trying to shake off the awkward atmosphere caused by the princess carry earlier, a foreboding comment caught my eye.
“What’s wrong, Tōma -kun?”
“I saw a comment saying ‘this is bad,’ so I’m wondering if something happened to another team.”
[Something did happen. It’s bad. It’s a Rock Dragon.]
““What!?””
A Rock Dragon—a massive dragon resembling a giant rock. Although I’ve never encountered one before, its rank is S. Seriously, monsters like this shouldn’t appear in a D-rank dungeon.
“Do we know the situation?”
[Both Shiraishi’s party and that Mizoguchi guy’s party were there, but they’re both wiped out. The student council president is barely managing to avoid fatal injuries on her own, but everyone else is down.]
“Let’s move!”
[Wait, are you serious? Don’t go! Run away!]
[Leave it to the teachers, okay? Please?]
[Its rank is the same as the Nightmare King’s—S-rank—but the Rock Dragon’s durability and wide-area attacks make it way harder to deal with.]
[I’ve already contacted the academy!]
Despite everyone’s concern, retreat isn’t an option.
Sakura-san was already running ahead.
With her level of attack power, she should be able to hold her own. Besides, Shiraishi-san was the only one left standing, and waiting for the teachers would likely be too late.
The plan was to push forward, join forces, and protect others while we waited for reinforcements. If possible, we’d take it down ourselves. There was no other choice.
As we ran, the massive rock dragon came into view.
It was enormous…
But there was no time to hesitate—especially after I saw Shiraishi-san being blown away along with her massive shield.
Using teleportation, I barely managed to catch up in time.
I caught Shiraishi-san midair, healed her, and teleported her to safety, outside the dragon’s territory.
“Eriina -san, I’ll gather everyone here. I need you to defend this spot.”
“Got it. But are you sure? What about its ranged attacks?”
“The Rock Dragon doesn’t attack outside its territory. Sakura-san has already engaged it, so it won’t have the luxury to target us elsewhere. I’ll gather the others now.”
“Understood. I’ll set up a magical barrier to defend us.”
“Thanks!”
With that, I teleported repeatedly, retrieving everyone one by one.
Some were badly injured, but thankfully, no one was dead.
We still had a chance.
“That’s everyone. I’ve cast healing magic, so they should be okay, but just in case, use this.”
“This is… I see. Understood.”
[The rescue operation was so smooth, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.]
[Was that a high potion? How much does that cost?]
[Tōma -kun is way too high-spec.]
[Sakura-chan is insane too! She’s straight-up pummeling the dragon and stunning it.]
[You’ve got this! You can win!]
The comment section was as lively as ever.
“Alright, I’m off. If anything happens, yell for me.”
“Okay. I’d like to join the fight, but I’d just be dead weight this time.”
“Not true. If you protect everyone, we can fight without worry.”
“Got it. Good luck!♡”
[Argh, he’s so cool despite being ordinary-looking…]
[I’m a fan now. I’m officially a Tōma Yumeno fan! ♡]
Ahem. Right. Focus.
Seriously, though—S-rank monsters on the 4th floor? What’s going on with this dungeon…
“Sakura-san! All-in support magic, incoming!”
“Tōma -kun… Wait, what? That’s incredible. Are these support spells layered together?”
“Yeah, I’ve combined them for simultaneous activation.”
“…Is that even possible?”
Huh? It’s not? I’ve always been able to do it, so I thought it was normal.
Anyway, evacuation’s complete. Now, all that’s left is to take down the giant lizard.
“It’s huge. How do we bring it down?”
“Since it’s a dragon, it should have a weak spot—the reverse scale. See over there? I was thinking of targeting that.”
“Got it. So, we just need to stop its movements?”
“Exactly.”
“Alright, let’s do this.”
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Despite having a solid plan, Sakura-san glanced at me hesitantly, her face slightly downcast.
Cute… But what’s on her mind?
“I want a kiss… Is that okay?♡”
“…”
C-cute… What is this adorable creature…
Wait, seriously? I’ll kiss you as many times as you want, but are you sure?
Alright, you asked for it. It’s happening.
Using teleportation, I closed the distance, gently cradled her head, and kissed her.
I made sure the cameras couldn’t capture it—just in case.
When we parted, she was smiling shyly, like an angel.
Thank you for this moment. My heart and soul are full.
Now, let’s go, you oversized lizard!!!
Postscript:
The Rock Dragon was defeated almost instantly.
Strategy Summary:
I used earth magic to collapse the ground beneath its feet, making it fall and immobilizing it with binding magic. Then, I encased it in an anti-magic barrier to completely stop its movements.
Sakura-san casually walked up, aimed for the reverse scale, and delivered a full-power punch.
Despite flailing wildly and launching wide-area attacks, my magical barriers nullified everything.
After repeating the process a few times, the Rock Dragon died and turned into a massive magic stone.
Now, we’re waiting for the teachers while regrouping with Sayamura-san.
