CH 48

[……The time has come.]

A week has passed since the visit to the , which has become a bittersweet memory for me.

I had summoned Radd and the others to complete the infinite grind this time around.

This time, in anticipation of a long-term battle, I prepared a large number of items, including HP and MP Potions, Regen Potions, and Sacred Ashes that would momentarily stun Undead-type monsters.

I also prepared special equipment for this battle, and headed into the dungeon in high spirits.

[H- Hey, Old man! This place is……]

I began our journey without telling them where we were going, but before we reached the dungeon, Radd and the others seemed to realize our destination.

[Yeah. We’re heading to the .]

Nodding in affirmation to their question, I left the surprised Radd and the others and moved forward at a brisk pace.

Our destination is, of course, the hidden room where the awaited.

Turning the cross, we descended the stairs and intently headed deep into the room.

[Wait right there! We’ve already established before that training here is…… Eh?]

Radd’s mouth, which had been protesting, stopped the moment he looked into the knight’s room.

[W- What the heck is this……!]

That is because the room where the knight should have stood alone in the vast space has completely changed.

It had now become a hellish attraction with more than 150 squires wriggling about like packed sardines.

※　※　※

[W- What in the world is going on?]

In response to the puzzled Radd, I said “Look over there” and pointed above the heads of the groaning squires.

[That is…… Rex?]

As Prana had whispered, a white figure in the shape of my image was growing out of the ceiling of the hidden room.

[C- Could it be……]

I lifted the Decoy Gun in my hand and showed it to Nuku, who seemed to have realized what was going on.

[Yeah. That’s the “decoy” I set up a week ago.]

Well, it was just a simple trick.

The knight summons when they stay “in combat for an hour”.

And since the condition for the knight to be in combat is “the presence of an attack target in the room”, a decoy can satisfy that condition.

However, in the game, there was no great significance in putting out decoys.

In-game, the decoys were limited to the places where the character could move, so the knight would end up defeating it immediately.

In this world though, decoys can be fired at walls and ceilings.

[The knight and squires were completely specialized in close-quarters combat and had no means of attacking at long range. That means……]

[They can’t attack the decoy in the ceiling?]

I nodded to Radd, who astoundedly murmured.

Looking back at the room, I could see that the squires crowding around the room were swinging their swords, which unfortunately couldn’t reach the decoy on the ceiling.

[Well, I wasn’t quite sure if the ceiling was considered as part of this room.]

As a result though, the ceiling decoy was also determined as an attack target.

Since decoys permanently exist until they are destroyed by someone’s attack, that knight will continue to summon without rest. Even after we leave this room, or even when we’re eating or sleeping, they will continue to be in a state of battle all the time.

I sent out a prayer to the , which had become an infinite summoning engine and was probably at the center of that circle, although it was buried in the squires’ bodies and couldn’t be seen.

[P- Please wait! If that were the case, wouldn’t it have been better if Nii-san had only fired the Decoy Gun from the beginning, instead of entering the room before?]

[The Decoy Gun can only be used in situations where the enemy hasn’t spotted it. So, I can only shoot that while the knight was in its Summoning Motion and their sensing ability is lowered.]

As I brushed Resilia’s question aside like that……

[S- So that’s how it is. I’m sorry, even though Nii-san thought that far……]

My little sister, who suddenly became surprisingly honest, hung her head down in shame.

……Well, let’s tell Resilia that I was actually thinking of continuing to run around the knight like last time if that thing with the Decoy Gun didn’t work.

[That aside, let’s start with the crucial moment.]

When I said this, Radd’s party, who had been staring blankly into the room, simultaneously looked at me.

[The goal this time is to level up. We can’t just have them gathering over there, right?]

[D- Don’t tell me……]

I spoke to the shuddering Radd with a grin.

[————–The squires over there, an estimated one hundred and sixty or so. Clear them all up by the end of the day!!!]

※　※　※

The battle that followed was a brutal one for Radd and the others.

In the first place, 160 higher-leveled monsters aren’t opponents that can be beaten in a normal way, but fortunately, the knights who are distracted by the decoy won’t change their attack target unless they are attacked.

So, I had them fish out the countless squires one by one, drew them in, and beat them all up.

This process was repeated a hundred and sixty times.

There were times when they struggled with unfamiliar formations, times when the battle line almost collapsed due to the knight summoning an additional squire during their battle, and times when they almost lost heart in the face of a battle that could never end, but in the end, Radd and the others steadily defeated them.

And finally, when the last squire fell and all the squires disappeared from the room……

Radd and the others had reached Lv 28.