Over drinks, though.
To be honest, Wof again. The first thing I thought was, "This is getting weird."
That guy. How deep does this go?
Come to think of it, he was a strange one from the very first time we met.
He was casually fishing in the river. I figured he was short on food, but no — turns out it was just a hobby.
I had a feeling he was an oddball, and I was right.
A regular at my sister's shop. I was genuinely shocked that the witch's disciple turned out to be him.
And then there was the fact that he fought and won against that Alverd at Great Browns. Absolutely floored by that.
On top of that, the rabbit called Haiarn and the Haiarn Trading Company.
Plus dungeon creation and a boat that teleports in the blink of an eye.
And he's always surrounded by women.
Not just any women, either — every last one of them is drop-dead gorgeous.
Even now, it's not Torquetam but Four Star with him, isn't it?
He runs around with those people.
I'm pretty out there myself, but Wof wins this one hands down. Total defeat.
So that makes this the third time exploring a dungeon with Wof, huh?
Oh, right. The impromptu Wolf Pack was born right around this time too.
And despite being impromptu, it's already on its third run.
The first time, it was the witch, the dog girl from around there, and a dungeon swarming with the undead.
Fighting the Death King of Wind in the deepest part wasn't something I'd expected.
Come to think of it, apparently a new Death King of Wind had been born.
And it seemed Wof was involved in that too.
Next up was Hydrangea's dungeon.
A friend's party had gone missing.
The result was unfortunate, but... it was good that at least one person was saved.
And now, this time.
I'd been through quite a few dungeons and racked up a fair bit of experience, but this was a first.
What's more, even after having it explained to me, I still couldn't believe it.
That this was one of the Moon Sisters — and inside a ship, no less?
There was an invisible wall in the sky, and we'd broken right through it?
And "inside a ship" — what kind of scale are we talking about?
That thing. Could it be the ship god?
I could barely remember, but wasn't it a ship that held an entire world?
To think it actually existed — nope, I never would've guessed.
Oh, right.
If you count the dungeon anomaly too, that makes four times. I'd been slipping.
Anyway.
These guys, on and on. These black spherical puppets. They just wouldn't quit.
"Banish!"
Well, I already knew how to handle them, and I'd figured out they weren't all that strong either.
They were just annoying.
"I could really go for a drink."
"You really shouldn't be drinking right now, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
I grumbled as I shouldered my beloved sword, Flametongue.
The countless white spheres continued to be burned by Pakira's dark-attribute — or whatever it was — black-purple flames.
That's terrifying.
That guy. When did he get that scary?
"I shall protect my lady!"
Even Lupinus's shield was talking now.
Riv was the same as ever, but... a lot had changed, huh.
No, wait — hadn't things changed way too fast?
It had only been a little over half a year since the dungeon's anomaly, right?
And yet everything had changed this much?
I didn't really get it, but, well, if it meant getting stronger, that was fine by me.
Still, this dungeon sure had a lot of weird drinks, but they tasted great.
Riv could drink the stuff, but nobody else could, so he could have as much as he wanted.
Man, so Riv was an elder dragon too, huh.
"By the way, Riv. What exactly is a 'train'?"
"Hmm… it runs on something like a… path called a… rail…"
"How's it different from a carriage?"
"Totally… different…"
"So it's not a carriage?"
"Anyway… forget that… it's really… fast…"
"I can't even imagine it."
"Beats me."
Yeah, I don't really get it either.
Well, I guess we'll find out what it's like once we get there.
After taking down a few black spherical dolls and white spherical dolls, the station Riv mentioned came into view.
Is that it? There are buildings.
And just in front of them… yep, it's huge.
I couldn't help but look up. It appeared right before us.
So big I had to crane my neck upward.
It had six legs and an imposing presence to match.
Its square surface had red grooves running both horizontally and vertically, with something flickering dimly inside.
A large square black spider.
Red grooves crisscrossed its surface, and something within pulsed with an eerie flicker.
"What on earth is that? Is that really a monster?"
Lupinus furrowed her brow with suspicion. Being made entirely of metal, she had her reasons to doubt.
'Please be careful, my lady. It's a powerful enemy.'
A voice rang out from the center of the shield, and Lupinus quickly raised it.
"Now that's a big one…"
"Mm… looks like… trouble…"
'Grrrrrrruuuuuh'
'Grrrrrrruuuuuuh'
'Brrrrrrruuuuuuh'
"Hey, hey. Nobody told me about this."
New enemies at this point?
Three metal dog-like monsters, flanking a blocky black spider.
"What the hell are those dogs?!"
"Here they come!"
"Mm…"
Lupinus readied her shield, and Riv grabbed the ring at her waist, transforming it into a sword.
Pakira had her staff in hand too.
I kept Flametongue resting on my shoulder and glared at the black, blocky spider.
"That thing looks tough."
I channeled red-black flames into Flametongue. My Relic is called Doom.
It's a Relic that commands the fire of annihilation.
And when that fire of annihilation is housed within Flametongue, it's called Doom Sword.
Well, it's not like touching it makes you vanish or anything. Not like Banish.
"Strike first, strike hard."
I took one step and leaped high, raising Flametongue overhead.
"Here I go. Doom Sword!!!"
I poured every ounce of strength into the downward swing.
*Gakin!*
A dull clang rang out, and the impact of hitting something solid traveled up my arms.
But it wasn't the square head. It was the air in front of it.
A few sparks scattered, and I caught a faint glimpse of something like a thin membrane.
That membrane was wrapped all around the square black spider.
Tch. Annoying.
I landed and jumped back.
"Agaro!?"
"I'm fine. Leave that mangy dog over there to me. I'll handle this one."
Some kind of invisible shield had been deployed. Figures.
For just an instant... I hesitated, weighing my options. The Amaldia Horn. Our group's secret weapon. Use it?
No. I should save that trump card for later. It's not a godsend, either.
It has drawbacks, same as any pseudo-Avatar Relic.
"Ugh, damn it. I could really go for a drink right about now."
So let's just beat this thing fast and go get one.