Chapter - 018: Soul of the Weapon

The next day, the two of them were competing with each other to hunt bees. The reason why this happened goes back a little.

"Hachiman, do you know Tremble Shortcake?"

"What's that?"

"It was written about in Argo's guidebook. Apparently it's really delicious."

"I see. So what happened?"

"We are going bee hunting now. I have a suggestion."

"ah"

"Let's have a contest to see who can hunt the most.

If I win, Hachiman will buy me a cake.

If Hachiman wins, I'll have no choice but to pay for it myself."

"I don't think there's any benefit to me though..."

"Boys don't sweat the small stuff! Let's go then!"

"Yes, yes."

Needless to say, the result was a landslide victory for Asuna.

Girls seem to become stronger when they are exposed to something sweet.

"Well then, Hachiman, you're treating me."

"Oh, yeah..."

When he arrived at the restaurant, Hachiman was astonished when he saw the menu.

"What is this? It's expensive..."

And when I saw the cake that came out, I was even more surprised.

"What is this...shortcake? Do you know what shortcake means?"

It was a very huge cake.

Although it was cut into pieces, it didn't look like there was any way I could finish it.

"I can't eat this all by myself. I'll serve you some, so please wait."

"Oh, right. But you still have to eat two-thirds of it yourself..."

And when they tasted the cake, their faces lit up.

"Delicious..."

"It's so delicious!"

"The smooth texture of this cream..."

"It's got a nice sweetness that's just right without being too cloying!"

"It was worth the price."

The two of them glanced at each other from time to time and enjoyed the cake to their heart's content.

"Now that I think about it, Hachiman, you're pretty okay with sweet things for a boy."

"Yeah, I like sweet things."

"I love you too!"

"Well, it seems there aren't any girls who don't like it."

"Oh, hey, look! Your luck value has increased. That's right! Why don't you strengthen your weapons now?"

"I feel like it won't be effective unless Liz eats it, but yeah, it might be a good idea."

"Well then, we better hurry up and do it! Let's do it!"

Asuna contacted Lisbeth, and the two of them headed to where Lisbeth was.

We decided to start by strengthening Hachiman's dagger.

Hachiman didn't notice, but when he was about to start strengthening,

Asuna secretly picked at the hem of Hachiman's clothes.

(Sharing my happiness, I guess. Since we're friends, this much is okay, right?)

Asuna didn't notice, but Lisbeth had clearly seen it.

(Oh my, my... how innocent. Hachiman doesn't seem to notice, though.)

Lisbeth swung the hammer, determined to make sure she succeeded.

And it was a success, and next up was Asuna's turn for Wind Fleuret.

Of course, this time too, Asuna was gently pinching the hem of Hachiman's clothes.

Hachiman remained unaware throughout.

Perhaps it was worth it, as this attempt was also a success.

Asuna took the strengthened sword and stroked it with great care.

Hachiman, who was watching this, thought for a moment and then spoke to Asuna.

"Hey Asuna, can I talk to you for a second?"

"what happened?"

"About that sword, well, it seems really important so it's hard to say,

Considering its strength, I think it can probably only be used up to the fourth floor.

So, I was wondering what Asuna would do then."

Asuna was dismayed, unable to imagine herself ever letting go of the sword.

「Sorry. I said it poorly.

There are two ways to obtain new weapons... from enemies, from treasure chests, and one more thing."

"One more?"

"Turn that weapon back into an ingot and use it with other materials to create a new weapon."

"Ingots..."

"It's like the soul of the weapon that Asuna holds so dear is being passed on to a new weapon.

If that's what you want to do, Asuna, then I'll help you with anything."

"The soul of a weapon...yeah, that's what I want! Even if it's difficult, that's what I want to aim for!"

"I see."

Although he spoke bluntly, Hachiman's eyes were very kind.

Lisbeth was also very happy to see this.

"I'll try harder for Asuna too!"

"Thanks Liz!"

And so the sixth night since they had reached the second layer drew to a close.

The next day was the day for defeating the field boss that Egil had told me about.

The two of them had no intention of participating, but decided to at least take a look, and so headed over to the site.

When they stopped in the town of Taran on the way, Asuna pointed to a certain food stall and said.

"Hachiman, it's called Taran Manju. Is it a local specialty or something?"

"I've never heard of it... I might as well buy some and try it while watching the boss battle."

"Let's do that."

The two bought some Taran Manju and headed off to the proposed battlefield.

As expected, Egil was not there. There were three groups instead.

"There's Kibaou. That guy is the Liberation Army."

"The other person in the center seems to be someone called Lind."

"I wonder what the other group is. A group of solo artists or something?"

"It's pretty put together though."

"Oh, it looks like it's starting."

"Well then, let's get started. I'm Lind. Nice to meet you all.

These people are members of the Legend of Braves who requested to participate at short notice."

Hearing Lind introduce them, Hachiman and Asuna looked at each other.

"Hey Asuna, did you hear me?"

"Yeah. They sound like the people from Legend of the Braves I heard about yesterday..."

"Let's take a look for now."

"Yeah"

After that, the battle began, but it was carried out carefully and with safety as the first priority.

It took a little time, but the field boss was defeated without any major crises.

The members of Legend of the Braves are:

Although his level seemed a little lacking,

It seemed like he was playing an important role at key moments.

These were people I hadn't seen in the first level of the raid,

It was speculated that his power had grown rapidly recently... probably due to the power of his equipment.

"It seems that's what it was."

"……I agree"

The members of the extermination squad seemed to be heading back to town.

Hachiman and Asuna are fighting the Taurus tribe, a type of cow-man, to gain experience.

I decided to head straight to the labyrinth district.

"Oh, come to think of it, I bought some manju."

"Oh, that's right. Let's eat while walking."

Then the two of them took a bite of the Taran bun.

And then his expression became indescribable.

"Hey Asuna, this is..."

"The cream has something like strawberries in it... and it's warm too..."

"If you eat it knowing that, I guess it's not so bad..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I thought it was like a meat bun too..."

"...Let's go."

"………Yeah"

Asuna was the first to arrive at the labyrinth and encountered Taurus for the first time, but was left speechless when she saw him.

"Hachiman-kun"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"That's sexual harassment!!!"

"Uh, uh, y-yes... did I do something?"

"No, that's it! That's not a cow!"

Asuna pointed at Taurus.

Now that he was told, Taurus was indeed shirtless and only wearing a loincloth.

"Uh, uh... I guess I'll just have to get used to it, sorry."

"Hmmmm..."

And so the hunt began.

The main purpose is to practice countering the special techniques used by the Taurus tribe.

The technique, Naming Impact, stuns the opponent once it hits them.

It is an area attack that will paralyze if hit repeatedly.

"How is it, Asuna? Do you think you can handle it?"

"I think I can do it a few more times."

"The range of the attacks used by the bosses and the mobs are apparently completely different,

The timing seems to be the same. Let's grab it here."

After that, the two of them were able to handle the situation properly and decided to check on today's harvest.

Perhaps because no one had ever entered the second labyrinth area yet,

There were many boxes and the harvest was quite bountiful.

Inside, Hachman found some unusual items.

"A chakram..."

"What's that?"

"To put it simply, it's a round boomerang."

"Hmm. Can you use it, Hachiman?"

"No, I think you need to have throwing skills in addition to physical skills.

Throwing skills are a bit weak, and I don't think anyone has taken them, so

At the moment, I don't think there is anyone who can throw it equipped with this weapon."

"I see."

"And this one: The Mighty Strap of Leather.

It's a strap-type armor with magic effects. It has high defense and gives a bonus to strength."

"It looks like it has good properties, but what about the strap type?"

"Ah, the upper half of my body becomes half-naked with just a sash wrapped around it... but..."

As Hachiman said this, his face turned red as he looked at Asuna.

"Hachiman-kun, what did you just imagine?"

"No… I'm not imagining anything… That's right. Don't you think this would suit you, Egil?"

"Hmmmm. He's definitely lying! Egil-san, Egil-san. It looks like he'll look good though."

Hachman suggested they head back before the topic was brought up again.