A giant aquatic creature. About the size of a small whale.
Its head is covered with numerous tentacles, which will attack if it raids its territory or makes a noise near its home. The tips of their tentacles have needles for stabbing paralyzing venom. Basically, they are omnivores and will eat just about anything. It is said that the inhabitants have been eaten by sheep and cattle.
The image is of a whale with a sea anemone on its head.
Its tentacles have a regenerative ability. Even if you slash them, they will immediately return to normal.
It used to take six adventurers with level 15 skills to fight it off.
By the way, the reward for getting rid of them was 40,000 arsha.
If you exterminate them, the reward is 80,000 arsha. However, it didn't matter to those of us who didn't join the guild.
'Oh no, no, no, no! Why is this thing here?!
A whale-like head is literally sticking out of the lake. Dozens of tentacles have reached out from there, trying to entangle Rita on the lakeshore. Rita is flying and bouncing around, dodging it just in time.
It's hard work.
I guess we didn't get there in time.
We were on our way to ask the villagers for information about Leviathan.
Rita dodges the attacking tentacles, and kicks and punches them, trying to fight them off.
I see. She has martial arts skills.
She's like a wild animal.
She's dodging and kicking away dozens of tentacles. Does that guy have eyes on his back?
One person is good enough to defend against Leviathan's attacks. Rita... Wow.
"Cecil.
Yes, Mr. Nagy.
Let's get right to work on our ancient language magic.
Okay, I'll use the 'fireball'.
Yes, sir. All right, when I tell you, let's go. Hey, High Priestess Rita!
I shouted to Rita, who was fighting on the shore.
"I'm going to unleash my super magic on you.
Stop, stop, stop!
'Why?'
At the sound of my voice, Rita pointed to a carriage parked on the shore.
There are no horses.
The windows and doors were open and several human legs were sticking out of them.
It was surreal.
Are those the people from the Iturna Order?
He jumped into the carriage to escape from the tentacles, but was paralyzed by the poison.
Are you asking me to let my men die? You're going to save them all!
Yeah.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no!
It's quite dangerous to interrupt this state of affairs with my fighting ability.
The shore was churning with pink tentacles, and Rita was desperately trying to deal with them.
I'm only level 2 in Swordsmanship, so breaking into the carriage and rescuing the carriage is quite difficult for me.
I was allowed to go with the carriage, but I'm not willing to risk my life for it.
I can save at least one Rita, though.
''All right! Request! I will formally request it.
And while we're talking, Rita is getting cornered.
''If we don't stop 'Leviathan' from moving at least a little bit, we won't have time to talk?
"Cecil. Can you stop him with normal magic? A guy who has enough magic left to shoot ancient fireballs.
''You can use the 'Arrow of Fire'. But since it's at this distance, it can only be used as a check. ......
'That's fine. In the meantime, if I can afford to talk to Rita.
Okay.
Cecil raised one hand in the air.
''Breath of the Spirit, shoot my enemy! Flaming arrows!''
A flame as big as a human arm flies toward the lake.
I'm not going to be able to get the same thing for you. I'm sure you'll be able to find a few dozen tentacles to fold up and pull them to the shore of the lake. But the tips of the tentacles are aimed at the carriage. I moved a little closer to Rita, asking Cecil to shoot another 'flaming arrow' when the enemy starts to move.
'What do you think the teaching of mercy is! Abandoning people in need is such an outrageous thing to do!
Rita shouted as she turned her back to us.
Oh, I knew you'd say that, though.
'It's your fault for not even saying hello to the village chief. If you had told him that you were camping near the lake, he would have told you about the Leviathan. You're the one who ignored it and put your foot in the danger zone!
I told you so! He told me to go say hello to the dwarf village chief since you're in his service! My subordinate said, 'I said hello' as it were!
'You can tell by looking at them that they're not very popular! Didn't you think it was weird that there were no fishing boats out there?
I told you! Then he told me, 'We camped here 10 days ago too, so it's okay. I'm a new chief priest, so I couldn't be too pushy!
So Rita was licked by her men.
The other priests were nobles and Rita was the only person who was picked up.
I can see how Rita was looked at, even from what I heard earlier.
But for the 'Iturna Order', coming here is an annual event, and besides, they don't stay at the inn or say hello because they are human supremacists and they look down on demi-humans. They take the liberty of camping by the lake, but they do it all the time, so it's fine - and then they're attacked by the owner of the lake, who has not been back in decades.
That's strange.
It reminds me of a part-time job that went under after ignoring the advice of a subcontractor or a beat-up person on the jobsite and losing a lot of money. I've heard a lot of stories about upper management wasting their efforts on the jobsite in their world, but ...... is a bit of a stretch.
...... It's hard to blame them.
Okay, I'll take the case. How about 20,000 arsha?
20,000? I thought they were going to splash you with a million or so.
This guy really thinks I'm an outsider.
'I'll give you 20,000! The bounty for the "Lord of the Lake Extermination" that the village is asking the guild for is 80,000. 40,000 if we just get rid of him. We just help the priests, so half of that is 20,000. That's fine!
Uh-huh.
'............ is really good, right? Can you pay?
I'm so ridiculous!
I'm not fooling around.
Rita seems reasonably trustworthy, but the other priests.
I have a feeling she's going to have a lot to say after we save her.
Okay. - All right. Yes, sir! I'm officially requesting it!
With her back turned, Rita nodded.
'I'll 'sign up' as a representative of the 'Iturna Order' caravan, and I'll pay you twenty thousand arsha to help us! If you don't pay, you can make me your slave or whatever you want!
No, you don't have to do that.
"Bring up the medallion! "CONTRACT!
"Oh, yeah. "Contract.
The crystal on my chest and the crystal that Rita held up shone white.
It's an official 'contract' to discuss the crystal, but I hear this is okay if it's a short formality.
Well, that's fine. It's my first job as an adventurer.
The job is simple. I'm going to rescue the priests in the carriage, and Rita and I are going to escape.
So...
'Cecil. When I start running, use 'Arrow of Fire' again to check me. After that, prepare for the fireball with the ancient chant. When I give the signal, you can fire it!
I understand. Take care of yourself, Nagi.
Cecil nodded so easily that it was anticlimactic.
There didn't seem to be any hesitation at all.
''When Nagi-sama dies, I'm going to come too...''
I'm off! I'll take care of your back.
I didn't hear the end of it, and I started running.
Now, it's my first battle with a demon. How far can I go with my skills?
Activate the "Skill Structure"!
As I run, I activate my skills.
I think I've calculated the risk.
Rita is the only one here. The other priests are paralyzed with their heads in the carriage.
Rita is a Cecil moe, so if I make her ask, she'll keep the secret.
I think it's okay if she shows some weird skills. Maybe, though.
And my goal is to save the priests who are stuck in the carriage and create an opening for them.
It's not my job to slay demons.
I don't think I can handle someone that even an adventurer with a skill level of 15 can't defeat.
I carry a shortsword for self-defense, but I only have one skill for combat.
I'm going to use it this time. It's not to defeat them, but to stop them from moving as much as possible.
With the skills I currently have, I can rebuild...
"Swordsmanship LV2," "Otherworldly Conversation LV5," "Meditation LV1," and "Healing LV1.
Here's how I'm going to stop 'Leviathan'.
...... I remember when I was making the game in the original world, I was trying to figure out how to 'take down' an enemy with regenerative abilities.
Overwhelming them with firepower was too obvious, so I wondered if there was a trickier way to do it. I thought about it and thought about it - there must have been one that I actually made and it caught fire.
I'm going to set "Swordsmanship LV2" and "Healing LV1".
"Swordsmanship: LV2
(1) Increase the damage dealt by swords and swords (10% + LV x 10%).
healing lv1
(2) Skills that 'increase' the 'resilience' of the 'body'
There are no do-overs. All right. Maybe this will do.
All right.
Run! "Ability reconstruction skill structure!
Hey! We've got a contract, now let's get on with the job.
Every time, the tentacles surged from the lake.
Rita's fist blows through one of them.
The destroyed tentacle stops moving and goes into regeneration.
I slashed its wound with my shortsword.
Plop, mucus splattered. Okay, I hit it.
The level is lowered, but there's swordsmanship in it, so as long as he's not moving, the attack will hit?
''Hey! What are you going to do if you cut down the one I beat?
We'll see.
If I had to guess.
There you go.
giggling, giggling, shuffling
Chunks of flesh erupted from the wound in the tentacle that was trying to regenerate.
It's even bigger than its original size, only the tip is enlarged.
The tentacles are going to attack us as they are - and then they stop. It doesn't move.
It's too heavy at the tip to lift. It lifts up a little bit, then falls off, then repeats.
What the hell did you do to it?
We've reversed the tentacles' ability to regenerate.
Rita kicks another tentacle as she speaks. I slash the shredded tentacle with my shortsword again. The tentacle, whose regenerative power has gone out of control, takes on the shape of a ball attached to the tip. 'Leviathan' is like putting a weight on its own tentacles.
One by one, the tentacles become immobile.
It's manageable, isn't it? The same situation would have caught fire in a game.
The game and reality are different, after all: .......
[Strategy Board]
Q No matter how much I try, I can't defeat a mid-boss with regeneration ability.
Answer Let's cast a recovery spell on the mid-boss and let the regeneration ability run amok. It will destroy itself. You've probably noticed that only this enemy can match the recovery magic cursor. And... (300 words of explanation below)
Questioner: I don't know. Give me back my time...
...... Yeah, that's what happened.
Aside from that, there are two skills created by "Ability Rebuild" this time.
"Gifted Swordsmanship Lv 1".
(1) Increase your resilience with your sword or sword (10% + LV x 10%)
Effect: Increases the regenerative ability of an opponent cut with a sword or blade. It is added to the opponent's natural healing ability. The increase is this skill's level x 10% + 10% (current increase: 20%).
"Swordless Fighting Lv 1
(2) Skill to increase the 'damage' of the 'body'.
Effect: Increases the damage dealt to the opponent in a bare handed state.
I just replaced the middle sentence because 'Healing LV1' was 'Increasing the Resilience' of the 'Body'. I knew it wouldn't be a cheat if I made it by myself.
With 'Gifted Swordsmanship Lv 1', you increase the resilience of the opponent I cut.
And if the opponent's resilience is 100%, it's 120%.
The regeneration ability will go out of control.
If Leviathan's regeneration ability is "Instant Recovery 100%", then "Gifted Swordsmanship Lv 1" will change it to "Instant Recovery 120%".
The Leviathan's tentacles wouldn't have 20% extra flesh on them, but there was no doubt that they would regenerate in a strange way.
For example, what happens if all of a sudden the weight of a human arm increases?
The movements and the load on the shoulders and elbows all change.
And the Leviathan's tentacles are probably moving on instinct. I don't think it's possible to control its regenerative abilities.
That's why this guy doesn't even know why his tentacles are suddenly so heavy. There's no way it can move them.
''It's a secret, but my sword can cause the enemy's regenerative abilities to spiral out of control. However, its level is low, so its hit rate is poor.
I explained to Rita.
Rita looked at me with a disapproving look on her face.
You mean, ...... you have no choice but to slash the tentacles I've destroyed and stopped moving?
There you go. I discount my clients' fees, so consider it a shield.
Holy shit! I knew you weren't an outsider!
It can't be helped, I'm not a cheat character.
Flipping her golden hair, Rita kicks three tentacles together.
I scratch the tentacles that have stopped moving with my short sword. Quickly.
Repeat below.
''Don't get carried away! Back!
Suddenly, Rita pushed me away.
When I turned around, I saw the tentacles behind me with the 'paralytic needle' bared.
"You're an amateur? At all!
The 'paralytic needle' shallowly rips at Rita's shoulder as she defends me.
But Rita sneered.
"That's not going to work! ''Holy Blessing!''
Rita's entire body glowed gold. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
"...... is surprisingly amazing, Rita.
I'm the chief priest! I've been trying since I was little!
The effect of the "divine protection" is to nullify the poison and paralysis, Rita said proudly.
The reason why all the priests are paralyzed and only one of them is pimply, is because of that.
I thought the 'Iturna Order' was full of disappointing guys.
Rita twists the tentacles one after another. It's like she knows where they're going.
Sometimes she sniffs them out.
And Cecil was right. It's a d*mn fine piece of machinery.
But I'm getting off on a tangent.
I asked Rita.
'A carriage is like a room, don't you think?'
Huh?
I pointed at the carriage with its legs sticking out, and Rita let out a disgusted voice.
The completely overweight carriage, with its wheels biting into the dirt, still miraculously stood still and did not fall over.
'What are you talking about, a carriage isn't a carriage,'
But in other countries, it's not a car - it's ......, well, I mean, there are people who live in vehicles like that, and horse-drawn carriages are similar, and they have walls, roofs, and doors, so I guess it's not really a room at all.
I can't say ......, but so what?
A room is a building, right?
Maybe. But so what?
Yeah, you know, they are a building.
I run up to the carriage and raise my fist.
Aiming at the area where the frame is, the place that seems to be the most sturdy...!
"'Building Strike Lv 1' (No Destructive Feature)!
Gara gara gara gara gara gara ────
Yes, it was still too much to ask.
The impact caused the carriage to go about 40 meters forward, but the axle snapped off in the middle of the carriage and it fell straight to the side. Oh well. It should be fine from this distance.
"What the hell was that? What is this all about?
I was wondering if we can't move the carriage as a room and use our skills to deal massive damage to buildings. ...... We can move that much, right?
Who the hell are you? I thought you were just a jerk!
It's not like I'm an outsider to begin with so get the hell out of here!
Me and Rita start running.
'Leviathan' can't move because his tentacles are in the way. He's just floundering on the shore of the lake.
Enough of the carriage has left the lake.
You can run away without fighting, but you also want to check the power of Cecil's magic.
If we damage the 'Leviathan', we might drop some valuable items.
''Cecil! You can shoot!
As I ran, I shouted to Cecil, who was continuing his chanting.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
And then──.
''It's like a volcano that pierces a scorching heat in sixteen directions: ──── fireball!''