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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 137 Part 3

―― the peripheral world 『BIBLIOTHECA』, the glazed myth 『＊＊＊＊』――

―― 『The Arena of the Abyss (Tartarus Colosseum)』, 『The Gate of Choice (Sybilla Gate) 』 domain ――

「Awright. With this the authority (ability) of the『Gatekeeper of the Underworld (Cerberus)』 should have been activated.」

「Yeah.」

When we pass through the pure white monolith-shaped gate, we’re back on the circular stage from the beginning.

The figure of the gutless Doggy, whose middle head has been dangling until the end, is nowhere to be seen.

It seems that with this, we have now cleared one of the subquests.

The relief of the three-headed dog has disappeared from the rock door behind us.

Subconsciously, a sigh of relief leaks out.

As for the rest, I guess everything will be alright as long as we proceed to conquer the subquests in order.

However, we have no time to dilly dally.

Since this abnormal phenomenon befalls not only us, but also our comrades, after all.

「No, well, I guess so, but….」

「Yeah. Let’s get to the next subquest.」

「…..」

「Before we get to that, can I throw in a retort for a bit? That mysterious monster flying around next to you, where did you get it from?」

The floaty Skeleton-kun, who’s still with us as opposed to disappearing, snipes at Seiichi with the musket gun.

「That guy, he’s shooting at me, though?!」

「He must have found your face pissing. Don’t worry about it.」

Skeleton-kun, who is frolicking after grasping how to use the gun, is so charming.

The musket gun imitation is equipped with a mechanism to absorb the surrounding miasma and automatically load itself.

On the above ground, it will not work unless loaded with monster crystals, but if it’s in an environment where miasma pressure like that of the dungeon’s deep stratums, it’s even possible to do rapid-fire.

I hope he’ll use it with care.

「What gimmick should we conquer next, I wonder?」

「C’mon, don’t ignore it as if nothing happened. Rather, somehow, that guy is giving off a bad news vibe, you know? It’s okay even if we knock him down, right?」

Seiichi, which dagger in hands, spouts something nonsensical.

Exchanging glances with Skeleton-kun, we shake our heads with both palms facing the sky.

Good graciousness, what a selfish man he is.

「We don’t have time to play around, do we? Right now, regrouping with Shizuka and the others is our top priority.」

「Oi. That guy, his jaws are chattering. Don’t tell me, he’s not laughing, is he?」

We ought to stay calm, don’t let veins pop on our temples.

Seiichi, taking a deep breath, looks around at the monoliths around us.

「If we go by order, it should be the『Great Lion of Gold』, but as expected it’s gone. Other than it, the『Boar of Retribution』 and the『Mechanical Bird of Bronze』 are also missing from the beginning. I think the stone tablets that have gone blank are probably those ones, but….」

「You can’t do anything with what’s not there. When it comes to large-scale raids, there’s bound to be a few bugs, after all.」

『Marvel World』-class high difficulty raids are cryptic in how they’re linked together.

I can understand why Doggy-senpai hates Lore-type raids.

Oh, it seems that Skeleton-kun is protesting for some reason.

He’s holding up the musket gun and fuming.

「Based on the remaining subquests, the one that is open should be the『Water Serpent of Ceaselessness』. This is a gimmick where Dragon Fang Soldiers (Spartoi), spawned from the bones of the water dragon, will spring up inexhaustibly, I believe.」

「Hoh.」

The somewhat dragon-like floaty Skeleton-kun averts his gaze away.

Well, the eye sockets are empty, though.

「But first, let me check something. This incomprehensible situation, I can only assume that the Tartarus Arena raid has been resurrected, and we’ve ended up getting caught in it.」

「Well, I guess so.」

「… If that’s the case, then, right about now, the last boss『Hercules』 should have emerged on the arena on the above ground.」

It’s unusual to have a last boss that you can fight from the beginning.

No, if this were a game, there’s also the pattern where the boss shows up and makes its debut in the opening of the game, huh.

The so-called forced defeat event.

In a game, the story would be put together as is, but in the case of real life, it would jump straight to game over.

「I think the guys in the club are probably caught in the boss fight, too. They’re not the kind of guys who would run away from a dangerous situation first, are they?」

It may be possible for the Senpais from the past, but if it’s the current them, I’m sure they would choose to reach out their hands instead of running away.

That’s exactly why I am in such a hurry.

「If we can forgo the order in which the doors are opened, let’s deal with the dangerous looking authority (gimmick) first. Since, conversely, that’ll increase our side’s Authority (ability), after all.」

「Yeah.」

The remaining subquests are eight in number.

The one that Seiichi chooses from among them is a monolith depicting a three-faced, six-armed warrior.

It’s a relief that’s somewhat reminiscent of the statue of Asura.

This is most likely the『Three Princes』.

Under normal circumstances, it seems to be the tenth subquest to be opened.

「Honestly speaking, we ought to conquer the plainly annoying『Great Lion of Gold』, but… You can’t do anything with what’s not there—」

The order in which they are to be opened and the gimmicks they’re related to seem to be something like this.

 

×, Trial 1, 『The Great Lion of Gold (Nemea)』, physical attack nullification (anti-material)

○, Trial 2, 『The Water-Serpent of Ceaselessness (Lernaea)』, Dragon Fang Soldiers summoning (Summon Spartoi)

○, Trial 3, 『The Hind of the Goddess (Ceryneia)』, desert inhibition (anti-escape)

×,Trial 4, 『The Boar of Retribution (Erymanthos)』, magic attack nullification (anti-magic)

○,Trial 5, 『The Livestock Stable of the Foolish King (Augeas)』, spatial transfer (teleportation)

×, Trial 6, 『The Mechanical Bird of Bronze (Stymphalides)』, theft (item lost)

○, Trial 7, 『The Bull of the Sea God (Crete)』, spatial domain (storage)

○, Trial 8, 『The Man-Eating Horse (Diomedes)』, unknown

○, Trial 9, 『The Belt of the Queen (Amazons)』, unknown

○, Trial 10, 『The Three Princes (Geryon)』, interval conversion (interval reset)

○, Trial 11, 『The Daughters of the Evening (Hesperides)』, ability enhancement (buff effect)

×, Trial 12, 『The Gatekeeper of the Underworld (Cerberus)』, infinite resurrection (undead)

 

The × mark is for the trials that are not there from the beginning or have already been conquered.

Leaving the unknown ones aside, they are full of gimmicks that sound pretty annoying.

Incidentally, the notes of the subquests list are scribbled on a monolith that has turned blank upon having been conquered.

Skeleton-kun is itching to erase it, so I hold his tail.

He seems to be a clean freak.

「So, what kind of gimmick is this『Interlude Conversion』 thing?」

「A gimmick that allows you to remodel the stage at will, apparently. You can turn it into a swamp, sea, or forest field, and even set the local weather at will. Sounds pretty sick, right?」

Yeah, I guess that should be our priority to crush.

Standing in front of the rock door engraved with a three-faced, six-armed relief, I lift up the『Gaki Lord War Casket (Over-Greed Gear)』.

The pile bunker mechanism of the mechanical armament consumes cartridges.

I guess it would be limited to two or three more times that I can drive in full-power seven-chains shot.

It seems that it also puts strain on the internal machinery, so it’s said that there’s a need to do maintenance on it each time the cartridges are replaced.

When I’m about to push the Gaki Lord War Casket against the monolith again, Skeleton-kun comes between us as if in a panic, flustered.

Putting his hand into the rag, he takes out a bunch of keys that are bundled together with an iron ring.

He then inserts the retro key, which he proudly shows off, into the hollow part of the relief and turns it with a clank.

In front of the faintly radiating monolith, Skeleton-kun, carrying the musket gun on his shoulder, is puffing out his chest triumphantly.

An『activate』 display appears in the Interface, telling me that the subquest has been opened.

「… What the hell. What’s the deal with that guy, seriously?」

Seiichi directs me a questioning gaze, but it’s convenient, so it’s fine, isn’t it?

「Now then, let’s set off.」