Dogfight (2)

Watching the monitor, Niku and Toy were fighting in the arena.

"Oh, they're already at it."

"Let me watch too, Kehma."

Without opening the menu herself, Rokuko sat next to me.

A pleasant melon bread-like aroma wafted through the air.

"… Hey, are you wearing some sort of melon bread perfume?"

"What's that? I want it. Is it available?"

"No idea."

"Which one has the advantage?"

"Hmm, I'd say Toy. But when did Niku learn my five-fold Fireball chant?"

I had previously given a recording golem with the chant to Nerune, but I wonder if Niku borrowed it after Nerune had already memorized it. She's quite studious.

"I did record other chants as a reward for Nerune, but I wonder how many she's learned."

"Who knows? But I'm betting on Toy, so I'll be cheering for her."

"Alright, hang in there, Niku. Don't lose!"

I cheered for Niku through the monitor. Watching them like this, their faces do resemble each other quite a bit.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"Even as a failed creation, you seem to be somewhat capable in magic. How about your physical abilities?"

"I won't lose."

"Oh, so you don't intend to win? Is it because you're just a failed creation after all?"

"It's just that there's no need for me to be careless on purpose."

Provoked by Toy, Niku closed the distance once again.

"Too slow—!?"

"Naive."

Toy reacted to Niku and thrust her staff. However, Niku smoothly parried the staff and continued her rotation, slashing at Toy. The left and right double attack rained down on the defenseless Toy, who had just unleashed her thrust.

"[Leap]!"

Toy jumped using a skill from an awkward position. It was just that sort of skill. Originally, it was physical skill that enhances jumping power, but it could also be used for emergency evasion.

"Oh, so you're using skills now, are you? How weak."

"Hmph… It's convenient, so why not use it? Not using what's available is foolish. Ah, that's right, you're a failed creation."

Toy snorted and laughed, while Niku stared at her with a cold gaze.

However, both of them directed their gazes at each other, searching for the opponent's weakness.

"■■■■■■■■, ■■■■■, ■■■■■, ■■—[Cursed Lance]"

"■■, ■■■■■■■■■, ■――[Fireball]"

Against Toy's dark and ominous lance, Niku struck it down with five Fireballs.

"Ahaha, can you only use that? A failed creation has limited options, huh?"

"I'm just hiding my true abilities. Why would I need to show them to you?"

"True. However, I need to demonstrate my usefulness to Kehma-sama by showing my hand, so I won't hesitate to use my abilities. ■, ■, ■■■■■, ■■■■——[Cursed Pillar]"

The ground cracked and a black pillar about the size of an adult male rose up. A purple haze emanated its unwelcoming atmosphere.

"Don't worry, this doesn't have lethal power—I'll just control you with a curse. Ufufu, perhaps it would be amusing to make you dance a seductive dance in an unsightly manner?"

"■■■■. ■■■■■■■■, ■■■■—[Summon Skeleton]"

However, Niku threw a skeletal soldier at the pillar. The cursed skeleton began to dance by thrusting its hips out, but let's just ignore that for now.

"Oh, a summoning spell. Seems like you've got the basics down, huh?"

"I'll start getting serious now."

"Oh? Then I'll just use a little bit, just a tiny bit—half of my true power."

"In that case, I only need half of half of my true power."

"Hm? Then I'll use half of half of half of my true power."

"I'll face you with half of half of half of half of my true power."

They exchanged a childish verbal battle—I mean, they were actually children—as they glared at each other.

"Then I will… face you with one thirty-second of my true power."

"In that case, I will use, um… one sixteenth of my power. How about that? I can do two-digit division, you know. Goshujin-sama taught me."

Niku snorted proudly, and Toy covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a small chuckle.

"Hehehe… So you're going to use twice as much power as me!"

"? 32 times two is 64, right? Don't underestimate me too much."

"Ahahaha! Fractions! Fractions, you know, you failed creation? Ahaha, it can't be helped that you're just a little kid who can't even do elementary-level math!"

The larger the denominator—in other words, the larger the number you're dividing by—the smaller the result. Unfortunately, Niku hadn't yet studied fractions and decimals. In this world, being able to do calculations with whole numbers was already more than enough. There are many adults who couldn't even properly do multiplication and division.

"… I don't understand it, but I know I'm being made fun of. I'm going to hit you now."

"Rather than making fun of you, perhaps you're just actually stupid, you failed creation? Ahahaha!"

And so their exchange of offense and defense began again.

Niku unhesitantly thrust a wooden knife aimed at Toy's face. The target was Toy's mocking smile, but of course, Toy dodged it and tried to kick Niku away using her staff as support.

In the next moment, Niku kicked the staff away. Anticipating this, Toy threw the staff aside and grabbed Niku's supporting leg.

Abandoning the kicked staff, Toy tried to hold Niku's leg and push the back of the knee through her long socks to break her balance—but Niku didn't fall. It was her Golem Assist. An unknown secret to Toy that altered reality from what [should have been].

Surprise lasted only for a brief moment. However, in that exact instant, Niku swung the raised leg down on Toy.

"Ugh!"

"Sorry, I failed to stop just short and hit you instead. It was intentional, though."

"… Hmph, not bad for a failed creation, you mongrel."

"I trained in the Demonlands. By the way, what should I call you? Loser, would that be fine?"

"Of course not. How can a failure like you be the winner? What kind of trick did you use?"

"Perfectly control your own body and not let your opponent use you. That's the basis of the Demon King Style, you know?"

"Tch, the Demon King Style, huh…!"

Toy knew about it. The goal of the Demon King Style was [Complete Self-Sufficiency]. It was the [Ultimate Selfishness] that was to not influenced by anyone. If mastered, one could manipulate their own body, mind, and soul at will.

It was a bluff from Niku, but there really was such a technique in the Demon King Style. Toy seemed not to expect Niku to be able to use it to that extent.

"Then I will also face you with my full strength this time. The Chaos Style devours everything. Use anything that can be used, even if it's an enemy. Ever-changing, the cycle of all things—[Kaleidoscope]!"

In the next moment, Toy created four duplicates of herself.

"How about this, you mongrel?"

"Well, this is simply a technique that creates three illusions—"

"—but the presence is perfectly divided into four, right? That's what kind of technique it is."

"I forgot what style it originally belonged to… but it's said to be a secret art."

Each of the duplicates took a chance to speak to Niku in turn.

… No matter how you looked at it, there seemed to be four of her.

"""" Let's go, shall we? """"

And then the four Toys attacked simultaneously—

"… C. That's the one."

—however, without any hesitation, Niku struck the second one from the right, the real Toy, with an elbow strike.

The three duplicates vanished.

"Guh, you… you saw through it in just one hit?!"

"Thanks to your focus on the duplicates, it was easier to hit you. It's a pretty good technique."

"… Just for reference, how did you know which one was the real one?"

"It was just luck. I had good fortune. So, please try it again; I might miss next time, right?"

"Liar."

Toy laughed resentfully and sat down with a plop.

"… I'll consider today's match my loss. Letting the senior have a win is also the role of a capable junior."

"A reasonable decision. Now, Toy, lie down."

"… Like this?"

Toy obediently laid down and Niku placed her feet on top of her. On her head and back. Niku boldly stepped on her with her shoes still on. It was a maid dog on top of another maid dog.

"… Hmm. The ride feels quite nice."

"… Mm."

Surprisingly, Toy quietly accepted it. For the two of them, it was only natural for the loser to do as much. That's just how things were.

Niku put her weight on Toy's head two or three times as if to emphasize the point, and then stepped off of Toy.

"Let's go back, Toy."

"Okay."

Toy obediently followed Niku's instructions, dusted off her clothes and the dirt on her head, and trotted along behind Niku.

And with that, the ranking ceremony was over.

 

 

—By the way, Niku's earring was a Clothes Golem prepared by Kehma.

Furthermore, just like the sound-storage golem, it had a hidden mechanism to produce sound. Its purpose was to deliver voices to Niku, who was not a dungeon monster, through the dungeon function [Communication].

The sound would be transmitted through the Golem and delivered to Niku as a quiet voice audible only to them. In this way, Kehma secretly relayed the following conversation to Niku.

"Hey, Rokuko. If one of the four is the real one, which do you think it is? Label them A to D from the left."

"Huh? Well, C then."

—It wasn't a victory achieved alone. Niku was aware of this, which is why they didn't call Toy a [Loser Dog].