Black Iron Magician

Chapter 57 Trampling Down

After that, Haru and Chinatsu’s outrange attacks continued. Haru’s one-point penetration bullets return the enemy’s defenses to nothing, and Chinatsu’s Glitter Lance wipes out the crowded goblins. So far, it’s a one-sided game. However, the problem is after their MP depleted. They can recover it by drinking a potion, but this is not something you can drink so many times. The glutton Haru may be fine, but it’s impossible for Chinatsu, who has a normal girl’s stomach. After all, they won’t be able to drink because of the bloated belly. It’s unbearable to see if they drink too much during the battle. Therefore, they can only use it once at the most. They have to prepare for the next close combat while keeping their MP in moderation.

「Well, Chinatsu has nearly twice as much MP as Haru, so it’ll be fine for a while.」

I peek at Haru’s status using my master authority. It’s about time for Haru to use a potion, but it seems that Chinatsu can still go on.

The goblins, which are only targeted so far, are still foolishly trying to push forward, overcoming the corpses of their friends. However, the long vertical battle lines have been expanded horizontally in an attempt to prevent the damage as much as possible. They are steadily advancing forward even while decreasing in number, and it seems that it will be within their bow’s reach soon.

「Hmm, Chinatsu-chan, it’s about time for the arrows to come flying!」

「I have Danger Detection skill, so I think I’ll be fine. Also, it’ll be hard to hit at this speed. You should be careful too, Haruna!」

「Eh, did you say something?」

Haru, who caught the arrow shot by the goblin and threw it back at the shooter, asked again. If the opponent’s arrows can reach her, it means that Haru’s throwing can reach them too. Throwing skill, it sure is a terrifying power for the enemies.

「… No, keep it up!」

It seems that Chinatsu is getting used to Haru. As expected of her childhood friend, she adapts quickly.

Now, they have crushed about 200 goblins so far. We are above them in the individual strength, but there are still a lot of them. Force in numbers is not to be underestimated. It’s okay because at a distance for now, but it will be obvious in close combat. The problem is how to establish favorable conditions before that happens, but Haru already took the first move.

「The goblins in the front have entered the poison fog zone!」

「They are choked…」

Yeah, it’s the Fume Fog that was scattered in the beginning. The enemy’s lead troops are finally in the effective range, they are clearly in pain. It’s natural since they came to the poison by themselves. This poison doesn’t have an immediate effect, but it gradually reduces your HP. For low-level people, this continuous poison damage is harsh. It’s different for someone who has a high amount of HP like Nell, though. It’s also possible to use magic to defend against it, like me and Chinatsu. However, there’s no sign that the goblins are using it.

「Chinatsu-chan. My iron balls are about to run out, so I’ll go out to the front and fight while retrieving them. I leave the support to you!」

「Sure. Don’t chase them too far, okay?」

Haru runs out with a black staff in her hand. Chinatsu shoots the Glitter Lance in the direction Haru is heading and makes the way as much as possible. Boom, boom, the spears of light rained down and several goblins were blown away. Namu namu.

Haru comes into contact with a group inside the poisonous fog first. Their movements are sluggish, probably because they inhaled a lot of poison. Since the field of vision is dyed purple, they were surprised and trembled when Haru appeared in front of them.

「Here I come!」

Still, this girl doesn’t hold back. With the heavy black staff, she hits a goblin and blows it off to the side. Then, the iron armor was broken like candy due to the impact. Originally, a goblin can’t win against her, but the difference in strength is further widened by the poisonous fog.

After that, Haru did the same to the others and cleaned them up. Then, she jumped into the next goblin unit on the other side of the poison fog. At that moment, the archer goblins who were waiting shot the arrows, but they are all knocked down by the staff. Yeah, they sure are lucky that she didn’t return the arrows. Since the iron balls thrown by her are behind this unit, she has to fight this unit if she wants to retrieve them. Oh, there are three ogres within them.

「Chinatsu, the big ones are coming!」

「No matter what comes, what I need to do is the same. My light will destroy everything! Glitter Lance!」

While saying so, Chinatsu shot a spear of light at the ogre. Her nervousness is gone, but on the contrary, her speech is getting into the mood. There are times like that even for an honor student. Yeah, I get it. I won’t tell anyone. You can go on as much as you want.

「Guooohhh!!」

Then, Chinatsu’s magic hit the goblins in the surroundings, but it was avoided by the ogre.

「It dodged, huh?」

「H-Huh…?」

Chinatsu seems to be a little bewildered.

「The distance is too wide. If it’s beyond the poison fog, you can hit the goblins, but the ogre can deal with it. Well, Glitter Lance is not a very fast offensive magic, and you still lack skill.」

「Is the Glitter Lance slow? Even though it’s a light spear?」

「It doesn’t mean that it moves at the speed of light, you know? There’s magic like that, but it’s still too early to learn it. Your priority is to practice so that you can skillfully use the magic you have now. Even Glitter Lance can fly fast if you practiced more, you know? Now, don’t just stand still, focus on assisting her!」

「Y-Yes!」

The ogres in the distance are entrusted to Haru, and Chinatsu concentrates on eradicating the goblins. With that said, it may be enough if she can use it to this degree on the first battle. Still, it’s a chance for her growth. Not only Haru, I also want Chinatsu to grow, as her best friend and as a rival. Also, I want to improve her survival rate as much as possible before she meets with Nell’s harsh training.

「Now, she finally encounters them, huh?」

Three ogres stood in front of Haru, who was retrieving the iron balls beyond the poison fog. Up close, their height difference is like an adult and a child. The ogres, which have a furious expression, are similar to the goblins because they are demi-human and green-skinned. But, they are more ferocious and hard to deal with because of their huge body and superhuman strength. In terms of overall strength, it’s on the borderline of level 3-4. On the other hand, they are not so smart. So, if you use a trap, even a level 3 adventurer party can win.

Unlike the goblins, those ogres are unarmed. It seems that they can be suitable training partners for Haru, but I’m not really sure about that.

「Groar!」

「Sei!」

The ogre makes the first move. It vigorously swings its tightly clenched, strong fist. As for Haru, she matches the timing and strikes the black staff toward a finger. Ouch.

「Gaaaaaa!?」

The one that was attacked was its little finger, but I’m sure it was more painful than when you vigorously hit your foot’s little finger against a dresser. After all, it’s bent in the wrong direction and the ogre has teary eyes. The goblins in the surroundings seem to be hesitant to attack, perhaps because they are wary of the ogres being hit by the arrows, or they are afraid of the painful counterattack. Of course, Haru will go all out if there’s an opening.

「Gi, gah!?」

Its limbs meet the continuous attack from the black staff. The sound of something breaking can be heard each time it hits, and when the ogre falls to its knees, its head flies high due to the sure-kill blow. I don’t need to explain what the head is like anymore. As a result, the ogre fell down.

「Hmm, this way is better, I guess?」

「G-Guooh…」

Feeling the power was too much, Haru put her black staff into the pouch and became barehanded. The next targets are the second and third ogres, which somewhat lost their spirits.