At a glance, Orikuto was a large rock. But even though it reminded me of lava, I couldn’t feel any heat.
Slime with a rock-like texture. That was my impression.
I jump in and swing Eleanor down.
「Hmm! Hard.」
The blow was quite severe, and the edge of the cut only dug in a few millimeters.
It moved like a sluggish mollusk, but it was very hard.
（He’s coming!）
「Tsk！」
At Eleanor’s warning, I kicked that guy in the body and jumped sideways.
The second I stopped the blade, it tried to swallow me, My body shot up in a huge leap with a 「Bang!」 The next thing I knew, I was on the ground.
「If I get taken in with that kind of hardness, I’ll be in a world of hurt.」
(From the inside, it might be more fragile than you think.)
「It’s a cliche.」
I say this jokingly, but I have no intention of trying.
Orikuto stretched out and attacked me further.
I can see what looks like a sharp fang at the tip. He’s intent on swallowing me.
I dodged to the side and swung Eleanor down from above, holding her in both hands, into a defenceless spot.
I feel a dull sensation. My hands went numb.
I felt the numbness like I’ve slammed a baseball bat into the ground with all my might, but I haven’t even cut a third of the way through it’s body.
「Oh, shiiitttttttttttttttt!」
I shout. With all the strength I could muster, I pressed Eleanor’s blade against it.
「Uuuooooooooooooo!」
Gagagagagaga. The sound of blades and rocks rubbing against each other continued, and Orikuto’s body was cut in two.
「Awesome…….」
I heard Io’s voice from behind me. That’s what I wanted to hear.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
「What the…?」
I was astounded.
The part of the Orikuto that I had slashed with all my strength quickly attached itself and returned to the original lump.
So its characteristics are almost the same as slime.
（I see. That’s why it’s so dangerous.）
Eleanor’s voice echoed in my head. I could afford it, but I was impressed.
「……Bring it on!」
Taking a breath, I repositioned Eleanor and slashed at Orikuto.
I sliced it to pieces. Gagagagaagagagaga. Anyway, I slammed Eleanor into Orikuto’s body.
Sparks flew and bits of rock scattered.
I hit it with even more enthusiasm.
「Haa…… haa……」
When I was completely out of breath, the Orikuto fell apart ── into pieces.
「If I’d gone this far…」
（No, not yet!）
「──！」
I was astonished. In front of my eyes, the pieces of Orikuto are slowly coming together and trying to come back together again.
The physical attack is not enough to stop it. On top of that, my hands are numb from too much pounding. I’m not sure if I can do it again.
「Kakeru-san! I’m done chanting.」
「──！Fire!」
As soon as I shouted to Io, I jumped away, keeping Eleanor in my guard.
A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck Orikuto.
It stopped moving.
I look down at it. I feel a little complicated.
Io came up beside me and said.
「Wow, Kakeru-san, this is the first time I’ve seen someone tear apart an Orikuto all by themselves. I mean, I’ve never heard of such a thing!」
Io said with respect ── or rather, her voice was full of respect ── but honestly, it was complicated.
I would have done in this guy alone if I could have……
「I’m sorry, I’m so sloppy. Let’s just get the Orikudite and get out of here.」
「You want to get out of here?」
「Yeah. Orikuto is numb now, but he’ll be able to move soon.」
「Does it come back pretty fast? What happens if I shoot more magic into it?」
「I can keep it from moving while you shoot, but I can’t do it alone…….」
「…… You mean the interval between zapping it and the time its stopped?」
Io apologized and said,「I’m sorry」.
「An Olikudite mining party should consist of at least five magicians. To ensure safety, seven or more people are recommended.」
「That’s how many people you need to keep going.」
「Yes. If I can do it alone, I can do it. It’s a way of dropping one shot, taking as much as you can in the meantime, and running away. It’s also very dangerous, because the amount of time you can stop it moving varies a lot, so there’s a risk of being attacked by an Orikuto who’s able to move while you’re mining.」
「I see……. Okay, let’s just take as much as we can.」
If that’s the case, I’ll just take as much as I can, as fast as I can, and use the warp feather to warp away.
That’s what I thought, and I was going to start mining with the two of them.
「Kakeru-san! It’s moving!」
Io shouts out. To my surprise, Orikuto was already on the move.
I stepped forward to shield Io with Eleanor at the ready.
「The interval is so short, is this what it’s supposed to be?」
「There are times like this……. It’s pretty short, though.」
「What about Io’s magic?!」
「It’ll take a while before the next one!」
Io replied in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry. Damn it, we can’t mine it like this.
Let’s use the warp feather to escape and come back.
Just as I thought this, I caught sight of Helene.
Helene has remained silent ever since our encounter with Orikuto.
Her eyes stare at me. Her expression didn’t change.
I wondered what it was ── it popped into my head for a moment, and then quickly disappeared.
An electric current runs through my head. Flickering.
I exclaimed.
「Helene! Throw a magic ball at this thing!」
「Yeeeees.」
As requested, Helene took out the magic ball (black) I had given her and threw it at Orikuto.
The balls flew helter-skelter and hit its rock like body.
The effect of the magic ball (black) is to magically attack the opponent with its weakest attribute.
In the case of Orikuto, it would be lightning.
Instantly, the ball burst open. The lightning burst with a thunderous roar.
I just… jumped into it!
I cling to Orikuto. Together, we took on the lightning magic.
「Kakeru-san?!」
I hear Io’s surprised voice. It’s an obvious reaction.
But this is fine. Because so far, everything was going according to plan.
「Are you all right, Kakeru-san?」
Io calls out to me in concern. Helene follows close behind.
「It’s okay. Not much damage.」
I made a show of moving my body. I’m not trying to be tough, it’s really not much damage.
If I had to guess, I’d say it was a little numb, like when you bump your elbow on a corner.
「Instead, you two work on the extraction, and I’ll stop Orikuto.」
「Eeeeeeh? But…」
「I think it kinda feels like this……?」
I decided to show Io the proof that I was fine.
I use lightning magic the same way I’ve always used fire and ice magic.
The lightning struck Orikuto, who was unable to move.
「Lightning! I see, Kakeru-san, you’ve been exposed to the magic.」
「Yeah, you’re supposed be able to learn the magic by surviving a magical attack, if you’re good enough.」
「Yes!」
「That’s the way it is — and that.」
I visualized it further and fired another shot of lightning magic.
Two shots in a row fall on Orikuto’s body.
「Apparently, I can do a barrage.」
I say this as if it’s obvious.
A predisposition to lightning magic, and the power of continuous magic (or is it?). I’m not sure.
I’m sure both of them are thanks to the「777 times all abilities」.
「So I’ll take care of this, and you two take care of the mining.」
「Yes!」
「I understand.」
「Oh, don’t even worry about how much we can carry, we’ll be at warp on the way back anyway.」
I told the two of them and turned to Orikuto.
As soon as it starts to move, I concentrate so that I can hit it with magic.
It was slightly different from what I had planned.
「What kind of person is Kakeru-san ……? I’ve never seen anyone who’s perfect with a sword and magic……」
「You’ll find out when you study history.」
「History? Why history?」
「He really resembles the anecdotes of historical heroes in their youth.」
「I see!」
I listened to the conversation between Helene and Io, and for the moment, it was good.