Chapter 305
"Watch out, Jaime! It's coming!"
"W-What is?"
Bwoooong!
Out of nowhere in the jungle, something like a tree fruit came flying.
Simon quickly bent his back to dodge, and the fruit that flew past him smashed into a tree on the other side. With a thud!, the tree trunk was gouged out deeply.
"...Woaah."
Jaime let out an exclamation.
"If that hit the head, even with a barrier, it'd be dangerous."
"Dodge! They're still coming!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Throwing the fruits was a monster with long arms, reminiscent of a monkey.
It was pulling fruits from a pouch on its belly and hurling them wildly.
"Whoop."
Familiar with Magical Combat, Simon twisted and turned his body to dodge. Jaime tried to imitate him, but after getting hit a few times and realizing she couldn't keep up, she spread Darkness defense magic circles over her arms.
Thwack!
Thump!
But the defense magic circles became ragged after only a few hits from the fruits.
Seeing Jaime's complexion pale, Simon glanced back at her.
"Can you keep holding out?"
"Si, Simon! In front!"
Up ahead, in the middle of the rapid current, a huge rock suddenly jutted out. It was placed so maliciously, it seemed perfect for smashing their raft.
Simon raised Darkness on both feet, fastening himself firmly to the raft, then stretched out his right arm.
"Everyone, come out!"
Subspace opened, and skeletons shot out like lightning. The moment they emerged, they disassembled, connecting bone to bone to form a long pole.
Simon gripped it, pressed it against the rock, and pushed with force.
Crack-crack!
Simon's strength, plus the skeletons' pull, the raft barely shifted sideways, brushing past the rock.
"Amazing!"
Jaime had come up beside him at some point, opening a shield to help defend. It was pretty decent teamwork, but in the end, a flying fruit smashed her shield to pieces.
"Choose, Jaime!"
Dodging another incoming fruit, Simon shouted.
"Wanna keep holding out like this, or go with my way?"
"I'm not in Team 7! What's your way?"
"Pushing through!"
The raft's drifting speed, and the monkey monsters chasing them along the trees, were nearly identical. Even now, the number of monkeys was growing rapidly.
"Ugh!"
Jaime was aiming to specialize in Katarology. Unless it was a wide-range curse, a curse user couldn't contribute much in this situation.
"Fine, fine! I don't know what it is, but hurry!"
Simon smirked and opened subspace.
"Come out, Deimos."
"What?"
Thuuud!
From subspace, an undead made of whale bones leapt out into the river.
'That's the very summon that put Simon in first place in the 3rd BMAT!'
Of course, Jaime knew about the much-talked-about Deimos.
Simon pointed his finger.
'Cloud.'
Turquoise smoke shot out like a rope, wrapping around Deimos's body as it swam alongside the raft.
'Finer…!'
Simon's fingers moved delicately, like playing a piano. The turquoise cord returned from Deimos, wrapped tightly around the raft, and came into Simon's hand.
"Pardon me, captain."
He sent it over to Jaime. The turquoise smoke began wrapping around her body.
"W-Wait! Why are you tying me up?"
She shouted, her face flushed.
"To anchor you to the raft."
Simon manipulated Cloud, fastening her as if she'd become one with the raft.
He wound Cloud around himself as well, anchoring his body, then lay down as low as possible beside her.
"Let's go, Deimos!"
—Kiiiiiiiiii!
Deimos surged forward, dragging the raft over the rapids. The scenery around them suddenly began racing backward at extreme speed.
Swaaaash!
Deimos overtook the pursuing monkey monsters in an instant. Huge streams of water surged to either side.
"Faster! Even faster, Deimos!"
Simon shouted.
"T-Too faaaast!"
Lying beside him, Jaime's eyes were tearing up as she desperately cried for her mother.
Simon had utterly surpassed the intended pace of this "game". Deimos' forward speed outmatched the monkeys' escape from the jungle.
'Right, then left, then right again.'
Simon stayed alert, focusing on Deimos' will, steering past rocks that appeared along the way. The monkeys' attacks didn't come at all.
'Straight to the goal in one shot!'
Even he thought they'd just shaved off a huge chunk of travel distance.
Then, a new screen appeared.
[New record confirmed.]
[Additional objective: Hunt the boss monster.]
'What?'
Simon turned his head.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Something was running after them on two legs through the jungle, keeping pace with Deimos' rapid dash.
He couldn't make out its full appearance yet, but every time the creature moved, trees were ripped from the ground and sent flying.
'Additional objective?'
He knew from the rulebook that while you only needed to complete the core objective to finish the game, special conditions could trigger an additional objective.
Then, the creature leapt toward the river where Simon and Jaime were.
"Simon! Above!"
Simon's gaze also shot upward.
'Can't block that.'
He hesitated for only a moment before acting.
He immediately cut the Cloud connecting them to the raft, then stepped on Darkness and soared upward. Jaime, still connected to him, was pulled into the air with a scream.
Crash!
The gorilla monster's fist smashed the raft to splinters. Pieces of wood scattered everywhere.
Thump.
Narrowly dodging, Simon landed on the ground, and Jaime tumbled down right after.
"This is crazy! Crazy!"
Jaime shouted, her face pale.
"Now I know how much Maelyn and Kami suffer!"
"I always make the best choice."
The dripping-wet gorilla monster came charging at them.
They quickly took combat stances.
—Kruoooaaar!
The gorilla monster swung its fist.
'Open Gate!'
Two blade-like tentacles shot up from beneath Simon's feet, crossing in front of him, meeting the gorilla's punch head-on.
Boooom!
The tentacle blades wavered and bent, the strength behind it was absurd.
"Kh…!"
Simon, linked to the will of Overlord, took some of the shock and frowned. At the same time, four other blades sliced through the gorilla's body.
From the four wounds, fountains of blood spurted out, and the gorilla roared in rage.
"Well done!"
Grab!
At some point, Jaime had climbed up into the trees, then leapt down onto the gorilla monster's back, raking her hand all the way down. Wherever her palm touched, flowers bloomed.
The effect was perfect, the gorilla twisted and rubbed its back as if in unbearable pain.
"As expected of a curse user!"
Jaime hopped off and ran, the gorilla monster came lumbering after her.
At that moment, Simon boldly charged, darting between the gorilla's legs, swinging his arm. Darkness coiled around his fist.
Shhhhhh!
The slash of Darkness neatly severed the gorilla's achilles tendon. With its strength gone from one leg, the gorilla dropped to one knee with a heavy thud!
"Phew."
Simon quickly rose to his feet and stood in front of Jaime as if shielding her. She also stopped moving and prepared a curse.
—Kruoooaaar!
The enraged gorilla monster dragged one leg and charged like a tank.
Then Simon lowered his arm and moved to stand beside Jaime.
"Simon?"
"Get down!"
Simon placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her down to the ground.
"Wh-What are you—! The monster is right in front of—!"
Simon snapped his fingers.
"Current Cannon."
"!"
BOOOOOM!
Out of nowhere, a water projectile came flying from the river, carrying the charging gorilla with it and slamming it into the cliff wall behind.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The cliff caved in, and the gorilla's body was smashed to pieces. Blood splattered everywhere, its muscles and bones crushed entirely.
"W…Wow…"
Jaime couldn't close her mouth.
Simon rose, walked over, drew a short sword, and ended the groaning gorilla's life.
[Additional objective complete.]
[Please claim your reward.]
The gorilla monster dispersed into the air, and in its place, only two pairs of glasses were left.
"Is this the reward?"
They decided to take one each. Simon put his on and looked around, but nothing seemed different.
"Not sure what kind of artifact it is."
"Let's just take it. We'll probably need it later."
The two started walking again, heading back to the valley.
"Aha."
Right next to the shattered raft pieces, a brand new raft was waiting. Apparently, it was provided after defeating a monster.
They boarded the new raft, and Deimos took the lead again.
"By the way,"
Jaime crossed her arms.
"In the kind of books my mom used to read to me as a kid, there's usually a waterfall at the end of a rapid, you know."
"…You'd better watch your mouth."
Swaaaaaaash!
Sure enough, a waterfall appeared ahead. Jaime screamed in fright.
"Wh-What are you doing! Make Deimos stop!"
"Wait a second."
Simon pointed forward.
"That's the exit over there, right?"
Beyond the waterfall, hundreds of meters up in the air, a portal could be seen. Anyone could tell it was the exit.
"Y-You're telling me we have to go in there? In midair?"
"Looks like it."
He figured it wasn't impossible. Simon immediately recalled Deimos into subspace and summoned skeletons.
"Bone Armor."
The skeletons clung to his body piece by piece. He also equipped Jaime with a set.
"I've got something to add."
She drew a curse magic circle on both her and Simon's bodies.
"It's meant to increase an enemy's weight, but I've tuned it in reverse to make us lighter."
"Okay. When I give the signal, step on Darkness and jump. As high as possible."
"Got it."
Jaime nodded with a tense face. The edge of the waterfall was now right before them.
"Now!"
They both stepped hard on Darkness and leapt into the air.
The raft rode the waves and fell below, while their bodies rose up. The portal to the outside was right there before them.
'The distance is a bit iffy, but…!'
Simon gave an Absolute Order to the skeletons in Bone Armor.
With the skeletons' "attraction" ability pulling upward as much as possible, he created a sort of gliding effect.
"I just cast the curse too!"
Their bodies definitely felt lighter. With both arms outstretched, they safely sailed toward the portal.
"It's a success!"
Simon let out a cheer of joy, Jaime winked.
"Thanks to meeting Special Admission No. 1, I had it easy. See you in class tomorrow!"
"You did well too. I hope you find your next card quickly."
Their bodies safely passed through the gate.
* * *
Swaaaash!
When Simon came through the gate, it was the same valley as before. Far in the distance, the walls of Keyzen were visible.
They had returned safely.
"That was pretty fun."
Simon happily obtained a navy card. The glasses were also safe.
He stepped out of the valley and onto dry land.
Two hours had already passed. After checking the time, he put on the glasses again and looked around.
"!"
An involuntary exclamation escaped Simon's lips.
'…This is incredible.'