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Chapter 299 Part 4

Ninetails creates a ball of light.
A big one.
I can see that you’re powering up.
Then she unleashes it into the center of the group of monsters that were approaching, and its light suddenly explodes upon impact.

There were many small markers indicating status abnormalities on the monsters’ bigger red markers.
Great job, Ninetails!
You’ve earned yourself a treat.
But only once we have the chance!

Helix shoots his Wind Blades at the pack of Garms that had been restrained, slaughtering them one by one.
So much for keeping them in check…
He’s annihilating them.

However, the next group of monsters is drawing near.
We’d better hurry up.
I turn Zangetsu around, making us stand face-to-face with the large group of monsters.

『Wait a minute! What are you going to do?』

「How about we retreat temporarily and then attack them?」

As far as making the best of our mobility goes?
It’s best to keep moving.
It’s a bad idea to fight while standing still.

After leaving the union, I spur Zangetsu on.
Hey, Mr. Kim Kui Slave.
Can you step aside for a moment?

By the way, there are some Majins.
Let’s see, what do we have here?

　Dark Clown　???
　Event Monster　Majin　???
　???　???

　Exorcising Guru　???
　Event Monster　Majin　???
　???　???

　Beast Master　???
　Event Monster　Majin　???
　???　???　

There’s three of them?
Still, I want to get rid of all of them, regardless of how many of them there are.
However, I don’t have anything I can attack them with at this distance.

We go a little further away from the Kim Kui Slave and take a route that keeps us a certain distance from the Obsidian Beasts.
Of course, the large group of monsters is still there.
As far as Garms go, it doesn’t seem to matter how many there are.
Zangetsu can literally kick them around.
I don’t have time to get any items from their corpses, though.

Well, we did get something out of this battle.
I remembered them.
The faces of those three Majins.
Eventually, it would be their turn to hit the ground, right?

Then, after that, it’ll be the Kim Kui Slave’s turn.

What time is it right now?
It’s 10:30 AM.
It’s been a long battle!
How many of those monsters following the Kim Kui Slave have we defeated already?
It doesn’t seem like their numbers are decreasing at all.
Zangetsu is pretty fast, so it’s not like I’m going to get surrounded by enemies all of a sudden, though.

There was one time when I almost got caught.
Since Boosted Power had just worn off, I was able to break through with the Penetrate weapon arte.

That’s right.
How many times have we dared to charge at them?
My main targets are the Majins riding their Svadilfari Slaves.
And the Tri-horned Lizards.
But I don’t get many chances to be face to face with either.
I also refrained from using Boosted Power until I faced any Tri-horned Lizards.

How many Mana Potions have I used?
My MP bar is still at 60%.
Ninetails is surprisingly not completely out of MP.
This is because she has been riding on Zangetsu with me for quite some time now, and is benefiting from it.
Zangetsu has Rider Recovery after all.
That was very smart of you!

Whoa, watch out.
This is a battlefield.
Even now, monsters are approaching from behind us.
We should better run forward quickly.

Wait.
There’s also a group of monsters up ahead.

We are retreating.
We can buy some time by entering the Silent Bamboo Woods.

The other players will probably have finished withdrawing soon.

《【Seal Magic】Level Up!》
《You have acquired the【Seal Magic】spell【Hexagram Seal】!》
《You have acquired the【Seal Magic】spell【Seven Stars Seal】!》
《【Tree Magic】Level Up!》

I break through the swarm of monsters.
Then I level up as soon as I run towards the Silent Bamboo Woods.
We didn’t exactly win this battle, but oh well.
That aside, both my Seal Magic and Tree Magic have gone up.
I’ve been using Five Elements Seal against the Exorcising Priests and Ivy Whips against the Garms a lot.
So I understand why they’ve gone up.
That’s good.

Hexagram Seal, and Seven Stars Seal, huh?

The explanation was simple.
To keep things short…
Hexagram Seal is the AoE version of Dual Forces Seal.
It’s a spell that temporarily blocks status ailment attacks against allies within range.
Seven Stars Seal is the AoE version of Five Elements Seal.
It temporarily makes it so no one can use Magic skills from any Attributes except allies.

Although they have a lower landing rate than their single target counterparts, being able to deal with multiple opponents at once is a great advantage.
But…
Let me rest for now.
This is a bit too much for me mentally right now.

「We’re evacuating! It’s okay if you don’t have Spacetime Magic!」

「We’re off to Twilight Castle! We can’t hold this place much longer!」

A call is being made.
I see.
Are you planning to use Return Home to continue moving backwards to Twilight Castle, AKA the W4 area portal?
So a complete withdrawal, huh?
Will this place also be crushed by that Kim Kui Slave?

I go to the temporary bamboo hut Reina had built.
Three authorities among Production players are here.
They’re Fiona, Giedre, and Kaya.
Saki and Guren are also here.
There’s another person, but this is the first time I’ve seen him.
His name is “zin” and appears to be a Ranger.

「Hey Keith, good job out there.」

「Hey.」

And what are they doing here?
They’re holding a strategy meeting for our future actions.
Well, it also served as a review meeting for a progress report.

The retreat already appears to be proceeding at a rapid pace.
Here, we’re shuttling people from the Silent Bamboo Woods back to Twilight Castle.
According to Guren, the Kim Kui Slave will arrive here around 11:40 AM at the earliest.

As always, it moves quite slowly.

And neither the swarm of monsters nor the Majins have been able to enter the area portal.
The good news is that we’ve been able to buy some time to retreat, albeit a little.

But it’s so annoying.
To think that we have to abandon this place.

「Keith! You have to retreat soon as well!」

「Umm, right, right. What about you and the rest, Fiona?」

「I’ll make sure everyone has evacuated before I leave, okay?」

Is that so?
Well, it doesn’t seem like there’s much I can do here.
It seems that they have already secured the number of players to evacuate.

But it feels like it’s such a waste.
It would be a shame for this place to go down like this.
That’s the feeling that’s been sticking with me.

There’s still time.
I wonder if we can do something using the topography of these Bamboo Woods?
Hmm.
I can’t think of a good idea.

The time is 11:10 AM.
I’m currently in Twilight Castle.
I’ve recalled all of my Summoned Monsters.
I’ve also asked Rick to calculate the price for the items we’ve obtained in our previous battles, and the Summoner army was temporarily disbanded.
Summoners who can use Return Home, including Adele and Irina, are already helping others retreat.
Since Haruna and Konohana were here, I left distributing the items to them.
I’ll take this chance to log out for now.
But I don’t intend to leave things like this.
I’ll be back soon, okay?

I’m back.
Well then.
I’ve decided to take this opportunity as people are retreating to Twilight Castle.
I head back to the Silent Bamboo Woods.

It may not be a good idea.
Maybe it ends up not doing anything at all.
However, there is something I would like to try.

「Keith? What are you doing here?」

「I came back so that I could be a nuisance to that monster.」

「You…」

「It’s not like it’s going to make things any worse if I fail.」

「What are you going to do?」

「I’ll hunt the Majins. It’s no different than before.」

Fiona…
Do you have a headache?

「Are you prepared to die and respawn back at the Castle anyway?」

「Never! I only thought it would be fun to try this.」

「But there will be no one here? Do you really want to do something like that with no support?」

「Yeah. Well, it’s only at my own risk after all.」

I won’t say this next thing out loud…
But I’m actually glad no one else is going to be around.
I’ll be able to use this place freely.

「When is that Kim Kui slave coming here?」

「The current forecast is 12:10 PM, so unless it stops moving, I don’t think there’s going to be that big of a margin of error.」

Guren’s answer is music to my ears.
Thank you.
I’ll have plenty of time to set things up.

「Fine. But don’t do anything reckless, okay?」

「Well, I’m not being reckless after all.」

That’s right.
As far as chances to win this, you could say that it feels both like I have them and that I don’t have them.
But, you know…
The feeling of wanting to be a nuisance to these monsters is too strong.

Alright.
What’s my lineup going to be?
Obsidian, Rig, Couturier, Modulus, and Kiyohime.
My goal with this team is pretty clear.

But that’s okay.

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv31
Job　Grand Summoner Lv17
Bonus Points Remaining 1

Set Skills
　Sword Lv12　Two-handed Spear Lv12　Joust Lv12　Club Lv13 　Dagger Lv13
　Rapier Lv11　Rope Artes Lv11　Javelin Lv8 　Pole Weapon Lv8
　Staff Lv22　Punch Lv20　Kick Lv20　Joint Lock Lv20
　Throw Lv20　Evade Lv20　Block Lv20
　Summon Magic Lv31　Spacetime Magic Lv19　Seal Magic Lv13 (↑1)
　Light Magic Lv19　Wind Magic Lv19　Earth Magic Lv19　Water Magic Lv19
　Fire Magic Lv19　Dark Magic Lv19　Ice Magic Lv17　Lightning Magic Lv18
　Tree Magic Lv18 (↑1) 　Dust Magic Lv17　Lava Magic Lv17　Steam Magic Lv18
　Alchemy Lv15　Pharmacy Lv10 　Glassmaking Lv8　Woodworking Lv12
　Synergy Lv22 (↑1)　Appraise Lv22　Identify Lv22 (↑1)　Discern Lv7　Cold Resistance Lv9
　Grab Lv18　Horsemanship Lv19　Precise Manipulation Lv21　Ropework Lv11
　Jump Lv11 　Acrobatics Lv11 　Heat Resistance Lv13　Climb Lv11　Balance Lv13 (↑1)
　Dual Wield Lv18　Disassembly Lv18　Swimming Lv6　Diving Lv6　Throw Object Lv10
　Dash Lv11　Endurance Run Lv11　Hide Lv6　Conceal Lv6
　Physical Reinforcement Lv20 (↑1)　Mental Reinforcement Lv20　Speedcasting Lv20
　Magic Effect Amplification Lv19　Magic Range Expansion Lv19
　Petrification Resistance Lv6　Sleep Resistance Lv6　Paralysis Resistance Lv6
　Confusion Resistance Lv4　Dark Resistance Lv4　Unconscious Resistance Lv8
　Charm Resistance Lv1　Poison Resistance Lv3　Silence Resistance Lv3