It's time for the storm to die down.

　Immediately after Haruka said this, the swirling wind stopped.

　As a result, the entire Elder Trent was revealed to be rather shabby, with over 80% of its leaves gone.

"It works pretty well.

　The Elder Trent stopped his head banging for a moment as the Storm broke, but in the next moment, a tree branch swung down towards me with a speed that was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

　As I jumped back, the branch - or rather, the log that had already become a log - sunk into the ground and made a hole.

It's probably because there's no more air resistance!

　I'm not sure if it's because there's no air resistance or what!" Natsuki also jumped back, putting down her cleaver and picking up the Bardiche.

You're lighter, you're faster!
The roots are increasing in number!

　To be precise, the number of roots used in the attack has increased.

　When Toya and Mary approached the base of the Elder Trent again, they found that they were targeted by more roots than ever before and were unable to attack.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

I'm sorry.　But!　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.
I'm not sure.　It's not that easy to cut!

　Good.
　I thought I damaged it, but it just got stronger.
　I was the one who suggested it.
　And as for me...

"Ah!

　As soon as you lift up the Bardiche, which you vainly slammed into the ground, and run away from the scene, a branch is slammed into it again.

　As a result of being swung down quickly and then pulled up quickly, my [battle axe technique] skill can't handle it at all.

　I've trained up to level 1, but I guess that's not enough for this level.

"You can't push your way through with your character level!

　I avoided the branch as much as I could, strengthened the [Strengthening] more, and swung the bardiche at the branch that was pulling me back, but it only scraped the surface slightly.

　I'm not strong enough to begin with, so swinging down is the best way to use the Bardiche.
　It is impossible for me to do effective damage by slashing up.

　Still, the fact that I'm able to use it to some extent is a blessing in disguise, as I'm about to reach the age of 30.



　I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this, but I'm sure you've heard of it.

But, ......, it's impossible. It's impossible for me to do macho fighting.

　If you can't cut, a bardiche is just too heavy.
　I threw it in my hand and grabbed the spear I kept as a backup.
　It fit.
　I knew this would fit my hand.

　If you look at the other three, you'll see that ...... Natsuki has managed to cut down a branch, but Yuki and Mitya are in almost the same condition as me. They are not getting any hits at all.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　And that's probably what Haruka saw as well.

"Mitya!　You don't have to attack. Just focus on avoiding it!
I get it!

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I've seen it before.

　In fact, with Mitya's physical strength, a bardic attack wielded from a precarious position would have little effect, so there was no point in risking it.

　Of course, I can't speak for others, but I have magic.
　I can't speak for anyone else, of course, but I have magic, and I'm slowly building up my magic while avoiding the branches' attacks.

Explosive Flame!

　The converged "explosion flame" hits the middle of the branch.
　It's not perfect, but level 8 magic is no mean feat.
　In addition, the magic that normally causes explosions on a meter scale is converged into a small area.
　You can guess how powerful it is.
　With an explosion, a branch the size of my torso bursts open and falls.
　It echoes with a thud.

"Whoosh!

　This was my first ......, no, my first big score against Elder Trent.
　A gut pose.

And then...!

　But the next branch that swung down on me immediately made me fall back in a panic.


　I was just about to knead my magic again when I heard a roar.
　There was a cracking sound and a huge branch fell in front of me.

　I hurriedly backed away and glanced behind me to see Haruka standing there with her bow drawn.

Did you use it?
Yes, it seems to be working well enough.

　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

It seems that if you cut down 80% of it, it will break under its own weight.
"Oh, so you don't need to blow it up completely?

　And broken branches, unlike roots, do not regenerate.

　Elder Trent is waving the shortened branch around, but it doesn't pose a threat because it doesn't reach the ground at that length.

　And now there's an explosion from Yuki's side.
　It must have seen what Haruka and I were doing and started doing the same thing.

Are you starting to see a pattern?
Yes. I think we can handle it.

　Trent's movements are a bit organic and unpleasant, but there are limits.
　For example, the trunk.
　The trunk, for example, may ripple a little, but it will not suddenly bend 90 degrees.
　For example, the branches.

　It seems to be moving freely, but it is only at the base of the trunk that it is moving freely, and the branches are almost straight, only flexing.

　The branches are almost straight, with only a little flexion. They seem to expand and contract slightly, but only slightly.

　In other words, if the branches can be shortened as described above, the attack will not reach the ground.

　And the higher branches are not long enough to reach the ground as they are.
　The only branches that need to be dealt with are the longer ones that grow below.

"Do you have enough magic power for ......?

　While avoiding the attack, I look up and count the remaining branches.
　In my location, the attacks are sporadic because two of the branches are no longer functioning.
　Perhaps if I dropped four more branches, there would be none left to reach me.

　But for the base of the tree where Toya and the others are fighting, I'll have to cut a few more off, and there are still three other sides left.

　Even though Yuki can also use it, the Explosion consumes a lot of magic power.
　If I use it 20 times, ...... will be in trouble. You'll fall.



How many explosive arrows do you think you'll need?
They're pretty powerful, though expensive.
Yeah. Expensive.

　The area of effect is narrow, but if you hit it right, it's powerful enough to kill an orc or something like that, even an amateur.

　The modern image of the RPG-7 is that it is like a rocket launcher, and it seems to be a useful item, but it has some drawbacks, so it is not really used very often.

　First of all, the price.
　Depending on how powerful it is, it costs between five and ten gold coins to purchase.

　If you are as skilled as Haruka, you may be able to hit the right spot, but if you miss, that much gold will be wasted.

　If you consider the profit from selling orcs, you can only use two arms at most.

　In addition, if hunters and adventurers who cannot kill orcs head-on are forced to use them, their lives will be in danger the moment they miss.

　You might be able to escape if there is only one orc, but the sound of the explosion is sure to attract enemies. It's a bit of a bad bet.

　There's also the matter of how to trigger it.

　The explosive arrow that Haruka is using right now uses magic power as a switch, but only a few people, such as wizards and adventurers with a certain amount of training, can control magic power well.

　It's a little hard for ordinary hunters.

　To cope with this, there is a type of magic that is triggered by the impact of a collision, but this type is more difficult to handle.

　There is no safety pin mechanism, so if you have a magic bag, or even if you just put it in an arrow sling, something could happen.

　Because of these disadvantages, even though it is powerful, it is not an easy item to carry around casually.