Chapter 55.1

55 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 55

He Who Overthrows

Kagemitsu was from the city of Date, where the historical village was located.

When the adventurer profession was created, his first thought was “I want to become a ninja”, and for this reason, he would play around in the historical village of Date through his early childhood.

To lurk in the shadows, and kill monsters oblivious to his presence…

How cool would that be!

Naturally, his handle name, Kagemitsu, came from this yearning to become a ninja.

But contrary to his expectations, his presence would not go unnoticed wherever he would go.

No matter how simple he tried to look, or how much effort he would put into walking in the shadows and concealing his breath, every time someone would find him without fail.

He had a really hard time feeling comfortable about being looked at by people.

What would happen to Kagemitsu if he were to go to a highly populated area like Sapporo?

His hair had receded from the stress of being on the receiving end of the public gaze.

It became very hard for him to even step out of the apartment he had rented.

However, Kagemitsu still found a way to resolve himself and go out.

As he dove deeper into the dungeon, he became acquainted with others, and would often form instant teams with them.

By the time the team Aerial was born, Kagemitsu had grown accustomed to other people’s gazes, and his stage fright receded.

When humans fall into predicaments, if they try their best, they might manage to somehow overcome them.

Though there was little hope for his dream of becoming a ninja…

But now.

Now Kagemitsu felt that his body had gone even further beyond its limits, and was a little lighter than ever.

Did some sort of hidden power awaken from its slumber because of this dire situation?

Yeah, if he tried his best, he might just manage to overcome this.

Still…

(So harsh…)

He might have gone over his own limits, but the situation wasn’t getting much better.

(The Grim Reaper is still loitering around.)

He was very aware of how strong this boss was.

Even from a distance, you could see Kagemitsu shivering.

He didn’t think this would end simply by crossing swords with the boss.

But their main source of damage was their long distance attacks. He had never thought that Becky’s arrows would not be effective.

After such a long battle, Kagemitsu was still unable to deliver the final blow.

And to make matters worse both Van and Doraneko were out for the count. It was quite the predicament.

He had no choice but to admit that things weren’t looking so good for them.

He hadn’t been able to do any critical damage to the boss so far.

His attacks had connected, however, they hadn’t done much more than a scratch.

Due to the great sword’s characteristic high attack power, even a single good hit could turn the battle in their favor.

But the boss was very wary of Kagemitsu’s attacks.

Because of this, he was having a hard time landing his attacks on it.

If he was too careless when trying to land an attack, he could leave himself exposed to a fatal counterattack.

Damn it!

All he needed was a single blow!

Kagemitsu grit his teeth, facing the reality in front of him with a fleeting hope.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Van and Doraneko were to return to the battle?

The members of Aerial were carrying some pretty expensive medicine with them.

By taking that medicine, they should be able to return to the battlefield soon as long as their wounds weren’t too deep.

However, even after some time had passed, they did not return.

They weren’t dead.

He could feel their presence, so it was fine.

Could it be that they were so badly injured that the medicine wasn’t enough to get them back in shape yet?

Or could it be that they had already ran out of medicine by the time they had retreated?

For how long would he have to fight this boss by himself?

Kagemitsu was about to be crushed down by that pressure.

Should he try to escape?

But how was he going to do that?

In order to escape from this lizardman, someone would have to sacrifice themselves and try to hold him down while the others escape.

In that case, should he be the one to do it…?

He didn’t want to die…

Of course, Kagemitsu had no intention to commit suicide.

But still, his important friends were there with him.

They had been supporting one another since their time as low-rank adventurers, and becoming stronger together.

Sometimes they would laugh, sometimes they would cry…

He had managed to make such precious friends.

Kagemitsu was okay with throwing away his life if it meant it could save his friends.

It was the blood of the warrior that coursed through his veins that made him feel that way.

As the name suggests, the city of Date was located in the land in the Sendai territory where Date Kunishige had once settled down.

Date, after being impoverished as a result of the Tohoku War during the Meiji Restoration, sold off his household belongings and pioneered to the northern parts of Japan.

It was a particularly unique mass migration.

The settlement was filled with trees and the fields were not in a good condition to grow food.

The lands would become covered in snow during the winter, and everything would freeze over.

He abandoned his personal property and was able to survive by cooperating with his retainers in rigorous field work.

The way Date Kunishige had felt about his retainers, and how he saw them as companions he fought together with in order to survive, truly inspired Kagemitsu.

Adventurers should be prepared to die at any time.

Of course, that didn’t mean he should throw his life away in vain.

There was a time where one could give his life away.

He was resolved to happily die for those he wanted to protect.

『An adventurer should find something worth dying for.』

It was time to prepare himself.

He swung his great sword so as to intimidate the enemy.

“Everyone, leave this to me and run–”

Run away.

He couldn’t even finish saying that.

“–!?”

“Gwaaaaahhh!”

A huge needle-like weapon pierced through the boss’ eyes.

Was that Throwing?

But who…?

Kagemitsu furrowed his brow as he headed for an attack.

Its right eye had been completely crushed.

As for its left eye, the boss seemed to have managed to protect it somehow just in time. Though its eyelids had been severely damaged.

Blood was flowing out of the needle’s handle –no, it looked almost like a bo-shuriken?

It was a kind of iron dart that ninjas and assassins would throw at their opponents to make them bleed out.