I jumped into the big hole and, after a few seconds of floating, I immediately landed on the ground.
"Aaaahhh...!"
"Whoa...!"
Likewise, I caught Aeris, who had jumped into the hole.
Next to her, Urza throws her hands up in a mysterious pose, and Nagisa, who is holding Monica like a princess, also comes down.
"Now... from here on, let's go according to the plan we've decided on beforehand."
The first priority goal of this dungeon search is to find Leon Brave. The secondary goal is 'to raise Monica' as an insurance hero.
If Leon is dead, a new hero must be found as soon as possible. After all, there are events and items that can only be obtained by a brave man, and the sealing of the Demon King cannot be done by anyone other than the hero.
Therefore, it was necessary for Monica to gain as much experience as possible and to increase her skill level.
'Buzzzz...'
'Hissss...'
"Oh...here comes 'the fertilizer'... Just in time."
Perhaps noticing our intrusion, a monster emerges from the depths of the dungeon.
They were a grasshopper the size of a large dog and an ominous green serpent.
The grasshopper was a "Soldier Locust" and the serpent was a "Green Tyrant". Both of them are enemies that appear around the middle of the game.
"...Here comes the enemy. Monica, can you handle it?"
"Y-yeah. I'm okay...!"
"Okay then, let's go! Nagisa!"
"Understood!"
Nagisa and I jumped out at the same time.
I attack the soldier locust, and Nagisa attacks the Green Tyrant.
"Controlled Attack! (手加減攻撃)"
"Peak strike! (峰打ち)!"
'Buzzzz!?'
'Hissss!'
My sword crushes the giant grasshopper, and Nagisa's sword cleaves the serpent's body.
Both Nagisa and I are already at the level of the latter half of the scenario. We should be able to kill an enemy of this caliber with a single blow.
'Bzzzz...!'
'Hissss...!'
But... both of them are alive.
No wonder. The techniques that Nagisa and I used were both designed to take it easy on our opponents so that we wouldn't kill them. No matter how many times we hit them with these techniques, they never die.
"I'll cover for you. Power up, Rapid Foot!"
Aeris activates her auxiliary magic.
The target of the magic is not me and Nagisa who are fighting on the front line, but Monica who is protected by Urza in the rear.
"Let's do it! Monica!"
"Uh...yes. Let's go!"
Monica steps forward and swings her serpentine sword.
The whip-like blade strikes the monster, which is weakened by my controlled attack.
'Buzzzz!?'
The Soldier Locust, which was hit by the attack without being able to avoid it, falls down, and then stops moving.
But the other Green Tyrant is not hit. She misses it.
"One more time, go!"
"Yes!"
'Hissss!?'
Monica swings her sword again.
This time, her well-aimed blow hits the Green Tyrant, andit too falls down and stops moving.
Monica's shoulders rise and fall, and she looks at Aeris with a puzzled look on her face.
"Umm... D-did I do it right?"
"Yes. Monica-san, you did it!"
Aeris patted Monica's head and praised her.
It was probably the first time she had experienced a real battle. Monica had won her first match with flying colors.
"You are surprisingly good with your hands. Keep up the good work and attack at every opportunity. If you miss, it doesn't matter, just make sure you don't be hit by one of them."
"Yes, I'll do it! I'll try my best!"
Monica replies cheerfully, perhaps feeling more confident now that she has defeated the enemy.
By the way, the strategy we had decided beforehand was that Nagisa and I would go to the front and weaken the monster with a moderate attack.
When the monster is weakened, Monica with Aeris's auxiliary magic will finish it off.
As for Urza, she is Monica's escort. She guards Monica from being attacked by the monster by using her 'Intimidate' skill to draw the enemy to her.
By the way, in the world of [DunBrave], the familiar RPG system of levels does not exist. Strength is determined by jobs and skills.
Skills become more powerful as players use them over and over again, and combat skills are more easily improved by defeating enemies. Hitting an opponent is enough to increase the skill, but killing the enemy makes it easier to increase the skill.
"Let's keep on gaining experience. The way is... this way."
As Melia had told me, there were bloodstains on the ground. It had darkened over time, but it led to the back of the dungeon.
"I think we're on the right path. Let's go."
"Yes! I'll try my best!"
"Ugh. I'm bored, desu~no... It's unsatisfactory, desu~no..."
Monica replies cheerfully, and Urza looks frustrated because she hasn't done anything.
Nagisa and Aeris follow, defending their assigned positions.
Thus, with the four of us in tow, we continue on into the depths of the dungeon.
