Chapter 131.1

131 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 131

Let’s Face Each Of The Battlefields! – 2

–Ya~hoooo!!

“Wha–!?”

“A monster!?”

“An Ichibishi tag? Don’t attack!”

“Don’t tell me that is…”

“Mr. Masked Maaaan!?”

All of the members of the Self-Defense Force made a stir after Haruki’s sudden appearance.

But somehow, the things they were saying in unison wouldn’t reach Haruki’s ears.

The reason for that was that Haruki now only had eyes (and ears) for the lumpfish alone.

“Hahahaha!!”

Haruki’s laughter was filled with vigor and murderous intent, as if trying to intimidate his opponent.

Right now, Haruki’s head was filled to the brim with lumpfish broth.

Not defeating the lumpfish meant no lumpfish broth for him.

In order to get that tasty lumpfish broth, Haruki would use all of his skills without any restraints.

Haruki’s attack sliced through the lumpfish’s skin.

“VWOOO!!”

The lumpfish roared loudly.

It sounded like a strong wind passing through a tunnel.

The lumpfish puffed up its body like a giant ball and dashed towards Haruki.

Haruki dodged it by jumping away.

But the momentum of the lumpfish’s ram didn’t stop there.

It was a full-force tackle made with its huge, inflated body.

Several of the Self-Defense Force members that were standing by on the back ended up getting hit with it.

The impact caused them to be sent flying in a bowling-pin-esque manner.

Haruki quickly regained his composure when he saw that happen.

“…I see.”

So the Self-Defense Force members that had retreated earlier… could it be that they were hit with this attack?

The lumpfish was larger than a truck.

It had rushed forward at about the same speed a truck would have on the highway.

The average human wouldn’t be able to get back up after being hit by something like that.

Even an adventurer who was somewhat familiar with his skills would have a hard time enduring that.

Fortunately, the lumpfish’s attack didn’t kill them.

It was all thanks to Haruki’s prior allocation of skills.

However, they weren’t unharmed.

I have to make sure the Self-Defense Force members escape before I can tackle this lumpfish head-on!

With that in mind, Haruki tried to urge the Self-Defense Force members to evacuate…

“–Everyone, don’t just stand there! Fight alongside Mr. Masked Man! Battle formation!!”

Haruki was at a loss for words at Enomoto’s angry words.

Enomoto, who was full of fighting spirit, started hurling instructions to the rest of the Self-Defense Force.

Do you have a death wish?

Haruki went completely pale.

He couldn’t help but think that those instructions were the same as sending his men to die.

However, the battle situation was different from what Haruki had imagined.

The Self-Defense Force members arranged themselves so as to surround the lumpfish.

Whenever either side drew enough aggro from the lumpfish, the other side would launch an attack.

The side that drew aggro from the lumpfish would then bolster its defense in an attempt to stop the monster’s attack.

If the switching between attack and defense is delayed by even one second, the front would collapse in an instant. It was a really crazy way of fighting.

And yet, it was strangely stable.

The timing of Enomoto’s command was terrifyingly accurate.

“I see…”

The Self-Defense Forces were still able to fight because Haruki had allocated their points with his Skill Board.

Also, there was Enomoto’s special skill, “Command”.

Of course, Haruki had allocated points on that skill as well.

But that was only possible because Enomoto had this skill.

If he didn’t have the “Command” skill to begin with…

Even after having their skill points allocated by Haruki, things would have ended up much worse for the Self-Defense Force.

Haruki sighed, feeling a bit relieved.

At that moment…

“…Hmm?”

The lumpfish’s aggro had changed slightly.

For a brief moment, it had turned towards Haruki.

(What does this mean…?)

Think.

A glimpse of light dashed across his brain.

Haruki desperately reached out to it.

During this brief moment, Haruki enthusiastically turned his thoughts around.

Then, having noticed the meaning of that light…

“…Ha!”

…A single laughter escaped from his lips.

There was nothing funny in the battle scene.

Haruki laughed because she could see it.

They would be able to leave the best possible result on this battle, and no one would need to die.

He could see the best future for both the Self-Defense Force and Hakodate.

At this rate, they would never be able to reach that future.

But maybe, if they don’t mess it up somehow, they may just be able to reach it.

Haruki realized that there was a bright future within their reach.

He couldn’t help but laugh because of this.

He couldn’t help but feel a huge morale boost.

He couldn’t help but want to have an adventure.

“–!!”

Haruki immediately changed his plan.

Instead of trying to have the Self-Defense Force escape, he decided he would fight while they were around.

However, at their current state, there would definitely be some casualties.

The level gap between the Self-Defense Force and the lumpfish was so wide that it could never be filled with just a strong fighting spirit.

What should I do?

How do I fight while keeping the Self-Defense Force safe?

Haruki thought desperately about it.

He focused his consciousness and gathered all the information he could.

He selected and carefully explored various paths.

Then, he put his plan into practice.

“–!!”

It wasn’t intimidation.

He wasn’t trying to buy time for the Self-Defense Force to escape.

It was all to defeat the Dungeon Lord.

Haruki completely smeared his short sword with his murderous intent and slashed at the lumpfish with all his might.

When Haruki resumed his attacks, the Self-Defense Force immediately changed their movements.

When the lumpfish’s aggro was directed at Haruki, they would attack, and when it was directed at them instead, they would switch to defense.

They had also spread across the field appropriately so as not to get caught in the lumpfish’s movements.

It was possible to tell who had the monster’s aggro judging by the movement of its eyes and the amount of murderous intent it showed.

However, it was quite difficult to tell that unless you were fighting the monster directly.

However, Enomoto was able to tell with almost exact precision, all while staying back.

“Amazing…”

Haruki knew what skills Enomoto had, but when he actually saw him on the field, he couldn’t help but feel a deep admiration for him.

The ability to tell who had the monster’s aggro at a given time was probably thanks to the “Intuition” skill.

He was amazed at how effective that skill was.

Enomoto and Kagemitsu both had this “Intuition” skill.

Masatsugu had it as well.

Perhaps “Intuition” was a skill needed to achieve excellent results as an adventurer…

(–I’m so jealous!!)

Since Haruki didn’t have the “Intuition” skill, he couldn’t help but feel envious of those who did have it.

In any case, “Intuition” wasn’t under the Technique tree.

There was a high chance Haruki would acquire that skill, no matter how hard he trained.

He’d like to get it if he could, but it didn’t seem that he had much choice other than giving up on it.