Jujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenai

Chapter 106: Thread User's Showdown I

「Haa…. Haa….」

After escaping from the forest that became the den of the Arachne, we finally entered a familiar stony passage. Ashidaka Rem had finally stopped after a long period of running at top speed.

「Rem… Please don't run like that again…..」

「KISHI…」

Feeling that I was angry at her, she folded her legs and laid her body on the ground as if slumping down. I also felt the shine of her eight red eyes dulled quite a bit.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I rebuked Rem. Since Rem seemed to have her own soul, it was no wonder that she felt distraught after being scolded by her master who raised her.

The fact that she felt that way about me made her even cuter in my eyes, even if her current form was that of a ghastly black Ashidaka spider.

「Basically, you just need to follow my instructions when I'm riding on your back. But, I'll leave the decision to you if we're attacked by Monsters. I trust you Rem, that's why I can leave you to protect my back.」

But that was natural, she was a servant that I created after all. As long as my opponent wasn’t a cheat with domination abilities who could enslave everything on sight, Rem would never betray me.

「KISHAA, SHAAAAA! 」

Regaining her motivation, Rem raised a lively warcry. Uhm, well it might look like I'm being threatened by a monster spider but, I guess she just raised a joyful cry.

「Well then, let's get going.」

「SHAA! 」

We continued our journey after I got on her back again, accompanied by the rustling sounds of Rem's long legs.

Come to think of it… This Rem avatar was surprisingly versatile.

Even though so many things happened, one after another, I managed to advance into the dungeon until this point. There was a time when I went solo, there was a time when I was hugging Mei-chan's thigh and there was a time when I was surrounded by the beauties of 2-7. From those experiences, I have to say that walking through the dungeon was awfully tiring. Finding out that there was no need for me to walk on my own feet made me feel that this skill of mine was another kind of cheat.

「W-What an amazing…. Slacker skill.」

I bet this is the kind of emotion that people who tamed horses for the first time in history felt. I felt the true wonder of vehicles for the first time in my life as we advanced at moderate speed.

「SHAA.」

After we left the rocky passage, Rem’s legs stopped as soon as we entered the next forest dome.

「What's the matter? 」

「SHASHA.」

It seems we encountered another demon.

I descended from Rem's back at once and unsheathe my red knife. I didn’t hear any sound, but somehow the alarm in my head kept ringing.

「BUGOOOOOO! 」

The demon that was sensed by Rem beforehand appeared in the next moment. It didn’t have any intention to hide its presence when hunting its prey so it directly charged towards our direction while raising a boar-like roar. The ground trembled with each of its steps.

「It's a great boar! 」

At a glance, the assailant was nothing more than a boar with a large and stout stature and a light brown fur. Its black hoofs were similar to the material that was given to me by Tendou that I used to construct Rem's legs.

Despite its huge size, this Great Boar wasn’t a boss monster. Its stature was a characteristic of its race. However, I couldn't let my guard down since the boar’s ordinary rush attack was enough to break my bones. And this great boar had not only two, but four tusks. A weak shaman like me would turn into mincemeat the moment I was hit by its charge.

「We're going to counter with threads. Rem, match my movements!

「KISHAAAAA! 」

It was basically a sitting duck if it kept rushing in a straight line. Moreover, now I also had Ashidaka Rem who could use acid threads like my『Redhair Twine』. The two of us would be able to sto――

「BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 」

「!!!!! ? 」

Oh crap. Both my 『Spiderweb Twine』and Rem's yellow acid threads were barely working on the great boar. It charged through the waves of our thread attack without taking any particular damage due to the effect of its rush.

「KISHAA! 」

「Uwaaa! 」

We were blown back senselessly by the great boar’s charge.

Or so I thought, but Rem realized the danger immediately and threw me outside the collision course to save my life.

That was a close call. Even if the great boar was charging like an idiot, I shouldn't forget the fact that my opponent wasn't a program but a living being who lived in this alternate reality. Being thrown to the side sent me off the course of that rush.

I wasn't too sure about my ability to dodge such a charge unless I had power and mobility rivaling those of 『Knights』 or 『Warriors』.

「BUGO, FUGOO! 」

Since both I and Rem managed to dodge that charge at the very last second, the great boar stopped its charge after a while and then turned around to charge at me again.

Holy crap! I won’t be able to dodge its next charging attack. I have to stop that boar no matter what.

But what the hell could I use to stop that pig? I was almost convinced that it could go through the『Rotten Bog』 without any issue. And worst of all, it’s solid black hooves would most likely be tough enough to withstand the acid bog. No, I was wrong, If I used 『Vile Mud Doll』,…. Fuck, this plan wais no good too… I mean Rem's body was made out of mud, she wasn't that powerful.

Ahh, FUCK, FUCK. Even though I was a little bit stronger than before, I realized that my power was nothing compared to the powerful.

「BUGOOOOOO! 」

W-WAIT A FUCKING MINUTEEE, I'VE YET TO DECIDE MY PLAN!

Well it wasn’t like this monster was going to stop its attack no matter how loud I screamed in my heart.

「KISHAAAAA! 」

Rem raised a war cry as she jumped in front of me to protect me by becoming my meat shield. However, she most likely would become mincemeat due to the weight difference between her and the great boar. That would mean I had to sacrifice her in vain.

「AAAH GODDAMNIT… I GUESS I REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO USE THAT FUCKING SKILL!」

I had no choice but to use every curse at my disposal even if that might end up in failure.

「Spread, 『Rotten Bog』」

I threw a pebble which had my blood on its surface and the pebble expanded a few meters in front of me. That pebble was only a makeshift mark for my curse but, it was better than nothing.

Even when it saw the eerily boiling bog in front of it, the great boar didn't even try to slow down. Well, it was natural for the great boar to be so confident about its penetration power. [ED: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

Well then, from here on out was the real deal. I had to rely on the combat experiences I accumulated untill now.

「Curse thy body, it shall fell into endless fever――『Red Fever』」

I've chanted its full aria since this guy had been neglected by me for a long time. My current priority was to shift that great boar’s trajectory.

Unfortunately, I had yet to find out the effect of the Red Fever.

Anyway, this strike would decide everything. One misstep and I could kiss my life goodbye.

「HIYAAAAH！ 」

I threw my Red Knive that was tied with black hair bind like a pitcher in baseball manga. My aim was the great boar’s left foot.

「BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 」

HELL YEAH, IT'S A STRIKE!

Instead of its left foot, I hit its left shoulder with my red knife, who’s flames burned furiously roasting it. However, the great boar kept charging forward ignoring its roasted shoulder as if to show its pride, leaving only around ten meters between us.

I needed another push to stop that boar.

「GOOOO! 『Reverse Dance Butterfly』！ 」

I held plenty of the oinment A that I kept as an emergency stock. I used it all as the catalyst for this curse. The shining butterflies that were flying in packs were rushing towards the charging great boar.

「PUGIIIIIIIIIII! ? 」

As soon as they touched the wound made by my red knife, the excruciating pain stopped the charge of the great boar. I jumped as far as possible to my left as I heard the great boar’s anguished cry.

Unable to endure the pain inflicted by the『Reverse Dance Butterfly] effect, the great boar fell on its left side as its momentum carried it forward. And since its charging trajectory shifted a bit, I managed to dodge the great boar’s body in time.

「―― YEAH, WE DID IT! 」

I leaped in joy after confirming the fall of the great boar. I mean I really had to dodge or that guy’s body was still gonna crash on me.

But man, the effect of [Reverse Dance Butterfly is ruthless, not only inflicting pain upon hit but also amplifying the damage dealt to the wound. It left the great boar collapsed and desperately tried to stand on its clattering feet.

Like hell I was going to miss this big of a chance when that guy was standing still like a sitting duck.

「LET'S DO IT, REM! 『Black Hair Bind』! 」

「KISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」

The moment I held down the great boar that was trying to stand up again with my Black Hair Bind, Rem sprung in its direction.

Ashidaka Rem spat her acid thread, coiling it around the great boar's body and proceeded to bite the great boar’s head with her sharp teeth.

After that, the great boar was furiously rampaging in its dying breath as if in pain due to the thread coiling around its body… Nevertheless, both me and Rem had no intention to let go of our prey.

「…Haaah, Haah…. Did it…Finally die?」

I've lost count of how long I've sealed the great boar’s movements. After writhing in pain for a while, it had finally breathed its last breath.

「KISHAA! 」

Rem climbed on top of the corpse of the great boar and raised a war cry despite her mouth being filled with our enemies’ blood.

「That was really a close call… Yeah, going solo is too dangerous for me after all.」

If my memories served me right, this great boar was just a small fry who could be defeated by Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san when they got too bored. Nevertheless, like hell I could make an excuse like "The affinity between me and my opponent is the worst" in this dungeon.

It would be a walk in the park for me to kill such a great boar if I were strong enough.  I knew that asking for power which could rival an area boss was just too much, thus I would be satisfied with power that was strong enough to rival these normal monsters.

The current me was quite powerful compared to the earlier stages of this dungeon but… Yup, a solo player shaman was in fact like facing against a mid-boss of an RPG in nightmare mode at level 1.

「Oh god, anyone is fine, please just let me find some comrades to form a party with as soon as possible.」

Yes, anyone but Yokomichi. That shitty, homicidal maniac is a no go, that guy isn't even human anymore, he was closer to a Goma last time I saw him.

「Rem, Let's hurry up to the next area.」

Guess I've no choice but to give up on the core of this great boar. I don't know what kind of monsters would come after us if we stayed in this place that was reeking of blood.

「SHAAAA! 」

Rem's cry wasn't a reply to me…. Oh man, why the hell do those demons keep coming at me one after another! ?

「Rem, enemy position! 」

My old dull sixth sense once again let me down. This place was looking like nothing more than a calm forest and yet…

「KISHAAA! 」

Rem fired her thread instead of replying. Naturally she wasn't aiming for me, her acid thread shower was shooting upward, spread in all directions.

「!!!!! ? 『Spiderweb Twine』! 」

Because something came again right when I let down my guard, I reflexively fired web-type black hair bind in the direction Rem pointed at and―― It coiled against the pure white thread.

「W-WAAAAAAAAAAH! 」

Panicked, I ran to hide below the shades of the tree as fast as possible. The spiderweb net was falling slowly as it struck the white thread. The lump of that white thread fell on the ground in front of me, along with the appearance of the ambusher.

「KYOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」

The one who raised a hysterical roar was a being with the lower-half of a spider and the upper-half of human.

「Arachne… So it was chasing after me.」

Though I couldn't recognize the differences between arachne faces, I didn't think they were similar to Goma, which you could easily find loitering all over the place. It somehow found out about my escape.

「KISHISHI, KISHI, KISHIKISHIKISHI.」

Even though its ambush had failed, this guy still chose to come from the front since it was quite confident of its own strength. Alternatively, it simply didn’t want to let go of any prey that they caught once before.

「Guess I have no choice but to defeat you.」

It easily caught up with us even though Ashidaka Rem ran at its top speed. The Arachne's mobility was terrifying. In addition, it was also proficient in tracking down an escaped prey.

Well since I already escaped from the Arachne but it still managed to find me, I guess my only option was to defeat it.

「Bring it on you bastard! I'll make you regret your decision of chasing after me! 」

Since I had nowhere to run, I loudly challenged the arachne to attack me.