CH 53.2

As far as I could remember, Alice should have already conquered almost all the puzzles except for the hidden character, if she had been doing things the normal way. …It didn’t seem too difficult, did it?

In a way, it was now more difficult to avoid the death-flag events, but by then I needed to increase the number of people like my brother Dirk and the Archbishop who, at the very least, would not turn against me.

And I also need to secure adventurers that could be hired when I escape with Maia and the others.

So, in parallel with the magic unlocking process, I also needed to earn money as the adventurer [Witch].

Speaking of which, where could I find the hidden character? I didn’t meet him in Game, and I didn’t see anyone who looked like him, but the only flag for Carol’s survival was her exile when he and Alice, the main character, eloped.

In the end, I intended to flee the country after taking a blow from the people who resented me, so it would save Maia and the others from unnecessary danger, but I wondered what would happen after that, right?

That’s why being an adventurer was so important to me.

Usually, I simply hole up in the Dungeon and hunt trolls and Mino-tans, but I should be going out to the Demon Forest to train Pochi as well.

“–[Thunder Rain]–“

Deep in the Demon Forest, a widespread storm rages and Lightning pours down with my magic.

Unlike in the VRMMO, which was managed by the system, I had to control this spell myself, so I couldn’t be distracted.

[Guooooooooooooo!!!]

From deep in the forest, a huge animal-like demon jumped out, burned by lightning.

A lion’s head that breathes fire. The head of a goat chanting dark magic. The head of a gigantic snake that spits venom at the tail of a lion’s body.

A Chimera with its dark cloud-like body hair and immense size would make one think that it was a higher level species, around level 70, surpassing even lower level dragons.

“Pochi.”

[Oooh!]

When I called out its name briefly while controlling the magic, the dark dragon Pochi, which was behind me, flew out like an arrow and attacked the Chimera.

[Goooooh!]

[Gaaaahhh!!!]

Huge demons over 10 metres long tear each other apart with their claws and fangs, showering each other with fire breaths.

Pochi would have been in danger in his previous shut-in days, but the Pochi of today may be able to win this fight on his own.

But that wasn’t the goal this time, so Pochi didn’t go overboard, keeping the opponent within the magic area, and when I glanced at it, he left the magic area, kicking Chimera away with its hind legs.

“–[Mjollnir]–“

At that moment, the Lightning that had been pouring down around us converged and became a huge thunderbolt that shot through the Chimera.

[——!!!]

Unable to scream, the Chimera was scorched black and fell to the ground.

This was a 9th class attack magic, [Mjöllnir], a.k.a. the Thor Hammer spell.

To be precise, the first use of [Thunder Rain] of the sixth level was a preparatory spell for this magic, and by using [Mjöllnir] afterwards, the range became narrower, but the power jumped up to about 10 times. …Control over this was troublesome.

As expected of a 9th class spell, the power was outrageous, but the control of the spell became complicated as a result. I could adjust the range to some extent by controlling the magic, but it would be more reliable to have my allies stop in their tracks, or escape before the spell is launched.