Novel - Site
Chapter 171: A Ray of Hope
Chapter 171: A Ray of Hope
TN: Shout-Outs Section!
<<Scheduled report.>>
<<Shout-Out Progress for February: 3/4>>
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When we arrive at the City Hall, we see that all hell has broken loose. This is even worse than we expected.
Hey! What are those vines?!
Is that a new monster!?
Are we really safe here?
Is that monster like the Dragon from yesterday!?
Help us!
I cant go on anymore! Were all going to die here!!
My mother was eaten by a tree! Why doesnt anyone remember?!
I dont want to die! I dont want to die!!
Where are the mayor and Fujita-san!?
Please come out!
My child! Wheres my child!?
Someoneeeeee!
Calm down! Please calm down, everyone!
Senpai, this isnt going to work!
Still, we must do something about it! We cant give up before we try everything we can!
N-no way!
These people that are causing a commotion at the entrance of the City Hall should be the refugees.
Theyre probably at or near LV 0.
Only Chief Shimizu, Nijou, and a few other City Hall staffs are trying to stall them.
Fujita-san and Mayor Uesugi are nowhere to be found.
(Fujita-sans presence is at the meeting room.)
I can sense that Nishino-kun and Student Council President Igarashi are there as well.
Theyre apparently in the middle of a discussion.
Wow, this is something, alright. Onii-san, how are we supposed to move forward?
Well, its not like we must enter through the front door.
Weve already set up Akas Coordinates inside the City Hall.
We wont have to push through the crowd if we use Shadow Migration.
Since my stealth skills are activated, no one will notice even if we push through the crowd.
However, Ichinose-san will throw up for sure, so that plans rejected.
Arent you going to stop that?
Rikka-chan asks as she points at the entrance of the City Hall.
Yes, we can have them take care of this matter.
Nijou, Chief Shimizu, and the rest of the City Hall staffs are definitely all above LV 10.
Nijou seems to be almost crying, but there should be a considerable difference in status between her and the people that are causing a scene.
Im sure theyll manage somehow.
No, Im talking about your business with your KouhaiYou know what, whatever.
?
Rikka-chan mumbles something. Whats up with her?
In any case, we should concentrate on the matter at hand.
Momo, please.
Wan!
The Shadow beneath our feet spreads out, instantly swallowing us up.
By travelling through the Shadow, we reach the meeting room swiftly.
After knocking on the door, we enter.
Fujita-san, Mayor Uesugi, Student Council President Igarashi, and Nishino-kun are present.
The remnants of the Self Defense Force are also in the room.
Good morning, Kudou-san.
Student Council President Igarashi greets me as soon as I step into the room.
Im almost amazed at how composed she is after everything that has happened between us yesterday.
Observing her more closely, however, her smile feels kind of strained.
As a test, I make a snapping gesture at an angle where only she would be able to see it.
Her body shivers.
(So shes just putting up a front)
Akas clone has already disappeared from her body, but the psychological effect is still working wonders.
I return a half-hearted greeting, only for Fujita-san to walk up me.
You must be Kudou-kun. We havent had a proper conversation with each other, but Ive heard about you from Nishino-kun. Im Fujita Souichiro, a City Hall employee. Nice to meet you.
Eh?
Hmm?
Huh?We both cock our heads, puzzled.
Ohhh. Right. I was disguised as Ichinose-san when I fought Titan.
Afterwards, I had Nishino-kun act as an intermediary, so I didnt get to have a chance to talk with Fujita-san and the mayor.
This is the first time were speaking to each other when Im in my original form.
O-oh, please excuse me. My name is Kudou Kazuto. Its nice meeting you here.
? The honor is mine
Fuijta-sans expression is dark as we shake hands.
Its not just Fujita-san. The atmosphere surrounding the meeting room is dark and gloomy overall.
In particular, the members of the Self Defense Force appear to be in utter despair; its as if theyve given up on all hope.
(Makes sense.)
After all, the moment they woke up from their slumbers, they had to face a monster of such ridiculous magnitude.
Their despair is understandable.
We sit down near Nishino-kun.
Where are Shibata-kun and the rest?
Theyre handling the issue with the refugees downstairs. Goshogawara-san is particularly good at dealing with people.
It seems like Goshogawara-san is acquainted with a surprising number of people.
As expected of a log user.
When I conduct a search using Enemy Detection, I sense Shibata-kun and the others standing near the front entrance.
(We slipped past each other because of Shadow Migration)
Putting Goshogawara-san aside, will Shibata-kun be alright?
With his rash personality, he might cause even more chaos by blowing away the refugees
Nishino-kun laughs as if he can see through my worries.
Its okay. Although he isnt the most patient, hes not a fool who would needlessly bully the weak.
Having read my heart, Nishino-kun explains calmly.
Well, I guess its fine since Nishino-kun is saying so.
Hmmm? In that case, whats up with his attitude towards me?
The problem that were facing right now is far more serious than the commotion below.
Youre right
Nishino-kun points at the countless vines that can be observed sticking to the invisible walls of the Safety Zone.
Beyond the barrier, we can also see the huge tree standing in the middle of the mountain-range.
Both the tree and the vines are so huge that my sense of scale is threatening to spiral out of control.
(This isnt a movie, you know)
Actually, even the monsters in Godzilla and Biollante arent as huge them.
These arent opponents a person can face.
Honestly, my hands are tied against a monster of this scale
Nishino-kun helplessly shrugs, prompting Fujita-san to join the conversation.
Agreed. According to Nishino-kun, that monster is a Treant. I was plenty surprised when I heard that the trees growing outside were actually monsters, but I didnt think their evolved form would be this monstrosity. Going beyond surprise, Im almost feeling fed up with this.
Fujita-san smiles wryly.
So Nishino-kun told them about the Treants before we arrived.
Since there wasnt any point in withholding information about monsters, we had agreed beforehand to share the information with those at the City Hall.
The Superior Species of a monster which could literally prey on someones existenceIm finally beginning to understand what Towada was speaking about.
Fujita-san turns to face the Self Defense Force.
Everyone including Captain Towada is pale and trembling.
(Its to be expected)
Peony is a symbol of trauma for these men.
Im certain that it was Peony which destroyed the Self Defense Force in the neighboring town.
Although they dont remember what happened, Im sure the fear must have been engraved in their bodies.
Can they even fight in this state?
Fujita-san, I wont beat around the bush. Can these men fight?
It would be difficult.
Hey, isnt that quite problematic?
The members of the SDF can be considered top level combatants in this City Hall.
Youre telling me that theyre paralyzed by fear? Its not funny, you know?
Ill try to convince them otherwise. Nevertheless, we would need a general idea of what were going to do with the monster.
A general idea, he says.
Simply put
We need a plan to defeat the monster.
Indeed. Unless we have a plan, we wont be able to do anything.
But how?
Thats what were gathered here to do.
Fujita-san pulls out a cigarette from his pocket and lights it up.
Since its a monster, the Treant wont be able to intrude upon the Safety Zone. Well have to take advantage of this and test out various strategies at the border.
He has a point. At present, our only advantage over Peony is the barrier of the Safety Zone.
We can conduct one-sided attacks from inside the barrier, just like what we did to repel the Dragon yesterday.
That said, we would still need to be cautious not to get dragged into the aftermath of Peonys skills.
We should also make sure Peony doesnt attempt to clog up the Safety Zone like Titan did.
(But what exactly can we do against Peony?)
Against a monster as enormous as Peony, neither the pile bunker nor the Ninjutsus would deal sufficient damage.
In fact, based on our fight yesterday, I can confidently say that I can only deal with a couple of vines at a time.
Even with the addition of Ichinose-sans sniper attacks and Momos Shadow support, not much would change. At best, the number of vines we can deal with simultaneously would increase a little.
Unless we have a way to deal direct damage against the Treants main body, we have no chance of winning.
(Our opponent is a plantHow can we make use of this fact?)
Fire and Herbicides were really effective in yesterdays battles.
Herbicides from local supermarkets and Fire Element Ninjutsu were enough to devastate regular Treants.
However, as Peony is so huge, itll be impossible to burn it to death unless we drown the entire town in a sea of fire.
On the other hand, if we want to use herbicides against it, we would need to prepare hundreds of liters of them.
Realistically speaking, neither option is feasible.
(Itcan move as well)
Thats the crux of the issue.
We might be able to do something about it if it remains stationary.
The issue here is that Peony could run around despite being a plant.
In other words, we currently require two thingsa method to reliably restrict Peonys movements and the power to kill it while its restricted.
These are absolute necessities.
On top of that, we must find a way to neutralize all its vines before moving on to its main body.
Yup, its impossible.
Were at a dead end.
(Should we just run away?)
If I were to abandon the City Hall and escape with Ichinose-san, Momo, Aka, and Kiki, Im pretty sure well be saved.
Nevertheless, thats not a permanent solution to the problem.
Whats there to guarantee that Peony wont follow us?
Would we have to be constantly on the run?
No, that would be unreasonable.
Our spirits will crumble at some point.
Not to mention that weve formed so many bonds with the people here
I cant cut them off at this point.
(The story would really change if I could either teleport or grow wings and fly.)
To begin with, isnt this too abnormal?
How can hellish situations like this occur two days in a row?
Its been less than a day since the Dragon attacked, you know?
.Hm?
W-wait a second.
I heard something click just now.
Firepower that could set the entire town aflame?
Mobility that could allow us to fly past innumerable vines and reach Peonys main body?
Ah.
Right, we have one creature that could do that.
A creature that could fly at extreme speeds and consecutively breathe out powerful breaths.
Dokun. Dokun.
My heart begins to beat crazily.
The moment I become cognizant of the creatures existence, an insane idea pops up at the back of my head.
..
I know where it is.
It also satisfies all our requirements.
But would it work?
I look down at my status plate.
Ive yet to decide on my fifth occupation.
My eyes turn to the list of occupations that I can choose from.
(Im sure that Momo, Aka, and Kiki will oppose this plan)
Until now, Ive been actively avoiding this occupation as Momo and co. have always advised against it.
Furthermore, ever since I watched her gruesome end, Ive held back from choosing this occupation.
Monster Tamer.
Thats right.
The Monster Tamer girl was able to synergize the effects of Monster Tamer and Profession Enhancement to subordinate a large number of monsters, including ones like the Dark Wolf.
Although it wasnt done perfectly, she had also partially succeeded in strengthening the Dark Wolf.
In theory, I should be able to do something similar since I also have the Profession Enhancement skill.
(It probably wont work against Peony, but against that)
I stare at the view outside through the window of the City Hall.
There are countless vines in the air.
Down below, I see the craters which it had left behind yesterday.
(Considering the power behind its breath attacksIf I can strengthen it with my skill)
We might be able to overcome this situation.
Yes, what Im thinking of istaming the Dragon.
I can already foresee that this would be one heck of a reckless gamble.
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