MV – Chapter 145: The Temple and the Minor Villain

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Energy blasts replaced raindrops, with the storm raging inside the temple, and the violent winds tearing everything apart with savage force.

This was a combination technique of Mira, who cast a double [Windstorm], and Lanpeach, who used his gun techniques in tandem.

Even the already powerful magic lost its wind attribute due to Lanpeach’s gun techniques, turning it into non-elemental attacks that dealt equally lethal damage to all enemies.

They could sense the presence of countless Spirits within the temple fading away while the aftereffects of the wind whipped Lanpeach and the others’ hair. It seemed their plan had worked.

“Did we manage to take out most of the enemies?” (Lanpeach)

“It seems the ones further away sensed the danger and put up defenses, but we’ve inflicted over 70% damage. We should head back for now, let them respawn, and come again later.” (Mira)

“We’re not here to grind EXP like a party in an MMO. Besides, farming too much with area attacks will get the spell nerfed.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach, confusing the world of games and reality, grumbled about how game developers never allow for that kind of farming. Not that it mattered since defeating the Spirits here barely yielded any experience. Let’s see, it looks like they earned a measly 366 EXP just now.

“Beep-beep! Libra Sensor detected movement. Incoming enemies!” (Libra)

Libra warned them with her ahoge swaying and her face serious.

(Wait a minute, didn’t she not have an ahoge before? While I like ahoge characters, aren’t they a bit outdated?) (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was thinking stupid things, which meant he had enough time to do so, but he swiftly sensed the incoming enemies approaching at supersonic speed just as Libra said, and reloaded the magazine of his Haze.

“With this speed… it’s not just Wind Spirits?” (Lanpeach)

He clicked his tongue when he saw the Spirits flying towards them, causing a sonic boom as they soared out of the darkness.

A Sylph was carrying a Gnome, a slow-moving Spirit that resembled a golem. It seemed they were helping the Gnome keep up by flying it over. Clever.

Moreover, they have even synchronized their movements with the surviving spirits.

“Kyuui!”

[Wind Rock Bullet]

The Sylph let out a harpy-like cry and, to everyone’s disbelief, hurled the Gnome like a missile. The Gnome curled its body into a ball, making itself into a supersonic projectile.

“Using your allies as weapons is way too cruel!” (Lanpeach)

“They must have judged that the Gnome’s toughness would minimize the damage to itself.” (Mira)

“Then we’ll just shoot them all down!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach switched to full-auto and pulled the trigger on his Haze, unleashing bursts of sulfur energy rounds.

[Bullet Acceleration]

The bullets traveled faster than the supersonic projectile, and Lanpeach’s exceptional marksmanship, enhanced by Super Senses, ensured that every shot hit the center of the enemy’s torso.

The Gnomes exploded mid-air with unbelievable accuracy, shattering into pieces as their rocky remains scattered across the ground.

“Kyuui!”

[Wind Cutter]

Realizing the tides were turning against them, the Sylphs launched blades of wind, as thin as threads but as tough as diamonds, that could effortlessly slice through steel like it is butter.

“I’ll handle this. A mere breeze stirred by a fan is no match for me.” (Mira)

Mira stepped forward into an iai stance with a hand lightly placed on the hilt of her sheathed sword. Her expression was calm, showing no sign of the tension of battle.

She took a light breath, slid her foot forward, and…

[Wind Cutter Dicing]

Mira’s arm blurred, and the air filled with countless sword flashes. The wind blades that had been closing in on them were diced to pieces, scattering into the air as they disappeared, and even the Sylphs were slashed apart.

Watching their comrades fall as if shot down by anti-air missiles, the remaining Sylphs and Gnomes realized they stood no chance in the air and hastily descended to the ground.

“Hmph, did you see that? This is the 50,000 EXP sword, [Drop Rate Up Katana] that Pla-san generously bought for me.” (Mira)

Mira proudly showed off her katana with a smug grin, while Lanpeach turned his head with a neck-cracking twist, glaring at her with an incredulous expression.

“There are way too many things to retort on! Where did you even get 50,000 EXP from? Don’t tell me you borrowed it in advance? And that’s not the name of the katana, right? That’s just the effect it has, right?” (Lanpeach)

“I used Pla-san’s savings, just like how a parent keeps their child’s New Year’s money safe. I had a little bit of saved-up experience, so my equipment costs came out of that as an expense. Don’t worry.” (Mira)

“That’s not reassuring at all!” (Lanpeach)

“This sword may be weak in terms of power, but the effect is absolutely the best.” (Mira)

It is weak on top of that.

“Kuh, I can’t deny it! I’d probably choose that too if it were available!” (Lanpeach)

As frustrating as it was, Lanpeach had to agree. A weapon that increased the drop rate was a godly weapon. Even if he found the strongest sword, he had the confidence to say he would  keep using the Drop Rate Up Katana.

There’s nothing less reliable than the savings kept by a parent from New Year’s gifts. And that “a little bit of experience” sounded incredibly suspicious.

━━━Could it be that the quest rewards I’ve been earning are being siphoned off? Now that I think about it, the colony unlock rewards were awfully low, weren’t they? Does the player bear more of the cost than they should…?!

The minor villain was close to uncovering the truth of the scam he’d been tricked by, but…

“Hey, Soldier! Focus on the enemies!” (Libra)

Libra pressed her chest against his face, snapping him out of his thoughts. All those musings were instantly erased, leaving Lanpeach’s mind filled with the thought “So soft and squishy”. Such a typical Lanpeach that’s way too weak to honey traps.

Meanwhile, the Gnome had already placed its hand on the ground, channeling a massive amount of mana. It was preparing to cast a grand tier spell.

“Graaah!”

[Grand Quake]

The Gnome roared and the mana rippled out from its palm, even reaching beneath Lanpeach and the others.

“Too bad. That spell won’t work on me anymore.” (Lanpeach)

[Energy Kick]

Lanpeach raised his leg and stomped down with the force of creating a crater. The ground trembled, and the energy wave from his stomp collided with the Gnome’s mana, neutralizing it in a burst of electricity and dissipating it into nothingness.

Though the Spirit lacked emotions, it seemed momentarily frozen in shock at the divine skill displayed before it. A sword appeared from below, slicing the Gnome in half from its crotch to its head.

[Shadow Teleport]

“You need to negate the aftereffects of big moves as well, or you’ll be taken down by smaller attacks.” (Mira)

Mira emerged from the shadow at the Gnome’s feet, slicing upwards with her katana before gracefully landing with a spin and sheathing her katana with a click.

“Kyuui?!”

Seeing Mira suddenly appear, the other Spirits jumped back to distance themselves, but energy bullets struck their sides, blowing off their heads and sending them to the ground.

“Hm, their responses are too simple!” (Lanpeach)

The Spirits, unsure whether to focus on Lanpeach or Mira, hesitated, giving Libra time to teleport closer and spin her body, sending out hand strikes.

[Ultra Libra Circle]

Her hand strikes landed with precision, followed by the smile of the powerhouse named Libra.

“Ouch, my hand hurts.” (Libra)

But her smile quickly faded as she cradled her hand in pain, and the Spirits, unaffected by her attack, swarmed and overwhelmed her. Looks like she hurt herself from hitting the tough Spirits. Libra’s strength stat might be so low that even hitting tofu would hurt her.

“Time to take revenge for Partner Number One!” (Lanpeach)

[Psychic Blade]

Lanpeach charged through the enemies like a cannonball, weaving between them.

“Partner Number Two will also seek revenge.” (Mira)

[Shadow Servant]

Mira summoned a shadow warrior and dashed through the enemy lines. Bodies piled up as Lanpeach and Mira criss crossed through the battlefield like sharp blades, unable to resist the swift and deadly strikes.

“Fufu, with the three of us working together, these Crazed Spirits didn’t stand a chance.” (Libra)

Libra descended gracefully from the sky, crossed her arms in front of her chest and smiled faintly. But on closer inspection, tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes, and her mouth twitched slightly.

“Y-Yeah… Uuh, I’d better gather the spirit crystals. W-Wow, there are so many! How lucky.” (Lanpeach) 

“This feels like picking up leftover crops. Just make sure not to pocket any.” (Mira)

Lanpeach averted his eyes, deliberately avoiding Libra’s gaze, and awkwardly crouched down, picking up spirit crystals scattered all over the place. Mira, on the other hand, paid no attention to Libra and simply pocketed the spirit crystals without a care.

“Waaan! Isn’t this awful? Where’s my moment to shine? Hey, hey, Soldier, how about we fuse now? Why am I the only one stuck being the comic relief?! It’s so unfair that it’s just the two of you!” (Libra)

Libra finally burst into tears, clinging to Lanpeach. She pulled Lanpeach’s head close with her chest open in a way that seemed almost calculated. 

Lanpeach was thrilled, but he showed surprising willpower, even stronger than tofu, as he gently pushed her away.

“Uh, I can’t get stronger without understanding my basic abilities, right? Besides, I need to get better at using my body rather than just relying on downloaded data.” (Lanpeach)

“We don’t need that. There’s no way your rattling brain could handle it! Let’s fuse instead! We can fight at full power all the time!” (Libra)

“I can come up with some strategies to power up too, you know! It’s not useless! It’s not useless at all!” (Lanpeach)

“Useless, useless, useless, useless! Someone with a brain like Soldier’s could never surpass the knowledge crystallized in the Space Library. I wanna have a moment to shine too!” (Libra)

The two continued their ugly argument, though it was hard to tell if they were getting along or not.

“Hurry up and move on. We have already wiped out all the enemies in the temple, so from here, we should be able to go straight to the boss room.” (Mira)

Mira, having placed the last of the spirit crystals in a bag, tied it with a string and slung it around her waist. 

She sighed and started walking ahead. 

Lanpeach and Libra exchanged glances, blushing as they hurried to follow her.

“Hey, Mira? Didn’t you also stash some spirit crystals in your Dimension Pouch?” (Lanpeach)

“Are you a stalker, watching a lady’s every move? I always thought Pla-san was suspicious, but it turns out you’re really my stalker, huh?” (Mira)

“You’re not fooling me! I’ll make sure to settle everything, including that!” (Lanpeach)

“Hey, Soldier, if you’re going to stalk someone, why not stalk me? I’ll even tell you when I’m taking a bath. With that door that can peek into anywhere, you can watch all the bath scenes you want.” (Libra)

“Don’t disgrace that door!” (Lanpeach)

The three of them noisily made their way through the now enemy-free temple, and then…

Finally, they arrived in front of a massive golden door, intricately decorated with elaborate designs.

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