High School Hack and Slash Chapter 105x Part 2
Unless it was during a school festival or tournament, there were no extreme fluctuations in the reading of the miasma concentration in the academy grounds.
If it was only things like measuring the readings of a number of points and adequately fabricating the average value, she also did such a thing.
「Oh dear, looks like it’s a blunder. Ahn… No, I didn’t betray you or anything, okay.」
「Huh? What are you talking about? You… !,wait a minute.」
When the lights of Asagi-Sou became visible.
Looking around at their surroundings due to the sense of discomfort she felt, she gasped at the readings on the measurement device she peered into.
The miasma concentration, going beyond the red zone, exceeded that of dungeon first stratum.
She could even feel the feedback of the activation of her skills, which were that of a fourth step class of the Fighter branching.
「The heck is this, it’s not normal….」
「Senpai. What’s the matter~?」
Holding the mouth of her junior, who was bereft of wariness, she made her bend down her body.
She was torn between whether or not she should call for reinforcements and come back again.
The equipment she had carried for patrolling was not the high end one she used for dungeon conquering, but a spare sword that was several levels inferior.
Even so, for better or worse, it was a Named magic item.
「… Looks like there’s a need to investigate it for a bit.」
It was likely insignificant, but she made it a priority to build a track record.
At the very least, it would serve as evidence that she did her patrol seriously.
「… I see~. Then, I’ll lend you a hand. Senpai.」
「Yes. Thank you. Then try circling the perimeter of the dormitory. With concentrations this high, it wouldn’t be surprising even if Kobold or Goblin-class monsters were to pop up.」
「Yes~.」
She might have just graduated and yet to shed her sense as a student, but this junior of hers was also a full-fledged holder of a fourth step class of the Thief branching.
In their free time, they also sometimes formed a party and dove into the dungeon.
Going into the bushes on the opposite side from the one where her junior had disappeared, she started taking measurements.
With the needle swinging out of the red zone, it was impossible to measure the exact miasma concentration.
It was because measurement devices that could measure higher concentrations than that were not used during regular patrol.
However, feeling-wise, as she drew nearer to the dormitory, the not-so-laughable dungeon feel grew even more intense.
「… What the heck is this? Even a Novice freshman should be able to tell that it’s weird, no?」
Of course, as far as Asagi residents were concerned, this was a tacit understanding.
Still hiding in the bushes, she went around to the back of the antique-looking, worn out Asagi-sou building.
Unlike the worn-out exterior, which was in a sense a dummy, that was visible from the front, the main building, which a certain club was continually renovating and remodeling, had turned into avant-garde art in a dizzying chaotic manner.
「… Wh, what the heck, seriously.」
A single goblin that had popped up in the surrounding area scampered about and wandered into the training area built behind Asagi-sou.
Monster pop ups, as opposed to Null Mob, were also a common phenomenon around Asagi-sou.
They mainly occurred at night, and most of the dorm residents were also unaware of them.
When it came to monster pop ups, it was said that a quantum mechanical observation problem was occurring, making it difficult for them to occur as long as the majority of people believed that『no monsters appear on the above ground』.
It was assumed that this was because the miasma was influenced by human consciousness and concepts, but this had not yet been clarified.
However, it was certain that they mainly occurred at night, when the dorm residents were asleep.
The goblin, its nose twitching, approached the dorm’s vegetable garden without hesitation.
Attracted by the sweet scent that was akin to that of insectivorous plants, the goblin took several cannonballs fired at it and scattered in all directions, its whole body burst apart.
The reason why the hardened tomato bombardment did not explode was because they were once scolded by their creator, Akehi, who told them not to be noisy at night.
The tomatoes, which had earned tons of EXP by killing monsters that popped up every night and had even achieved a mysterious evolution, could freely control the traits enchanted into their cannonballs.
「… Wh, wh, what the heck, is that… Pii!」
Before her eyes, as she stifled a cute scream and stiffened, nothing but eyes that were staring at her were visibly floating.
Its presence was also soundlessly blending in with the surroundings, but she was made aware that there was an existence of overwhelming mass over there.
「Peperon~, it’s time for meal~ ….」
At the sound of the hushed call, it swiftly moved, distorting even the surrounding scenery.
In front of the girl who stealthily came out of the dormitory carrying a lump of meat of some sort, a dragon appeared, releasing its mimicry which was on a level that could be called optical camouflage.
It was a military warfare (raid) boss-class dragon that had been confirmed in the dungeon 10th stratum『Dragon Garden Jungle』, 『Colorless Swallowing Dragon (Chameleon Gulper)』.
Dragons, which were powerful solitary-type monsters, had a higher growth limit compared to other monsters.
Even if due to the stratum control value the upper limit of the miasma concentration (level cap) was low, their material potential could rise without limit.
It was on the level that if a military warfare-class dragon were to be confirmed as a『wandering threat』 in the controlled area, a high rank or higher emergency quest would be immediately issued.
Among these, with a gigantic body that was abnormal even among superior dragons, stealth where it could change its body color and blend in with its surroundings, and immortality where it could attain rapid recovery by means of predation, 『Colorless Swallowing Dragon (Chameleon Gulper)』 was a boss that was even called impossible to defeat.
Although it was not an opponent that couldn’t be defeated by those with fourth step classes, it was an opponent to be conquered with them forming a party specializing in firepower at the very least, and preferably a multi-party raid.
Above all, there was no way they would be able to challenge it in the state of being stripped of the grace of the undead system.
Such Colorless Swallowing Dragon swallowed the lump of meat in one gulp and was then obediently letting itself be patted around while purring with its throat.
「Listen well, okay? You have to properly hide yourself so that you won’t be discovered. Otherwise, you’ll get your tail cut off or your scales stripped off, okay?」
*Geko* Nodding, the Colorless Swallowing Dragon snuggled up its face to the girl’s in an attached manner, before then disappearing soundlessly.
She shuddered at the stealth ability, which didn’t allow her to perceive its presence or even its footsteps as it moved, let alone seeing it.
It had not been repatriated, and was definitely there in the vicinity.
If she were to be targeted, she would be preyed upon while she was still oblivious to it, unable to even mount any resistance.
She was convinced of this.
She couldn’t understand why they were letting such a monster run free.
She had no idea if it was summoned from a monster card or if it had been turned into a follower, but in either case, there was no need to feed it.
She was torn between her instinct of wanting to run away right this instance and her fear that if she moved, she would be done in.
「… Senpai, what are you doing?」
As she crouched down and all stiffened, the voice of her junior, bereft of any shred of tension, reached her.
Still unable to move even then, she was confused by her junior’s incomprehensible words.
「Good evening, Peperon-san. Pardon the intrusion. I’ve come to deliver eggs again, you see~. Hya~n, please don’t peek.」
「… Huh?」
「Konnyaku-san and the others too, please leave it to us. Senpai isn’t someone that can’t be reasoned with, after all, yes.」
When she looked up, she noticed that she was surrounded by『something』.
She didn’t wish to realize it, but she had gone and realized it.
Even though a number of small presences disappeared toward the dormitory, she still had her surroundings surrounded by countless presences.
They were trapping her from the shadows of the grasses, from behind the trees, and from the branches.
She must have been trapped from the beginning.
Like the『Colorless Swallowing Dragon (Chameleon Gulper)』, it was simply that they were in a stealth mode.
These inorganic presences were similar to that of golems she encountered in the dungeon.
「Now then, Senpai, please become our comrade too, okay?」
*Thwack* The shock she felt on her neck reaped her of her consciousness.
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High School Hack and Slash
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