ALL NOVEL The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 31
31: Golem Battle ①
After meeting up with Sanematsu and the others, we sent off the injured girls using [Emergency Escape].
The only ones left are Linshou-kun and “Isino PT”. The former is still okay, but the latter is someone I’d rather not meet. There are quite a few crappy characters like me in 1-D, but “Isino PT” takes the cake.
Leader Isino Hirotsugu is a given, and his companions, Shinoda Airi and Katsuragi Katsuki, are also pretty bad. Didn’t they bully some students into not attending school in middle school?
I wonder how they got into the Academy, but there’s an explanation for that.
It turns out that the Academy’s entrance exam is mostly random selection, excluding a few students. Ah, of course, it’s limited to those with “Transfer Adaptation”. According to the scenario settings, people like Shouma from a martial arts family or those with related bloodlines are selected based on their grades, but for the general public, it’s more about luck than ability.
Unlike martial arts families who have been training since they were young, commoners have lower abilities. In reality, it might be different, but that’s how the Academy’s higher-ups, or rather, the Japanese government, sees it.
Among commoners, competing based on ability is like comparing apples and oranges. The noble-blooded think that way, prioritizing selection based on luck rather than pure strength.
In other words, it’s like drawing lots.
Isino, Shinoda, and Katsuragi got in because they were lucky――or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.
When I heard that their PT hadn’t returned, I suspected foul play. Leader Isino has a student number of 8 and incredibly high overall strength. He might lose to Bou, but he can beat Mushakouji. It’s unthinkable that someone like him would get stuck on the 2nd floor.
……The problem is, what if he refuses to return? Ambitious Isino dislikes those with high overall strength, like Aiba and Kanzaki.
Worst-case scenario, it might lead to a fight……?
That’s what I thought, and then――
――A loud, crushing sound echoed from the distant corridor, accompanied by a faint vibration underfoot. It felt like something heavy had fallen.
“……A monster?”
“……I don’t know. Would a goblin or slime make that kind of noise?”
“Maybe it’s an ABYSS trap?”
“Huh? There’s no way a trap would appear on the 2nd floor. If there were, all the beginners would be dead by now――?”
“Then, what do you say it is?”
Aiba approached me.
If there’s a possibility, then it’s――
“Uwaaa――!!?”
“!!”
A boy’s scream echoed from the direction of the sound. That voice is probably――Linshou-kun’s.
“Let’s go!!”
I chased after the two, running down the corridor. Is it because of the difference in agility? Their legs were undoubtedly faster than mine.
“Leave me behind!!”
“Wait!!”
I desperately chased after them, but the distance between us had already grown to over 100 meters…
When I finally reached the small room at the end, gasping for breath, I saw a brief flying towards me at high speed!!
“Uggyaaa!!”
The brief was flying through the air?!
No, but this weight was too much…
I was crushed, and Dekuetsu’s face was right in front of me.
“Are you okay, Shoma?”
“No way, I’m not okay!! Get this pants off me!!”
“Hiii!!”
It was Sugiyama Haruo who had flown in! What was he doing, taking off his pants and playing around?! He’s enjoying ABYSS way too much?!
“But, this is…”
“Damn it, Ishizuru’s here too!!”
“Be careful, it’s an unknown opponent…”
The situation was chaotic. In the small room were Isogai PT and with Linshou. Near the entrance were me and Sugiyama. In the corner, Hayashi Katsu was crouching in fear. And in the center of the room, standing tall, was the new species of monster that Aoba had mentioned – a golem with a rock body and shining eyes, attacking us on two legs.
“Someone… help…”
“――Tch!!”
The golem’s right hand was strangling Shinohata’s neck. Were they using her as a hostage? Isogai and Jinzaki were attacking, but Katsumi was… ah, no good. He was already unable to fight, lying unconscious…
The only ones who could move were Isogai and Jinzaki. Their overall strength wasn’t bad, but their weapons were too weak. The wooden weapons from the initial equipment wouldn’t be able to break through the golem’s armor.
“Get away, Hou!! ――Guh!!”
“Souji!!”
But it was no use trying to hand over Aoba’s one-handed sword to Jinzaki. The golem’s attack was being blocked by that sword’s durability. If Aoba, the tank, fell, this makeshift party would immediately collapse.
“…To think we’d encounter an enemy like this in a place like this…”
The high-powered, high-durability golem was an enemy that appeared from the 5th floor of the game. Without proper equipment, there was no way a beginner explorer like us could win.
――Should we run?
Fortunately, the golem was slow.
If we retreated from here, at the very least, we could avoid complete annihilation.
…But in that case, would we have to give up on Katsumi and Shinohata? Linshou was also in a bad position. If we didn’t do something, we’d have to leave them behind.
“…”
――But I won’t do that.
I drew my slender sword (rapier) and gave instructions to Aoba and the others.
“Aoba, take the hate! Jinzaki and Isogai, attack from both sides! When the enemy lowers its guard, use a rotating slash attack! Keep the enemy in check and don’t let it move!!”
“…Who’s going to listen to you…”
“Isogai, right!!”
“――Hogu!? Guguu…u…”
Idiot. He let his guard down.
The golem’s attack pierced his abdomen.
He can’t take it, that’s for sure.
“…Kanzaki, can you handle it on your own?”
“…! If you have a plan, tell me already! I won’t last much longer…!!”
Kanzaki’s rare, urgent voice. He’s an opponent at the appropriate level 10. No wonder.
“I’ll use this to stop Golem’s movements, and then you can rescue Shinoda with your 【Fire God・Dual Swords】.”
“Rapier… will it work?”
“I’m the next head of the Ishizuru family, you know? I won’t fail like you guys do~?”
“…”
Kanzaki’s face suddenly looks uneasy.
I get it… I get it, but…
I’m Shouma now, after all.
What else can I say?
“――Guh!!”
“Azusa!?”
Aoba, who was receiving Golem’s attacks as the PT’s 【Tank】, got hit on the shoulder and couldn’t dodge the punch. Normally, he would be on the brink of death like Isogai, but… Aoba’s tough. He can still fight.
“Trust Shouma…!”
“What!?”
As he said that, Aoba continued to deflect Golem’s attacks. If he weren’t equipped with an iron sword, he would have died three times already.
“I can’t explain it, but I feel like Shouma has more power than his stats suggest…! Trust my instincts now, please!!”
“Azusa…”
Aoba Azusa… what a great guy. If I were a player’s avatar, I wouldn’t trust Ishizuru Shouma at all. He’s like a saint or something.
“Fire God・Dual Swords, Ishizuru!!”
“――!!”
“…You can leave the back to me? Come and see the splendor of my sword!!”