Defense specialization and familiar growth.
Crom moves deeper into the hole.
Shiroppu walks beside him.
"Shall I check ahead? Doesn’t matter if I die."
Crom studies the walls.
The hole is crumbling, barely holding together.
It does not seem artificially made.
"Could be undead, if it’s beneath a tomb."
Crom guesses.
The guess proves correct. As they enter a wider space a short distance in, skeletons crawl up from the ground.
They carry broken spears and rusted swords. Not threatening in appearance.
A swarm tactic of low-tier monsters.
Crom includes Shiroppu in the attack, reducing his own burden. He defeats all skeletons without injury.
"Ah, Shiroppu’s level rose."
Crom hands Shiroppu a potion after noticing his HP has dropped. Shiroppu checks the new skill he has acquired.
“Learned 【Cover】, hm. Similar to a large shield and skill setup.”
Maple rarely involves Shiroppu in combat, so his level had not risen much before.
Now that he travels with Crom, his level increases more easily.
By the time he returns to Maple, he will have learned new skills and grown stronger.
“I’ll level you up as thanks for the loan.”
Crom focuses solely on supporting Shiroppu as they advance deeper.
Monsters encountered along the way are left to Shiroppu to defeat. Shiroppu grows rapidly.
“Hmm? Another skill acquired.”
After several battles, Crom checks on Shiroppu again. Two new skills have been learned.
【Great Nature】
Attack and defense are possible through raising the ground, generating vines, and growing trees.
Spirit Cannon
Available only during Gigantification.
Long-range attack directed forward.
“This might be stronger than me. Ah… I’m starting to want a partner too.”
After several battles, Crom reaches the deepest part.
Before him stands a large door marking the entrance to the Boss Room.
“The dungeon isn’t that long, and the monsters were all weak… Can I do this?”
Crom decides the dungeon is not high enough in difficulty to be worth his time and enters.
Inside is spacious, with enough room for Shiroppu to Gigantify.
After Crom and Shiroppu enter the room, a skeleton slowly rises from the far end.
It differs from previous skeletons—its ancient armor adorned with lavish decoration, a long sword at its side, and a pale blue light, like a human soul, glowing from its empty eye sockets.
“Fuu… fighting a boss alone is new… no, not alone.”
Crom commands Shiroppu to Gigantify, then moves first, declaring victory.
“Great Nature!”
Thick vines erupt from the ground around Shiroppu, lashing toward the boss—but each is halted by a pale blue barrier that envelops the boss’s body.
“First, we must find a way to break that.”
Crom positions Shiroppu as rear guard, then advances toward the boss.
The boss, too, steps forward.
“Shield Attack!”
Crom’s strike meets the barrier, stopped cold. Still, he must test whether damage will eventually break it.
“Yoh…!”
The great shield deflects the longsword, and each strike adds damage to the barrier.
Yet this task is not the shield’s proper duty, and breaking it proves difficult.
Crom’s equipment will shatter if damaged too severely.
From the weight of the boss’s attack, a prolonged fight must be avoided.
Crom, sensing the situation worsening, moves into alignment with Shiroppu and the boss, then shouts.
“Shiroppu! Spirit Cannon!”
A blinding white laser erupts from Shiroppu.
Crom, having used it once before and gauged its timing and range, leaps clear.
“How’s that!?”
At the same instant the light fades, a sharp *ping* echoes.
The barrier is gone.
Yet this is not simply good.
The boss clatters forward, driving the longsword into the ground.
Skeletons pour from the four corners of the rectangular room.
Crom alone would have been overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but this time Shiroppu is here.
By assigning most of the skeletons to Shiroppu, Crom can focus on the boss.
Crom maintains steady pressure on the boss, watching Shiroppu’s HP closely.
Occasionally, he lets Shiroppu join the attack to increase damage.
As long as Crom blocks the boss’s attacks reliably, the minor skeletons’ strikes can be endured through Battle Healing.
It is enough to deal with them when the boss’s attacks grow slack.
Crom’s cautious approach gives him the advantage.
— Shield Attack!
The boss has no shield, making its attacks easier to dodge. A relief for Crom.
Crom follows up on the knockback, striking again.
— HP isn’t that high… wait—
Crom had held back his attacks, knowing that overcommitment invited painful counterstrikes. Yet the boss’s HP had fallen nearly to half.
This was thanks to Shiroppu.
Shiroppu’s attacks through Great Nature had proven a reliable source of damage.
Given how many skeletons Shiroppu commanded, the fight would have been unwinnable without her.
“Really, I must thank Maple-chan…! [Flame Slash]!”
The short blade, wreathed in flame, cleaved the boss diagonally.
Only now did the boss’s HP reach half.
The boss returned to its original position and summoned a vast number of skeletons.
The skeletons collapsed where they stood. From within them, a pitch-black spirit emerged and entered the boss.
The skeletons that had come from the four corners halted as well.
A pitch-black aura spilled from the boss, shaping itself into a massive skeleton.
The skeleton held a sword as long as a third of the Boss Room in one hand, an axe in the other.
"Second form. You’d be far more terrifying, Maple-chan? Perhaps you should imitate her?"
Crom spoke, raising his large shield.
The boss battle neared its second half.